Buronius manfredschmidi

Buronius manfredschmidi is an extinct hominid, the only species of the genus Buronius, from the late Miocene Hammerschmiede clay pit near Pforzen in the Allgau region of Bavaria, Germany. It is known from two partial teeth and a left kneecap: the holotype is a second molar crown found in 2011, a fragment of a fourth premolar was found in 2017, and the patella was found near the holotype in 2011. It was described in 2024 by Bohme and colleagues as a new genus and species of early hominid. The genus name recalls Buron, a name used in medieval times for the city of Kaufbeuren, and the species name honours the fossil collector Manfred Schmid. Weighing an estimated 10 kilograms, it may be the smallest hominid known. It shares its locality with the better known ape Danuvius, and because the remains are so fragmentary some researchers doubt that the two genera can be told apart with confidence.