Postcranial morphology and springing adaptations in Pedetidae from Arrisdrift, middle Miocene (Namibia).

Main articleArrisdrift, an early Middle Miocene site in the Proto-Orange river deposits of Namibia, was excavated in the mid 1970s by Corvinus and since 1993 by the Namibia Palaeontology Expedition. These excavations resulted in the discovery of several postcranial elements of springhares. Generally, these appear to have been smaller than those of modem Pedetes capensis or P. surdaster, but more robust that those of the extant taxa. The Arrisdrift pedetid was larger than the lower Miocene Namibian species, Parapedetes namaquensis; must smaller and less robust than the lower Miocene East African species, Megapedetes pentadactylus; but larger than Pedetes laeroliensis from the Pliocene site of Laetoli (Tanzani a). The limb proportions, morphology of the proximal femur, distal tibia, astragalus and the calcaneum suggest that the pedetid from Arrisdrift was saltatorial, but to a lesser degree than modern springhares. lt exhibits features probably related to locomotor behaviour which are different from Parapedetes, Megapedetes and Pedetes suggest that they may represent a different genus in accordance with results of research on the cranio-dental remains (Me in & Senut, in prep.)College de France (Prof. Y. Coppens), Museum national d ' Histoire naturelle (Prof. Ph. Taquet) and GDR 983 CNR

Cainozoic mammals from coastal Namaqualand, South Africa

Main articleFossil mamma ls from various stratigraphic levels in coastal Namaqualand reveal that the littoral marine deposits, hitherto correlated to the Plio-Pleistocene, range in age from Early Miocene to Ple istocene and Holocene. The faunal assemblages, described in stratigraphic orde r, consist predominantly o f large mammals, but most of the faunas also contain marine vertebrates and invertebrates. Faunas of Early Miocene(ca 17 Ma), Middle Miocene(ca 13- 12Ma), Late Miocene(ca 6-5 Ma), Plio-Pleistocene (ca 3-2.5 Ma) and younger age are documented .the Chaire de Paleoanthropologie et de Prehistoire du College de France (Prof. Y. Coppens) and GDR 983 du C RS

Fossil eggs and Cenozoic continental biostratigraphy of Namibia

Main articleOne kind of aepyornithoid and six kinds of struthious eggshells have been found in Cenozoic deposits of Namibia. Field evidence indicates that the six struthious egg types are time successive, and they thus form a useful basis for determining the relative stratigraphic positions of sites at which they occur. Their placement in the geological time scale has been partly tied down by reference to the biostratigraphic position of mammals that occur in association with them.Non

Neogene desertification of Africa

International audienc

Palaeoanthropology - Sahelanthropus or 'Sahelpithecus'?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62951/1/419581a.pd

First identification of non-human stencil hands at Wadi Sūra II (Egypt): A morphometric study for new insights into rock art symbolism

In the Libyan Desert, Wadi Sūra II shelter hosts numerous stencil paintings believed to date to the Early and Mid-Holocene. Tiny hands have previously been considered to belong to human babies. We challenge this identification, having conducted a morphometric study to compare the archaeological material with samples of hands of babies born at term and pre-term at the neonatal unit of the CHRU Jeanne de Flandre (Lille, France). The results show that the rock art small hands differ significantly in size, proportions and morphology from human hands. Potential biases between the different samples were quantified, but their average range cannot explain the observed differences. Evidence suggest that the hand stencils belong to an animal, most probably a reptile. The identification of non-human pentadactyl hand stencils is unique in the field of rock art and raises new perspectives for understanding the rock art at Wadi Sūra, and the behaviour and symbolic universe of the populations who made it.The first author is funded by the British Academy and the Royal Society as a Newton International Fellow in the United-Kingdom and is very grateful for the strong support of these two organizations. We thank the Egyptian authorities for their support. We also thank all parents and individuals who have agreed to take part in the morphometric data collection. We are grateful to Dr S. Amblard-Pison, Dr A. Person, Dr S. Bouquillon-Delerive, Prof P. Thomas, Dr P. S. Randolph-Quinney, Prof. F. Thackeray, Prof. J. Robb, Dr J. Etling and L. Watrin for discussion and advice, to Dr S. Meiri and E. Maza from the Department of Zoology of Tel Aviv University, and S. Kudryavtsev from the Moscow Zoo for the pictures of Varanus griseus and Crocodylus niloticus specimens, to M.-C. Broudic for advices concerning the statistical analysis, to C. Duriez for the IT support and to Prof J. Robb for the review. The anonymous reviewers are warmly thanked for their careful review and relevant suggestions

Le renouveau de la « French connection » avec l’Afrique du Sud (1995-2015)

La recherche française paléontologique en Afrique du Sud a pris un nouvel essor après la signature d’un protocole de collaboration entre des institutions partenaires. Ces échanges ont permis de fructueux travaux notamment en paléontologie du Miocène et du Plio-Pléistocène avec la découverte dans le Namaqualand de faunes du Miocène inférieur à Bosluis Pan, du premier hominoïde d’Afrique subéquatoriale près de Hondeklip Bay et de niveaux du Miocène supérieur à Areb Hills ; mais aussi de nouveaux sites ou de dépôts pliocènes dans les karsts du « Cradle of Humankind ». Cette dynamique de recherches est importante pour l’avenir de la primatologie fossile, y compris celui de la paléontologie humaine, car aujourd’hui les scénarios sur les origines de notre famille centrés sur l’Afrique orientale doivent être revus et l’Afrique du Sud comme toute la région de l’Afrique australe possède un fort potentiel paléontologique pour alimenter les débats.French palaeontological research in South Africa has been revived after a protocol of collaboration was signed between institutions. Several fruitful projects were initiated especially in Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene palaeontology as evidenced by the results obtained in Namaqualand—discoveries of a Lower Miocene fauna at Bosluis Pan, of the first hominoid from subequatorial Africa and of Upper Miocene deposits in the Areb Hills—but also in the Cradle of Humankind. These new dynamic researches are important for the future of the palaeoprimatology (including human palaeontology), as they indicate that the scenarios concerning our origins which are generally centered on East Africa must be revised. The South Africa sub-region has a strong palaeontological potential to fuel the debates