A small island fox from California's Channel Islands may provide insight into how a small human species developed.
In 2003, a nearly complete skeleton of the human ancestor, nicknamed "Hobbit" because of its size, was found on an Indonesian island. It's a bipedal primate under 4 feet tall, with a brain the size of a chimpanzee's and a human face, Young said.
Since the initial skeleton find, bones and teeth of other individuals have been located.
Theories about the species include that it is a modern human with a disease, a human ancestor with long arms that left Africa 2.5 million years ago.