Discovery of "Dragon Man" skull challenges theories of human evolution

Yes, but: Some experts dispute the conclusion published in three papers.

Experts still say that the discovery could help scientists reconstruct the human family tree and explain how modern humans emerged.

• The skull, which belonged to a mature male who boasted a big brain and massive brow ridges, was given called "Dragon man," named for the Dragon River region of northeast China where the skull was found.

What they're saying: “It is widely believed that the Neanderthal belongs to an extinct lineage that is the closest relative of our own species," Xijun Ni, a co-author of the studies and a paleoanthropologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hebei GEO University said in a news release.

• "However, our discovery suggests that the new lineage we identified that includes Homo longi is the actual sister group of H. sapiens.”
• “It’s a beautiful thing,” John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the NYT. “It’s very rare to find a fossil like this, with a face in good condition. You dream of finding this stuff.”