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PALAEONTOLOGY

Savannah savvy

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 2, pages 210–211 (2018)Cite this article

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Large-scale analysis of faunal similarity reveals the interconnectedness of Miocene savannah ecosystems, but also the need for more fossils to fill the gaps in the African palaeontological record.

Today, savannahs form an important component of the African landscape, and are home to many mammalian taxa specially adapted for life in relatively open and seasonal habitats. These include bovids (antelope), equids (zebra), felids (lions, cheetahs and leopards), giraffes and elephants. But how did these savannah communities arise? Writing in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Kaya et al.1 analyse fossil mammal occurrences across Eurasia and Africa to determine the origins and spread of Old World savannah faunal communities.

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Fig. 1: Summary of the number of fossil localities found in Africa (blue) and across the Old World (orange).

References

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  1. University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Susanne Cote

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  1. Susanne Cote
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Correspondence to Susanne Cote.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Cote, S. Savannah savvy. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 210–211 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0450-x

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