Discovering the world's smallest gibbon fossils lived 12.5 million years ago

Weighing only about 3.5kg, the new gibbon fossils discovered in Tugen Hills, Kenya were identified by scientists dating back 12.5 million years ago.

Published in Human Evolution, scientists say that in the other small apes that have been discovered, this is the smallest species. This newly discovered species, named Simiolus minutus by the scientists, has three small teeth and jaws.

The jaw of the newly discovered Simiolus minutus in Kenya.

Professor James Rossie, an anthropologist from Stony Brook University in New York (USA) and Andrew Hill, an anthropology professor at Yale University, died in 2015, who discovered the clues. of this new monkey species.

Scientists also said the tiny gibbons had to compete fiercely for food when they existed. Through surgery and the study of their teeth, the scientists discovered that this species mainly eats leaves and fruits.

The teeth of the species of Simiolus minutus are found by anthropologists.

The Tugen Hills area in Kenya from the late 1960s has become a site noted by palaeontologists. And most recently discovered the new gibbon has attracted the attention of the scientific research community in the world.

Currently, all three teeth and fossils of the discovered Simiolus minutus have been brought to display at the Kenya National Museum.