Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction

At the end of the Miocene epoch, C4 grasslands began to expand at the expense of tree-, shrub- and forb-dominated C3 ecosystems. While C4 grasses were spreading throughout most regions of the world, C3 grasses may have been spreading along South Africa’s southwest coast. Stable isotope analyses of h...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: L. Rossouw, D. D. Stynder, P. Haarhof
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academy of Science of South Africa 2010-01-01
Series:South African Journal of Science
Online Access:http://archive.sajs.co.za/index.php/SAJS/article/view/95
id doaj-f1147768a87a4371b5add4c107362b7b
record_format Article
spelling doaj-f1147768a87a4371b5add4c107362b7b2020-11-25T02:27:43ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science0038-23531996-74892010-01-011055/610.4102/sajs.v105i5/6.9595Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstructionL. Rossouw0D. D. Stynder1P. Haarhof2Florisbad Quaternary Research, National Museum, P.O. Box 266, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. Department of Plant Sciences, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.Cenozoic Palaeontology, Natural History Department, Iziko South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town 8000, South Africa.West Coast Fossil Park, P.O. Box 42, Langebaanweg 7375, South Africa.At the end of the Miocene epoch, C4 grasslands began to expand at the expense of tree-, shrub- and forb-dominated C3 ecosystems. While C4 grasses were spreading throughout most regions of the world, C3 grasses may have been spreading along South Africa’s southwest coast. Stable isotope analyses of hypsodont fossil ungulates from ‘E’ Quarry, a well-known Late Miocene/Early Pliocene fossil locality near the town of Langebaanweg, suggest that the local environment might have included a substantial C3 grass component. Besides this indirect evidence, little is known about the evolution, nature and importance of grass in the ‘E’ Quarry biome. As a preliminary step towards addressing these questions, we initiated a trial investigation to assess whether sediments at the site are conducive to the preservation of phytoliths, an important tool in the reconstruction of palaeohabitats. Results indicate that fossil phytoliths are sufficiently well preserved to allow a comprehensive analysis of the ‘E’ Quarry phytolith assemblage.http://archive.sajs.co.za/index.php/SAJS/article/view/95
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author L. Rossouw
D. D. Stynder
P. Haarhof
spellingShingle L. Rossouw
D. D. Stynder
P. Haarhof
Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
South African Journal of Science
author_facet L. Rossouw
D. D. Stynder
P. Haarhof
author_sort L. Rossouw
title Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
title_short Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
title_full Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
title_fullStr Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
title_full_unstemmed Evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry Varswater Formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
title_sort evidence for opal phytolith preservation in the langebaanweg ‘e’ quarry varswater formation and its potential for palaeohabitat reconstruction
publisher Academy of Science of South Africa
series South African Journal of Science
issn 0038-2353
1996-7489
publishDate 2010-01-01
description At the end of the Miocene epoch, C4 grasslands began to expand at the expense of tree-, shrub- and forb-dominated C3 ecosystems. While C4 grasses were spreading throughout most regions of the world, C3 grasses may have been spreading along South Africa’s southwest coast. Stable isotope analyses of hypsodont fossil ungulates from ‘E’ Quarry, a well-known Late Miocene/Early Pliocene fossil locality near the town of Langebaanweg, suggest that the local environment might have included a substantial C3 grass component. Besides this indirect evidence, little is known about the evolution, nature and importance of grass in the ‘E’ Quarry biome. As a preliminary step towards addressing these questions, we initiated a trial investigation to assess whether sediments at the site are conducive to the preservation of phytoliths, an important tool in the reconstruction of palaeohabitats. Results indicate that fossil phytoliths are sufficiently well preserved to allow a comprehensive analysis of the ‘E’ Quarry phytolith assemblage.
url http://archive.sajs.co.za/index.php/SAJS/article/view/95
work_keys_str_mv AT lrossouw evidenceforopalphytolithpreservationinthelangebaanwegequarryvarswaterformationanditspotentialforpalaeohabitatreconstruction
AT ddstynder evidenceforopalphytolithpreservationinthelangebaanwegequarryvarswaterformationanditspotentialforpalaeohabitatreconstruction
AT phaarhof evidenceforopalphytolithpreservationinthelangebaanwegequarryvarswaterformationanditspotentialforpalaeohabitatreconstruction
_version_ 1724841142930898944