PRESENTATION: LATE MIOCENE AND PLIOCENE HOMININ BIOGEOGRAPHY: COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICAN FAUNA

Many biogeographic studies of fauna associated with Late Miocene and Pliocene hominin sites highlight the biogeographic similarities between hominin localities in central and eastern Africa, including those of the Late Miocene Middle Awash. Most studies, however, fail to include the Late Miocene Langebaanweg fauna - the only site sampling this time period in southern Africa - thus overlooking potential important biogeographic links that could elucidate how faunal communities, including hominins, were distributed across Africa through time.

Here, we include fauna from three discrete Langebaanweg communities in biogeographic analyses with 75 other Late Miocene and Pliocene faunal assemblages sampling eastern and northern Africa and Eurasia. Updated lists of large mammal genera were included from each site, with regional Eurasian taxonomic lists based on Bernor, et al. (2009). For each pair of assemblages, the genus–level faunal resemblance indices (FRIs) of Dice (Sokal and Sneath, 1963) and Simpson (1943) were calculated, binned according to geography and time, and compared using G-tests of independence.

While previous studies like those of Bernor et al. (2009) highlight faunal similarities calculated between the Ardipithecus faunas and those of the Lothagam Nawata Member, our analyses instead result in a larger calculated FRI between the three Langebaanweg assemblages and those of the Middle Awash. Calculations also reflect strong links with other eastern and northern African hominin sites. These results suggest that despite the lack of hominins in Langebaanweg assemblages, their taxonomic similarities with Middle Awash faunas suggest strong faunal interchange between southern and eastern Africa during the Miocene that likely influenced later hominin dispersal patterns in the Plio-Pleistocene.