Volume 04 April 1957
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Item Palaeontologia africana Volume 4(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)Item Fossil Bovidae from the Limeworks quarry, Makapansgat, Potgietersrus(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)A short history of palaeontological work in the Makapan Valley is given and the setting of the fossil material is briefly described. Many hundreds of bovid cranial and dental fragments have been recovered, in addition to thousands of bones and bone fragments. The post-cranial material is not considered in the present account. The collection includes a number of species not separable from the living kudu, nyala, eland, Cape buffalo, blue duiker, mountain reedbuck, gemsbok, sassaby, brindled gnu and impala. Known extinct species include cf. Alcelaphus robustus, cf. Pelorocerus helmes and Oreotragus major. A new genus of aberrant Alcelaphine is described as Makapania broomi. Other new species are Cephalophus pricei, Redunca darti, Gazella gracilior, and Phenacotragus vanhoepeni. A feature of the assemblage is the tendency for species to be larger than their living counterparts. The whole described fauna of the deposits is discussed and it is considered that a lower Pleistocene (probably Villafranchian) age is most likely.Item La faune de rongeurs des grottes a Autralopithèques(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)This is the first of a series to be devoted to the rodent fossils of South African caves. It is mainly concerned with a discussion of the Cricetid genus Mystromys, which forms the dominant element of the rodent fauna. The two sub-species of M. hausleitneri described by Broom are considered to be indistinguishable from each other; the species itself is distinguished by the dimensions of the teeth. The dentition of a new species, Mystromys darti, is fully described and the relations with Petromyscus are discussed.Item A new species of Trigonia from Upper Cretaceous beds near Itongazi river, Natal(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04) Little, Jeanne De V.A description is furnished of Trigonia (Scabrotrigonia) itongazi, a new species of Trigonia from the Upper Cretaceous Beds, occurring between the Itongazi and Umkandandhlovu Rivers, Alfred County, Natal. Its characteristic features are discussed. In June 1944 Professor T. W. Gevers came on an occurrence of fossiliferous Upper Cretaceous beds at a locality along the South Coast of Natal between the Itongazi and Umkandandhlovu river mouths. This occurrence was described in 1945 (3). The fossils then collected were identified by the writer. The form listed as Trigonia itongazi sp. nov. is now described below.Item List of genera and species described in this volume(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)NoneItem Some fossil carnivores from the Makapansgat Valley(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)All hitherto undescribed carnivore material from the Limeworks deposit at Makapansgat has been examined and is described. A new sub-species of Cynictis penicillata is defined and named C. penicillata brachyodon. A number of other fragments cannot be fully identified but include a jackal, probably closely related to the extant Canis adustus, a fox and three small felines. The status of Machaerodus darti Toerien is discussed and it is concluded that the specimens are not specifically distinct from Therailurus barlowi (Broom). The carnivore fauna of the Makapansgat deposit is compared with those of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans and the probable environments are discussed.Item On the use of glyptal in palaeontology(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)A variety of materials is normally used in different fields of technical palaeontology, such as in adhesive, reinforcement, preservative and protective capacities. This paper promotes the general use of one material, commercially known as "Glyptal" in all these fields, unless the solvent qualities of different materials are specifically needed.Item Speculations on some advanced mammalian characteristics in the higher mammal-like reptiles(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957) Brink, A. S.This paper deals with a number of skeletal characters of the higher mammal-like reptiles from which inferences may be drawn regarding soft anatomical and physiological features. Although these characters, when evaluated individually, do not indicate conclusively the exact proximity of these animals to truly mammalian conditions, the collective evidence and mutual support which they afford suggest that enlightening progress can be made towards establishing the following: the significance of the mammalian single dental succession, secondary palate, ethmoturbinals, as related to a high constant blood temperature; the latter's relationship, in turn, to hair and sweat glands; the origin of milk glands; and the mode and significance of mammalian birth. These considerations throw some instructive light on the origin of mammals.Item Palaeontologica Africana Volume IV(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1956-04)NoneItem On Aneugomphius ictidoceps Broom and Robinson(The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1957-04)The type specimen of Aneugomphius ictidoceps Broom and Robinson (1948}, after additional development with the acetic acid technique, is now described in greater detail. It is declared a valid genus and species and not, as hinted, an immature specimen of one of the existing members of the Whaitsiid family. Suggestions as to its exact relationship are made, but definite conclusions can be reached only after the genera Lycideops, Hofmeyria, Alopecopsis and Notaelurops are better known.