2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Excavation of the late Miocene primate fauna in Nakali, Kenya and its evolutionary implications
| Project/Area Number |
22255006
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 海外学術 |
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| Research Field |
Physical anthropology
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KUNIMARSU Yutaka 京都大学, 大学院理学研究科, 准教授 (80243111)
OGIHARA Naomichi 慶応義塾大学, 理工学部, 准教授 (70324605)
SAKAI Tetsuya 島根大学, 総合理工学部, 准教授 (90303809)
NAKATANI Hideo 鹿児島大学, 大学院理工学研究科, 教授 (20180424)
SANEYOSHI Mototaka 株式会社林原生物化学研究所, 類人猿研究センター, 研究員 (50522140)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010-04-01 – 2014-03-31
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| Keywords | 古人類学 / 東アフリカ / ケニア / 中新世 / 化石 / 霊長類 / 古環境 / 大型類人猿 |
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| Research Abstract |
We conducted paleontological and geological survey of the Nakali Formation (9.8-9.9 million years ago), documented the mammal community of this age including several primate species, and revealed its paleoenvironment and their ecological adaptations. Mammalian taxa counted 6 orders and more than 30 species. The most abundant primate is Microcolobus sp. This species is a small colobine that is comparable to the smallest extant colobine in size and was adapted for living in forested environment. The presumed forested (C3) paleoenvironment was also supported from stable carbon isotope study of fossilized enamel of herbivorous mammals. This study also revealed that C4 environmental expansion progressed after the age of the Nakali Formation in East Africa. The geological survey revealed that the Nakali Formation expands southward more widely that our previous expectation.
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