The bonobo is the world’s smallest living great ape. Now scientists in Germany think they may have discovered the smallest great ape to ever live.
The remains of the new ape species, which were dug up at Hammerschmiede clay pit in Bavaria, include the partial remnants of two teeth and one patella.
The follow-up study, led by German palaeontologist Madelaine Böhme and published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that the size and shape of these remains are distinct from all other apes, including Danuvius guggenmosi, a larger extinct species of great ape that lived in the same area 11.6 million years ago.
The authors have named the new species Buronius manfredschmidi.
What did Buronius look like?
From the size of the fossils, the authors estimate that Buronius weighed around 10kg – roughly the same as a French bulldog – making the new species the "smallest known hominid taxon" (great ape).
Based on the structure of the teeth and patella, Böhme says that the new species was an adept climber and had a diet comprising soft foods “that may have also included a significant fibrous component”, such as leaves.
These features suggest that Buronius had a distinct lifestyle from Danuvius, which had a diet of tougher foods.
It's likely that these differences in food choices allowed the two species to share a habitat without competing for resources, in the same way modern gibbons and orangutans share habitats in Borneo and Sumatra," Böhme explains.
This is the first known example of a European Miocene fossil site with multiple ancient ape species.
The authors suggest that re-examination of other similar sites might uncover more examples of this cohabiting behaviour.
The study was published on 7 June 2024 in the journal PLOS ONE by Madelaine Böhme of Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany and David R. Begun, of University of Toronto, Canada and colleagues.
Main image: the bonobo is the smallest living great ape. Credit: Getty
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