[sliverstorm]

"More than half of the distinct genes", is what I would have written if I was thinking more carefully.

If the notion of "extinct" is as fuzzy as you propose, that implies Homo erectus is not extinct, as we descend directly from them.

[mtdewcmu]

Homo erectus lived 1.8 million years ago. Neanderthals lived 33,000 years ago. There's a difference.