ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6214-9850
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Palaeontology (incl. Palynology) | Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change | Archaeological Science | Geology
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Understanding Africa's Past |
Related Links
Publications
Three‐Dimensional Printing of Archived Human Fetal Material for Teaching Purposes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-08-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ASE.1805
Abstract: The practical aspect of human developmental biology education is often limited to the observation and use of animal models to illustrate developmental anatomy. This is due in part to the difficulty of accessing human embryonic and fetal specimens, and the sensitivity inherent to presenting these specimens as teaching materials. This report presents a new approach using three-dimensional (3D) printed replicas of actual human materials in practical classes, thus allowing for the inclusion of accurate ex les of human developmental anatomy in the educational context. A series of 3D prints have been produced from digital data collected by computed tomography (CT) imaging of an archived series of preserved human embryonic and fetal specimens. The final versions of 3D prints have been generated in a range of single or multiple materials to illustrate the progression of human development, including the development of internal anatomy. Furthermore, multiple copies of each replica have been printed for large group teaching. In addition to the educational benefit of examining accurate 3D replicas, this approach lessens the potential for adverse student reaction (due to cultural background or personal experience) to observing actual human embryonic/fetal anatomical specimens, and reduces the potential of damage or loss of original specimens. This approach, in combination with ongoing improvements in the management and analysis of digital data and advances in scanning technology, has enormous potential to allow embryology students access to both local and international collections of human gestational material. Anat Sci Educ 00: 000-000. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.
Velar vocal folds are present in female and immature male koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/AM15038
Abstract: It was recently shown that adult male koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) possess a novel vocal organ, the velar vocal folds, that underlie their mating bellows. Here we demonstrate through dissection of the infrahyoid region that this novel structure is also present in female and immature male koalas.
Speleology and magnetobiostratigraphic chronology of the GD 2 locality of the Gondolin hominin-bearing paleocave deposits, North West Province, South Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHEVOL.2006.07.007
Abstract: Speleological, paleomagnetic, mineral magnetic, and biochronological analyses have been undertaken at the Gondolin hominin-bearing paleocave, North West Province, South Africa. Two fossiliferous but stratigraphically separate sequences, GD2 and GD1/3, which were once part of a large cavern system, have been identified. Although some comparative paleomagnetic s les were taken from the GD 1, 3, and 4 localities that are currently under investigation, the research presented here focuses on the fossil-rich, in situ deposits at locality GD 2, excavated by E.S. Vrba in 1979. The GD 2 deposits are dominated by normal-polarity calcified clastic deposits that are sandwiched between clastic-free flowstone speleothems. The lower flowstone has a sharp contact with the red siltstone deposits and is of reversed polarity. The capping flowstone shows a change from normal to reversed polarity, thereby preserving a polarity reversal. While the paleomagnetic work indicates that the GD 2 fossil material was deposited during a normal-polarity period, the shortness of the sequence made matching of the magnetostratigraphy to the geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS) impossible without the aid of biochronology. While lacking multiple time-sensitive taxa, the recovery of specimens attributable to Stage III Metridiochoerus andrewsi is consistent with a deposition date between 1.9 and 1.5 Ma. A comparison of the magnetostratigraphy with the GPTS therefore suggests that the fauna-bearing siltstone of GD 2 date to the Olduvai normal-polarity event, which occurred between 1.95 and 1.78 Ma, and that the reversal from normal to reversed polarity identified in the capping flowstone dates to 1.78 Ma. The main faunal layers therefore date to slightly older than 1.78 Ma. Deposits from the GD 1 locality are dominated by reversed directions of magnetization, which show that this deposit is not of the same age as the faunal layers from the GD 2 locality.
Functional ecological convergence between the thylacine and small prey-focused canids
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-04-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12862-021-01788-8
Abstract: Morphological convergence is a fundamental aspect of evolution, allowing for inference of the biology and ecology of extinct species by comparison with the form and function of living species as analogues. The thylacine ( Thylacinus cynocephalus ), the iconic recently extinct marsupial, is considered a classic ex le of convergent evolution with the distantly related placental wolf or dog, though almost nothing is actually known regarding its ecology. This lack of data leads to questions regarding the degree of convergence with, and the similarity of, the functional ecology of the thylacine and the wolf/dog. Here, we examined the cranium of the thylacine using 3D geometric morphometrics and two quantitative tests of convergence to more precisely determine convergent analogues, within a phylogenetically informed dataset of 56 comparative species across 12 families of marsupial and placental faunivorous mammals. Using this dataset, we investigated patterns of correlation between cranial shape and diet, phylogeny, and relative prey size across these terrestrial faunivores. We find a correlation between cranial, facial, and neurocranial shape and the ratio of prey-to-predator body mass, though neurocranial shape may not correlate with prey size within marsupials. The thylacine was found to group with predators that routinely take prey smaller than 45% of their own body mass, not with predators that take subequal-sized or larger prey. Both convergence tests find significant levels of convergence between the thylacine and the African jackals and South American ‘foxes’, with lesser support for the coyote and red fox. We find little support for convergence between the thylacine and the wolf or dog. Our study finds little support for a wolf/dog-like functional ecology in the thylacine, with it instead being most similar to mid-sized canids such as African jackals and South American ‘foxes’ that mainly take prey less than half their size. This work suggests that concepts of convergence should extend beyond superficial similarity, and broader comparisons can lead to false interpretations of functional ecology. The thylacine was a predator of small to mid-sized prey, not a big-game specialist like the placental wolf.
Letter to the editor: Geochronology and palaeoenvironments of Southern African hominin-bearing localities-A reply to Wrangham et al., 2009. shallow-water habitats as sources of fallback foods for hominins
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-09-2010
DOI: 10.1002/AJPA.21389
A multi-disciplinary seriation of early Homo and Paranthropus bearing palaeocaves in southern Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2009
Clarifying the context, dating and age range of the Gondolin hominins and Paranthropus in South Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
Initial fossil discoveries from Hoogland, a new Pliocene primate-bearing karstic system in Gauteng Province, South Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2010
A universal power law for modelling the growth and form of teeth, claws, horns, thorns, beaks, and shells
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-03-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12915-021-00990-W
Abstract: A major goal of evolutionary developmental biology is to discover general models and mechanisms that create the phenotypes of organisms. However, universal models of such fundamental growth and form are rare, presumably due to the limited number of physical laws and biological processes that influence growth. One such model is the logarithmic spiral, which has been purported to explain the growth of biological structures such as teeth, claws, horns, and beaks. However, the logarithmic spiral only describes the path of the structure through space, and cannot generate these shapes. Here we show a new universal model based on a power law between the radius of the structure and its length, which generates a shape called a ‘power cone’. We describe the underlying ‘power cascade’ model that explains the extreme ersity of tooth shapes in vertebrates, including humans, mammoths, sabre-toothed cats, tyrannosaurs and giant megalodon sharks. This model can be used to predict the age of mammals with ever-growing teeth, including elephants and rodents. We view this as the third general model of tooth development, along with the patterning cascade model for cusp number and spacing, and the inhibitory cascade model that predicts relative tooth size. Beyond the dentition, this new model also describes the growth of claws, horns, antlers and beaks of vertebrates, as well as the fangs and shells of invertebrates, and thorns and prickles of plants. The power cone is generated when the radial power growth rate is unequal to the length power growth rate. The power cascade model operates independently of the logarithmic spiral and is present throughout erse biological systems. The power cascade provides a mechanistic basis for the generation of these pointed structures across the tree of life.
Palaeomagnetic and synchrotron analysis of >1.95 Ma fossil-bearing palaeokarst at Haasgat, South Africa
Publisher: Academy of Science of South Africa
Date: 27-03-2014
DOI: 10.1590/SAJS.2014/20130102
Abstract: Palaeomagnetic analysis indicates that Haasgat, a fossil-bearing palaeocave in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, is dominated by reversed magnetic polarity in its oldest, deepest layers and normal polarity in the younger layers. The presence of in-situ Equus specimens suggests an age of less than ~2.3 Ma, while morphological analysis of faunal specimens from the ex-situ assemblage suggests an age greater than 1.8 Ma. Given this faunal age constraint, the older reversed polarity sections most likely date to the beginning of the Matuyama Chron (2.58–1.95 Ma), while the younger normal polarity deposits likely date to the very beginning of the Olduvai Sub-Chron (1.95–1.78 Ma). The occurrence of a magnetic reversal from reversed to normal polarity recorded in the sequence indicates the deposits of the Bridge Section date to ~1.95 Ma. All the in-situ fossil deposits that have been noted are older than the 1.95 Ma reversal, but younger than 2.3 Ma. Haasgat therefore dates to an interesting time period in South African human evolution that saw the last occurrence of two australopith species at ~2.05–2.02 Ma (Sts5 Australopithecus africanus from Sterkfontein Member 4) to ~1.98 Ma ( Australopithecus sediba from Malapa) and the first occurrence of early Homo (Sk847), Paranthropus and the Oldowan within Swartkrans Member 1 between ~2.0 Ma and ~1.8 Ma.
Taphonomic interpretations of the Haasgat HGD assemblage: A case study in the impact of sampling and preparation methods on reconstructing South African karstic assemblage formation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
Correction to: First monk seal from the Southern Hemisphere rewrites the evolutionary history of true seals
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 08-09-2021
Rebuttal letter in response to Professor R.H. Anderson's letter ‘Evolution of the vertebrate heart’
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-02-2018
DOI: 10.1111/JOA.12788
A new large-bodied Pliocene seal with unusual cutting teeth
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 11-2020
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.201591
Abstract: Today, monachine seals display the largest body sizes in pinnipeds. However, the evolution of larger body sizes has been difficult to assess due to the murky taxonomic status of fossil seals, including fossils referred to Callophoca obscura , a species thought to be present on both sides of the North Atlantic during the Neogene. Several studies have recently called into question the taxonomic validity of these fossils, especially those from the USA, as the fragmentary lectotype specimen from Belgium is of dubious diagnostic value. We find that the lectotype isolated humerus of C. obscura is too uninformative thus, we designate C. obscura as a nomen dubium. More complete cranial and postcranial specimens from the Pliocene Yorktown Formation are described as a new taxon, Sarcodectes magnus . The cranial specimens display adaptations towards an enhanced ability to cut or chew prey that are unique within Phocidae, and estimates indicate S. magnus to be around 2.83 m in length. A parsimony phylogenetic analysis found S. magnus is a crown monachine. An ancestral state estimation of body length indicates that monachines did not have a remarkable size increase until the evolution of the lobodontins and miroungins.
The vertebrate heart: an evolutionary perspective
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/JOA.12687
A multi-disciplinary perspective on the age of Australopithecus in southern Africa
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date: 2013
3D printed reproductions of orbital dissections: a novel mode of visualising anatomy for trainees in ophthalmology or optometry
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 17-02-2015
DOI: 10.1136/BJOPHTHALMOL-2014-306189
Abstract: The teaching of human head, neck and orbital anatomy forms a critical part of undergraduate and postgraduate medical and allied health professional training, including optometry. While still largely grounded in cadaveric dissection, this method of instruction is constrained in some countries and regional areas by access to real human cadavers, costs of cadaver bequest programmes, health and safety of students and staff and the shortage of adequate time in modern curricula. Many candidates choosing a postgraduate pathway in ophthalmological training, such as those accepted into the Royal Colleges of Ophthalmology in the UK, Australia and New Zealand programmes and the American Academy of Ophthalmologists in the USA, are compelled as adult learners to revise or revisit human orbital anatomy, ocular anatomy and select areas of head and neck anatomy. These candidates are often then faced with the issue of accessing facilities with dissected human cadaveric material. In light of these difficulties, we developed a novel means of creating high-resolution reproductions of prosected human cadaver orbits suitable for education and training. 3D printed copies of cadaveric orbital dissections (superior, lateral and medial views) showing a range of anatomical features were created. These 3D prints offer many advantages over plastinated specimens as they are suitable for rapid reproduction and as they are not human tissue they avoid cultural and ethical issues associated with viewing cadaver specimens. In addition, they are suitable for use in the office, home, laboratory or clinical setting in any part of the world for patient and doctor education.
First hominine remains from a ∼1.0 million year old bone bed at Cornelia-Uitzoek, Free State Province, South Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHEVOL.2012.06.004
Abstract: We report here on evidence of early Homo around 1.0 Ma (millions of years ago) in the central plains of southern Africa. The human material, a first upper molar, was discovered during the systematic excavation of a densely-packed bone bed in the basal part of the sedimentary sequence at the Cornelia-Uitzoek fossil vertebrate locality. We dated this sequence by palaeomagnetism and correlated the bone bed to the Jaramillo subchron, between 1.07 and 0.99 Ma. This makes the specimen the oldest southern African hominine remains outside the dolomitic karst landscapes of northern South Africa. Cornelia-Uitzoek is the type locality of the Cornelian Land Mammal Age. The fauna contains an archaic component, reflecting previous biogeographic links with East Africa, and a derived component, suggesting incipient southern endemism. The bone bed is considered to be the result of the bone collecting behaviour of a large predator, possibly spotted hyaenas. Acheulian artefacts are found in small numbers within the bone bed among the fossil vertebrates, reflecting the penecontemporaneous presence of people in the immediate vicinity of the occurrence. The hominine tooth was recovered from the central, deeper part of the bone bed. In size, it clusters with southern African early Homo and it is also morphologically similar. We propose that the early Homo specimen forms part of an archaic component in the fauna, in parallel with the other archaic faunal elements at Uitzoek. This supports an emergent pattern of archaic survivors in the southern landscape at this time, but also demonstrates the presence of early Homo in the central plains of southern Africa, beyond the dolomitic karst areas.
Integrating palaeocaves into palaeolandscapes: An analysis of cave levels and karstification history across the Gauteng Malmani dolomite, South Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2019
Inferring the palaeobiology of palorchestid marsupials through analysis of mammalian humeral and femoral shape
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-12-2023
Use of 3D printed models in medical education: A randomized control trial comparing 3D prints versus cadaveric materials for learning external cardiac anatomy
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-10-2015
DOI: 10.1002/ASE.1573
Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology capable of readily producing accurate anatomical models, however, evidence for the use of 3D prints in medical education remains limited. A study was performed to assess their effectiveness against cadaveric materials for learning external cardiac anatomy. A double blind randomized controlled trial was undertaken on undergraduate medical students without prior formal cardiac anatomy teaching. Following a pre-test examining baseline external cardiac anatomy knowledge, participants were randomly assigned to three groups who underwent self-directed learning sessions using either cadaveric materials, 3D prints, or a combination of cadaveric materials/3D prints (combined materials). Participants were then subjected to a post-test written by a third party. Fifty-two participants completed the trial 18 using cadaveric materials, 16 using 3D models, and 18 using combined materials. Age and time since completion of high school were equally distributed between groups. Pre-test scores were not significantly different (P = 0.231), however, post-test scores were significantly higher for 3D prints group compared to the cadaveric materials or combined materials groups (mean of 60.83% vs. 44.81% and 44.62%, P = 0.010, adjusted P = 0.012). A significant improvement in test scores was detected for the 3D prints group (P = 0.003) but not for the other two groups. The finding of this pilot study suggests that use of 3D prints do not disadvantage students relative to cadaveric materials maximally, results suggest that 3D may confer certain benefits to anatomy learning and supports their use and ongoing evaluation as supplements to cadaver-based curriculums. Anat Sci Educ 9: 213-221. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.
First monk seal from the Southern Hemisphere rewrites the evolutionary history of true seals
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 11-11-2020
Abstract: Living true seals (phocids) are the most widely dispersed semi-aquatic marine mammals, and comprise geographically separate northern (phocine) and southern (monachine) groups. Both are thought to have evolved in the North Atlantic, with only two monachine lineages—elephant seals and lobodontins—subsequently crossing the equator. The third and most basal monachine tribe, the monk seals, have hitherto been interpreted as exclusively northern and (sub)tropical throughout their entire history. Here, we describe a new species of extinct monk seal from the Pliocene of New Zealand, the first of its kind from the Southern Hemisphere, based on one of the best-preserved and richest s les of seal fossils worldwide. This unanticipated discovery reveals that all three monachine tribes once coexisted south of the equator, and forces a profound revision of their evolutionary history: rather than primarily ersifying in the North Atlantic, monachines largely evolved in the Southern Hemisphere, and from this southern cradle later reinvaded the north. Our results suggest that true seals crossed the equator over eight times in their history. Overall, they more than double the age of the north–south dichotomy characterizing living true seals and confirms a surprisingly recent major change in southern phocid ersity.
The production of anatomical teaching resources using three‐dimensional (3D) printing technology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-06-2014
DOI: 10.1002/ASE.1475
Abstract: The teaching of anatomy has consistently been the subject of societal controversy, especially in the context of employing cadaveric materials in professional medical and allied health professional training. The reduction in dissection-based teaching in medical and allied health professional training programs has been in part due to the financial considerations involved in maintaining bequest programs, accessing human cadavers and concerns with health and safety considerations for students and staff exposed to formalin-containing embalming fluids. This report details how additive manufacturing or three-dimensional (3D) printing allows the creation of reproductions of prosected human cadaver and other anatomical specimens that obviates many of the above issues. These 3D prints are high resolution, accurate color reproductions of prosections based on data acquired by surface scanning or CT imaging. The application of 3D printing to produce models of negative spaces, contrast CT radiographic data using segmentation software is illustrated. The accuracy of printed specimens is compared with original specimens. This alternative approach to producing anatomically accurate reproductions offers many advantages over plastination as it allows rapid production of multiple copies of any dissected specimen, at any size scale and should be suitable for any teaching facility in any country, thereby avoiding some of the cultural and ethical issues associated with cadaver specimens either in an embalmed or plastinated form.
The first hominin from the early Pleistocene paleocave of Haasgat, South Africa
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 11-05-2016
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.2024
Abstract: Haasgat is a primate-rich fossil locality in the northeastern part of the Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here we report the first hominin identified from Haasgat, a partial maxillary molar (HGT 500), that was recovered from an ex situ calcified sediment block s led from the locality. The in situ fossil bearing deposits of the Haasgat paleokarstic deposits are estimated to date to slightly older than 1.95 Ma based on magnetobiostratigraphy. This places the hominin specimen at a critical time period in South Africa that marks the last occurrence of Australopithecus around 1.98 Ma and the first evidence of Paranthropus and Homo in the region between ∼2.0 and 1.8 Ma. A comprehensive morphological evaluation of the Haasgat hominin molar was conducted against the current South African catalogue of hominin dental remains and imaging analyses using micro-CT, electron and confocal microscopy. The preserved occlusal morphology is most similar to Australopithecus africanus or early Homo specimens but different from Paranthropus . Occlusal linear enamel thickness measured from micro-CT scans provides an average of ∼2.0 mm consistent with Australopithecus and early Homo . Analysis of the enamel microstructure suggests an estimated periodicity of 7–9 days. Hunter–Schreger bands appear long and straight as in some Paranthropus , but contrast with this genus in the short shape of the striae of Retzius. Taken together, these data suggests that the maxillary fragment recovered from Haasgat best fits within the Australopithecus —early Homo hypodigms to the exclusion of the genus Paranthropus . At ∼1.95 Ma this specimen would either represent another ex le of late occurring Australopithecus or one of the earliest ex les of Homo in the region. While the identification of this first hominin specimen from Haasgat is not unexpected given the composition of other South African penecontemporaneous site deposits, it represents one of the few hominin localities in the topographically-distinct northern World Heritage Site. When coupled with the substantial differences in the mammalian faunal communities between the northern localities (e.g., Haasgat, Gondolin) and well-s led Bloubank Valley sites (e.g., Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai), the recovery of the HGT 500 specimen highlights the potential for further research at the Haasgat locality for understanding the distribution and interactions of hominin populations across the landscape, ecosystems and fossil mammalian communities of early Pleistocene South Africa. Such contextual data from sites like Haasgat is critical for understanding the transition in hominin representation at ∼2 Ma sites in the region from Australopithecus to Paranthropus and early Homo .
The pre-Pleistocene fossil thylacinids (Dasyuromorphia: Thylacinidae) and the evolutionary context of the modern thylacine
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 02-09-2019
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.7457
Abstract: The thylacine is popularly used as a classic ex le of convergent evolution between placental and marsupial mammals. Despite having a fossil history spanning over 20 million years and known since the 1960s, the thylacine is often presented in both scientific literature and popular culture as an evolutionary singleton unique in its morphological and ecological adaptations within the Australian ecosystem. Here, we synthesise and critically evaluate the current state of published knowledge regarding the known fossil record of Thylacinidae prior to the appearance of the modern species. We also present phylogenetic analyses and body mass estimates of the thylacinids to reveal trends in the evolution of hypercarnivory and ecological shifts within the family. We find support that Mutpuracinus archibaldi occupies an uncertain position outside of Thylacinidae, and consider Nimbacinus richi to likely be synonymous with N. dicksoni . The Thylacinidae were small-bodied ( ~8 kg) unspecialised faunivores until after the ~15–14 Ma middle Miocene climatic transition (MMCT). After the MMCT they dramatically increase in size and develop adaptations to a hypercarnivorous diet, potentially in response to the aridification of the Australian environment and the concomitant radiation of dasyurids. This fossil history of the thylacinids provides a foundation for understanding the ecology of the modern thylacine. It provides a framework for future studies of the evolution of hypercarnivory, cursoriality, morphological and ecological disparity, and convergence within mammalian carnivores.
True seals achieved global distribution by breaking Bergmann's rule.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-04-2022
DOI: 10.1111/EVO.14488
Abstract: True seals (phocids) have achieved a global distribution by crossing the equator multiple times in their evolutionary history. This is remarkable, as warm tropical waters are regarded as a barrier to marine mammal dispersal and-following Bergmann's rule-may have limited crossings to small-bodied species only. Here, we show that ancestral phocids were medium sized and did not obviously follow Bergmann's rule. Instead, they ranged across a broad spectrum of environmental temperatures, without undergoing shifts in temperature- or size-related evolutionary rates following dispersals across the equator. We conclude that the tropics have not constrained phocid biogeography.
Combining legacy data with new drone and DGPS mapping to identify the provenance of Plio-Pleistocene fossils from Bolt’s Farm, Cradle of Humankind (South Africa)
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 14-01-2019
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.6202
Abstract: Bolt’s Farm is a Plio-Pleistocene fossil site located within the southwestern corner of the UNESCO Hominid Fossil Sites of South Africa World Heritage Site. The site is a complex of active caves and more than 20 palaeokarst deposits or pits, many of which were exposed through the action of lime mining in the early 20th century. The pits represent heavily eroded cave systems, and as such associating the palaeocave sediments within and between the pits is difficult, especially as little geochronological data exists. These pits and the associated lime miner’s rubble were first explored by palaeoanthropologists in the late 1930s, but as yet no hominin material has been recovered. The first systematic mapping was undertaken by Frank Peabody as part of the University of California Africa Expedition (UCAE) in 1947–1948. A redrawn version of the map was not published until 1991 by Basil Cooke and this has subsequently been used and modified by recent researchers. Renewed work in the 2000s used Cooke’s map to try and relocate the original fossil deposits. However, Peabody’s map does not include all the pits and caves, and thus in some cases this was successful, while in others previously s led pits were inadvertently given new names. This was compounded by the fact that new fossil bearing deposits were discovered in this new phase, causing confusion in associating the 1940s fossils with the deposits from which they originated as well as associating them with the recently excavated material. To address this, we have used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to compare Peabody’s original map with subsequently published maps. This highlighted transcription errors between maps, most notably the location of Pit 23, an important palaeontological deposit given the recovery of well-preserved primate crania ( Parapapio , Cercopithecoides ) and partial skeletons of the extinct felid Dinofelis . We conducted the first drone and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) survey of Bolt’s Farm. Using legacy data, high-resolution aerial imagery, accurate DGPS survey and GIS, we relocate the original fossil deposits and propose a definitive and transparent naming strategy for Bolt’s Farm, based on the original UCAE Pit numbers. We provide datum points and a new comprehensive, georectified map to facilitate spatially accurate fossil collection for all future work. Additionally, we have collated recently published faunal data with historic fossil data to evaluate the biochronological potential of the various deposits. This suggests that the palaeocave deposits in different pits formed at different times with the occurrence of Equus in some pits implying ages of .3 Ma, whereas more primitive suids ( Metridiochoerus ) hint at a terminal Pliocene age for other deposits. This study highlights that Bolt’s Farm contains rare South African terminal Pliocene fossil deposits and creates a framework for future studies of the deposits and previously excavated material.
Skull shape reflects prey size niche in toothed whales
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-05-2017
Surface Model and Tomographic Archive of Fossil Primate and Other Mammal Holotype and Paratype Specimens of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-10-2015
The remarkable convergence of skull shape in crocodilians and toothed whales
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 08-03-2017
Abstract: The striking resemblance of long-snouted aquatic mammals and reptiles has long been considered an ex le of morphological convergence, yet the true cause of this similarity remains untested. We addressed this deficit through three-dimensional morphometric analysis of the full ersity of crocodilian and toothed whale (Odontoceti) skull shapes. Our focus on biomechanically important aspects of shape allowed us to overcome difficulties involved in comparing mammals and reptiles, which have fundamental differences in the number and position of skull bones. We examined whether diet, habitat and prey size correlated with skull shape using phylogenetically informed statistical procedures. Crocodilians and toothed whales have a similar range of skull shapes, varying from extremely short and broad to extremely elongate. This spectrum of shapes represented more of the total variation in our dataset than between phylogenetic groups. The most elongate species (river dolphins and gharials) are extremely convergent in skull shape, clustering outside of the range of the other taxa. Our results suggest the remarkable convergence between long-snouted river dolphins and gharials is driven by diet rather than physical factors intrinsic to riverine environments. Despite erging approximately 288 million years ago, crocodilians and odontocetes have evolved a remarkably similar morphological solution to feeding on similar prey.
The extraordinary osteology and functional morphology of the limbs in Palorchestidae, a family of strange extinct marsupial giants
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-09-2019
Geoarchaeological and 3D visualisation approaches for contextualising in-situ fossil bearing palaeokarst in South Africa: A case study from the ∼2.61 Ma Drimolen Makondo
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2018
Taxonomic status of the Australian dingo: The case for Canis dingo Meyer, 1793
Publisher: Magnolia Press
Date: 04-03-2019
DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4564.1.6
Abstract: The taxonomic status and systematic nomenclature of the Australian dingo remain contentious, resulting in decades of inconsistent applications in the scientific literature and in policy. Prompted by a recent publication calling for dingoes to be considered taxonomically as domestic dogs (Jackson et al. 2017, Zootaxa 4317, 201-224), we review the issues of the taxonomy applied to canids, and summarise the main differences between dingoes and other canids. We conclude that (1) the Australian dingo is a geographically isolated (allopatric) species from all other Canis, and is genetically, phenotypically, ecologically, and behaviourally distinct and (2) the dingo appears largely devoid of many of the signs of domestication, including surviving largely as a wild animal in Australia for millennia. The case of defining dingo taxonomy provides a quintessential ex le of the disagreements between species concepts (e.g., biological, phylogenetic, ecological, morphological). Applying the biological species concept sensu stricto to the dingo as suggested by Jackson et al. (2017) and consistently across the Canidae would lead to an aggregation of all Canis populations, implying for ex le that dogs and wolves are the same species. Such an aggregation would have substantial implications for taxonomic clarity, biological research, and wildlife conservation. Any changes to the current nomen of the dingo (currently Canis dingo Meyer, 1793), must therefore offer a strong, evidence-based argument in favour of it being recognised as a subspecies of Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758, or as Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758, and a successful application to the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature - neither of which can be adequately supported. Although there are many species concepts, the sum of the evidence presented in this paper affirms the classification of the dingo as a distinct taxon, namely Canis dingo.
Technical note: The use of 3D printing in dental anthropology collections
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-08-2018
DOI: 10.1002/AJPA.23640
Abstract: Rapid prototyping (RP) technology is becoming more affordable, faster, and is now capable of building models with a high resolution and accuracy. Due to technological limitations, 3D printing in biological anthropology has been mostly limited to museum displays and forensic reconstructions. In this study, we compared the accuracy of different 3D printers to establish whether RP can be used effectively to reproduce anthropological dental collections, potentially replacing access to oftentimes fragile and irreplaceable original material. We digitized specimens from the Yuendumu collection of Australian Aboriginal dental casts using a high-resolution white-light scanning system and reproduced them using four different 3D printing technologies: stereolithography (SLA) fused deposition modeling (FDM) binder-jetting and material-jetting. We compared the deviations between the original 3D surface models with 3D print scans using color maps generated from a 3D metric deviation analysis. The 3D printed models reproduced both the detail and discrete morphology of the scanned dental casts. The results of the metric deviation analysis demonstrate that all 3D print models were accurate, with only a few small areas of high deviations. The material-jetting and SLA printers were found to perform better than the other two printing machines. The quality of current commercial 3D printers has reached a good level of accuracy and detail reproduction. However, the costs and printing times limit its application to produce large s le numbers for use in most anthropological studies. Nonetheless, RP offers a viable option to preserve numerically constraint fragile skeletal and dental material in paleoanthropological collections.
Taphonomy of a South African cave: geological and hydrological influences on the GD 1 fossil assemblage at Gondolin, a Plio-Pleistocene paleocave system in the Northwest Province, South Africa
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2007
Low elbow mobility indicates unique forelimb posture and function in a giant extinct marsupial
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JOA.13389
Abstract: Joint mobility is a key factor in determining the functional capacity of tetrapod limbs, and is important in palaeobiological reconstructions of extinct animals. Recent advances have been made in quantifying osteological joint mobility using virtual computational methods however, these approaches generally focus on the proximal limb joints and have seldom been applied to fossil mammals. Palorchestes azael is an enigmatic, extinct ~1000 kg marsupial with no close living relatives, whose functional ecology within Australian Pleistocene environments is poorly understood. Most intriguing is its flattened elbow morphology, which has long been assumed to indicate very low mobility at this important joint. Here, we tested elbow mobility via virtual range of motion (ROM) mapping and helical axis analysis, to quantitatively explore the limits of Palorchestes ' elbow movement and compare this with their living and extinct relatives, as well as extant mammals that may represent functional analogues. We find that Palorchestes had the lowest elbow mobility among mammals s led, even when afforded joint translations in addition to rotational degrees of freedom. This indicates that Palorchestes was limited to crouched forelimb postures, something highly unusual for mammals of this size. Coupled flexion and abduction created a skewed primary axis of movement at the elbow, suggesting an abducted forelimb posture and humeral rotation gait that is not found among marsupials and unlike that seen in any large mammals alive today. This work introduces new quantitative methods and demonstrates the utility of comparative ROM mapping approaches, highlighting that Palorchestes ' forelimb function was unlike its contemporaneous relatives and appears to lack clear functional analogues among living mammals.
Macromammalian faunas, biochronology and palaeoecology of the early Pleistocene Main Quarry hominin-bearing deposits of the Drimolen Palaeocave System, South Africa
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 18-04-2016
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.1941
Abstract: The Drimolen Palaeocave System Main Quarry deposits (DMQ) are some of the most prolific hominin and primate-bearing deposits in the Fossil Hominids of South Africa UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovered in the 1990s, excavations into the DMQ have yielded a demographically erse s le of Paranthropus robustus (including DNH 7, the most complete cranium of the species recovered to date), early Homo , Papio hamadryas robinsoni and Cercopithecoides williamsi . Alongside the hominin and primate s le is a erse macromammalian assemblage, but prior publications have only provided a provisional species list and an analysis of the carnivores recovered prior to 2008. Here we present the first description and analysis of the non-primate macromammalian faunas from the DMQ, including all 826 taxonomically identifiable specimens catalogued from over two decades of excavation. We also provide a biochronological interpretation of the DMQ deposits and an initial discussion of local palaeoecology based on taxon representation.The current DMQ assemblage consists of the remains of minimally 147 in iduals from 9 Orders and 14 Families of mammals. The carnivore assemblage described here is even more erse than established in prior publications, including the identification of Megantereon whitei , Lycyaenops silberbergi , and first evidence for the occurrence of Dinofelis cf. barlowi and Dinofelis aff. piveteaui within a single South African site deposit. The cetartiodactyl assemblage is dominated by bovids, with the specimen composition unique in the high recovery of horn cores and dominance of Antidorcas recki remains. Other cetartiodactyl and perissodactyl taxa are represented by few specimens, as are Hystrix and Procavia the latter somewhat surprisingly so given their common occurrence at penecontemporaneous deposits in the region. Equally unusual (particularly given the size of the s le) is the identification of single specimens of giraffoid, elephantid and aardvark ( Orycteropus cf. afer ) that are rarely recovered from regional site deposits. Despite the ersity within the DMQ macromammalian faunas, there are few habitat- or biochronologically-sensitive species that provide specific ecologic or age boundaries for the deposits. Recovered species can only support the non-specific, mixed open-to-closed palaeohabitats around Drimolen that have been reconstructed for the other penecontemporaneous South African palaeokarst deposits. The identified Equus quagga ssp. specimens recovered from the floor of the current excavation (∾−4.5–5 m below datum) suggests that most, if not all the DMQ specimens, were deposited after 2.33 Ma. Simultaneously, the carnivore specimens ( D. cf. barlowi, L. silberbergi ) suggest earlier Pleistocene (pre- 2.0–1.8 Ma) to maximally 1.6 Ma deposition ( D. aff. piveteaui ) for most of the DMQ fossil assemblage.
Contemporaneity of Australopithecus , Paranthropus , and early Homo erectus in South Africa
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 03-04-2020
Abstract: Fossil hominins from South Africa are enriching the story of early human evolution and dispersal. Herries et al. describe the geological context and dating of the hominin-bearing infilled cave, or palaeocave, at a site called Drimolen in South Africa (see the Perspective by Antón). They focus on the age and context of a recently discovered Homo erectus sensu lato fossil and a Paranthropus robustus fossil, which they dated to ∼2.04 million to 1.95 million years ago. This makes Drimolen one of the best-dated sites in South Africa and establishes these fossils as the oldest definitive specimens of their respective species ever discovered. The age confirms that species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus , and early Homo overlapped in the karst of South Africa ∼2 million years ago. Science , this issue p. eaaw7293 see also p. 34
The reproduction of human pathology specimens using three-dimensional (3D) printing technology for teaching purposes
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 26-10-2020
Early monk seals (Monachinae: Monachini) from the late Miocene–early Pliocene of Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 19-03-2021
Did the thylacine violate the costs of carnivory? Body mass and sexual dimorphism of an iconic Australian marsupial
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 19-08-2020
Abstract: The relative body masses of predators and their prey strongly affect the predators' ecology. An accurate estimate of the mass of an extinct predator is therefore key to revealing its biology and the structure of the ecosystem it inhabited. Until its extinction, the thylacine was the largest extant carnivorous marsupial, but little data exist regarding its body mass, with an average of 29.5 kg the most commonly used estimate. According to the costs of carnivory model, this estimate predicts that thylacines would have focused on prey subequal to or larger than themselves however, many studies of their functional morphology suggest a diet of smaller animals. Here, we present new body mass estimates for 93 adult thylacines, including two taxidermy specimens and four complete mounted skeletons, representing 40 known-sex specimens, using three-dimensional volumetric model-informed regressions. We demonstrate that prior estimates substantially overestimated average adult thylacine body mass. We show mixed-sex population mean (16.7 kg), mean male (19.7 kg), and mean female (13.7 kg) body masses well below prior estimates, and below the 21 kg costs of carnivory threshold. Our data show that the thylacine did not violate the costs of carnivory. The thylacine instead occupied the 14.5–21 kg predator rey range characterized by small-prey predators capable of occasionally switching to relatively large-bodied prey if necessary.
Elemental signatures of Australopithecus africanus teeth reveal seasonal dietary stress
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-07-2019
Related Organisations
No related organisations have been discovered for Justin Adams.
Related Funding Activities
Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP170100056
Start Date: 09-2017
End Date: 12-2022
Amount: $328,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity