ABSTRACT

We define 17 African land mammal ages, or AFLMAs, covering the Cenozoic record of the Afro-arabian continent, the planet’s second largest land mass. While fossiliferous deposits are absent on the eroded plateau of the continent’s interior, almost 800 fossil genera from over 350 locations have now been identified in coastal deposits, karst caves, and in the Neogene rift valleys. Given a well-developed geochronologic framework, together with continuing revision to the fossil record—both stimulated by the story of human evolution in Africa—and also to compensate for the variation in fossil ecosystems across such great distances, the AFLMAs are biochronological units defined by type localities, and not biozones to be recognized by the occurrence of certain genera. Disparities are notable: Africa is the highest of all continents, but almost every Paleogene locality was formed at sea level; the fossil record of its great rainforest ecosystem remains virtually unknown; and the Paleogene fauna is relatively isolated, whereas the Neogene begins with open exchange with Laurasia following the Tauride collision, with a simultaneous opening of the East African rift valleys in which the newly revolutionized fauna is abundantly preserved. Notably, the continent-wide and comprehensive documentation of the African mammalian record reveals an unparalleled rate of transformation in the hominin lineage, unmatched by any other group, in response to the Neogene expansion of the open-country ecosystem.

摘要

我们定义了17个非洲陆地哺乳动物年龄，即AFLMA，涵盖了非洲第二大洲非洲大陆的新生代记录，该大陆是全球第二大陆地。虽然非洲大陆内部受侵蚀的高原上没有化石沉积物，但现已在沿海沉积物，喀斯特洞穴和新近纪裂谷中发现了来自350多个地点的近800种化石。鉴于发达的地球年代学框架以及对化石记录的不断修订（两者都受到非洲人类进化史的刺激），并且为了补偿如此遥远的距离，化石生态系统的变化，AFLMA是由类型区域，而不是某些属的出现所识别的生物区。差距明显：非洲是所有大洲中最高的，但是几乎每个古近纪地方都形成在海平面上。巨大的热带雨林生态系统的化石记录几乎是未知的；古近纪动物区系相对孤立，而新近纪则始于陶瑞德相撞后与劳拉西亚的开放交换，同时开放了东非裂谷，新改造的动物得到了充分的保护。值得注意的是，非洲大陆哺乳动物记录的整个非洲大陆的全面文献揭示，响应开放国家生态系统的新近发展，人类蛋白谱系的转化率无与伦比，是任何其他群体都无法比拟的。而新基因则是在塔里德（Tauride）撞毁后与劳拉西亚（Laurasia）进行开放式交流而开始的，同时东非裂谷也同时开放，新革命的动物得到了充分的保护。值得注意的是，非洲大陆哺乳动物记录的整个非洲大陆的全面文献揭示，响应开放国家生态系统的新近发展，人类蛋白谱系的转化率无与伦比，是任何其他群体都无法比拟的。而新基因则是在塔里德（Tauride）撞毁后与劳拉西亚（Laurasia）进行开放式交流而开始的，同时东非裂谷也同时开放，新革命的动物得到了充分的保护。值得注意的是，非洲大陆哺乳动物记录的整个非洲大陆的全面文献揭示，响应开放国家生态系统的新近发展，人类蛋白谱系的转化率无与伦比，是任何其他群体都无法比拟的。