Final answer:
The statement in question is false. Modern humans are classified as Homo sapiens sapiens, while Neanderthals are classified as Homo neanderthalensis. These species are different but closely related and had a history of interbreeding.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Neanderthals and modern humans share the same genus and species classification (Homo sapiens) is false. Modern humans are classified as Homo sapiens sapiens, while Neanderthals belonged to the separate species Homo neanderthalensis, both within the genus Homo. Neanderthals and modern humans are closely related and even interbred, as confirmed by genetic evidence, but they are not classified under the same species. Neanderthals were a distinct type of early human that evolved from Homo erectus and lived in Europe and western Asia between 30,000 and 200,000 years ago, before going extinct.
There has been a complex history of the genus Homo, which at one point, represented at least 8 different species in our human lineage, with only Homo sapiens surviving. The fossil evidence shows that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis shared a common ancestor and their genetic similarities are due to both shared ancestry and interbreeding between the species.