Abrahamskraal, Prince Albert (Permian of South Africa)

Also known as Farm Abrahamskraal

Where: Western Cape, South Africa (32.9° S, 22.0° E: paleocoordinates 59.8° S, 35.4° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Tapinocephalus Assemblage zone, Abrahamskraal Formation (Beaufort Group), Capitanian (264.3 - 259.5 Ma)

• "Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone, Late Permian" (Dilkes & Reisz, 1996);

•The Tapinocephalus AZ is Capitanian in age according to Catuneanu et al. (2005, J. Afr. Earth Sci., 43). Lithostratigraphic informations are from Catuneanu et al. (2005) as well.

• member-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: "floodplain"; sandstone and claystone

• " [...] deposited mainly by overbank flooding of large meandering rivers of variable sinuosity, draining an extensive alluvial plain [...]" (Catuneanu et al., 2005).
• "fining-upward succession of sandstones and purple mudstones containing numerous thin chert bands and rich tetrapod faunas" (general lithology description of the Abrahamskraal Fm. in Catuneanu et al., 2005, J. Afr. Earth Sci. 43)

Size class: macrofossils

Reposited in the TMP

• SAM = Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town

Primary reference: D. W. Dilkes and R. R. Reisz. 1996. First record of a basal synapsid (‘mammal-like reptile’) in Gondwana. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 263:1165-1170 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 86388: authorized by Johannes Mueller, entered by Torsten Liebrecht on 01.02.2009, edited by Richard Butler, Juan Benito Moreno and Bethany Allen

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• "This locality has also yielded the abundant remains of morphologically and presumably palaeoecologically diverse therapsid taxa (Kitching 1977)." (Dilkes & Reisz, 1996).
Reptilia
 Theromorpha - Styracocephalidae
Styracocephalus platyrhynchus9 Haughton 1929 reptile
SAM 9346, posterior portion of skull roof and separate portion with heeled incisor teeth
 Procolophonomorpha -
"Brachypareia watsoni n. sp." = Nochelesaurus alexanderi1, "Dolichopareia angusta" = Nochelesaurus alexanderi1, Bradysaurus angusta8, Bradysaurus strubeni8, "Bradysaurus vanderbyli n. sp." = Bradysaurus seeleyi6, Bradysaurus baini6
"Brachypareia watsoni n. sp." = Nochelesaurus alexanderi1 Haughton and Boonstra 1929 parareptile
"Dolichopareia angusta" = Nochelesaurus alexanderi1 Haughton and Boonstra 1929 parareptile
Bradysaurus angusta8 parareptile
Bradysaurus strubeni8 parareptile
"Bradysaurus vanderbyli n. sp." = Bradysaurus seeleyi6 Haughton and Boonstra 1929 parareptile
SAM 3718 (type)
Bradysaurus baini6 Seeley 1892 parareptile
SAM 4347 (not mentioned by Lee, 1997) + one skull reposited in Tübingen, Germany (see v. Huene, 1931, Geol. Paläont. Abh. N.F. 18)
Osteichthyes
 Synapsida - Varanopidae
Elliotsmithia longiceps n. gen. n. sp.3
Elliotsmithia longiceps n. gen. n. sp.3 Broom 1937 synapsid
TMP 1483 (type)
 Dicynodontia -
"Dicynodon pseudojouberti" = Diictodon pseudojouberti8
"Dicynodon pseudojouberti" = Diictodon pseudojouberti8 Boonstra 1948 dicynodont
 Dicynodontia - Pylaecephalidae
"Dicynodon jouberti" = Diictodon feliceps8, Robertia broomiana7
"Dicynodon jouberti" = Diictodon feliceps8 Owen 1876 dicynodont
Robertia broomiana7 Boonstra 1948 dicynodont
SAM-PK-3354, a skull
 Therapsida - Tapinocephalidae
Keratocephalus moloch n. sp.8, Taurocephalus lerouxi n. sp.8, Struthiocephalus intermedius8, "Struthiocephalus whaitsi" = Struthiocephalus whaitsi8, "Struthiocephalellus parvus n. sp." = Struthiocephalus whaitsi1, "Criocephalus vanderbyli n. sp." = Criocephalosaurus vanderbyli8
Keratocephalus moloch n. sp.8 von Huene 1931 therapsid
Taurocephalus lerouxi n. sp.8 Broom 1928 therapsid
AMNH 5655 (holotype), skull
"Struthiocephalus whaitsi" = Struthiocephalus whaitsi8 Haughton 1915 therapsid
"Struthiocephalellus parvus n. sp." = Struthiocephalus whaitsi1 Haughton 1915 therapsid
"Criocephalus vanderbyli n. sp." = Criocephalosaurus vanderbyli8 Broom 1928 therapsid
 Therapsida - Titanosuchidae
Titanosuchus dubius n. sp.8, Dinartamus vanderbyli n. gen. n. sp.8, Titanosuchus cloetei8, Dinopolus atrox n. sp.8, Jonkeria koupensis8, Jonkeria vanderbyli n. sp.8, "Jonkeria truculenta" = Jonkeria truculenta8, "Phoneosuchus angusticeps n. sp." = Jonkeria truculenta1, Titanosuchus strubeni8, "Titanosuchus ferox" = Titanosuchus ferox8, "Scapanodon duplessisi" = Titanosuchus ferox2
Titanosuchus dubius n. sp.8 Haughton 1915 therapsid
Dinartamus vanderbyli n. gen. n. sp.8 Broom 1923 therapsid
Titanosuchus cloetei8 Broom 1903 therapsid
Dinopolus atrox n. sp.8 Broom 1936 therapsid
Jonkeria koupensis8 Boonstra 1955 therapsid
Jonkeria vanderbyli n. sp.8 Broom 1929 therapsid
"Jonkeria truculenta" = Jonkeria truculenta8 van Hoepen 1914 therapsid
"Phoneosuchus angusticeps n. sp." = Jonkeria truculenta1 van Hoepen 1914 therapsid
"Titanosuchus ferox" = Titanosuchus ferox8 Owen 1879 therapsid
"Scapanodon duplessisi" = Titanosuchus ferox2 Owen 1879 therapsid
 Therapsida - Anteosauridae
Anteosaurus magnificus8 Watson 1921 therapsid
 Therapsida -
"Eoarctops vanderbyli n. gen. n. sp." = Eriphostoma microdon5, "Galesuchus gracilis n. gen. n. sp." = Eriphostoma microdon4
"Eoarctops vanderbyli n. gen. n. sp." = Eriphostoma microdon5 Broom 1911 therapsid
SAM-PK-5598 (holotype)
"Galesuchus gracilis n. gen. n. sp." = Eriphostoma microdon4 Broom 1911 therapsid
SAM-PK-2754 (holotype)
 Therocephalia - Pristerognathidae
Scymnosaurus sp.8 Broom 1903 therapsid
Alopecognathus megalops n. sp.8 Broom 1937 therapsid
Lycedops scholtzi n. sp.8 Broom 1936 therapsid
Pristerognathus vanderbyli n. sp.8 Broom 1936 therapsid
 Therocephalia - Alopecodontidae
"Alopecodon priscus" = Alopecodon priscus8, "Alopecodon minor n. sp." = Alopecodon priscus1
"Alopecodon priscus" = Alopecodon priscus8 Broom therapsid
"Alopecodon minor n. sp." = Alopecodon priscus1 Broom therapsid
 Therocephalia - Lycosuchidae
Trochorhinus vanhoepeni8 Broom 1936 therapsid
Trochosaurus major8 Broom 1932 therapsid
Trochosaurus intermedius n. sp.1 Haughton 1913 therapsid