Uzy Smilansky

Abstract Denisovans are an extinct group of humans whose morphology is mostly unknown. The scarcity of verified Denisovan fossils makes it challenging to study how they differed in their anatomy, and how well they were adapted to their environment. To gain insight into their evolutionary history, we used a genetic phenotyping approach, where predicted Denisovan anatomy was inferred by detecting gene regulatory changes that likely altered Denisovan skeletal morphology.