The controversy and bias against the newly named species lead some anthropologists to refer to H. habilis as Australopithecus habilis or assign associated fossil remains to other Homo species, a trend that continued long after Le Gros Clark's death in 1971.
The controversy surrounding the naming of H. habilis and subsequent debate over its classification led some anthropologists to reclassify associated fossils as belonging to other Homo species, a practice that persisted even after Le Gros Clark's death in 1971.