Mongoose Manor: Herpestidae remains from the Early Pleistocene Cooper’s D locality in the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorCohen, Brigette F.
dc.contributor.authorO'Regan, Hannah J.
dc.contributor.authorSteininger, Christine M.
dc.date.accessioned2019-01-22T12:36:21Z
dc.date.available2019-01-22T12:36:21Z
dc.date.issued2019-01
dc.description.abstractMongooses (Herpestidae) are an important component of African ecosystems, and a common constituent of southern African fossil assemblages. Despite this, mongoose fossils from the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa, have received relatively little interest. This paper presents the diverse mongoose craniodental assemblage from the early Pleistocene fossil locality Cooper’s D. A total of 29 mongoose specimens from five genera were identified at Cooper’s, including numerous first appearances in the Cradle or in South Africa. The exceptional mongoose assemblage at Cooper’s likely reflects the effects of an unknown taphonomic process, although mongooses follow other carnivore groups in the Cradle in displaying an apparent preference for the southern part of the Cradle. This investigation shows the value of mongooses as palaeoecological indicators and supports previous interpretations of the environment at Cooper’s as grassland with a strong woody component near a permanent water source.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianJNC2019en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipPalaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST); DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, Palaeosciences (CoE-Pal); the South African National Research Foundation; and the University of the Witwatersrand Postgraduate Merit Award.en_ZA
dc.funderPalaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST); DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (CoE-Pal)en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2410-4418
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/26300
dc.journal.titlePalaeontologia africanaen_ZA
dc.journal.volume53en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.orcid.id0000-0002-6093-5313en_ZA
dc.orcid.id0000-0001-6293-5475en_ZA
dc.orcid.id0000-0002-9082-0672en_ZA
dc.publisherEvolutionary Studies Instituteen_ZA
dc.rightsCopyright 2019 the Authorsen_ZA
dc.subjectParanthropus localityen_ZA
dc.subjectpalaeoecologyen_ZA
dc.subjectHerpestesen_ZA
dc.subjectIchneumiaen_ZA
dc.subjectAtilaxen_ZA
dc.subjectMungosen_ZA
dc.subjectGalerellaen_ZA
dc.titleMongoose Manor: Herpestidae remains from the Early Pleistocene Cooper’s D locality in the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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