Naming Homo erectus: A review - ScienceDirect
Fossils from Trinil attributed by Dubois to Pithecanthropus erectus. The listed Trinil numbers follow Jacob (1975), as well as an alternative given in de Lumley ...
Naming Homo erectus: A review - ScienceDirect[Skip to main content](#screen-reader-main-content) [Skip to article](#screen-reader-main-title)

[![Elsevier logo](https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/24/images/elsevier-non-solus-new-grey.svg)ScienceDirect](/)

- [Journals & Books](/browse/journals-and-books)

- Help

- [Search](/search "Search")


[My account](/user/login?targetURL=%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0047248424000241&from=globalheader)

[Sign in](/user/institution/login?targetURL=%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0047248424000241)

- View **PDF**
- Download full issue

Search ScienceDirect

[![Elsevier](https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/prod/ad2b697081e458c8c9c8a5084642a9cf7e440782/image/elsevier-non-solus.png)](/journal/journal-of-human-evolution "Go to Journal of Human Evolution on ScienceDirect")

## [Journal of Human Evolution](/journal/journal-of-human-evolution "Go to Journal of Human Evolution on ScienceDirect")

[Volume 190](/journal/journal-of-human-evolution/vol/190/suppl/C "Go to table of contents for this volume/issue"), May 2024, 103516

[![Journal of Human Evolution](https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0047248424X00044-cov150h.gif)](/journal/journal-of-human-evolution/vol/190/suppl/C)

# Naming _Homo erectus_: A review

Author links open overlay panelEduardPopab, SofwanNoerwidic, FredSpoorde

Show more

Add to Mendeley

Share

Cite

[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103516](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103516 "Persistent link using digital object identifier") [Get rights and content](https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=ELS&contentID=S0047248424000241&orderBeanReset=true)

Under a Creative Commons [license](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

open access

## Abstract

Following the discovery of hominin fossils at Trinil (Java, Indonesia) in 1891 and 1892, Eugène Dubois named a new species, now known as _Homo erectus_. Although the main historical events are well-known, there appears to be no consensus regarding two important aspects of the naming of the species, including what constitutes the original publication of the name, and what is the name-bearing type specimen. These issues are addressed in this paper with reference to original sources and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Our review confirms earlier studies that cite the published quarterly fieldwork report covering the 3rd quarter of 1892 as the original publication naming the species _erectus_. However, until recently, the correct publication year of 1893 has consistently been cited as 1892, and it has rarely been recognized that the author of the publication was anonymous, even though the author of the species is specifically named. Importantly, Dubois assigns all three hominin fossils found at Trinil up to that moment to the new species, explicitly stating that they belong to a single individual. The three fossils, a molar, a calotte, and a femur, therefore jointly constitute the original holotype. However, the femur most likely derives from younger strata than the other hominins and shows fully modern human-like morphology, unlike subsequently discovered _H. erectus_ femora. Moreover, there is no consensus over the affinities of the molar, and if it is _H. erectus_ rather than an extinct ape, there is no evidence that it belongs to the same individual as the calotte. Excluding these two fossils from the holotype, the calotte is the appropriate fossil to retain the role as name-bearing specimen.

- Previousarticle in issue
- Nextarticle in issue

## Keywords

Taxonomy

Hominins

Trinil

Type specimen

Java

Indonesia

Recommended articles

## Cited by (0)

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

## Recommended articles

No articles found.

## Article Metrics

[View article metrics](https://plu.mx/plum/a/?doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103516)

[![Elsevier logo with wordmark](https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/47/images/elsevier-non-solus-new-with-wordmark.svg)](https://www.elsevier.com/)

- [About ScienceDirect](https://www.elsevier.com/solutions/sciencedirect)
- [Remote access](/user/institution/login?targetURL=%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0047248424000241)
- [Shopping cart](https://sd-cart.elsevier.com/?)
- [Advertise](https://www.elsmediakits.com)
- [Contact and support](https://service.elsevier.com/app/contact/supporthub/sciencedirect/)
- [Terms and conditions](https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions)
- [Privacy policy](https://www.elsevier.com/legal/privacy-policy)

Cookies are used by this site. **Cookie Settings**

All content on this site: Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. For all open access content, the Creative Commons licensing terms apply.

[![RELX group home page](https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/60/images/logo-relx-tm.svg)](https://www.relx.com/)