# Keep "Denisovans" as an informal population label without a species name.

> Still possible: Keep "Denisovans" as an informal population label without a species name.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/denisovan-identity/answers/ANS0CZKZGJ86Q05/keep-denisovans-as-an-informal-population-label-without-a  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Who were the Denisovans? The Harbin "Dragon Man" cranium](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/denisovan-identity)[What should the lineage be called?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/denisovan-identity/questions/QST0CZKZB6C1Y2W/what-should-the-lineage-be-called)Answer

Answer · Who were the Denisovans? The Harbin "Dragon Man" cranium

# Keep "Denisovans" as an informal population label without a species name.

Keep "Denisovans" as an informal population label without a species name.

**Still possible** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** Its tests haven't settled it: one piece of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Researchers avoid a formal species boundary given interbreeding with Neanderthals and modern humans.

## What would rule it out

- Consensus adoption of a formal binomial.

## Evidence 1 for · none against

[Denisovans interbred with Neanderthals and with modern humans.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/denisovan-identity/evidence/EVD0CZKZGT270Z2/denisovans-interbred-with-neanderthals-and-with-modern)

Established

FOR

## The questions it answers

[What should the lineage be called?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/denisovan-identity/questions/QST0CZKZB6C1Y2W/what-should-the-lineage-be-called)

Part of [Which fossils are Denisovans, and so what did Denisovans look like?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/denisovan-identity/questions/QST0CZKZAPR2WHJ/which-fossils-are-denisovans-and-so-what-did-denisovans-look)

Most likelyHomo longi, the first formal name given to a member of the lineage

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Keep "Denisovans" as an informal population label without a species name. [Answer ANS0CZKZGJ86Q05]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0CZKZGJ86Q05
```

Key

**ANS** 0CZKZGJ86Q05

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

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