Faunal correlation of Wadi Moghara, Egypt: implications for the age of Prohylobates tandyi

Wadi Moghara, Egypt, is an early Miocene fossil locality with a mammalian f auna that includes Prohylobates tandyi, one of the earliest known represent atives of the Cercopithecoidea. Faunal correlations were conducted between Moghara, Gebel Zelten (Libya) and a series of East African fossil sites wit h established radiometric dates in order to estimate the age of the Moghara mammals, including P. tandyi. Results confirm hypotheses proposed in some previous studies that: (1) Moghara is about 18-17 Ma, approximately the sam e age as the Hiwegi fauna from Rusinga Island (Kenya); (2) Moghara is sligh tly older than Gebel Zelten (Libya) (17-15 Ma); and (3) the cercopithecoid tooth presently identified as Victoriapithecus sp. from Napak V (ca. 19 Ma) is currently the oldest known record of a fossil Old World monkey, followe d by P. tandyi from Moghara (Egypt) (18-17 Ma) and Prohylobates sp. from Bu luk (Kenya) (>17.2 Ma), P. simonsi from Gebel Zelten (Libya) (ca. 17-15 Ma) , and V. macinnesi from Maboko (Kenya) (ca. 16-14.7 Ma). (C) 1999 Academic Press.