Hapan species: Human or near human?

Question

Wookieepedia says that Hapans are "near-human" and only differed from baseline humans in appearance and ocular faculties. Also given is the information that the pirates who established the consortium 4000 years ago mated only with their most attractive human female captives, thus limiting their gene pool and having attractive-looking future generations.

Since they are actually humans why are they called "near-humans", just like Chiss? Why is "Hapan" a separate species, while they are in fact human? Is there something I'm missing?

Answer 1

According to Cracken's Threat Dossier, Hapans are considered near-humans, descended from pirates. These pirates most likely came from the Core Worlds, invading the Hapan Cluster for easier prey. The environment of Hapes led to their gradual mutation from other Humans.