. Annals of the South African Museum = Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Natural history. 44 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM ~*wm # / :?. 'f : - ? - 110 1 1 1 3 1 5 1 6 1 7 118 1 9 Fig 12. Marks left on a Mesembriportax acrae horn-core from the PPM 3aS (SAM-PQ-40071) by keratophagous insect larvae. Although the lists for individual horizons broadly reflect the local fauna of the period of deposition, they do not necessarily represent the fauna of a single habitat. In the case of some levels it is possible that the assemblages include specimens derived from pre-existing deposits. This a
. Annals of the South African Museum = Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Natural history. 44 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM ~*wm # / :?. 'f : - ? - 110 1 1 1 3 1 5 1 6 1 7 118 1 9 Fig 12. Marks left on a Mesembriportax acrae horn-core from the PPM 3aS (SAM-PQ-40071) by keratophagous insect larvae. Although the lists for individual horizons broadly reflect the local fauna of the period of deposition, they do not necessarily represent the fauna of a single habitat. In the case of some levels it is possible that the assemblages include specimens derived from pre-existing deposits. This applies particularly in the case of the fluviatile deposits (beds 3aS and 3aN), which are, in addition, comprised largely of taxa whose remains were washed into the area from upstream habitats. Palaeoecological interpretations of the assemblages constitu- ting the 'E' Quarry fauna must, therefore, take these factors into account. An example of the palaeoecological studies which are possible is that by Kensley (1977) on the invertebrate assemblage from QSM III ( the tidal-flat bed). In this instance the remains of the resident animal community were supplemented by others washed downstream by the river and upstream by the tides. This assemblage proved to be essentially similar to ones in comparable situations today, and, interestingly, it proved a better indication of the nature of the depositional environment than the sediments themselves. This was a general rule with most 'E' Quarry sediments, and attempts to interpret their history without taking into account the composition of individual assemblages and the condition of specimens, resulted in mistaken conclusions. For example, Butzer (1973) misinterpreted the depositional environments of the QSM (= Bed 2) and bed 3aS (= bed 3a) through using only geological evidence. While Bishop (1980) evidently appreciated the significance of the fossils, he supported Butzer's conclusions and ignored the palaeontological evidence which b
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
