Palaeontologia africana

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Fossil tree hollows from a late Permian forest of the Matinde Formation (Tete, Mozambique)
(Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2018-10-31) Araújo, Ricardo; Nhamutole, Nelson; Macungo, Zanildo; Milisse, Dino; Bamford, Marion
Fossil tree hollows are seldom described in the literature and can often be elusive to the field paleobotanist. However, these structures may provide unique paleoecological, environmental and tree life history information that are essential for a more complete understanding of ancient forests. A stump from the ‘late Permian’ (Wuchiapingian–Changhsingian) of the Mágoè Fossil Forest in Mozambique (Tete Province) provides a rare example of fossilized tree hollows. These hollows were found near the base of the tree and are subcircular in shape, ranging between ~1.3 and 3.5 cm in diameter. Although thirty-one trees were densely sampled (i.e. no fossil trees were excluded from a given area, in our case ~2650m2) and inspected at the Mágoè Fossil Forest, only one (PPM2017-31) exhibited tree hollows, highlighting the scarcity of these structures in this fossil forest. In modern forests tree hollows are more likely to be found in old trees, likewise PPM2017-31 was among the largest trees found in the sample, suggesting this was an old tree. The subcircular morphology of the tree hollows indicates they resulted from fungal/bacterial activity rather than from a fire.
Stereospondyl amphibians from the Elliot Formation of South Africa
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1999) Warren, Anne; Damiani, Ross
This paper documents the first members of the Chigutisauridae (Amphibia, Stereospondyli) from southern Africa and the first post-Triassic stereospondyls from that region. The material, from the Lower and Upper Elliot Formation, was associated with a diverse fauna including early mammals and dinosaurs. Most temnospondyls known to have survived the Triassic are brachyopoids, with large members of the Chigutisauridae present in the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Gondwana, and smaller members of the Brachyopidae in the Jurassic of Eurasia.
Eunotosaurus africanus and the Gondwanan ancestry of anapsid reptiles
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 2000) Modesto, Sean Patrick
Phylogenetic analyses confirm that the turtle-like Late Permian reptile Eunotosaurus africanus is a parareptile (sensu deBraga & Reisz 1996) and identify it as the sister taxon of Procolophonomorpha. The tree topology for anapsid reptiles suggests that a distribution in Gondwanan Pangaea is ancestral for anapsids (sensu Gauthier, Kluge & Rowe 1988). Minimum divergence times (MDTs) determined from stratigraphic calibration of anapsid phylogeny suggest that anapsids were diversifying in Early Permian Gondwana as early as the Sakmarian. MDTs also support the idea that a preservational bias was operating on terrestrial vertebrates in Gondwana prior to the onset of continental sedimentation in the Late Permian.
Biostratigraphy and paleontology of some conchostracan-bearing beds in southern Africa
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1984) Tasch, Paul
The present field and laboratory study was undertaken in conjunction with a monograph being prepared on Gondwana estheriids. Detailed biostratigraphic reports are lacking on the southern African conchostracan-bearing beds. The available paleontological treatment ranges from mere mentions of certain fossils being present to spare systematics. During the summer of 1979 a limited exploration program was undertaken at localities in the Clarens Formation (Cave Sandstone) outcrop belt where conchostracans had been reported (Stockley 1947, Haughton 1924, and especially Ellenberger et al. 1964). In particular, sites at Siberia and Barkly Pass (both in the Republic of South Africa) and at Thabaneng and Mofoka's Store (both in Lesotho) were found to yield excellent new biostratigraphic and paleontological data. The exploration covered some 1500 square miles (2400km2 of the Clarens Formation (Cave Sandstone) outcrop belt (Text fig. 1). Conchostracan-bearing Cave Sandstone sites noted by Paul Ellenberger (1970) at Leloaleng, Masitisi, Mohaleshoek, Brakfontein and elsewhere were systematically explored. Because of the lack of precise locality data enabling one to pinpoint the fossiliferous bed(s) even an intensive search did not uncover the reported fossiliferous beds. Exploration of one of Ellenberger's localities at Wonderkop (RSA) was abandoned after a preliminary search due to time limitations. This site may yet prove productive.
Taxonomic status of the reptile genus Procolophon from the Gondwanan Triassic
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008-04) Cisneros, Juan Carlos
The specific composition of the genus Procolophon in Brazil, South Africa and Antarctica is discussed in the light of new data. It is found that P. pricei and P. brasiliensis, two species described from Brazil, fit within the pattern of ontogenetic variation of the type species P. trigoniceps, and they are here considered junior synonyms. The South African species P. laticeps, characterized by the presence of a temporal fenestra, is no longer considered valid. The peculiar temporal openings of this species are regarded here as an anomalous condition without taxonomic significance. The only complete skull known from Antarctica shows a unique feature consisting of an elliptical depression in the palate. The interpretation of this structure is ambiguous because it may also be attributable to individual variation, and this specimen is provisionally kept within P. trigoniceps. Therefore, only the type species, P. trigoniceps, is recognized in Gondwana. This species occupies a wide geographic range, from the Paraná Basin to the Transantarctic Mountains.

Palaeontologia africana

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