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Carnivora from the South Turkwel hominid site, northern Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Lars Werdelin  and
Margaret E. Lewis
Lars Werdelin
Affiliation:
Department of Palaeozoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden,
Margaret E. Lewis
Affiliation:
Biology Program, Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, PO Box 195, Pomona NJ 08240,
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Abstract

A small collection of carnivoran fossils from the South Turkwel hominid site is described. The fauna is composed of Megantereon ekidoit new species, Homotherium sp., Crocuta cf. dietrichi, cf. Pachycrocuta sp., Canis new species A., cf. Civettictis sp., Viverridae or Herpestidae indet., and Lutrinae indet. The record of Megantereon and Canis, as well as Pachycrocuta and Civettictis, if these genera are identified correctly, represents the earliest occurrences of their respective taxa in Africa. These specimens suggest a relatively rapid reorganization of the carnivore guild some time around 3.5 Ma, followed by a longer period of transition to a fauna more comparable in composition to the modern one.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 74 , Issue 6 , November 2000 , pp. 1173 - 1180
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society

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