Diets of mammalian fossil fauna from Kanapoi, northwestern Kenya

tCarbon isotope ratios of mammalian teeth from the Kanapoi site in northern Kenya are interpreted in the context of C-3 and C-4 derived resources to investigate the paleoecology of Australopithecus anamensis. delta C-13 values of large mammals, when compared at the taxon level, show an ecosystem that is strongly biased towards mixed feeders and browsers. However, sufficient C-4 resources were present such that some C4 dominated grazers were also present in the large mammal fauna. Analyses of micromammals shows that their diets were C-3 dominated or C-3-C-4 mixed. Carbon isotope studies of primates shows that the major primate tribesdColobini, Papioini, Homininidall made some use of C-4 resources in their respective diets; the Hominini had a higher fraction of C-3 diet resources than the other primate tribes represented in the fossil record. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.