Smallest known great ape that existed 11 million years ago found in Germany
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London: Researchers have discovered in Germany the smallest known great ape, dating to 11 million years ago, which must have weighed just 10 kg, The Guardian reported.
Having just about the size of a human toddler, the species is known to be an ancient hominid.
Known as Buronius manfredschmidi, it belongs to the ancient family from which rose modern humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, according to the report.
Prof Madelaine Böhme, a palaeontologist at the University of Tübingen who led the research reportedly said: “This new genus is far smaller than any living or any fossil hominid,” adding, “That makes it quite unusual.”
Interestingly the newly discovered species is believed to have lived alongside another ‘much larger hominid called Danuvius guggenmosi’.
The fossil remains of Danuvius guggenmosi’ was found to be at the same fossil site in Bavaria of the latest find with the species dating to the same period.
The tiny ape has left behind the partial remains of two teeth and one kneecap and the size and shape of the knee cap suggest the animals were adept at climbing.
Researchers believe that thin enamel and light wear on its teeth meant it ate soft fruits and leaves, and its smaller size would have been helpful for it to live high up in trees.
The taller and sturdier Danuvius is believed to have been an omnivore, and the adaptations in its knee for load-bearing suggests primitive form of bipedalism , some experts argue.
The two species co-existed because of the differences in their lifestyle without having to compete for resources.
As for the smaller size of Buronius, Prof Madelaine Böhme said there is no clarity; however, Böhme said the size must have allowed the animals to ‘occupy a different ecological niche from its larger neighbour’.
She also said that the ape is likely to represent ‘a more ancestral version of great apes’.
“It’s hard to say why there are no small hominids living today,” she was quoted as saying, adding: “In evolutionary lineages you normally start small and get bigger, and you don’t normally go back.”
