https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1046837

Ancient apes in Germany co-existed by
partitioning resources in their
environment, according to a
study published June 7, 2024 in the
open-access journal PLOS ONE ...
...
This new ape is represented by partial
remains of two teeth and one patella
whose size and shape are distinct from
Danuvius and all other known apes. The
authors name this new species Buronius
manfredschmidi. Based on the structure
of the teeth and patella, the authors
infer that Buronius was an adept climber
which ate a diet of soft foods such as
leaves. From the size of the fossils, the
authors estimate a full body size of
around 10kg, making Buronius the smallest
known great ape.

These features suggest that Buronius had
a distinct lifestyle from Danuvius, which
is a larger bodied species with a diet
of tougher foods. These differences
likely allowed these two species to share
a habitat without competing for resources,
similar to modern gibbons and orangutans
which share habitats in Borneo and
Sumatra. This is the first known example
of a European Miocene fossil site with
multiple ancient ape species, though the
authors suggest that re-examination of
other similar sites might uncover more
examples of this cohabiting behavior.

The authors add: “The new great ape from
Hammerschmiede, Buronius manfredschmidi,
is with about 10 kg body weight not only
the smallest known crown ape, he attested
the first case of hominid syntopy for
Europe. The leaf-eating Buronius shared
the habitat with the omnivorous bipedal
ape Danuvius guggenmosi.”
...



https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0301002
June 7, 2024
Buronius manfredschmidi—A new small hominid
from the early late Miocene of Hammerschmiede
(Bavaria, Germany)

Abstract
The known diversity of European middle and
late Miocene hominids has increased
significantly during the last decades. Most
of these great apes were frugivores in the
broadest sense, ranging from soft fruit
frugivores most like chimpanzees to
hard/tough object feeders like orangutans,
varying in size from larger than siamangs
(over 17 kg) to larger than most
chimpanzees (~60–70 kg). In contrast to
the frequent sympatry of hominoids in the
early-to-middle Miocene of Africa, in no
European Miocene locality more than one
hominid taxon has been identified. Here
we describe the first case of hominid
sympatry in Europe from the 11.62 Ma old
Hammerschmiede HAM 5 level, best known
from its excellent record of Danuvius
guggenmosi. The new fossils are consistent
in size with larger pliopithecoids but
differ morphologically from any
pliopithecoid and from Danuvius. They are
also distinguished from early and middle
Miocene apes, share affinities with late
Miocene apes, and represent a small
hitherto unknown late Miocene ape
Buronius manfredschmidi. With an estimated
body mass of about 10 kg it represents the
smallest known hominid taxon. The relative
enamel thickness of Buronius is thin and
contrasts with Danuvius, whose enamel is
twice as thick. The differences between
Buronius and Danuvius in tooth and
patellar morphology, enamel thickness and
body mass are indicative of differing
adaptations in each, permitting resource
partitioning, in which Buronius was a more
folivorous climber.

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