Reconstructions of habitat at sites like Kanapoi are key to understanding the environmental circumstances in which hominins evolved during the early Pliocene. While Australopithecus anamensis shows evidence of terrestrial bipedality traditionally associated with a more open setting, its enamel has low δ¹³C values consistent with consumption of C₃ foods, which predominate in wooded areas of tropical Africa. Habitat proxies, ranging from paleosols and their carbonates to associated herbivore fauna and their carbon isotope ratios, suggest a heterogeneous setting with both grass and woody plant components, though the proportions of each have been difficult to pin down. Here we bring dental microwear texture analysis of herbivorous fauna to bear on the issue. We present texture data for fossil bovids, primates, rodents, and suids (n = 107 individuals in total) from the hominin bearing deposits at Kanapoi, and interpret these in the light of closely related extant mammals with known differences in diet. The Kanapoi bovid results, for example, are similar to those for extant variable grazers or graze-browse intermediate taxa. The Kanapoi suid data vary by taxon, with one similar to the pattern of extant grazers and the other more closely resembling mixed feeders. The Kanapoi primates and rodents are more difficult to associate with a specific environment, though it seems that grass was likely a component in the diets of both. All taxa evince microwear texture patterns consistent with a mosaic of discrete microhabitats or a heterogeneous setting including both tree and grass components.

在Kanapoi等地，栖息地的重建对于了解人类在上新世早期演化出的人为环境非常关键。而湖畔南方古猿示出传统上与更开放的设定相关联的地面bipedality的证据，其搪瓷具有低的δ ¹³ C值以C的消耗相一致₃食物，在热带非洲的树木繁茂的地区居多。从古土壤及其碳酸盐到相关的草食动物区系及其碳同位素比，人居代理表明草和木本植物成分的分布不均，尽管每种成分的比例很难确定。在这里，我们对食草动物的牙齿微磨损质地分析进行了探讨。我们提供了化石牛科动物，灵长类动物，啮齿动物和suids（n 总共有107个人）来自Kanapoi的含人乳素的矿床，并根据饮食差异已知的紧密相关的现存哺乳动物对其进行解释。例如，Kanapoi bovid结果类似于现存的可变放牧者或放牧浏览的中间类群的结果。Kanapoi suid数据因分类单元而异，一个类似于现存的放牧者的模式，另一个更类似于混合饲养者。Kanapoi灵长类动物和啮齿动物更难与特定的环境联系在一起，尽管看起来草可能是两者饮食中的一种成分。所有分类单元均显示微磨损纹理图案，其与离散的微生境的镶嵌或包括树木和草木成分的异质环境一致。