Driefontein: Olenekian, South Africa
collected by J. Neveling, P. J. Hancox, C. Marshall, R. J. Damiani, A. M. Jeannot 1996, 2000, 2001

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Chondrichthyes
Chondrichthyes indet. Huxley 1880
Bender and Hancox 2004
teeth
Chondrichthyes - Hybodontiformes
Lissodus sp. Brough 1935
Bender and Hancox 2004
Trirachodontidae
Langbergia modisei Abdala et al. 2006
1 specimen
BP/1/5666, two upper postcanines
unclassified
Eucynodontia indet. Kemp 1982
Gaetano et al. 2012 5 specimens
BP/1/6518–6519, two isolated incisors, and BP/1/6514–6517 and 7161, five isolated postcanine teeth.
Reptilia
Archosauriformes indet. Gauthier 1986
Damiani and Jeannot 2002
Reptilia - Erythrosuchidae
Garjainia madiba n. sp. Gower et al. 2014
Gower et al. 2014
BP/1/5760. Large number of additional paratype and referred specimens (see Gower et al. 2014)
Reptilia
Palacrodon browni Broom 1906
Gow 1999 1 specimen
BP/1/5672, right maxillary fragment bearing four acrodont teeth and a dentary fragment bearing five teeth (possibly belonging to one and the same individual)
Reptilia - Procolophonidae
Procolophonidae indet. Lydekker 1889
Damiani and Jeannot 2002
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Brachyopidae
Bathignathus poikilops n. sp. Damiani and Jeannot 2002
Damiani and Jeannot 2002 1 individual
BP/1/5790, partial skull roof and part of the occiput
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Mastodonsauridae
Parotosuchus haughtoni (Broili and Schröder 1937)
Damiani 2001 1 specimen
BP/1/5673, partial skull
    = Kestrosaurus sp. Haughton 1925
Shishkin et al. 2004
Kestrosaurus kitchingi n. sp. Shishkin et al. 2004
Shishkin et al. 2004 8 specimens
BP/1/5359 (holotype). BP/1/5617, 5596, 5597, 5360/1-16, 5606, 5607, 5612
Dipnoi - Ptychoceratodontidae
? Ptychoceratodus sp. Jaekel 1926
Bender and Hancox 2004 58 specimens
toothplates
Actinopterygii
Actinopterygii indet. Cope 1887
Bender and Hancox 2004
scales
Saurichthyiformes - Saurichthyidae
cf. Saurichthys sp. Agassiz 1834
Bender and Hancox 2004 2 fragments
Two jaw fragments
see common names

Geography
Country:South Africa State/province:Free State County:Thabo Mofutsanyana
Coordinates: 28.2° South, 28.0° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:65.5° South, 10.6° West
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period: Triassic Epoch: Early Triassic
Stage: Olenekian 10 m.y. bin: Triassic 1
Key time interval: Olenekian Other zone:  Cynognathus Assemblage Zone Subzone A
Age range of interval: 251.2 - 247.2 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Beaufort Formation:Burgersdorp
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: Lower horizons of the Burgersdorp Formation; Cynognathus Assemblage Zone Subzone A; late Olenekian age
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: "siliciclastic"
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: For a brief description of the lithology and sedimentology of the Cynognathus AZ beds see Damiani & Jeannot (2002 p. 60).
Environment:fluvial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Temporal resolution:snapshot
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,surface (float),mechanical,field collection,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:BPI
Collectors:J. Neveling, P. J. Hancox, C. Marshall, R. J. Damiani, A. M. Jeannot Collection dates:1996, 2000, 2001
Collection method comments: The Palacrodon specimen was found by the student Catherine Marshall during a field excursion in September 1996 "amongst the surface float" (Gow, 1999).
The holotype of Bathignathus poikilops was found by J. Neveling in February 2000 and additional material of that taxon was recovered "during a subsequent trip to the locality in April 2001" (Damiani & Jeannot, 2002). "Both specimens [i.e. the 2001 material; TL] were found imbedded at the base of an approximately 30 cm thick, bluish-grey, fine-grained sandstone layer, immediately above typical red-green mudstone of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. In the field these were consolidated with a dilute Glyptal solution before being either directly removed in sections (skull) or plastered (mandible). In the laboratory the bulk of the matrix was removed mechanically using an airscribe, with subsequent finer preparation achieved using a hand-held pin-vice. The prepared surfaces were cleaned using a paint-brush and water, and cyanoacrylate glue used to join broken bone" (Damiani & Jeannot, 2002).
Taxonomic list comments:The taxon originally entered as "Palacrodon sp.", based on Damiani & Jennot (2002), has subsequently been changed to Palacrodon browni, based on Gow (1999). Damiani & Jennot (2002 p. 61) cite that taxon as "Palacrodon" together with some other elements of the associated fauna of their new species Bathignathus poikilops and their omission of the species epithet probably is not intended as a re-identification, but just for convenience. (TL)
Metadata
Database number:98617
Authorizer:R. Butler, M. Clapham Enterer:R. Butler, T. Wolfe
Modifier:R. Butler Research group:vertebrate
Created:2010-10-14 08:35:04 Last modified:2016-11-29 06:15:57
Access level:the public Released:2010-10-14 08:35:04
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
34025. F. Abdala, J. Neveling, and J. Welman. 2006. A new trirachodontid cynodont from the lower levels of the Burgersdorp Formation (Lower Triassic) of the Beaufort Group, South Africa and the cladistic relationships of Gondwanan gomphodonts. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 147:383-413 [R. Butler/R. Butler]

Secondary references:

37775 P. A. Bender and P. J. Hancox. 2004. Newly Discovered Fish Faunas from the Early Triassic, Karoo Basin, South Africa, and their Correlative Implications. Gondwana Research 7(1):185-192 [M. Clapham/T. Wolfe]
47067 R. J. Damiani. 2001. Parotosuchus (Amphibia, Temnospondyli) from the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (Early Triassic) of South Africa: cranial morphology and relationships. Alcheringa 25:351-379 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
47045 R. J. Damiani and A. M. Jeannot. 2002. A brachyopid temnospondyl from the Lower Cynognathus Assemblage Zone in the northern Karoo Basin, South Africa. Palaeontologia africana 38:57-69 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
61045 L. C. Gaetano, H. Mocke, F. Abdala and P. J. Hancox. 2012. Complex multicusped postcanine teeth from the Lower Triassic of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(6):1411-1420 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
55108 C. E. Gow. 1999. The Triassic reptile Palacrodon browni Broom, synonymy and a new specimen. Palaeontologia Africana 35:21-23 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
61042 D. J. Gower, P. J. Hancox, J. Botha-Brink, A. G. Sennikov, and R. J. Butler. 2014. A New Species of Garjainia Ochev, 1958 (Diapsida: Archosauriformes: Erythrosuchidae) from the Early Triassic of South Africa. PLoS ONE 9(11):e111154 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
47080 M. A. Shishkin, B. S. Rubidge, J. Hanox and J. Welman. 2004. Re-evaluation of Kestrosaurus Haughton, a capitosaurid temnospondyl amphibian from the Upper Beaufort Group of South Africa. Russian Journal of Herpetology 11(2):121-138 [R. Butler/R. Butler]