Geological Society of America

17 Paleontology (Posters)

Monday, 18 April 2016
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Illinois Ballroom AB

DIATOMS FROM AFAR: NOVEL SPECIES OF BACILLARIOPHYCEAE (DIATOMS) FROM THE PLIOCENE HADAR FORMATION, ETHIOPIA

Paper number: 17-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Joseph Mohan Presenting Author
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
Jeffery Stone
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
Christopher Campisano
Arizona State UniversityInstitute of Human Origins, Tempe, AZ
Andrew Cohen
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Abstract

A paleoecological study of the Pliocene Hadar Formation in the Afar Region, Ethiopia has unearthed several novel species of Bacillariophyceae (diatoms). The Hadar Formation diatom assemblage allows for previously unknown water conditions in Paleolake Hadar to be deciphered. The Hadar Formation assemblage also represents a newly revealed excerpt from the evolutionary history of freshwater diatoms in East Africa during the Piacenᴢian age. The samples were collected from rock cores that were extracted as part of the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project. The Hadar Formation diatom assemblage is compared to previously reported diatoms from Lake Malawi as well as extant species.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016NC-275187

© Copyright 2016 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.