| 11. |
- Lewis, Margaret, et al.
(author)
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A revision of the genus Crocuta (Mammalia, Hyaenidae)
- 2022
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In: Palaeontographica. Abteilung A, Palaozoologie, Stratigraphie. - : E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. - 0375-0442. ; 322:1-4, s. 1-115
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The genus Crocuta evolved in Africa no later than 4 Ma and dispersed from that continent between 2.5 and 2 Ma. At its peak in the late Pleistocene, Crocuta had a geographic distribution that encompassed most of the Old World, except for the northernmost parts of Siberia. Herein, we describe new material of Crocuta from Africa, review the fossil record of the genus in the rest of the world, and revise its species-level taxonomy on the basis of metric and morphological data. We conclude that the genus comprises at least seven extinct species in addition to the extant C. crocuta and that the fossil record includes a number of transitional specimens that cannot be classified to species. Extinct African species are C. venustula (synonyms: C. dietrichi, C. dbaa; early Pliocene – early Pleistocene), C. ultra (early – middle Pleistocene), and C. eturono (late Pliocene). Asian species are C. honanensis (early Pleistocene) and C. ultima (middle – late Pleistocene), possibly with an unnamed species in the early Pleistocene of India and Pakistan. European species are C. intermedia (middle Pleistocene) and C. spelaea (middle – late Pleistocene).
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Lyras, G.
(author)
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Paleoneurology of Carnivora
- 2023
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In: Paleoneurology of Amniotes. - Cham : Springer Nature. ; , s. 681-710
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The order Carnivora is one of the most speciose mammalian groups with over 280 living species and well over 1000 known extinct species. Here we present an overview of the evolutionary history of the carnivoran brain drawn from 150 years of palaeoneurological research. We demonstrate that the basic sulcal pattern is similar across living carnivorans, which is as follows. In lateral aspect, the cerebrum consists of convolutions arranged in concentric arcs around the Sylvian sulcus that progressively increase in length. In the dorsal aspect of most living carnivorans, a cruciate sulcus is present at the anterior part of the cerebrum. Fossils of early carnivorans display a small cerebral cortex with limited gyrification. A progressive cortical expansion and a trend towards a more complex gyral pattern can be observed. The surface area of the cerebral cortex expanded independently several times in carnivoran evolution, coinciding with increasingly more complex sulcal patterns. Differences in cortical folding patterns distinguish various families of carnivorans. Somatosensory evolution led to the enlargement and elaboration of certain cortical areas. The evolution from a basal pattern to an array of differences in folding patterns and proportional size differences between cortical areas led to the variation we see today.
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| 14. |
- Madurell-Malapeira, Joan, et al.
(author)
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First small-sized Dinofelis: Evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene of North Africa
- 2021
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 265
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We describe small-sized specimens of the metailurine felid Dinofelis from a new Plio-Pleistocene site in North Africa. Dinofelis is a genus of saber-toothed cats mainly recorded from East and South Africa with numerous leopard to jaguar-sized species. The described specimens, clearly smaller than all the other African Dinofelis, resemble isolated remains from the Late Pliocene of France and the Early Pleistocene of Africa. Present evidence suggests that our form represents a new species and/or new lineage of Dinofelis, smaller and probably occupying a different ecological niche compared to the previously known members of the genus, and thus it adds complexity to the high intraspecific competition among large carnivorans in the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Reed, Kaye E., et al.
(author)
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Geology, Fauna, and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions of the Makapansgat Limeworks Australopithecus africanus-Bearing Paleo-Cave
- 2022
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In: African Palaeoecology and Human Evolution. - Cham : Springer Nature. ; , s. 66-81
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Makapansgat Valley is located in Limpopo Province, South Africa (Figure 7.1), and is the northernmost of the South African australopithecine fossil sites. Hominin fossils were first recovered there in 1947, but the history and significance of the valley dates to the nineteenth century. The name of the site and valley derives from the Historic, or Gwasa, Cave at the head of the valley, which was the location of a siege in 1854 (Naidoo, 1987; Esterhuysen et al., 2008) on local Ndebele tribespeople by a Boer Commando in retaliation for two massacres – themselves retaliation for raids for ivory and slave labor by the Boer on Ndebele villages. The chief was Mokopane, and the cave became known as “Makapan’s Cave” or -gat in Afrikaans.
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| 17. |
- Rowan, John, et al.
(author)
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Early Pleistocene large mammals from Maka’amitalu, Hadar, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia
- 2022
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In: PeerJ. - Corte Medera : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 10, s. e13210-e13210
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Early Pleistocene was a critical time period in the evolution of eastern Africanmammal faunas, but fossil assemblages sampling this interval are poorly known fromEthiopia’s Afar Depression. Field work by the Hadar Research Project in theBusidima Formation exposures (~2.7–0.8 Ma) of Hadar in the lower Awash Valley,resulted in the recovery of an early Homo maxilla (A.L. 666-1) with associated stonetools and fauna from the Maka’amitalu basin in the 1990s. These assemblages aredated to ~2.35 Ma by the Bouroukie Tuff 3 (BKT-3). Continued work by the HadarResearch Project over the last two decades has greatly expanded the faunal collection.Here, we provide a comprehensive account of the Maka’amitalu large mammals(Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Primates, and Proboscidea) and discusstheir paleoecological and biochronological significance. The size of the Maka’amitalu assemblage is small compared to those from the Hadar Formation (3.45–2.95 Ma)and Ledi-Geraru (2.8–2.6 Ma) but includes at least 20 taxa. Bovids, suids, andTheropithecus are common in terms of both species richness and abundance, whereascarnivorans, equids, and megaherbivores are rare. While the taxonomic compositionof the Maka’amitalu fauna indicates significant species turnover from the HadarFormation and Ledi-Geraru deposits, turnover seems to have occurred at a constantrate through time as taxonomic dissimilarity between adjacent fossil assemblages isstrongly predicted by their age difference. A similar pattern characterizes functionalecological turnover, with only subtle changes in dietary proportions, body sizeproportions, and bovid abundances across the composite lower Awash sequence.Biochronological comparisons with other sites in eastern Africa suggest that the taxarecovered from the Maka’amitalu are broadly consistent with the reported age of theBKT-3 tuff. Considering the age of BKT-3 and biochronology, a range of 2.4–1.9 Mais most likely for the faunal assemblage.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Werdelin, Lars
(author)
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African Barbourofelinae (Mammalia, Nimravidae): A critical review
- 2021
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In: Historical Biology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0891-2963 .- 1029-2381.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The fossil record of Afrosmilini (Nimravidae, Barbourofelinae) in Africa is reviewed. New material from the middle Miocene of Maboko leads to reassessment of the taxonomic allocations of some specimens and reconsideration of the afrosmilin status of others. Afrosmilini includes Jinomrefu lakwanza, Ginsburgsmilus napakensis, Afrosmilus africanus, A. turkanae, and A. hispanicus (Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and Spain). Other Nimravidae in Africa, Syrtosmilus syrtensis (Libya), Vampyrictis vipera (Tunisia), and unnamed species from Fort Ternan and the Samburu Hills (Kenya) are here not considered Afrosmilini. There is a complete turnover of African Nimravidae between 14.7 Ma (Maboko) and 13.7 Ma (Fort Ternan) and evidence suggests that the new taxa were immigrants from Eurasia. This turnover coincides with the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition although the causal relationship is not yet clarified.
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