Passage through Time. The Fossils of Namibia

Fossils and palaeontological research in Namibia
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99916-0-515-0
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Authors: Gabi Schneider; Christine Marais
Publisher Gamsberg Macmillan
Windhoek, 2005
ISBN: 99916-0-515-0
Hard cover, with imprints, 22x30cm, 158 pages, throughout illustrated, 1 folding poster

Passage through Time. The Fossils of Namibia Im bekannten Illustrationsstil von C. Marais gehaltenes, anspruchsvolles Standardwerk über die Ergebnisse der paläntologischen Forschung in Namibia


Foreword by the authors:

While palaeontological research has been conducted in Namibia for almost a century, there have been tremendous advances since Independence. This has led to the establishment of a palaeontological section in the displays of the museum of the Geological Survey of Namibia.

In the course of this process, it quickly became apparent that illustrations and reconstructions were essential to enable visitors to understand the meaning of the fossils on display. In 1999 we therefore got together to illustrate the habit and environment of Erythrosuchus africanus, one of the major fossils displayed in this museum.

It was during this work, which was sponsored by the Geological Society of Namibia, that the idea for a comprehensive book on Namibian palaeontology was conceived. The idea was met with enthusiasm by Herman van Wyk of Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers, who encouraged us to go ahead and write such a book.

From the outset, we have been privileged to enjoy the support of members of the international palaeontological fraternity, who provided invaluable information and comments on the manuscript.

For this we have to thank first and foremost Drs Brigitte Senut and Martin Pickford, who work closely with the Geological Survey of Namibia, as well as Prof. John Grotzinger, Dr John Almond, Dr Harald Stollhofen, Prof. Bruce Rubidge, Dr Billy De Klerk and Prof. Volker Lorenz.

We are also indebted to Prof. Mikhail Fedonkin, Prof. Patricia Vickers Rich, Prof. Terence McCarthy, Dr Patrick Bender, Dr Frank Holzforster, Dr Marion Bamford, Dr Rosemarie Rohn, Dr Renato Ghilardi, Dr Roger Smith, Dr Mike Raath, Dr Thomas Loffler, Dr Joe Henschel, Dr Eugene Marais, Greg McGregor, Dr Mike Griffin, Dr Nancy Stevens and Dr Beatrice Sandelowsky for freely sharing their knowledge with us.

Namdeb Diamond Corporation kindly provided access to restricted areas, and Dariol Wicomb of De Beers Marine Namibia was very helpful with literature requests. Last, but not least, our sincere thanks go to Peter Reiner for editing the manuscript and managing the whole project, and to our families who shared two years of living in the past!

It is our hope that this book will prove to be of value to those interested in earth sciences and palaeontology in particular, and help shed some light on the million-year-old history of life in Namibia, which has been so miraculously preserved in the rocks of our country.


The authors:

Dr Gabi Schneider was born in Frankfurt. She studied geology and mineralogy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt from 1974 to 1980, and obtained her Ph. D. in 1984. After moving to Namibia in 1985, she joined the Geological Survey of Namibia in Windhoek, and was appointed as Director of this institution in 1996. During her studies and career she has focused on economic geology and has published more than 100 papers dealing mainly with this subject. However, since the museum of the Geological Survey of Namibia is part of her responsibilities, she has developed a keen interest in palaeontology. Gabi Schneider is the Vice-Chairperson of the National Monuments Council of Namibia if and serves on a number of boards dealing with mining and f education. She lives with her husband and two children in Windhoek.

Christine Marais was born in Bloemfontein. She studied Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand, winning the Herbert Evans prize for painting in her final year. Christine married geologist Piet Marais, and in 1970 the family moved to Namibia. Today she lives in Swakopmund, where she has her studio. To date she has had 34 solo exhibitions in South Africa and Namibia. Her book illustrations show her involvement in conservation - not only of our natural heritage but also of the historical buildings of Namibia - and this interest has resulted in numerous illustrated publications. In 1996 she was awarded a medal by the Namibian Children's Book Forum and the Namibian Deutsche Stiftung Prize for Illustration.


From “Conquering the Land and the Air - The Ecca Group”:

Southern Africa had moved away from the polar region towards the end of the Dwyka period as a result of continental drift. Also, the global climate as such became warmer during the Permian as the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere increased, possibly due to lower levels of abstraction by tropical vegetation, which declined dramatically during that period, perhaps as a consequence of less rainfall, as well as the effects of ocean and wind currents, which were in turn related to events like drift from the poles.

The combination of these factors resulted in the melting of the glaciers and eventually the end of the Dwyka ice age in the mid-Permian, about 270 million years ago. The highlands initially retained their ice cover and spawned Alpine-like glaciers which cut long and deep glacial valleys in north-western Namibia.

Fjord-like environments developed, and rivers carried the water of the melting glaciers towards the coast of an inland sea which covered large parts of today's South Africa and extended further north. Large deltas formed at the mouths of these rivers, and the swamplands which developed along the river banks were rapidly colonised by the Glossopteris flora.

Since sediments were deposited quite slowly, peat bogs could form, which later led to the development of the coal seams we know from the Stampriet and Toscanini areas. The enormously rich coal deposits of South Africa developed in the main Karoo Basin during the same period. In general, the climate became more temperate and was characterised by periodic heavy rainfalls and flooding of the swamplands. Rocks of the Ecca Group were deposited in this environment.

The first vertebrate tetrapod animals had already conquered the land about 100 million years before the beginning of the Ecca period. Since this time is not represented in the Namibian rock record, no fossils of these early adventurers occur in the country. Here, the first land-based creatures are found in the Ecca Group.

Our modern lizards and frogs are the descendants of the early amphibians, the first vertebrates to venture out of the water and make use of the land environment. Their pioneering effort was, however, not a total success, since they were still dependent on the water environment for their reproduction. This fact is reflected in the name "amphibia", which means "both lives" and refers to the two different environments in which these animals lived. Only the reptiles, descendants of the amphibians, truly conquered the land (Palmer, 1999). In the meantime, however, many invertebrates had already firmly established themselves on land and provided the lower links in the food chain for the advancing vertebrates.

The majority of fish breathe through gills, which absorb oxygen from the water into the body. In some early bony fish, though, the swim bladders evolved into simple lungs, which means that these fish no longer depended only on oxygen dissolved in water, but could also take oxygen directly from the air. When climate changes brought with them longer periods of drought and swamps dried up, this distinct advantage over the fish with gills only considerably improved their chances of survival. However, this may not necessarily have been the only reason for animal life to move onto land; a drive to exploit new environments free of marine predators and the availability of additional sources of food may have also played a role.

Movement on land was, of course, a major challenge, and required different means than movement in water. The fins of some lobe-finned fish or Sarcopterygians proved to be strong enough to move the animal over land, and eventually developed into flipper-like limbs. Sarcopterygians are, therefore, the ancestors of the amphibians.

The earliest amphibians belonged to the order of tetrapods. Tetrapods evolved in lakes and rivers as early as the Late Devonian and established themselves on land during the Carboniferous, rapidly expanding into a number of families. It is noteworthy that fossils of tetrapods of the period up until the middle of the Permian are confined to the North American and European continents. The fossil record of other continents, including Africa, has yielded only specimens that occurred from the Middle Permian onwards, some 270 million years ago.

This strongly suggests that North America and Europe were the home of the tetrapods, and that they colonised other parts of the world after these parts had joined North America and Europe when the supercontinent Pangea was formed in the course of platetectonic movement. However, Early Carboniferous tetrapods were discovered in Australia recently and earlier tetrapod trackways, including Devonian examples, are known from the southern hemisphere. This has led some scientists to suggest that tetrapods actually came onto land in the south.

Since amphibians still required water for reproduction because their eggs could not survive on land, the evolution of an air-breathing egg with a porous shell was a revolutionary innovation which allowed the descendants of the amphibians, the reptiles, to live on land permanently. The shell protects the developing embryo from drying out, the developing reptile can sustain a longer period of growth, and it emerges only once it is ready to survive the environmental conditions on land. However, although the shelled egg was a great step forward in conquering the land, an-other adaptation had to take place. Reptiles had to fight desiccation, since they were no longer protected from the sunlight by water. They therefore developed a horny layer that covered their skin (Palmer, 1999).

The most famous fossil of the Ecca period is the aquatic reptile Mesosaurus tenuidens, which is found in the Whitehill Formation of the Ecca Group. This formation was deposited in an extensive inland sea which had limited or no access to the open ocean, the co-called "Mesosaurus Sea". It extended from the southern margins of South Africa to northern Namibia and westwards into Brazil and Uruguay. This sea probably represented a transition from marine to brackish or freshwater conditions. The major rock type of the Whitehill Formation is a black, carbon-rich mudstone which weathers to a characteristic white colour. This makes it so obvious that it can be traced on aerial photographs for hundreds of kilometres and therefore serves as a geological marker (McRae, 1999; Evans & Bender, 1999).

Mesosaurus was one of the first reptiles that actually returned to the water, and the earliest known deep-sea going tetrapod. On average, it was a mere 40 to 50 cm long, but rare and incomplete specimens suggest a length of up to 1 m. The animal had a long tail which was flattened from side to side and possibly had fins running along its whole length, top and bottom. Although it generally resembled a lizard, it had a long and narrow head, with nostrils high on the snout, near the eyes. It therefore only had to break the surface of the water to breathe and see.

The pointed snout sported long, thin, pin-like teeth on elongated jaws. It can be presumed that these teeth were not strong enough to bite prey, but were rather used to filter algae and soft-bodied organisms or krill-like small crustaceans from the water. Being an aquatic animal, the feet on the shorter forelegs and longer hind legs were in all likelihood webbed. The tail and hind legs propelled the animal through the water, while the forelegs were used for steering it. Mesosaurus could easily bend from side to side, an adaptation common in water-dwelling vertebrates (McRae, 1999; Palmer, 1999).

The significance of Mesosaurus lies in the fact that it also occurs in the Irati Formation of Brazil and therefore provides proof of the fact that South America and Africa were once part of one big landmass, namely Gondwana. The Whitehill and Irati Formations were deposited at that time in the Permian when Mesosaurus lived in the embayments of the large inland Mesosaurus Sea.

Shallow and deeper water environments can be distinguished through the presence of a fossil similar to the South American form Stereosternum tumidum (Oelofsen, 1980), a shallow-water mesosauroid (McRae, 1999). Mesosaurus itself preferred deeper water, and its thickened vertebrae and ribs were well adapted to the deeper seawater. The thickened endoskeleton of Mesosaurus acted like a diver's belt to counteract its natural buoyancy, enabling the animal to dive and feed without effort at depth, perhaps even close to the seabed.

Some rare finds of remains of the amphibian order Temnospondyli, the oldest true amphibians in southern Africa, were made in the Ecca Group, but palaeontologists have not as yet been able to classify a find made in Namibia as belonging to a specific genus (Ledendecker, 1992). Temnospondyls first appeared in waters of the Early Carboniferous some 350 million years ago and developed into a number of terrestrial forms over the next 120 million years. The rise of the terrestrial reptiles, however, brought with it increased competition for land, and the temnospondyls were forced back into the water. They are the ancestors of the modern frogs and resembled present-day salamanders, and their sharp and numerous teeth suggest that they were predators preying on insects and fish.

The bony fish are represented by the subclass Actinopterygii, order Palaeoniscidae, while the cartilaginous fish belong to the subclass Elasmobranchii. Almost all finds of palaeoniscoid fish in the Ecca Group are of the species Watsonichthys lotzi, already known from Dwyka times. The subclass Elasmobranchii represents the sharks and rays, which evolved from a common ancestor during the early Devonian and have changed very little over time. Consequently, the sharks of the Ecca Group looked very similar to modern sharks, but they were only half the size and had a blunter snout. They had two types of teeth - the pointed teeth at the front of the mouth were used to seize the prey, while the blunt teeth at the back served to crush fish bones and the hard shells of bottom-dwelling snails and shellfish (Palmer, 1999).

The diet of the sharks and palaeoniscoids, and perhaps even Mesosaurus, included Notocaris tapscotti, a small bottom-dwelling crustacean, an animal related to the crabs and the shrimps. This creature had a tail very similar to that of a modern crab and is often preserved with the tail curled in under the body. Its presence in the Irati shale of Brazil is further proof of continental drift. Aphanaia haibensis, Palaeomutela tanganyikensis and Terrain, altissima are molluscs that lived during Ecca times. Palaeomutela tanganyikensis is a freshwater mussel, and Terraia altissima is indicative of shallow water and preferred a fine-grained substrate to burrow in. The environment in which these bivalves thrived can therefore be described as shallow freshwater with a slow but regular sediment input, as would be found in the delta area of a river flowing into a lake.

A large variety of trace fossils produced by shrimp-like crustaceans such as Notocaris tapscotti, worms and fish also exists (Oelofsen, 1980), while stromatolites are abundant in shallow-water sediments of the Ecca Formation in Namibia.

On land, plant life diversified tremendously as the environment became more inviting after the end of the ice age. It is therefore not surprising that petrified wood is very common in rocks of the Ecca Formation, and many sites exist in Namibia. In the Ecca Formation of the main Karoo Basin, the fossilised wood is accompanied by leaves of glossopterids, lycopods, ferns, horsetails and conifers. In Namibia, very few plant remains other than fossilised wood have been found, but the presence of some fossil spores indicates that the Ecca flora was also quite diversified here.

The "Petrified Forest", a proclaimed National Monument 45 km west of Khorixas, is the biggest accumulation of large petrified logs in southern Africa. The logs, which are in an excellent state of preservation, occur at the base of the Ecca Group and were deposited in an ancient river channel. Recent erosion has exposed many of the logs and also several smaller pieces. The larger logs are up to 1.2 m in diameter and at least two trunks are exposed for their full length of 45 m. Although the trunks have broken up into sections of 2 m and shorter, the individual segments are still in place, revealing that they were straight and tapered gradually. Several hundred logs are partly or completely exposed, and it appears that they must have drifted into their present position in the old river sediments. Such a drift, for example during a heavy flood event, and the associated rapid deposition and burial, explains the concentration of such large quantities and the good state of preservation of the fossilised wood.

The wood has been silicified and agatised, except for some parts which are filled with calcite. Its colour varies from brown with white streaks to red with light-coloured streaks, with some white pieces also occurring. The presence of annual growth rings of varying thicknesses suggests that the trees grew in a seasonal climate with pronounced rainfall variation. Cell structures are well preserved.

The petrified wood at the site belongs to seven different species of the collective type Dadoxylon arberi Seward (Krausel, 1928; 1956), a conifer belonging to the now extinct order Cordaitales of the Gymnospermopsida class. This woody plant formed a tree with many branches and simple, needle-like leaves. The simple pollen cones were not more than a few centimetres in length. The root system is believed to have been shallow and extending laterally for several metres (Stewart & Rothwell, 1983).

Other fossil woods found in Namibia belong to the genera Paracalamites, Taxopitys, Solenoxylon, Lobatoxylon, Megaporoxylon, Kaokoxylon, Medullopitys, Phyllocladopitys and Abietopitys, all members of the class Gymnospermopsida, and form part of the Glossopteris flora (Pickford & Senut, 2002). Glossopteris, already known from the Dwyka period, was the most abundant plant group throughout Gondwanaland in the Permian, and Glossopteris leaves have been found embedded in the rocks of the Ecca Group in various places. Furthermore, a single leaf fragment believed to have originated from a fern-like plant has been recovered. The large tree Lepidodendron also occurred (Anderson & McLachlan, 1976; Ledendecker, 1992).

Although the evolution of land-based arthropods from their water-dwelling ancestors had al-ready commenced during the Devonian, the earliest Namibian representatives were found in rocks of the Whitehill Formation, which are some 100 million years younger, when isolated and as yet unidentified insect wings were recovered (Oelofsen, 1980). Insects belong to the phylum of the arthropods, a word which means "jointed foot". Arthropods are an extremely varied group of animals, and with more than one million described species, they can be considered the most successful phylum on Earth. They all have jointed legs, a segmented body and an outer skeleton which serves as an armour. Because they are usually very delicate, preservation in the fossil record is not common. It is generally believed that insects first took to the air in the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous, since it is from rocks of that time that abundant insect wings have been recovered, for example from the South African coal seams.

The earliest known insects lived in swampy forests, and their larvae probably developed from eggs laid in water. At some point, they must have ventured out of the water by crawling up plant stems to feed on plant material above the water. The next step on the path to flight, however, remains a matter of speculation; the insects may have needed to take to the air to escape predators, or simply found it necessary to increase their feeding range as competition for the available food resources increased. Over time, certain body parts initially used for locomotion in water adapted to allow movement in the air and enable the creature to overcome gravity, and these eventually evolved into wings (Cowen, 1995). This makes insects the first animals to conquer the air. They are also the only flying creatures to have evolved flapping flight without sacrificing limbs to form wings, as is the case with the much later birds. Insects have thus lost little of their ability to move on the ground. After the water and the land, the air had been conquered!


Content:

Introduction
What are Fossils?
How are Fossils Preserved and Classified?
The Study of Fossils and the Geological Time Scale
Fossils and the Theory of Evolution
The Geology of Namibia
The History of Palaeontological Research in Namibia
The Significance of Namibian Fossils
The Oldest Fossils
Early Life in the Otavi Group
Life Grows Up
The Fossils of the Nama Group
A Palaeontological Wonderland
The Karoo Sequence
Life in an Ice Age
The Dwyka Formation
Conquering the Land and the Air
The Ecca Group
Connecting Namibia and Brazil
The Permian Lake Gai-As
Tomorrow is Another World
The Omingonde Formation
The Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs
The Etjo Formation
The End ofGondwanaland and Beginning of Africa
The Cretaceous Period
Living on the Edge
The Twyfelfontein Formation
Remnant of a Young Atlantic Ocean
The Bogenfels Area
The First Flowering Plants
Gross Brukkaros
Where are all the Dinosaurs?
The Age of Mammals and Flowering Plants
The Cenozoic
Marine Affluence
The Tropical Sea of the Eocene
Diamond Beaches
Creating Wealth for Namibia since the Early Miocene
Rivers in the Desert
The Early Miocene of the Northern Sperrgebiet
A Land of Plenty
Miocene Life on the Banks of the Mighty Orange River
Elephant Country
The Early Miocene at Auchas
A Garden of Eden
The Middle Miocene at Arrisdrift
Forerunner of the Modern Namib Desert
The Tsondab Sandstone Formation
Palaeontological Treasures found in Caves
The Namibian Karst Deposits
The Hominoids Emerge
The Middle Miocene of Berg Aukas
Towards Mammal Diversification
The Late Miocene of the Otavi Mountainland
Influenced by the Great Ice Age
Namibia in the Pliocene and Pleistocene
Shaping Today's World
From Pleistocene to Holocene
Glossary
References
Index


Please note the rich index:

aardvark 108, 109, 116
Abietopitys 42
acacia 140
Accipitridae 102,705
Acomys 137, 140
Actinopterygian 27,43,63
Actinopterygii 40
Aepyomis 89, 90, 114, 116, 118, 119
aepyomithoid 89, 116
Aethomys 138, 140
Africanictis hyaenoides 107, 108, 109
Africanictis meini 106, 108, 109
Afromaslodon coppensi 106, 108, 109, 759
Agnatha 27
Alcelaphini 141,742
algae 15, 18,24,32,38,43
algae, blue-green 15,32
Alopecias 81, 83
Alopecias smithwoodwardi 80
Amanuensis pickfordi 102, 103, 704
Ammobaculites 27, 31
Ammodiscus 27, 31
Ammonid 77
ammonite 66,72
ammonoid 27
Amphechinus 108
Amphechinus rusingensis 107, 108
amphibian 27, 35, 38,40,46, 54
Amphicyon giganteus 107, 108, 109
Amphishaenia 103, /05
angiosperm xii, 8, 67, 70, 77, 72
ant 113
antelope 89,92, 108,112,132
Anthracothehdae 97
Anthropoidea 128
Antidorcas 141, 142
ape 122,123,126
Aphanaia haibensis 37, 40
Apodecter 126, 128
Apodecter stromeri 90, 92
arachnid 63
araucaria 67
Araucarioxylon 46
Area 76, 79, 82
Area koerti 76
Area reuningi 76
Archaeichnium 22
Archimediella schettleri 76, 77, 79
archosaur 54
Argohuccmum argus 87, 87
arthropod 42,63
Atherstonia 43, 45,47
Ano-ia 77, 79, 82
Aturia lotti xi, 77
Ausia fenestrata 19,22
Australogomys hendeyi 106, 108, 109
Australogomys inexpectatus 89, 91
Australopithecine 123
Australopithecus 123, 126
B
baboon 123,138
bacteria 26
Balanus asteroides 77, 79
barbel 83
bamacle 77
barracuda 83
bat 108,126,128,134,141
bat, horseshoe 126,128,134
bat, slit-faced 134
bat, tomb 126
Bathyergidae 108,128
Bathyergoides neotertiarius 91,92,115,116
bauriamorph 53
Beaconites 46, 46
bear 108
bear-dog 108, 109
beetle 113
belemnite 72
bird 27, 42, 54, 56, 57, 72, 74, 89, 96, 102,
103,116, 118, 120
Bitis 103,705
bivalve 27,34,40,43,72,74,76, 77, 84, 87
Blennidae 83
blenny 83
bovid 774,116, 120,128,133, 141
brachiopod 26,77, 87
Brachyodus aequatorialis 96, 97, 98
Brachyphyllum 67, 70
Brachypotherium heimelini 91, 91
Brachyuridarum 77, 79
Brachyuromys 131, 132
bream, sea 83
Bryophyta 33
bryozoan 76
Buccinidae 77
Buchhokhrunnichnus kroeneri 22
Bullia digitalis 86, 87
Bullia laevissima 86, 87
Bullia magna 85, 87
Bullinella convoluta 76, 77, 79
Bunolagus 136, 140
Bumupena anglicana 86, 87
Bumupena lagenaria 85, 86, 87
Bumupena limhosa 85, 86, 87
Bumupena porcata 85, 87
Burseracea 96
Burseroxylon africanum 96
bushbaby 123
bustard 103
C
Calianassa 77, 79
Calianassa erecta 77
Calianassa fraasi 77
cane rat 96
caracal 109
Carcharias 80, 83
Carcharias frequens 80
Carcharias quartus 80
Carcharidae 83
cat 97,109
cat, wild 96
cephalopod 27,66, 76,77
Ceratosauria 57, 59,67
Cercopithecidae 128,7^7,138
Cestracion vincenti 78, 80, 83
Chamelea krigei 85, 87
Charadriformes 102, 103, 706
cheetah 97
chelonian 115, 116
chevrotain, water 92
Chilotheridium pattersoni 704, 108, 109
chimaera 27
chimpanzee 123
Chiroptera 134, 141,74.?
Chondrichthyes 27
Chrysophrys blanckenhomi 79, 83
cirriped 77
clam 76
cloport 116
Cloudina 20,22,24
Cloudina hartmannae 22
Cloudina riemkeae 22
club moss 33
cobra 103
Coelenterata 77
Coelops 126, 128, 131, 134, 135
Colubridae 103, /04
Combretacea 96
Combretoxylon namaensis 96
Combretum 90,92
conifer 33, 34,40, 42,46, 54, 60, 67
Conopeum lamellosum 76, 78
Conophyton 8, 15, 76
Conularia 26, 29
ConiM 84,84
coral 22, 24, 26, 76, 77, 80
Cordaitales 42,46
Cordaites 33
cormorant 92
crab 40, 77
crane 103
Crassostrea 76, 79
Crassostrea afra 76
Crassostrea cymbaeformis 76
Crassostrea roncana tenuis 76
Crassostrea rutriformis 76
Creodonta 89, 108
Crepidula hepatica 86, 87
Cricetidae /24, 126,7J7,140
Cricetomyidae 737,140
crinoid 27,29
Crocidura 134, 137
crocodile 57,96,102,103
crocodile, Nile 96,103
crocodilian 54
Crocodylus gariepensis 8, 96, 98, 103, 103,
105, 111
crustacean 26, 38,40, 76, 77
Cryptomys 138, 138
cyanobacteria 15
cycad 33,46,54,60
cycadeoid 60
Cyclomedusa davidi 19, 20
Cylindracanthus rectus 79, 83
cynodont 53,54,57
Cynognathus 49, 50, 54
D
Daboia 103, 705
Dadoxylon 34, 39
Dadoxylon arberi Seward 40, 41,42
Daimonhelix 113, 777
Dakkamyoides 126, 132, 140
dassie seeHyrax
dassierat 126, 140
Deinotherium hobleyi 96, 97, 98, 700, 704,
108, 109
Delanamys 140
Democricetodon 126
Dendromuridae 132,140
Dendromus 129, 132, 732, 137, 140
Desmodillus 137, 140
Diademodon 51, 54, 55
Diamantofelis 96, 97, 99, 707
Diamantofelis ferox 108, 109
Diamantohyus africanus 90, 92
Diamantomys 90, 96
Diamantomys luederity 92, 96, 98
Diamanlopora loKi 78, 80
Diamantomis US, 116
Diamantomis corbetti 116, 117, 118, //S,
//9
Diamantomis laini 118, 119
Diamantomis spaggiarii 116,/7 7, 118, //9
Diamantomis wardi 118, //S, //9
Diceros australis 106, 108, 109, ///
Dicynodontia 53
Dinopithecus 136, 138, 139
dinosaur 54,56,57,60,63,66,67, 72, 146
dinosaur footprints 14, 57,60,60,61
Diodora elevata 86, 87
Diplochaetetes longitubus 77, 78, 82
dog 108
Dolichuranus primaevus 51,53
Donax haughtoni 87, 88
Donas, rogersi 87, 88
Donax serra 87, 87
Dorcasia 89, 91
Dorcatherium pigotti 107, 108, 112
Dorcatherium songhorensis 90, 92
dormouse 132, 138
duck 92, 96
duiker 112
Dyscritella sprinigera 27, 28
E
Echinodennata 27
Ediacaran fossils 18, 19,22
Elasmobranchii 37,40
elephant 89,92,96,97,108,109,116
elephant, African 92
elephant, Indian 92
Elonichthys 30, 32, 32
Eosianites 27, 28
Eaygodon morotoensis xii, 90, 92, 96, 97,
99, 100, 101
Equisetites 67, 71
Eremitalpa 113, 114
Erinaceidae 91, 92, 125, 126
Eriopoidea 5/, 54
Ernietta plateauensis 19,20,23
Erymnochelys 96, 99, 103, 704
Erythrosuchus africanus iv, 8, 51, 54, 55
eukaryote 18, 19
Eurydesma 34
Eurydesma mytiloldes 27, 28, 31
Exogyra columba 66, 68, 69
Exogyra scheibei 76, 79
F
Fasciolaria lugubris 87, 87
Felidae 97, 109
feline 109
Felispardus 139, 140
fern 33,40,42,46,54,67
Filicopsida 33
fish 26,27,30,35,40,43,46,54,76,77,80,
83,92,96, 102, 103
fish,bony 35,40,72
fish, cartilaginous 40
fish, jawed 27
fish, lobe-finned 27,35
fish, ray-finned 27,30
Fisurella robusta 87, 87, 88
flamingo 92
Foraminifera 26, 27, 83
fossil wood 12
frog 35,40,89, 126
fungus 113
Galagidae 128, 130
Galeocerdo 80, S/, 83
Galeocerdo latidens SO
Galeus 80, 81, 83
Galeus porrectus 80
Galeus robustus 80
Gastrana abildgaariana 85, 87
gastropod 27, 66, 74, 76, 77, 84, 87, 89, 96,
103,113,116, 134
genet 109
Geofossor corvinusae 106, 108
gerbil 138, 140
Gerbillurus 137, 138
giraffe 92, 140
giraffoid 108,112,116
Glomospira 27
glossopterid 40
Glossopteridales 46
Glossopteris 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 42,
46,54
gnathostome 27
Gomphotheres 116
omphotheriidae 97
Gomphotherium 96, 97, 98, 114
goniatite 27
gorilla 123
Gramella crassimarginata 76, 78
Grammomys 137, 140
Graphiurus 137, 138
gymnospenn 34,67, 72
Gymnospermopsida 33,42
Gyrolithus 113, 114, 117
H
Hagenetta aarensis 21,24
hamster 108, 126, 132, 140
Harasibomys petteri 129, 132
hare 140
Harimyscus hoali 729,132
hartebeest 141
hawk 102,120
hedgehog 89,92,108,126,128
Heligmotoma clavaeforme 76, 77, 78
Herpetogale marsupialis 51, 53, 55
Heterohyrax auricampensis 130, 132, 133
Heteroxerus karsticus 129, 130, 132
hexacoral 80
hippopotamoid 109
hippopotamus 92,96,97, 103
Hipposideros 125, 126, 128, 128, 134, 135
Hodotermes 113, //5, 117
Homininae 123
hominine 123, 126
hominoid 72, 122, 123, 126
Homo 123,141,144,146
Homo erectus 141,144
Homo habilis 141
Homo heidelbergensis 141
Homosapiens 5,74,122,123,141,143,144,
144, 145, 146
horsetail 33,40, 67
human 72, 122, 123, 126, 141, 146
hyaena 109
Hyainailourus sulzeri 107, 108
Hydrozoa 80
Hyperammina 27, 31
Hypsilophodontidae 63,65
hyracoid 120, 132
Hyracoidea 140
hyrax(dassie) 89,92,96,108,109,126,128,
132, 140,141
hyrax, rock 92
Idiomithidae 103
insect 40, 42, 63, 67, 74, 89, 92, 113, 116,
126
Isurus 80, 81, 83
jellyfish 18,19,22,77,80
Kannemeyeria xii, 50, 53, 54, 55
Kaokoxylon 42
Karbarseromys 132
Kraussina rubra 87
kudu 140,141
Kuibisia glabra 19, 20
L
Labridae 83
Labrodon stromeri 78, 83
Lacertilia 114, 116,116
lagomorph 109, 140
Lagomorpha 89,109
Lamellibranchiata 76
Lamna bamitzkei 80, 81
Lamna vincenti 80, 81
Lamnidae 83
Ledarangei 76, 79
Leinzia similis 43, 45,46, 47
lemur 122, 123
Lepidodendron 42
Lepus 136, 140
Leucorchestris arenicola 113,114
lichen 109
Lingula 77, 78
Litharaea 11, 78, 80
Lithodomus beetii 76, 78
lizard 35, 38, 56, 92, 103, 116, 126
lizard, monitor 103
Lobatoxylon 42
lobster 77
Lutraria capensis 87
lycopod 40
Lycopsida 33
Lymnaea 89, 91
mackerel 83
Macrocallista lilacina 85, 87
Macroscelidea 775, 116, 724, 126
Macroscelididae 108, 126, 128, 130, 134,
137, 141,142
Mactra glabrata 85, 87
Mactra tumida 76,78, 82
magnolia 67
Malacostracans 77
Malacothrix 137, 140
mammal 27, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60, 72,
74, 89, 96, 97, 103, 108, 109, 112, 113,
116, 120, 122,123,126,128,134, 141
Man, Neanderthal 144
Man, Orange River 144, 745
Man, Otjiseva 144, 745
Marattiaceae 67
Marginella capensis 85, 87
marsupial 122
Massospondylus 57, 5S, 59
mastodon 92,97
Mastomys 137, 140
Medullopitys 42
meerkat 53
Megachiroptera 128, 7.? 7
Megaderma 725, 126
Megapedetes 96, 99, 725, 126, 132
Megapedetes gariepensis 107, 108
Megapedetes pickfordi 107, 108
Megaporoxylon 42
Megaporoxylon scheru 34
Megatabennus scutellum 87
Melanosauridae 57
Melongena cornuta patuloidea 76, 77, 7S
Mesochersus orangeus 103, 704
Mesosaurus 12,13,38
Mesosaurus tenuidens xii, 37, 38, 39,40
Metapterodon kaiseri 89, 59
Metapterodon stromeri 89, 59
metazoan 18,22,24,25
Micaelamys 140
Microchiroptera 126
Milleporida 80
Milleporidium kaiseri 78, 80, 52
Mioharimys milleri 131,] 33
Mioharimys schneideri 132, /J.?
Miorhynchocyon gariepensis 106, 108
mole 92, 108, 116
mole, dune 113
mole, golden 108, 113
mole rat 108, 138
mollusc 40,76, 77
Molossidae 126, 128, 128, 134, 135
Monasteridae 27,29
mongoose 109
monkey 122,123
monkey, colobus 128
monkey. New World 123,128
monkey. Old World 123,128,138
monkey, vervet 123
monkfish 83
moss animal 26, 27, 76
mouse 126, 128, 132,138,140
mouse, tree 132
mouse-deer 112
multituberculate 122
Murex purpuroides 85, 86, 87
Muridae /29,132,138,141
Mus 137, 140
mussel 26, 27,40
mustelid 109
Mya schweinfurthi 76, 75, 52
Myliobatidae 83
Myliobatis dixoni 78, 80, 83
Myocricetodon 126, 131, 132
Myocricetodontlne 137, 138
Myohyrax oswaldi 89, 90, 106, 108
Myonia 27, 31
Myotis 125, 126, 128, 131, 134, 135
Mystromys 132, 132, 138, 138
Mytilacea 76
Mytilus 85, 86, 87
Mytilus crenatus 87
Mytilus tomlini 87
N
Naja 103, 104
Nakalimys 129, 132
Nakalimys lavocati 132
Namacalathus hermanastes 21,11, 24
Namacerus gariepensis 107, 108, 112
Namachoerus moruoroti 106, 108, 109
Namafelis minor 107, 108, 109
Namaichthys 29, 43, 44, 47
Namaichthys schroederi 30, 32
Namalia villersiensis 19, 22
Namapoikia rietoogensis 24, 24
Namibchersus namaquensis 89, 91, 93, 96,
99,103, 104
Namibiavis senutae 102, 103, 104
Namibictis senuti 105, 108, 109
Namibimys angustidens 729,132
Namibiomeryx senuti 92, 92
Namornis oshanai 115, 116, 118, 119
Nasepia altae 19, 20
Nassarius babylonicus 86, 87
Nassarius plicatellus 85, 87
Warica exilis 76, 77, 75
nautiloid 27, 77
Nautilus 27, 66, 77
Neanderthal Man 144
Nemiana polij 19,22
Nguruwe kijivium 106, 108, 109
Nguruwe namibensis 91,91
Notidanus serratissimus 78, 80, 83
Notocaris tapscotti 36, 40
Notocricetodon 126
Nuculidae 76
Nycteris 134, J35
0
Ocinebra dietrichi 76, 77, 75
octopus 66
Odontaspis winkleri 80, 50, 83
Odontorhytis pappenheimi 78, 83
Omphalonema 11, 31
oncolite 15, 17
Ophidea 7/5,116
orang-utan 123
Orange River Man 144, 145
Orangemeryx hendeyi 105, 108, 1)2, 112
Orangictis gariepensis 107, 108, 109
ornithischian 56,63
omithopod 63
Orthoceras 27,25
Orthogonium parallelum 19, 19
Orycteropus minutus 107,108,109,115,116
Osmundaceae 67
Osteichthyes 27
Ostrea atherstoni 85, 87
Ostrea prismatica 85, 87
Ostrea subradiosa 76, 79
Ostreacea 76
ostrich 89,116,118, 140
Otaviglis daamsi 129, 132
Otavipithecus namibiensis i, 122, /22, 123,
124, 126, 727
Otididae 102, 103, 104
OtjisevaMan 144,745
Otomys 138, 140, 141, 742
owl 103,120
owl, barn 120
Oxypristisferinus 78, 80, 83
Oxyrhina 80,57,83
Oxyrhina desori praevursor 80
oyster 66, 80
P
Pachygenelus 57, 55, 60
Palaeomutela tanganyikensis 37, 40
Palaeoniscidae 40
palaeoniscoid 27, 30,40,43
Palaeophycus 46, 46, 57
Paleyoldia 11,31
Paphia corrugata 87
Paphia deshayesi 87
Paracalamites 36,41
Paracryptomys mackennae 90, 92
Paramedusium africanum 19,27
Paranarrhichas damesi 79, 83
Parapedetes namaquensis 91,91, 115, 116
Paraphiomys australis 128,729
Paraphiomys orangeus 106, 108
Paraphiomys roessneri 128, 729
Parapliohyrax 125, 126
Paraulacodus 128
Paraulacodus johanesi 132
Parotomys 138, 140
Pate/to argenvillei 85, 86, 87, 55
/'ate/to barbara 86, 87, 5S
/'ate/to cochlear 86, 87, 55
/'ate/to compressa 86, 87, 55
Pate/to granatina 85, 86, 87, 55
Pate/to granularis 85, 56, 87, 55
Pate/to oculus 55, 56, 87, 55
Pate/to umbella 56, 87, 55
pelicosaur 49
Pelomedusa 103, 704
perch 102
Perciformes 102, 702
Percrocuta 109
Pcma 76, 79
Peruvispira vipersdorfensis 27, 31
petrified forest 14, 34,40,47,42
Petromus 138, 140
Petromyscinae 126
Petromyscus 132, 137, 138
Phasianidae 102, 103
pheasant 102
Phiomyoides humilis 92, 93
Phiomys andrewsi 90, 92
Phthinyllafracta 90, 92
Phycodes pedum 21,11
Phyllocladopitys 42
phytoplankton 24
pig 89,92
Pimelodus gaudryi 78, 83
Placenticeras merenskyi 66, 66, 65, 69
plankton 24, 83
Planolites 20,11, 44, 46, 57
Plateosauridae 57
plesiosaur 72
plover 103
Podocarpoxylon 46
Podocnemididae 96,103
pollen 26
polyp 24, 80
Pomonomys dubius 90, 92
porcupine 92
Praeanthropus 123, 141
Praomys 140
primate 112, 122, 123, 128, 138
Proboscidea 92
Procavia capensis 136, 140,141,74J
Prochrysochloris miocaenicus 106, 108
Proconsul 123, 126
Progomphotherium maraisi 96, 97, 99
Proheliophobius 128, 131
Prohyraxhendeyi 96,95, 705,108,109, 777
Prohyrax tertiarius 97,92
prokaryote 15, 18, 19
Propalaeoryx austroafricanus 92, 92, 93
prosauropod 56,57
prosimian 123,128
Protarsomys 90,92, 126
Protarsomys lavocati 106, 108
Protechiurus edmondsi 19, 22
Protenrec 91,92, 706
Protenrec butleri 108
Protocardia hillana 66, 65, 69
Prototrisauropus crassidiitus 57, 55
Protypotheroides beehi 89, 90
Psammobates 103, 704
Psammotermes 113,777
Pseudoliva 77, 79, 52
Pseudoliva leutweini 76
Pseudoliva thielei 76
Pteridinium simplex v, xii, 19, 20,27, 23
python 92, 103, 704
Python sebae 103
Quemetrisauropus princeps 57, 58
R
rabbit 89,108,109
Radiolaria 26, 31
Ranged schneiderhohni 8, 19, 21, 23
raptor 92, 120
rat 126, 132,138, 140
rat, cane 128, 132
rat, ice 140
rat, lesser cane 140
rat, veld 140
ray 27,40,83
ray, eagle 83
reptile 27, 35, 38, 40, 48, 49, 52-54, 57, 72,
96, 102,113,116
Rhabdomys 137, 140
Rhaibodus rapax 80, SO, 83
rhinoceros 89,92, 96, 97, 108, 109
rhinoceros, black 109
rhinocerotid 109
Rhinocerotidae 97, 9S, 109
Rhinolophus 106, 108, 126, 128, 131, 134,
134
Rhinolophus contrarius 108
Rhinoptera rasilis 79, 80, 83
rhizolith 113,//5,/77
Rhyniopsida 33
Rocellaria 76, 79
Rocellaria clausa 76
Rocellaria sacculus 76
rodent 89,92,96,108,109,113, 116, 118,
120,126,128, 132, 138, 140, 141
Rosselia 46, 46
Saccostomus 137, 138
Sagittariidae 103
salamander 40
sand shark 113
sarcopterygians 27,35
saurischian 56
sauropod 56
sawfish 83
Schiwporella latisinuata 76, 78
Sciuridae 725, 126, 130, 132
Scombridae 83
Sconsia 76, 77, 78
Sculptaria 134
sea anemone 22,77
sea cucumber 19
sea lily 27
sea urchin 27
secretary bird 103
shark 27,30,40,80,83,102, 702
shark, angel 83
shark, bullhead 83
shark, cow 83
shark, great white 83
shark, mackerel 83
shark, sand 83
shellfish 26,40
shrew 122,128,134
shrew, elephant 89,108,116,126,128,134,
141
shrimp 40,77
skate 27
Skolithos 46, 46, 63, 64
snail 26, 27,40
snake 103,116,126
snake, colubrid 92
Soethyra 113, 114, 117
Solen capensis 86, 87
Solenoxylon 42
Soricidae 128, 729, 130
Sparidae 83
Sperrgebietomeryx wardi 90,92, 93
Sphenopsida 33
Sphyraenodus hastatus 79, 83
spider 113
spider, buck spoor 113
spider, White Lady 113
Spiroplectammina 27, 31
Spisula demburgi 76, 78
sponge 22,24, 26, 27, 31
springbok 140, 141
springhare 92,96, 108, 116, 126, 132
Squatina prima 79,80,83
squid 27
squirrel 126, 132
squirrel, ground 108, 126, 132
squirrel, tree 132
starfish 26, 27
Steatomys 126, 132, 137, 140
steenbok 112,116,132
steenbras 83
Stenodontomys 132, 138
Stereospondyli 44,46
Stereostemum tumidum 38
Streptosiphon 77, 79
Streptosiphon klinghardti 76
Streptosiphon lotzi 76
Streptosiphon piriformis 76
Strigiformes 102,103, 707
stromatolite xii, 8, 15, 77, 18,23, 24,40,43
Stromatoporida 80
Struthio camelus 118, 779, 140, 740
Struthio coppensi 89, 90
Struthio daberasensis 118,779, 140
Struthio karingarabensis 119, 140
suid 108, 109
Swartpuntia 19, 27, 22
swordfish 83
Syntarsus 57, 58, 61
T
Tadarida 124, 126
Taenidium 21, IT,
Taphowus 124, 126
tarsier 123
Tatera 137, 138, 141
Taxopitys 42
teleost 27, 80, 83,102
Tellina oppenheimi 76, 79
Tellina rosea 85, 87
Temnospondyli 37,40,46,54
Tenagodes 76, 77
Tenrecidae 108, 126, 128
Tenrecoidae 89, 725, 130
Terminalia 97,92
Terminalioxylon crystallinum 96
Terminalioxylon orangensis 96
termite 109, 113, 116
termite, mound 113
termite, sand 113
Termitichnus 113,775
Temania 116
Terrain altissima 37, 40
terrapin 96
Testudinidae 96, 103
tetrapod 35, 38,46, 54
Thais cingulata 87
Thais praecingulata 87, 87
Thais squamosa. 87
Thallomys 138, 140
Thaumatostroma elliptica 78, 80
Thaumatostroma verrucosum 78, 80
thecodont 54,56
therapsid 49,53, 54, 56, 63
Therapsida 49
Therocephalia 53
theropod 56,57
Thryonomys 138, 140
Tomichia 89,97
tortoise 53, 89,96, 102, 103, 116
Tracheophyta 33
Tragelaphus strepsiceros 141,742
tragulid 108, 112
Triceratops 60
Trigonephrus viii, 89, 97, 775, 116, 777
Trirachodon 50, 54
Tritylodon 57, 59, 60
tuna 83
Turbo cidaris 85, 87
Turricula excelsa 76, 77,78
Turritella 68,76, 79, 82, 84, 84, 85
Turritella atlantica 76
Turritella atlantica disjuncta 76
Turritella bijugata diminuta 76, 77
Turritella bonei 66, 69
Turritella capensis 87
Turritella carinifera 87
Turritella kaiseri 76
Turritella knysnaensis 87
Turritella meadi 66, 68, 69
Turritella merenskyi 76
Tumtellidae 77
turtle 103
Tyrannosaurus rex 60,72
v
varane 103
Varanus 103, 704
Velancorina martinet 19, 20
vendozoan 18
Venus verrucosa 85, 87, 88
Vespertilionidae 725,126,128,131,134,734
Vexillum lindequisti 76, 77, 79
viper 103
viper, oriental 103
viverrid 109
Viverridae 109
Valuta 76,77, 79
Vulcanisciurus 126, 132
W
Watsonichthys lotzi 8,28,30, 37,40
weasel 109
Welwitschia mirabilis 34
wood louse 116
worm 22,24,26,40, 63, 80
wrass 83
X
Xenopus stromeri 89, 90
Xerini 105, 108
Xerocerastus 116, 134, 740
Y
Ysengrinia ginsburgi 107, 108, 109
Z
Zeiotomys 138, 140
Zosterophytes 33