Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa.
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa; Abteilung für Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
J Hum Evol. 2022 Jun;167:103185. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103185. Epub 2022 Apr 27.
Several large-bodied hominin and nonhuman primates have coexisted in the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa during the Early Pleistocene. Previous paleoenvironmental studies regarding the Plio-Pleistocene of South Africa have focused heavily on mammal assemblages. Here, we conducted a comprehensive taxonomic analysis of the fossil bird remains from Cooper's D, the most fossiliferous locality of the hominin-bearing Cooper's Cave complex in South Africa. Our taxonomic evaluation of 505 remains reveals the presence of 23 bird taxa, two of which are extinct and already reported from the nearby fossil locality of Kromdraai. The taxonomically diverse bird assemblage is dominated by Francolinus sp. and other species associated with open grassland habitats, followed by rock-dwelling species, including Tyto cf. alba and the extinct Corvus bragai, and by woodland species such as Agapornis sp., Accipiter melanoleucos, and the extinct Glaucidium ireneae. The occurrence of these taxa and their respective proportions in the assemblage, in terms of both numbers of bones and individuals, point to the presence of extensive open grassland and/or savannah with rocky outcrops and woodland. These findings corroborate previous analyses of mammals from Cooper's D, with the exception of aquatic species, which are rare in the bird assemblage. Comparison with older deposits from Kromdraai confirms the definitive establishment of open habitats in the Cradle of Humankind during the Early Pleistocene following a transition from woodier habitats during the Late Pliocene. This study constitutes a further step in investigating the fossil bird diversity in the Cradle of Humankind during the Plio-Pleistocene. Our results add to the larger body of work using avian fossils for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in Africa and support the utility of birds as paleoenvironmental proxies. Similar future studies will refine our understanding of the paleoenvironments and landscape transformation during the Plio-Pleistocene, a critical timeframe for hominin evolution in southern Africa.
在南非的人类摇篮，早更新世时期曾有多种大型人科动物和非人类灵长类动物共存。先前关于南非上新世至更新世的古环境研究主要集中在哺乳动物组合上。在这里，我们对来自南非库珀洞穴复合体中含有人化石的库珀洞最具化石丰富度的库珀洞（Cooper's D）的化石鸟类遗骸进行了全面的分类学分析。我们对 505 个标本的分类评估揭示了 23 种鸟类分类单元的存在，其中两种已经灭绝，并且已经在附近的克洛姆德莱伊（Kromdraai）化石点报道过。分类多样化的鸟类组合以鹧鸪属（Francolinus sp.）和其他与开阔草原栖息地相关的物种为主，其次是居住在岩石中的物种，包括白腹雕鸮（Tyto cf. alba）和已灭绝的鸦鹃（Corvus bragai），以及林地物种，如牡丹鹦鹉（Agapornis sp.）、猛雕（Accipiter melanoleucos）和已灭绝的绿胸八色鸫（Glaucidium ireneae）。这些类群及其在组合中的各自比例，无论是在骨骼数量还是个体数量方面，都表明存在广泛的开阔草原和/或热带稀树草原，伴有岩石露头和林地。这些发现与库珀洞的哺乳动物先前分析结果相符，除了在鸟类组合中罕见的水生物种。与克洛姆德莱伊的较老沉积物的比较证实，在晚上新世时期从森林为主的栖息地过渡之后，早更新世时期人类摇篮的开阔栖息地已经得到明确确立。这项研究是在晚上新世至更新世期间对人类摇篮的化石鸟类多样性进行进一步研究的又一步。我们的结果增加了利用非洲鸟类化石进行古环境重建的大量工作内容，并支持鸟类作为古环境示踪剂的实用性。类似的未来研究将使我们更好地了解上新世至更新世期间的古环境和景观变化，这对南部非洲人类进化的关键时期至关重要。
