The Pleistocene fauna (other than Primates) from Asbole, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia, and its environmental and biochronological implications

Denis Geraads (1) , Zeresenay Alemseged (2) , Denné Reed (3) , Jonathan Wynn (4) , Diana Roman (5)

1 DEHIPE - Dynamique de l'évolution humaine : individus, populations, espèces [Paris]
2 Department of Human Evolution [Leipzig]
3 Dept. of Anthropology, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY 11794-4364, USA
4 Department of Geography and Geosciences [St. Andrews]
5 Department of Geological Sciences [Oregon]

The Asbole area in the Lower Awash Valley yielded a diverse fauna of large and small mammals, associated with an Acheulean industry. The most notable forms are a potentially new species of herpestid, a large collection of Kolpochoerus majus, and the earliest known Bos in Africa. Biochronologically, this fauna belongs to the earliest Middle Pleistocene, and is roughly contemporaneous with the Bodo site further south. Paleoenvironmentally, the fauna suggests a mosaic of landscapes among which humid environments, grasslands and forests, are predominant.

Mots clés: Mammalian fauna; Pleistocene; Ethiopia; environment

Domaines: Etudes de l'environnement; Paléontologie

Denis Geraads, Zeresenay Alemseged, Denné Reed, Jonathan Wynn, Diana Roman. The Pleistocene fauna (other than Primates) from Asbole, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia, and its environmental and biochronological implications. Geobios, 2005, 37, pp.697-718. ⟨halshs-00009691⟩