A new horned crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene hominid sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Christopher A Brochu; Jackson Njau; Robert J Blumenschine; Llewellyn D Densmore

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009333

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A new horned crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene hominid sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Journal article

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A new horned crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene hominid sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Christopher A Brochu, Jackson Njau, Robert J Blumenschine and Llewellyn D Densmore

PloS one, Vol.5(2), pp.e9333-e9333

02/24/2010

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009333

PMCID: PMC2827537

PMID: 20195356

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Abstract

The fossil record reveals surprising crocodile diversity in the Neogene of Africa, but relationships with their living relatives and the biogeographic origins of the modern African crocodylian fauna are poorly understood. A Plio-Pleistocene crocodile from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, represents a new extinct species and shows that high crocodylian diversity in Africa persisted after the Miocene. It had prominent triangular "horns" over the ears and a relatively deep snout, these resemble those of the recently extinct Malagasy crocodile Voay robustus, but the new species lacks features found among osteolaemines and shares derived similarities with living species of Crocodylus. The holotype consists of a partial skull and skeleton and was collected on the surface between two tuffs dated to approximately 1.84 million years (Ma), in the same interval near the type localities for the hominids Homo habilis and Australopithecus boisei. It was compared with previously-collected material from Olduvai Gorge referable to the same species. Phylogenetic analysis places the new form within or adjacent to crown Crocodylus. The new crocodile species was the largest predator encountered by our ancestors at Olduvai Gorge, as indicated by hominid specimens preserving crocodile bite marks from these sites. The new species also reinforces the emerging view of high crocodylian diversity throughout the Neogene, and it represents one of the few extinct species referable to crown genus Crocodylus.

Species Specificity

Humans

Tanzania

Alligators and Crocodiles - anatomy & histology

Fossils

Biological Evolution

Archaeology

Horns - anatomy & histology

Alligators and Crocodiles - classification

Animals

Skull - anatomy & histology

Alligators and Crocodiles - growth & development

Hominidae - growth & development

Skeleton

Details

Title: Subtitle: A new horned crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene hominid sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
Creators: Christopher A Brochu - Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America. chris-brochu@uiowa.edu
Jackson Njau
Robert J Blumenschine
Llewellyn D Densmore
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.5(2), pp.e9333-e9333
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009333
PMID: 20195356
PMCID: PMC2827537
NLM abbreviation: PLoS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
eISSN: 1932-6203
Publisher: United States
Language: English
Date published: 02/24/2010
Academic Unit: Earth and Environmental Sciences; University College Courses
Record Identifier: 9983983654102771

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