Buronius Manfredschmidi: Smallest known species dating back 11 mn years discovered
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NEW DELHI: The smallest known great ape species, dating back 11 million years, has been unearthed in Germany, according to Guardian.
This newly identified species, named Buronius manfredschmidi, is far smaller than any previously known great ape, with an estimated weight of just 10 kg (1 stone 8 lbs), roughly comparable to a human toddler, the research cited by Guardian said.
This ancient hominid is part of the lineage that eventually led to today’s humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees.
“This new genus is far smaller than any living or any fossil hominid,” said Prof Madelaine Böhme, a palaeontologist at the University of Tübingen, who led the research. “That makes it quite unusual.”
A surprising element of the research reveals that the newly identified species, Buronius, likely coexisted with a larger hominid named Danuvius guggenmosi. Fossil evidence from the same Bavarian site indicates that both species inhabited the area during the same period.
Buronius is characterized by partial remains of two teeth and one kneecap, suggesting it was skilled at climbing due to its size and shape. Its diet, inferred from its teeth’s thin enamel and light wear, likely consisted of soft fruits and leaves, enabling it to thrive high in the forest canopy.
In contrast, Danuvius was larger and more robust, possibly an omnivore, with knee joint adaptations hinting at primitive bipedalism.
Their differing lifestyles likely minimized resource competition, akin to modern gibbons and orangutans in certain Southeast Asian habitats. This discovery sheds light on the late Miocene epoch’s hominid diversity, which included at least 16 great ape species in Europe.
Böhme, the researcher, noted uncertainties about Buronius’s smaller size, speculating it could occupy a distinct ecological niche from its larger neighbor or represent an ancestral great ape form.
“It’s hard to say why there are no small hominids living today,” she said. “In evolutionary lineages you normally start small and get bigger, and [once you’re bigger] you don’t normally go back.”
This newly identified species, named Buronius manfredschmidi, is far smaller than any previously known great ape, with an estimated weight of just 10 kg (1 stone 8 lbs), roughly comparable to a human toddler, the research cited by Guardian said.
This ancient hominid is part of the lineage that eventually led to today’s humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees.
“This new genus is far smaller than any living or any fossil hominid,” said Prof Madelaine Böhme, a palaeontologist at the University of Tübingen, who led the research. “That makes it quite unusual.”
A surprising element of the research reveals that the newly identified species, Buronius, likely coexisted with a larger hominid named Danuvius guggenmosi. Fossil evidence from the same Bavarian site indicates that both species inhabited the area during the same period.
Buronius is characterized by partial remains of two teeth and one kneecap, suggesting it was skilled at climbing due to its size and shape. Its diet, inferred from its teeth’s thin enamel and light wear, likely consisted of soft fruits and leaves, enabling it to thrive high in the forest canopy.
In contrast, Danuvius was larger and more robust, possibly an omnivore, with knee joint adaptations hinting at primitive bipedalism.
Their differing lifestyles likely minimized resource competition, akin to modern gibbons and orangutans in certain Southeast Asian habitats. This discovery sheds light on the late Miocene epoch’s hominid diversity, which included at least 16 great ape species in Europe.
Böhme, the researcher, noted uncertainties about Buronius’s smaller size, speculating it could occupy a distinct ecological niche from its larger neighbor or represent an ancestral great ape form.
“It’s hard to say why there are no small hominids living today,” she said. “In evolutionary lineages you normally start small and get bigger, and [once you’re bigger] you don’t normally go back.”
NEW DELHI: The smallest known great ape species, dating back 11 million years, has been unearthed in Germany, according to Guardian.This newly identified species, named Buronius manfredschmidi, is far smaller than any previously known great ape, with an estimated weight of just 10 kg (1 stone 8 lbs), roughly comparable to a human toddler, the…
NEW DELHI: The smallest known great ape species, dating back 11 million years, has been unearthed in Germany, according to Guardian.This newly identified species, named Buronius manfredschmidi, is far smaller than any previously known great ape, with an estimated weight of just 10 kg (1 stone 8 lbs), roughly comparable to a human toddler, the…