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Resume Le gisement de Ahl al Oughlam a livre la premiere faune importante de carnivores d'Afrique du Nord, et l'une des plus riches d'Afrique. Elle comprend 23 taxons dont 13 nouveaux, appartenant â la plupart des familles de carnivores, les mieux representees etant les felides (6 especes), les hyenides et les mustelides (4 especes chacune). Plusieurs genres n'avaient pas encore ete decouverts en Afrique du Nord, comme Pliocrocuta, Chasmaporthetes, Nyctereutes, Prepoecilogale , alors que le morse ( Alachtherium ) est signale pour la premiere fois en Afrique; de nombreux autres genres etaient encore inconnus dans la region avant le milieu ou meme la fin du Pleistocene, comme Herpestes, Viverra, Genetta, Acinonyx, Ursus, Poecilictis, Mellivora, Lutra . La faune de carnivores de Ahl al Oughlam, ecologiquement tres diversifiee, se distingue au moins autant de celles d'Eurasie que de celles d'Afrique orientale et meridionale; les nombreuses similitudes avec les unes et les autres permettent neanmoins de confirmer l'âge de 2,5 Ma qui avait ete propose pour le gisement.

International audience; The preventive surveys conducted from 2005 to 2012 in a littoral cave (Grotte des Gazelles, Dar Bouazza, south of Casablanca) with swallow holes acting as pitfalls reveal new data about infilling and faunal accumulation process during Late Pleistocene times in this part of North Africa. The main issue was to characterize i) the origin of the infilling and of the faunal accumulations and ii) the impact of post-depositional processes and of carnivore vs hominin activity on these faunal sets. Answering to these points will enable us to determine the modalities of use and sharing of the cave by the various predators and/or scavengers as well as to clarify the presence of artefacts. The use of appropriate sedimentological and taphonomical methods to study this site investigated in short periods of surveys allowed us to suggest a first formation scenario of the cavity. The successive transformations of faunal remains give information in the modes of predation and gathering upon ungulates. A common feature of the different layers is the paucity of human traces and the prevalence of carnivore activity in layers containing exclusively Moustero-Aterian lithic artefacts made of flint and quartzites and percussors.

International audience; The extinct Odontopterygiformes are the sole birds known to possess strong and sharp bony pseudoteeth, the shape and location of which are closely mimetic of real teeth. The structure of the pseudoteeth is investigated here in a late Pliocene/early Pleistocene species, Pelagornis mauretanicus, using X-ray microtomography and thin sections. The results are interpreted with regard to the pseudotooth mode of growth, and have implications concerning aspects of Pelagornis ecology. The larger pseudoteeth are hollow and approximately cone-shaped, and the smaller ones are rostro-caudally constricted. The walls of pseudoteeth are composed of bone tissue of the fibro-lamellar type, which is intensively remodeled by Haversian substitution. The jaw bones display the same structure as the pseudoteeth, but their vascular canals are oriented parallel to the long axis of the bones, whereas they are perpendicular to this direction in the pseudoteeth. There is no hiatus or evidence of a fusion between the pseudoteeth and the jaw bones. Two possible models for pseudotooth growth are derived from the histological data. The most plausible model is that pseudotooth growth began after the completion of jaw bone growth, as a simple local protraction of periosteal osteogenic activity. Pseudotooth development thus occurred relatively late during ontogeny. The highly vascularized structure and the relative abundance of parallel-fibered bone tissue in the pseudoteeth suggest poor mechanical capabilities. The pseudoteeth were most likely covered and protected by the hardened, keratinized rhamphotheca in the adult during life. The late development of the pseudoteeth would involve a similarly late and/or partial hardening of the rhamphotheca, as displayed by extant Anseriformes, Apterygiformes and some Charadriiformes. This would add support to the hypothesis of a close phylogenetic relationship between Odontopterygiformes and Anseriformes. The late maturation of the Pelagornis feeding apparatus, and hence the delayed capability for efficient prey catching, suggests that Pelagornis was altricial.

Turtles from the Pliocene of Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Morocco) and nearby Mio-Pliocene localities. The Late Pliocene locality Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Morocco) yielded a fauna of cryptodiran testudinoid turtles, all of them related to extant African forms. Two terrestrial and one freshwater species are recognized. First, a new small species of the palaearctic genus Testudo Linnaeus, 1758, T. oughlamensis n. sp., is abundantly represented and is closely related to T. kenitrensis Gmira, 1993, from the Middle Pleistocene of Kenitra, Morocco. It is compared to other new remains of Testudo from nearby localities of similar age, including Dehar Mouak and Ar Rehamna. Together with T. kenitrensis, it constitutes a new clade within Testudo, providing a minimum age for the divergence between this clade and T. graeca Linnaeus, 1758 from Morocco. Secondly, the giant ?Centrochelys marocana n. sp., is probably related to the extant C. sulcata (Miller, 1779). Its description gives the opportunity to exami...

International audience; We describe here new ruminant material and revise previous collections from the Pliocene site of Kanapoi in northwestern Kenya, at c. 4 Ma., leading to substantial changes in the identifications and faunal list. Tragelaphins are the most common bovids; reduncins are quite rare if present; hippotragins are probably represented by a form previously unknown from Kenya; the alcelaphin Damalacra is represented by a new species; and an antilopin is possibly related to Dytikodorcas. We remove the suid Notochoerus cf. euilus from the list. Similarities with the South African site of Langebaanweg are more distant than previously implied, but the Kanapoi ruminant fauna bears no close relationship with other eastern African Pliocene assemblages.

Die oberpliozane Lokalitat Ahl al Oughlam bei Casablanca (Marokko) hat umfangreiches Material der GiraffeSivatherium maurusium geliefert. Die Dimensionen der Knochen liegen nicht zwischen denen der unterpliozanen und denen der pleistozanen Formen. Die Entwicklung der Gattung in Afrika, obwohl wahrscheinlich anagenetisch, ist komplizierter als bisher angenommen. Die Grosenreduktion im Laufe des Pliozans ist eine neue Ausnahme der Bergmann’schen Regel.

Resume Les Rongeurs du Pliocene final de Ahl al Oughlam, connus par plusieurs milliers de dents, ne comprennentpourtant que 6 especes. Hystrix et le Ctenodactylide Irhoudia sont tres rares; les Murides Paraethomys, Praomys et Mus sont un peu plus primitifs qu'a Irhoud Ocre. Une espece nouvelle de Gerbillus ressemble beaucoup a G. campestris, malgre son âge ancien. Les Insectivores sont presque tous des Soricides; le plus abondant est un “Episoriculus” semblable a celui d'Irhoud Ocre; une nouvelle espece de Suncus est le premier fossile de ce genre en Afrique du Nord; Erinaceus (Atelerix) n'est represente que par 2 dents. La microfaune est moins diversifiee que dans les gisements plus recents, ou la predominance des Gerbillides temoigne d'un milieu plus ouvert et plus sec, et Ahl al Oughlam semble anterieur a la degradation climatique de la fin du Pliocene.

recueil des résumés, page 61; Le circuit géotouristique du Grand Casablanca vise à sensibiliser aussi bien les touristes, la population autochtone que les autorités et à présenter ce pôle économique du Royaume du point de vue scientifique (carrières patrimoniales archéologiques d'Ahl Al OughIam, de Sidi Abderrahmane, de Thomas l et d'Oulad Hamida 1, lac de Sindibad, étang d'Oulfa, zone humide d'Oued Maleh à Mohammedia) et socio-économique (carrières d'argiles triasiques et liasiques de l'Oued Maleh et de l'Oued N'Fifikh pour la fabrication de céramique; carrières dans les formations plia-quaternaires exploitées pour J'extraction de la pierre de construction et de pierre ornementale comme à Mediouna et à l'Ouled Saleh ; gravières dans le Cambrien exploitées pour la production de granulats et de ballasts comme à Had Soualem ... ). L'objectif principal de l'élaboration de ce circuit est d'une part, la sauvegarde et la valorisation du patrimoine géologique, archéologique et bio-écologique et d'autre part, la promotion du géotourisme, une ressourçe potentielle pour le développement régional. L'itinéraire du circuit géotouristique proposé est résumé dans un dépliant où figurent des fiches techniques des principaux sites de la région de Casablanca. Les données de base seront organisées dans un SIG dont certaines parties archéologiques sont déjà structurées et fonctionnelles.

A hominid upper premolar was discovered in the Azmaka quarry, near Chirpan (Bulgaria). The associated fauna, especially the co-occurrence of Choerolophodon and Anancus among the proboscideans, and Cremohipparion matthewi and Hippotherium brachypus among the hipparions, constrains the age of the locality to the second half of the middle Turolian (ca. 7 Ma), making it the latest pre-human hominid of continental Europe and Asia Minor. The available morphological and metric data are more similar to those of Ouranopithecus from the Vallesian of Greece than to those of the early to middle Turolian hominids of Turkey and Georgia, but the time gap speaks against a direct phyletic link, and Turolian migration from the east cannot be rejected.

The middle Miocene site of Maboko (Lake Victoria, Kenya), dated to ca. 15 Ma, has yielded one of the best collection of rhinos in Africa. The most common taxon, Victoriaceros kenyensis n.gen., n.sp., is represented by an almost perfect skull (whose main features are the large nasal horn, an orbit located very anteriorly and with a prominent border, and very broad zygomatic arches) and numerous limb bones, probably belonging to only a few individuals. Characters of the teeth and skull support an assignment to the subfamily Elasmotheriinae, a group best known in the middle and upper Miocene, but whose monophyly is disputable, as some of their tooth characters could be adaptations to a grazing diet (in agreement with their distribution in the Maboko beds). In any case, Victoriaceros clearly differs from other East African middle Miocene rhinos, whose diversity is far greater than currently assumed. A few other specimens attest to the occurrence at Maboko of at least one other species, perhaps close to the brachypotheres; a single calcaneum is tentatively assigned to the Chalicotheriidae.

International audience; The discovery of Upper Miocene vertebrates at Tizi N'Tadderht in the Ouarzazate basin (Morocco) helps to fill a gap in our knowledge of Neogene faunas in North Africa. The new fauna includes an ostrich cf. Struthio sp, a turtle cf. Centrochelys sp., Crocodylus cf. niloticus, and a relatively diverse fauna of large mammals. The mammal assemblage probably includes three hipparion species, including a very small form not previously reported from Africa, aff. Cremohipparion periafricanum, two species of rhinoceros cf. Ceratotherium sp. and aff. Chilotherium sp., a Proboscidean cf. Tetralophodon sp., a large member of the Giraffidae similar to "Palaeotragus" germaini and two bovids of which one is likely related to Prostrepsiceros, while the other is a new medium-sized antelope with spiral horns, certainly a representative of the Caprinae, a group that is rare in Africa. A late Miocene age, corresponding to the European Turolian Mammal age, is most likely for this fauna.

We revise here the entire collection of Bovidae from the Pliocene Hadar Formation collected at Hadar and Ledi-Geraru, Lower Awash, Ethiopia. Some additions are provided to previously published descriptions, and other forms are described. The complete list includes 28 species, but is dominated by a new species of impala, Aepyceros datoadeni, a kob that we assign to Kobus oricornus, although it belongs to a type distinct from the Omo one, a lineage of alcelaphins that is poorly known elsewhere, Damalborea, and the bovin Ugandax. We also describe a new gazelle, Gazella harmonae, with very peculiar features, including long spiraled horn cores. Changes in the bovid fauna can be detected both within individual lineages, and in the composition of the assemblage. Impala and bovins far outnumber the reduncins in the lower part of the sequence (Basal and Sidi Hakoma members, from ca. 3.8 to 3.2 Ma), but relative abundances become more equal higher up. Biometric changes do occur in the Ugandax and Aepyceros...

Geraads, Denis, Spassov, Nikolaï, Hristova, Latinka, Markov, Georgi N., Tzankov, Tzanko (2011): Upper Miocene mammals from Strumyani, South-Western Bulgaria. Geodiversitas 33 (3): 451-484, DOI: 10.5252/g2011n3a3, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/g2011n3a3

Dominguez-Rodrigo et al. (1) critiqued our paper (2), which provided the earliest evidence for stone tool use and animal tissue consumption as evidenced by bones bearing tool-induced marks found at DIK-55 (Dikika, Ethiopia) and dated to 3.39 Ma. Applying a configurational approach, they questioned the bones’ context and without examining or conducting new analysis on the original fossils, argued that all of the Dikika marks resulted from trampling, because a small subset of these marks superficially resembled a small subset of experimentally trampled specimens. Furthermore, they argued (1) that stone tool use and meat consumption before the current consensus dates requires finding manufactured … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mcpherron{at}eva.mpg.de. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

International audience

Resume Tous les Suides du Pliocene superieur de Ahl al Oughlam (Casablanca, Maroc) sont rapportes a Kolpochoerusphacochoeroides Thomas , 1884 . Cette espece se distingue bien de “K.” afarensis comme de K. limnetes d'Afrique Orientale par le raccourcissement du museau, la forte taille des canines, meme chez les femelles, la reduction des premolaires anterieures et une P4/ avec une fovea postero-linguale. Elle appartient au groupe herbivore qui inclut aussi K. limnetes, K. paiceae d'Afrique du Sud et l'hylochere, a l'interieur duquel K. limnetes, est-africain, s'est individualise le premier. Sous reserve d'une vitesse d'evolution des M3 uniforme, l'âge de Ahl al Oughlam peut etre evalue 2,4 ma, âge parfaitement compatible avec les indications tirees du reste de la faune.

International audience; The Gombore II site dates to circa the Brunhes Matuyama Reversal and is one of the Acheulean localities of the Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia) archaeological complex, known since the 1970s. In 2001, this locality was selected as the site for an Open Air Museum and thus excavated. The excavation area has yielded an abundant Acheulean lithic assemblage manufactured on volcanic raw materials in close association with numerous paleontological remains. A technological analysis was carried out on a fraction of the bifacial tools (bifaces and cleavers) which could be temporarily removed from the displayed surface in the museum. This set of artefacts reveals new data about the bifacial shaping strategies adopted at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene in Ethiopia. The use of obsidian and the systematic manufacturing of twisted bifaces are original features of the assemblage. These data are discussed in the framework of penecontemporaneous East African sites.; Gomboré II est un des sites acheuléens du complexe préhistorique de Melka Kunture (Haut Awash, Ethiopie), connu depuis les années 70, et se place aux environs de la limite Brunhes-Matuyama. En 2001, ce site fut choisi pour implanter un musée de site et des fouilles furent alors organisées. La zone fouillée a livré un abondant outillage lithique acheuléen manufacturé sur roches volcaniques, étroitement associé à de nombreux restes paléontologiques. L'analyse technologique du matériel n'a pu être conduite que sur une fraction des outils bifaciaux (bifaces et hachereaux), temporairement extraite de la surface de fouille préservée dans le musée. L'étude de ces artefacts apporte de nouvelles données sur les stratégies de façonnage adoptées par les hominidés au début du Pléistocène moyen en Ethiopie. L'usage de l'obsidienne et la fabrication systématique de bifaces “twist” confèrent un aspect original à cette série. Les données sont replacées dans le contexte contemporain est-africain.

The time interval between 3 Ma and 2 Ma marks several important transitions in human evolution, including the extinction of Australopithecus afarensis, the origin of the genus Homo, and the appearance of concentrated stone tool assemblages forming recognizable archaeological sites. The period also marks important changes in Earth's climatic history, with the onset of northern hemisphere glaciation starting sometime between 2.8 Ma and 2.5 Ma, and it remains an unresolved question in paleoanthropology whether or not the global climatic events influenced in whole or in part, local terrestrial paleoenvironments in Africa and, through this, the course of human evolution. Changes in the terrestrial mammalian faunas of East Africa during this time interval are an important source of data about terrestrial paleoenvironments, and it has been argued that during this time period the mammalian faunas of Africa experienced a sudden pulse in the extinction and origination of taxa. The data corroborating this Turnover Pulse Hypothesis derive from both large mammal and micromammal data, though the fossil record of the former is much more abundant in this interval. New micromammal fossils recovered from ca. 2.4 Ma deposits at locality A.L. 894, low in the Busidima Formation in the Hadar study area of the Afar region, Ethiopia, reveal a significant faunal turnover when compared with previously published material from older 3.2 Ma micromammal assemblages from the Hadar Formation deposits. The results support the hypothesis of a major faunal transition, but larger sample sizes and more extensive temporal sampling are needed to refine the time and rate of change within this interval at Hadar.

International audience; North-western Africa, today included in the Palaearctic realm, is well separated from the Ethiopian province by the Sahara, but the distribution of large mammals shows that these biogeographic domains cannot simply be extrapolated to the late Cenozoic. In the latest Miocene and earliest Pliocene, there were close connections with central Africa, but also remarkable similarities with East Africa, in some instances reaching the species level. There is no evidence of northern influence among large mammals, although several small mammals had a wide range in the Mediterranean. East African or pan-African forms are also largely predominant in the well sampled Late Pliocene, their low diversity resulting probably from local environmental conditions. There are but a few immigrants from Eurasia, mostly carnivores. During the Early Pleistocene, limited exchanges occur with the Middle East, but many more with the rest of Africa. By the Middle Pleistocene similarities with East Africa reach their climax, and it is only with the latest part of this period that some northern immigrants put a Palaearctic stamp on this fauna, the “Ethiopian” character of which decreases by extinction of many of its elements.

Resume Les travaux recents conduits au Maroc dans le cadre du « Programme Casablanca » offrent une base solide pour etablir une biochronologie du Pliocene et du Pleistocene fondee sur la succession des faunes de Mammiferes, grâce a la presence de jalons bien dates, malgre l’extreme rarete des datations absolues. Le site de Lissasfa, date par les rongeurs de la limite Mio-Pliocene, atteste l’existence d’echanges importants avec l’Europe. Celui d’Ahl al Oughlam a livre plus de 100 especes de Vertebres. Les stades evolutifs de ses rongeurs, carnivores, bovides, Kolpochoerus, ainsi que l’absence d’Equus, permettent de le dater de la fin du Pliocene, vers 2,5 Ma. Les carrieres Thomas et Oulad Hamida a Casablanca recoupent une succession unique de niveaux marins et continentaux remontant au Pleistocene inferieur, livrant les plus anciens temoignages de la presence humaine au Maroc, dont les etapes ulterieures sont illustrees par les niveaux du Pleistocene moyen de ces memes carrieres, et par plusieurs autres sites dont la plupart sont aussi situes dans la region de Rabat et Casablanca, confirmant l’importance de cette zone littorale dans l’histoire humaine, dont pourtant le premier chapitre au Maghreb, actuellement illustre par les sites de l’Ain Hanech et de Mansourah en Algerie, reste mal documente au Maroc.

pdf disponible auprès des auteurs; International audience; In the frame of the Franco–Moroccan ‘Programme Casablanca', several important new Late Miocene to Late Pleistocene mammalian localities have been excavated in the Casablanca area. The rodent fauna of Lissasfa attests to faunal exchanges with Spain and shows that the ‘Quaternary' of Casablanca dates back to the Late Miocene. Ahl al Oughlam, with more than 100 vertebrate species, is by far the richest paleontological locality of northwestern Africa, but shows that by Late Pliocene, at 2.5 Ma, faunas of this region were already less diverse than in eastern Africa. The Thomas and Oulad Hamida quarries yield, in several continental levels interstratified with high-marine transgressive ones, a succession of late Early to Late Pleistocene faunas associated with lithic industries and Homo remains, which greatly help calibrating mammalian evolution in this part of Africa. The Late Pleistocene is also documented by several new sites, all of which, unfortunately, were destroyed before they could be properly excavated. All sites are threatened by urbanisation, emphasising the need for preservation of the few remaining ones.

The Middle Pleistocene environmental and climatic conditions at Asbole, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia were reconstructed using stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition (13C, 18O) of fossil tooth enamel coupled with faunal abundance data. We analyzed the isotopic composition of a total of 80 herbivorous tooth enamel samples from 15 mammalian taxa, which archive the dietary preferences and drinking behavior from the “Asbole faunal zone”. The carbon isotopic data signify a wide range of foraging strategies, across the entire spectrum of pure C4 to C4-dominated diet, mixed C3/C4 diet and C3-dominated diet. The oxygen isotopic enrichment between evaporation sensitive and insensitive taxa (ɛES-EI) is 3.7‰ which provides an estimate of the mean annual water deficit of the Middle Pleistocene at Asbole of 1470 mm, a value characteristic of modern arid landscapes in this part of the Awash Valley. The isotopic data coupled with faunal abundance data indicate an arid C4-dominated open-vegetated region, with an abundance of forest-dwelling primates that identify the presence of gallery forests flanking tributary streams to the paleo-Awash River. Thus, with these combined methodologies, it is possible to explicate a more detailed character of the “mosaic” of environments characteristic of Neogene savanna ecosystems. These findings, clearly indicate the importance of avoiding oversimplification of Pleistocene environmental reconstructions, based on single proxies at isolated localities.

A matrix of 57 (mainly cranial) characters and 32 taxa of fossil and Recent Bovini (buffaloes, bison and cattle) has been analysed using the parsimony program HENNIG86. Among the best established results are the exclusion of Parabos, polyphyly of Leptobos, monophyly of the Bos sensu lato+ buffaloes group (a clade including all Recent Bovini), probable monophyly of the Bubalina and Syncerina, and the close relationship between bison and yak. Some other interesting questions raised include the apparent absence of a close link between Pliocene African bovines (except “Leptobos” syrticus) and later African buffaloes, and the possible monophyly of Pelorovis oldowayensis+Bos sensu lato.

The late Miocene of Macedonia has yielded several rich faunal assemblages, ranging from late Vallesian to late Turolian. They may be compared to the classical localities of Pikermi, Samos and Maragheh. Taxonomic comparisons based upon updated faunal lists allowed us to compute faunal similarity indices, which were submitted to principal component and cluster analysis. On the graphs, “Ravin de la Pluie” is always remote from the other Macedonian fossil mammal localities: it can only be explained by its Vallesian age. The other Macedonian sites cluster next, demonstrating some provinciality of this area during the Turolian. Comparisons of the frequencies of the various taxonomic groups support the installation of a more forested environment in the latest faunal set, Dytiko. The indices of diversity and the rank-abundance curves seem also to reflect a change of the ecological conditions during the Turolian: the fauna of “Ravin de la Pluie” and of the Vathylakkos-Prochoma-“Ravin des Zouaves” group is marked by the predominance of 1 or 2 species, while the species frequency of the Dytiko set is more balanced, suggesting warmer climate and less contrasted climatic conditions. Another way of evaluating the ecological significance of the fossil assemblages is the analysis of the distribution of the body weight of each category of mammals in each fauna. When possible we used the cenogram method or a multivariate analysis of the number of species in each weight class (excluding small mammals, which are very rare in Macedonia); we have analysed in this way 25 fossil and 23 recent localities. We show that, although all the fossil localities are separated from the recent ones, it is possible to deduce an open environment in “Ravin de la Pluie” and a more forested one in Dytiko.

Giraffidae (Mammalia) from the late Neogene of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Excavations undertaken in several sites of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) during the last decades have yielded rich mammalian faunas, including some significant giraffid specimens. An almost complete and uncrushed skull from the upper Miocene of Kirokuçuk is the best known specimen of Bohlinia attica; it confirms that this taxon is closely related to Giraffa, even though it is more primitive than the African forms of the latter genus. Helladotherium is represented by cranial and limb-bone remains. The association of these two genera is also found in Bulgaria and at Pikermi in Greece. Cranial elements, including most of a posterior horn, are assigned to a new species of Sivatherium, probably of Pliocene age, and characterized by its huge posterior horns. Its presence implies faunal connections between Southern Europe, Southern Asia and Africa at that time., Les fouilles menées dans plusieurs gisements de la République de Macédoine (ARYM) au cours des dernières décennies ont mis au jour de riches faunes mammaliennes, parmi lesquelles quelques pièces significatives de Giraffidae. Un crâne presque complet et non déformé du Miocène supérieur de Kirokuçuk est le meilleur spécimen connu de Bohlinia attica ; il confirme la proche parenté de ce taxon et de Giraffa, même s'il est plus primitif que les formes africaines de ce dernier genre. Helladotherium est représenté par des éléments de crânes et os des membres. On retrouve cette association de taxons en Bulgarie et à Pikermi en Grèce. Des éléments d'un crâne, incluant la plus grande partie d'une corne postérieure, d'âge probablement pliocène, sont attribués à une nouvelle espèce de Sivatherium, caractérisée par ses cornes postérieures gigantesques, impliquant des échanges fauniques entre l'Europe du Sud, l'Afrique et l'Asie du Sud à cette époque.

International audience; Here we compare dental microwear textures from specimens of the fossil genus Mesopithecus (Cercopithecidae, Colobinae) from the late Miocene of Eastern Europe with dental microwear textures from four extant primate species with known dietary differences. Results indicate that the dental microwear textures of Mesopithecus differ from those of extant leaf eaters Alouatta palliata and Trachypithecus cristatus and instead resemble more closely those of the occasional hard-object feeders Cebus apella and Lophocebus albigena. Microwear texture data presented here in combination with results from previous analyses suggest that Mesopithecus was a widespread, opportunistic feeder that often consumed hard seeds. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that early colobines may have preferred hard seeds to leaves.

The Oldowan assemblages of Melka Kunture represent the earliest known example of obsidian utilization. The proximity of primary and secondary sources of Balchit obsidian, a high quality raw material easily available in large quantities, is a unique situation among East African Oldowan sites. Obsidian represents a large component of the lithic assemblages at Melka Kunture, not only during the Oldowan but during the Acheulian times as well. Other volcanic rocks are incorporated into the technological system at Melka Kunture such as basalts, ignimbrites, trachytes and trachybasalts, which present completely different characteristics for knapping.

International audience; The sites of Kossom Bougoudi (KB) and Kollé (KL) are intermediate in age between the Sahelanthropus sites of Toros Menalla and the Australopithecus sites of Koro Toro, and their bovid faunas are also intermediate in composition and stage of evolution. Four new taxa are erected. The hippotragine Tchadotragus fanonei nov. sp. is more derived than the type-species of the genus, from Toros Menalla. Kobus ammolophi nov. sp. is also clearly related to the most common reduncine of the latter sites, rather than with other African forms. However, Jamous kolleensis nov. gen. nov. sp., a new bovine with extremely divergent, horizontal horn-cores, is unrelated to other Chadian Bovini. The KB and KL assemblages document the gradual replacement of hippotragines by alcelaphines in Northern Chad, but it is not necessarily linked with environmental change, as all Chadian assemblages virtually lack indicators of bush or woodland like Tragelaphini and Aepyceros. In spite of a significant endemic component, the KB and KL Bovidae compare best with some of those from Sahabi in Libya, confirming North-South connections.

International audience; The Thomas Quarry I locality was made famous in 1969 with the discovery of a human half-mandible in a cave. In 1985, further investigations revealed the presence of a Lower Acheulean assemblage in lower units of the section. From 1988 onwards, modern controlled excavations took place within the framework of the Franco-Moroccan co-operative project "Casablanca". Acheulean artefacts, a rich mammalian fauna and four hominid teeth have been excavated from the cave. The faunal set indicates an open woodland environment. Carcasses were processed by carnivores, but cut-marks are absent, which raises the question of any human role in the bone accumulations. Stone knapping was mainly oriented towards flake production and a few bifaces have been imported into the site. Laser ablation ICP-MS dating combining the ESR and U-series data for the modelling of the U-uptake has given an US/ESR age of 501 ± 76 ka for a human premolar while new OSL measurements yielded an age of 420 ± 34 ka for sediments immediately above the dated tooth and 391 ± 32 ka below. Nevertheless, biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy point towards a greater antiquity.

International audience; In the continental sediments filling a cave that developed in Middle Pleistocene deposits near Casablanca, Morocco, a very rich mammal fauna from the last climatic cycle was discovered. It was associated with a Middle Palaeolithic poor and atypical lithic assemblage manufactured on blocks and pebbles. The lower fossiliferous layer contained abundant carbonized remains of felids. Unfortunately, the site was destroyed by quarrying before adequate excavations could be carried out.; Une très riche faune de mammifères du dernier cycle climatique a été découverte dans le remplissage continental d'une grotte recoupant des dépôts du Pléistocène moyen, associée à un outillage lithique sur blocs et galets peu abondant et atypique rapporté au Paléolithique moyen. Le niveau inférieur est original de par sa très grande richesse en restes de félins calcinés. Le gisement a été détruit pas l'exploitation d'une carrière avant que des fouilles puissent y être effectuées.

International audience; We describe new remains of the small Suidae Propotamochoerus from the late Miocene of Macedonia and Bulgaria, which greatly increase the European sample. They are clearly distinct from both the Vallesian P. palaeochoerus and the Pliocene P. provincialis, but cannot be satisfactorily referred to the Asian species P. hysudricus or P. hyotherioides. It is likely that these Balkan specimens belong to a species of their own, probably distinct from the P. palaeochoerus - P. provincialis lineage.

International audience

The fossil record of northwestern African carnivores is very patchy. The richest assemblage is that of the Late Pliocene of Ahl al Oughlam, with more than 20 species belonging to the main modern families. Some additions to its study are made here. The rather poor Early Pleistocene faunas are mainly marked by the arrival of a large Canis . A fauna of modern type, with example, the duo Hyaena – Crocuta , settles in the Earliest Pleistocene site of Tighenif, where some older elements linger on ( Homotherium ), beside some taxa of doubtful affinities, like a large Panthera , and a strange canid close to Nyctereutes , dominant at this site as well as at the slightly younger ones of Thomas and Oulad Hamida Quarries in Casablanca. All these faunas consist mostly of African taxa, together with a Palaearctic component whose importance increases towards the end of the Pleistocene.

We describe here Vulpes mathisoni, sp. nov., a new species of fox from the Mursi Formation of Ethiopia, dated to ca. 4 Ma., based upon a complete cranium with mandible. It is similar in size to V. pallida and resembles this species in several aspects, but the skull is narrower, the muzzle more slender, P4 has a weak protocone, M2 has a large metacone and a distinct, strong metaconule, m1 has a talonid with five distinct cuspids, and m2 has a strong mesial cingulum. Vulpes mathisoni, sp. nov., is probably an early member of a southern Afro-Indian clade that minimally includes V. pallida, V. chama, and V. bengalensis, pushing back its divergence from the Holarctic clade(s) to at least 4 Ma. We observe that, in sharp contrast to the Holarctic realm, the southern Afro-Indian one virtually lacks carnivorous small canids.

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Understanding changes in ontogenetic development is central to the study of human evolution. With the exception of Neanderthals, the growth patterns of fossil hominins have not been studied comprehensively because the fossil record currently lacks specimens that document both cranial and postcranial development at young ontogenetic stages. Here we describe a well-preserved 3.3-million-year-old juvenile partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis discovered in the Dikika research area of Ethiopia. The skull of the approximately three-year-old presumed female shows that most features diagnostic of the species are evident even at this early stage of development. The find includes many previously unknown skeletal elements from the Pliocene hominin record, including a hyoid bone that has a typical African ape morphology. The foot and other evidence from the lower limb provide clear evidence for bipedal locomotion, but the gorilla-like scapula and long and curved manual phalanges raise new questions about the importance of arboreal behaviour in the A. afarensis locomotor repertoire.

Les paléolittoraux et cordons de Casablanca constituent un système morpho-sédimentaire qui, depuis le Miocène final, enregistre les variations du niveau de l'Océan mondial en relation avec les fluctuations de l'englacement aux hautes latitudes. Dans cette succession, la seule " rupture " qui permettrait de subdiviser ce système est le changement de style qui se produit dans la deuxième partie du Pléistocène inférieur (entre 1,5 et 1Ma).

All available chalicotheriid material from the late Miocene Bulgarian localities is revised. It belongs to three taxa: Ancylotherium pentelicum, Chalicotherium cf. goldfussi and Kalimantsia bulgarica, the former being the most common. The new material of A. pentelicum increases its known variability, but there is still no evidence of evolutionary changes in this species, as the smaller size of the fossils from Hadjidimovo might be explained by sexual dimorphism. On the basis of its forearm and manus morphology, we challenge the view that Ancylotherium was a leaf-eater., Tout le matériel de Chalicotheriidae du Miocène supérieur de Bulgarie est révisé. Il appartient à trois taxons: Ancylotherium pentelicum, Chalicotherium cf. goldfussi et Kalimantsia bulgarica, le premier étant le plus commun. Les nouveaux matériaux de A. pentelicum accroissent sa variabilité connue, mais rien ne démontre l'existence de changements évolutifs dans cette espèce, car la faible taille des fossiles de Hadjidimovo pourrait s'expliquer par le dimorphisme sexuel. En nous basant sur la morphologie de son avant-bras et de sa main, nous ne pensons pas que Ancylotherium ait été un brouteur de feuilles.

Spassov, Nikolai, Geraads, Denis (2004): Tragoportax Pilgrim, 1937 and Miotragocerus Stromer, 1928 (Mammalia, Bovidae) from the Turolian of Hadjidimovo, Bulgaria, and a revision of the late Miocene Mediterranean Boselaphini. Geodiversitas 26 (2): 339-370, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5373109, {"references":["BOUVRAIN G. 1994. - Un bovide du Turolien inferieur d'Europe orientale : Tragoportax rugosifrons. Annales de Paleontologie 80 (1): 61-87.","Acknowledgements BOUVRAIN G. 2001. - Les bovides (Mammalia, Several colleagues have helped us a lot by allow- Artiodactyla) des gisements du Miocene superieur ing study of museums collections or providing de Vathylakkos (Grece du Nord). Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie Monatshefte 220 (2): photos of rare specimens or literature. We 225-244.","are very obliged to M. Bertling (Geologisch- BOUVRAIN G. & BONIS L. 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