The word 'Denisovan' is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to

Q. The word 'Denisovan' is sometimes mentioned in media in reference to

1. fossils of a kind of dinosaurs
2. an early human species
3. a cave system found in North-East India
4. a geological period in the history of the Indian subcontinent

Answer: An early human species

Denisovan

• The Denisovans or Denisova hominins are archaic humans in the genus Homo. They may be an extinct species or subspecies.
• They were first discovered in March 2010 in the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. This cave that has also been inhabited by Neanderthals and modern humans.
• A finger bone fragment of a juvenile female was discovered. She lived about 41,000 years ago, with about 3% to 5% of the DNA of Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians and around 6% in Papuans deriving from Denisovans.
• So far, the fossils of four distinct Denisovans from Denisova Cave have been identified through their DNA: Denisova 2, Denisova 3, Denisova 4, and Denisova 8. Denisova 2 and Denisova 3 are young females,and Denisova 4 and Denisova 8 are adult males.