Early pleistocene ecological relations among omnivorous species: suids, ursids, cercopithecids and hominins

Identifier:  TDX:2394

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX2394

Authors:  Goitom, Tsegai Medin

Abstract:
During the Early Pleistocene (~2.0 to 1.0 Ma), large omnivorous species have been inhabiting in a wide geographical range in Africa, Middle East and Eurasia. Their evolution and dispersals have been related to global climatic changes and their successful strategies of food resources exploitation. Their dietary diversity reflected the specialization of their craniodental morphology, developing specialized anatomical traits amplifying their ecological niche. The successful co-evolution of suids, ursids, cercopithecids and hominins-within the large mammalian evolving communities process-during the Plio-Pleistocene chronology can be related to the evolution of their analogous dental morphology and successful dietary trophy. The combined methods of dental anatomy, tooth microwear and statistical analyses together with isotope data from stable isotope studies, help to understand the dietary trophy and paleoecologcal habitat of the omnivorous species that inhabited different geographical areas. The record of stable isotopes signatures retrieved from each site is in agreement with the microwear data and paleoecological results.