ADVERTISEMENT
Friday, January 27, 2023
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Involve Africa
  • Home
  • All African News
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Entertainment News
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Arts
  • Finance
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All African News
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Entertainment News
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Arts
  • Finance
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
No Result
View All Result
Involve Africa
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Technology

Tiny tracks tell of ancient paths made by gerbils and spiders on South Africa’s south coast

Involve Africa by Involve Africa
May 24, 2022
in Technology
0
Tiny tracks tell of ancient paths made by gerbils and spiders on South Africa’s south coast
585
SHARES
3.2k
VIEWS
https://web.facebook.com/involveafricanews?_rdc=1&https://twitter.com/involveafricanews


When large animals like elephants, giraffes and crocodiles roamed what is today South Africa’s Cape south coast hundreds of thousands of years ago, they were not alone. Far below their sight lines, tiny creatures like gerbils were forging their own paths across the landscape.

Like their larger counterparts, these small creatures left their marks. Their tracks were preserved in aeolianites – the cemented remains of dune surfaces – and cemented beach deposits.

You might also like

Binance Charity Announces 1000 African Scholars In Collaboration With Utiva – Cryptopolitan

Artificial intelligence in South Africa comes with special dilemmas – plus the usual risks

Supporting The African Education Community To Achieve Its Goals

In a recently published article in Quaternary Research we documented these minute gerbil tracks and traces. We also described an invertebrate trackway, which we attributed to a spider. This work is part of the Cape south coast ichnology project.

Since it started in 2008 our team has identified more than 300 vertebrate tracksites along a 350 km stretch of South Africa’s coastline. They date back to the Pleistocene epoch, ranging mostly from 140,000 to about 70,000 years in age. The spider trackway is the first belonging to an invertebrate that the team has described.

There is something near-miraculous in the concept of tiny creatures, weighing just grams, making tracks and traces so long ago, that are now evident in rock, and are recognisable and amenable to our interpretation.

Finding and describing them helps us to reconstruct an ancient environment. This can deepen our understanding of how the landscape has changed over time and how it might change in the coming years as the climate shifts.

A rare find

The sites we have documented as part of our project would have been situated at the margin of the vast Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, which was alternately exposed and inundated during Pleistocene sea-level oscillations. The fossil tracksites we study provide a census of which creatures trod on the area’s ancient dunes and beaches.

The stretch of coastal cliffs in which these sites were found contains a concentrated zone of tracksites. To date, 80 vertebrate track sites have been identified in this remote area alone.

Several of these have had important paleo-environmental implications – like revealing the previously undocumented presence of hatchling sea-turtles.




Read more:
First fossil trails of baby sea turtles found in South Africa


It’s very unusual for small tracks to be preserved. Larger, heavier animals create larger, deeper tracks, which are easier to identify once Pleistocene palaeosurfaces are re-exposed. Dune and beach sands, being relatively coarse-grained, also do not provide ideal conditions for tracks to be registered and preserved. Good preservation is more likely in finer-grained silty sediments which are relatively rare in rocks along the Cape south coast.

Trackways of small mammals are extremely rare in the global fossil record, previously being known from only two Mesozoic sites (from the Jurassic Period in Patagonia about 165 million years ago) and three Cenozoic sites, from the Miocene Epoch about 15-20 million years ago in Colorado and Utah.

This makes our discovery of gerbil trackways especially exciting. The evidence for gerbils – probably the Cape gerbil, Gerbilliscus afra – included a trackway consisting of 12 pairs of tiny tracks in a typical bounding gait pattern (rather than a walking, running or hopping gait). We also found branching burrows and a characteristic structure resembling a debris mound that gerbils create at the entrance to their burrows and tunnels.

A tiny trail of tracks

Close by another site yielded a further unusual and exciting find: an arachnid trackway that extended for a distance of 25 cm. Extant spider groups in the region capable of making such traces include rain spiders and baboon spiders.

The spider trackway found by the research team. The scale bar is 10 cm.
Charles Helm

Invertebrate trace fossils are common on Cape south coast Pleistocene palaeosurfaces. But the science of analysing, describing and considering their paleoenvironmental significance is in its infancy. The arachnid trackway illustrates the potential of this field for future study.

Sadly, these sites are ephemeral. Within weeks of being identified the gerbil debris mound had disintegrated. Within a year the gerbil trackway had been severely eroded by wind and water and the rock containing the arachnid trackway had slumped into the ocean. This serves as a reminder of the need for frequent coastal surveys, in particular after rockfall events and storm surges.

Nonetheless, these discoveries show that under favourable circumstances Pleistocene palaeosurfaces on the Cape south coast have the capacity to preserve fine detail made by tiny trackmakers, visible under optimal lighting conditions.



Source_link

Previous Post

The Ultimate Guide to Lassen

Next Post

Africa: Davido, D’Banj, Yemi Alade to Perform At Africa Day Concert

Involve Africa

Involve Africa

Related Posts

Binance Charity Announces 1000 African Scholars In Collaboration With Utiva – Cryptopolitan
Technology

Binance Charity Announces 1000 African Scholars In Collaboration With Utiva – Cryptopolitan

by Involve Africa
January 27, 2023
Artificial intelligence in South Africa comes with special dilemmas – plus the usual risks
Technology

Artificial intelligence in South Africa comes with special dilemmas – plus the usual risks

by Involve Africa
January 27, 2023
Supporting The African Education Community To Achieve Its Goals
Technology

Supporting The African Education Community To Achieve Its Goals

by Involve Africa
January 27, 2023
It’ll take 150 years to map Africa’s biodiversity at the current rate. We can’t protect what we don’t know
Technology

It’ll take 150 years to map Africa’s biodiversity at the current rate. We can’t protect what we don’t know

by Involve Africa
January 26, 2023
This bill is giving Kenyans the right to disconnect after work
Technology

This bill is giving Kenyans the right to disconnect after work

by Involve Africa
January 26, 2023
Next Post
Kenya: Agriculture CS Says Coffee Farmers to Access Sh2.7 Billion Loan

Africa: Davido, D'Banj, Yemi Alade to Perform At Africa Day Concert

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Many Successful People Are Copy Cats

Many Successful People Are Copy Cats

October 28, 2022
This European country is now a top destination for people looking at options outside of South Africa

This European country is now a top destination for people looking at options outside of South Africa

May 29, 2022

Categories

  • All African News
  • Arts
  • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
  • Entertainment News
  • Finance
  • Food & Agriculture
  • News Videos
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Travel

Don't miss it

AFRICA NEWS ROOM – Sénégal: Promouvoir la propriété immobilière à travers le PSE (2/3)
News Videos

AFRICA NEWS ROOM – Sénégal: Promouvoir la propriété immobilière à travers le PSE (2/3)

January 27, 2023
Total Telecom takes highly successful Connected event series to the U.S.
Business & Economy

Total Telecom takes highly successful Connected event series to the U.S.

January 27, 2023
Farmers living on HS2 route ‘dismayed’ at fresh uncertainty
Food & Agriculture

Farmers living on HS2 route ‘dismayed’ at fresh uncertainty

January 27, 2023
Climate change is threatening Madagascar’s famous forests – our study shows how serious it is
Energy & Environment

Climate change is threatening Madagascar’s famous forests – our study shows how serious it is

January 27, 2023
Telling the stories left out of history books: Catch celebrated photographer Deborah Willis at the Norton Museum
Arts

Telling the stories left out of history books: Catch celebrated photographer Deborah Willis at the Norton Museum

January 27, 2023
Gandhi’s image is under scrutiny 75 years after his assassination – but his protest principles are being revived
Politics

Gandhi’s image is under scrutiny 75 years after his assassination – but his protest principles are being revived

January 27, 2023

Social Bar

Welcome to involve Africa The goal of involve Africa is to give you the absolute best news sources for any topic! Our topics are carefully curated and constantly updated as we know the web moves fast so we try to as well.

Categories

  • All African News
  • Arts
  • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
  • Entertainment News
  • Finance
  • Food & Agriculture
  • News Videos
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Travel

Site Links

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Recent News

AFRICA NEWS ROOM – Sénégal: Promouvoir la propriété immobilière à travers le PSE (2/3)

AFRICA NEWS ROOM – Sénégal: Promouvoir la propriété immobilière à travers le PSE (2/3)

January 27, 2023
Total Telecom takes highly successful Connected event series to the U.S.

Total Telecom takes highly successful Connected event series to the U.S.

January 27, 2023

INVOLVEAFRICA.COM

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All African News
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Entertainment News
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Arts
  • Finance
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment

INVOLVEAFRICA.COM

What Are Cookies
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT