Palaeoenvironments and plant availability during MIS 6 to MIS 3 on the edge of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (south coast, South Africa) as indicated by phytolith analysis at Pinnacle Point

2020 ◽  
Vol 235 ◽  
pp. 105667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Esteban ◽  
Curtis W. Marean ◽  
Richard M. Cowling ◽  
Erich C. Fisher ◽  
Dan Cabanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South Coast ◽  
Plant Availability ◽  
Phytolith Analysis ◽  
Mis 3 ◽  
Pinnacle Point

A high resolution and continuous isotopic speleothem record of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment from 90 to 53 ka from Pinnacle Point on the south coast of South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (17-18) ◽  
pp. 2131-2145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miryam Bar-Matthews ◽  
Curtis W. Marean ◽  
Zenobia Jacobs ◽  
Panagiotis Karkanas ◽  
Erich C. Fisher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
South Coast ◽  
The South ◽  
Pinnacle Point

scholarly journals Pleistocene golden mole and sand-swimming trace fossils from the Cape coast of South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Martin G. Lockley ◽  
Charles W. Helm ◽  
Hayley C. Cawthra ◽  
Jan C. De Vynck ◽  
Michael R. Perrin
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Trace Fossils ◽  
Trace Fossil ◽  
South Coast ◽  
Environmental Reconstruction ◽  
Cape Coast ◽  
Southeast Coast ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Golden Mole ◽  
Body Fossil

Abstract More than 250 Pleistocene vertebrate trace fossil sites have been identified on the Cape south coast of South Africa in aeolianites and cemented foreshore deposits. These discoveries, representing the epifaunal tracks of animals that moved over these sand substrates, complement traditional body fossil studies, and contribute to palaeo-environmental reconstruction. Not described in detail until now, but also important faunal components, are the infaunal traces of animals that moved within these sandy substrates. Six golden mole burrow trace sites (Family Chrysochloridae) have been identified on the Cape south coast. In addition, three sites, including one on the Cape southeast coast, have been identified that show evidence of sand-swimming, probably by a golden mole with a means of locomotion similar to that of the extant Eremitalpa genus. Such traces have not been described in detail in the global ichnology record, and merit the erection of a new ichnogenus Natatorichnus, with two ichnospecies, N. subarenosa ichnosp. nov and N. sulcatus ichnosp. nov. Care is required in the identification of such traces, and the orientation of the trace fossil surface needs to be determined, to avoid confusion with hatchling turtle tracks. Substantial regional Pleistocene dune environments are inferred from these sand-swimming traces.

scholarly journals Pleistocene reptile swim traces confirmed from South Africa’s Cape south coast

2021 ◽  
Vol 117 (3/4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Helm ◽  
Martin G. Lockley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Trace Fossils ◽  
South Coast ◽  
Definitive Evidence ◽  
Nile Crocodile

arge Pleistocene reptile tracks and traces were described from the Cape south coast of South Africa in 2020, including ‘probable swim traces’. These trace fossils were found on loose slabs and blocks of the Klein Brak Formation. Subsequently, another surface has become exposed on this coastline, also on a loose slab. It exhibits more definitive evidence of swim traces in epirelief, probably made by the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) or water monitor (Varanus niloticus), although a chelonian origin cannot be excluded. Length of a possible crocodylian trackmaker was estimated from measurements of interdigital distance in the swim traces. These provide a compelling example of reptile swim traces from Africa.

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