Researchers from the University of Tokyo have identified two Denisovan leg bones, a femur called Penghu 2 and a tibia called Penghu 3, dredged from the seafloor of the Penghu Channel in the Taiwan Strait. Using ancient protein analysis, they confirmed these as the first postcranial Denisovan fossils ever found. Dated to 45,000–43,000 years ago, stature estimates suggest Denisovans stood 176–190 cm tall, notably larger than contemporary Homo erectus. Published as preprints on August 7.
First Denisovan leg bones found in Taiwan Strait, suggesting large stature
Key facts
- Two new Denisovan leg bones - a femur called Pangu 2 and a tibia called Pangu 3 - were dredged from the seafloor of the Penghu Channel in the Taiwan Strait
- Bones were identified via ancient protein analysis by researchers from the University of Tokyo
- Published as preprints on August 8 and covered by science.org and Smithsonian Magazine
- These are the first postcranial Denisovan fossils ever identified; previously only finger bones, teeth, and jaw were known
- Stature estimates suggest Denisovans were 176 to 190 cm tall, notably bigger than contemporary Homo erectus
- Bones date to 45,000 to 43,000 years ago
Site mentioned
📍 Penghu Channel
Sources
A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan - Sciencescience.org
We identified a hominin mandible (Penghu 1) from Taiwan (10,000 to 70,000 years ago or 130,000 to 190,000 years ago) as belonging to a male ...
A new Denisovan mandible from Taiwan - EurekAlert!eurekalert.org
A fossil mandible (Penghu 1: 19,000 to 10,000 years ago) was discovered on the seabed of the Penghu Channel in Taiwan and reported as the first ...
Thousands of Years Ago, Denisovans Might Have Been Huge, Especially ...smithsonianmag.com
The femur and tibia bones were originally discovered by fishermen in the Penghu Channel and eventually ended up in the collection of the ...
Extinct Denisovans May Have Been Some of the Biggest Humans of the ...zmescience.com
Penghu 2 preserves only the upper half of the femur. Their models produced an estimated complete femur about 49 centimeters long. The resulting ...
Denisovan leg bones from Taiwan reveal large body size - bioRxivbiorxiv.org
The strong pilaster developed in the Penghu femur suggests some behavioral similarities between the Denisovans and the Upper Palaeolithic ...
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