Homo naledi
[ hoh-moh nah-led-ee ]
/ ˈhoʊ moʊ nɑˈlɛd i /
noun
an extinct species of hominin classified within the genus Homo but on a branch other than that of modern humans: the first fossil specimens, originally assessed at about two million years of age, were discovered northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2013, but a more recent dating of 235,000–335,000 years places them in a time when more modern, larger-brained hominins were already living.
a fossil belonging to this species.
Origin of Homo naledi
First recorded in 2010–15; from New Latin;
Homo + Sotho
naledi “star,” from the name
Dinaledi (Chamber), “(chamber) of stars” in the Rising Star cave system where the fossils were found