ANCIENT "hobbits" recently discovered in Indonesia were not an early form of modern human but an entirely different species, scientists have found.

The ancient hobbits, who would have stood at 3.5 foot tall, were found at Liang Bua on the island of Flores in 2003.

Experts initially believed the Homo Floresiensis – or Flores man – were just a shrunken variety of early humans.

But a study by The Australian National University (ANU) found the race were most likely a different species altogether.