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Journal Articles Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia Year : 2021

Micro-cursorial mammals from the late Eocene tufas at Eocliff, Namibia

Abstract

Fossils of macroscelideans, or micro-cursorial mammals, are common and diverse at Eocliff in the Sperrgebiet, Namibia, a complex of tufa deposits of Bartonian-Priabonian age. Associated mammals comprise rodents, insectivorans (tenrecoids, chrysochlorids) and hyracoids. The nearby tufa at Eoridge has yielded large mammals (anthracothere, hyracoid) that indicate a late Eocene age for the deposits. The few rodents from Eoridge are the same as those from Eocliff, indicating that the tufas at the two localities are penecontemporaneous. The diversity of macroscelideans at Eocliff is high (six taxa) with four brachyodont to semi-hypsodont taxa and two hypselodont taxa. None of the Eocliff macroscelideans is closely related to Palaeogene North African herodotiines which possess divergent molar morphology including the presence of buccal cingula in upper molars, a structure that is unknown in the Eocliff genera. The aim of this paper is to describe and interpret the Eocliff macroscelideans.
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Dates and versions

hal-03543168 , version 1 (25-01-2022)

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  • HAL Id : hal-03543168 , version 1

Cite

Brigitte Senut, Martin Pickford. Micro-cursorial mammals from the late Eocene tufas at Eocliff, Namibia. Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia, 2021, 23, pp.90-160. ⟨hal-03543168⟩
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