Homo is a genus of great ape that emerged from the early hominin genus Australopithecus, encompassing a single extant species, Homo sapiens, along with a number of extinct species classified as either
Reconstruction of Australopithecus afarensis, Natural History Museum, Vienna
Homo heidelbergensis may have evolved from H. ergaster, possibly following an intense population bottleneck 800,000 to 900,000 years ago.