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The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

View ORCID ProfileRené 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. Martínez, Jacinto Mathe, Clara Mendes, Luis Meira Paulo, Maria Pinto, View ORCID ProfileThomas A. Püschel, Frederico Tátá Regala, Mark Sier, Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva, Marc Stalmans, Susana Carvalho
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.16.472914
René Bobe
1Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
2Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
3Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
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  • For correspondence: renebobe@gmail.com
Vera Aldeias
3Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
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Zeresenay Alemseged
4Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
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Will Archer
5Department of Archaeology, National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa
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Georges Aumaître
6+ASTER-Team
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Marion K. Bamford
7Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Dora Biro
8Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK
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Didier L. Bourlès
6Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement CEREGE - UM 34 Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, INRAE OSU Institut Pythéas. Technopole Environnement Arbois - Méditerranée, Domaine du Petit Arbois, Avenue Louis Philibert, Les Milles-Aix en Provence BP80, 13545 AIX en Provence, CEDEX 04, France
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David R. Braun
9Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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Cristian Capelli
10Dipartimento delle Scienze Chimiche, della Vita e della Sostenibilità Ambientale, Università di Parma, Italy
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João d’Oliveira Coelho
2Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
11Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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Jörg M. Habermann
12GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
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Jason J. Head
13Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK
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Karim Keddadouche
6+ASTER-Team
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Kornelius Kupczik
14Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Anne-Elisabeth Lebatard
6Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement CEREGE - UM 34 Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, INRAE OSU Institut Pythéas. Technopole Environnement Arbois - Méditerranée, Domaine du Petit Arbois, Avenue Louis Philibert, Les Milles-Aix en Provence BP80, 13545 AIX en Provence, CEDEX 04, France
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Tina Lüdecke
2Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
15Emmy Noether Group for Hominin Meat Consumption, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
16Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt, Germany
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Amélia Macôa
17Departamento de Arqueologia e Antropologia, Faculdade de Letras e Ciências Sociais, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique
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Felipe I. Martínez
18Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Anthropology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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Jacinto Mathe
2Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
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Clara Mendes
17Departamento de Arqueologia e Antropologia, Faculdade de Letras e Ciências Sociais, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique
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Luis Meira Paulo
19ASDA – Associação de Estudos Subterrâneos e Defesa do Ambiente, Portugal
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Maria Pinto
19ASDA – Associação de Estudos Subterrâneos e Defesa do Ambiente, Portugal
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Thomas A. Püschel
2Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
20Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Division, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK
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Frederico Tátá Regala
3Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
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Mark Sier
21CENIEH, Burgos, Spain
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Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva
22Organisms and Environment Division, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK
23CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
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Marc Stalmans
1Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
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Susana Carvalho
1Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique
2Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
3Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
11Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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  • For correspondence: renebobe@gmail.com
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Abstract

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.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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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. Martínez, Jacinto Mathe, Clara Mendes, Luis Meira Paulo, Maria Pinto, Thomas A. Püschel, Frederico Tátá Regala, Mark Sier, Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva, Marc Stalmans, Susana Carvalho
bioRxiv 2021.12.16.472914; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.16.472914
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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. Martínez, Jacinto Mathe, Clara Mendes, Luis Meira Paulo, Maria Pinto, Thomas A. Püschel, Frederico Tátá Regala, Mark Sier, Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva, Marc Stalmans, Susana Carvalho
bioRxiv 2021.12.16.472914; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.16.472914

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