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The First Miocene Fossils from Coastal Woodlands in the Southern East African Rift
René Bobe
Vera Aldeias
Zeresenay Alemseged
Will Archer
Georges Aumaître
Marion K. Bamford
Dora Biro
Didier L. Bourlès
David R. Braun
Cristian Capelli
João d'Oliveira Coelho
Jörg M. Habermann
Jason J. Head
Karim Keddadouche
Kornelius Kupczik
Anne-Elisabeth Lebatard
Tina Lüdecke
Amélia Macôa
Felipe I. Martı́nez
Jacinto Mathe
Clara Mendes
Luis Meira Paulo
María Pinto
Thomas A. Püschel
Frederico Tátá Regala
Mark Jan Sier
Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva
Marc Stalmans
Susana Carvalho
出版
Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
, 2021
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=2Lhg0AEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋
The Miocene is a key time in the evolution of African mammals and their ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding biogeographic arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here we report discovery of the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, at the southern East African Rift System. We provide the first 1) radiometric age determinations of the fossiliferous Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of past vegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) description of fossil teeth from the southern rift. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift System in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of persistent woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossil vertebrates including new species. Further work will allow the testing of hypotheses positing the formation of a northeast-southwest arid corridor isolating species on the eastern coastal forests from those elsewhere in Africa. Brief The Miocene is a key time in the evolution of African mammals and their ecosystems encompassing hominine origins and the establishment of an arid corridor that isolated eastern Africa's coastal forests. Until now, however, Miocene sites from southeastern Africa have been unknown. We report the discovery of the first Miocene fossil sites from Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, and show that these sites formed in coastal settings. We provide radiometric ages for the fossiliferous sediments, reconstructions of past vegetation based on stable isotopes and fossil wood, and a description of the first fossil teeth from the region. Gorongosa is the only paleontological site in the East African Rift that combines fossil woods, marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, and terrestrial mammals. Gorongosa offers the first evidence of persistent woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene.