Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI)

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2010 - 201115

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Start date: 2010End date: 2011

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    3D techniques and fossil identification: An elephant shrew hemi-mandible from the Malapa site.
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2011-11-07) Val, A.; Carlson, K.J; Kibii, J.M.; Steininger, C.; Churms, C.; Kuhn, B.F.; Berger, L.R.
    Conventional methods for extracting fossilised bones from calcified clastic sediments, using air drills or chemical preparations, can damage specimens to the point of rendering them unidentifiable. As an alternative, we tested an in silico approach that extended preparation and identification possibilities beyond those realisable using physical methods, ultimately proving to be crucial in identifying a fragile fossil. Image data from a matrix-encased hemi-mandible of a micromammal that was collected from the Plio-Pleistocene site of Malapa, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, were acquired using microtomography. From the resultant images, a 3D rendering of the fossil was digitally segmented. Diagnostic morphologies were evaluated on the rendering for comparison with extant comparative specimens, positively identifying the specimen as an elephant shrew (Elephantulus sp.). This specimen is the first positively identified micromammal in the Malapa faunal assemblage. Cutting-edge in silico preparation technology provides a novel tool for identifying fossils without endangering bone integrity, as is commonly risked with physical preparation.
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    Carnivoran remains from the Malapa hominin site, South Africa.
    (Public Library of Science, 2011-11-03) Kuhn, B.F.; Werdelin, L.; Hartstone-Rose, A.; Lacruz, R.S.; Berger, L.R.
    Recent discoveries at the new hominin-bearing deposits of Malapa, South Africa, have yielded a rich faunal assemblage associated with the newly described hominin taxon Australopithecus sediba. Dating of this deposit using U-Pb and palaeomagnetic methods has provided an age of 1.977 Ma, being one of the most accurately dated, time constrained deposits in the Plio-Pleistocene of southern Africa. To date, 81 carnivoran specimens have been identified at this site including members of the families Canidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae, Hyaenidae and Felidae. Of note is the presence of the extinct taxon Dinofelis cf. D. barlowi that may represent the last appearance date for this species. Extant large carnivores are represented by specimens of leopard (Panthera pardus) and brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea). Smaller carnivores are also represented, and include the genera Atilax and Genetta, as well as Vulpes cf. V. chama. Malapa may also represent the first appearance date for Felis nigripes (Black-footed cat). The geochronological age of Malapa and the associated hominin taxa and carnivoran remains provide a window of research into mammalian evolution during a relatively unknown period in South Africa and elsewhere. In particular, the fauna represented at Malapa has the potential to elucidate aspects of the evolution of Dinofelis and may help resolve competing hypotheses about faunal exchange between East and Southern Africa during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene.
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    Palaeontologia africana Volume 46
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2011)
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    Palaeontologia africana Volume 45
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2010)
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    Arthur Cruickshank — 1932-2011
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Taylor, Michael A.; Benton, Michael J.; Noè, Leslie F.; Fraser, Nicholas C.
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    Unidentified specimens in zooarcheaology
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Badenhorst, Shaw; Plug, Ina
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    Sterkfontein at 75: review of palaeoenvironments, fauna and archaeology from the hominin site of Sterkfontein (Gauteng Province, South Africa)
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Reynolds, Sally Christine; Kibii, Job Munuhe
    Seventy-five years after Robert Broom’s discovery of the first adult Australopithecus in 1936, the Sterkfontein Caves (Gauteng Province, South Africa) remains one of the richest and most informative fossil hominin sites in the world. The deposits record hominin and African mammal evolution from roughly 2.6 million years (Ma) until the Upper Pleistocene. Earlier excavation efforts focused on the Member 4 australopithecine-bearing breccia and the Member 5 stone tool-bearing breccias of Oldowan and Early Acheulean age. Ronald J. Clarke’s 1997 programme of understanding the cave deposits as a whole led to the discovery of the near-complete StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton in the Member 2 deposit of the Silberberg Grotto, and the exploration of lesser known deposits such as the Jacovec Cavern, Name Chamber and the Lincoln Cave. Our aim is to produce a cogent synthesis of the environments, palaeodietary information, fauna and stone artefacts as recorded in the Sterkfontein sequence. We begin with an overview of the site and early accounts of the interpretations of the site-formation processes, after which we discuss each Member in turn and summarize the various types of evidence published so far. Finally, we review the most pertinent debates about the site, including the ages of Sterkfontein Member 2 and 4, and the types of habitats represented at the site through time.
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    Cretaceous faunas from Zululand and Natal, South Africa. The ammonite subgenus Hauericeras (Gardeniceras) Mastsumoto & Obata, 1955
    (Bernard price Institute for Palaeontologcal Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Kennedy, William James; Klinger, Herbert James
    Four species of the distinctive desmoceratid ammonite Hauericeras (Gardeniceras) Matsumoto & Obata, 1955, are described from KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Province: the type species, H. (G.) gardeni (Baily, 1855), from the Santonian to Lower Campanian, H.(G.) pseudoangustum Collignon, 1961, and H. (G.) madagascariense Collignon, 1961, from the Lower Campanian, and H. (G.) rembda (Forbes, 1846) from the upper Upper Maastrichtian.
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    Cretaceous biozonation based on terrestrial palynomorphs from two wells in the offshore Orange Basin of South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Sandersen, A.; Scott, L.; McLachlan, I.R.; Hancox, P.J.
    The C-B1 and O-A1 petroleum exploration wells were drilled by SOEKOR Pty Ltd in 1988 and 1992, respectively, in the Orange Basin off the west coast of South Africa. A palynological analysis of the Cretaceous interval intersected by the two wells, for which the ages were adopted from foraminiferal studies, provides new information on the biostratigraphy and also on reconstructions of the Cretaceous palaeoflora and palaeoenvironment. The spores and pollen used in this study were extracted from over 500 samples of conventional cores, side-wall cores and ditch-cuttings. The identified terrestrial palynoflora includes 41 species of angiosperm and gymnosperm pollen, 85 species of fern and bryophyte spores, and two monolete spore taxa. Several of the pollen and spore taxa are possibly new species. Five palynological zones were established for each of the two wells, which are separated by a latitudinal distance of 300 km. Within the Early Cretaceous intervals of the two wells, there is a considerable degree of similarity in the palynological assemblages, which suggests that the terrestrial plant communities were relatively uniform. For the Late Cretaceous interval, however, there are marked differences suggesting that the plant communities had become more diverse and also that the palynomorphs were being supplied from separate geographical areas.
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    A structural re-interpretation and revision of the type material of the glossopterid ovuliferous fruitification Scutum from South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Prevec, Rose
    The Early Permian glossopterid fructification Scutum, described by Edna Plumstead in the 1950s from the Vereeniging locality in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, was one of the first glossopterid seed-bearing organs to be found in organic attachment to Glossopteris leaves. Examination of the type material necessitated a revision of this plant fossil genus and a re-evaluation of described South African species. Key characteristics of the genus are the broad and prominent wing, and a low receptacle length to width ratio (<2:1). Specimens of South African Scutum are currently attributed to three species, from two localities, but display intergrading morphological features that can be reasonably accommodated within a single species, S. leslii. Three-dimensional interpretation and reconstruction of impression fossils of Scutum fructifications preserved in attachment to Glossopteris leaves confirms that the seed-bearing surface of the receptacle faces the adaxial surface of the subtending leaf. The nature of the seed scars on the receptacle and their relationship to the peripheral wing of the fructifications is clarified.