Scientist says 'Hobbit' is new species

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A prominent U.S. paleoneurologist claims the skeletal remains of an 18,000-year-old "Hobbit"-sized human is that of a new species.

When the tiny skeletal remains were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, some scientists thought the specimen was that of a human with an abnormally small skull.

But Dean Falk, chairwoman of Florida State University's anthropology department, says she is now convinced the remains are that of a newly discovered species, separate but closely related to Home sapiens.

Falk and an international team of experts created detailed maps of imprints left on the ancient hominid's braincase, concluding the specimen cataloged as LB1, Homo floresiensis, is definitely not of a human born with microcephalia -- a pathological condition characterized by a small head and accompanied by some mental retardation.

The term "Hobbit" was the creation of novelist J.R.R. Tolkien. The name first appeared in a story published in 1937 and referred to a race of human-like people about half the size of modern man.

Falk's team's findings appear in the Jan. 29 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.