Late Pliocene Bovidae from Ledi-Geraru (Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia) and their implications for Afar paleoecology

A new species of Beatragus and a fossil wildebeest with a mosaic of evolutionary traits have been identified from the late Pliocene site of Ledi-Geraru in Ethiopia's Lower Awash Valley. This discovery, along with other bovid fossils, reveals that the ancient landscape was primarily composed of open habitats like seasonal grasslands, contrasting with the more wooded environments recorded at nearby Hadar Formation sites. The study suggests a long-term trend toward drier and more open landscapes in the Afar region, dating back to at least 4 million years ago. Researchers analyzed taxonomic abundance and postcranial elements to reconstruct paleoecology, comparing findings with contemporaneous assemblages from the Turkana Basin.

Bibi, F., Rowan, J., & Reed, K. (2017). Late Pliocene Bovidae from Ledi-Geraru (Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia) and their implications for Afar paleoecology. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 37(4), e1337639. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2017.1337639