Re: Typical kudu Evidence

Another confirmation of wetland apith milieus:


Laetoli paleoecology reconsidered: The isotopic evidence
J. D. Kingston1and T. Harrison2

"Sediments exposed at the site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania have
yielded an extensive assemblage of Pliocene vertebrates, including
early hominins. While traditionally interpreted as a grassland or
savanna habitat, with patches of acacia woodland, accumulating faunal
evidence suggests a more complex scenario with a greater
representation of woodland and bushland ecosystems in the Laetolil
Beds (4.3-3.5 Ma), transitioning to semi-arid bushland/grassland
communities in the Upper Ndolanya Beds (2.6-2.7 Ma). To establish
corroborating evidence, over 250 samples of fossil mammal tooth
enamel, struthionid eggshells, invertebrates, and paleosol organic
residues and carbonates from the Laetolil and Ndolanya Beds were
analyzed isotopically to constrain aspects of vegetation and climate
at Laetoli during the Pliocene. Collectively, the data indicate
environmental variability within the temporal range represented by the
Laetolil Beds, but consistently suggest woodland components regionally
if not locally. Isotopic profiles of multiple enamel samples of 15
herbivore taxa collected from horizons throughout the upper and lower
Laetolil Beds reflect diverse dietary strategies including obligate
browsers, obligate grazers, and mixed C3/C4 feeders. While an isotopic
shift in two vertebrate taxa between the Upper Laetolil and Upper
Ndolanya Beds indicates an increasing reliance on C4 graze, there is
no obvious overall dietary change reflecting significant habitat
modification or trends in the succession. Within the interpretive
limitations associated with small analytical data sets, habitat
reconstructions at Laetoli based on isotopic enamel signatures cannot
be differentiated from those documented at other early hominin sites,
including Tabarin, Olduvai Bed I and Lothagam, as well as for modern
East African ecosystems, such as at Amboseli. Within the stratigraphic
resolution of sampling, isotopic signatures of the Laetoli material
indicate that the fossil hominins potentially had access to a mosaic
of habitats ranging from grasslands to woodlands in the Laetoli region
at ~5-2.5 Ma."


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Typical kudu Evidence
    ... "Sediments exposed at the site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania have ... savanna habitat, with patches of acacia woodland, accumulating faunal ... Beds, transitioning to semi-arid bushland/grassland ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Typical kudu Evidence
    ... No algae evidence yet, but FYI: ... "Sediments exposed at the site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania have ... Beds, transitioning to semi-arid bushland/grassland ... communities in the Upper Ndolanya Beds. ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)