Shungura Formation

The Shungura Formation is a stratigraphic formation located in the Omo river basin in Ethiopia. It dates to the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Oldowan tools have been found in the formation, suggesting early use of stone tools by hominins. Among many others, fossils of Panthera were found in Member G of the formation.^[1][2]

Shungura Formation
Stratigraphic range: Piacenzian-Gelasian
Lower Omo Valley
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Omo Group
Underlies	Kalam Formation
Overlies	Mursi Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone, siltstone
Other	Claystone, tuff
Location
Coordinates	5.1°N 36.0°E / 5.1; 36.0
Approximate paleocoordinates	5.8°N 36.1°E / 5.8; 36.1
Country	Ethiopia
Extent	Omo Subbasin  Turkana Basin
Shungura Formation (Ethiopia)

Geology

The formation comprises sandstones, siltstones, claystones and tuff, deposited in a fluvial to deltaic lacustrine environment.

Paleobiota

Fossil content

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Among many others, the following fossils have been reported from the formation:^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][2][10][11]}

Mammals

Afrotheres

Hyracoidea

Hyraxes of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Gigantohyrax[12]	G. maguirei[13]	Member B.		A giant hyrax.

Proboscideans

Proboscideans of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Loxodonta	L. adaurora	Member O		Extinct subspecies of African elephants.
	L. exoptata	Member O
Palaeoloxodon recki	P. r. shungurensis	Member A, B, C, D, and E.		An extinct elephant species native to Africa.	Life restoration of Palaeoloxodon recki

Artiodactyls

Bovids

Bovids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Aepyceros	A. shungurae	Members B, C, D, E, F, and G		Extinct relative of modern impala.
Antidorcas	A. recki	Members B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.		Extinct relative of modern springbok
Beatragus	B. antiquus	Member G.		Extinct relative of modern Hirola.
Gazella	G. praethomsoni	Members F, G, and H.		An early relative of gazelle.
Kobus	K. ancystrocera	Member B, C, E, G, and J.
	K. ellipsiprymnus	Member G, J, and K.		A waterbuck.
	K. oricornis			Extinct relatives of the Kobus family.
	K. sigmoidalis	Members D, E, F, and G.
Megalotragus	M. sp.			An alcelaphine.
Menelikia	M. lyrocera	Members C, E, F, G, H, I, and J.		An extinct reduncinae artiodactyl.
Pelorovis	P. sp.
Parmularius	P. altidens	Members G and H.		An extinct relative of alcelaphine.
Redunca	R. sp.			A reedbuck.
Syncerus	S. cf. acoelotus	Members B, C, D, E, F, and G.		A cape buffalo.
Tragelaphus	T. gaudryi	Member F.		Relative of spiral horned anterlope.
	T. nakuae

Camelids

Camels of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Camelus	C. grattardi[14]	Lower member G (G4-G13).	Distal humerus L1–68–76, maxilla fragment with heavily worn P4–M2 (Omo 75S-70–956); same individual as Omo 75–69–2222, M3.	Extinct relative of Camels.
Camelus	C. sp.

Giraffidae

Giraffids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Giraffa	G. gracilis	Members D, E, F, and G.		Extinct relative of modern giraffe.
	G. pygmaea	Members G.
	G. jumae
Sivatherium	S. maurusium	Member F.		An extinct giraffid.

Hippopotamidae

Hippopotamids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Hexaprotodon	H. protoamphibius			An extinct hippopotamid relative.
	H. shungurensis	Member C	A partial skull (calvarium and mandible)
Hippopotamus	H. protoamphibius

Suidae

Suidae of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Kolpochoerus	K. limnetes	Members E, D, G, F, and H.		An omnivorous pig.
Metridiochoerus	M. jacksoni	Members E, F, and G.		A giant warthog.
	M. modestus	Members G
Notochoerus	N. euilus	Members A, C.		A tetraconodontinae suid.
	N. scotti[15]	Members B, C, and H
Nyanzachoerus	N. kanamensis	Members A, B		A tetraconodontinae suid.
	N. jaegeri	Member A

Carnivora

Carnivorans of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Enhydriodon[16]	E. omoensis[17]	Member C.	Right femur (L 183–14), fragmented mandible, and lower dentition.	A lion-sized river otter.	Enhydriodon omoensis right femur faced at different sides.
Dinofelis	D. petteri	Member A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.[18]	Damaged cranium skull and dentition fragments, OMO 1–768–3.[18]	A sabertooth cat.
	D. sp.[18]	Member A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.[18]	Postcranial skulls (OMO 28-67-1075 from Member B), craniodental, and dentition fragments.[18]
Helogale	H. hirtula			Extinct species of Mongoose family.
	H. kitafe
Homotherium	H. aethiopicum	Members C and G.

Chiroptera

Bats of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Hipposideros	H. kaumbului	Member F.		A Roundleaf bat.
Taphozous	T. abitus	Member F.		Extinct relative of tomb bats and sheath-tailed bats.

Eulipotyphla

Eulipotyphlas of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Crocidura	C. aithiops
Suncus	S. haesaertsi			Relatives of Shrews
	S. cf. lixus
	S. shungurensis

Lagomorphs

Lagomorphs of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Lepus	L. capensis	Member E, and lower Members F and G.

Perissodactyls

Chalicotheres

Chalicotheres of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Ancylotherium	A. hennigi[19]	Members D and G.[19]	Several tooth fragments and postcranial skeleton	A chalicothere.

Rhinocerotidae

Rhinocerotidaes of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Ceratotherium	C. simum	Member A, B, C, D, E, J, K, L, and O.	Multiple dentition, cranium, and postcranial skeletion.	A white rhinoceros.
Diceros	D. bicornis	Member A, B, D, L, K, and O.	Complete Skull and Molars.	A black rhinoceros.

Equidae

Equids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Equus	E. oldowayensis[20]	Members F, G, H, I, and J.	Jawbone mandible with complete dentition.	An Olduvai zebra.
Eurygnathohippus	E. libycum	Members C, E, F, G, and L.		A Hipparionine horse.
Hipparion	H. sitifense[21]	Members A, B, C, D, E, F, and G	Multiple cheek teeth and fragmented dentition.	Relatives of early horses.

Primates

Cercopithecidae

Cercopithecids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Dinopithecus	D. sp.[22][23]
Paracolobus	P. mutiwa[23]	Member C, E, and G.[24][11]	A skull, humerus and femur bone.	An early Colobinae monkey.
Rhinocolobus	R. turkanaensis[23][11]	Member C, E, and G.[24]	A skull humerus and femur bone.	An early Colobinae monkey.
Theropithecus	T. brumpti	Members B, C, D, E, F, and G.	A skull	Extinct relative of Gelada Baboons.
	T. oswaldi	Members D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and L.	A skull

Galagidae

Galagids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Otolemur	O. howelli	Member B.	L. 1-378 (right m2), L. 1-377 (holotype, left maxillary fragment) with P4-M1, and Omo 229-73-4018 (right mandibular fragment).[25]	Extinct relative of greater galago.

Hominins

Homonids of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Australopithecus	A. sp.
Paranthropus	P. aethiopicus	Members C, D, E, and F.
	P. boisei	Members G and K.

Rodents

Rodents of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Aethomys	A. deheinzelini			a rock mouse.
Arvicanthis	A. sp.
Acomys	A. sp.
Gerbillus	G. sp.
Heterocephalus	H. atikoi
Jaculus	J. orientalis
Mastomys	M. minor
Paraxerus	P. ochraceus
Pelomys	P. sp.
Saidomys	S. sp.
Tatera	T. sp.
Xerus	X. sp.

Reptiles

Reptiles of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Euthecodon[26]	E. brumpti	Member H.	Complete partial skull.	A giant African long-snouted crocodile, formally named Tomistoma brumpti.

Fish

Fish of the Shungura Formation
Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes	Images
Auchenoglanis	A. sp.	Members F3 and G24.	Omo 199 1973-1278 and Omo 215 1973–2556, two pectoral spines, the former lacking the distalmost tip.
Clarias	C. sp.
Gymnarchus	G. sp.
Polypterus	P. bichir	Upper Member A.	An association of several rows of rhombic ganoid scales, Omo 40–4343.	A Nile Bichir.
Sindacharax	S. greenwoodi			Relatives of African tetras.
	S. omoensis	Upper Member A.	Omo 128–72–22, Partial premaxilla (right) broken off lateral to the third outer tooth and second inner tooth, with first and second inner teeth in situ, and tooth bases visible of the first, second, and third outer teeth.
Synodontis	S. frontosus			relatives of Mochokid catfishes
	S. schall

See also

• Geology portal
• Paleontology portal

• List of fossil sites
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Ethiopia
• Geology of Ethiopia