Moroto II
Basic information
Sample name: Moroto II
Reference: M. Pickford and P. Mein. 2006. Early Middle Miocene mammals from Moroto II, Uganda. Beiträge zur Paläontologie 30:361-386 [ER 4096]
Geography
Country: Uganda
Coordinate: 2.73° N, 34.75° E
Coordinate basis: estimated from map
Scale: local area
Formation: Kogole Beds
Time interval: Early Miocene
Zone: MN2
Ma: 20.95
Geography comments: "a complex of fossiliferous localities near Kogole Hill, 7 km north of Nakiloro, Moroto District... There are two main deposits" but most fossils are from the "southern exposures" instead of the "eastern outcrops"
coordinate estimated based on the map of MacLatchy et al. (2023)
there is a > 20.6 Ma K-Ar date for a capping basalt at the site and also an older K-Ar date of > 14.3 ± 0.3 Ma for the same unit, but the authors reject both based on biochronology, favouring an estimate of 17.5 to 17 Ma (well within the Burdigalian and MN3)
however, MacLatchy et al. (2023) provide a mean 40Ar/39Ar date of 20.950 ± 0.046 Ma based on "Ten basalt samples... from outcrops at multiple levels within the lava sequence" (late Aquitanian or MN2)
coordinate estimated based on the map of MacLatchy et al. (2023)
there is a > 20.6 Ma K-Ar date for a capping basalt at the site and also an older K-Ar date of > 14.3 ± 0.3 Ma for the same unit, but the authors reject both based on biochronology, favouring an estimate of 17.5 to 17 Ma (well within the Burdigalian and MN3)
however, MacLatchy et al. (2023) provide a mean 40Ar/39Ar date of 20.950 ± 0.046 Ma based on "Ten basalt samples... from outcrops at multiple levels within the lava sequence" (late Aquitanian or MN2)
Environment
Lithology: sandstone
Taphonomic context: fluvial deposit
Habitat comments: there are "marly deposits and cross-bedded sands" at the site indicating "sluggish, shallow rivers or streams", but the fossils are of covered with sand
Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other large mammals,other small mammals
Sampling methods: screenwash
Sample size: 153 specimens
Years: 1997 - 2004
Sampling comments: there were collections "in the 1960's" that were described by Bishop (1967), Pickford (1981), and others, but it appears that all of the specimens were from the annual Uganda Palaeontology Expedition of 1997 to 2004
in addition to "surface prospecting", screenwashing began in 1998, and "over 100 tons of sediment" were screened
the museum repository is either the MNHN or the Uganda Museum or both
undescribed "crabs, frogs, fish, crocodiles, aquatic turtles" and "the terrestrial snail Nothapalinus" are also present
the counts in the Table 2 are inaccurate, and direct counts of specimens in the systematic palaeontology section for all taxa other than the undescribed primates are used instead
in addition to "surface prospecting", screenwashing began in 1998, and "over 100 tons of sediment" were screened
the museum repository is either the MNHN or the Uganda Museum or both
undescribed "crabs, frogs, fish, crocodiles, aquatic turtles" and "the terrestrial snail Nothapalinus" are also present
the counts in the Table 2 are inaccurate, and direct counts of specimens in the systematic palaeontology section for all taxa other than the undescribed primates are used instead
Metadata
Sample number: 4520
Contributor: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Modifier no: John Alroy
Created: 2024-11-26 09:42:07
Modified: 2024-11-26 09:47:15
Abundance distribution
34 species
9 singletons
total count 153
geometric series index: 63.5
Fisher's α: 13.553
geometric series k: 0.9060
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.9320
Shannon's H: 3.0902
Good's u: 0.9416
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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