Diets of mammalian fossil fauna from Kanapoi, northwestern Kenya.

Carbon isotope ratios of mammalian teeth from the Kanapoi site in northern Kenya are interpreted in the context of C3 and C4 derived resources to investigate the paleoecology of Australopithecus anamensis. δ13C values of large mammals, when compared at the taxon level, show an ecosystem that is strongly biased towards mixed feeders and browsers. However, sufficient C4 resources were present such that some C4 dominated grazers were also present in the large mammal fauna. Analyses of micromammals shows that their diets were C3 dominated or C3-C4 mixed. Carbon isotope studies of primates shows that the major primate tribes-Colobini, Papioini, Hominini-all made some use of C4 resources in their respective diets; the Hominini had a higher fraction of C3 diet resources than the other primate tribes represented in the fossil record.

• Publication year

  2017

• Venue

  Journal of Human Evolution

• Publication date

  2017-10-13

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.05.005PMID 29033136
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Stable isotope ecology of Cape dune mole-rats (Bathyergus suillus) from Elandsfontein, South Africa: Implications for C4 vegetation and hominin paleobiology in the Cape Floral Region

  2016cited by this paper
• Small mammal insectivore stable carbon isotope compositions as habitat proxies in a South African savanna ecosystem

  2016cited by this paper
• Small‐mammal isotope ecology tracks climate and vegetation gradients across western North America

  2016cited by this paper
• Environment and Climate of Early Human Evolution

  2015cited by this paper
• Paleoenvironmental context of the Middle Stone Age record from Karungu, Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya, and its implications for human and faunal dispersals in East Africa.

  2015cited by this paper
• Dietary changes of large herbivores in the Turkana Basin, Kenya from 4 to 1 Ma

  2015cited by this paper
• Environments and trypanosomiasis risks for early herders in the later Holocene of the Lake Victoria basin, Kenya

  2015cited by this paper
• Influences on the stable oxygen and carbon isotopes in gerbillid rodent teeth in semi-arid and arid environments: Implications for past climate and environmental reconstruction

  2015cited by this paper
• New species from Ethiopia further expands Middle Pliocene hominin diversity

  2015cited by this paper
• Origin of Bipedal Locomotion

  2015cited by this paper
• Stable isotope evidence for trophic niche partitioning in a South African savanna rodent community

  2015cited by this paper
• Exploring the Potential of Laser Ablation Carbon Isotope Analysis for Examining Ecology during the Ontogeny of Middle Pleistocene Hominins from Sima de los Huesos (Northern Spain)

  2015cited by this paper
• Taxonomic affinity of the Pliocene hominin fossils from Fejej, Ethiopia.

  2014cited by this paper
• Stable isotope time-series in mammalian teeth: In situ δ18O from the innermost enamel layer

  2014cited by this paper
• Ardipithecus ramidus and the evolution of the human cranial base

  2014cited by this paper
• The Omo Mursi Formation: a window into the East African Pliocene.

  2014cited by this paper
• The femur of Orrorin tugenensis exhibits morphometric affinities with both Miocene apes and later hominins

  2013cited by this paper
• Would East African savanna rodents inhibit woody encroachment? Evidence from stable isotopes and microhistological analysis of feces

  2013cited by this paper
• Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins

  2013cited by this paper
• Resource partitioning of sympatric small mammals in an African forest-grassland vegetation mosaic

  2013cited by this paper
• Isotopic evidence of early hominin diets

  2013cited by this paper
• Diet of Theropithecus from 4 to 1 Ma in Kenya

  2013cited by this paper
• Fossil Mice and Rats Show Isotopic Evidence of Niche Partitioning and Change in Dental Ecomorphology Related to Dietary Shift in Late Miocene of Pakistan

  2013cited by this paper
• Hominin evolution in settings of strong environmental variability

  2013cited by this paper
• Isotopic evidence for an early shift to C4 resources by Pliocene hominins in Chad

  2012cited by this paper
• A new hominin foot from Ethiopia shows multiple Pliocene bipedal adaptations

  2012cited by this paper
• Subterranean Sympatry: An Investigation into Diet Using Stable Isotope Analysis

  2012cited by this paper
• Small mammal carbon isotope ecology across the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, northwestern Argentina

  2012cited by this paper
• Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years

  2011cited by this paper
• Stable Isotopic Analyses of Laetoli Fossil Herbivores

  2011cited by this paper
• New hominid fossils from Woranso-Mille (Central Afar, Ethiopia) and taxonomy of early Australopithecus.

  2009cited by this paper
• Paleobiological Implications of the Ardipithecus ramidus Dentition

  2009cited by this paper
• Oldest Evidence of Toolmaking Hominins in a Grassland-Dominated Ecosystem

  2009cited by this paper
• Ardipithecus ramidus and the Paleobiology of Early Hominids

  2009cited by this paper
• Herbivore enamel carbon isotopic composition and the environmental context of ardipithecus at Gona, Ethiopia

  2008cited by this paper
• Orrorin tugenensis Femoral Morphology and the Evolution of Hominin Bipedalism

  2008cited by this paper
• Turnover of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the body water, CO2, hair, and enamel of a small mammal

  2008cited by this paper
• Stable isotope ecology of fossil hippopotamids from the Lake Turkana Basin of East Africa

  2008cited by this paper
• Stable isotope ecology of the common hippopotamus

  2008cited by this paper
• The isotopic ecology of African mole rats informs hypotheses on the evolution of human diet

  2007cited by this paper
• Shifting adaptive landscapes: progress and challenges in reconstructing early hominid environments.

  2007cited by this paper
• Tracking changing environments using stable carbon isotopes in fossil tooth enamel: an example from the South African hominin sites.

  2007cited by this paper
• Palaeoenvironments and palaeodiets of mid-Pliocene micromammals from Makapansgat Limeworks, South Africa: A stable isotope and dental microwear approach

  2006cited by this paper
• A stable isotope aridity index for terrestrial environments.

  2006cited by this paper
• In situ stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ18O) of very small teeth using laser ablation GC/IRMS

  2006cited by this paper
• Do "savanna" chimpanzees consume C4 resources?

  2006cited by this paper
• Asa Issie, Aramis and the origin of Australopithecus

  2006cited by this paper
• The Pliocene micromammalian fauna from Kanapoi, northwestern Kenya, and its contribution to understanding the environment of Australopithecus anamensis

  2006cited by this paper
• Isotopic Evidence for Dietary Variability in the Early Hominin Paranthropus robustus

  2006cited by this paper
• Virtual cranial reconstruction of Sahelanthropus tchadensis

  2005cited by this paper
• Carbon isotope fractionation between diet, breath CO2, and bioapatite in different mammals

  2005cited by this paper
• Late Miocene Teeth from Middle Awash, Ethiopia, and Early Hominid Dental Evolution

  2004cited by this paper
• Paleoenvironment of Australopithecus anamensis at Allia Bay, East Turkana, Kenya: evidence from mammalian herbivore enamel stable isotopes

  2003cited by this paper
• Early Pliocene tetrapod remains from Kanapoi, Lake Turkana Basin, Kenya

  2003cited by this paper
• DIETS OF EAST AFRICAN BOVIDAE BASED ON STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS

  2003cited by this paper
• Stable isotope ecology in the Ituri Forest

  2003cited by this paper
• A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa

  2002cited by this paper
• Phosphate δ 18 O determination of modern rodent teeth by direct laser fluorination: an appraisal of methodology and potential application to palaeoclimate reconstruction

  2001cited by this paper
• Morphology of Australopithecus anamensis from Kanapoi and Allia Bay, Kenya.

  2001cited by this paper
• First hominid from the Miocene (Lukeino Formation, Kenya)

  2001cited by this paper
• Paleosols, stable carbon isotopes, and paleoenvironmental interpretation of Kanapoi, Northern Kenya.

  2000cited by this paper
• Browsing and grazing in elephants: the isotope record of modern and fossil proboscideans

  1999cited by this paper
• Environmental information in a recent bone assemblage: roles of taphonomic processes and ecological change

  1999cited by this paper
• Carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bioapatite in ungulate mammals and implications for ecological and paleoecological studies

  1999cited by this paper
• African Miocene environments and the transition to early hominines

  1999cited by this paper
• New specimens and confirmation of an early age for Australopithecus anamensis

  1998cited by this paper
• A laser GC-IRMS technique for in situ stable isotope analyses of carbonates and phosphates

  1996cited by this paper
• Stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of fossil tooth enamel using laser ablation

  1996cited by this paper
• New four-million-year-old hominid species from Kanapoi and Allia Bay, Kenya

  1995cited by this paper
• Four-million-year-old hominids from East Lake Turkana, Kenya.

  1994cited by this paper
• Population dynamics of Arvicanthis niloticus (Rodentia: Muridae) in Kenya

  1986cited by this paper
• Tectonic and environmental control on rodent diversity in the Plio-Pleistocene sediments of the African Rift System

  1986cited by this paper
• A New Locality for Early Pleistocene Fossils in North-Western Kenya

  1966cited by this paper

• Palaeoecology of the Pliocene large carnivore guild at Hadar, Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia.

  2025influential citation
• The behavioural ecology of hominin locomotion: what can we learn from landscapes of fear and primate terrestriality?

  2025cites this paper
• A 4.3-million-year-old Australopithecus anamensis mandible from Ileret, East Turkana, Kenya, and its paleoenvironmental context.

  2024cites this paper
• Hominin turnover at Laetoli is associated with vegetation change: Multiproxy evidence from the large herbivore community.

  2024cites this paper
• Description and taxonomic assessment of fossil Cercopithecidae from the Pliocene Galili Formation (Ethiopia).

  2024cites this paper
• Pliocene hominins from East Turkana were associated with mesic environments in a semiarid basin.

  2023cites this paper
• Palaeoecological reconstruction of Plio-Pleistocene herbivores from the Ahl al Oughlam site (Casablanca, Morocco): Insights from dental wear and stable isotopes

  2023cites this paper
• Multiproxy approach to reconstruct fossil primate feeding behavior: Case study for macaque from the Plio-Pleistocene site Guefaït-4.2 (eastern Morocco)

  2023influential citation
• Paleoenvironments represented by the sediments of the Early Pliocene Mursi Formation, Omo Valley, Ethiopia.

  2023cites this paper
• A nonanalog Pliocene ungulate community at Laetoli with implications for the paleoecology of Australopithecus afarensis.

  2022cites this paper
• StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus: Its Significance for an Australopith Bauplan

  2021cites this paper
• The environments of Australopithecus anamensis at Allia Bay, Kenya: A multiproxy analysis of early Pliocene Bovidae.

  2021cites this paper
• Carbon and strontium isotope ratios shed new light on the paleobiology and collapse of Theropithecus, a primate experiment in graminivory

  2021cites this paper
• A multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Homa Peninsula, Western Kenya

  2021cites this paper
• A fossil terrestrial fauna from Tobène ( Senegal ) provides a unique early Pliocene 1 window in western Africa 2 3

  2021cites this paper
• Proboscidea from Kanapoi, Kenya.

  2020cites this paper
• Revisiting the pedogenic carbonate isotopes and paleoenvironmental interpretation of Kanapoi.

  2020cites this paper
• Introduction to special issue Kanapoi: Paleobiology of a Pliocene site in Kenya.

  2020cites this paper
• The ecology of Australopithecus anamensis in the early Pliocene of Kanapoi, Kenya.

  2020cites this paper
• Paleoecological implications of dental mesowear and hypsodonty in fossil ungulates from Kanapoi.

  2020cites this paper
• Influences of dietary niche expansion and Pliocene environmental changes on the origins of stone tool making

  2020cites this paper
• Dental microwear texture analysis of Pliocene Suidae from Hadar and Kanapoi in the context of early hominin dietary breadth expansion.

  2019cites this paper
• Isotopic equifinality and rethinking the diet of Australopithecus anamensis.

  2019cites this paper
• Plio-Pleistocene decline of African megaherbivores: No evidence for ancient hominin impacts

  2018cites this paper