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SUMMARY:Mid-Cenozoic faunal dynamics in the Western Branch of the EARS: A 
 view from the Rukwa Rift Basin - Nancy Stevens
DTSTART:20220317T150000Z
DTEND:20220317T160000Z
UID:TALK168335@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Oscar Branson
DESCRIPTION:The Nsungwe Formation in the Rukwa Rift Basin provides a key w
 indow into mid-Cenozoic faunal evolution from the Western Branch of the Ea
 st African Rift System. In this rift segment\, proximal alluvial fan syste
 ms transitioned into a complex\, volcanically-influenced landscape of fluv
 ial\, alluvial and lacustrine depositional environments. Dated at ~26-24 M
 a via high-precision U-Pb and Ar/Ar geochronology of intercalated volcanic
  tuffs\, sedimentological data from fossil-bearing sequences suggest seaso
 nal aridity with perennial availability of water. Faunal analyses reveal a
  distinctive assemblage\, with significant primate discoveries including t
 he earliest evidence of the split between cercopithecoids and hominoids\, 
 the latest record of parapithecid anthropoids\, and the first Paleogene lo
 risiform from eastern Africa south of the equator. Non-primate mammals spa
 n a diverse range of body sizes and ecological specializations. Other vert
 ebrate and invertebrate clades are also well represented\, offering a nove
 l glimpse into the evolutionary history of terrestrial and freshwater habi
 tats in eastern Africa and providing data on the complex tectono-sedimenta
 ry history of the Rukwa Rift Basin. Continued exploration refines perspect
 ives on the Palaeogene-Neogene transition on continental Africa\, with exp
 anded opportunities for recognizing trends in faunal diversity across habi
 tat types and through time.
LOCATION:Department of Earth Sciences\, Tilley Lecture Theatre
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