Bodo D'ar
Basic information
Sample name: Bodo D'ar

Reference: J. E. Kalb, C. B. Wood, C. Smart, E. B. Oswald, A. Mabrete, S. Tebedge, and P. Whitehead. 1980. Preliminary geology and palaeontology of the Bodo D'ar hominid site, Afar, Ethiopia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 30:107-120 [ER 3840]
Geography
Country: Ethiopia


Coordinate: 10° 37' 30" N, 40° 32' 30" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Middle Pleistocene

Max Ma: 0.64

Age basis: Ar-Ar

Geography comments: "on the east side of the Awash River"
within the Upper Bodo beds
thought to be Middle Pleistocene based on faunal composition and artefacts
an average of multiple Ar/Ar dates on a vitric tephra from unit u1 in the Bodo section, below the fossil-yielding unit u-t yielded an average of 0.64 +/- 0.04 Ma (Clark et al. 1994)

Environment
Lithology: siliciclastic (mixed)

Taphonomic context: fluvial deposit

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: "concentrations of fossils and Achedulian artefacts are exposed in the banks of both" surrounding streams
there are three layers in the local succession: a conglomerate with "Abundant fossil bone and artefacts", a medium sand with "abundant" fossils including the Homo skull, and "medium to fine sand and silty sand" with "very few fossils"
the fauna is considered homogeneous, so it is listed all together

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,turtles,other reptiles,fishes

Sampling methods: surface

Sample size: 142 specimens

Years: 1976

Sampling comments: some fossils were recovered before 1976
there are two test pits, but most of the material is apparently from extensive surface collections

Metadata
Sample number: 4196

Contributor: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2023-04-06 20:50:50

Modified: 2023-04-06 10:50:50

Abundance distribution
22 species
4 singletons
total count 142
geometric series index: 37.6
Fisher's α: 7.285
geometric series k: 0.8351
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8608
Shannon's H: 2.4709
Good's u: 0.9725
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Papio sp.3
Theropithecus oswaldi2
affiliated with subspecies leakeyi
Homo heidelbergensis1
"Homo sp." also referred to Homo erectus by Clark et al. (1994)
Carnivora indet.2
Thryonomyidae indet.2
Palaeoloxodon recki2
"Elephas recki... very developed"
Equus sp.7
Rhinocerotidae indet.2
Hippopotamus (Tetraprotodon) sp.44
Kolpochoerus cf. limnetes9
Kolpochoerus sp.10
said to be new
Metridiochoerus cf. jacksoni1
Giraffa sp.2
Homoioceras sp.4
compared to
Alcelaphus cf. buselaphus5143 kg grazer-browser
Aepyceros cf. melampus251 kg browser-grazer
Onotragus sp.18
compared to
Kobus sp.6
Tragelaphus sp.1
Testudines indet.1
"Chelonia"
Crocodylus sp.12
Osteichthyes indet.6
"Pisces"