y2018m01b6
20180130082700
assa
nadine@assaf.org.za
assa
South African Journal of Science
S. Afr. J. Sci
1996-7489
01302018
114
1/2
Palaeoecology of giraffe tracks in Late Pleistocene aeolianites on the Cape south coast
Charles
Helm
Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre, Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7995-8809
Hayley
Cawthra
Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6101-5543
Richard
Cowling
Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3514-2685
Jan
De Vynck
Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1044-4046
Curtis
Marean
Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2670-5733
Richard
McCrea
Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre, Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1995-3103
Renee
Rust
Evolutionary Studies Institute, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0252-5436
Until now there have been no reliable historical or skeletal fossil records for the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) south of the Orange River or northern Namaqualand. The recent discovery of fossil giraffe tracks in coastal aeolianites east of Still Bay, South Africa, significantly increases the geographical range for this species, and has implications for Late Pleistocene climate and vegetation in the southern Cape. Giraffe populations have specialised needs, and require a savanna ecosystem. Marine geophysical and geological evidence suggests that the broad, currently submerged floodplains of the Gouritz and Breede Rivers likely supported a productive savanna of Vachellia karroo during Pleistocene glacial conditions, which would have provided a suitable habitat for this species. We show evidence for the hypothesis that the opening of the submerged shelf during glacial periods acted as a pathway for mammals to migrate along the southern coastal plain.
01302018
1
10.17159/sajs.2016/crossmark
sajs.co.za
false
2017-08-11
2017-10-18
2018-01-30
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
10.17159/sajs.2018/20170266
20180130082700
https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400
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https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/4335/6400