I’ve heard it said that the Neanderthals may have disappeared by interbreeding with our homo sapiens ancestors. If so, then surely the Neanderthals are merely another ethnic group rather than another species? I mean different species can’t interbreed can they?
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Neanderthals and homo-sapiens could interbreed and the mix could reproduce, yes.
The fertility of the mix is disputed. Morphologies and brain organisation were different and genes differed enough so nowadays we can still distinguish Neanderthals genes in ours.
I am not a scientist enough to conclude.
Neanderthals can be classified as a unique species as H. neanderthalensis, though some authors argue expanding the definition of H. sapiens to include other ancient humans, with combinations such as H. sapiens neanderthalensis (splitters and lumpers).