Final answer:
Eugene Dubois was the paleoanthropologist who discovered the first Homo erectus remains, named Pithecanthropus erectus, in Java.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first discovery of Homo erectus remains in Java, which were named as Pithecanthropus erectus, was made by Eugene Dubois. This significant find established a clearer timeline and understanding of hominin evolution.
Eugene Dubois ventured to what is now Indonesia specifically with the goal of finding transitional forms between apes and humans, and his persistence paid off when he discovered the first Homo erectus specimen in the 1890s.
The fossil he found, which included a skullcap and a thighbone, provided the first evidence of the species and offered insights into human evolution.
Other noted paleoanthropologists, such as Louis and Mary Leakey, worked in East Africa and were responsible for other important discoveries, including the first hominin fossil Paranthropus boisei and the Laetoli footprints that indicated bipedalism, but it was Dubois who made the landmark discovery of Homo erectus in Java.