Speaker
Dr
James Brink
(National Museum, Bloemfontein)
Description
During the Middle and Late Pleistocene the extinct Bond’s springbok, Antidorcas bondi, occurred in abundance throughout central southern Africa, from the north-eastern Karoo in the south to southern Zimbabwe in the north. It was unusually adapted to a highly specialised grazing niche, co-existing with other larger-bodied specialised grazers in a facilitating grazing system in highly productive grasslands. Unlike the semi-arid adapted modern springbok, it was associated with wetland indicators, such as hippos, waterbuck and lechwe, which today occur in the Okavango area of Botswana and in southern Zambia as a relict fauna. We record here by means of non-destructive micro-focus X-ray Tomography (µXCT), located at Necsa, a marked morphological shift in the dentitions of A. bondi from the end-Early Pleistocene to the Middle and Late Pleistocene, reflecting its adaptation to a specialised grazing niche. A distal shift in the emphasis of mastication caused a reduction of the premolar row and an increase in hypsodonty and enamel volume of the third molar.
| Submit a paper<br>for peer review<br>(SA Journal of Science)?<br>(Yes / No / Maybe) | Yes |
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Primary author
Dr
James Brink
(National Museum, Bloemfontein)
Co-authors
Mr
Jacobus Hoffman
(Necsa)
Mr
Lunga Bam
(Necsa)
Dr
frikkie.debeer@necsa.co.za De Beer
(Necsa)
