(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1995) Brink, J. S.; de Bruiyn, H.; Rademeyer, L. B.; van der Westhuizen, W. A.
We document the occurrence of the Florisian, or late Quaternary, form of the giant alcelaphine,
Megalotragus priscus, from dongas on the Ongers River, near Britstown in the central Karoo. This
is significant as it confirms the occurrence of the species in the Karoo and it suggests significantly
wetter environments and productive grasslands in the central Karoo in pre-Holocene times. The
present-day Karoo environment did not maintain populations of large ruminant grazers similar to
M. priscus, and other specialized Florisian grazers, prior to the advent of agriculture and pasture
management. Aridification in recent times is the likely cause of changes in grassland quality and
the local dissappearance of these animals, if not their extinction.