“Denisovans (or Denisova clade)is a sibling group of Neanderthal proposed from ancient genomic proof,”Dr. Yousuke Kaifu, a scientist at the University of Tokyo and the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, and associates composed in their paper.

“So far, an unspoiled cranium, 2 mandibles, oral remains, a phalanx, and other fragmentary fossils from Denisova Cave (southern Siberia), Xiahe (Tibet), Harbin (Northeast China), and Penghu (Taiwan) have actually been biomolecularly recognized as coming from this clade.”

“Based on the previous morphological research studies of these fossils, diagnostic morphological functions of the Denisovans now consist of a big brain size, a robust mandibular body, big teeth, a three-rooted lower 2nd molar, and a reduced/deficient 3rd molar, non-Neanderthal-like phalange, to name a few.”

“However, Denisovan’s body architecture such as body size and percentage, skeletal robusticity, along with their basic postcranial morphology stay unidentified, other than for theoretical reasoning based upon their DNA, due to the scarceness of their postcranial remains.”

In the brand-new research study, the authors took a look at 2 Denisovan leg bones– a thigh and a tibia called Penghu 2 and Penghu 3– recuperated from the Penghu Channel, a stretch of immersed continental rack in the Taiwan Strait.

They examined ancient proteins protected in the specimens and discovered a hereditary version in a collagen protein that specifies to Denisovans.

Radiocarbon dating of associated fossils from the exact same channel recommends the bones are in between 45,000 and 43,000 years of ages, not long before Denisovans are believed to have actually vanished.

What amazed the scientists most was the large size of the bones.

Based upon their measurements, the researchers approximated that the thigh’s owner stood about 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches) high and weighed approximately 83 kg (183 pounds), while the tibia’s owner might have reached about 190 cm (6 feet 3 inches) and 91 kg (200 pounds).

These sizes equal the biggest recognized people from Pleistocene Africa and Europe and dwarf earlier Homo erectus populations and Stone Age contemporary human beings from the very same area.

The finding runs counter to an enduring expectation in paleoanthropology, called Bergmann’s guideline, which anticipates that populations living further from the equator tend to be larger-bodied, while those closer to the tropics– like Taiwan, at approximately 23 degrees north latitude– tend to be smaller sized.

According to the group, Denisovans’ uncommonly big stature might rather be connected to their meat-based diet plan and searching method.

“Given the current proof that Denisovan population in Tibetan Plateau made use of a large range of animal types consisting of Caprinae (sheep and goats), megaherbivores and predators, and isotopic proof that the Penghu 3 specific greatly depended on meat, one possible hypothesis is that the big body size was vital for their searching technique counting on a tool set various from those of the regional Humankindwho attained explosive geographical growth beyond the circulation of the Denisovans, and created advanced tools such as seagoing crafts and fishhooks,” the authors composed in the paper.

The Penghu 2 thigh likewise showed an unforeseen characteristic: a noticable ridge of bone on its back surface area, called a pilaster, that is normally connected with modern-day people and believed to show an extremely mobile way of life.

The function might show either behavioral merging with early contemporary people or interbreeding in between the 2 groups, a possibility constant with earlier hereditary proof of gene circulation in between Denisovans and anatomically contemporary Humankind in Asia.

“Although hereditary basis of femoral pilaster stays unidentified and this hypothesis needs to be checked eventually by genomic information from Denisovan fossils, it does not oppose with the genomic proof of Denisovan introgression into modern-day people in southern Asia, and sequential overlap in between Penghu 3 and the earliest contemporary people in this area,” the scientists composed.

The group’s paper was published August 8, 2026 on the preprint server bioRxiv.org

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Yousuke Kaifu et al2026. Denisovan leg bones from Taiwan expose big body size. bioRxivdoi: 10.64898/ 2026.08.07.743438