HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by ABDALA, F. Articles by SMITH, R. M.H. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

FAUNAL AGGREGATION IN THE EARLY TRIASSIC KAROO BASIN: EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF SHELTER-SHARING BEHAVIOR AMONG TETRAPODS?

¹ Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa;
² Dept. Karoo Palaeontology, Iziko South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town 8000, South Africa abdalaf{at}geosciences.wits.ac.za

The first report of a multitaxon aggregation from the Early Triassic Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone is presented here. The aggregation includes two vertebrates—the suricate-sized cynodont Galesaurus planiceps and a gecko-like procolophonoid Owenetta kitchingorum—and a diplopod millipede. The high degree of articulation of the skeletal remains and the preservation of delicate bones in situ suggest that the animals were either rapidly buried or died in a place protected from weathering and agents of dispersal. Two hypotheses are possible to explain this multitaxon aggregation: trapping in a floodplain gully followed by immediate burial or shelter-sharing. The latter hypothesis is favored after the analysis of the fossil evidence recorded in the South African Karoo Basin.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. W. Pace, R. A. Gastaldo, and J. Neveling Early Triassic Aggradational and Degradational Landscapes of the Karoo Basin and Evidence for Climate Oscillation Following the P-Tr Event Journal of Sedimentary Research, May 1, 2009; 79(5): 316 - 331. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Botha-Brink and S. P Modesto A mixed-age classed 'pelycosaur' aggregation from South Africa: earliest evidence of parental care in amniotes? Proc R Soc B, November 22, 2007; 274(1627): 2829 - 2834. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]