Miocene faunal remains from the Burji-Soyama area, Amaro Horst, southern sector of the main Ethiopian Rift

Abstract

The Palaeoanthropological Inventory of Ethiopia is dedicated to the discovery and documentation of palaeoanthropologically significant study areas in the Main Ethiopian Rift and Afar Depression. Fieldwork in the area at the southern end of the Amaro Horst during the 1989 field season was focused on a fossiliferous sedimentary succession with intercalated volcanic horizons. Potassium-argon dating sets a minimum age of 11.1 my for sediments bearing vertebrate remains. The partial skeleton of a fossil proboscidean recovered at Burji is described, illustrated and assessed comparatively. The remains are those of a primitive species of choerolophodont mastodon. Biochronological considerations place this specimen in the time range of 15-17 my. The presence of fossiliferous sediments in the Burji area suggest that a rift-related basin had developed in this part of Ethiopia by Middle or Early Miocene times.