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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Subject: search.filters.subject.PermianSubject: search.filters.subject.Karoo Basin

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    Craniomandibular anatomy of the akidnognathid therocephalian Olivierosuchus parringtoni from the Early Triassic of South Africa
    (Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2023) Gigliotti, Alessandro; Pusch, Luisa C; Kammerer, Christian F; Benoit, Julien; Fröbisch, Jörg
    Therocephalians were an ecomorphologically varied and diverse-sized group of therapsids with widespread distribution during the late Permian and earliest Triassic periods. Here, we redescribe the holotype of the therocephalian Olivierosuchus parringtoni (BP/1/3849) from the Early Triassic Lystrosaurus declivis Assemblage Zone in the main Karoo Basin of South Africa. The specimen includes a complete skull, mandible, and the anterior portion of the skeleton. Previously unknown endocranial features are described using high-resolution computed tomography (CT), including internal surfaces of braincase and palatal bones, as well as soft tissue structures such as the brain and inner ear endocasts. Comparisons with closely related therapsids permit a detailed comparative analysis of the brain and inner ear morphology of Olivierosuchus.
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    Two unrecognised burnetiamorph specimens from historic Karoo collections
    (2016-03) Kammerer, Christian F.
    Two historical specimens from Permian rocks of the Karoo Basin represent previously unrecognised members of the rare therapsid group Burnetiamorpha. These specimens cannot be referred to any existing burnetiamorph species, but are left in open nomenclature because of their incompleteness (both are isolated skull roofs). The first specimen is from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone (AZ) and is characterized by heavily pachyostosed supraorbital bosses and a low nasal crest. The second specimen is from the Tropidostoma AZ and is generally similar to the Malawian taxon Lende, but is unique among described burnetiamorphs in having a frontoparietal ‘dome’ that surrounds the pineal foramen. Phylogenetic analysis of burnetiamorphs recovers support for a split between Proburnetia and Burnetia-like burnetiids, here named Proburnetiinae subfam. nov. and Burnetiinae Broom, 1923.
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    A structural re-interpretation and revision of the type material of the glossopterid ovuliferous fruitification Scutum from South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011-12) Prevec, Rose
    The Early Permian glossopterid fructification Scutum, described by Edna Plumstead in the 1950s from the Vereeniging locality in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, was one of the first glossopterid seed-bearing organs to be found in organic attachment to Glossopteris leaves. Examination of the type material necessitated a revision of this plant fossil genus and a re-evaluation of described South African species. Key characteristics of the genus are the broad and prominent wing, and a low receptacle length to width ratio (<2:1). Specimens of South African Scutum are currently attributed to three species, from two localities, but display intergrading morphological features that can be reasonably accommodated within a single species, S. leslii. Three-dimensional interpretation and reconstruction of impression fossils of Scutum fructifications preserved in attachment to Glossopteris leaves confirms that the seed-bearing surface of the receptacle faces the adaxial surface of the subtending leaf. The nature of the seed scars on the receptacle and their relationship to the peripheral wing of the fructifications is clarified.