Ecological and morphological diversity in catarrhine primates from the Miocene of Africa

This dissertation uses three independent lines of evidence to explore morphological and ecological diversity in extinct catarrhines from the Miocene of Africa and focuses on the sites of Kalodirr and Moruorot west of Lake Turkana, in Kenya. Dental microwear is used to examine the diet, while functional morphology of limb elements is used to examine morphological diversity and locomotion of Miocene catarrhines through comparisons with a sample of living anthropoids. Additionally, this project provides the first analysis of the mammalian fauna from Kalodirr and a comprehensive revision of the mammals from Moruorot. These are used to reconstruct the environment of the primates at Kalodirr and Moruorot using comparisons with modern African localities and other Miocene sites.;The results of the faunal analyses emphasize the endemic nature of different regions during the Miocene. The sites near Lake Turkana include the first appearance of some Eurasian immigrants in East Africa, indicative of a north-to-south migration throughout the Miocene. These analyses indicate that Kalodirr and Moruorot were drier more open woodland habitats than contemporaneous sites near Lake Victoria, and more similar to younger Middle Miocene sites. Thus, during the Early Miocene of Africa catarrhines inhabited at least two distinct habitat types: woodland and forest. These differed in the taxonomic composition of their catarrhine and other primate communities. The woodland localities have fewer catarrhines, yet have a greater range of microwear signatures and at least an equal range of morphological diversity as Miocene primate communities from forest sites. Finally, the results of this study indicate that hominoids underwent a woodland period sometime during the earlier stages in their evolution.;Results of the microwear analyses show that Miocene catarrhines were primarily frugivorous. However, the primates from sites near Lake Turkana have a broader range of microwear diversity indicating a broader range of diets. The results of the functional morphology indicate that Miocene catarrhines employed a wide range of locomotor behaviors. The Miocene catarrhines are consistently more similar in their morphology to modern catarrhines than they are to platyrrhines, but are also distinct from living catarrhines reflecting their own unique solutions to their environments.