Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography of the Baynunah Fauna

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sands of Time

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

  • 254 Accesses

Abstract

The Baynunah Formation has produced a diverse assemblage of plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossils that provides the only window onto the terrestrial late Miocene record of the Arabian Peninsula. This chapter reviews and revises the age, biogeography, environments, and ecology of the Baynunah fauna. Biochronological estimates indicate an age of between 8 and 6 Ma, with several indicators favoring the older end of this range. Paleomagnetostratigraphic correlation more precisely favors an age between  ~7.7 and 7.0 Ma, and a maximum duration of less than 720 kyr. Rough estimates of sedimentation rate based on assumptions of precessional control of carbonate formation in the upper parts of the Baynunah Formation here tentatively suggest a duration of ~250 kyr. The most common body fossils found are remains of fish (catfish and cichlids), turtles, and crocodiles, indicating the presence of a large but shallow and slow-moving river. A diverse community of mammalian herbivores subsisted along the banks of the Baynunah River, ranging from rodents to proboscideans, and carnivores included a mustelid, hyaenids, and a saber-toothed felid. The fauna, in conjunction with stable isotope data, indicates the presence of a highly seasonal semi-arid environment, characterized by open habitats with C4 grasslands and trees. The most common large mammals are equids, bovids, hippopotamids, and proboscideans. The high abundance of equids in the Baynunah Formation is unlike African late Miocene assemblages and more like those from the eastern Mediterranean, but the underlying ecological reasons for this are not clear. Baynunah species indicate dominantly African biogeographic influences combined with Eurasian elements. Genus-level comparisons indicate that the Baynunah fauna was part of the widespread Old World Savanna Paleobiome that covered much of Africa and Eurasia during the late Miocene. Food web (trophic network) analyses of the large mammals indicate a highly connected community similar to that of the modern Serengeti. Among the largest Baynunah herbivores (giraffids, proboscideans), only juveniles would have been vulnerable to predation, even under scenarios of cooperative hunting. In contrast to the fluvial Baynunah sediments, the underlying Shuwaihat Formation indicates arid conditions, and provides some of the oldest evidence for desertification in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aranz Geo. (2016). LeapFrog Geo Software v.3.1 64 bit.: Aranz Geo Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ataabadi, M. M., Bernor, R. L., Kostopoulos, D. S., Wolf, D., Orak, Z., Zare, G., et al. (2013). Recent advances in paleobiological research of the late Miocene Marageh fauna, northwest Iran. In X. Wang, L. J. Flynn, & M. Fortelius (Eds.), Fossil Mammals of Asia: Neogene Biostratigraphy and Chronology (pp. 546–565). Columbia University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Badgley, C., Barry, J. C., Morgan, M. E., Nelson, S. V., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Cerling, T. E., et al. (2008). Ecological changes in Miocene mammalian record show impact of prolonged climatic forcing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(34), 12145–12149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry, J. C., Morgan, M. E., Flynn, L. J., Pilbeam, D., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Raza, S. M., et al. (2002). Faunal and environmental change in the late Miocene Siwaliks of northern Pakistan. Paleobiology, 28(S2), 1–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beden, M., & Brunet, M. (1986). Faunes de mammifères et paléobiogéographie des domaines indiens et péri-indiens au Néogène. Sciences De La Terre, 47, 61–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behrensmeyer, A. K., & Barry, J. (2005). Biostratigraphic surveys in the Siwaliks of Pakistan: A method for standardized surface sampling of the vertebrate fossil record. Palaeontologia Electronica, 8(1), 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernor, R. L., Solounias, N., Swisher, C. C., III, & Van Couvering, J. A. (1996). The correlation of three classical “Pikermian” mammal faunas—Maragheh, Samos, and Pikermi—with the European MN unit system. In The Evolution of Western Eurasian Neogene Mammal Faunas. (pp. 137–154). Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F. (2011). Mio-Pliocene faunal exchanges and African biogeography: The record of fossil bovids. PLoS ONE, 6, e16688. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F. (2022). Bovidae and Giraffidae from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 217–239). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F., Shabel, A. B., Kraatz, B. P., & Stidham, T. A. (2006). New fossil ratite (Aves: Palaeognathae) eggshell discoveries from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation of the United Arab Emirates Arabian Peninsula. Palaeontologia Electronica, 9(2A), 13p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F., Kraatz, B. P., Craig, N., Beech, M. J., Schuster, M., & Hill, A. (2012). Early evidence for complex social structure in Proboscidea from a late Miocene trackway site in the United Arab Emirates. Biology Letters, 8(4), 670–673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F., Hill, A., Beech, M. J., & Yasin, W. (2013). Late Miocene fossils from the Baynunah Formation, United Arab Emirates: Summary of a decade of new work. In X. Wang, L. J. Flynn, & M. Fortelius (Eds.), Fossil Mammals of Asia: Neogene Biostratigraphy and Chronology (pp. 583–594). Columbia Univ. Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F., Pante, M., Souron, A., Stewart, K. M., Varela, S., Werdelin, L., et al. (2018). Paleoecology of the Serengeti during the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: The mammal and fish evidence. Journal of Human Evolution, 120, 48–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.10.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F., Kraatz, B., Beech, M. J., & Hill., A. (2022a). Fossil Trackways of the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 281–296). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bibi, F., Beech, M. J., Hill., A, & Kraatz, B. (2022b). Fossil Localities of the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 9–22). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, L. C., & Hill, A. (1999). Fossil Suidae from the Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 254–270). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boaz, D. D. (1987). Taphonomy and paleoecology at the Pliocene site of Sahabi, Libya. In N. T. Boaz, A. El-Arnauti, A. W. Gaziry, J. de Heinzelin, & D. D. Boaz (Eds.), Neogene paleontology and geology of Sahabi (pp. 337–348). Alan R. Liss.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boaz, N. T., El-Arnauti, A., Pavlakis, P., & Salem, M. J. (Eds.). (2008). Circum-Mediterranean Geology and Biotic Evolution During the Neogene Period: The Perspective from Libya, Benghazi, Libya. Garyounis Scientific Bulletin, Special Issue 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boisserie, J. R. & Bibi., F. (2022). Hippopotamidae from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, and A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 241–258). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boisserie, J. R., Souron, A., Mackaye, H. T., Likius, A., Vignaud, P., & Brunet, M. (2014). A new species of Nyanzachoerus (Cetartiodactyla: Suidae) from the late Miocene Toros-Ménalla, Chad, Central Africa. PLoS ONE, 9(8), e103221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boisserie, J. R., Schuster, M., Beech, M. J., Hill, A., & Bibi, F. (2017a). A new species of hippopotamine (Cetartiodactyla, Hippopotamidae) from the late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates. Palaeovertebrata, 41, e18562. https://doi.org/10.18563/pv.18541.18561

  • Boisserie, J. R., Suwa, G., Asfaw, B., Lihoreau, F., Bernor, R. L., Katoh, S., et al. (2017b). Basal hippopotamines from the upper Miocene of Chorora, Ethiopia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 37(3), e1297718.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bristow, C. S. (1999). Aeolian and sabkah sediments in the Miocene Shuwaihat Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 50–60). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruijn, H. D. (1999). A late Miocene insectivore and rodent fauna from the Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. P. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 186–197). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carbone, C., Maddox, T., Funston, P. J., Mills, M. G. L., Grether, G. F., & Van Valkenburgh, B. (2008). Parallels between playbacks and Pleistocene tar seeps suggest sociality in an extinct sabretooth cat Smilodon. Biology Letters, 5(1), 81–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerling, T. E., Harris, J. M., MacFadden, B. J., Leakey, M. G., Quade, J., Eisenmann, V., et al. (1997). Global vegetation change through the Miocene/ Pliocene boundary. Nature, 389(6647), 153–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csardi, G., & Nepusz, T. (2006). The igraph software package for complex network research. InterJournal, Complex Systems, 1695(5), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Bruijn, H., & Whybrow, P. J. (1994). A Late Miocene rodent fauna from the Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Proceedings Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie Van Wetenschappen, 97, 407–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Bonis, L., Bouvrain, G., Geraads, D., & Koufos, G. (1992). Diversity and paleoecology of Greek late Miocene mammalian faunas. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 91(1–2), 99–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, T. (2006). Paleoecological comparison between late Miocene localities of China and Greece based onHipparionfaunas. Geodiversitas, 28(3), 499–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dormann, C. F., Gruber, B., & Fründ, J. (2008). Introducing the bipartite package: Analysing ecological networks. R News, 8(2), 8–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenmann, V., & Whybrow, P. J. (1999). Hipparions from the late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. P. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 234–253). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Shawaihdi, M. H., Mozley, P. S., Boaz, N. T., Salloum, F., Pavlakis, P., Muftah, A., et al. (2016). Stratigraphy of the Neogene Sahabi units in the Sirt Basin, northeast Libya. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 118, 87–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eronen, J. T., Ataabadi, M. M., Micheels, A., Karme, A., Bernor, R. L., & Fortelius, M. (2009). Distribution history and climatic controls of the Late Miocene Pikermian chronofauna. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 11867–11871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferring, C. R. (1986). Rates of fluvial sedimentation: Implications for archaeological variability. Geoarchaeology, 1(3), 259–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, L. J., & Jacobs, L. L. (1999). Late Miocene small-mammal faunal dynamics: The crossroads of the Arabian peninsula. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 412–419). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, L. J., Winkler, A. J., Erbaeva, M., Alexeeva, N., Anders, U., Angelone, C., et al. (2014). The Leporid Datum: A late Miocene biotic marker. Mammal Review, 44(3–4), 164–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forey, P. L., & Young, S. V. T. (1999). Late Miocene fishes of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. P. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 120–135). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friend, P. F. (1999). Rivers of the lower Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 39–49). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentry, A. W. (1999). Fossil pecorans from the Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia (pp. 290–316). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geraads, D. (2019). A reassessment of the Bovidae (Mammalia) from the Nawata Formation of Lothagam, Kenya, and the late Miocene diversification of the family in Africa. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 17(2), 169–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geraads, D., & Güleç, E. (1999). ABramatheriumskull (Giraffidae, Mammalia) from the late Miocene of Kavakdere (Central Turkey). Biogeographic and phylogenetic implications. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey, 121, 51–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grange, S., Duncan, P., Gaillard, J.-M., Sinclair, A. R. E., Gogan, P. J. P., Packer, C., et al. (2004). What limits the Serengeti zebra population? Oecologia, 140(3), 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1567-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grohé, C. (2022). Carnivora from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 177–188). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haile-Selassie, Y., & WoldeGabriel, G. (Eds.). (2009). Ardipithecus kadabba: Late Miocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haile-Selassie, Y., Vrba, E. S., & Bibi, F. (2009). Bovidae. In Y. Haile-Selassie & G. WoldeGabriel (Eds.), Ardipithecus kadabba: Late Miocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia (pp. 277–330). University of California Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hailwood, E. A., & Whybrow, P. J. (1999). Palaeomagnetic correlation and dating of the Baynunah and Shuwaihat Formations, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. P. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 75–87). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, Ø., & Harper, D. A. T. (2006). Paleontological Data Analysis. Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J. M., & Leakey, M. G. (2003). Lothagam birds. In M. G. Leakey & J. M. Harris (Eds.), Lothagam: The Dawn of Humanity in Eastern Africa (pp. 161–166). Columbia University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, T. (1997a). Neogene Paleontology of the Manonga Valley, Tanzania: A Window into the Evolutionary History of East Africa. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, T. (1997b). Paleoecology and taphonomy of fossil localities in the Manonga valley, Tanzania. In Neogene Paleontology of the Manonga Valley, Tanzania (pp. 79–105): Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, T., & Msuya, C. P. (2005). Fossil struthionid eggshells from Laetoli, Tanzania: Taxonomic and biostratigraphic significance. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 41, 303–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Head, J., & Müller, J. (2022). Amphibians and squamates from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, and A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 111–123). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, B. G., Lessard, J.-P., Borregaard, M. K., Fritz, S. A., Araújo, M. B., Dimitrov, D., et al. (2013). An update of Wallace’s zoogeographic regions of the world. Science, 339(6115), 74–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, Y., Clemens, S. C., Liu, W., Wang, Y., & Prell, W. L. (2007). Large-scale hydrological change drove the late Miocene C4 plant expansion in the Himalayan foreland and Arabian Peninsula. Geology, 35(6), 531–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janis, C. M. (1990). Correlation of cranial and dental variables with body size in ungulates and macropodoids. In J. Damuth & B. J. MacFadden (Eds.), Body Size in Mammalian Paleobiology (pp. 255–300). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karadenizli, L., Seyitoglu, G., Sen, S., Arnaud, N., Kazanci, N., Sarac, G., et al. (2005). Mammal bearing late Miocene tuffs of the Akkaşdağı region; distribution, age, petrographical and geochemical characteristics. Geodiversitas, 27(4), 553–566.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katoh, S., Beyene, Y., Itaya, T., Hyodo, H., Hyodo, M., Yagi, K., et al. (2016). New geological and palaeontological age constraint for the gorilla–human lineage split. Nature, 530(7589), 215–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaya, F., Bibi, F., Zliobaite, I., Eronen, J. T., Hui, T., & Fortelius, M. (2018). The rise and fall of the Old World savannah fauna and the origins of the African savannah biome. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(2), 241–246. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0414-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingston, J. D. (1999). Isotopes and environments of the Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. P. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 354–372). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kostopoulos, D. S., & Bernor, R. L. (2011). The Marageh bovids (Mammalia, Artiodactyla): Systematic revision and biostratigraphic-zoogeographic interpretation. Geodiversitas, 33, 649–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koufos, G. D., Kostopoulos, D. S., & Vlachou, T. D. (2009a). The late Miocene mammal faunas of the Mytilinii basin, Samos Island, Greece: New collection 16 Biochronology. Beiträge Zur Paläontologie, 31, 397–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koufos, G. D., Kostopoulos, D. S., & Merceron, G. (2009b). The late Miocene mammal faunas of the Mytilinii Basin, Samos Island, Greece: New collection. 17. Palaeoecology-Palaeobiogeography. Beiträge Zur Paläontologie, 31, 409–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraatz, B. P., Bibi, F., Hill, A., & Beech, M. J. (2013). A new fossil thryonomyid from the Late Miocene of the United Arab Emirates and the origin of African cane rats. Naturwissenschaften, 100, 437–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraatz, B. (2022). Rodents from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 189–199). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laskar, J., Robutel, P., Joutel, F., Gastineau, M., Correia, A., & Levrard, B. (2004). A long-term numerical solution for the insolation quantities of the Earth. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 428(1), 261–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leakey, M. G., & Harris, J. M. (2003a). Lothagam: The Dawn of Humanity in Eastern Africa. Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leakey, M. G., & Harris, J. M. (2003b). Lothagam: Its significance and contributions. In M. G. Leakey & J. M. Harris (Eds.), Lothagam: The Dawn of Humanity in Eastern Africa (pp. 625–660). Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebatard, A.-E., Bourlès, D. L., Braucher, R., Arnold, M., Duringer, P., Jolivet, M., et al. (2010). Application of the authigenic 10Be/9Be dating method to continental sediments: Reconstruction of the Mio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in the early hominid fossiliferous areas of the northern Chad Basin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 297(1), 57–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.06.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Louchart, A., Stewart, J., & Bibi, F. (2022). Birds from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 125–139). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lührs, M.-L., & Dammhahn, M. (2010). An unusual case of cooperative hunting in a solitary carnivore. Journal of Ethology, 28(2), 379–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzini, I., & Kovacova, M. (2022). Ostracods, charophytes, and pollen from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 65–77). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mein, P., & Pickford, M. (2010). Vallesian rodents from Sheikh Abdallah, Western Desert, Egypt. Historical Biology, 22, 224–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen, J., Blanchet, F. G., Kindt, R., Legendre, P., Minchin, P. R., O’Hara, R. B., et al. (2013). vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.0–10. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan.

  • Otero, O. (2022). Fishes from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 79–109). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Ruttan, L. (1988). The evolution of cooperative hunting. The American Naturalist, 132(2), 159–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, A. G. (2010). Pleistocene climate change in Arabia: developing a framework for hominin dispersal over the last 350 ka. In The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia (pp. 39–49). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peppe, D. J., Evans, D. A. D., Beech, M. J., Hill, A., & Bibi, F. (2022). Magnetostratigraphy of the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 35–54). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickford, M., Senut, B., & Dauphin, Y. (1995). Biostratigraphy of the Tsondab Sandstone (Namibia) based on gigantic avian eggshells. Geobios, 28(1), 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pires, M. M., Koch, P. L., Fariña, R. A., de Aguiar, M. A. M., dos Reis, S. F., & Guimarães, P. R. (2015). Pleistocene megafaunal interaction networks became more vulnerable after human arrival. [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1367]. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1814), 20151367.

  • Polissar, P. J., Rose, C., Uno, K. T., Phelps, S. R., & deMenocal, P. (2019). Synchronous rise of African C4 ecosystems 10 million years ago in the absence of aridification. Nature Geoscience, 12(8), 657–660. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0399-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, C. T., & Robbins, B. L. (1979). Fetal and neonatal growth patterns and maternal reproductive effort in ungulates and subungulates. The American Naturalist, 114(1), 101–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roopnarine, P. D. (2006). Extinction cascades and catastrophe in ancient food webs. Paleobiology, 32, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, W. J. (2022). Proboscidea from the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 141–176). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, M., Duringer, P., Ghienne, J. F., Vignaud, P., Mackaye, H. T., Likius, A., et al. (2006). The age of the Sahara Desert. Science, 311(5762), 821–821.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, M. (2022). Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 23–34). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suwa, G., Beyene, Y., Nakaya, H., Bernor, R. L., Boisserie, J.-R., Bibi, F., et al. (2015). Newly discovered cercopithecid, equid and other mammalian fossils from the Chorora Formation Ethiopia. Anthropological Science, 123(3), 19–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tassy, P. (1999). Miocene elephantids (Mammalia) from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Palaeobiogeographic implications. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 209–233). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teller, J. T., Glennie, K. W., Lancaster, N., & Singhvi, A. K. (2000). Calcareous dunes of the United Arab Emirates and Noah’s Flood: The postglacial reflooding of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. Quaternary International, 68, 297–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, H., Taquet, P., Ligabue, G., & Del’Agnola, C. (1978). Découverte d’un gisement de vertébrés dans les dépots continentaux du Miocène Moyen du Hasa (Arabie Saoudite). Comptes Rendus Sommaires De La Société Géologique De France, 2, 69–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Timmermann, A., & Friedrich, T. (2016). Late Pleistocene climate drivers of early human migration. Nature, 538(7623), 92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uno, K. T., Cerling, T. E., Harris, J. M., Kunimatsu, Y., Leakey, M. G., Nakatsukasa, M., et al. (2011). Late Miocene to Pliocene carbon isotope record of differential diet change among East African herbivores. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(16), 6509–6514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uno, K. T., Polissar, P. J., & Jackson, K. E. (2016). Neogene biomarker record of vegetation change in eastern Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(23), 6355–6363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uno, K. & Bibi, F. (2022). Stable isotope paleoecology of the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 297–329). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valli, A. M. F. (2005). Taphonomy of the late Miocene mammal locality of Akkaşdağı, Turkey. Geodiversitas, 27(4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Valkenburgh, B., Hayward, M. W., Ripple, W. J., Meloro, C., & Roth, V. L. (2016). The impact of large terrestrial carnivores on Pleistocene ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113, 862–867. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1502554112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vignaud, P., Duringer, P., Mackaye, H. T., Likius, A., Blondel, C., Boisserie, J. R., et al. (2002). Geology and palaeontology of the Upper Miocene Toros-Menalla hominid locality Chad. Nature, 418(6894), 152–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wesselman, H. B., Black, M. T., & Asnake, M. (2009). Small mammals. In Y. Haile-Selassie & G. WoldeGabriel (Eds.), Ardipithecus kadabba: Late Miocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia (pp. 105–133). UC Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • White, F. (1983). The Vegetation of Africa: A Descriptive Memoir to Accompany the UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO Vegetation Map of Africa (Natural resources research). United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whybrow, P. J., & Hill, A. (Eds.). (1999). Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whybrow, P. J., Friend, P. F., Ditchfield, P. W., & Bristow, C. S. (1999). Local stratigraphy of the Neogene outcrops of the coastal area: Western Region, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In P. J. Whybrow & A. Hill (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Arabia, with Emphasis on the Late Miocene Faunas, Geology, and Palaeoenvironments of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 28–37). Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z., Ramstein, G., Schuster, M., Li, C., Contoux, C., & Yan, Q. (2014). Aridification of the Sahara desert caused by Tethys Sea shrinkage during the Late Miocene. Nature, 513(7518), 401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Fieldwork underlying this study took place under an agreement between Yale University at the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (currently the Department of Culture and Tourism). Main project support has come from ADACH / DCT, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and Yale University, the National Science Foundation (grant OISE-0852975 to Bibi), a Leibniz-DAAD scholarship (to Bibi), the Revealing Hominid Origins Initiative (NSF 0321893 to T. White and F. C. Howell), and the Institut de Paléoprimatologie, Paléontologie Humaine: Évolution et Paléoenvironnements (iPHEP, currently PALEVOPRIM) at the University of Poitiers. F.K. received support from Academy of Finland project number 316799 to Anu Kaakinen. S.V. was supported by an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship. We thank D. Su, W. McLaughlin, and a third anonymous reviewer for comments that helped improved this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum Für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany

    Faysal Bibi & Sara Varela

  2. Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Ferhat Kaya

  3. Department of Archaeology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Ferhat Kaya

Authors
  1. Faysal Bibi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ferhat Kaya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sara Varela
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Faysal Bibi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  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

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (XLSX 12 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Bibi, F., Kaya, F., Varela, S. (2022). Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography of the Baynunah Fauna. 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_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_19

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-83882-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-83883-6

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation