luzonensis

Homo luzonensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo identified from fossil remains found on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The name luzonensis derives from Luzon, the locality of the discovery. The remains were recovered from Callao Cave and were described in 2019 by an international team of researchers. Dating indicates ages roughly between 50,000 and 67,000 years ago, placing the species in the late Pleistocene.

The material consists of several elements from at least two or three individuals, including teeth and small postcranial bones such as a finger bone and a toe bone. The fossils display a mosaic of morphological features: some traits are primitive relative to later members of Homo, while others are distinctive and unusual. The combination of dental and skeletal traits led researchers to designate these remains as a new species rather than assigning them to a known form.

In evolutionary terms, the discovery expands the geographic range of the genus Homo in the late Pleistocene and contributes to the growing evidence of hominin diversity in Island Southeast Asia. The precise phylogenetic position of Homo luzonensis remains debated, and the limited fossil sample, dating challenges, and lack of genetic data mean that its relationships to Homo sapiens and other early Homo lineages are unresolved. The find highlights the complexity of human evolution in the region.