South African Lagerstätte reveals middle Permian Gondwanan lakeshore ecosystem in exquisite detail
- Prevec, Rosemary, Nel, André, O.Day, Michael, Muir, Robert, Matiwane, Aviwe, Kirkaldy, Abigail P, Moyo, Sydney, Staniczek, Arnold, Cariglino, Bárbara, Maseko, Zolile, Kom, Nokuthula, Rubidge, Bruce S, Garrouste, Romain, Holland, Alexandra J, Barber-James, Helen M
- Authors: Prevec, Rosemary , Nel, André , O.Day, Michael , Muir, Robert , Matiwane, Aviwe , Kirkaldy, Abigail P , Moyo, Sydney , Staniczek, Arnold , Cariglino, Bárbara , Maseko, Zolile , Kom, Nokuthula , Rubidge, Bruce S , Garrouste, Romain , Holland, Alexandra J , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426673 , vital:72378 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04132-y"
- Description: Continental ecosystems of the middle Permian Period (273–259 million years ago) are poorly understood. In South Africa, the vertebrate fossil record is well documented for this time interval, but the plants and insects are virtually unknown, and are rare globally. This scarcity of data has hampered studies of the evolution and diversification of life, and has precluded detailed reconstructions and analyses of ecosystems of this critical period in Earth’s history. Here we introduce a new locality in the southern Karoo Basin that is producing exceptionally well-preserved and abundant fossils of novel freshwater and terrestrial insects, arachnids, and plants. Within a robust regional geochronological, geological and biostratigraphic context, this Konservat- and Konzentrat-Lagerstätte offers a unique opportunity for the study and reconstruction of a southern Gondwanan deltaic ecosystem that thrived 266–268 million years ago, and will serve as a high-resolution ecological baseline towards a better understanding of Permian extinction events.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Prevec, Rosemary , Nel, André , O.Day, Michael , Muir, Robert , Matiwane, Aviwe , Kirkaldy, Abigail P , Moyo, Sydney , Staniczek, Arnold , Cariglino, Bárbara , Maseko, Zolile , Kom, Nokuthula , Rubidge, Bruce S , Garrouste, Romain , Holland, Alexandra J , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2022
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426673 , vital:72378 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04132-y"
- Description: Continental ecosystems of the middle Permian Period (273–259 million years ago) are poorly understood. In South Africa, the vertebrate fossil record is well documented for this time interval, but the plants and insects are virtually unknown, and are rare globally. This scarcity of data has hampered studies of the evolution and diversification of life, and has precluded detailed reconstructions and analyses of ecosystems of this critical period in Earth’s history. Here we introduce a new locality in the southern Karoo Basin that is producing exceptionally well-preserved and abundant fossils of novel freshwater and terrestrial insects, arachnids, and plants. Within a robust regional geochronological, geological and biostratigraphic context, this Konservat- and Konzentrat-Lagerstätte offers a unique opportunity for the study and reconstruction of a southern Gondwanan deltaic ecosystem that thrived 266–268 million years ago, and will serve as a high-resolution ecological baseline towards a better understanding of Permian extinction events.
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Habitat requirements affect genetic variation in three species of mayfly (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) from South Africa:
- Taylor, Chantal L, Barker, Nigel P, Barber-James, Helen M, Villet, Martin H, Pereira-da-Conceicoa, Lyndall L
- Authors: Taylor, Chantal L , Barker, Nigel P , Barber-James, Helen M , Villet, Martin H , Pereira-da-Conceicoa, Lyndall L
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149314 , vital:38824 , https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.936.38587
- Description: This study investigates genetic diversity in three species of Ephemeroptera, one eurytopic and therefore widespread (Afroptilum sudafricanum) and two stenotopic and thus endemic (Demoreptus natalensis and Demoreptus capensis) species, all of which co-occur in the southern Great Escarpment, South Africa. Mitochondrial DNA was analysed to compare the genetic diversity between the habitat generalist and the two habitat specialists. Afroptilum sudafricanum showed no indication of population genetic structure due to geographic location, while both Demoreptus species revealed clear genetic differentiation between geographic localities and catchments, evident from phylogenetic analyses and high FST values from AMOVA.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Taylor, Chantal L , Barker, Nigel P , Barber-James, Helen M , Villet, Martin H , Pereira-da-Conceicoa, Lyndall L
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149314 , vital:38824 , https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.936.38587
- Description: This study investigates genetic diversity in three species of Ephemeroptera, one eurytopic and therefore widespread (Afroptilum sudafricanum) and two stenotopic and thus endemic (Demoreptus natalensis and Demoreptus capensis) species, all of which co-occur in the southern Great Escarpment, South Africa. Mitochondrial DNA was analysed to compare the genetic diversity between the habitat generalist and the two habitat specialists. Afroptilum sudafricanum showed no indication of population genetic structure due to geographic location, while both Demoreptus species revealed clear genetic differentiation between geographic localities and catchments, evident from phylogenetic analyses and high FST values from AMOVA.
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Two new Caenis Species (Insecta: Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Kruger National Park, South Africa:
- Malzacher, P, Barber-James, Helen M
- Authors: Malzacher, P , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150256 , vital:38954 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.4001/003.028.0062
- Description: The new mayfly species Caenis albicans sp. n. and Caenis letabanensis sp. n. (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, are described herein. The new species were collected in the area of the confluence of the Olifants and Letaba Rivers. They belong to the Caenis – TPA group, a group widely distributed in Africa, characterised inter alia by forceps apically having a tuft of long spines. The material examined also contained samples from the Crocodile and Sabie Rivers, with larvae and imagines of Caenis brevipes Kimmins, 1956. The previously unknown larva of this species is also described.
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- Authors: Malzacher, P , Barber-James, Helen M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150256 , vital:38954 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.4001/003.028.0062
- Description: The new mayfly species Caenis albicans sp. n. and Caenis letabanensis sp. n. (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, are described herein. The new species were collected in the area of the confluence of the Olifants and Letaba Rivers. They belong to the Caenis – TPA group, a group widely distributed in Africa, characterised inter alia by forceps apically having a tuft of long spines. The material examined also contained samples from the Crocodile and Sabie Rivers, with larvae and imagines of Caenis brevipes Kimmins, 1956. The previously unknown larva of this species is also described.
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Deeper knowledge of shallow waters: reviewing the invertebrate fauna of southern African temporary wetlands
- Bird, Matthew S, Mlambo, Musa C, Wasserman, Ryan J, Dalu, Tatenda, Holland, Alexandra J, Day, Jenny A, Villet, Martin H, Bilton, David T, Barber-James, Helen M, Brendonck, Luc
- Authors: Bird, Matthew S , Mlambo, Musa C , Wasserman, Ryan J , Dalu, Tatenda , Holland, Alexandra J , Day, Jenny A , Villet, Martin H , Bilton, David T , Barber-James, Helen M , Brendonck, Luc
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140784 , vital:37918 , DOI: 10.1007/s10750-018-3772-z
- Description: Temporary lentic wetlands are becoming increasingly recognised for their collective role in contributing to biodiversity at the landscape scale. In southern Africa, a region with a high density of such wetlands, information characterising the fauna of these systems is disparate and often obscurely published. Here we provide a collation and synthesis of published research on the aquatic invertebrate fauna inhabiting temporary lentic wetlands of the region. We expose the poor taxonomic knowledge of most groups, which makes it difficult to comment on patterns of richness and endemism.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Bird, Matthew S , Mlambo, Musa C , Wasserman, Ryan J , Dalu, Tatenda , Holland, Alexandra J , Day, Jenny A , Villet, Martin H , Bilton, David T , Barber-James, Helen M , Brendonck, Luc
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140784 , vital:37918 , DOI: 10.1007/s10750-018-3772-z
- Description: Temporary lentic wetlands are becoming increasingly recognised for their collective role in contributing to biodiversity at the landscape scale. In southern Africa, a region with a high density of such wetlands, information characterising the fauna of these systems is disparate and often obscurely published. Here we provide a collation and synthesis of published research on the aquatic invertebrate fauna inhabiting temporary lentic wetlands of the region. We expose the poor taxonomic knowledge of most groups, which makes it difficult to comment on patterns of richness and endemism.
- Full Text:
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