Uadi Aalad
Basic information
Sample name: Uadi Aalad

Sample aka: Buia; UA; Wadi Aalad

Reference: B. Martínez-Navarro, L. Rook, A. Segid, D. Yosief, M. P. Ferretti, J. Shoshani, T. M. Tecle, and Y. Libsekal. 2004. The large fossil mammals from Buia (Eritrea): systematics, biochronology and paleoenvironments. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 110:61-88 [ER 3870]
Geography
Country: Eritrea



Coordinate: 14.78° N, 39.93° E
Coordinate basis: estimated from map

Formation: Alat

Time interval: Early Pleistocene

Max Ma: 1.07

Min Ma: 0.98

Age basis: paleomag

Geography comments: "north of Wadi Dandiero" (coordinate estimated based on Fig. 3 in Abbate et al. 2004)
Abbate et al. (2004) indicate that most of the Buia material is from the Alat Formation, which is bounded by 1.07 and 0.98 Ma by Albianelli and Napoleone (2004) based on magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy

Environment
Lithology: siliciclastic (mixed)

Taphonomic context: lake deposit

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: the Alat Formation is deltaic and lacustrine and includes "silts, clays, thin calcareous beds, and ash layers" plus "sandy bodies" higher in the section (Abbate et al. 2004)
cut marks on some specimens and hyaenid bite marks on one specimen are described by Fiore et al. (2004), who do not specify an accumulation agent
lithics from the Homo site within the Uadi Aalad area are described by Martini et al. (2004)

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,ungulates

Sample size: 121 specimens

Years: 1995 - 1997, 2000

Sampling comments: it is not clear whether the fossils are mostly excavated or surface finds

Metadata
Sample number: 4245

Contributor: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2023-04-22 16:56:38

Modified: 2023-04-22 07:05:20

Abundance distribution
18 species
4 singletons
total count 121
geometric series index: 30.1
Fisher's α: 5.851
geometric series k: 0.8256
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8793
Shannon's H: 2.4141
Good's u: 0.9674
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Homo sp.5
"erectus-like"
Theropithecus cf. oswaldi1
Crocuta cf. crocuta366 kg carnivore
coprolites
Palaeoloxodon recki4
"Elephas recki": see Ferretti et al. 2003
Ceratotherium simum61479 kg grazer
Equus cf. grevyi10386 kg
Hippopotamus gorgops26
less one specimen of karumensis reassigned by Pandolfi et al. (2023)
Hippopotamus aff. karumensis1
see Pandolfi et al. (2023)
Kolpochoerus olduvaiensis7
Kolpochoerus majus7
Metridiochoerus aff. modestus2
Giraffa cf. jumae1
Tragelaphus cf. spekii254 kg browser-grazer
"Tragelaphus cf. spekei"
Pelorovis oldowayensis20
Hippotragus gigas4
Kobus cf. ellipsiprymnus19210 kg grazer-browser
Antilopini indet.2
"Gazella sp.": Nanger is not discussed
Caprini indet.1