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IMPORTANT NOTE: We have maintained the originally published taxonomic designation for each specimen despite the fact that many of these specimens have been reclassified since.  We chose to follow this protocol because of the difficulty in keeping up to date with all of the taxonomic groups, and our hesitancy to make a judgement call on taxonomic debates.  As such, please search the database with this in mind, perhaps using higher level taxonomic classifications for your query.

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3807 specimens found
Image Spec # CODI Database ID Arch. Locality Geo. Locality Elements Preserved Excavation Date Repository Bed Level Stratigraphic Horizon Bibliographic Information Curatorial Notes ID By ID Date Research Team In Situ Sediment or Matrix Adhering Class Order Suborder Infraorder Superfamily Family Subfamily Tribe Genus Species Subspecies Taxonomic Notes Taxonomic Problems
OH 19 3734 29 - FC W 288 - 89 M-f 1963 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Middle 15 feet above chert horizon Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Half of a very worn molar. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 23 3738 5 - FLK L-MAN-f , L-P , L-M , 1968 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania IV/Masek Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Left mandible fragment with P4-M2. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. Bed IV in Leakey (1971), referred to as having derived from Masek Beds in other publications (e.g., Millard, 2009). 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo erectus No
OH 28 3743 38 - WK 290 - 36 L-PVG-f , L-FEM-f 1970 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania IV a Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Left femoral shaft and left innominate. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo erectus No
OH 29 3744 76 - JK W M-f 1969 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania III/IVa Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 34 3749 76 - JK W FEM , TIB-f 1962 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania III/ IV for Bed IV level = a Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Femur described as "slender" (Leakey MD, 1971) and shaft of tibia. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo sp. Slender bone No
OH 38 3753 22 - SC R-M , I , I 1971 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Upper >IID Fluvo-lacustrine Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Molar is right M2. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus boisei No
OH 41 3756 37 - HWK EE L-M 1972 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Lower Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Upper M1 or M2. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 43 3758 6 - FLK NN L-MTT, L-MTT 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 45 3760 6 - FLK NN L-M 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Upper M1 germ. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 53 3768 19 - SHK R-FEM 1957 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Middle -- Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo No
OH 65 3780 82 - 64 MAX , TOOTH 1995 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania I Middle/Upper Blumenschine, R. J., Peters, C. R., Masao, F. T., et al. 2003. Late Pliocene Homo and Hominid Land Use from Western Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Science 299, 1217-1221. Author describes specimen as "complete maxilla with all teeth and lower face of adult". Specimen is pictured in images 1-11. (Images from R. Clarke 2011). Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis Large habilis No
OH 68 3783 18 - VEK Mand-f, R-P-f 2001 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania II Lower Mandible fragment with unerupted P4 and root of M1. Specimen is pictured in the middle in image 1. Specimen is shown in the middle of the top row in image 2. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus africanus OH 13-like No
OH 70 3785 80 - MCK L-M-f 2002 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania II Lower Distrobuccal portion of upper M1 crown. Specimen is pictured on bottom right of image 1. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus africanus OH 24-like No
OH 80 3796 10 - BK R/L-P , L-M , R/L-I , L-HUM-f , R-RAD-f , R-FEM-f , TIB-f 2009 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II 4 Upper Domínguez-Rodrigo M, et al. 2013. First Partial Skeleton of a 1.34-Million-Year-Old Paranthropus boisei from Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. PLoS ONE 8(12): e80347. Distal portion of a left humerus diaphysis. Partial right radius with head, proximal metaphysis and partial diaphysis. Right partial femur, diaphysis in three refitting pieces. Tibia midshaft fragment assigned to OH 80 based on close "spatial association, comparable anatomical ruggedness and similar state of preservation to the other OH 80 postcranial fossils" (Dominiguez-Rodrigo et al., 2013). 292 - Proyecto Olduvai Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Australopithecus boisei Anatomically modern No
G. 323 1230 5 - FLK R-MAN 1960 104 - Unknown I middle (Zinjanthropus) 22 feet below the upper limit of bed I. Gentry, A. W. 1966 Fossil Antilopini of East Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology. 12: 43-106. 9 pls. This specimen is pictured in plate 2, figure A. 137 - A. Gentry 273 - Reck expedition Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Antilopinae Antilopini Gazella wellsi This specimen was reclassified as Antidorcas recki by Gentry and Gentry (1978). No
FLK N I 067/1009 1281 7 - FLK North R-MTT 104 - Unknown I 3 Gentry, A. W., and Gentry, A. 1978. Fossil Bovidae (Mammalia) of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Part I. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Geology 29:289-446. This specimen is pictured in plate 19, figure 2. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Caprinae No
FLK N I 1282 7 - FLK North L-MTT 104 - Unknown I 1, 2, 3 Gentry, A. W., and Gentry, A. 1978. Fossil Bovidae (Mammalia) of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Part I. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Geology 29:289-446. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Caprinae No
M. 14953 1311 10 - BK L-MAN, L-M, L-P 106 - Natural History Museum UK (?) II Red Bed Jolly, C. J. 1972. The classification and natural history of Theropithecus (Simopithecus)(Andrews, 1916), baboons of the African Plio-Pleistocene: British Museum (Natural History) This specimen is pictured in plate 15c and 15d. 146 - C. J. Jolly Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Cercopithecoidea Cercopithecidae Cercopithecinae Papionini Theropithecus No
M. 18779 1312 39 - MRC R-MAX-f 106 - Natural History Museum UK (?) II Upper, surface? Jolly, C. J. 1972. The classification and natural history of Theropithecus (Simopithecus)(Andrews, 1916), baboons of the African Plio-Pleistocene: British Museum (Natural History) 146 - C. J. Jolly Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Cercopithecoidea Cercopithecidae Cercopithecinae Papionini Theropithecus gelada No
OVPP-Xerus 1 1351 7 - FLK North MAN-f, M, P 105 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (?) I M3 Denys, C. 1990. First occurrence of Xerus cf. inauris. Palaont. Z. 64: 359 The author mentions nine mandible fragments of Xerus cf. inauris and 25 total remains of sciurids. Original information indicated that this specimen was located in Nairobi. This specimen is likely within the material that was repatriated to Dar in 2011, but this has yet to be confirmed. 147 - C. Denys 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Rodentia Sciuromorpha Sciurida Sciuridae Sciurinae Xerini Xerus inauris No
EF-HR 63/272 1352 31 - EF-HR R-MTT 1963 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Churcher, C. S. 1982. Oldest ass recovered from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and the origin of asses. 148 - C. S. Churcher 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Perissodactyla Hippomorpha Equidae Equinae Equini Equus asinus No
FLK N I 914 1358 7 - FLK North L-MAN 104 - Unknown I 1, 2, 3 Gentry, A. W. 1966 Fossil Antilopini of East Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology. 12: 43-106. 9 pls. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Antilopinae Antilopini Gazella wellsi No
FLK N I 503 1360 7 - FLK North L-MAN 104 - Unknown I 1, 2, 3 Gentry, A. W. 1966 Fossil Antilopini of East Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology. 12: 43-106. 9 pls. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Antilopinae Antilopini Gazella wellsi No
FLK N I 137 1374 7 - FLK North MAN 1960 104 - Unknown I 1, 2, 3 Gentry, A. W. 1966 Fossil Antilopini of East Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology. 12: 43-106. 9 pls. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Antilopinae Antilopini Gazella No
FLK N I 1293 1375 7 - FLK North MAN 1960 104 - Unknown I 1 Gentry, A. W. 1966 Fossil Antilopini of East Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology. 12: 43-106. 9 pls. This specimen is pictured in Plate 3 along with specimen F. 109. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Antilopinae Antilopini Gazella Gentry and Gentry (1978) reclassified this specimen as an indeterminate Antilopini. No
FLK N I 1027 1376 7 - FLK North FEM 1960 104 - Unknown I 1 Gentry, A. W. 1966 Fossil Antilopini of East Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology. 12: 43-106. 9 pls. This specimen is pictured in plate 4. 137 - A. Gentry Yes Mammalia Artiodactyla Ruminantia Bovoidea Bovidae Antilopinae Antilopini Gazella No
OVPP-Bitis 13 1940 5 - FLK L-MAX 104 - Unknown I middle (Zinjanthropus) 22 feet below the upper limit of bed I. Rage J. 1973. Fossil snakes from Olduvai, Tanzania. In: Fossil vertebrates of Africa, vol. 3:1-6. This specimen is pictured in Plate 1, figures 5-8. 149 - J. C. Rage Yes Reptilia Squamata Viperidae Bitis olduvaiensis Holotype No
OVPP-Clarias 12 2479 6 - FLK NN SKULL-f, SOCC-f, PTRC-f, FRO, MSEH-f, ETHM, URHL-f, EPHL, CRHL, HMND, QUAD, ARTC, DNTY, PAL, CLEI, COR, OPER, SPINE, PCG-f, VER, PTYG-f, RAY-f 1960 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=62. Multiple of each element is represented; authors do not specify numbers for each element. It is unclear which specimens belong together. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 15 2547 6 - FLK NN FRO, SOCC, ETHM 1960 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=3. Multiple fragments of each element is represented. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 16 2551 6 - FLK NN FRO, VER, SPHT, DRMS, R-SUBO, L-OPER, SUPP-f, R/L-ARTC, R-CLEI-f, SPINE, RAY-f 1960 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=4. Multiple of each element is represented. These specimens are from trench II, extension E. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 17 2557 6 - FLK NN R/L-DRMS-f, SOCC, R/L-PTRC, FRO-f, R-EPHL-f, CRHL, L-QUAD, R/L-ARTC, R/L-SPINE 1960 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=2 or 3. Authors state that size of the bones suggests 3 individuals. These specimens are from trench III. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 19 2565 6 - FLK NN SKULL-f, ETHM-f, MSEH-f, R-PTRC, SPHT-f, FRO, SOCC, R/L-PAL, OPER, R/L-EPHL, URHL, RAY, R/L-QUAD, R/L-ARTC, R/L-DNTY, R/L-CLEI, R/L-SPINE, VER 1961 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=5. Multiple of each element is represented. These specimens are from trench VI. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 20 2570 6 - FLK NN SKULL-f, ETHM-f, MSEH, L-FRO, R/L-SPHT, R/L-PSTM, SOCC, R/L-PAL, R-OPER-f, R/L-DRMS, HMND, URHL, RAY, R-QUAD, L-ARTC, R-DNTY-f, R/L-CLEI, R/L-SPINE, VER 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=2. These specimens are from trench VI. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 21 2573 6 - FLK NN FRO, MSEH, SPHT, L-OPER, SKULL-f, L/R-QUAD, L/R-DNTY, RAY-f 104 - Unknown I 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=3. These specimens are from trench VI. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 22 2576 6 - FLK NN L-ETHM, SOCC, SKULL-f, R-PORB, L-PAL, R/L-EPHL, R/L-CRHL, R/L-ARTC, CLEI-f, VER, L/R-QUAD, L-DNTY 1960 104 - Unknown I 2, 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=66. Multiple of each element is represented; authors do not specify the numbers for every element. These specimens are from trench II. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 24 2667 6 - FLK NN SKULL-f, R-SUBO, MSEH, SOCC, R/L-FRO, L-DRMS, PAL, R-QUAD, R/L-ARTC, R-DNTY, URHL, R/L-RAY-f, CLEI-f, VER-f 1960 104 - Unknown I 2, 3 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=49. Multiple of each element is represented, authors do not specify number for every element. Specimens were found in trench III. 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Clarias 27 2728 6 - FLK NN VOM, SKULL-f, FRO, L-SORB, L-SUBO, MSEH-f, L-OPER, IOPL-f, SUPP, CRHL, R/L-EPHL-f, R/L-ARTC, DNTY-f, CLEI-f, R/L-SPINE, VER-f 1960 104 - Unknown I 2 Greenwood, P., and Todd, E. 1970. Fish remains from Olduvai. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 2 New York: Academic Press. pp. 225-241. MNI=49. Multiple of each element is represented, authors do not specify number of every element. These specimens come from trench III 151 - Greenwood and Todd Yes Actinopterygii Siluriformes Clariidae Clarias sp. No
OVPP-Elephantulus 3 2849 7 - FLK North MAN-f 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 1 Butler, P., and Greenwood, M. 1976. Elephant-shrews (Macroscelididae) from Olduvai and Makapansgat. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 4. pp. 1-56. 150 - Butler and Greenwood 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Insectivora Macroscelididae Elephantulus fuscus leakeyi Holotype No
OVPP-Elephantulus 4 2850 7 - FLK North MAX-f, M, P 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Butler, P., and Greenwood, M. 1976. Elephant-shrews (Macroscelididae) from Olduvai and Makapansgat. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 4. pp. 1-56. 150 - Butler and Greenwood 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Insectivora Macroscelididae Elephantulus fuscus leakeyi No
OVPP-Elephantulus 5 2851 7 - FLK North MAX-f, M, P 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 123 Butler, P., and Greenwood, M. 1976. Elephant-shrews (Macroscelididae) from Olduvai and Makapansgat. In: Fossil Vertebrates of Africa,vol. 4. pp. 1-56. 150 - Butler and Greenwood 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Insectivora Macroscelididae Elephantulus fuscus leakeyi No