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THE FOSSIL CARNIVORES OF THE TRANSVAAL CAVES: TWO NEW VIVERRIDS, TOGETHER WITH SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

1956; Zoological Society of London; Volume: 126; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1096-3642.1956.tb00436.x

0370-2774

R. F. Ewer,

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

SUMMARY Two new herpestids are described; Herpestes mesotes from Kromdraai and a subspecies of Cynictis penicillata from Swartkrans. A complete list of the carnivore faunas of the Transvaal deposits is given, and the implications with regard to the relative and absolute dates of the deposits are discussed. It is concluded that the three main deposits, Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Kromdraai are not strictly contemporaneous; Sterkfontein is considered to be the most ancient, Swartkrans a little more recent. The position of Kromdraai is more difficult to assess, but the generally held opinion that this is the most recent deposit is not incompatible with the composition of the carnivore faunas, provided that there was a significant climatic change between the times of the laying down of the Swartkrans and Kromdraai deposits. A comparison of the total carnivore fauna of the Transvaal deposits with the faunas of all orders of mammals from Omo, Laetolil and Olduvai is made. It is concluded that the Transvaal deposits cannot be more recent than the Kageran period. The difficulties of reconciling this view with the geological evidence are briefly indicated.