Palaeontology

Tiny extinct primate was world's smallest ape

By T.K. Randall
November 8, 2018 ·  2 comments

The species was smaller than any of today's living primates. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Julielangford Dating back 12.5 million years, the new species, which has been named Simiolus minutus, is known only from the discovery of three tiny teeth in the hills of East Africa.

While it is not the only small primate known to have existed, Simiolus is believed to have been the smallest ape with a weight not exceeding 7.7lbs.While relatively little is known about the species, palaeontologists believe that it would have competed for food (fruit and leaves) with colobine monkeys - a group of primates that still exist today.

Given that Simiolus went extinct however, it is safe to assume that it lost out to its larger rival.

A fossilized molar of a tiny ape found in Kenya's Tugen Hills belonged to what may be the smallest species of ape yet discovered https://t.co/oyskFEHGXz

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) November 6, 2018

Source: Live Science | Comments (2)

Tags: Ape, Primate