Papio Cranium from the Hominin-Bearing Site of Malapa: Implications for the Evolution of Modern Baboon Cranial Morphology and South African Plio-Pleistocene Biochronology.

David Frayer,Christine M Steininger,Christopher C Gilbert,Job M Kibii,Lee R Berger

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0133361

David Frayer, Christine M Steininger + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133361

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Aug 19, 2015
Citations: 30	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand

Abstract

A new partial cranium (UW 88-886) of the Plio-Pleistocene baboon Papio angusticeps from Malapa is identified, described and discussed. UW 88-886 represents the only non-hominin primate yet recovered from Malapa and is important both in the context of baboon evolution as well as South African hominin site biochronology. The new specimen may represent the first appearance of modern baboon anatomy and coincides almost perfectly with molecular divergence date estimates for the origin of the modern P. hamadryas radiation. The fact that the Malapa specimen is dated between ~2.026–2.36 million years ago (Ma) also has implications for the biochronology of other South African Plio-Pleistocene sites where P. angusticeps is found.

Highlights

The recent discovery of fossiliferous deposits at Malapa, South Africa, has had a major impact on the study of human evolution [1,2,3]
The description and analysis of the fauna are crucial to understanding aspects of paleoecology, biochronology, and mammalian evolution during the African Plio-Pleistocene
We evaluate Papio angusticeps in the broader context of modern baboon craniodental evolution and South African Plio-Pleistocene biochronology

Summary

Introduction

The recent discovery of fossiliferous deposits at Malapa, South Africa, has had a major impact on the study of human evolution [1,2,3]. The P. angusticeps partial cranium was found in a block of calcified clastic sediments within two metres of Pit 1 and was almost certainly moved to this position by early mining activities. It is most parsimonious to presume that the block containing P. angusticeps was removed from Pit 1, from Facies B, and the resulting age of this specimen is > 2.026 ± 0.021 Ma based on the U-Pb dates of the overlying Flowstone 1 (Fig 1). Geological studies indicate that the different Facies were deposited in quick succession of each other with limited transport distance [2], and the discovery of Equus sp., which has its earliest recorded appearance in Africa at ~2.36 Ma [16,17,18], in Facies D, provides a probable maximum age for the site more generally. The probable maximum age for this specimen is ~2.36 million years ago (Ma) based on the appearance of Equus sp. in Facies D [2]

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Discussion