A newly discovered primate fossil could provide scientists with clues about humans and apes' common ancestor.
Published in the journal Science, the new study details a species of small-bodied apes dubbed Pliobates catalonia. At 8.8 to 11 pounds, the primate is believed to be a gibbon, which also known as a lesser ape, Live Science reported.
"This way Pliobates provides a lot of insight on how this last common ancestor of all extant hominoids might have looked like," study lead author David Alba, of the Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Paleontology, told The Washington Post. "In particular, Pliobates indicates that gibbons must not necessarily be a dwarfed lineage, and suggests instead that the last common ancestor of both lesser and great apes was, at least in several respects - such as skull shape and body size - more gibbon-like than previously thought. This thus has implications for the origin of gibbons, which is quite important if we take into account that there is no known fossil record of gibbons for at least their first ten million years of evolutionary history."
The other type of ape is the great ape, the ones with larger bodies that are humans' closest relative and the two are both categorized as hominids. The Pliobates catalonia fossil dates back 11.6 million years, suggesting the hominid's ancestor was less like a great ape than previously thought.
"The excavation of thousands of tons of Miocene sediments by heavy machinery would have inevitably led to the destruction of thousands of fossils if paleontologists had not been controlling the activity of the diggers," Alba told Live Science. "The Can Mata landfill is one of the most interesting areas worldwide with regard to the study of hominoid evolution in the Miocene. We are sure that other extraordinary fossils await to be discovered there."
