Biogeographic evolution of eastern African mammal faunas over the last 6 Myr

Abstract

Mammals comprise the bulk of eastern Africa’s late Cenozoic fossil record and their diversity and ecological sensitivity provide a key comparative and contextual framework for understanding the evolution of hominins. Here, we provide a quantitative synthesis of eastern Africa’s biogeographic evolution over the last 6 Myr through an analysis of fossil mammal communities from three subregions: the Afar of northeastern Ethiopia, the Turkana Basin of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, and the Southern Rift of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.