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The biotic environments of the late miocene hominoids
pp. 1333-1362
Abstrakt
The habitat of the Middle and Late Miocene hominoids from western Europe, like Dryopithecus , was characterized by the prevalence of subtropical conditions. As a consequence, those environments were mainly dominated by fruit eaters and browsers, including a large variety of suids, cervids, rhinos, chalicotheres, and proboscideans. In contrast, in large parts of Eurasia, from eastern Europe (Greek-Iranian province) and northern Africa to China, the Middle Miocene climatic crisis led to the development of a xerophilous woodland, dominated by bovids, giraffids, and pursuit carnivores. At first, the worldwide dispersal of the hipparionine horses changed this scenario very little. However, at 9.6 Ma, a significant event, the Vallesian Crisis, led to the extinction of most of the fruit eaters that had prevailed in the Middle Miocene European faunas. Hominoids persisted for a time in the Tusco-Sardinian Island and in the low latitudes of southwestern Asia. The worldwide spread of grasses between 8 and 7 Ma led to the final extinction of those hominoids. Hominoid evolution continued in eastern and southeastern Africa, in a habitat that strongly resembles that of the Greek-Iranian province.
Publication details
Published in:
Henke Winfried, Tattersall Ian (2015) Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Dordrecht, Springer.
Seiten: 1333-1362
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_33
Referenz:
Agustí Jordi (2015) „The biotic environments of the late miocene hominoids“, In: W. Henke & I. Tattersall (eds.), Handbook of Paleoanthropology, Dordrecht, Springer, 1333–1362.