Scientists uncover a new primate type in Allgäu area.
A while back, investigators in the Allgäu area uncovered two teeth and a pelvic bone. At the time, it was asserted that these fossils pertained to a tiny ape. However, modern-day experts have found out that they are the leftovers of two human-like apes that roamed the Earth approximately 12 million years ago.
The only places you can find these human-like apes nowadays are in tropical areas. But, just 12 million years ago, different kinds of human-like ape species dwelled in Europe. Scientists were already conscious of 15 of these species, but now a 16th species has been pinpointed. This breakthrough was achieved by a research team headed by Madelaine Böhme of the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment. The remains of this human-like ape were found in the Allgäu limestone quarry "Hammerschmiede," which is intriguing as the previously-discovered human-like ape Danuvius guggenmosi, given the nickname "Udo," was also discovered there.
These new primates are significantly smaller than Danuvius, which is about one meter tall. The primate is estimated to weigh about 22 pounds. The primate most probably was an excellent tree climber who fed primarily on leaves and spent most of its time in the canopy. The species that existed 11.62 million years ago is named Buronius manfredschmidi.
"It's the tiniest hominid we know of. We've no knowledge of any smaller hominid. It's quite unusual that we found the remains of two different human-ape groups - in this case, Danuvius and Buronius - in the same layer of sediment," said Böhme of the fossils.
The researchers suppose the lifestyles of the two species were distinct - and that, despite sharing the same living space, they hardly competed with each other. The recently-discovered Buronius has a feeble enamel on its teeth, similar to that of contemporary gorillas, and likely fed predominantly on leaves and fruits. Danuvius, though, had a thicker enamel, similar to that of humans today, and might have been an omnivore. "The assumption is: Buronius inhabited the treetops, whilst the bipedal Danuvius left its trees more regularly and foraged in a larger area," Böhme noted.
Böhme describes the Allgäu environment during the Miocene as having a blend of beeches, birches, alders, pines, and more trees, forming a diversified forest. Although the average temperature was more than 20 degrees Celsius, the deciduous trees shed their leaves during winter. "There were short winter days even back then," Böhme says. Buronius would have had to sustain itself with slender food resources during this time, possibly with some aged leaves, tree bark, and ant eggs. However, Böhme cannot draw any conclusions about the appearance of the newly discovered primate as the findings were not substantial for that. "That would be just guesswork."
