Palaeontologia africana
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ISSN (print): 0078-8554
ISSN (electronic): 2410-4418
For queries regarding content of Palaeontologia africana collections please contact Jonah Choiniere by email : jonah.choiniere@wits.ac.za or Tel : 011 717 6684
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Browsing Palaeontologia africana by Faculty "Faculty of Science"
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Item Biostratigraphic refinement of tetrapod-bearing beds from the Metangula Graben (Niassa Province, Mozambique). New radiometric dating and the first Lower Triassic tetrapod fossils from Mozambique(Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2020-12) Aráujo, Ricardo; Macungo, Zanildo; Smith, Roger M H; Tolan, Stephen; Angielczyk, Kenneth D; Crowley, James; Milisse, Dino; Mugabe, JoãoNumerous fossils of the toothed dicynodont Endothiodon have been collected previously from the Permian K5 formation of the Metangula Graben (Niassa, Mozambique). However, no identifiable vertebrate fossils have been reported from other stratigraphic units in the basin. Here we report likely Triassic tetrapod remains from the base of the Fubué Formation some 700 stratigraphic metres above the dated K5 Formation. We present anatomical comparisons and a phylogenetic analysis that confirm that they have close affinities to the well-known Early Triassic dicynodont therapsid Lystrosaurus. Thus, the Metangula Graben can now join the few regions in the world that preserve terrestrial tetrapod fossils from before and after Permian-Triassic mass extinction event, giving it the potential to provide further insights into the evolution of terrestrial organisms during this major biotic crisis. We present an updated geological section and paleoenvironmental interpretations, as well as the first assessment of the vertebrate taphonomy of the K5, K6, Mount Lilonga, and Fubué Formations. We also report the first radiometric dates for the K5c member of the K5 formation. The K5c has a maximum depositional age of 258.85 ± 0.41 Ma and is thus older than previously thought, falling near the boundary between the Lycosuchus-Eunotosaurus and Tropidostoma-Gorgonops subzones of the Endothiodon Assemblage Zone, rather than being coeval with the Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone.Item Complete Volume(The Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2023-12-21)This file contains the complete downloadable volume including all papers, prefaces, and remembrances. Two versions are available: a larger version with embedded videos and a smaller version without.Item A new specimen of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Ignavusaurus rachelis from the Early Jurassic of Lesotho(Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2020-12-11) Bodenham, Ewan H; Barrett, Paul MThe upper Elliot Formation (?Rhaetian–Sinemurian) of South Africa and Lesotho has yielded a rich fauna of non-avian dinosaurs, which has generally been considered to be dominated by the massopodan sauropodomorph Massospondylus carinatus. However, re-evaluation of the abundant sauropodomorph collections from this unit suggests that the species-richness of upper Elliot sites has been underestimated. Here, we describe a series of cervical and dorsal vertebrae collected from Likhoele Mountain, Lesotho, which are referred to the rare upper Elliot sauropodomorph taxon Ignavusaurus rachelis. This material represents only the second-known specimen of this taxon, extending its geographic range, and underscores the value of undertaking detailed re-assessments of neglected historical collections.Item Taxonomic and taphonomic interpretations of newly excavated in situ GD 2 faunal remains at Gondolin(The Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2024-01) Engelbrecht, Micke; Val, Aurore; Kibii, Job M.; Steininger, ChristineGondolin is one of the fossil-bearing karstic localities in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. Periodic excavations of calcified and decalcified sediments at several loci (GD 1,GD2 andGDA) over the last few decades have yielded a sizeable sample of Plio-Pleistocene fauna, including two hominin teeth from ex situ deposits. In 2015, renewed excavations were conducted at the GD 2 locality, which consists of decalcified in situ deposits, in order to shed more light on the site’s complex formation processes as well as to try finding new hominin material from a stratigraphically secured context. While these excavations did not yield any hominin material, abundant macrovertebrate remains were recovered. This paper presents the taxonomic composition and taphonomic characteristics of this new faunal assemblage. The occurrence of Equus sp. as well as the extinct species Metridiochoerus andrewsi and Hystrix makapanensis places the assemblage in a depositional age bracket of 2.33–1.78 Ma, which is consistent with ages already proposed forGD2. No primate material was recovered. The assemblage displays a taxonomic and bodyweight bias towards small-bodied (size classes I and II) bovids. The taphonomic characteristics of the bovid remains suggest the selective action of a leopard-like carnivore and while there is no direct evidence that the locality was used as a hyaena den, secondary scavenging by hyaenids cannot be excluded. Porcupines played an ancillary role in the bone accumulation. We performed intra- and inter-site taxonomic and taphonomic comparisons between this faunal sample and fossil assemblages from previously excavated localities at Gondolin (GD 1, GD 2 and GD A), as well as from other Paranthropus robustus-bearing sites in the Cradle of Humankind. These comparisons indicate that this new sample closely resembles the faunal assemblage previously collected from in situ calcified sediments at the GD 2 locality, in terms of species composition, bovid size class distribution, carnivore to ungulate ratio, and general taphonomic characterization.