The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

René Bobe; Vera Aldeias; Zeresenay Alemseged; Robert L. Anemone; Will Archer; Georges Aumaître; Marion K. Bamford; Dora Biro; Didier L. Bourlès; Melissa Doyle Boyd; David R. Braun; Cristian Capelli; João d'Oliveira Coelho; Jörg M. Habermann; Jason J. Head; Karim Keddadouche; Kornelius Kupczik; Anne Elisabeth Lebatard; Tina Lüdecke; Amélia Macôa; Felipe I. Martínez; Jacinto Mathe; Clara Mendes; Luis Meira Paulo; Maria Pinto; Darya Presnyakova; Thomas A. Püschel; Frederico Tátá Regala; Mark Sier; Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva; Marc Stalmans; Susana Carvalho

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107644

The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

René Bobe^*, Vera Aldeias, Zeresenay Alemseged, Robert L. Anemone, Will Archer, Georges Aumaître, Marion K. Bamford, Dora Biro, Didier L. Bourlès, Melissa Doyle Boyd, David R. Braun, Cristian Capelli, João d'Oliveira Coelho, Jörg M. Habermann, Jason J. Head, Karim Keddadouche, Kornelius Kupczik, Anne Elisabeth Lebatard, Tina Lüdecke, Amélia MacôaFelipe I. Martínez, Jacinto Mathe, Clara Mendes, Luis Meira Paulo, Maria Pinto, Darya Presnyakova, Thomas A. Püschel, Frederico Tátá Regala, Mark Sier, Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva, Marc Stalmans, Susana Carvalho

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species.

Original language	English
Article number	107644
Pages (from-to)	1-29
Number of pages	29
Journal	iScience
Volume	26
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107644
Publication status	Published - 15 Sept 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

Keywords

Evolutionary biology
Forestry
Geochemistry

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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1-s2.0-S2589004223017212-mainFinal published version, 9.81 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Bobe, R., Aldeias, V., Alemseged, Z., Anemone, R. L., Archer, W., Aumaître, G., Bamford, M. K., Biro, D., Bourlès, D. L., Doyle Boyd, M., Braun, D. R., Capelli, C., d'Oliveira Coelho, J., Habermann, J. M., Head, J. J., Keddadouche, K., Kupczik, K., Lebatard, A. E., Lüdecke, T., ... Carvalho, S. (2023). The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift. iScience, 26(9), 1-29. Article 107644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107644

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title = "The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift",

abstract = "The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species.",

keywords = "Evolutionary biology, Forestry, Geochemistry",

author = "Ren{\'e} Bobe and Vera Aldeias and Zeresenay Alemseged and Anemone, {Robert L.} and Will Archer and Georges Auma{\^i}tre and Bamford, {Marion K.} and Dora Biro and Bourl{\`e}s, {Didier L.} and {Doyle Boyd}, Melissa and Braun, {David R.} and Cristian Capelli and {d'Oliveira Coelho}, Jo{\~a}o and Habermann, {J{\"o}rg M.} and Head, {Jason J.} and Karim Keddadouche and Kornelius Kupczik and Lebatard, {Anne Elisabeth} and Tina L{\"u}decke and Am{\'e}lia Mac{\^o}a and Mart{\'i}nez, {Felipe I.} and Jacinto Mathe and Clara Mendes and Paulo, {Luis Meira} and Maria Pinto and Darya Presnyakova and P{\"u}schel, {Thomas A.} and Regala, {Frederico T{\'a}t{\'a}} and Mark Sier and {Ferreira da Silva}, {Maria Joana} and Marc Stalmans and Susana Carvalho",

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Bobe, R, Aldeias, V, Alemseged, Z, Anemone, RL, Archer, W, Aumaître, G, Bamford, MK, Biro, D, Bourlès, DL, Doyle Boyd, M, Braun, DR, Capelli, C, d'Oliveira Coelho, J, Habermann, JM, Head, JJ, Keddadouche, K, Kupczik, K, Lebatard, AE, Lüdecke, T, Macôa, A, Martínez, FI, Mathe, J, Mendes, C, Paulo, LM, Pinto, M, Presnyakova, D, Püschel, TA, Regala, FT, Sier, M, Ferreira da Silva, MJ, Stalmans, M & Carvalho, S 2023, 'The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift', iScience, vol. 26, no. 9, 107644, pp. 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107644

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AU - Bobe, René

AU - Aldeias, Vera

AU - Alemseged, Zeresenay

AU - Anemone, Robert L.

AU - Archer, Will

AU - Aumaître, Georges

AU - Bamford, Marion K.

AU - Biro, Dora

AU - Bourlès, Didier L.

AU - Doyle Boyd, Melissa

AU - Braun, David R.

AU - Capelli, Cristian

AU - d'Oliveira Coelho, João

AU - Habermann, Jörg M.

AU - Head, Jason J.

AU - Keddadouche, Karim

AU - Kupczik, Kornelius

AU - Lebatard, Anne Elisabeth

AU - Lüdecke, Tina

AU - Macôa, Amélia

AU - Martínez, Felipe I.

AU - Mathe, Jacinto

AU - Mendes, Clara

AU - Paulo, Luis Meira

AU - Pinto, Maria

AU - Presnyakova, Darya

AU - Püschel, Thomas A.

AU - Regala, Frederico Tátá

AU - Sier, Mark

AU - Ferreira da Silva, Maria Joana

AU - Stalmans, Marc

AU - Carvalho, Susana

PY - 2023/9/15

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N2 - The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species.

AB - The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species.

KW - Evolutionary biology

KW - Forestry

KW - Geochemistry

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DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107644

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SN - 2589-0042

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JF - iScience

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ER -

The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African Rift

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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