Fish fossils from Miocene palaeolakes in the East African Rift valley in Kenya

古湖泊沉积物比河流沉积物更详细地记录了古鱼类的分类多样性，因为选择性破坏不像河流或洪泛平原那么突出。然而，古湖泊沉积物中鱼类的保存质量取决于一定的物理和化学条件，这样的档案在世界范围内是罕见的。肯尼亚图根山中新世古湖泊沉积物位于东非裂谷系东部分支内，提供了一个独特的、次连续的中新世中上时期鱼类化石（Teleostei）记录，这一记录在很大程度上是未被探索的。这就提出了一个问题，即这种特殊的鱼类化石记录是否可以用来更好地了解东非裂谷系统中新世的环境和气候变化。然而，由于在项目准备阶段，我没有鱼类化石，所以这个项目被设计为一个试点项目。它的重点是系统地收集图根山露头的鱼类化石，已知有丰富的鱼类化石，并对多样性进行初步调查，至少到科的水平。与已经活跃在图根山的法国研究人员的合作（他们对哺乳动物的研究感兴趣）为这个试点项目提供了完美的背景。如果鱼类化石如预期的那样丰富多样，将设计一个后续项目，进一步评估图根山鱼类化石组合所提供的古生态信息。

Sediments of palaeolakes can record the taxonomic diversity of ancient fish faunas in greater detail than river sediments because selective destruction is less prominent than in rivers or floodplains. However, the preservation quality of fishes in sediments of palaeolakes depends on certain physical and chemical conditions and such archives are rare throughout the world. The Miocene palaeolake deposits in the Tugen Hills in Kenya, within the eastern branch of the East African Rift System, offer a unique, sub-continuous record of fish fossils (Teleostei) from the middle and upper Miocene, which is largely unexplored. This raises the question as to whether this exceptional record of fish fossils can be used to better understand the Miocene environmental and climate changes within the East African Rift System. However, the project is designed as a pilot project because no fish fossils were available to me during the preparation phase of the project. It focuses on systematic collections of fish fossils from outcrops in the Tugen Hills that are known to bear abundant fish fossils, and a preliminary survey of the diversity, at least down to the family level. The collaboration with French researchers that are already active in the Tugen Hills (they are interested in the study of mammals) provides a perfect background for this pilot project. If fish fossils are as abundant and diverse as expected, a follow up project will be designed to further assess the palaeoecological information provided by the fossil fish assemblages from the Tugen Hills.