text: Homo heidelbergensis ( `` Heidelberg Man '' , named after the University of Heidelberg ) is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens .
simplified: Homo heidelbergensis ( `` Heidelberg Man '' ) is an extinct species of the genus Homo . It is perhaps the direct ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis in Europe .