Abstract
The Eyasi Plateau Paleontological Expedition (EPPE) Laetoli specimen database contains 13716 records of plant and animal fossils (ca. 28248 specimens) collected by EPPE field teams working at Laetoli, Tanzania between 1998 and 2005. This dataset is a digital version of the original hard-copy specimen catalog, and it documents the discovery, stratigraphic provenience and taxonomic diversity of Plio-Pleistocene fauna and flora in northern Tanzania between 4.4 Ma and >200 ka. Laetoli is renowned for the discovery of important hominin fossils, including the lectotype for Australopithecus afarensis, one of our early hominin ancestors, the first record of Paranthropus aethiopicus outside Kenya-Ethiopia, and an early record of our own species Homo sapiens. This database is one of the few publicly available palaeoanthropological fossil datasets and serves as an example for expanding open access to primary fossil occurrence data in palaeoanthropology. The taxonomic identifications appearing in this dataset are the original field identifications and are provisional. Any taxonomic analysis employing this dataset should refer to updated taxonomic identifications published by specialists.
Highlights
Background & SummaryLaetoli in northern Tanzania is one of the most important palaeontological and palaeoanthropological sites in eastern Africa
To the east is the Ngorongoro Volcanic Highland Complex, comprising a series of Pliocene and Pleistocene volcanoes. These are the source of the primary air fall tuffs and reworked tuffaceous sediments in which the fossils are buried and preserved[1] (Fig. 2)
Fossils were first discovered in the area in the 1930s, but the significance of Laetoli for human evolution was not fully appreciated until the late 1970s when Mary Leakey began her field research in the area[3]
Summary
In addition to the hominins, a rich record of the fossil remains of animals and plants from Laetoli offers important insights into the faunal and floral diversity of Africa during the Pliocene, and provides a well-dated reference for comparisons with other Plio-Pleistocene faunas from Africa and Eurasia. The database represents an important addition to the resources currently available for researchers investigating human evolution and vertebrate palaeontology in Africa. Field data of this kind, which provide crucial documentation about the nature and history of fossil collections, is rarely available to other researchers, and in the past essential contextual data about historical collections have been lost.
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