Late Miocene to Pliocene carbon isotope record of differential diet change among East African herbivores

Late Miocene to Pliocene carbon isotope record of differential diet change among East African herbivores.

Stable isotope and molecular data suggest that C(4) grasses first appeared globally in the Oligocene. In East Africa, stable isotope data from pedogenic carbonate and fossil tooth enamel suggest a first appearance between 15-10 Ma and subsequent expansion during the Plio-Pleistocene. The fossil enamel record has the potential to provide detailed information about the rates of dietary adaptation...

Herbivore enamel carbon isotopic composition and the environmental context of Ardipithecus at Gona, Ethiopia

Ardipithecus fossils found in late Miocene and early Pliocene deposits in the Afar region of Ethiopia, along with Sahelanthropus tchadensis from Chad and Orrorin tugenensis from Kenya, are among the earliest known human ancestors and are considered to be the predecessors to the subsequent australopithecines (Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis). Current paleoenvironmental ...

An experimental study of carbon-isotope fractionation between diet, hair, and feces of mammalian herbivores

The carbon-isotope composition of hair and feces offers a glimpse into the diets of mammalian herbivores. It is particularly useful for determining the relative consumption of browse and graze in tropical environments, as these foods have strongly divergent carbon-isotope compositions. Fecal δ13C values reflect the last few days consumption, whereas hair provides longer term dietary information...

Evidence for iceberg armadas from East Antarctica in the Southern Ocean during the late Miocene and early Pliocene

Interpreting the Upper Triassic Carbon Isotope Record