Abstract
The small sample of fossil orycteropodids (n = 27) available from the Laetolil Beds at Laetoli consists of isolated postcranials and a few cranio-dental specimens. The material can all be attributed to a single species of the genus Orycteropus. The Laetoli aardvark is generally similar in morphology to the extant O. afer, but differs in being smaller and in having a more gracile postcranial skeleton. The material is also distinguishable from O. abundulafus and O. djourabensis from the late Miocene and early Pliocene of Chad. Given its unique combination of features, the orycteropodid from Laetoli very likely represents a distinct species, but the material is not adequate to designate a new taxon. However, the evidence indicates that there was a greater diversity of aardvarks in the Pliocene of East Africa than is currently recognized.
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Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology and the Unit of Antiquities in Dar es Salaam for permission to conduct research in Tanzania. Special thanks go to Paul Msemwa (Director) and Amandus Kweka, as well as to all of the staff at the National Museum of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, for their support and assistance. The Government of Kenya and the National Museums of Kenya are thanked for permission to study the collections in Nairobi. Thanks go to Emma Mbua, Mary Muungu, Meave Leakey (Kenya National Museum), Jerry Hooker, Peter Andrews, Paula Jenkins, Daphne Hills (Natural History Museum, London), Oliver Hampe, Wolf-Dieter Heinrich (Humboldt-Universität Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin), Nancy Simmons, Ross MacPhee, and Eileen Westwig (American Museum of Natural History, New York) for access to specimens in their care. For their advice, discussion, and help I gratefully acknowledge the following individuals: M.G. Leakey, T. Lehmann, M. Pickford and D. Su. Research on the Laetoli aardvarks was supported by grants from the National Geographic Society, the Leakey Foundation, and NSF (Grants BCS-9903434 and BCS-0309513).
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Harrison, T. (2011). Orycteropodidae. In: Harrison, T. (eds) Paleontology and Geology of Laetoli: Human Evolution in Context. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9962-4_10
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