title: Dentognathic remains of Australopithecus afarensis from Nefuraytu (Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia): Comparative description, geology, and paleoecological context.
abstract: Australopithecus afarensis is the best-known and most dimorphic species in the early hominin fossil record. Here, we present a comparative description of new fossil specimens of Au. afarensis from Nefuraytu, a 3.330-3.207 million-years-old fossil collection area in the Woranso-Mille study area, central Afar, Ethiopia. These specimens include NFR-VP-1/29, one of the most complete mandibles assigned to the species thus far and among the largest mandibles attributed to Au. afarensis, likely representing a male individual. NFR-VP-1/29 retains almost all of the distinctive archaic features documented for Au. afarensis. These features include a posteriorly sloping symphysis, a low and rounded basally set inferior transverse torus, anterosuperiorly opening mental foramen, a lateral corpus hollow bound anteriorly by the C/P3jugae and posteriorly by the lateral prominence, and the ascending ramus arising high on the corpus. Dental morphology and metrics of the Nefuraytu specimens also falls within the range of Au. afarensis. The presence of this species at Woranso-Mille between 3.330 and 3.207 million years ago confirms the existence of this species in the area in close spatial and temporal proximity to other middle Pliocene hominin taxa such as the one represented by the Burtele foot (BRT-VP-2/73) and the recently named species Australopithecus deyiremeda. This has important implications for our understanding of middle Pliocene hominin diversity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Cognitive Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. Electronic address: yhaileselassie@cmnh.org.
authors.forename: Yohannes
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Haile-Selassie
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Melillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology and Center for Quantitative Imaging, EMS Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Naomi E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Beverly Z
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Saylor
authors.affiliation: Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deino
authors.affiliation: Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mundil
authors.affiliation: Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.lastname: Mulugeta Alene
authors.affiliation: University of Barcelona, Martí Franquès s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gibert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005002:Ethiopia; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Australopithecus afarensis; Ethiopia; Hominin diversity; Nefuraytu; Woranso-Mille