Homo cepranensis

Homo cepranensis is a proposed name for a species of the genus Homo, known from only one skull cap discovered in 1994. The fossil was accidentally unearthed in a highway construction project. Although damaged by a bulldozer it was recognized, documented and described by archeologist Italo Biddittu, who happened to be present when the nearly complete hominin calvaria came to light, nicknamed "Argil" by its discoverer and "Ceprano Man" after the nearby town Ceprano in the province of Frosinone, 89 kilometers Southeast of Rome, Italy.

The generally morphological robust find shows peculiar characteristics, especially in the frontal bone and has no equivalent in Europe or elsewhere, its taxonomic status has been so far controversial as it differs from the other hominid species H. ergaster, H. erectus, and H. heidelbergensis. The results of morphometric and cladistic analyses and comparisons with other fossils lead to the conclusion that this fossil is a distinct hominid species.