Homo longi

Homo longi, also called the "Dragon Man", was a proposed species of extinct human.^[1] The species was proposed based on the Harbin cranium, a fossil skull found in China.

Homo longi Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene 0.146 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
HBSM2018-000018(A) cranium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Hominidae
Subfamily:	Homininae
Tribe:	Hominini
Genus:	Homo
Species:	†H. longi
Binomial name
Homo longi Ji et al., 2021

Discovery & controversy

In two papers published almost at the same time, Ji and his colleagues claimed that the Harbin skull represented a new species. They named it "Homo longi," or Dragon Man.^[2] "Long, the dragon" is a symbol of Chinese nationalism.

However, the naming of Homo longi was controversial because the classification was based only on the Harbin skull, not on DNA evidence. Paleoanthropologist María Martinón-Torres said: “It’s premature to name a new species, especially a fossil with no context”.^[3]

In June 2025, Chinese scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed the Harbin cranium's mitochondrial DNA and endogenous proteins.^[4] They found that the fossil belonged to a Denisovan, another species of extinct human.^[4]

Anatomy

The Harbin cranium belonged to someone who had a wide face, a long skull, and a large mouth and nose.^[5] The individual had a large brain, similar to modern humans and Neanderthals.