A multi-disciplinary and multi-national team of archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists in Siberia have announced the sensational discovery of a new hominid species that interbred with our own species, Homo sapiens, leaving genetic traces that can be seen in living people today spanning the Ukraine and Russia and down through Mongolia, Korea, and China. The most shocking aspect of the finding is that this species had a visible tail, an archaic remnant of its evolution from primates millions of years ago.

The discovery was announced by British paleoanthropologist John Bennett on 1st April, who stated “This could be the most significant discovery in human origins research in 100 years!”

Scientists found fragments of bone deep in a cave in Siberia in April of last year, including parts of the pelvic bone, tailbone, a femur, and a lower jaw fragment. They first believed the fossils belonged to early Modern Humans dating back approximately 50,000 years, as Homo sapiens are known to have inhabited the same area around that time. However, DNA analysis revealed that the bones belonged to a distinct species, which has now been named Homo apriliensis after the month in which it was first found.

Read more: ancient origins