The Daka Member of the Bouri formation, Middle Awash valley, Ethiopia: Fauna, stratigraphy, and environment.

摘要

This thesis presents the vertebrate paleontology of the Early Pleistocene Daka Member, Middle Awash, Ethiopia, including its geological and chronological contexts. Focused work on the Daka Member began in 1981 under the guidance of Desmond Clark and Tim White, and intensified between 1992 and 2000. This volume compiles the biological data collected and presents an updated stratigraphy. The Daka Member is well dated at ca. 1.0 Ma and new radiometric dating results are presented here.; The Daka faunal assemblage comprises more than 700 identified specimens, including a well-preserved Homo erectus calvaria, numerous new mammal species, and a large number of very complete and well-preserved cranial and postcranial fossils. Systematic treatment of individual taxa is followed by a synoptic analysis of the composite fauna, addressing paleoecology, paleobiogeography, and paleoclimate. The Daka paleobiological record is assessed in relation to other African occurrences.; The Daka Member faunal assemblage adds to the already prominent Middle Awash sequence, which samples six million years of vertebrate evolution. The Daka Member is of pivotal importance both as a segment in the Middle Awash area's stratigraphic and paleontological record and as the richest well-dated site in Africa in its chronological horizon. The chapters that follow represent its first formal dissemination.