Franz-Odendaal’s (2002) research indicated that both
Grazer:
An animal that eats grasses and other ground-growing plants.
and
Browser:
An animal that eats leaves from trees, shrubs and bushes.
ungulate species showed δ
13C values which indicated that Langebaanweg was a C
3 dominated environment. As
Fynbos:
The word 'fynbos' (Afrikaans for 'fine bush') is the natural vegetation occurring in a small part of South Africa, mainly in the south-western Cape. Of the world's six floral kingdoms, this is the smallest and also the richest. We have more different plant species on Table Mountain, than there are in the whole of Britain!
and the type of grasses found at Langebaanweg all had a C
3 signature, it was impossible to tell if animals were
Grazer:
An animal that eats grasses and other ground-growing plants.
or
.
Browser:
An animal that eats leaves from trees, shrubs and bushes.
If the grasses found at Langebaanweg had been C
4 grasses it would have been easy to distinguish between grazing and browsing ungulate species as the browsers would have had a C
3 signature, and the grazers a C
4 signature, and mixed feeders something in between. This is not too much of a problem however as paleontologists have another trick up their sleeves and are able to distinguish between grazers, browsers and mixed feeders by looking at the
Micro-wear:
Dental microwear is the study of the microscopic scratches and pits that form on a tooth's surface when an animal chews its food. Patterns of dental microwear on mammalian molar teeth reflect the material properties of food items eaten and provide a useful tool for investigating the diet of fossil animals.
on the teeth of the various ungulate species. (Go to
'What fossil bones and teeth can tell us')
Prior to the research done by Franz-Odendaal there was no direct evidence to indicate whether the main rainfall season at Langebaanweg was in winter (as it is today) or in summer. The fact that Langebaanweg was dominated by C
3 plants indicates that a winter rainfall pattern was established on the west coast by the
.
Mio-Pliocene:Langebaanweg is around 5 million years old and so comes in at a time sometimes referred to as the Mio-Pliocene as it is the period transitional between the Miocene (the time period from 23.5-5.3 million years ago) and the Pliocene (5.3-1.5million).
See Time Line.
Charcoal, fossil wood, seeds and pollen grains can be used to identify the type of trees and plants that grew in an area thousands or millions years ago. Pollen grains are amazingly durable, despite their tiny size, and the earliest recovered fynbos pollen from the western Cape region was found in some of the Langebaanweg sediments.
The pollen spectrum from Langebaanweg indicates a variety of environments. Swamps/marshes were certainly present in the Langebaanweg area, as indicated by the dominance of pollen (92%) from the acquatic, or semi-acquatic Ranunculaceae. The existence of coastal plains were inferred from the presence of plant families such as the Ranunculacea, Cyperaceae, Asteraceae and Umbelliferae, and areas of relative dryness by the Asteraceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Amaranthaceae. The presence of trees in the area is indicated by the presence of Podocarpus, Olea and Proteaceae pollen. Very few diagnostic elements of open vegetation were found (Scott 1995).
Table 1 shows the vegetation suggested for various areas of southern Africa, as indicated by pollen studies from fossil sites in South Africa and Nambia.
| Period |
Southern and southwestern Cape |
Namaqualand |
Interior plateau |
Marine area of Namibia off the west coast |
|
Quaternary:
The term Quaternary describes the period which includes both the Pleistocene and Holocene, that is the time period from around 1.6 million years ago to the present. Holocene: The present epoch of geological time, which began 10,000 years ago. Pleistocene: the epoch of geological time, about 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago. |
Fynbos (macchia) |
Succulent rich dwarf shrub-land or grassland |
Woodland savanna or upland grassland or moist mesic woodland |
Desert vegetation or dry grassland |
|
Pliocene:
The time period from 5.3 to 1.6 million years ago.
The Pliocene is followed by the Pleistocene. |
Fynbos |
- |
Similar to Quaternary vegetation |
Open desert or dry woodland or shrubland vegetation or dry grassland |
Mio-Pliocene: Langebaanweg is around 5 million years old and so comes in at a time sometimes referred to as the Mio-Pliocene as it is the period transitional between the Miocene (the time period from 23.5-5.3 million years ago) and the Pliocene (5.3-1.5million).
Click here for the Time Line. |
Transition from sub-tropical woodland to fynbos |
Karoid shrubland with fynbos and woodland elements |
- |
Development of desert elements like Chenopodiaceae |
Miocene: The time period from 23.5-5.3 million years ago. Langebaanweg is around 5 million years old and so comes in at a time transitional between the Miocene and Pliocene (sometimes referred to as the Mio-Pliocene). Click here for the Time Line. |
Subtropical woodland with swamps |
Subhumid subtropical woodland |
- |
- |
Table 1: Vegetation in southern Africa during the Neogene according to the Pollen data (After Scott 1995, Table 5.2, page 75)
References:
Axelrod, D. I. and Raven, P. H. 1978. Late Cretaceous and tertiary vegetation history of Africa. In Werger, M.J.A (ed.) Biogeography and ecology of Southern Africa. 79-130. The Hague: Junk.
Coetzee, J. A. 1980. Tertiary environmental changes along the south-western African coast. Palaeontologica Africana. 23:197:203.
Coetzee, J. A. and Rogers, J. 1982. Palynological and lithological eveidence for the Miocene Palaeoenvironment in the Saldhana region (South Africa). Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology. 39:71-85.
Franz-Odendaal, T. 2002. Analysis of dental pathologies in the Pliocene herbivores of Langebaanweg and their palaeoenvironmental implications. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Hendey, Q. B. 1983. Cenozoic geology and palaeoecology of the fynbos region. In Deacon, H. J., Hendey, Q.B. and Lambrechts J. J. N. (eds.) Fynbos palaeoecology: A preliminary synthesis. South African National Scientific Programmes Report no 75. 35-60. Mills Litho:Cape Town.
Matthews, T. 2004. The taphonomy and taxonomy of Mio-Pliocene and late Middle Pleistocene micromammals from the Cape west coast, South Africa. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Scott, L. 1995. Pollen evidence for vegetational and climatic change in Southern Africa during the Neogene and Quaternary. In Vrba, E. S., Denton, G. H., Partridge, T. C., and Burckle, L. H. (eds.) 65-76. Paleoclimate and evolution with emphasis on human origins. Yale:Yale University Press.
Siesser, W. G. 1980. Late Miocene origin of the Benguela upwelling system off northern Namibia. Science. 208: 283-285.
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