HRRBAA: Paleontological reconnaissance of a potential early Miocene catarrhine site in the Turkana Basin

The Miocene (~23-5 million years ago) is a period of primate evolution critical to understanding the roots and diversification of the group that includes ourselves and our close ape relatives. Though many primates are known from this time period, their paleobiology and evolutionary relationships are not well understood. This project will investigate the extent of paleontological and geological data from a potentially early Miocene site - Napenagila South - in West Turkana, Kenya. The site was unexpectedly discovered in 2018 when primate teeth and an abundance of fauna were found. Preliminary observations of the teeth suggest that they may belong to a previously unknown extinct ape species. Systematic data collection and analysis will be used to confirm preliminary geological observations, and the researchers will excavate the area where the primate teeth were found. Training, mentorship, and research opportunities in the field and laboratory will be extended to students, including individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM. The project also will foster and expand international collaborations with Kenyan researchers and students. The researchers will conduct fieldwork at Napenagila South and perform subsequent lab analyses in order to determine the extent of the sediments and conduct a detailed assessment of the site's geological context, obtain additional samples to more precisely constrain the site's dates, and collect and conduct analyses of primate and other mammalian fossils. Local stratigraphic sequences will be measured, described, and sampled in detail. Laboratory characterization of the sediments, along with separation of mineral phases for isotopic dating, will be undertaken at Rutgers University. Field protocols for the collection of faunal fossil specimens have already been developed by the PIs and will be employed at Napenagila South. Field data will be entered into the national fossil database and added to the archive established and maintained by the Turkana Basin Institute. This grant is jointly supported by the Biological Anthropology and Sedimentary Geology & Paleobiology programs at NSF. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.