If we maintain a strict biological definition of species H s

If we maintain a strict biological definition of “species”, H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis were NOT separate species as they successfully interbred. What impact might this information have on assigning a date to the origin of humans? Does this change your definition of “human”? Why or why not?

Solution

Species is a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial. As the defenition suggests a species cannot normally interbreed sucessfully with another species, though there are evidences of that. Like horse interbreed with donkey, same as H. Sapiens with H. Neanderthals.

First evidence of human evolution has been collected around 4 mya. and around the same time austrailio pithacus evolved. Then around 3my Homo erectus evolved. after 1mya sapiens and neanderthals evolved.

Neanderthals are considered either a distinct species, Homo neanderthalensis, or more rarely a subspecies of Homo sapiens (H. s. neanderthalensis). Modern humans and Neanderthals share 99.7% of their DNA. Its is still a case of scientific dispute that weather to call neanderthals as Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, placing Neanderthals as a subspecies of H. sapiens. DNA researcher Svante Pääbo referred \" there is no definition of species perfectly describing the case.\"