Shungura Formation Explained

Shungura Formation
Type:	Geological formation
Age:	Piacenzian-Gelasian
Period:	Gelasian
Prilithology:	Sandstone, siltstone
Otherlithology:	Claystone, tuff
Coordinates:	5.1°N 36°W
Paleocoordinates:	5.8°N 36.1°W
Unitof:	Omo Group
Underlies:	Kalam Formation
Overlies:	Mursi Formation
Extent:	Omo Subbasin  Turkana Basin

The Shungura Formation is a stratigraphic formation located in the Omo river basin in Ethiopia. It dates to the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Oldowan tools have been found in the formation, suggesting early use of stone tools by hominins. Among many others, fossils of Panthera were found in Member G of the formation.^{[1] [2]}

Geology

The formation comprises sandstones, siltstones, claystones and tuff, deposited in a fluvial to deltaic lacustrine environment.

Paleobiota

Fossil content

Among many others, the following fossils have been reported from the formation:^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [2] [10]}

Mammals

Afrotheres

Proboscideans

Proboscideans of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Loxodonta	L. adaurora	Member O		Extinct subspecies of African elephants.
	L. exoptata	Member O
Palaeoloxodon recki	P. r. shungurensis	Member A, B, C, D, and E.		An extinct elephant species native to Africa.

Artiodactyls

Bovids

Bovids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Aepyceros	A. shungurae	Members B, C, D, E, F, and G		Extinct relative of modern impala.
Antidorcas	A. recki	Members B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.		Extinct relative of modern springbok
Beatragus	B. antiquus	Member G.		Extinct relative of modern Hirola.
Gazella	G. praethomsoni	Members F, G, and H.		An early relative of gazelle.
Kobus	K. ancystrocera	Member B, C, E, G, and J.
	K. ellipsiprymnus	Member G, J, and K.		A waterbuck.
	K. oricornis			Extinct relatives of the Kobus family.
	K. sigmoidalis	Members D, E, F, and G.
Megalotragus	M. sp.			An alcelaphine.
Menelikia	M. lyrocera	Members C, E, F, G, H, I, and J.		An extinct reduncinae artiodactyl.
Pelorovis	P. sp.
Parmularius	P. altidens	Members G and H.		An extinct relative of alcelaphine.
Redunca	R. sp.			A reedbuck.
Syncerus	S. cf. acoelotus	Members B, C, D, E, F, and G.		A cape buffalo.
Tragelaphus	T. gaudryi	Member F.		Relative of spiral horned anterlope.
	T. nakuae

Camelids

Camels of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Camelus	C. grattardi^[13]	Lower member G (G4-G13).	Distal humerus L1–68–76, maxilla fragment with heavily worn P4–M2 (Omo 75S-70–956); same individual as Omo 75–69–2222, M3.	Extinct relative of Camels.
Camelus	C. sp.

Giraffidae

Giraffids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Giraffa	G. gracilis	Members D, E, F, and G.		Extinct relative of modern giraffe.
	G. pygmaea	Members G.
	G. jumae
Sivatherium	S. maurusium	Member F.		An extinct giraffid.

Hippopotamidae

Hippopotamids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Hexaprotodon	H. protoamphibius			An extinct hippopotamid relative.
	H. shungurensis	Member C	A partial skull (calvarium and mandible)
Hippopotamus	H. protoamphibius

Suidae

Suidae of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Kolpochoerus	K. limnetes	Members E, D, G, F, and H.		An omnivorous pig.
Metridiochoerus	M. jacksoni	Members E, F, and G.		A giant warthog.
	M. modestus	Members G
Notochoerus	N. euilus	Members A, C.		A tetraconodontinae suid.
	N. scotti^[14]	Members B, C, and H
Nyanzachoerus	N. kanamensis	Members A, B		A tetraconodontinae suid.
	N. jaegeri	Member A

Carnivora

Carnivorans of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Enhydriodon^[15]	E. omoensis^[16]	Member C.	Right femur (L 183–14), fragmented mandible, and lower dentition.	A lion-sized river otter.
Dinofelis	D. petteri	Member A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.	Damaged cranium skull and dentition fragments, OMO 1–768–3.	A sabertooth cat.
	D. sp.^[17]	Member A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.	Postcranial skulls (OMO 28-67-1075 from Member B), craniodental, and dentition fragments.
Helogale	H. hirtula			Extinct species of Mongoose family.
	H. kitafe
Homotherium	H. aethiopicum	Members C and G.

Chiroptera

Bats of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Hipposideros	H. kaumbului	Member F.		A Roundleaf bat.
Taphozous	T. abitus	Member F.		Extinct relative of tomb bats and sheath-tailed bats.

Eulipotyphla

Eulipotyphlas of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Crocidura	C. aithiops
Suncus	S. haesaertsi
	S. cf. lixus
	S. shungurensis

Perissodactyls

Chalicotheres

Rhinocerotidae

Rhinocerotidaes of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Ceratotherium	C. simum	Member A, B, C, D, E, J, K, L, and O.	Multiple dentition, cranium, and postcranial skeletion.	A white rhinoceros.
Diceros	D. bicornis	Member A, B, D, L, K, and O.	Complete Skull and Molars.	A black rhinoceros.

Equidae

Equids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Equus	E. oldowayensis^[19]	Members F, G, H, I, and J.	Jawbone mandible with complete dentition.	An Olduvai zebra.
Eurygnathohippus	E. libycum	Members C, E, F, G, and L.		A Hipparionine horse.
Hipparion	H. sitifense^[20]	Members A, B, C, D, E, F, and G	Multiple cheek teeth and fragmented dentition.	Relatives of early horses.

Primates

Cercopithecidae

Cercopithecids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Dinopithecus	D. sp.^[21] ^[22]
Paracolobus	P. mutiwa	Member C, E, and G.
Rhinocolobus	R. turkanaensis	Member C, E, and G.^[23]
Theropithecus	T. brumpti	Members B, C, D, E, F, and G.		Extinct relative of Gelada Baboons.
	T. oswaldi	Members D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L.

Hominins

Homonids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Australopithecus	A. sp.
Paranthropus	P. aethiopicus	Members C, D, E, and F.
	P. boisei	Members G and K.

Rodents

Rodents of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Aethomys	A. deheinzelini			a rock mouse.
Arvicanthis	A. sp.
Acomys	A. sp.
Gerbillus	G. sp.
Heterocephalus	H. atikoi
Jaculus	J. orientalis
Mastomys	M. minor
Paraxerus	P. ochraceus
Pelomys	P. sp.
Saidomys	S. sp.
Tatera	T. sp.
Xerus	X. sp.

Fish

Fish of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Auchenoglanis	A. sp.	Members F3 and G24.	Omo 199 1973-1278 and Omo 215 1973–2556, two pectoral spines, the former lacking the distalmost tip.
Clarias	C. sp.
Gymnarchus	G. sp.
Polypterus	P. bichir	Upper Member A.	An association of several rows of rhombic ganoid scales, Omo 40–4343.	A Nile Bichir.
Sindacharax	S. greenwoodi			Relatives of African tetras.
	S. omoensis	Upper Member A.	Omo 128–72–22, Partial premaxilla (right) broken off lateral to the third outer tooth and second inner tooth, with first and second inner teeth in situ, and tooth bases visible of the first, second, and third outer teeth.
Synodontis	S. frontosus			relatives of Mochokid catfishes
	S. schall

See also

• List of fossil sites
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Ethiopia
• Geology of Ethiopia

References

Bibliography

Further reading

• L. Bobe and M. Mabela. 1997. Incidence of four gastrointestinal parasite worms in the group of cricetomas, Lukaya-Democratic Republic of Congo. Tropicultura 15(3):132-135
• C. S. Churcher and D. A. Hooijer. 1980. The Olduvai Zebra (Equus oldowayensis) from the later Omo beds, Ethiopia. Zoologische Mededelingen 55(22):265-280
• Y. Coppens and F. C. Howell. 1985. Les Faunes Plio-Pleistocenes de las Basse Vallee de l'Omo (Ethiopie), Tome 1: Perissodactyls, Artiodactyls (Bovidae). Cahiers de Paleontologie, Editions du CNRS, Paris
• G. Eck. 1977. Diversity and frequency distributions of Omo Group Cercopithecidae. Journal of Human Evolution 6:55-63
• C. S. Feibel, F.H. Brown, and I. McDougall. 1989. Stratigraphic Context of Fossil hominids from the Omo Group Deposits: Northern Turkana Basin, Kenya and Ethiopia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 78:595-622
• J. de Heinzelin. 1983. The Omo Group: Archives of the International Omo Research Expedition. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Annales Series 8, Tervuren, Belgique 85
• F. C. Howell and Y. Coppens. 1973. Inventory of remains of Hominidae from Pliocene and Pleistocene formations of the lower Omo Basin, Ethiopia (1967–1972). American Journal of Physical Anthropology 40:1-16
• M. G. Leakey. 1982. Extinct large Colobines from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 58:153-172
• 2015 - Thomas W. Plummer, Joseph V. Ferraro, Julien Louys, Fritz Hertel, Zeresenay Alemseged, René Bobe, L. C. Bishop - Bovid ecomorphology and hominin paleoenvironments of the Shungura Formation, lower Omo River Valley, Ethiopia
• 1979 - Robert J. Rogers & Francis H. Brown - Authigenic mitridatite from the Shungura Formation, southwestern Ethiopia
• G. Suwa, T. D. White, and F. Clark Howell. 1996. Mandibular postcanine dentition from the Shungura Formation, Ethiopia: Crown morphology, taxonomic allocations and Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 101:247-282
• (1993); Wildlife of Gondwana. Reed.
• H. B. Wesselman. 1984. The Omo Micromammals: Systematics and Paleoecology of Early Man Sites from Ethiopia. Contributions to Vertebrate Evolution 17

Notes and References

1. Sabol, 2011, p.230
2. Boaz, N. T., Howell, F. C., & McCrossin, M. L. (1982). Faunal age of the Usno, Shungura B and Hadar Formations, Ethiopia. Nature, 300(5893), 633–635. https://doi.org/10.1038/300633A0
3. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=21986 ETE Locality 807, Omo - member G
4. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=22039 ETE Locality 860, Omo - member C
5. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=21668 ETE Locality 486, Omo - O.75
6. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=21634 ETE Locality 452, Omo - O.81, P.928
7. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=21545 ETE Locality 363, Omo - L.28
8. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=22014 ETE Locality 835, Omo - member G5
9. Stewart, Kathlyn & Murray, Alison. (2008). Fish remains from the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation, Omo River basin, Ethiopia. Geobios - GEOBIOS-LYON. 41. 283-295. 10.1016/j.geobios.2007.06.004.
10. Sillen, A. (1986). Biogenic and Diagenetic Sr/Ca in Plio-Pleistocene Fossils of the Omo Shungura Formation. Paleobiology, 12(3), 311–323. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2400437
11. Wesselman H. B. (1984) The Omo Micromammals: Systematics and Paleoecology of Early Man Sites from Ethiopia, Contributions to Vertebrate Evolution 17
12. Skinner, J. D.; Chimimba, Christian T. (2005). The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region. Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 9781107394056. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
13. John Rowan, Pietro Martini, Likius Andossa, Gildas Merceron, Jean-Renaud Boisserie. New Pliocene remains of Camelus grattardi (Mammalia, Camelidae) from the Shungura Formation, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, and the evolution of African camels. Historical Biology, 2018, 31 (9), pp.1123-1134. ⟨10.1080/08912963.2017.1423485⟩. ⟨hal-02100346⟩
14. White, T. D., & Suwa, G. (2004). A New Species of Notochoerus (Artiodactyla, Suidae) from the Pliocene of Ethiopia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24(2), 474–480. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4524733
15. GROHÉ C., UNO K. & BOISSERIE J.-R. 2022. — Lutrinae Bonaparte, 1838 (Carnivora, Mustelidae) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Lower Omo Valley, southwestern Ethiopia: systematics and new insights into the paleoecology and paleobiogeography of the Turkana otters. Comptes Rendus Palevol 2022 (30): 681-705. https://doi.org/10.5852/cr-palevol2022v21a30
16. Grohé, Camille & Uno, Kevin & Boisserie, Jean-Renaud. (2022). Lutrinae Bonaparte, 1838 (Carnivora, Mustelidae) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Lower Omo Valley, southwestern Ethiopia: systematics and new insights into the paleoecology and paleobiogeography of the Turkana otters. 21. 681-705. 10.5852/cr-palevol2022v21a30.
17. Werdelin, Lars & Lewis, Margaret. (2001). A revision of the genus Dinofelis (Mammalia, Felidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 132. 147 - 258. 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2001.tb02465.x.
18. Denis Geraads. Faunal Change in Eastern Africa at the Oldowan – Acheulean Transition. The Emergence of the Acheulean in East Africa and Beyond: Contributions in Honor of Jean Chavaillon,In press. ffhalshs-01819105
19. Gilbert, William & Bernor, Raymond. (2009). Equidae. 10.1525/california/9780520251205.003.0006.
20. Eisenmann, Véra. (1976). Equidae from the Shungura formation. Earliest Man and Environments in the Lake Rudolf Basin. 225-233.
21. Jablonski, Nina & Leakey, Meave & Anton, Mauricio. (2008). Systematic paleontology of the cercopithecines. The Fossil Monkeys. 6. 103-300.
22. Gilbert, C. C. (2013). Cladistic analysis of extant and fossil African papionins using craniodental data. Journal of Human Evolution, 64(5), 399–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JHEVOL.2013.01.013
23. Pallas, L., Daver, G., Merceron, G., & Boisserie, J. (2023, February 3). Postcranial anatomy of colobines (Mammalia, Primates) from the Plio-Pleistocene Omo Group deposits (Shungura Formation and Usno Formation, 1967-2018 field campaigns, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia). https://doi.org/10.31233/osf.io/bwegt
24. Werdelin, Lars & Partridge, Timothy & Seiffert, Erik & Feakins, Sarah & Demenocal, Peter & Jacobs, Bonnie & Gunnell, Gregg & Holroyd, Patricia & Asher, Robert & Sanders, William & Rasmussen, David & Gutiérrez, Mercedes & Domning, Daryl & Winkler, Alisa & Avery, D. Margaret & Godinot, Marc & Harrison, Terry & Godfrey, Laurie & Jablonski, Nina & Cerling, Thure. (2010). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. 10.1525/california/9780520257214.001.0001. Page: 344-345
25. Joleaud ML (1920) On the presence of a Gavialide of the genus Tomistoma in the freshwater Pliocene of Ethiopia, Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 70, 816-818