Near-Human
A term used for various, often slightly mismatched, purposes. Technically, Near-Humans include all species within the Homo genus, including baseline humans . More commonly, however, it is used to refer to all species except humans, grouping together all human descendants formed due to the influence of the Progenitors. This, however, raises issues with the fact that you can't split the Homo genus within just those two categories, as Terran humans didn't evolve in a void: they had other, naturally formed relatives, even if they have all gone extinct. Where do you draw the line between baseline (modern) humans and aliens evolved on other planets, while still accounting for ancient human species like Neanderthals?
Because of this, official documentation generally refers to modern Terran humans as "humans", to all Terran humans both extinct and extant as "all Terran humans" or "all Terran species within the Homo genus", and all Near-Humans outside of Terran evolution as "all non-Terran species within the Homo genus" or "non-Terran Near-Humans".
Basic Information
Anatomy
Regardless of whether you include modern humans among Near-Humans or not, all Near-Humans have evolved from ancient ancestral humans. Although they have diverged enough to develop into separate species, they all retain enough similarities to baseline humans to fall within the same genus, and thus share many physical and anatomical traits.
Near-Humans are bipeds, walking upright on straight legs with plantigrade feet. They count five digits on both hands and feet, with opposable thumbs on the hands. Their faces are flat and recognizably human-like, even if proportions may differ. They have hair on their heads, and typically some amount of body hair (although exact amount and location may vary between species or even individuals). Near-Humans by origin lack tails, but some species may have re-evolved them.
Genetics and Reproduction
As members of the same genus, Near-Humans are typically considered to be capable of hybridization, although reality proves more complex. Since they all diverge from humans genetically similar to modern humans, most if not all Near-Humans can successfully produce hybrid offspring with humans. But hybridizing with other non-Terran species is a more complicated matter, as they evolved separately from each other, and may have clashing genetic changes. Still, many Near-Humans can produce hybrid offspring with each other, if less commonly than with a human (or a member of their own species).
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