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LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 3, 2008

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Contextual)

(RHOI-supported) Per F. Bibi: The RHOI Bovid Analytical Working Group met for a conference in Addis Ababa from 4-8 August, 2008. Conference participants included Elisabeth Vrba, Alan Gentry, Denis Geraads, Maia Bukhsianidze, Dimitris Kostopoulos, and Faysal Bibi. In the mornings, attendees met at the Hilton Addis conference facilities to present and discuss topics relevant to the evolution of Bovidae. Attendees presented on new Mio-Pliocene specimens from Eurasia and Africa and focused on the question of the origin of the living bovid tribes during the late Miocene and their subsequent evolution during the Pliocene. Afternoons saw the group convening at the National Museum of Ethiopia to discuss and exchange observations on fossils from the Middle Awash and Omo collections. A summary paper of the conference's conclusions is in preparation.

Participants of the Bovid AWG conference (left to right: E. Vrba, A. Gentry, D. Geraads, M. Bukhsianidze, F. Bibi; behind camera: D. Kostopoulos)

(Image: D. Kostopoulos)

August 23, 2008

NIKITI, GREECE (Contextual)

(RHOI-supported) Per Prof. G. D. Koufos: The excavations in the localities of Nikiti (Macedonia, Greece) were continued this summer (June) by a team of palaeontologists of the University of Thessaloniki, lead by Prof. G. D. Koufos. A large terrestrial turtle (length=1.60m; breadth=1.20m) has been unearthed from a new late Miocene fossiliferous site. It was discovered as the bulldozer was working to open the area. Several other fossils (bovids, equids, giraffids, mastodonts) have been discovered in the known fossiliferous site of Nikiti-2.

Excavations at Nikiti (Image: G. Koufos)

June 27, 2008

POITIERS, FRANCE (Meetings News)

(RHOI-Supported) The Carnivore Analytical Working Group met over two days in late May, 2008, at the University of Poitiers, France. Convened by Louis de Bonis, the meeting was conducted in a presentation/discussion format, with research topics spanning the late-middle Miocene to early Pleistocene.

Important contextual research by Morales and Pickford, on the middle Miocene carnivores from Muruyur Formation at Kipsaraman, was presented. This material adds much needed information to link, for example, early Miocene Amphicyonids with late Miocene forms.

Other exciting research included late Miocene feliforms from Toros-Menalla, Chad (Peigne et al.), the As Sahabi carnivore guild (Rook and Sardella), small hyaenids from Lothagam (Semenov), a comparison of the late Miocene European and African carnivoran assemblages (Koufos and de Bonis), Middle Awash carnivores (Haile-Selassie), carnivores from Kossom Bougoudi, Chad (Peigne et al.), late Pliocene carnivores from Ahl al Oughlam, Morocco (Geraads), Plio-Pleistocene carnivores from South Africa (Hartstone-Rose), early Pleistocene Megantereon from Italy (Sardella), the evolution of African carnivores (Lewis), new canids from Aramis, Middle Awash, Ethiopia (Garcia), and the geographic patterning of African carnivore faunas (Werdelin).

June 11, 2008

THESSALONIKI, GREECE (Meetings News)

(RHOI-Supported) The Hominoid Analytical Working Group met March 27-29, 2008 in Thessaloniki, Greece. Organized by Jay Kelley and George Koufos and hosted by Professor Koufos and the Aristotle University of Thessalonki, the meeting topic was, "Late Miocene Euro-African hominoids and their relationships." Further details to follow.

Hominoid Conference Participants (Image: G. Koufos)

June 07, 2008

YALE UNIVERSITY, CONNECTICUT (Contextual)

(RHOI-Supported) The February, 2008 issue of the Yale University Graduate School newsletter features a profile of the Baynunah Research Project and the project's leaders, RHOI members Prof. Andrew Hill and Yale graduate student Faysal Bibi. Working in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, a multinational team including scholars from Yale and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) are researching the ecology of the Arabian Penninsula during the late Miocene.

Preliminary fossil finds from Baynunah are described along with details of survey and collection methods. The article also features the work of Prof. Hill in helping to develop paleontological infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates. Check back to this newsfeed for future updates on this important site for Miocene biogeography.

Bibi (Left) and Hill (Right) at Baynunah (Image: M. Beech/Yale University)

April 30, 2008

SIENA, ITALY (Meetings News)

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Baccinello Oreopithecus bambolii skeleton by J. Hürzeler, the Vertebrate Paleontology Research Group at the University of Florence and the Functional Morphology and Evolution Research Unit at the Hull York Medical School are organising A Colloquium on European Fossil Primates to be held in Siena and Grosseto, Italy from September 11-13, 2008.

The program includes invited lectures, podium and poster presentations, and field trips to late Miocene outcrops in the Baccinello Basin. The deadline for abstracts and early registration is June 30, 2008. Contact Lorenzo Rook (lorenzo.rook@unifi.it) of the Universita di Firenze, or Sarah Elton (sarah.elton@hyms.ac.uk) of the Hull York Medical School to register, submit an abstract or with general questions on the colloquium. Click the image below to download a PDF of the announcement.

A Colloquium on European Fossil Primates (Image: L. Rook)

MARCH 31, 2008

SARDINIA, ITALY (Exploration, Contextual)

(RHOI-supported) A preliminary report on the recovery of some 2400 vertebrate specimens from the late Miocene site of Fiume Santo in Sardinia, Italy has been published by L. Abbazzi, M. Delfino, G. Gallai, L. Trebini, and L. Rook (Abbazzi et al. (2008) New data on the vertebrate assemblage of Fiume Santo (North-West Sardinia, Italy), and overview on the late Miocene Tusco-Sardinian palaeobioprovince. Palaeontology 51:425-451). Included in these specimens are several teeth and a mandible fragment from the Tusco-Sardinian endemic hominoid Oreopithecus bambolii.

The analysis of the finds at Fiume Santo has resulted in the description of three new ruminant species, two in new genera (434, 441-443). The authors compare the new finds with fossil specimens from Tuscany and continental Europe to add to our knowledge of island endemism and the evolution and extinction of chronofauna (447).

Continue to monitor this newsfeed for further updates on this important site for hominoid evolution and paleobiogeography.

Fossil teeth of Oreopithecus bambolii (Image: Abbazzi et al., 2008, Plate 1)

JANUARY 20, 2008

LEMUDONG'O, KENYA (Core)

(RHOI-supported) A special issue on paleontological and geological work at the late Miocene site of Lemudong’o, Kenya has been published in the journal Kirtlandia (Number 56, December 2007). The seventeen articles within this issue detail the history of research at Lemudong’o and describe some of the 1268 vertebrate specimens in 48 taxa found over the course of fieldwork spanning 1994-2005.

Among the finds is a new species of Paracolobus (P. enkorikae) described in detail by L. Hlusko (L. Hlusko (2007) A new late Miocene species of Paracolobus and other Cercopithecoidea (Mammalia: Primates) fossils from Lemudong’o, Kenya. Kirtlandia 56: 72-85). Though research at Lemudong’o yielded no hominid fossils, an understanding of the paleoenvironment of the Narok district, Kenya at 6.1 Ma is invaluable for understanding habitat preferences of the earliest members of the human lineage.

Continue to monitor this newsfeed for further updates of research on the evolution and paleobiology of early hominids.

(Image: Cleveland Museum of Natural History)

JANUARY 15, 2008

ADDIS ABABA , ETHIOPIA (Meetings News)

The Conference on Paleoanthropology, Paleontology, and Archaeology was held between January 12th and 14th, 2008, in Addis Ababa. Organized by the Ministry and ARCCH, this stimulating and productive gathering involved RHOI members from several Projects and Analytical Working Groups.

Conference Participants

(From left) Dr. Berhane Asfaw; Dr. Giday WoldeGabriel; Prof. Tim White;
His Excellency, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ambassador
Mohamoud Dirir (MP); and other dignitaries and colleagues.

DECEMBER 15, 2007

WORANSO-MILLE, ETHIOPIA (Exploration)

(RHOI-supported) A new Pliocene-age hominid-bearing study area from the central Afar region of Ethiopia has just been announced by Y. Haile-Selassie, A. Deino, B. Saylor, M. Umer, and B. Latimer (Haile-Selassie et al. (2007) Preliminary geology and paleontology of new hominid-bearing Pliocene localities in the central Afar region of Ethiopia. Anthropological Science 115: 215-222).

The finds include over 1000 vertebrate specimens from 17 localities. Among these specimens are, “more than 20 fossil hominid craniodental and postcranial remains, including one partial skeleton, of Pliocene age (3.53.8 Ma)” (215). Preliminary research on the geology and paleontology of the area indicates a relatively closed woodland with a paleo-river system (215).

The authors expect these new finds to contribute to our understanding of the evolution and phylogenetic relationships of Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis (220).

Stay tuned to the newsfeed for future updates from this new study area.

Hominid excavation at Korsi Dora (Image: Y. Haile-Selassie et al., 2007, Figure 3)

DECEMBER 6, 2007

BERKELEY, CA

A major goal of the Revealing Hominid Origins Intiative is to standardize data management and facilitate the sharing of comparable and accurate specimen-level paleontological data within a global scientific consortium.

To this end, the RHOI has just released a free-for-download FileMaker database template that is both PC and Mac compatible. Navigate to http://rhoi.berkeley.edu/RHOI_Database_Template/downloads.php and follow the on-screen instructions to try out the new RHOI Database Template today.

OCTOBER, 2007

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Infrastructure)

(RHOI-supported) The Paleobotany laboratory at Addis Ababa University, an RHOI infrastructure project led by Dr. Mohammed Umer, was opened on the university campus and is processing a variety of paleobotanical remains. The facility is expected to host an upcoming Paleobotany Working Group meeting scheduled for next summer, in conjunction with the East African Quaternary Association Meeting.

Dr. Mohammed Umer in the Paleobotany laboratory.

AUGUST 24, 2007

(RHOI-supported) Ouranopithecus turkae, a new ape from the late Miocene of Turkey, has just been announced by E. Güleç, A. Sevim, C. Pehlevan, and F. Kaya (Güleç et al. (2007) A new great ape from the late Miocene of Turkey. Anthropological Science 115: 153-158). The specimens include a maxilla fragment, a sub-adult mandible, and an adult partial right mandible (see figure below).

After close comparison of the dentognathic features of these specimens with other examples of Ouranopithecus (e.g., RPL-56, RPL-128, and XIR-1) as well as Orrorin, Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, and Australopithecus, the authors suggest that Ouranopithecus shows “substantial dentognathic parallelism with Australopithecus” (157). As a result, Güleç et al. “do not consider these features of Ouranopithecus to indicate placement within the hominid (African ape-human) clade” (157).

Field work at Çorakyerler over the last decade has added substantially to our understanding of late Miocene ape evolution outside of Africa. Continue to watch this Newsfeed for future developments.

(RHOI-supported) The Ethio-Japanese Research Team, led by G. Suwa, B. Asfaw and Y. Beyene, have just announced a new late Miocene ape, Chororapithecus abyssinicus (Suwa et al. (2007). A new species of great ape from the late Miocene epoch in Ethiopia. Nature 448(7156): 921-924). The species is described on the basis of 9 teeth, including 1 canine and 8 molars from Chorora, southeastern Afar rift, Ethiopia.

After careful comparative study, the researchers conclude that Chororapithecus “was either a primitive form of gorilla, or an independent branch showing a similar adaption at about the time when the gorilla line was emerging somewhere else” (from Press Release statement).

If their interpretation is correct, then Chororapithecus may indicate a human-gorilla split before 10 to 11 Ma. Previous molecular and DNA studies calibrated to different fossils suggested an earlier split at ca. 8 Ma. A recalibration based on these fossils may be required, as discussed in the paper and its supplementary information.

Only more fossils can resolve such fundamental puzzles. With any luck, the late Miocene great ape record will continue to grow. Watch this Newsfeed for future developments.

F. Clark Howell, one of the pillars of human evolutionary studies in the modern era, passed away March 10, 2007 at his home in Berkeley.

A co-founder of the RHOI, Clark's inexhaustible curiosity and ability to create and stimulate truly multidisciplinary science drove nearly half a century of research in paleoanthropology and beyond. The example he set will no doubt continue to drive new and challenging research far into the future.

A memorial website has been established in Clark's honor. Please visit the F. Clark Howell Memorial website by clicking on the link to the left or on the picture of Clark above.

(RHOI-supported) Hispanopithecus laietanus hand morphology and biomechanics are described in a new paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (v. 274, n. 1624) by S. Almécija, D. M. Alba, S. Moyà-Solà, and M. Köhler. According to the authors, this important new specimen, number IPS 18800, from Can Llobateres, Catalonia, Spain “indicates a unique positional repertoire, combining orthogrady with suspensory behaviours and palmigrade quadrupedalism” (2375). They further note that Hispanopithecus presents a complex mosaic of features such that a “retention of powerful grasping and palmigrady suggests that the last common ancestor of hominids might have been more primitive than what can be inferred on the basis of extant taxa, suggesting that pronograde behaviours are compatible with an orthograde bodyplan suitable for climbing and suspension” (2375).

C. Owen Lovejoy comments on the new Almécija et al. Hispanopithecus hand paper in the same issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (v. 274, n. 1624). Lovejoy notes “that even small parts of animals can sometimes reveal a great deal about how and where they lived” (2373). The hand of Hispanopithecus indicates that it had relatively short metacarpals for its proposed body mass, even shorter than in gorillas, while at the same time having relatively long phalanges, almost as long as in orang-utans. In addition, the metacrapal heads suggest an ability to extend the metacarpophalangeal joints. Such a mosaic of features may indicate a unique morphological ‘step’ in the evolution of modern apes.

However, Lovejoy cautions that this new morphological information on Hispanopithecus does not necessarily place it as an evolutionary intermediate. This ape may in fact represent “a special adaptation that left no modern descendants” (2374).

(RHOI-supported) The Primatology Meets Palaeoanthropology Conference was held April 17-19, 2007 in Cambridge, England. Organized by W. McGrew and R. Foley of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies (LCHES), the conference met to discuss the ways in which cooperation among primatologists and paleoanthropologists can stimulate research. Participants included: Sandi Copeland, John Gowlett, John Harris, Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Kevin Hunt, Stephen Lycett, Linda Marchant, Jim Moore, Kaye Reed, Kathy Schick, Craig Stanford, Nick Toth, Natalie Uonomi, Carel van Shaik, Elisabetta Visalberghi, Alan Walker, Andrew Whiten, and Richard Wrangham. Wrangham's research, presented at this conference, was also recently the subject of a News Focus piece by Ann Gibbons in Science (v. 316 n. 5831, pp. 1558-1560).