African Fossil Research Articles

Life: New contender for oldest dino: African fossil may push line back 15 million years

Science NewsVolume 183, Issue 2 p. 15-15 In the News Life: New contender for oldest dino: African fossil may push line back 15 million years Tanya Lewis, Search for more papers by this author Tanya Lewis, Search for more papers by this author First published: 16 January 2013 https://doi.org/10.1002/scin.5591830218Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume183, Issue226 January 2013Pages 15-15 RelatedInformation

Climate change and faunal turnover: testing the mechanics of the turnover-pulse hypothesis with South African fossil data

The turnover-pulse hypothesis (TPH) makes explicit predictions concerning the potential responses of species to climate change, which is considered to be a major cause of faunal turnover (extinction, speciation, and migration). Previous studies have tested the TPH primarily by examining temporal correlations between turnover pulses and climatic events. It is rarely possible to dissect such correlations and observe turnover as it is occurring or to predict how different lineages will respond to climate change. Thus, whether climate change drives faunal turnover in the manner predicted by the TPH remains unclear. In this study, we test the underlying mechanics of the TPH using well-dated Quaternary ungulate records from southern Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR). Changes in sea level, vegetation, and topographic barriers across glacial-interglacial transitions in southern Africa caused shifts in habitat size and configuration, allowing us to generate specific predictions concerning the responses of ungulates characterized by different feeding habits and habitat preferences. Examples from the CFR show how climatically forced vegetation change and allopatry can drive turnover resulting from extinction and migration. Evidence for speciation is lacking, suggesting either that climate change does not cause speciation in these circumstances or that the evolutionary outcome of turnover is contingent on the nature and rate of climate change. Migrations and extinctions are observed in the CFR fossil record over geologically short time intervals, on the order of Milankovitch-scale climate oscillations. We propose that such climate oscillations could drive a steady and moderate level of faunal turnover over 104-year time scales, which would not be resolved in paleontological records spanning 105years and longer. A turnover pulse, which is a marked increase in turnover relative to previous and subsequent time periods, requires additional, temporally constrained climatic forcing or other processes that could accelerate evolutionary change, perhaps mediated through biotic interactions.

Lorisine Primate from the Late Miocene of Kenya

The origin of African Lorisidae has been the subject of debate for the past half century, so far without resolution. The matter is complecated by the fact that strepsirrhines (Lorisiformes = Lorisidae + Galagidae) are rare in the African fossil record, with large gaps between occurrences in the Early Oligocene Fayum (Egypy) deposit, the Early Miocene strata of East Africa and the Plio-Pleistocene of the same region. Likewise, the Asian fossil record of this group is spotty, with only a few specimens described from the Late Miocene of Pakistan. In the search for evidence concerning the dichotomy between Lorisidae and Galagidae, authors have tended to focus on the Early Miocene fossils from Kenya and Uganda which is the only region to have yielded a reasonable diversity of forms. Unfortunately, the history of study has been marred by the description and interpretation of non-primate material as strepsirrhines (Lorisiformes spurii). This contrasts with the genuine strepsirrhine (Lorisiformes veri) fossil from the same region which have thrown much light on the group, but which have not yet resolved the issue of the timing or the modality of the dichotomy between the two families. At present, among the described African fossil lorisiformes only the genus Mioeuoticus is accepted by some, but not all, authors (Harrison, 2010) as a Lorisidae (or Lorisinae, all the others generally being classed as Galagidae (or Galginae) Walker (1987). It is thus of interest to put on record the discovery of a lorisid anout from the Late Miocene deposits of the Tugen Hills, Kenya, which is close in dimensions and some aspects of the Far East (Nycticebus, Nycticeboides) and West Africa (Arctocebus). The fossil does not particularly resemble any of the Early Miocene forms described from East Africa, and it is suggested that the lineage entered Africa during the Late Miocene at the same time that several other vertebrate groups spread into the continent from South-East Asia.

Lorisine Primate from the Late Miocene of Kenya

The origin of African Lorisidae has been the subject of debate for the past half century, so far without resolution. The matter is complecated by the fact that strepsirrhines (Lorisiformes = Lorisidae + Galagidae) are rare in the African fossil record, with large gaps between occurrences in the Early Oligocene Fayum (Egypy) deposit, the Early Miocene strata of East Africa and the Plio-Pleistocene of the same region. Likewise, the Asian fossil record of this group is spotty, with only a few specimens described from the Late Miocene of Pakistan. In the search for evidence concerning the dichotomy between Lorisidae and Galagidae, authors have tended to focus on the Early Miocene fossils from Kenya and Uganda which is the only region to have yielded a reasonable diversity of forms. Unfortunately, the history of study has been marred by the description and interpretation of non-primate material as strepsirrhines (Lorisiformes spurii). This contrasts with the genuine strepsirrhine (Lorisiformes veri) fossil from the same region which have thrown much light on the group, but which have not yet resolved the issue of the timing or the modality of the dichotomy between the two families. At present, among the described African fossil lorisiformes only the genus Mioeuoticus is accepted by some, but not all, authors (Harrison, 2010) as a Lorisidae (or Lorisinae, all the others generally being classed as Galagidae (or Galginae) Walker (1987). It is thus of interest to put on record the discovery of a lorisid anout from the Late Miocene deposits of the Tugen Hills, Kenya, which is close in dimensions and some aspects of the Far East (Nycticebus, Nycticeboides) and West Africa (Arctocebus). The fossil does not particularly resemble any of the Early Miocene forms described from East Africa, and it is suggested that the lineage entered Africa during the Late Miocene at the same time that several other vertebrate groups spread into the continent from South-East Asia.

Stratigraphic context and paleoenvironmental significance of minor taxa (Pisces, Reptilia, Aves, Rodentia) from the late Early Pleistocene paleoanthropological site of Buia (Eritrea)

The Buia Homo site, also known as Wadi Aalad, is an East African paleoanthropological site near the village of Buia that, due to its very rich yield from the late Early Pleistocene, has been intensively investigated since 1994. In this paper, which reports on the finds of the 2010–2011 excavations, we include new fossil evidence on previously identified taxa (i.e., reptiles), as well as the very first description of the small mammal, fish and bird remains discovered. In particular, this study documents the discovery of the first African fossil of the genus Burhinus (Aves, Charadriiformes) and of the first rodent from the site. This latter is identified as a thryonomyid rodent (cane rat), a relatively common taxon in African paleoanthropological faunal assemblages. On the whole, the new occurrences documented within the Buia vertebrate assemblage confirm the occurrence of taxa characterized by strong water dependence. The paleoenvironmental characteristics of the fauna are confirmed as fully compatible with the evidence obtained through sedimentology and facies analysis, documenting the sedimentary evolution of fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine systems.

Local ecological profile for Paranthropus robustus in South Africa using stable carbon isotopes from associated bovid teeth

The biomechanical characterization of lower limb long bones in the chrono-ecogeographically diverse species Homo erectus is a fundamental step for assessing evolutionary changes in locomotor mode and body shape that occurred within the genus Homo. However, the samples available for the Early and earlier Middle Pleistocene are small and widely scattered in time and space, thus limiting our understanding of the nature and polarity of morphological trends. Compared to the African fossil record, loading histories based on detailed biomechanical assessment of diaphyseal strength in Indonesian H. erectus lower limb long bones have not been assessed. By using a microtomographic record (μCT), we performed a quantitative analysis of the biomechanical properties and structural organization of Kresna 11, a late Early Pleistocene adult H. erectus femoral shaft from the Sangiran Dome, Central Java. Relative to the modern human condition, Kresna 11 shows the predominant mediolateral cortical thickening (hypertrophy) and the distal displacement of the minimum diaphyseal breadth characteristic of early Homo femora, associated nonetheless with relatively modest cortical thickness within the mid-proximal portion. Synthetic functional imaging of the shaft through the planar representation of its inner structure has revealed distal thickening of the medial cortex, a feature previously unreported in H. erectus. The increase in relative mediolateral bending strength observed in Kresna 11 supports the hypothesis that, rather than simply reflecting differences in patterns of locomotor loading, biomechanical properties of the femoral shaft in archaic Homo are strongly influenced by body shape, i.e., variations in pelvic breadth and femoral neck length.

Structural analysis of the Kresna 11 Homo erectus femoral shaft (Sangiran, Java)

The biomechanical characterization of lower limb long bones in the chrono-ecogeographically diverse species Homo erectus is a fundamental step for assessing evolutionary changes in locomotor mode and body shape that occurred within the genus Homo. However, the samples available for the Early and earlier Middle Pleistocene are small and widely scattered in time and space, thus limiting our understanding of the nature and polarity of morphological trends. Compared to the African fossil record, loading histories based on detailed biomechanical assessment of diaphyseal strength in Indonesian H. erectus lower limb long bones have not been assessed. By using a microtomographic record (μCT), we performed a quantitative analysis of the biomechanical properties and structural organization of Kresna 11, a late Early Pleistocene adult H. erectus femoral shaft from the Sangiran Dome, Central Java. Relative to the modern human condition, Kresna 11 shows the predominant mediolateral cortical thickening (hypertrophy) and the distal displacement of the minimum diaphyseal breadth characteristic of early Homo femora, associated nonetheless with relatively modest cortical thickness within the mid-proximal portion. Synthetic functional imaging of the shaft through the planar representation of its inner structure has revealed distal thickening of the medial cortex, a feature previously unreported in H. erectus. The increase in relative mediolateral bending strength observed in Kresna 11 supports the hypothesis that, rather than simply reflecting differences in patterns of locomotor loading, biomechanical properties of the femoral shaft in archaic Homo are strongly influenced by body shape, i.e., variations in pelvic breadth and femoral neck length.

A new african fossil caprin and a combined molecular and morphological bayesian phylogenetic analysis of caprini (Mammalia: Bovidae)

Given that most species that have ever existed on Earth are extinct, no evolutionary history can ever be complete without the inclusion of fossil taxa. Bovids (antelopes and relatives) are one of the most diverse clades of large mammals alive today, with over a hundred living species and hundreds of documented fossil species. With the advent of molecular phylogenetics, major advances have been made in the phylogeny of this clade; however, there has been little attempt to integrate the fossil record into the developing phylogenetic picture. We here describe a new large fossil caprin species from ca. 1.9-Ma deposits from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. To place the new species phylogenetically, we perform a Bayesian analysis of a combined molecular (cytochrome b) and morphological (osteological) character supermatrix. We include all living species of Caprini, the new fossil species, a fossil takin from the Pliocene of Ethiopia (Budorcas churcheri), and the insular subfossil Myotragus balearicus. The combined analysis demonstrates successful incorporation of both living and fossil species within a single phylogeny based on both molecular and morphological evidence. Analysis of the combined supermatrix produces superior resolution than with either the molecular or morphological data sets considered alone. Parsimony and Bayesian analyses of the data set are also compared and shown to produce similar results. The combined phylogenetic analysis indicates that the new fossil species is nested within Capra, making it one of the earliest representatives of this clade, with implications for molecular clock calibration. Geographical optimization indicates no less than four independent dispersals into Africa by caprins since the Pliocene.

Relationships and biogeography of the fossil and living African snakehead fishes (Percomorpha, Channidae, Parachanna)

ABSTRACT The ability to determine relationships of Cenozoic fossil fishes relies heavily on having osteological information from their extant relatives with which to compare the fossil remains. For many higher teleost fishes, these osteological data do not exist. For example, †Parachanna fayumensis, from Eocene and Oligocene deposits of Egypt, was placed in the Recent snakehead genus Parachanna, but in the absence of data from extant members of the genus, this hypothesis could not be tested. Three other fossil channids were each given their own new genera, without an analysis of their relationships to one another or to the living genera. In order to properly test the relationships of these fossil species, the osteological information for living species is needed. This paper documents the osteology of the African snakehead, Parachanna obscura, for the first time. The documentation of the osteology forms the basis of a phylogenetic study of the relationships of the African fossil, †Parachanna fayumensis, with living African snakeheads. This study supports the generic placement of †P. fayumensis as being correct, as well as reciprocal monophyly of the two living snakehead genera and monophyly of the family. Monophyly of the Asian genus Channa and the relationships of the other fossil species need to be further assessed using a broader range of species, but this preliminary study is an essential first step. Apomorphic osteological characters are given for the family and genera, as well as a discussion of the biogeographical relationships of species of Parachanna.

The mid-face of lower Pleistocene hominins and its bearing on the attribution of SK 847 and StW 53

SK 847 and StW 53 have often been cited as evidence for early Homo in South Africa. To examine whether midfacial morphology is in agreement with these attributions, we analyze Euclidean distances calculated from 3-D coordinates on the maxillae of SK 847 and StW 53, as well as Australopithecus africanus (Sts 5, Sts 71), Paranthropus robustus (SK 46, SK 48, SK 52, SK 83), early Homo (KNM-ER 1813, KNM-ER 1805, KNM-ER 3733, KNM-WT 15000), P. boisei (KNM-ER 406, KNM-WT 17000, KNM-WT 17400), Gorilla gorilla (n=116), Homo sapiens (n=342), Pan paniscus (n=21) and P. troglodytes (n=65). Multivariate analyses separate extant hominoids suggesting we have captured taxonomic affinity. With the exception of SK 847 and SK 52, South African fossils tend to cluster together. P. robustus differs substantially from East African robust megadonts. SK 847 and StW 53 resemble the East African Homo specimens that are the most australopith-like, such as KNM-WT 15000 and KNM-ER 1813. The resemblance between StW 53 and Homo is driven partly by similarities in maxillary size. When distances are scaled, StW 53 aligns with A. africanus, while SK 847 clusters primarily with early Homo.

Late Middle Eocene primate from Myanmar and the initial anthropoid colonization of Africa

Reconstructing the origin and early evolutionary history of anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes, and humans) is a current focus of paleoprimatology. Although earlier hypotheses frequently supported an African origin for anthropoids, recent discoveries of older and phylogenetically more basal fossils in China and Myanmar indicate that the group originated in Asia. Given the Oligocene-Recent history of African anthropoids, the colonization of Africa by early anthropoids hailing from Asia was a decisive event in primate evolution. However, the fossil record has so far failed to constrain the nature and timing of this pivotal event. Here we describe a fossil primate from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar, Afrasia djijidae gen. et sp. nov., that is remarkably similar to, yet dentally more primitive than, the roughly contemporaneous North African anthropoid Afrotarsius. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Afrasia and Afrotarsius are sister taxa within a basal anthropoid clade designated as the infraorder Eosimiiformes. Current knowledge of eosimiiform relationships and their distribution through space and time suggests that members of this clade dispersed from Asia to Africa sometime during the middle Eocene, shortly before their first appearance in the African fossil record. Crown anthropoids and their nearest fossil relatives do not appear to be specially related to Afrotarsius, suggesting one or more additional episodes of dispersal from Asia to Africa. Hystricognathous rodents, anthracotheres, and possibly other Asian mammal groups seem to have colonized Africa at roughly the same time or shortly after anthropoids gained their first toehold there.

Did a discrete event 200,000–100,000 years ago produce modern humans?

Scenarios for modern human origins are often predicated on the assumption that modern humans arose 200,000–100,000 years ago in Africa. This assumption implies that something ‘special’ happened at this point in time in Africa, such as the speciation that produced Homo sapiens, a severe bottleneck in human population size, or a combination of the two. The common thread is that after the divergence of the modern human and Neandertal evolutionary lineages ∼400,000 years ago, there was another discrete event near in time to the Middle–Late Pleistocene boundary that produced modern humans. Alternatively, modern human origins could have been a lengthy process that lasted from the divergence of the modern human and Neandertal evolutionary lineages to the expansion of modern humans out of Africa, and nothing out of the ordinary happened 200,000–100,000 years ago in Africa.Three pieces of biological (fossil morphology and DNA sequences) evidence are typically cited in support of discrete event models. First, living human mitochondrial DNA haplotypes coalesce ∼200,000 years ago. Second, fossil specimens that are usually classified as ‘anatomically modern’ seem to appear shortly afterward in the African fossil record. Third, it is argued that these anatomically modern fossils are morphologically quite different from the fossils that preceded them.Here I use theory from population and quantitative genetics to show that lengthy process models are also consistent with current biological evidence. That this class of models is a viable option has implications for how modern human origins is conceptualized.

<i>Nyctereutes terblanchei</i>: The raccoon dog that never was

Fossils of the raccoon dog (genus Nyctereutes) are particularly rare in the African Plio-Pleistocene record, whilst the sole living representative, Nyctereutes procyonoides, is found in eastern Asia and parts of Europe. In southern Africa, only one fossil species of raccoon dog has been identified - Nyctereutes terblanchei. N. terblanchei is recognised from a handful of Plio-Pleistocene sites in South Africa: Kromdraai, Kromdraai-Coopers and Sterkfontein in Gauteng, as well as Elandsfontein in the Western Cape Province. The validity of this species identification was questioned on the basis of the rarity of southern African fossils assigned to Nyctereutes, that is, fewer than 10 specimens have been identified as Nyctereutes. This study examined this fossil sample of the raccoon dog from the Gauteng sites and compared dental and cranial metrics of the fossil with samples of modern canids and published data. Morphological traits used to distinguish Nyctereutes, such as the pronounced subangular lobe on the mandible and the relatively large size of the lower molars, were observed to be variable in all samples. Analysis showed that the size of the dentition of the southern African fossil samples was larger than that of living raccoon dogs, but fell well within the range of that of African jackals. These results suggest that fossil Nyctereutes cannot be distinguished from other canid species based on metric data alone, and may only be diagnosable using combinations of non-metric traits of the dentition and skull. However, based on the degree of morphological variability of the traits used to diagnose Nyctereutes, as well as the rarity of this genus in the African fossil record, these fossils are more likely to belong to a species of jackal or fox.

Hind limb of the <i>Nacholapithecus kerioi</i> holotype and implications for its positional behavior

We present the definitive description of the hind limb elements of the Nacholapithecus kerioi holotype (KNM-BG 35250) from the middle Miocene of Kenya. Previously, it has been noted that the postcranial (i.e. the phalanges, spine, and shoulder girdle) anatomy of N. kerioi shows greater affinity to other early/middle Miocene African hominoids, collectively called ‘non-specialized pronograde arboreal quadrupeds,’ than to extant hominoids. This was also the case for the hind limb. However, N. kerioi exhibits a unique combination of postcranial characters that distinguish this species from other early/middle Miocene African hominoids. The femoral neck has a high angle, but is relatively short, though the adaptive meaning of this form is not readily understood. In the distal femur, the shape of the patellar surface and symmetry of the femoral condylar widths suggest that the knee was not typically abducted but assumed more variable movements and/or postures. Whereas the morphologies of the talocrural and intertarsal joints are generally similar to those of the other fossil hominoids, the tibial malleolus is extremely thick and asymmetry of the talar trochlea groove is more emphasized due to a more prominent lateral trochlear rim than in Proconsul and other African fossil hominoids. The distal foot segment is more elongated. The (non-hallucal) metatarsals appear relatively gracile due to the elongation. The proximal joints of these metatarsals are, nonetheless, large. Ligamentous attachments of the tarsal/metatarsal bones are generally well developed. The distal tarsal row, which is represented only by the medial cuneiform, though, is extremely large for the presumed body mass. In terms of function, the femur, ankle, and tarsal joints are interpreted behaviorally to represent a slow-moving arboreal quadruped. However, the foot of N. kerioi appears to be more specialized for inverted grasping and subvertical support use. All of these foot features are suggestive of a greater role for antiprono-grade activities in N. kerioi relative to other Miocene ‘pronograde arboreal quadrupeds.’

Periodicity of Retzius lines in fossil Pongo from South China

Periodicity of Retzius lines is a key factor in dental development. In this study, we examined the periodicity of Retzius lines in fossil Pongo from South China using polarized light microscope observation of dental ground sections. The periodicities all of the 15 teeth were 9 d. Comparisons of periodicity were made with extant primates, fossil apes and hominins. Periodicity of fossil Pongo from South China was relatively long but fell within the variation of extant Pongo, Gorilla and modern human, and longer than periodicity of Pan and other extant primates. Fossil Pongo from South China was similar to Lufengpithecus and Sivapithecus, shorter than Gigantopithecus and longer than European and African fossil apes and most early hominins in periodicity. Generally, the periodicities of Asian large-body fossil apes were longer than the periodicities of European and African large-body fossil apes in Miocene. Difference among species and trend of evolution in periodicity were analyzed and discussed. We found that periodicity might gradually increase from Proconsul in early Miocene to several fossil apes in Miocene and then Gigantopithecus in Pleistocene. In addition, this study made correlate analysis between periodicity and body mass respectively in males and females of six extant apes and five fossil apes, and found that periodicity positively correlated with body mass.

EVIDENCE OF TERRESTRIAL DIETS IN PLIOCENE EURASIAN PAPIONINS (MAMMALIA: PRIMATES) INFERRED FROM LOW-MAGNIFICATION STEREOMICROSCOPY OF MOLAR ENAMEL USE-WEAR SCARS

Pliocene papionin monkeys of Eurasia, such as Paradolichopithecus arvernensis, Procynocephalus subhimalayanus, and Macaca sp. indet. from Yushe, are large-bodied and interpreted as at least partly terrestrial. Terrestriality in primates has implications for the dietary items consumed. Dietary proclivities from the evaluation of pit and scratch counts under low-magnification (35×) were inferred to address whether the diets of these Eurasian papionins differ and whether they correspond to extant primates (Papio ursinus, n = 24, Pan troglodytes, n = 9, and Gorilla gorilla, n = 10), three Plio-Pleistocene southern African fossil papionins with known isotopic values (Parapapio broomi, n = 14; Papio robinsoni, n = 10; Theropithecus oswaldi danieli, n = 8), or a Pliocene bipedal hominin (Australopithecus africanus, n = 8). Macaca sp. indet. from Yushe most closely resembles Australopithecus africanus from South Africa, which is characterized by evidence of some hard-object feeding. Paradolichopithecus from Romania and to a lesser extent Procynocephalus from northern India also exhibit use-wear scars associated with the ingestion of grit possibly associated with the exploitation of corms and bulbs of CAM or C4 plants. The dental microwear signal of grassland foraging typical of such C4 grazers as Theropithecus oswaldi danieli does not characterize other Plio-Pleistocene papionins. Pliocene papionin diets converge with those of Australopithecus, suggesting that global climate cooling intensifying during the Pliocene may have led both early baboon-like monkeys and australopiths to increase consumption of nutrient-rich edible plant storage organs in these fragmented and partially open habitats of the temperate Old World.

Le massif facial supérieur d’Homo heidelbergensis Schoetensack, 1908 : l’apport de la morphométrie géométrique

A number of recent studies have looked into a possible redefinition of the species Homo heidelbergensis. The results are mainly based on morphological features and support the existence of a valid H. heidelbergensis taxon during the middle Pleistocene, which would represent an Afro-European species ancestral to Homo sapiens and H. neanderthalensis or a chronospecies of Neanderthals. In this study, we used geometric morphometrics to reconsider mid-Pleistocene fossils that could be attributed to the species H. heidelbergensis. The geometric morphometrics analysis is based on 8 landmarks in 3 dimensions, used to describe the morphology of the upper face of 29 mid-Pleistocene fossils and 14 humans from the Holocene. In the mid-Pleistocene fossils, the shape of the upper face of European specimens is similar to that of African fossils. It differs from H. sapiens and early Pleistocene fossils but shows similarities with the shape of Neanderthals. Considered together with the results from previous morphological studies on the upper face of putative H. heidelbergensis specimens from the mid-Pleistocene, our results support the hypothesis of an independent Afro-European Species, which would have been the last common ancestor to H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens

Earliest human occupations at Dmanisi (Georgian Caucasus) dated to 1.85–1.78 Ma

The early Pleistocene colonization of temperate Eurasia by Homo erectus was not only a significant biogeographic event but also a major evolutionary threshold. Dmanisi's rich collection of hominin fossils, revealing a population that was small-brained with both primitive and derived skeletal traits, has been dated to the earliest Upper Matuyama chron (ca. 1.77 Ma). Here we present archaeological and geologic evidence that push back Dmanisi's first occupations to shortly after 1.85 Ma and document repeated use of the site over the last half of the Olduvai subchron, 1.85-1.78 Ma. These discoveries show that the southern Caucasus was occupied repeatedly before Dmanisi's hominin fossil assemblage accumulated, strengthening the probability that this was part of a core area for the colonization of Eurasia. The secure age for Dmanisi's first occupations reveals that Eurasia was probably occupied before Homo erectus appears in the East African fossil record.

The oldest African bat from the early Eocene of El Kohol (Algeria)

The Afro-Arabian Paleogene fossil record of Chiroptera is very poor. In North Africa and Arabia, this record is limited, thus far, to a few localities mainly in Tunisia (Chambi, late early Eocene), Egypt (Fayum, late Eocene to early Oligocene), and Sultanate of Oman (Taqah, early Oligocene). It consists primarily of isolated teeth or mandible fragments. Interestingly, these African fossil bats document two modern groups (Vespertilionoidea and Rhinolophoidea) from the early Eocene, while the bat fossil record of the same epoch of North America, Eurasia, and Australia principally includes members of the "Eochiroptera." This paraphyletic group contains all primitive microbats excluding modern families. In Algeria, the region of Brezina, southeast of the Atlas Mountains, is famous for the early Eocene El Kohol Formation, which has yielded one of the earliest mammalian faunas of the African landmass. Recent fieldwork in the same area has led to the discovery of a new vertebrate locality, including isolated teeth of Chiroptera. These fossils represent the oldest occurrence of Chiroptera in Africa, thus extending back the record of the group to the middle early Eocene (Ypresian) on that continent. The material consists of an upper molar and two fragments of lower molars. The dental character association matches that of "Eochiroptera." As such, although very fragmentary, the material testifies to the first occurrence of "Eochiroptera" in Algeria, and by extension in Africa. This discovery demonstrates that this basal group of Chiroptera had a worldwide distribution during the early Paleogene.

A new paradoxurine carnivore from the Late Miocene Siwaliks of India and a review of the bunodont viverrids of Africa

Paradoxurine carnivores are today confined to south-east Asia. Fossils attributed to Paradoxurus have been reported from Pakistan, southern China and Java, but seldom with descriptions. Here we describe and interpret a mandible from the Late Miocene of Hari Talyangar, India, which we attribute to a new genus and species: Mioparadoxurus meini. The phylogenetic analysis shows a close relationship between the Asiatic Paradoxurinae (represented in the analysis by M. meini nov. gen., nov. sp. and Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and the most bunodont forms from Africa ( Pseudocivetta howelli and Pseudocivetta ingens). In accordance with the results of this analysis, the Paradoxurinae are subdivided into three tribes, Paradoxurini, Pseudocivettini nov. and Kichechiini nov. The subfamily had a wider geographic distribution during the Miocene than it does today. The African fossil record indicates that forms related to Paradoxurinae may have developed in Africa about 18 Ma. These data are consistent with the divergence between Paradoxurinae from the rest of the Viverridae, estimated by molecular data as Early Miocene.