A new study has discovered traces of extinct hominid species in the DNA of citizens from Melanesia.

Ryan Bohlender reported that people from the South Pacific covering Papua New Guinea and nearby islands have genetic evidence of hominids that are already non-existent in people in other parts of the world. During the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics on Oct. 20, Bohlender, who is a statistical geneticist at the University of Texas, expressed the opinion that the species probably do not fall under the category of Denisovans nor Neandertals.

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Fossils of Neanderthals and Denisovans have been discovered in Asia and Europe. The latter group was only learned through DNA collection as well as teeth and finger bone located in a cave in Siberia. Meanwhile, the newly mentioned hominid species is hypothesized as a member of the third branch of the hominin family tree.

In 2012, a similar hypothesis was presented by a group of scientists suggesting that some individuals from Africa have DNA similar to extinct hominids.

Bohlender's study also includes calculations revealing that 2.74 percent of the DNA belonging to individuals in Papua New Guinea originated from Neandertals and three to six percent came from Denisovans. Meanwhile, Europeans have no trace of Denisovan ancestry in their DNA while Chinese only bear 0.1 percent.

Bohlender's team concluded that it is probable that the third group of the species may have given rise to Melanesian ancestors.

The findings of Professor Jaume Bertranpetit from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain can be correlated with Bohlender's. Bertranpetit's discovery has not revealed the type of hominid related to the Australasian's DNA. Considering the proximity of Melanesians with Australasians, it is probable that the two were exposed to unknown members of the hominid family tree are related.