The primary objective of this proposal is to continue paleontological exploration of cave deposits in the Otavi Mountains of northern Namibia. During the past year Conroy and colleagues discovered in this area the first Miocene hominoid known from southern Africa. The fossil has been named Otavipithecus and it exhibits a number of features which differentiate it from other middle Miocene hominoids from Eurasia and other areas of Africa. Dating by association places Otavipithecus between 12 and 14 MYA. A number of other deposits have been identified in the Otavi region which require systematic exploration. The discovery of three separate fossil faunas at the Otavi site of Berg Aukas (both Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene) will allow the investigators to track faunal and, by inference, paleoecological changes through rime in this part of Africa. The discovery of Otavipithecus significantly extends the range of hominoids in this time period. As a result hypotheses which view East Africa and/or Eurasia as the foci for hominoid evolution may need to be re-evaluated. Indications are that Miocene Namibia was relatively humid in contrast to the semi-arid conditions of Oligocene and modern Namibia. The Otavi deposits have great potential for providing information on vertebrate evolution and paleoclimate and ecological change in Southern Africa over a span of 16 million years.
