Bovid limb element morphologies, locomotor repertoire, habitat predictions, and ecological modeling of the Upper Laetolil Beds at Laetoli in northern Tanzania

Paleoecological models are integral to paleoanthropological research. By discovering selective forces that influenced early hominin evolution, researchers are able to discern ecological circumstances under which early hominins evolved and also better understand what caused the hominin lineage to evolve. Paleoecological models can provide important environmental details that may help researchers understand why certain morphological characters appear in the fossil record. Since paleoecological models are so important to understanding hominin evolution, this study creates a paleoecological model of Laetoli, a unique Pliocene hominin site in northern Tanzania. This study uses ecomorphology, which is a taxon-free method that analyzes morphological characters to determine the habitats to which fauna are adapted. This study in particular examines morphological variations in bovid astragali from the Upper Laetolil Beds (3.85--3.63 Ma) and determines that bovids and the associated hominins present at the site were occupying open environments with pockets of forest.