Benson's Site (Miocene of Kenya)

Also known as Nakwai, Loperot

Where: Rift Valley, Kenya (2.3° N, 35.9° E: paleocoordinates 0.7° N, 33.0° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Aquitanian (23.0 - 20.4 Ma)

• Originally interpreted as late Oligocene in age, based on biostratigraphic correlation of its mammalian fauna (Rasmussen and Gutierrez, 2009). More recently, the site was radiometrically dated to approximately 22 Ma (earliest Miocene) by Rasmussen et al. (2019).

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: "floodplain"; siltstone

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by Benson Kyongo in 1987 and 1992

Collection methods: sieve

Primary reference: D. T. Rasmussen and M. Gutierrez. 2009. A Mammalian Fauna from the Late Oligocene of Northwestern Kenya. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 288(1-3):1-52 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 174664: authorized by Philip Mannion, entered by Philip Mannion on 23.11.2015

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Mammalia
 Hyracoidea - Titanohyracidae
Afrohyrax "n. sp." Pickford 2004 hyrax
KNM-NW 47775 and 47784
 Hyracoidea - Pliohyracidae
Meroehyrax kyongoi n. sp. Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 hyrax
KNM-NW 2258A - type; referred material: KNM-NW 22547, 22549, 22554, 22556, 22558, 22579, 22586, 22598 and 22600
Thyrohyrax kenyaensis n. sp. Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 hyrax
KNM-NW 22545 - type; referred material: KNM-NW 22546, 22580, 47778 and 47785
Thyrohyrax microdon n. sp. Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 hyrax
KNM-NW 22526 - type; referred material: KNM-NW 22528 and 22529
aff. Pachyhyrax sp. Schlosser 1910 hyrax
"new genus and species"; KNM-NW 22548, 22570, 22571, 22577 and 22594A+B
Brachyhyrax oligocenus n. sp. Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 hyrax
KNM-NW 22593 - type; referred material: KNM-NW 22559, 22590 and 22597
 Proboscidea - Deinotheriidae
Prodeinotherium sp. Ehik 1930 deinothere
KNM-NW (2008-collection)
 Proboscidea - Mammutidae
Losodokodon losodokius Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 mastodon
KNM-NW (2008-collection)
 Carnivora - Viverridae
Mioprionodon hodopeus n. sp. Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 civet
KNM-NW 46827 - type; referred material: KNM-NW 46915
 Creodonta - Hyainailouridae
Mlanyama sugu n. gen. n. sp.
Mlanyama sugu n. gen. n. sp. Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 creodont
KNM-NW 46832 - holotype; referred material: KNM-NW 46828, 46824, 46829, 46830, 46831, 46909, 46913 and 46914
 Artiodactyla - Anthracotheriidae
Brachyodus sp. Depéret 1895 anthracothere
KNM-NW (2007-collection)
 Rodentia -
cf. Phiomys sp. Osborn 1908 rodent
KNM-NW (2007-collection)
Diamantomys timius Rasmussen and Gutierrez 2009 rodent
KNM-NW (2007-collection)
 Primates -
Kamoyapithecus hamiltoni Madden 1980 monkey
KNM-NW (2007-collection)