Homo

For other uses, see Homo (disambiguation).

Homo is a genus of upright primates that walk on two legs. The only living species in this genus is Homo sapiens: modern humans.

Homo
Homo ergaster/erectus skull
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	Homininae
Tribe:	Hominini
Genus:	Homo Linnaeus, 1758

Ancestry

The genus began about 2.3 million years ago. Its ancestors were almost certainly some line of Australopithecine apes. Compared to them, species of Homo have:

1. A larger brain (above 900ml)
2. Improved walking and running ability.

Evolution

As the genus evolved, the forehead became more vertical, the skull became rounder, the teeth got smaller, the arms got shorter and the legs got longer. The skeleton became more delicate, particularly in our species.

All Homo species used stone tools, but there is no evidence of when language developed. Human evolution remains a much-studied topic.^[1][2][3]

Extinct species

• Homo habilis
• Homo rudolfensis
• Homo ergaster
• Homo erectus
• Homo floresiensis
• Homo rhodesiensis
• Homo georgicus
• Homo naledi
• Homo antecessor
• Homo cepranensis
• Homo heidelbergensis
• Homo neanderthalensis
• Denisovans