DOCSLIB.ORG

Mammalia, Carnivora) from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (Early Pleistocene

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mammalia, Carnivora) from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (Early Pleistocene TO L O N O G E I L C A A P I ' T A A T L E I I A Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 55 (1), 2016, 1-9. Modena C N O A S S. P. I. New material of hyaenids (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (Early Pleistocene) Marco CHERIN, Dawid A. IURINO, Jackson K. NJAU & Fidelis T. MASAO M. Cherin, Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università di Perugia, Via A. Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; PaleoFactory, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected] D.A. Iurino, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; PaleoFactory, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 5, I-00185 Roma, Italy; [email protected] J.K. Njau, Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, IN 47405-1405 Bloomington, USA; The Stone Age Institute, Indiana, USA; [email protected] F.T. Masao, Department of History & Archaeology, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35050, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; [email protected] KEY WORDS - Hyaenidae, Hyaena, Crocuta, Early Pleistocene, Olduvai, Tanzania. ABSTRACT - The Hyaenidae are today a small carnivoran family including only four monospecific genera, although their paleodiversity was very high from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, with a paleobiogeographic distribution spanning Eurasia, Africa and North America. The living species Crocuta crocuta, Parahyaena brunnea and Proteles cristatus are limited to the African Continent, while the distribution of Hyaena hyaena includes northern, central and eastern Africa and southwestern Asia. The paleontological record suggests that forms very similar to the extant ones lived in Africa at least from the late Pliocene. Here we report new hyaenid craniodental material from the renowned site of Olduvai Gorge, in northern Tanzania. The fossils were found in three different Olduvai localities (FC West, MCK East and Loc. 64 in Naisiusiu area), within layers spanning stratigraphically from Bed I to Upper Bed II (Early Pleistocene). We refer the remains to Hyaena sp., Crocuta cf. ultra and Crocuta sp., supporting the occurrence of at least two hyenas (the smaller and slenderer Hyaena and the large and robust Crocuta) in the Olduvai Bed I-II carnivore guild. RIASSUNTO - [Nuovo materiale di ienidi (Mammalia, Carnivora) dalla Gola di Olduvai, Tanzania (Pleistocene Inferiore)] - Gli Hyaenidae sono oggi una piccola famiglia di carnivori comprendente solo quattro generi monospecifici, ma la loro paleodiversità è stata molto alta tra il Miocene e il Pleistocene, con una distribuzione paleobiogeografica che spaziava in Eurasia, Africa e Nord America. Le specie viventi Crocuta crocuta, Parahyaena brunnea e Proteles cristatus sono ristrette al continente africano, mentre l’areale di Hyaena hyaena comprende l’Africa settentrionale, centrale e orientale e l’Asia sudoccidentale. Il record paleontologico suggerisce che forme molto simili a quelle attuali fossero già presenti in Africa almeno dal Pliocene superiore. In questo lavoro, descriviamo nuovo materiale craniodentale di ienidi dal noto sito della Gola di Olduvai, in Tanzania settentrionale. I fossili sono stati rinvenuti in tre differenti località della Gola (FC West, MCK East e Loc. 64 nell’area di Naisiusiu), all’interno di livelli che abbracciano stratigraficamente un intervallo compreso tra il Bed I e l’Upper Bed II (Pleistocene Inferiore). I resti vengono riferiti a Hyaena sp., Crocuta cf. ultra e Crocuta sp., supportando così la presenza di almeno due iene (la più piccola e snella Hyaena e la grossa e robusta Crocuta) nell’associazione a carnivori dei Bed I-II di Olduvai. INTRODUCTION preliminary restoration and cataloguing of paleontological and archeological remains from various sites of the Gorge, Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania (Fig. 1) is in order to save them by human-induced and natural recognized as one of the most important paleontological destructive agents. and archeological sites in the world. The huge amount of Here we describe new hyaenid skull remains collected fossils and stone tools found in the Olduvai stratigraphic during the 2014 and 2015 field seasons from Early succession (Fig. 1) allows to reconstruct almost Pleistocene layers of three different sites of Olduvai uninterruptedly the evolution of East African ecosystems Gorge. in the last two million years, as well as some crucial phases of early human evolution. Much of the fame of Olduvai Institutional abbreviations Gorge is due to the research activity of Mary and Louis LCCO: Leakey Camp Collection Olduvai, Tanzania; Leakey, who have worked at the site for more than thirty NMDS: National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es years. Among their most important findings are Olduvai Salaam, Tanzania; UPOP: University of Perugia Olduvai Hominid (OH) 5 and OH 7, representing respectively the Project. holotypes of Paranthropus boisei (Leakey, 1959) and Homo habilis Leakey, Tobias and Napier, 1964, which were the first ancient hominin fossils discovered in East THE HYAENIDAE: FOSSIL RECORD Africa (Blumenschine et al., 2012). AND EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY Many international scientific projects are currently carried out in Olduvai Gorge, including that of the The family Hyaenidae includes only four living University of Perugia School of Paleoanthropology. This species, each assigned to its own genus: the spotted was started in 2011 as the first Italian field project at hyena Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben, 1777), the striped Olduvai and is aimed at the surface collection (Fig. 2), hyena Hyaena hyaena (Linnaeus, 1758), the brown ISSN 0375-7633 doi:10.4435/BSPI.2016.01 2 Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 55 (1), 2016 Fig. 1 - The site of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. a) Stratigraphy (redrawn from Hay, 1976); b) outline map (redrawn from Hay, 1976), with location of the three localities in which the fossils described in the paper were found in 2014-2015; c) location of Olduvai Gorge within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, northern Tanzania. Online version in color. hyena Parahyaena brunnea (Thunberg, 1820), and fact carcasses are the primary energy source for the striped the aardwolf Proteles cristatus (Sparrman, 1783). The hyena and especially the brown hyena, their feeding taxonomic status of the genus Parahyaena is discussed, habits are very opportunistic and also include many other as sometimes it is regarded as a subgenus of Hyaena food sources such as insects, fruit and small-medium (Kingdon & Hoffmann, 2013). This is mostly attributed prey (Kingdon & Hoffmann, 2013). On the other hand, to the limited knowledge on the phylogeny of hyaenids. the spotted hyena is an efficient pack hunter, capable to According to the traditional view, the genus Proteles kill large prey such as wildebeests, buffalos and zebras would be basal to the clade including Crocuta and the (Kingdon & Hoffmann, 2013). Finally, the aardwolf feeds sister taxa Hyaena and Parahyaena, thus supporting almost exclusively on termites (Holekamp & Kolowski, the inclusion of the two taxa in the same genus. On the 2009). contrary, some studies (Werdelin & Solounias, 1991) The morphology and adaptations of the four living recognize a greater affinity between the brown hyena and taxa are the remnants of the great diversity that has the spotted hyena, confirming the taxonomic validity of the characterized the Hyaenidae in the geological past. genus Parahyaena. Later molecular studies on Hyaenidae Whereas their current distribution is limited to Africa (Jenks & Werdelin, 1998; Koepfli et al., 2006) support the and - only for H. hyaena - Asia, from the Miocene to the traditional view, recognizing the basal status of Proteles Pleistocene members of this family were common in the and the sister-taxon relationship between the brown whole Eurasia and Africa, and in North America with the hyena and the striped hyena, which form a clade closely only genus Chasmaporthetes Hay, 1921 (Gilbert et al., related to Crocuta. Despite the sister-taxa relationship of 2008; Holekamp & Kolowski, 2009). The hyaenids appear Parahyaena and Hyaena, the depth of time since their split in the fossil record in the early Miocene of Europe, while (and the number of fossil taxa assigned to each genus) has the earliest occurrence in Africa dates back to the middle led some (e.g., Werdelin & Solounias, 1991) to advocate Miocene of Morocco (Werdelin & Solounias, 1991; for retaining the two genera as separate (i.e., they are Werdelin & Turner, 1996; Kingdon & Hoffmann, 2013). sister-taxa today, but only because the entire family has Werdelin & Solounias (1991) divide the Hyaenidae into so few living members). two main morphological groups: the “hyaenid” taxa (i.e., Contrary to what is commonly thought, no living taxa with morphology and ecology similar to the extant hyaenid species is an exclusive scavenger. Although in Hyaena, Parahyaena and Crocuta) and “non-hyaenid” M. Cherin et alii - Hyaenids from Olduvai Gorge 3 (approx. 10.6 Ma), but the oldest fossil species, Proteles amplidentus Werdelin & Solounias, 1991, is from the middle early Pleistocene of South Africa (Werdelin & Solounias, 1991), while some doubtful material is reported in the middle Pliocene of Laetoli, Tanzania (Werdelin & Dehghani, 2011). The hyaenid taxa more derived than Hyaenictitherium are grouped (Werdelin & Solounias, 1991) into two monophyletic clades, both characterized by a general trend of body size increasing. The first clade is formed by active hunters with adaptations to cursoriality, such as Lycyaena
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Title: Drimolen Crania Indicate Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Early Homo Erectus in S
    Submitted Manuscript: Confidential Title: Drimolen crania indicate contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and early Homo erectus in S. Africa Authors: Andy I.R. Herries1,2*†, Jesse M. Martin1†, A.B. Leece1†, Justin W. Adams3,2†, Giovanni Boschian4,2†, Renaud Joannes-Boyau5,2, Tara R. Edwards1, Tom Mallett1, Jason Massey3,6, Ashleigh Murszewski1, Simon Neuebauer7, Robyn Pickering8.9, David Strait10,2, Brian J. Armstrong2, Stephanie Baker2, Matthew V. Caruana2, Tim Denham11, John Hellstrom12, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi13, Simon Mokobane2, Paul Penzo-Kajewski1, Douglass S. Rovinsky3, Gary T. Schwartz14, Rhiannon C. Stammers1, Coen Wilson1, Jon Woodhead12, Colin Menter13 Affiliations: 1. Palaeoscience Labs, Dept. Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, VIC, Australia. 2. Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. 3. Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, VIC, Australia. 4. Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Italy 5. Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Military Rd, Lismore, 2480, NSW, Australia 6. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota Medical School, USA 7. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany. 8. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa 9. Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa 10. Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA 11. Geoarchaeology Research Group, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia 12. Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia 13. Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy 14. Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, U.S.A.
    [Show full text]
  • First Bone-Cracking Dog Coprolites Provide New Insight
    RESEARCH ARTICLE First bone-cracking dog coprolites provide new insight into bone consumption in Borophagus and their unique ecological niche Xiaoming Wang1,2,3*, Stuart C White4, Mairin Balisi1,3, Jacob Biewer5,6, Julia Sankey6, Dennis Garber1, Z Jack Tseng1,2,7 1Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, United States; 2Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States; 3Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States; 4School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, United States; 5Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, United States; 6Department of Geology, California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, United States; 7Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, United States Abstract Borophagine canids have long been hypothesized to be North American ecological ‘avatars’ of living hyenas in Africa and Asia, but direct fossil evidence of hyena-like bone consumption is hitherto unknown. We report rare coprolites (fossilized feces) of Borophagus parvus from the late Miocene of California and, for the first time, describe unambiguous evidence that these predatory canids ingested large amounts of bone. Surface morphology, micro-CT analyses, and contextual information reveal (1) droppings in concentrations signifying scent-marking behavior, similar to latrines used by living social carnivorans; (2) routine consumption of skeletons; *For correspondence: (3) undissolved bones inside coprolites indicating gastrointestinal similarity to modern striped and [email protected] brown hyenas; (4) B. parvus body weight of ~24 kg, reaching sizes of obligatory large-prey hunters; ~ Competing interests: The and (5) prey size ranging 35–100 kg.
    [Show full text]
  • Male Strategies and Plio-Pleistocene Archaeology
    J. F. O’Connell Male strategies and Plio-Pleistocene Department of Anthropology, archaeology1 270 South 1400 East, University of Utah, Salt Lake Archaeological data are frequently cited in support of the idea that big City, Utah 84112, U.S.A. game hunting drove the evolution of early Homo, mainly through its E-mail: role in offspring provisioning. This argument has been disputed on [email protected] two grounds: (1) ethnographic observations on modern foragers show that although hunting may contribute a large fraction of the overall K. Hawkes diet, it is an unreliable day-to-day food source, pursued more Department of Anthropology, for status than subsistence; (2) archaeological evidence from the 270 South 1400 East, Plio-Pleistocene, coincident with the emergence of Homo can be read University of Utah, Salt Lake to reflect low-yield scavenging, not hunting. Our review of the City, Utah 84112, U.S.A. archaeology yields results consistent with these critiques: (1) early E-mail: humans acquired large-bodied ungulates primarily by aggressive [email protected] scavenging, not hunting; (2) meat was consumed at or near the point of acquisition, not at home bases, as the hunting hypothesis requires; K. D. Lupo (3) carcasses were taken at highly variable rates and in varying Department of Anthropology, degrees of completeness, making meat from big game an even less Washington State University, reliable food source than it is among modern foragers. Collectively, Pullman, Washington 99164, Plio-Pleistocene site location and assemblage composition are con- U.S.A. sistent with the hypothesis that large carcasses were taken not for E-mail: [email protected] purposes of provisioning, but in the context of competitive male displays.
    [Show full text]
  • AMNH-Scientific-Publications-2014
    AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Fiscal Year 2014 Scientific Publications Division of Anthropology 2 Division of Invertebrate Zoology 11 Division of Paleontology 28 Division of Physical Sciences 39 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Department of Astrophysics Division of Vertebrate Zoology Department of Herpetology 58 Department of Ichthyology 62 Department of Mammalogy 65 Department of Ornithology 78 Center for Biodiversity and Conservation 91 Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics 99 DIVISION OF ANTHROPOLOGY Berwick, R.C., M.D. Hauser, and I. Tattersall. 2013. Neanderthal language? Just-so stories take center stage. Frontiers in Psychology 4, article 671. Blair, E.H., and Thomas, D.H. 2014. The Guale uprising of 1597: an archaeological perspective from Mission Santa Catalina de Guale (Georgia). In L.M. Panich and T.D. Schneider (editors), Indigenous Landscapes and Spanish Missions: New Perspectives from Archaeology and Ethnohistory: 25–40. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Charpentier, V., A.J. de Voogt, R. Crassard, J.-F. Berger, F. Borgi, and A. Al- Ma’shani. 2014. Games on the seashore of Salalah: the discovery of mancala games in Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 25: 115– 120. Chowns, T.M., A.H. Ivester, R.L. Kath, B.K. Meyer, D.H. Thomas, and P.R. Hanson. 2014. A New Hypothesis for the Formation of the Georgia Sea Islands through the Breaching of the Silver Bluff Barrier and Dissection of the Ancestral Altamaha-Ogeechee Drainage. Abstract, 63rd Annual Meeting, Geological Society of America, Southeastern Section, April 10–11, 2014. 2 DeSalle, R., and I. Tattersall. 2014. Mr. Murray, you lose the bet.
    [Show full text]
  • Wolf Social Intelligence
    In: Wolves: Biology, Behavior and Conservation ISBN: 978-1-62100-916-0 Editors: A. P. Maia and H. F. Crussi © 2012 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted commercially in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services. Chapter 1 WOLF SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE Jane M. Packard Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843-2258 Texas, US ABSTRACT By whatever measures scientists choose for social intelligence, behavioral resilience of wolves illustrates their adaptations to changing aspects of their environments in the wild and captivity. Intriguing questions about wolves have emerged from studies of life history traits in social carnivores, such as large body size, delayed reproduction, and variable dispersal patterns. In this social context, the rapidly accumulating evidence for behavioral flexibility of wolves is reviewed in terms of learning, communication, problem-solving, and awareness. Changing aspects of the social environment include interactions with littermates, care-givers, mates, rivals for mates, hostile neighboring groups and permeability of group barriers to immigration. Hypotheses about the adaptive significance of behavioral resilience are examined for each of the major stages in the lifetime trajectory of individual wolves: dependent pups, pre-reproductive adults, reproductive adults and post-reproductive adults.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Number 52
    The Palaeontology Newsletter Contents 52 Association Business 2 AGM 14 News 16 Association Meetings 20 From our own correspondents Conceptual fossils 24 Sutures joining Ontogeny and Fossils 29 Correspondence 33 Big Gamble for a Big Dead Fish 40 The Mystery Fossil 43 Obituary: Frank Hodson 46 Future meetings of other bodies 48 Meeting Reports 56 Book Reviews 68 Palaeontology vol 46 parts 1, 2, 3 99–101 Special Papers in Palaeontology no. 68 102 Reminder: The deadline for copy for Issue no 53 is 27th June 2003 On the Web: http://www.palass.org/ Newsletter 52 2 Newsletter 52 3 Meetings. Four meetings were held in 2002, and the Association extends its thanks to the Association Business organisers and host institutions of these meetings. a. Lyell Meeting. “Approaches to Reconstructing Phylogeny”, was convened on behalf of the Annual Report for 2002 Association by Prof. Gale (University of Greenwich) and Dr P.C.J. Donoghue (Lapworth Museum, University of Birmingham). Nature of the Association. The Palaeontological Association is a Charity registered in England, b. Forty-fifth Annual General Meeting and Address. 8th May. The address, entitled “Life and Charity Number 276369. Its Governing Instrument is the Constitution adopted on 27 February work of S.S. Buckmann (1860-1929) Geobiochronologist and the problems of assessing the work of 1957, amended on subsequent occasions as recorded in the Council Minutes. Trustees (Council past palaeontologists,” was given by Prof. Hugh Torrens and attended by 40 people. The meeting Members) are elected by vote of the Membership at the Annual General Meeting. The contact was held at the University of Birmingham and organised by Dr M.P.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ecological Context of the Early Pleistocene Hominin Dispersal to Asia
    THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF THE EARLY PLEISTOCENE HOMININ DISPERSAL TO ASIA by Robin Louise Teague A.B. in Anthropology, 2001, Harvard University A dissertation submitted to The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 31, 2009 Dissertation directed by Richard Potts Curator of Physical Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Alison S. Brooks Professor of Anthropology The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that Robin Louise Teague has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of June 16, 2009. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF THE EARLY PLEISTOCENE HOMININ DISPERSAL TO ASIA Robin Louise Teague Dissertation Research Committee: Richard Potts, Curator of Physical Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Dissertation Co-Director Alison S. Brooks, Professor of Anthropology, Co-Director Lars Werdelin, Senior Curator, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Committee Member ii © Copyright 2009 by Robin Louise Teague All rights reserved iii Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge a number of people who have helped me and guided me through the process of writing my dissertation. First, I would like to thank my committee: Rick Potts, Alison Brooks, Lars Werdelin, Margaret Lewis and Brian Richmond. My advisor, Rick Potts, led me into a stimulating area of research and supported me in pursuing a large and ambitious project. He has encouraged me all through the time I have worked on this dissertation.
    [Show full text]
  • Science Journals
    RESEARCH ◥ the DNH 134 crania deposited at ~2.04 million RESEARCH ARTICLE SUMMARY years ago. The DNH 134 cranium shares af- finities with H. erectus and predates all known PALEOANTHROPOLOGY specimens in that species. The age range of Drimolen Main Quarry overlaps with that of Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, Australopithecus sediba fromthenearbysite of Malapa and indicates that Homo, Paran- and early Homo erectus in South Africa thropus, and Australopithecus were contem- poraneous in South Africa between 2.04 million Andy I. R. Herries*†, Jesse M. Martin†, A. B. Leece†, Justin W. Adams†, Giovanni Boschian†, and1.95millionyearsago.Itisthefirsttime Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Tara R. Edwards, Tom Mallett, Jason Massey, Ashleigh Murszewski, ◥ that dating has conclu- Simon Neubauer, Robyn Pickering, David S. Strait, Brian J. Armstrong, Stephanie Baker, ON OUR WEBSITE sively demonstrated that Matthew V. Caruana, Tim Denham, John Hellstrom, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Simon Mokobane, Read the full article these three taxa shared Paul Penzo-Kajewski, Douglass S. Rovinsky, Gary T. Schwartz, Rhiannon C. Stammers, Coen Wilson, at http://dx.doi. the same landscape dur- Jon Woodhead, Colin Menter org/10.1126/ ing the same time range, science.aaw7293 making it less likely that .................................................. a population of A. sediba INTRODUCTION: Drimolen is one of several spin resonance (US-ESR) dating on teeth, and is ancestral to Homo, as has been previous- ancient caves located in the Hominid Caves of palaeomagnetism on sediments was under- ly suggested. Analysis of fauna preserved at South Africa United Nations Educational, Scien- taken to establish the age of the site and its Drimolen documents a period of ecological tific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World early human fossils.
    [Show full text]
  • Macromammalian Faunas, Biochronology and Palaeoecology
    Macromammalian faunas, biochronology and palaeoecology of the early Pleistocene Main Quarry hominin-bearing deposits of the Drimolen Palaeocave System, South Africa Justin W. Adams1,*, Douglass S. Rovinsky1,*, Andy I.R. Herries2,3 and Colin G. Menter3 1 Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 2 The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia 3 Centre for Anthropological Research, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa * These authors contributed equally to this work. ABSTRACT The Drimolen Palaeocave System Main Quarry deposits (DMQ) are some of the most prolific hominin and primate-bearing deposits in the Fossil Hominids of South Africa UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovered in the 1990s, excavations into the DMQ have yielded a demographically diverse sample of Paranthropus robustus (including DNH 7, the most complete cranium of the species recovered to date), early Homo, Papio hamadryas robinsoni and Cercopithecoides williamsi. Alongside the hominin and primate sample is a diverse macromammalian assemblage, but prior publications have only provided a provisional species list and an analysis of the carnivores recovered prior to 2008. Here we present the first description and analysis of the non-primate macromammalian faunas from the DMQ, including all 826 taxonomically identifiable specimens catalogued from over two decades of excavation. We also provide a biochronological interpretation of the DMQ deposits and an initial discussion of local palaeoecology based on taxon representation.The current DMQ assemblage consists of Submitted 6 March 2016 Accepted 25 March 2016 the remains of minimally 147 individuals from 9 Orders and 14 Families of mammals.
    [Show full text]
  • Variation and Evolution in the Premolar Teeth of Osteoborus and Borophagus Canidae
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies Nebraska Academy of Sciences 1979 Variation and Evolution in the Premolar Teeth of Osteoborus and Borophagus Canidae K. A. Richey University of Nebraska State Museum Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tnas Part of the Life Sciences Commons Richey, K. A., "Variation and Evolution in the Premolar Teeth of Osteoborus and Borophagus Canidae" (1979). Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies. 315. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tnas/315 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Nebraska Academy of Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societiesy b an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences- Volume VII, 1979 VARIATION AND EVOLUTION IN THE PREMOLAR TEETH OF OSTEOBORUS AND BOROPHAGUS (CANIDAE) K. A. RICHEY Research Associate, University of Nebraska State Museum Division of Vertebrate Paleontology Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 Seven grJpils analyze the importan t dimensions and proportions ically, such diagrams might be of great usefulness in deter­ "I the premolars in the described species of Osteobonls and Bom­ mining the stage of evolution, and, hence, the relative geo­ '11Il,ryIS, Grids or scal.cs of standard deviation multiples for a standard :'upulation (Coffee Ranch) are superimposed on the graphs, A graph of logic age, of isolated lower jaws of these animals. At the sam·.~ ;/Je rclatiu' width of P/4 plotted against Ule absolute width of M/1 time, it seemed desirable to determine how much variation ,/JOWS, among other things, that Aelurodoll l'atidlls docs not belong in in these same features might be ascribed to individual vari;.;· l!S[coborl/s.
    [Show full text]
  • The Predatory Behavior of the Marsupial Lion (Thylacoleo Carnifex) As Revealed by Elbow Joint Morphology
    Paleobiology, 42(3), 2016, pp. 508–531 DOI: 10.1017/pab.2015.55 Ecomorphological determinations in the absence of living analogues: the predatory behavior of the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex) as revealed by elbow joint morphology Borja Figueirido, Alberto Martín-Serra, and Christine M. Janis Abstract.—Thylacoleo carnifex, or the “pouched lion” (Mammalia: Marsupialia: Diprotodontia: Thylaco- leonidae), was a carnivorous marsupial that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. Although all present-day researchers agree that Thylacoleo had a hypercarnivorous diet, the way in which it killed its prey remains uncertain. Here we use geometric morphometrics to capture the shape of the elbow joint (i.e., the anterior articular surface of the distal humerus) in a wide sample of extant mammals of known behavior to determine how elbow anatomy reflects forearm use. We then employ this informa- tion to investigate the predatory behavior of Thylacoleo. A principal components analysis indicates that Thylacoleo is the only carnivorous mammal to cluster with extant taxa that have an extreme degree of forearm maneuverability, such as primates and arboreal xenarthrans (pilosans). A canonical variates analysis confirms that Thylacoleo had forearm maneuverability intermediate between wombats (terres- trial) and arboreal mammals and a much greater degree of maneuverability than any living carnivoran placental. A linear discriminant analysis computed to separate the elbow morphology of arboreal mammals from terrestrial ones shows that Thylacoleo was primarily terrestrial but with some climbing abilities. We infer from our results that Thylacoleo used its forelimbs for grasping or manipulating prey to a much higher degree than its supposed extant placental counterpart, the African lion (Panthera leo).
    [Show full text]
  • First Description of in Situ Primate and Faunal Remains from the Plio-Pleistocene Drimolen Makondo Palaeocave Infill, Gauteng, South Africa
    Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org First description of in situ primate and faunal remains from the Plio-Pleistocene Drimolen Makondo palaeocave infill, Gauteng, South Africa Douglass S. Rovinsky, Andy I.R. Herries, Colin G. Menter, and Justin W. Adams ABSTRACT The Drimolen palaeocave system has been actively excavated since the 1990s and has produced a demographically-diverse record of Paranthropus robustus, early Homo, and a substantial record of early Pleistocene bone tools; all recovered from the Main Quarry, a single fossil bearing deposit within the system. Early surveys identified an isolated solution-tube 55 meters west of the Main Quarry filled with decalcified matrix and fossils (the Drimolen Makondo). Recent excavations into the Makondo have started to address the geology, depositional history, and faunas of the deposits; partic- ularly whether the Makondo represents a distant uneroded part of the Main Quarry infill, or deposits in-filled into a separate entrance within the same system. We present the first description of fossil macromammalian faunas from the Makondo, excavated 2013–2014. A total of 531 specimens were recovered, 268 (50.5%) of which are taxo- nomically identifiable. The resulting list is diverse given the sample size and includes primate and carnivore taxa frequently recovered at other terminal Pliocene and earlier Pleistocene localities, as well as more rarely encountered species and elements like the first postcranial remains of the hunting hyaenid (Chasmaporthetes ?nitidula) from the Cradle. While some of the Makondo fauna overlaps with taxa recovered from the Main Quarry, there are key differences between the described samples that may reflect differences in the age of the deposits and/or taphonomic processes between these deposits at Drimolen.
    [Show full text]