Volume 43 April 2008
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- ItemPalaeontologia africana Volume 43(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2008)
- ItemPalaeontological Society of Southern Africa - 15th Biennial Meeting, Grahamstown, 2006 - Additional Abstracts(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008-04) VariousThe following three abstract were inadvertently omitted from the list of abstracts published in Palaeontologia africana (2007) 42, 117–136.
- ItemSize and shape of the human foot bone from Klasies River main site, South Africa(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008-04) Zipfel, Bernhard; Kidd, Robert S.Rightmire et al. (2006) recently described three human metatarsal bones of Middle Stone Age antiquity from Klasies River Mouth (KRM) main site, South Africa. One of these, a complete adult left first metatarsal is broadly similar to Late Stone Age (LSA) Holocene skeletons from the southern coastal margins of the Cape, and based on size, was suggested to be from a male. Our analysis subjected the KRM first metatarsal and comparative human samples to selected morphometric analyses, in an attempt to test the hypothesis regarding shape associated sexual dimorphism as a means to estimate sex in the KRM individual. The results support earlier suggestions that it falls within the range of early Holocene variation, this being very narrow both in size and shape. The size-independent shape-associated morphology, however, suggests that the individual may be female. Even though these findings imply that the KRM individual may have been female based on sexually dimorphic shape-associated discrimination in LSA Holocene people, they are not conclusive and that this individual could probably be assigned to either sex.
- ItemA second specimen of Blikanasaurus (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) and the biostratigraphy of the lower Elliot Formation(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, university of the Witwatersrand, 2008-04) Yates, Adam M.A second specimen of the rare basal sauropod Blikanasaurus cromptoni, is recorded from a site in the Ladybrand district of the Eastern Free State, South Africa. The specimen consists of a right metatarsal 1 that originated from the upper 20mof the lower Elliot Formation. It can be referred to B. cromptoni on the basis of its small size and highly robust proportions, which distinguish this taxon from all other sauropodomorphs. This record extends the geographic distribution of B. cromptoni north into the region of the main Karoo Basin where the Elliot Formation is dramatically thinner. It also extends the known stratigraphic range of B. cromptoni up from the base of the Elliot Formation into a position near the top of the lower member. This new record, combined with other new discoveries, supports the hypothesis that the thin northern part of the lower Elliot Formation is a condensed section that is largely, if not entirely, coeval with the thicker southern sections.
- ItemRe-evaluation of the postcranial skeleton of the Triassic dicynodont Kannemeyria simocephalus from the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (Subzone B) of South Africa(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008-04) Govender, Romala; Hancox, Phillip John; Yates, Adam M.Kannemeyeria simocephalus is probably the best known Middle Triassic dicynodont from South Africa and has been the standard against which other Triassic dicynodonts are compared. In the past studies have concentrated on the cranial morphology of K. simocephalus and its implications for Triassic dicynodont taxonomy and phylogeny. There has been little work on the postcranial anatomy of K. simocephalus, which remains poorly understood. An analysis of the postcranial skeleton of K. simocephalus has identified characters that diagnose the postcranial skeleton. These include a tubercle on the proximo-posterior corner of the medial surface of the acromion; almost straight lateral border of the femur. Material previously described as K. simocephalus by Pearson (1924) and Cruickshank (1975) was also included in this study. Some of the material was found to be significantly different from what is understood to be K. simocephalus and as a result has been included a separate study. It was therefore concluded that the referred specimen BP/1/5624 is currently the most complete and positively identified as K. simocephalus.