title: Remnants of an ancient forest provide ecological context for Early Miocene fossil apes.
abstract: The lineage of apes and humans (Hominoidea) evolved and radiated across Afro-Arabia in the early Neogene during a time of global climatic changes and ongoing tectonic processes that formed the East African Rift. These changes probably created highly variable environments and introduced selective pressures influencing the diversification of early apes. However, interpreting the connection between environmental dynamics and adaptive evolution is hampered by difficulties in locating taxa within specific ecological contexts: time-averaged or reworked deposits may not faithfully represent individual palaeohabitats. Here we present multiproxy evidence from Early Miocene deposits on Rusinga Island, Kenya, which directly ties the early ape Proconsul to a widespread, dense, multistoried, closed-canopy tropical seasonal forest set in a warm and relatively wet, local climate. These results underscore the importance of forested environments in the evolution of early apes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97354, Waco, Texas 76798-7354, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97354, Waco, Texas 76798-7354, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Peppe
authors.affiliation: Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-5230, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97354, Waco, Texas 76798-7354, USA.
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Driese
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Rhode Island, 507 Chafee Building, 10 Chafee Road, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA.
authors.forename: Holly M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Dunsworth
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, City University of New York, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, New York 10468, USA [2] Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at West 79th Street, New York, New York 10024, USA [3] Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 11016, USA.
authors.forename: William E H
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Harcourt-Smith
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97354, Waco, Texas 76798-7354, USA [2] Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University, 322 Natural Resources Building, 1482 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Horner
authors.affiliation: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.affiliation: Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 11016, USA.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nightingale
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Anthropology Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 395 Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Kieran P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: McNulty
mesh_terms: D000351:Africa, Eastern; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D065928:Forests; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae; D014329:Tropical Climate