Antidorcas australis

Last updated

Antidorcas australis
Temporal range: Pleistocene - Holocene
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Tribe: Antilopini
Genus: Antidorcas
Species:
†A. australis
Binomial name
†Antidorcas australis
(Hendey, 1968) [1]

Antidorcas australis, also known as the southern springbok, is an extinct species of antelope from the Pleistocene and Holocene of South Africa. It is a close relative of the living springbok.

Contents

Taxonomy

First recovered from Mid Pleistocene deposits at Swartklip along the southern coast of South Africa, the southern springbok was originally described as (and is sometimes still considered [1] ) a subspecies of the modern springbok (as Antidorcas marsupialis australis). [2]

It was subsequently elevated to species level, as its presence at Swartkrans suggested a wide temporal and geographic distribution worthy of a valid species, and its taxonomic validity was further strengthened when remains were found together with Antidorcas recki , the presumed ancestor of modern springbok, in Early-Mid Pleistocene deposits. [3]

The genus Antidorcas evolved from an ancestral Gazella species more than 3 million years ago in East Africa and gave rise to A. australis, Antidorcas bondi , and A. recki. The southern springbok, along with A. bondi, became extinct perhaps as recently as 7,000 years ago; [4] at a minimum, fossils have been documented in the very latest Pleistocene deposits at Nelson Bay Cave (13,430 to 14,140 BP). [5]

Paleoecology

The southern springbok was associated with open-habitat species such as equids and alcelaphine antelopes. Like extant springbok, the southern springbok was probably a mixed feeder, capable of browsing dicots when grasses became unpalatable or scarce. [5]

See also

Megalotragus , another extinct African antelope from the Pleistocene-Holocene border.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springbok</span> Antelope of southwest and south Africa

The springbok or springbuck is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus Antidorcas, this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780. Three subspecies are identified. A slender, long-legged antelope, the springbok reaches 71 to 86 cm at the shoulder and weighs between 27 and 42 kg. Both sexes have a pair of black, 35-to-50 cm (14-to-20 in) long horns that curve backwards. The springbok is characterised by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light-brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper fore leg to the buttocks across the flanks like the Thomson's gazelle, and a white rump flap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelia, South Africa</span> Place in Free State, South Africa

Cornelia is a town on the R103 road in the Free State province of South Africa. In 1875 DJ Steyn bought the farm "Mooiheid", after raising sufficient funds with his hit debut album, and J.D. Odendaal bought the farm "Sugarloaf" for a sum of R2,000. They settled there in 1876. At that time it was in the Harrismith district. There were no boundary fences and wild dogs, warthogs and wildebeest were plentiful in the open grassveld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluebuck</span> Extinct species of South African antelope

The bluebuck or blue antelope is an extinct species of antelope that lived in South Africa until around 1800. It was smaller than the other two species in its genus Hippotragus, the roan antelope and sable antelope. The bluebuck was sometimes considered a subspecies of the roan antelope, but a genetic study has confirmed it as a distinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antilopinae</span> Subfamily of mammals

The antilopines are even-toed ungulates belonging to the subfamily Antilopinae of the family Bovidae. The members of tribe Antilopini are often referred to as true antelopes, and include the gazelles, blackbucks, springboks, gerenuks, dibatags, and Central Asian gazelles. True antelopes occur in much of Africa and Asia, with the highest concentration of species occurring in East Africa in Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania. The saiga inhabits Central and Western Asia, mostly in regions from the Tibetan Plateau and north of the Indian Subcontinent. The dwarf antelope species of tribe Neotragini live entirely in sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Antidorcas</i> Genus of mammals

Antidorcas is a genus of antelope that includes the living springbok and several fossil species.

<i>Makapania</i> Extinct genus of bovid mammals

Makapania is an extinct genus of large caprine or ovibovine from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of southern and East Africa. It is remarkable in that its horns were positioned laterally. Its body weight is estimated to have been about 263 kg.

Daphnella recifensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.

Pleurotomella ursula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.

Teretia acus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gondolin Cave</span> South African cave system

Gondolin Cave is a fossiliferous dolomitic paleocave system in the Northwest Province, South Africa. The paleocave formed in the Eccles Formation dolomites. Gondolin is currently the only described hominin-bearing fossil site in the Northwest Province-portion of the designated Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cave is located on privately owned land and is not accessible to the public. As is the case with other South African Paleo-cave systems with Pliocene and/or Pleistocene fossil deposits, the system was mined for lime during the early 20th century. As a result, the system has been heavily disturbed and consists of only a small active cave, a series of in situ remnant cave deposits, and extensive dumpsites of ex situ calcified sediments produced during mining activities.

Haasgat is a fossiliferous South African paleocave located in the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Area, approx. 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of the hominin-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans and approx. 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-northwest of the City of Johannesburg. It is located on private land and is not accessible by the public.

Elands Bay Cave is located near the mouth of the Verlorenvlei estuary on the Atlantic coast of South Africa's Western Cape Province. The climate has continuously become drier since the habitation of hunter-gatherers in the Later Pleistocene. The archaeological remains recovered from previous excavations at Elands Bay Cave have been studied to help answer questions regarding the relationship of people and their landscape, the role of climate change that could have determined or influenced subsistence changes, and the impact of pastoralism and agriculture on hunter-gatherer communities.

Homiphoca is an extinct genus of earless seals from the Pliocene of South Africa.

Abyssothauma psilarosis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.

Raphitoma natalensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.

William Rune Liltved is a South African malacologist and botanist.

The Bundu Farm site is a kidney shape depression of land located in the Bushmanland region of Northern Cape, South Africa. The excavations at this site during 1998-2003 had unearthed a sequence of archaeological remains including Earlier, Middle and Later Stone Age assemblages and preserved fauna. These discoveries give an insight into the occupation of the Bushmanland prehistoric people and possible connection of cultures and traditions between the central interior and the West coast of South Africa.

Antidorcas bondi, or Bond's springbok, is an extinct species of antelope whose fossils have been found in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Bolt's Farm is a palaeontological site in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Gauteng province, South Africa. With more than 30 fossil deposits dating back 4.5 Ma, it is one of the oldest sites currently discovered in the Cradle of Humankind. It consists of multiple cavities, pits, and quarries, where caves have eroded away, exposing their fossiliferous interiors. Although this site has not yet yielded the hominid fossils for which the Cradle of Humankind is known, Bolt's Farm is still an important source of fossils from various species of Early Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene fauna, including primates and big cats.

Minnaar's Cave, or simply Minnaar, is a palaeontological site located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Gauteng province, South Africa. Lost after its discovery in the 1930s, its location was rediscovered in 2009. It is known for its well-preserved jackal skulls, dating to the Plio-Pleistocene at least 2 million years ago.

References

  1. 1 2 "Antidorcas australis". Fossilworks.
  2. ↑ Hendey, Q.B.; Hendey, H. (1968). "New Quaternary fossil sites near Swartklip, Cape Province". Annals of the South African Museum. Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. 52: 43–73.
  3. ↑ Hendey, Q.B. (1974). "THE LATE CENOZOIC CARNIVORA OF THE SOUTHWESTERN CAPE PROVINCE SOUTH AFRICA". Annals of the South African Museum. Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. 63: 1–369.
  4. ↑ Cain, J.W.; Krausman, P.; Germaine, H. (December 2004). "Antidorcas marsupialis". American Society of Mammalogists.
  5. 1 2 Klein, Richard G. (June 1977). "The Mammalian Fauna from the Middle and Later Stone Age (Later Pleistocene) Levels of Border Cave, Natal Province, South Africa". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 32 (125): 14–37. doi:10.2307/3887843.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.