Volume 11 1968

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Some conclusions drawn from a basinal analysis of the Ecca series in the Karroo basin
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Ryan, P. J.
This is a summary of a study made of the Ecca and lowermost Beaufort rocks in South Africa with particular reference to the distribution of the various facies and their relationship to palaeocurrent trends. As a result of this the Ecca can be divided into four distinct facies, called the Northern, Southern, Western and Central Facies. The lowermost Beaufort is represented by sediments having the same distribution and origin as the first three facies of the Ecca. The maximum thickness of sediments described here is 11,000 feet.
A COMPARISON OF THE PALATES OF PERMIAN AND TRIASSIC DICYNODONTS
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Cruickshank, A. R. I.
Whilst comparing the skulls of some Triassic dicynodonts with Permian members of the family, it was noted that the interpterygoid space in the former is consistently smaller than in the latter (Cruickshank 1965: 1967). In analysing this difference further, the palates of a series of Permian and Triassic dicynodonts were examined, either directly or from published diagrams. From graphs drawn using the various measurements taken from the palates, the geological age of the specimens can be deduced as can their estimated lengths, if fragmentary.
THE LITHIC INDUSTRY IN THE MAKAPANSGAT LIMEWORKS BRECCIAS AND OVERLYING SURFACE SOIL
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Maguire, Brian
The excavations directed by Professor Dart at the Makapansgat Limeworks, and conducted mainly by myself at the site since 1960, were concerned during the 1963- 1965 field seasons with an examination of the surface soil overlying the consolidated pink breccias, and of the contents of the abundant solution cavities which penetrate the underlying breccia mass to depths of up to 15 feet or more. The shallow soil , overlying and mainly derived from the consolidated australopithecine breccias, contains an abundance of crude artefacts which are largely composed of chert, a material native to the dolomitic cavern site. The most characteristic tools are various kinds of notched scrapers which are more particularly described. The undoubted relationship of these artefacts to those occurring in the underlying breccias is also discussed.
SOME CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM A BASINAL ANALYSIS OF THE ECCA SERIES IN THE KARROO BASIN
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Ryan, P. J.
This is a summary of a study made of the Ecca and lowermost Beaufort rocks in South Africa with particular reference to the distribution of the various facies and their relationship to palaeocurrent trends. As a result of this the Ecca can be divided into four distinct facies, called the Northern, Southern, Western and Central Facies. The lowermost Beaufort is represented by sediments having the same distribution and origin as the first three facies of the Ecca. The maximum thickness of sediments described here is 11,000 feet.
A comparison of the palates of Permian and Triassic dicynodonts
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Cruickshank, A. R.
Whilst comparing the skulls of some Triassic dicynodonts with Permian members of the family, it was noted that the interpterygoid space in the former is consistently smaller than in the latter (Cruickshank 1965: 1967). In analysing this difference further, the palates of a series of Permian and Triassic dicynodonts were examined, either directly or from published diagrams. From graphs drawn using the various measurements taken from the palates, the geological age of the specimens can be deduced as can their estimated lengths, if fragmentary.
On the Lystrosaurus zone and its fauna with special reference to some immature Lystrosauridae
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Kitching, J. W.
In the past, collecting from the middle Beaufort Beds or Lystrosaurus zone has been badly neglected by field workers mainly due to the monotonous occurrence of the genus Lystrosaurus. Collecting has mostly been undertaken in such areas as the Harrismith Commonage, Oliviershoek Pass, Bergville or where there was a good possibility of finding either Thrinaxodon, Glochinodontoides or other faunal remains more exciting than Lystrosaurus.
Some main conclusions drawn from a basinal analysis of the Dwyka series in the Karroo basin
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Stratten, T.
The investigation of the Dwyka glaciation and its relationship to the pre-Karroo surface was undertaken as a research project at the University of the Witwatersrand under the sponsorship of Union Corporation, Limited. A thesis on this study has been submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the supervision of Professor T. W. Gevers. The research fell mainly into two separate but related fields of study. The first field was to investigate the pre-Karroo surface with special reference to the geology beneath the Karroo System. The second field was to investigate the paleo-ice flow directions of the Dwyka Tillite and relate this to the position and lithology of the source areas.
On the structure of the skin in Uranocentrodon (rhinesuchus) senekalensis, Van Hoepen
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Findlay, G. H.
In the famous collection of fossil remains of the labyrinthodont Uranocentrodon, housed since 1911 in the Transvaal Museum, the bony skin armour from the ventral surface of the body of at least six individuals has been preserved. In spite of this lavish quantity of material only a few notes on the osseous skin structure were included in van Hoepen' s (1915) description, and all later papers have passed it by almost completely.
ON THE SCALOPOSAURID SKULL OF OLIVIERIA PARRINGTONI, BRINK WITH A NOTE ON THE ORIGIN OF HAIR
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Findlay, G. H.
The writer undertook an examination of the type specimen of Olivieria because it seemed well suited to a study of the sensory nerve supply of the muzzle. Ever since Watson (1931) suggested that one might gauge the sensitivity, suppleness and therefore the possible hairiness of the muzzle by studying the size, numbers and position of the sensory nerve foramina in the fossil skull, it has seemed likely to point, albeit indirectly, to the origin of hair in the pre-mammalian stem. Such an abundance of nerves supplying the muzzle in scaloposaurid and bauriamorph reptiles would hardly be needed for scaly and inelastic cheeks. More probably, as Brink (1956) has emphasized, a mammalian type of tactile hair with soft cheeks had already come into being in these animals.
The confused state of classification within the family Procynosuchidae
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Anderson, J. M.
To date, fourteen Procynosuchid specimens have been discovered, thirteen from the Cistecephalus beds in the New Bethesda and Murraysburg districts in the Southern Karroo and one very poor specimen from the Ruhuhu Beds to the N.E. of Lake Malawi. Five genera, including eight species, have been created. This paper briefly describes the history of the classification within the family and notes some of the difficulties encountered.
ON THE LYSTROSAURUS ZONE AND ITS FAUNA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOME IMMATURE LYSTROSAURIDAE
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Kitching, J. W.
In the past, collecting from the middle Beaufort Beds or Lystrosaurus zone has been badly neglected by field workers mainly due to the monotonous occurrence of the genus Lystrosaurus. Collecting has mostly been undertaken in such areas as the Harrismith Commonage, Oliviershoek Pass, Bergville or where there was a good possibility of finding either Thrinaxodon, Glochinodontoides or other faunal remains more exciting than Lystrosaurus.
Gonyaulacysta parorthoceras A new species if dinoflagellate cyst
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Davey, Roger J.
Davey (1968 in press) emends the species Gonyaulacysta orthoceras Eisenack and also transfers it to the genus Cribroperidinium Neale and Sarjeant. By emending Eisenack's species the specimens described by Sarjeant (1966) as G. orthoceras, from the Lower Cretaceous of England, must now be excluded from this species. Hence, a new species is here erected to accommodate them.
GONYAULACYSTA PARORTHOCERAS: A New Species of DINOFLAGELLATE CYST
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Davey, Roger J.
Davey (1968 in press) emends the species Gonyaulacysta orthoceras Eisenack and also transfers it to the genus Cribroperidinium Neale and Sarjeant. By emending Eisenack's species the specimens described by Sarjeant (1966) as G. orthoceras, from the Lower Cretaceous of England, must now be excluded from this species. Hence, a new species is here erected to accommodate them.
The lithic industry in the Makapansgat Limeworks breccias and overlying surface soil
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Maguire, Brian
The excavations directed by Professor Dart at the Makapansgat Limeworks, and conducted mainly by myself at the site since 1960, were concerned during the 1963- 1965 field seasons with an examination of the surface soil overlying the consolidated pink breccias, and of the contents of the abundant solution cavities which penetrate the underlying breccia mass to depths of up to 15 feet or more. The shallow soil , overlying and mainly derived from the consolidated australopithecine breccias, contains an abundance of crude artefacts which are largely composed of chert, a material native to the dolomitic cavern site. The most characteristic tools are various kinds of notched scrapers which are more particularly described. The undoubted relationship of these artefacts to those occurring in the underlying breccias is also discussed.
ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE GORGONOPSIA
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Sigogneau, D.
The work here summarized represents an attempt to review the South African Gorgonopsians, an attempt based on a re-examination of the cranial anatomy of the type material and a comparison of all the specimens available. The possible origin of the group from the Russian eotheriodonts is discussed in conclusion.
Tooth structure in Rhizodus hibberti Ag., a rhipidistian fish
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Cruickshank, A. R.
The structure of the large laniary teeth of the Lower Carboniferous rhipidistian fish Rhizodu hibberti Ag. is interpreted in terms of a new theory of tooth development. The structure of these teeth is found to correspond almost exactly to that of the synchronomorial scale as defined by Orvig (195 1) and Stensio (1961 ; 1962). These labyrinthodont teeth are thus shown to be composed of many tooth primordia, and are not a single unit of dentine. Some isolated Rhizodus teeth are described in which the entire labyrinthodont structure is missing, leaving an empty space inside the tooth. From this, a non-mechanical tooth removal mechanism is postulated.
THE CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE RHINOCEROS TEETH FROM LIMEWORKS, MAKAPANSGAT
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) ANDERSON, J. M.
The evidence concerning the behaviour and Osteodontokeratic culture of the australopithecines that can be assessed from a study of the rhinoceros teeth found in the grey breccia at the Limeworks cavern, Makapansgat is discussed. The material examined consists of ninety-nine identifiable teeth or portions of teeth, only a few of which are still attached to jaw fragments, and eighty-two tooth fragments too small to be identified.
On the scaloposaurid skull of Olivieria parringtoni, Brink with a note on the origin of hair
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Findlay, G. H.
Olivieria parringtoni was described by Brink in 1965 as a new genus and species. It stands closest, among the scaloposaurids, to Ictidosuchops intermedius (Broom). In general shape and size, their skulls are virtually indistinguishable from one another, but Olivieria comes from the top of the Lystrosaurus-zone (early Triassic) while the type-locality of I. intermedius is the Cistecephalus-zone (Upper Permian). Differences in dentition and differences in detailed skull moulding had argued for the creation of the new genus.
SOME MAIN CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM A BASINAL ANALYSIS OF THE DWYKA SERIES IN THE KARROO BASIN
(BERNARD PRICE INSTITUTE FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 1968) Stratten, T.
The research fell mainly into two separate but related fields of study. The first field was to investigate the pre-Karroo surface with special reference to the geology beneath the Karroo System. The second field was to investigate the paleo-ice flow directions of the Dwyka Tillite and relate this to the position and lithology of the source areas.
The cultural implications of the rhinoceros teeth from Limeworks, Makapansgat
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1968) Anderson, J. M.
The evidence concerning the behaviour and Osteodontokeratic culture of the australopithecines that can be assessed from a study of the rhinoceros teeth found in the grey breccia at the Limeworks cavern, Makapansgat is discussed. The material examined consists of ninety-nine identifiable teeth or portions of teeth, only a few of which are still attached to jaw fragments, and eighty-two tooth fragments too small to be identified.

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