| 1. |
- Adrian, Brent, et al.
(author)
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New Miocene Carnivora (Mammalia) from Moruorot and Kalodirr, Kenya
- 2018
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In: Palaeontologia Electronica. - : Coquina Press. - 1935-3952 .- 1094-8074. ; 21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We describe new carnivoran fossils from Kalodirr and Moruorot, two late EarlyMiocene sites in the Lothidok Formation of West Turkana, Kenya. The fossils include anew species of viverrid, Kichechia savagei sp. nov., a new genus and species of felid,Katifelis nightingalei gen. et sp. nov., and an unidentified musteloid. We also reportnew records of the amphicyonid Cynelos macrodon. These new fossils increase theknown diversity of African Early Miocene carnivorans and highlight regional differencesin Africa.
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| 2. |
- Alroy, John, et al.
(author)
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The MN System: regional or continental?
- 1998
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In: Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und historische Geologie. ; 38, s. 243-258
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Ki, et al.
(author)
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Carnivora from the Late Miocene of Lantian, China
- 2005
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In: Vertebrata PalAsiatica. ; 43, s. 256-271
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sediments of the Bahe and Lantian formations, Lantian area, Shaanxi Province, China, have produced a large number of mammalian fossils. This Late Miocene sequence provides evidence for a period of major changes in the physical environment of the region. The carnivoran fossils are described and analyzed herein. The following species are present: lctitherium viverrinum, Hyaenictitherium cf . H. wongii and Adcrocuta eximia ( Hyaenidae) , cf. Metailurus major and cf. Metailurus parvulus ( Felidae) . Although a difference in the composition of the carnivoran fauna is noted towards the boundary between the Bahe Formation (lower) and Lantian Formation (upper), the cause of this is yet to be determined.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Ki, et al.
(author)
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Sabertoothed carnivores and the killing of large prey
- 2011
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:10, s. e24971-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sabre-like canines clearly have the potential to inflict grievous wounds leading to massive blood loss and rapid death. Hypotheses concerning sabretooth killing modes include attack to soft parts such as the belly or throat, where biting deep is essential to generate strikes reaching major blood vessels. Sabretoothed carnivorans are widely interpreted as hunters of larger and more powerful prey than that of their present-day nonsabretoothed relatives. However, the precise functional advantage of the sabretooth bite, particularly in relation to prey size, is unknown. Here, we present a new point-to-point bite model and show that, for sabretooths, depth of the killing bite decreases dramatically with increasing prey size. The extended gape of sabretooths only results in considerable increase in bite depth when biting into prey with a radius of less than ~10 cm. For sabretooths, this size-reversed functional advantage suggests predation on species within a similar size range to those attacked by present-day carnivorans, rather than “megaherbivores” as previously believed. The development of the sabretooth condition appears to represent a shift in function and killing behaviour, rather than one in predator-prey relations. Furthermore, our results demonstrate how sabretoothed carnivorans are likely to have evolved along a functionally continuous trajectory: beginning as an extension of a jaw-powered killing bite, as adopted by present-day pantherine cats, followed by neck-powered biting and thereafter shifting to neck-powered shear-biting. We anticipate this new insight to be a starting point for detailed study of the evolution of pathways that encompass extreme specialisation, for example, understanding how neck-powered biting shifts into shear-biting and its significance for predator-prey interactions. We also expect that our model for point-to-point biting and bite depth estimations will yield new insights into the behaviours of a broad range of extinct predators including therocephalians (gorgonopsian + cynodont, sabretoothed mammal-like reptiles), sauropterygians (marine reptiles) and theropod dinosaurs.
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| 7. |
- Bibi, Faysal, et al.
(author)
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Paleoecology of the Serengeti during the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: The mammal and fish evidence
- 2017
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In: Journal of Human Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0047-2484 .- 1095-8606.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Eight years of excavation work by the Olduvai Geochronology and Archaeology Project (OGAP) has produced a rich vertebrate fauna from several sites within Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Study of these as well as recently re-organized collections from Mary Leakey's 1972 HWK EE excavations here provides a synthetic view of the faunal community of Olduvai during Middle Bed II at ~1.7e1.4 Ma, an interval that captures the local transition from Oldowan to Acheulean technology. We expand the faunal list for this interval, name a new bovid species, clarify the evolution of several mammalian lineages, and record new local first and last appearances. Compositions of the fish and large mammal assemblages support previous indications for the dominance of open and seasonal grassland habitats at the margins of an alkaline lake. Fish diversity is low and dominated by cichlids, which indicates strongly saline conditions. The taphonomy of the fish assemblages supports reconstructions of fluctuating lake levels with mass die-offs in evaporating pools. The mammals are dominated by grazing bovids and equids. Habitats remained consistently dry and open throughout the entire Bed II sequence, with no major turnover or paleoecological changes taking place. Rather, wooded and wet habitats had already given way to drier and more open habitats by the top of Bed I, at 1.85e1.80 Ma. This ecological change is close to the age of the Oldowan-Acheulean transition in Kenya and Ethiopia, but precedes the local transition in Middle Bed II. The Middle Bed II largemammal community is much richer in species and includes a much larger number of large-bodied species (>300 kg) than the modern Serengeti. This reflects the severity of Pleistocene extinctions on African large mammals, with the loss of large species fitting a pattern typical of defaunation or ‘downsizing’ by human disturbance. However, trophic network (food web) analyses show that the Middle Bed II communitywas robust, and comparisons with the Serengeti community indicate that the fundamental structure of foodwebs remained intact despite Pleistocene extinctions. The presence of a generalized meateating hominin in the Middle Bed II community would have increased competition among carnivores and vulnerability among herbivores, but the high generality and interconnectedness of the Middle Bed II food web suggests this community was buffered against extinctions caused by trophic interactions.
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