No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
New Rhinocerotidae from the Kisingiri localities (lower Miocene of Western Kenya)
Abstract
We describe new material of Rhinocerotidae recently collected in western Kenya. A skull from Karungu is one of the best-preserved Miocene skulls in Africa. It differs substantially from that of Rusingaceros leakeyi, the only other relatively well-known rhino from this region and age, in its degree of brachycephaly, possession of a deep nasal notch, and long nasal bones that probably carried a horn of moderate size. Miocene African rhinos are still too poorly known to resolve their phylogenetic relationships, but we tentatively assign this skull to a new species of Victoriaceros, a genus whose type species comes from the younger site of Maboko, although the Karungu skull has a much smaller nasal horn. A parsimony analysis resolves them as sister species within the Elasmotheriini, close to the other African genera Turkanatherium and Chilotheridium, but we consider this result debatable, as Victoriaceros differs considerably from them. Still, they might all be descended from European forms. A partial skull from Gumba is assigned to the Aceratheriini, making it one of the earliest representatives of this group and suggesting that the origin of this tribe could be African.
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2B1E8135-CCD4-43EB-826B-6DF7176DC74E
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP
Citation for this article: Geraads, D., T. Lehmann, D. J. Peppe, and K. P. McNulty. 2016. New Rhinocerotidae from the Kisingiri localities (lower Miocene of western Kenya). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1103247.
... Even if this number is probably exaggerated (as many genera are based upon very incomplete remains), they were clearly among the most diverse families of large mammals. Following recent discoveries and numerous phylogenetic analyses, the view that this Old World Neogene record can be split in two distinct clades, Rhinocerotinae and Elasmotheriinae, is generally favored (Antoine 1997(Antoine , 2002(Antoine , 2003Antoine and Welcomme 2000;Antoine et al. 2002Antoine et al. , 2003Deng 2005Deng , 2007Deng , 2008Geraads et al. 2012bGeraads et al. , 2016. Early and middle Miocene forms may not always be easy to assign to either subfamily but, by the late Miocene, the Elasmotheriinae have acquired enough derived features to be easily diagnosed to subfamily. ...
... nov. in their very short face, probable presence of upper incisors, and simpler molars. Geraads et al. (2016) regarded the genus as close to, if not a member of the Elasmotheriinae. ...
... Turkanatherium acutirostratum Deraniyagala, 1951, from the lower middle Miocene of Moruorot in Kenya, is known by a single skull (Geraads et al. 2016;Sanisidro et al. 2019). The orbit is located much more anteriorly than in Eoazara xerrii gen. ...
We describe here the first definite representative of the subfamily Elasmotheriinae in North Africa. It comes from the upper Miocene site of Skoura near Ouarzazate, on the southern slope of the Central High Atlas in Morocco. It consists of a virtually complete skull with articulated mandible and a few fragmentary postcranial remains, making it by far the best known elasmotheriine from the African late Miocene. We assign it to a new taxon, Eoazara xerrii gen. et sp. nov. The skull is characterized by long nasal bones indicating a strong horn and long, anteriorly expanded, edentulous premaxillae. Compared to other Rhinocerotidae, the face is moderately elongated; the lower incisors are of medium size; and the premolar row is short. The upper molars have a strongly pinched protocone, a long antecrochet, and an unexpanded central valley. Eoazara xerrii gen. et sp. nov. is at a lower evolutionary grade than the Chinese species of Ningxiatherium and Parelasmotherium, but probably comparable to the very incomplete remains from the East African late Miocene forms. We regard Eoazara as a member of a chiefly Eurasian clade, rather than as a survivor of a hypothetical African elasmotheriine branch. Parsimony analysis confirms the monophyly of the Elasmotheriinae, but that of the remaining Rhinocerotidae is questionable.
... Although strict stratigraphic correlations of R74 and R75 are still in progress, our revised interpretation here confirms our previous assessment (cf. Geraads et al., 2016) that these fossiliferous strata are not correlative with the lowest sections of the L.A. Michel et al. Kiahera Formation (previously Wayando Formation), but are likely situated higher up in that unit. ...
... However, Geraads (2010) re-identified it as Turkanatherium based on the differences between Turkanatherium acutirostratum and Aceratherium incisivum, and attributed it to the subtribe Aceratheriina. The position of T. acutirostratum was recently reported within Elasmotheriinae by Geraads et al. (2016), who, however, suggested that their results should be interpreted cautiously. Furthermore, four features of this genus differed from Aceratheriinae; the nasal notch was shallow at the level of P2, and the infraorbital foramen was behind the nasal notch; the upper premolars had a metacone rib on the ectoloph and had lost the lingual cingulum. ...
This study presents the first phylogenetic analysis focused on the subfamily Aceratheriinae to date, with 392 characters (361 parsimony-informative characters) coded from 50 taxa at the species level. We added 80 newly defined and 33 revised characteristics to an existing matrix, covering features of the skull, teeth, and postcranial bones. Based on the results of ordered and unordered analyses, combined with a diagnosis in accordance with traditional morphological taxonomy, we revised the diagnosis of Aceratheriinae and reconstructed the phylogeny of Aceratheriinae. The tribe Teleoceratini, as well as the tribe Aceratheriini, was reclassified within Aceratheriinae; however, the traditionally established contents of each tribe were changed somewhat. Aceratheriinae underwent evolutionary adaptation several times during the early stages of its evolution, and several genera are herein reconstructed as early-diverging taxa, such as Floridaceras, Chilotheridium, and Plesiaceratherium. Turkanatherium and Protaceratherium are excluded from Aceratheriinae in this study. We suggest another two subclades of Aceratheriinae, containing Hoploaceratherium and Aprotodon, respectively. Aceratheriini and Teleoceratini are redefined as two highly specialized groups of Aceratheriinae.
... The cheek teeth of I. morgani are covered and filled with cement (NHMW 2014/0425/001, pers. obs.; Deng, 2005;Pandolfi, 2016), a common feature in elasmotheriines (Geraads et al., 2016;Geraads and Zouhri, 2021). However, I. morgani differs from 'derived elasmotheriines' like as P. schansiense in having small or absent cristae, no or extremely weak enamel plications, and the hypocone of the M1 and M2 not posteriorly bent as seen in I. morgani from Maragheh (NHMW 2014/0425/001, pers. ...
Elasmotheres, such as the huge Siberian unicorn (Elasmotherium sibiricum), are amongst the most iconic large mammals ever to roam Eurasia. Several different elasmotheriine taxa are also known from the upper Miocene of Asia, including the large genus Parelasmotherium. Herein we present the re-examination of the holotype of its type species Parelasmotherium schansiense, using high resolution X-ray computed tomography. The µCT analysis reveals thus far unknown morphological features of the M1 and the unerupted P4 and M2, thereby adding to our knowledge about this species. This allows comparisons with other species that have been referred to Parelasmotherium, 'Parelasmotherium' simplum and 'Parelasmotherium' linxiaense, which, according to the results of the phylogenetic analysis, should not be included in the same genus as P. schansiense. Furthermore, based on comparisons to other Miocene elasmotheriines the diagnosis of Parelasmotherium schansiense was amended and its phylogenetic position was assessed. Parelasmotherium schansiense is placed in a monophyletic group of 'derived elasmotheriines,' which also includes the genera Elasmotherium, Sinotherium, and Ninxiatherium.
... The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted February 6, 2022. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.04.478979 doi: bioRxiv preprint position of T. acutirostratum was recently reported within Elasmotheriinae by Geraads et al. (2016), who, however, suggested that their results should be interpreted cautiously. Furthermore, two features of this genus differ from Aceratheriinae; the nasal notch is shallow at the level of P2, and the infraorbital foramen is behind the nasal notch. ...
This study presents the first phylogenetic analysis focused on the Subfamily Aceratheriinae to date, with 391 characters coded from 43 taxa at the species level. We added 77 newly defined and 33 revised characteristics, including features of the skull, teeth, and postcranial bones. In the present analysis, the tribe Teleoceratini, as well as the tribe Aceratheriini, was reclassified within Aceratheriinae, however, the traditionally established monophyly of each tribe was decomposed. Combined with detailed morphological comparisons, we reconstructed the phylogeny of Aceratheriinae and revised the diagnosis of Aceratheriinae. The reported skull and teeth specimens of Turkanatherium from the late Early Miocene indicate that it is not an acerathere and has been placed as a basal rhinocerotid. The Aceratheriinae has undergone evolutionary adaptation several times during the early stage of evolution, and several genera from the Oligocene to the Early Miocene have been reconstructed as early diverging taxa, such as Molassitherium, Protaceratherium, Plesiaceratherium and Chilotheridium; Aprotodon and Mesaceratherium from the Late Oligocene to the Early Miocene were united as the earliest divergent clade of Aceratheriinae; meanwhile, due to the limited materials, the phylogenies of Floridaceras and Dromoceratherium are unstable in this analysis, and both have been tentatively considered as the early diverging clades of Aceratheriinae. Alicornops was reclassified a member of Teleoceratini. Aceratheriini and Teleoceratini have been redefined as two highly specialized groups. Furthermore, Aceratheriini has been divided into two/three clades based on the difference in the skull outlines and the occlusal patterns of the cheek teeth.
... MN3, Thailand; Prieto et al., 2018). In Africa, the record of Rhinocerotidae extends to ca. 20 Ma, comprising endemic taxa, such as the large rhinocerotinans Rusingaceros leakeyi (Hooijer, 1966) and "Diceros" australis Guérin, 2000, the elasmotheriines Chilotheridium pattersoni Hooijer, 1971, Turkanatherium acutirostratum Deraniyagala, 1951, and Ougandatherium napakense Pickford, 2003 (Geraads, 2010;Geraads et al., 2016), and the teleoceratines Brachypotherium snowi Fourtau, 1920and B. minor Geraads and Miller, 2013(Geraads and Miller, 2013Grossman et al., 2014). Despite this rich record, less is known of Rhinocerotina (taxa most-closely related to the extant rhinoceroses), including their species distribution and their origin compared to other groups of the family Rhinocerotidae. ...
A revision of the rhinocerotid material from the Negev (Israel), dating back to the early Miocene (MN3 in the European Mammal Biochronology), highlights the presence of Brachypotherium and a taxon close to Gaindatherium in the Levantine corridor. A juvenile mandible, investigated using CT scanning, displays morphologically distinct characters consistent with Brachypotherium cf. B . snowi rather than with other Eurasian representatives of this genus. Some postcranial remains from the Negev, such as a humerus, display features that distinguish it among Miocene taxa. We attribute these postcrania to cf. Gaindatherium sp., a taxon never recorded outside the Siwaliks until now. This taxon dispersed into the Levantine region during the late early Miocene, following a pattern similar to other South Asian taxa. Brachypotherium cf. B . snowi probably occurred in the Levantine region and then in North Africa during the early Miocene because its remains are known from slightly younger localities such as Moghara (Egypt) and Jebel Zelten (Libya). The occurrence cf. Gaindatherium sp. represents a previously unrecorded range expansion out of Southeast Asia. These new records demonstrate the paleogeographic importance of the Levantine region showcasing the complex role of the Levantine corridor in intercontinental dispersals between Asia and Europe as well as Eurasia and Africa.
... These features are diagnosing middle and early late Miocene elasmotheriine rhinocerotids from Eurasia and Africa, i.e., the ones retaining non-ever-growing teeth [66][67][68]. The juvenile skull FSL 16752 cannot be assigned to any known elasmotheriine species, notably as documented in Africa (i.e., Kenyatherium bishopi [69]; Ougandatherium napakense [70]; Victoriaceros kenyensis [71]; Samburuceros ishidai [68]; and references therein). It is most likely documenting a new species, the formal description of which is far beyond the scope of the current work. ...
The mining district of Nefza-Sejnane (Tunisia) encloses numerous ores and raw material
deposits, all formed in relation with successive Fe-rich fluids of meteoric and/or hydrothermal origins. Here, for the first time in Tunisia, (U-Th)/He ages were obtained on supergene goethite from various localities/deposits of the district highlight direct dating of significant weathering episodes during late Tortonian and late Pleistocene. These weathering events are most likely associated with favorable conditions that combine (i) wet climate displaying sufficient meteoric water/fluid; and (ii) regional exhumation, due to large-scale vertical lithospheric movements enhancing the percolation of fluids. Matched with previous works, these results refine the stratigraphic frame for the polymetallic mineralization and clay deposits in the district, confirming the influence of meteoric fluids circulation during the late Cenozoic. As a consequence of the new (U-Th)/He data, we moreover propose a taxonomic and stratigraphic revision of the well-known mammalian fauna from the Fe-rich Douahria locality, suggesting an early Tortonian age for the fossils, i.e., prior to the first episode of meteoric event in the area.
... Le Bas and Rubie (1977) suggested an extended~10 Ma period of magmatism from ca. 20 to 10 Ma, however Drake et al. (1988) suggested a restricted period of activity of a few hundred thousand years at 17.8 Ma. More recent work suggests that the earliest activity may be at ca. 20 Ma and last until 17 Ma (Geraads et al., 2016) but the detailed geochronologic data has yet to be published. The interested reader is referred to the very detailed description of magmatic activity of Kisingiri described in Le Bas and Rubie (1977). ...
Magmatic activity in the Tanzania Craton-influenced regions of the East African Rift System (EARS) exhibits clear evidence of derivation from a variety of metasomatic sources. These metasomatic sources, which may span a range of ages, have likely been preserved within the lithospheric mantle. The influence of these metasomes on the composition of the rift magmas represents the single greatest heterogeneity in the composition of erupted lavas within the EARS. The earliest widespread magmatic event in the craton-influenced regions of the EARS south of Lake Turkana is the Samburu Phase (ca. 20–17 Ma), which manifests as alkaline volcanics derived from the lithospheric mantle. This phase represents the initial destabilization of the continental lithosphere as a precursor of rift development. The Flood Phonolite Phase (ca. 16–12 Ma) was most pronounced in regions south of those impacted by the prior Samburu Phase, and likely represent the continued southward expansion of lithospheric destabilization. The Mid-Miocene Resurgence Phase (ca. 12–9 Ma) is poorly represented in the Southern Kenya Rift, though magmatic activity is recorded in the Western Branch of the EARS at Kivu during this time. In contrast, the Early Rift Development Phase (ca. 9–4 Ma) is particularly well-represented in the Kenya Rift. Large-scale magmatic events include: commencement of activity in the Northern Tanzania Divergence (NTD) and Mt. Kenya, Rungwe Volcanic Province, and the Southern Kenya Rift. The Stratoid Phase (ca. 4 Ma – 0.5 Ma) commences with significant magmatic events at ca. 3 to 2.5 Ma within the Southern Kenya Rift and NTD. This phase manifests as basalts and trachytes that flood the newly formed graben in the Southern Kenya Rift. This phase also correlates with the main phase of magmatism in the NTD, the commencement of volcanism at Virunga, and the intermediate shield phase in the Rungwe Volcanic Province. The Axial Phase (0.5 Ma to present) is defined by narrow axial grabens in the Kenya Rift with central volcanoes and interposing basaltic cinder cones. In the less mature regions of the EARS, alkaline volcanoes dominate. Three distinct pulses of magmatism and extension initiated in Turkana commencing at ca. 23 Ma, 12 Ma, and 4 Ma; the consistent temporal lag in magmatic activity in the Southern EARS following each pulse reveals the southward expansion of these extensional events. Lavas at any given location within the rift exhibit a consistent temporal sequence characterized by a shift from Type II lavas (lithospheric mantle derived) to Type IV lavas (hybrid lithospheric mantle – sub-lithosphere derived) to Type III lavas (sub-lithosphere derived), requiring a progressive change in the reservoirs contributing to rift magmatism from lithospheric to sub-lithospheric. When examined in aggregate, these data paint a picture of progressive rift development and attendant lithospheric thinning, mediated by pulses of extension originating in Turkana.
Early Miocene outcrops near Karungu, Western Kenya, preserve a range of fluvio-lacustrine, lowland landscapes that contain abundant fossils of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates. Primates are notably rare among these remains, although nearby early Miocene strata on Rusinga Island contain a rich assemblage of fossilized catarrhines and strepsirrhines. To explore possible environmental controls on the occurrence of early Miocene primates, we performed a deep-time Critical Zone (DTCZ) reconstruction focused on floodplain paleosols at the Ngira locality in Karungu. We specifically focused on a single stratigraphic unit (NG15), which preserves moderately developed paleosols that contain a microvertebrate fossil assemblage. Although similarities between deposits at Karungu and Rusinga Island are commonly assumed, physical sedimentary processes, vegetative cover, soil hydrology, and some aspects of climate state are notably different between the two areas. Estimates of paleoclimate parameters using paleosol B horizon elemental chemistry and morphologic properties are consistent with seasonal, dry subhumid conditions, occasional waterlogging, and herbaceous vegetation. The reconstructed small mammal community indicates periodic waterlogging and open-canopy conditions. Based on the presence of herbaceous root traces, abundant microcharcoal, and pedogenic carbonates with high stable carbon isotope ratios, we interpret NG15 to have formed under a warm, seasonally dry, open riparian woodland to wooded grassland, in which at least a subset of the vegetation was likely C 4 biomass. Our results, coupled with previous paleoenvironmental interpretations for deposits on Rusinga Island, demonstrate that there was considerable environmental heterogeneity ranging from open to closed habitats in the early Miocene. We hypothesize that the relative paucity of primates at Karungu was driven by their environmental preference for locally abundant closed canopy vegetation, which was likely absent at Karungu, at least during the NG15 interval if not also earlier and later intervals that have not yet been studied in as much detail.
An upper incisor and upper and lower cheek teeth of Rhinocerotidae from the Upper Miocene of Nakali
in central Kenya are described. Those specimens are identified as Diceros sp. The present study confirms
the presence of Diceros in sub-Saharan East Africa during Vallesian as noted by several studies. The present
result and the fossil records of Diceros in Africa and Eurasia suggest that Diceros might have migrated to
Eurasia from Africa by Vallesian, although more fossil records and detailed phylogenetic analysis of Diceros
are needed to discuss this hypothesis.
Several rhinocerotid cheek teeth and mandibular fragments from the upper Miocene of the Samburu Hills and Nakali in northern Kenya are described. These specimens show characteristics that place them in the Tribe Elasmotheriini such as a constricted protocone, a developed antecrochet, and coronal cement. The present specimens are compared with other Elasmotheriini species from Eurasia and sub-Saharan East Africa. They are found to be morphologically different from the previously known species of Elasmotheriini. Morphologically, they are most similar to Victoriaceros kenyensis from the middle Miocene of Kenya, but differ from V. kenyensis in having the upper molars with the simple crochet, lingual groove of the protocone and enamel ring in the medisinus. Therefore, the present specimens are assigned to a new genus and species of Elasmotheriini: Samburuceros ishidai. A cladistic analysis tentatively places Samburuceros ishidai nov. gen., nov. sp. as a sister taxon of V. kenyensis. However, questions remain regarding a further detailed discussion of the phylogenetic relationship between the African Elasmotheriini and other Eurasian taxa because of the incompleteness of the specimens from Africa, as already noticed by several researchers.
A lower tooth row from the Miocene locality of Sartaaf (Bugti Hills, Baluchistan, Pakistan) bears close affinities with the rhinocerotid "Chilotherium intermedium" complanatum Heissig, 1972. The doubtful generic assignment to Chilotherium Ringström, 1924, which affinities are controversal, leads the authors to perform a phylogenetical analysis. The latter is based upon 282 morphological characters controlled in 32 ceratomorph perissodactyl species, among which the five living rhinos, and one/several representative(s) of each suprageneric taxon among Rhinocerotidae. Six equally parcimonious trees are obtained (CI = 0.2639; RI = 0.4745). The topology of the strict consensus tree is [[Elasmotheriini [Menoceratina, Elasmotheriina]], [Rhinocerotinae [Rhinocerotini [Rhinocerotina, Teleoceratina, Aceratheriina]]]]. The Rhinocerotina include Pleuroceros pleuroceros (Duvernoy, 1853) while Eurasian Aceratheriina include Aceratherium Kaup, 1832, Chilotherium, Acerorhinus Kretzoi, 1942, Alicornops Ginsburg & Guérin, 1979, and Hoploaceratherium Ginsburg & Heissig, 1989. Alicornops complanatum n. comb. is proposed as a new binomen for "Chilotherium intermedium" complanatum, sister group of the type species Alicornops simorrense (Lartet, 1837) in the consensus tree. This is the first occurrence of Alicornops in South Asia. "Chilotherium intermedium" intermedium (Lydekker, 1884) is included within the Teleoceratina. The species "Alicornops" alfambrense Cerdeño & Alcalá, 1989, from the late Miocene of western Europe, is doubtfully referred to Acerorhinus, which geographical range was so far restricted to eastern Europe and Asia. A late Miocene age (MN10-13; ≈ 9.4-6 Ma) is estimated for the Sartaaf locality, owing to biochronological correlations with the Dhok Pathan Formation of the Middle Siwaliks of Pakistan. © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.
Among the Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae have traditionally been allied with tapirs because they lack a mesostyle, even though other primitive perissodactyls may also lack it. The most parsimonious recent cladistic analyses, using no less than 282 characters, unite under the Rhinocerotini (which includes the bulk of the Rhinocerotinae) as an unresolved trichotomy, the Teleoceratina (Old and New World brachypotheres), the Aceratheriina (Old World aceratheres and related forms), and the Rhinocerotina (non-elasmothere Old World horned rhinos); the Elasmotheriini are the sister group of the Rhinocerotinae. There are five living species, all of them seriously threatened or even close to extinction: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, found in Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula; Rhinoceros sondaicus, R. unicornis, also from southeastern Asia; Ceratotheriumsimum; and Diceros bicornis. Some morphological cladistic analysis and mitochondrial gene sequencing suggests that, among living forms, African rhinos are the sister group of Dicerorhinus + Rhinoceros. This chapter describes the systematic paleontology of Rhinocerotidae.
Rifts feature highly in the geological history of the Earth, as well as on the surfaces of other solar system bodies such as Mars. On Earth, continental rifts can develop into new plate boundaries where oceanic lithosphere starts to form. This paper examines a seismically and volcanically active rift system, the East African Rift, in which all stages of this complex evolution can be identified and modelled. Using evidence from geological, geophysical and geochemical studies, I outline the deformation of a continental plate from rift initiation to continental break-up, citing examples from the length of the East African Rift.
A new species of Rhinocerotidae, Brachypotherium minor n. sp., from the Early Miocene of Buluk, northern Kenya, is described. The new species shares with other members of the genus large sexually dimorphic incisors, flattened buccal walls on its molars, and a low astragalus, but differs from other species of Brachypotherium Roger, 1904 in its small size, placement of the orbit, having widely separated temporal lines, and more simple molar crown morphology. A comparison of the new species with other brachypotheres suggests that the new species may be present at a small number of other sites, and that the brachypothere group may contain more than one African lineage, adding to our understanding of the diversity of African rhinoceroses.Brachypotherium minor n. sp., et autres Rhinocerotidae du Míocène inférieur de Buluk, nord du Kenya.Nous décrivons une nouvelle espèce de Rhinocerotidae, Brachypotherium minor n. sp., du Miocène inférieur de Buluk, nord du Kenya. Cette nouvelle espèce partage avec les autres formes du genre de grandes incisives àdimorphisme sexuel marqué, des murailles buccales des molaires aplaties, et un astragale bas, mais diffère des autres espèces de Brachypotherium Roger, 1904 par sa petite taille, la position de l'orbite, ses lignes temporales largement séparées, et une morphologie dentaire plus simple. La comparaison de cette nouvelle espèce avec d'autres brachypothères suggère qu'elle pourrait être présente dans quelques autres sites, et que ce groupe pourrait comprendre plus d'une lignée africaine, accroissant encore la diversité connue des rhinocéros africains.
This volume is a comprehensive review of the African mammalian fossil record over the past 65 million years. The book includes current taxonomic and systematic revisions of all African mammal taxa, detailed compilations of fossil site occurrences, and a wealth of information regarding paleobiology, phylogeny, and biogeography. Primates, including hominins, are particularly well covered. The discussion addresses the systematics of endemic African mammals, factors relating to species richness, and a summary of isotopic information. The work also provides contextual information about Cenozoic African tectonics, chronostratigraphy of sites, paleobotany, and global and regional climate change. Updating our understanding of this important material with the wealth of research from the past three decades, this volume is an essential resource for anyone interested in the evolutionary history of Africa and the diversification of its mammals.
This chapter focuses on the mammalian Neogene biostratigraphy of the Sulaiman Province in Pakistan. The Sulaiman Range, a north–south-trending band of rugged mountains rising 1000–3400 meters above sea level, bears Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks that are primarily marine and accumulated in the Tethys Sea in what is now the Indus Basin. The east side of the Sulaiman Range is of particular interest since a relatively thick, well-exposed mid-Cenozoic sequence registers the transition from marine shelf to terrestrial deposition episodes related to the uplift and erosion of the orogenic Himalayan highlands and the related closure of the Tethys Sea. This chapter describes the stratigraphic and historical context of the Sulaiman Province and the land mammals from the Upper Member of the Chitarwata Formation (earliest Miocene), Vihowa Formation (late early to middle Miocene), and Litra Formation (late Miocene). It also examines Neogene faunal succession in the Sulaiman Province and biostratigraphical correlation between the Bugti and Zinda Pir areas.
Richard Owen (1804–92) was a controversial and influential palaeontologist and anatomist. During his medical studies in Edinburgh and London, he grew interested in anatomical research and, after qualifying as a surgeon, became assistant conservator in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and then superintendent of natural history in the British Museum. He became an authority on comparative anatomy and palaeontology, coining the term 'dinosaur' and founding the Natural History Museum. He was also a critic of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and engaged in a long and bitter argument with Thomas Huxley, known as 'Darwin's bulldog' for his belligerent support of the theory. Published in 1846, this is Owen's comparative anatomical analysis of the fossils of British birds and mammals. It compares living species with extinct ones, and explains the characteristics that help identification, using 237 woodcut illustrations to show the traits of different species.
A detailed character study of the early Oligocene skull of Penetrigonias dakotensis (Peterson, 1920) kept in the Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology and Geology at Munich, Germany, and comparisons of this specimen with geologically older species of the genus has resulted in the recognition of features characterizing this lineage of small-sized rhinoceroses of North America. Morphological trends recognizable in the upper cheek teeth of P. dakotensis are present also in the early Elasmotheriini, suggesting that the genus Penetrigonias may represent a stem group representative of this tribe. At the same time, the more advanced characters of the latest early Oligocene species P. dakotensis suggest that the genus Menoceras with its Eurasian and American species may represent the successor of this species. A cladistic analysis of the characters of early Rhinocerotidae from America results in a scheme explaining how and when this family may have split into its different tribes. Copyright © 2012 Bayerische Staassammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, München.
A 50 m thick stratigraphic section at Ngira, near Karungu on the shore of Lake Victoria in western Kenya, documents the early Miocene paleoenvironments of the area. The basal Ngira paleosol is a 7.6 m thick, oxisolic Vertisol that formed during a prolonged period of pedogenesis; it began as a smectite-dominated Vertisol that was later overprinted through polypedogenesis to become a kaolinitic paleosol highly depleted of all base cations, with abundant Fe concentrations and depletions, and complexly variegated color mottle patterns that reflect extensive ferruginization. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions using bulk geochemistry indicate warm and wet conditions during development of the Ngira paleosol that probably supported a tropical seasonal forest on a stable upland surface for 10s to 100s of thousands of years. Following this long-lived stable landscape, rapid subsidence, perhaps associated with slip on a high-angle fault associated with the onset or progression of the Nyanza Rift and/or the development and eruptive history of the nearby Kisingiri volcano, buried the paleosol and formed a nascent lake basin that experienced multiple transgressions and regressions. During one interval of regression, fluvial sandstones and conglomerates were deposited along with fluvio-lacustrine sandstones and claystones that include weakly developed paleosols. These weakly-developed paleosols indicate a relatively dry paleoenvironment with seasonal precipitation, and probably a shrubland/bushland or riparian forest habitat. Important terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate fossils are primarily preserved within fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine deposits, indicating that the terrestrial Karungu fauna lived in a relatively dry and open habitat. This study demonstrates polypedogenesis and inferences regarding onset of abrupt tectonic activity in the early Miocene in equatorial eastern Africa, and emphasizes the contrasts between landscape stability of the Ngira paleosol and the poorly developed soils in the fluvio-lacustrine facies.
A fossilized nest found in a 17 Ma paleosol on Rusinga Island is similar in many respects to those constructed by bees. The nest consists of subellipsoidal cells arranged in paired, parallel rows, which are themselves arranged in clusters. Typical cells average approximately 6 mm by 3.5 mm, and have curved dorsal surfaces and nearly flat ventral surfaces. The nest is here referred to a new ichnospecies: Celliforma habari. The cell shape and nest architecture are most like those of modern bees of the subfamily Halictinae (Apoidea: Halictidae), and probably were constructed by bees with a societal structure that was at least communal and quite possibly more highly social. The nest suggests a subhumid to humid climate and angiosperm-dominated vegetation for Rusinga Island during Early Miocene time.
Online: http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1315099390&folder=131