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Proboscidea from the Baynunah Formation

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Sands of Time

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

The Baynunah Formation provides the only late Miocene record of fossil proboscideans from the Arabian Peninsula, identifiable as a deinothere, tetralophodont gomphothere(s), and stegotetrabelodont elephant. Ichnofossils show the oldest evidence for modern-type elephant herd structure. The elephant sample is particularly abundant, and newly-recovered fossils yield critical evidence about their systematics and biology. Comparative results show that the Baynunah stegotetrabelodont belongs in a new species, and that in many ways it is the most primitive of all elephants—supporting a geological age of 8.0–6.0 Ma—consistent with having evolved in Afro-Arabia from Tetralophodon between 9.0 and 8.0 Ma. Body size analyses reveal that these elephants were exceptionally tall and heavy, possibly exceeding 10,000 kg. Tooth emergence is reconstructed as dp2-dp3-dp4-p3-m1-p4-m2-m3. The taxonomic composition and dietary preferences of the Baynunah proboscideans indicate the presence of heterogeneous local habitats in the region during the late Miocene, though the high abundance of the stegotetrabelodont, and the rarity of the deinothere and gomphothere(s) indicate a dominance of grassland habitats and a lesser representation of wooded areas.

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Acknowledgements

The late Andrew Hill had a positive influence on the scholastic achievements and research efforts of many colleagues, including my own career, made many significant contributions to the fields of paleontology and paleoanthropology through his work on several continents, inspired us with his kindness, competence, and humor, and used his extraordinary intellectual gifts to encourage and assist others. For those reasons, and lasting friendship, I dedicate this chapter in memory and admiration of Andrew. I am grateful to Faysal Bibi, Mark Beech, and the late Andrew Hill for inviting me to participate in study of the proboscideans from the Baynunah Formation. I thank the following individuals and institutions for access to fossil specimens in their care: Meave Leakey (National Museums of Kenya and Turkana Basin Institute, Ileret, Kenya), Emma Mbua and Fredrick Manthi (National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya), Graham and Margaret Avery (Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, South Africa), Amandus Kwekason and the late Michael Mbago (Tanzanian National Museums, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), Ezra Musiime (Ugandan Museum, Kampala, Uganda), Muluneh Miriam (National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), Gertrud Rössner (Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Munich, Germany) and Mark Beech (Coastal Heritage and Palaeontology Section of the Historic Environment Department, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates). Special thanks to John Klausmeyer for assistance with the figures, and to Marilyn Fox for expert preparation and conservation of the proboscidean fossils. I am appreciative for the editorial advice of Brian Kraatz and Faysal Bibi and suggestions of Juha Saarinen, Dimila Mothé, Carol Abraczinskas and an anonymous reviewer to improve the manuscript.

The Coastal Heritage and Palaeontology Section of the Historic Environment Department at the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi, formerly the Tourism and Culture Authority) generously supported my research and site visits, and participation in the Baynunah Palaeontology Conference in December 2014 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This research was also generously supported by several Scott Turner Grants from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, and through grants to Terry Harrison (New York University, New York, NSF Grant BCS-0309513), Carol Ward (University of Missouri, Missouri) and Fredrick Manthi (National Museums of Kenya) (NSF Grant BCS-1231749), and by Meave Leakey and the Turkana Basin Institute.

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  1. Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, 1105 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1079, USA

    William J. Sanders

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  1. Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany

    Faysal Bibi

  2. Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, USA

    Brian Kraatz

  3. Historic Environment Department, Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Mark J. Beech

  4. Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Andrew Hill

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Sanders, W.J. (2022). Proboscidea from the Baynunah Formation. In: Bibi, F., Kraatz, B., Beech, M.J., Hill, A. (eds) Sands of Time. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_10

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