Biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography of East Africa and the Iberian peninsula

The aim of this paper is to examine the mammalian faunas of the Neogene of Spain and of East Africa with a view to understanding the relationships between the Neogene faunas of the two regions. The available data indicates that during the Neogene, faunal similarities between Iberia and East Africa varied greatly, at times the resemblances being relatively great (high number of genera in common), at others the similarities being weak (low number of genera in common). Changes in faunal similarity appear to be related to latitudinal fluctuations in the position of the boundaries of the Proto-Ethiopian and Proto-Palaearctic zoogeographic realms. Periods of greater faunal similarity coincide with a northerly position of the boundary zone, while periods of greater faunal dissimilarity occur when the boundary zone is located in a southerly position, as it is today. We related these changes in the position of the boundary zone between zoogeographic realms to geotectonic, climatic and astronomic changes which affected the globe. © 1994.