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Burrow casts from the<i> Lystrosaurus-Procolophon </i>Assemblage-zone, Karoo Sequence, South Africa
Author(s) -
Gideon H. Groenewald
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
koedoe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 2071-0771
pISSN - 0075-6458
DOI - 10.4102/koedoe.v34i1.409
Subject(s) - burrow , assemblage (archaeology) , fauna , paleontology , geology , ecology , biology , geography
Five types of burrow casts from the Lystrosaurus- Procolophon Assemblage-zone (Palingkloof Member and Katberg Formation, Triassic, Karoo sequence. South Africa) are associated with casts of desiccation cracks and red mudstone. Vertebrate remains of Lystrosaurus sp. and Procolophon sp. indicate that these animals probably made the burrows during the Triassic. It is possible that burrowing was an adaptive advantage during periods of severe and unfavourable climatic conditions. Similar burrow casts were found in the Dicynodon-Theriognathus Assemblage-zone, suggesting a burrowing habit for fauna represented in this zone. In structure, the burrow casts resemble those of Scoyenia, Thalassinoides, Histioderma, Gyrolithes and Planolites reported from Germany, France, Asia, Ireland, Spain and the United States of America