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Descriptions and palaeoecological implications of bird remains from the Middle Pleistocene of Florisbad, South Africa

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Abstract

The spring mound deposit Florisbad (Free State, South Africa) yielded several bird remains dating to the late Middle Pleistocene. These specimens derive from spring vent structures and are the product of natural taphonomic processes relating to the spring as primary sampling agent. The bird fossils can be assigned to Ostrich, Struthio camelus; Greater Flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber roseus; Wattled Crane, Bugeranus carunculatus; an anatine dabbling duck; and a francolin with strong resemblance to Shelley’s Francolin, Scleroptila shelleyi. As in the case of the large mammal record, the bird remains from the Florisbad spring reflect two components in the palaeoenvironment. Evidence for Greater Flamingo, Wattled Crane, and a dabbling duck strongly supports previous hypotheses regarding the presence of a palaeolake system, while records for Ostrich and a francolin, but also Wattled Crane accord with the presence of open landscapes, such as grasslands.

Kurzfassung

Ausgrabungen von Quellschloten an der Hominidenfundstelle Florisbad (Free State, Südafrika) förderten neben eine Vielzahl von Säugetierfossilien auch Überreste mehrerer Vogelarten zu Tage, die aus dem späten Mittelpleistozän datieren. Die Vogelfossilien lassen sich einem Strauß (Struthio camelus), einem Rosaflamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus), einem Klunkerkranich (Bugeranus carunculatus), einer nicht näher zu identifizierenden Gründelente (Anatini, Anatidae) sowie einem Frankolin mit Merkmalen des Shelleyfrankolins (Scleroptila shelleyi) zuordnen. Die Vogelfossilien erlauben wie die bisher bekanntgewordenen Säugetierfossilien Rückschlüsse auf die Lebensräume in unmittelbarer Umgebung der Florisbad-Quellen während des Mittelpleistozäns: Nachweise für Rosaflamingo, Klunkerkranich und einer Gründelente stützen die Hypothese, dass es in der Nähe ein System von Paläo-Seen gegeben haben muss. Nachweise von Strauß und Frankolin, aber auch von Klunkerkranich deuten darauf hin, dass die spätere Fossilfundstelle von offenen und ausgedehnten Graslandschaften umgeben war.

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Fig. 1a–f
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Notes

  1. Equus quagga, Ceratotherium simum, Phacochoerus aethiopicus, Ph. africanus, Hippopotamus amphibius, Syncerus antiquus, Damaliscus pygargus, Alcelaphus buselaphus, and Connochaetes gnou.

  2. †Equus capensis, †E. lylei, †Megalotragus priscus, †Pelorovis antiquus, †Damaliscus niro, and †Antidorcas bondi.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Graham Avery, Denise Hamerton, and Deano Stynder (Iziko South African Museum Cape Town); Friederike Woog and Doris Mörike (Staatliche Museen für Naturkunde Stuttgart); and Gerald Mayr (Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt/Main) for allowing access to comparative collections. We also thank an anonymous reviewer and Antoine Louchart (Lyon) whose comments and information concerning additional references greatly improved the manuscript. A.M. was supported by the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Fellowship Programs BMBF-LPD 9901/8-183 and LPDR-2009-1. J.B. was supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, through an African Origins Platform grant, no. 65245.

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  1. Sektion Ornithologie, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Albrecht Manegold

  2. Florisbad Quaternary Research, National Museum, PO Box 266, 9300, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    James S. Brink

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  1. Albrecht Manegold
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Correspondence to Albrecht Manegold.

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Table 8 List of specimens studied
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Manegold, A., Brink, J.S. Descriptions and palaeoecological implications of bird remains from the Middle Pleistocene of Florisbad, South Africa. Paläontol Z 85, 19–32 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-010-0069-6

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