Kantis Fossil Site
Basic information
Sample name: Kantis Fossil Site

Sample aka: KFS

Reference: E. Mbua, S. Kusaka, Y. Kunimatsu, D. Geraads, Y. Sawada, F. H. Brown, T. Sakai, J.-R. Boisserie, M. Saneyoshi, C. Omuombo, S. Muteti, T. Hirata, A. Hayashida, H. Iwano, T. Danhara, R. Bobe, B. Jicha, and M. Nakatsukasa. 2016. Kantis: A new Australopithecus site on the shoulders of the Rift Valley near Nairobi, Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution 94:28-44 [ER 3953]
Geography
Country: Kenya

Coordinate: -1.391° S, 36.724° E
Latlng basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pliocene

Max Ma: 3.5

Min Ma: 3.4

Age basis: other

Geography comments: "on the outskirts of Nairobi... on the eastern should of the Gregory Rift"
there are three fossiliferous beds in succession: KD1, KD2, and KD3
zircon U-Pb dates of 3.4 +/- 0.1 and 3.5 +/- 0.2 Ma are favoured and are consistent with the biochronology, magnetstratigraphy, and 40A/39Ar dates that are also reported

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Environment
Lithology: ash

Taphonomic context: fluvial deposit

Habitat comments: the fossiliferous bed is a "trachytic tuff" and "mudflow deposit", and specifically "moderately consolidated... poorly sorted, matrix-supported lapilli tuff" with "pebbles and cobbles of lithic fragments" and "glass shards"
there are no lithics or other human artefacts
this is apparently an attritional assemblage with no biotic accumulation agent because no damage to bones is reported

Methods
Life forms: carnivores, primates, rodents, ungulates

Excluded forms: birds, other reptiles

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 624 specimens

Net or trap nights: 0

Basal area status: not applicable

Sampling comments: "systematic research" began in 2009, but the exact collection dates are not discussed
some excavation was carried out, but it is not clear whether surface collecting was important
birds and crocodylians were also collected, but counts are not given

Metadata
Sample no: 4361

Contributor no: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2023-08-30 13:51:56

Modified: 2023-08-30 04:11:10

Abundance distribution
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts. Values are logged.
Statistics
27 species
8 singletons
total count 624
geometric series index: 46.4
Fisher's α: 5.749
geometric series k: 0.802
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.724
Shannon's H: 1.946
Good's u: 0.9872
Register
†Australopithecus afarensis (hominin)4
Papionini indet.66
Colobini indet.7
Enhydriodon sp. 1
Homotherium sp. 1
Crocuta sp. 1
Ichneumia sp. 1
compared to
Mungos sp. 1
compared to
Elephantidae indet.6
†Hippopotamus cf. protamphibius (hippopotamus)310
Hippopotamidae indet.1
large
†Notochoerus euilus 43
plus 67 suids
Kolpochoerus sp. 3
questionably referred
Sivatherium sp. 13
Tragelaphini indet.3
plus 183 bovids
Ugandax sp. 25
compared to
Damaliscus sp. 3
compared to: said to be new; plus 52 alcelaphines
Alcelaphini indet.4
small
†Oryx cf. deturi (oryx)6
plus 12 hippotragines
Kobus sp. 1
†Aepyceros aff. dietrichi (bovid)32
Cephalophus sp. 2
Gazella sp. 12
†Ceratotherium mauritanicum (rhinoceros)36
Diceros sp. 2
Hipparionini indet.39
"Hipparion s.l. sp."
Thryonomys sp. 1