Palaeontologia africana

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ISSN (print): 0078-8554 ISSN (electronic): 2410-4418 For queries regarding content of Palaeontologia africana collections please contact Jonah Choiniere by email : jonah.choiniere@wits.ac.za or Tel : 011 717 6684

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    Re-identification and updated stratigraphic context of the holotypes of the late Permian tetrapods Dicynodon ingens and Scymnosaurus warreni from KwaZulu-Natal
    (Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2023) Groenewald, David P; Kammerer, Christian F
    Two historical therapsid holotypes held in the collections of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum (Dicynodon ingens Broom, 1907 and Scymnosaurus warreni Broom, 1907) are redescribed. The holotype of D. ingens is a snout tip of a large dicynodontoid that can be re-identified as a specimen of Daptocephalus leoniceps based on premaxillary proportions and palatal morphology. The holotype of S. warreni consists of a dorsoventrally crushed therocephalian snout, which is here re-identified as that of Moschorhinus kitchingi based on size, general proportions, tooth count, and septomaxillary morphology. The localities of both specimens are biostratigraphically assigned to the Lystrosaurus maccaigi-Moschorhinus Subzone of the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone (latest Permian).
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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.