A preliminary investigation of the mammalian microfauna in Pleistocene deposits of caves in the Transvaal system

This investigation aims to extend our knowledge of the fossil mammalian microfauna found in the Australopithecus-bearing breccias of the Transvaal System at Taung, Sterkfontein and Makapansgat. The available data derived from other localities such as Kromdraai and Bolt's Farm have been incorporated. The origin of these fossils, the method of extraction from the breccias, and a brief review of the geological nature of the deposits under consideration are discussed. Nearly 10,000 skeletal elements taken from five localities were studied, including 2,000 cranial fragments. The species represented are described systematically and a new species Malacothrix makapani is described. The contents of the breccia have been analysed statistically, on the dental complements of the various smaller mammals such as elephant shrews, bats and rodents. The information thus gained holds prospects for learning more about the persistence of the recent mammalian microfauna during the Pleistocene; the generic densities during the Pleistocene; and climatic and time differences between the different fossiliferous localities. Some forms such as Elephantulus langi, Palaeotomys gracilis and Cryptomys robertsi were stable genotypes ranging over a great span of time. In these breccias there is a preponderance of Mystromys hausleitneri and Palaeotomys gracilis while the true murids are numerically of lesser importance. The T aung deposit is ecologically different and the oldest, followed by Sterkfontein which slightly antedates Makapansgat.