A lovebird (Psittaciformes: Agapornis) from the Plio-Pleistocene Kromdraai B locality, South Africa

• Main Author: T. Stidham
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academy of Science of South Africa 2010-01-01
• Series: South African Journal of Science
• Online Access: https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/10330

The previous report of the presence of lovebirds (Agapornis) at the Plio-Pleistocene Kromdraai B fossil locality is confirmed by the identification of a humerus from Member 3. That fossil specimen differs from extant lovebird species in morphology, and its slightly smaller size indicates that it likely represents an extinct taxon. This lovebird specimen is likely from the early Pleistocene (younger than 1.95 Myr) and appears to have been deposited around the same time as the fossil hominid specimens that have been uncovered at the site. The modern preference of lovebirds for a wide variety of wooded and forested habitats adds support to the mammalian-based idea that the palaeohabitat around Kromdraai B where Australopithecus robustus lived in the early Pleistocene was a mosaic that included wooded or forested habitats.