A simplified geological map of the outcrops of Karoo Supergroup rocks in Southern Africa. The Beaufort Group is represented by the yellow key on the map.
The Abrahamskraal Formation comprises the majority of the Middle PermianBeaufort sequence, and are thought to range between 268 - 259 million years in age. The lowermost deposits of the Abrahamskraal Formation found in the Eastern Cape until recently were named the Koonap Formation, but these outcrops have been amalgamated into the Abrahamskraal Formation due to recent stratigraphic and biostratigraphic research.[3] The Abrahamskraal Formation incorporates the entire Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone in its upper sections and the entire Eodicynodon Assemblage Zone its lowermost southern deposits. In the west and northerly deposits the Abrahamskraal Formation overlies the Waterford Formation and the Middleton Formation in the south, both formations containing the uppermost deposits of the Ecca Group.
The rocks of the Abrahamskraal Formation comprise mainly greenish-grey to blueish-grey mudstone coupled with rarer instances of greyish-red, reddish-brown or purple mudstones. These include subordinate greenish-grey, fine-grained sandstones which are normally observed in fining upward cycles. The sandstones vary in thickness from several metres to several tens of metres in some localities. Siltstones are also found interbedded with the mudstone beds. The presence of these rocks reveal much about the past environment that they were deposited in. They were formed by sedimentary material being deposited in the Karoo Basin - a retro-arcforeland basin - by vast, low-energy alluvial plains flowing northwards from the south. The lowermost deposits are considered to be deltaic and grade laterally into the underlying Ecca Group deposits in its southern localities. Deposits grade steadily younger in the northeast where the sedimentaryfacies turn fully terrestrial. The greenish-grey mudstones are usually associated with the deltaicsedimentaryfacies while the redder mudstones with the terrestrial.[4][5][6][7]
All sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Basin were transported downhill from the south in the shadow of the rising Gondwanide mountain range. The Gondwanides were the result of tectonic uplift that had previously begun to take course due to subduction of the Palaeo-pacific plate beneath the Gondwanan Plate. Orogenic pulses from the growing Gondwanides mountain chain and associated subduction created accommodation space for sedimentation in the Karoo Basin where the deposits of the Abrahamskraal Formation and all succeeding deposits of the Karoo Basin were deposited over millions of years.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Prince Albert, Leeu Gamka, Hottentotsrivier Farm, Leeurivier, Mynhardtskraal, Groot Kruidfortein, Zwarts Siding, Sutherland, and Knoffelfortein.
Tapinocephalus A-Z
A complete skull and separate lower jaw with a complete postcranial skeleton consisting of a complete shoulder girdle and pelvis, a complete vertebral column with few missing at the end of the caudal vertebrae. The right fore and hind limbs are complete. The left humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula are partially preserved.
A pareiasaur.
B. seeleyi
A partial skeleton consists of a complete skull, lower jaw, partial vertebral column, some ribs, osteoderms, and parts of girdles.
Distorted skull with the occluded lower jaw, vertebrae 1 to 27 with articulated osteoderms, two small articulated caudal vertebrae, partial left scapulocoracoid, cleithrum, left and right clavicle, and interclavicle, complete right humerus, partial left humerus, complete right radius, partial left radius, both ulnae complete, both femora complete, both tibia complete, right fibula, partial left fibula, complete pelvis, two digits of the forelimb and two digits of the hindlimb
A partial skull from the occiput (the back face of the skull) up to the orbits, including the basicranium (the floor of the skull beneath the braincase), an eroded upper surface preserving the intact pre parietal and portions of the surrounding frontals and parietal bones, with a broken left zygomatic arch and a left palatine displaced into the left orbit,
The Abrahamskraal Formation corresponds with numerous localities abroad. Currently it is considered to correlate chronostratigraphically with the Rio do Rasto Formation from the Paraná Basin in Brazil,[57][58] the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation of Zambia,[59] the Ocher and Isheevo faunas of Russia,[60] and to the Dashankou fauna from the Xidagou Formation of China. However, correlative dating between the Xidagou Formation and the Abrahamskraal Formation remains inconsistent and needs further study.
^Day, M. O.; Rubidge, B. S. (2014-12-01). "A brief lithostratigraphic review of the Abrahamskraal and Koonap formations of the Beaufort Group, South Africa: Towards a basin-wide stratigraphic scheme for the Middle Permian Karoo". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 100: 227–242. Bibcode:2014JAfES.100..227D. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2014.07.001. ISSN1464-343X.
^Smith, R. M. H.; Eriksson, P. G.; Botha, W. J. (1993-01-01). "A review of the stratigraphy and sedimentary environments of the Karoo-aged basins of Southern Africa". Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East). 16 (1–2): 143–169. Bibcode:1993JAfES..16..143S. doi:10.1016/0899-5362(93)90164-L. ISSN0899-5362.
^Catuneanu, Octavian; Bowker, Duncan (2001-01-01). "Sequence stratigraphy of the Koonap and Middleton fluvial formations in the Karoo foredeep South Africa". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 33 (3–4): 579–595. Bibcode:2001JAfES..33..579C. doi:10.1016/S0899-5362(01)00095-1. ISSN1464-343X.
^Rubidge, B. S. (ed.) 1995b. Biostratigraphy of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup). South African Committee of Stratigraphy. Biostratigraphic Series 1. Pretoria, Council for Geoscience.
^Kitching, J. W. (1970). A short review of the Beaufort zoning in South Africa. In Second Gondwana Symposium Proceedings and Papers (Vol. 1, pp. 309-312).
^Keyser, A.W. and Smith, R.M.H., 1978. Vertebrate biozonation of the Beaufort Group with special reference to the western Karoo Basin. Geological Survey, Department of Mineral And Energy Affairs, Republic of South Africa.
^Catuneanua, O.; Hancox, P. J.; Cairncross, B.; Rubidge, B. S. (2002-11-01). "Foredeep submarine fans and forebulge deltas: orogenic off-loading in the underfilled Karoo Basin". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 35 (4): 489–502. Bibcode:2002JAfES..35..489C. doi:10.1016/S0899-5362(02)00154-9. ISSN1464-343X.
^Catuneanu, Octavian (2004). "Basement control on flexural profiles and the distribution of foreland facies: The Dwyka Group of the Karoo Basin, South Africa". Geology. 32 (6): 517. Bibcode:2004Geo....32..517C. doi:10.1130/G20526.1. ISSN0091-7613.
^Kammerer, Christian F. (2013-09-21), "A Redescription of Eriphostoma microdon Broom, 1911 (Therapsida, Gorgonopsia) from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of South Africa and a Review of Middle Permian Gorgonopsians", Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, Springer Netherlands, pp. 171–184, doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6841-3_11, ISBN9789400768406
^Kammerer, Christian F.; Smith, Roger M. H.; Day, Michael O.; Rubidge, Bruce S. (2015-02-16). "New information on the morphology and stratigraphic range of the mid-Permian gorgonopsianEriphostoma microdonBroom, 1911". Papers in Palaeontology. 1 (2): 201–221. Bibcode:2015PPal....1..201K. doi:10.1002/spp2.1012. ISSN2056-2802. S2CID128762256.
^Cluver, M.A., 1975. A New Didynodont Reptile from the Tapinocephalus Zone [Karoo System, Beaufort Series] of South Africa, with Evidence of the Jaw Adductor Musculature.
^Boonstra, L. D. (1934). "A contribution to the morphology of the mammal-like reptiles of the sub-order Therocephalia". Annals of the South African Museum. 31: 215–267.
^Broom, R (1935). "On some new genera and species of Karroo fossil reptiles". Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 18: 55–72.
^Boonstra, L. D. 1948. Anomodont reptiles from the Tapinocephalus zone of the Karroo System. In: Du Toit, A. L. (ed.) Special Publications of the Royal Society of South Africa. Robert Broom Commemorative Volume., 57-64. Cape Town: The Royal Society.
^Broom, R (1948). "A contribution to our knowledge of the vertebrates of the Karroo Beds of South Africa". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 61 (2): 577–629. doi:10.1017/s0080456800004865. S2CID131663553.
^Cluver, M. A. (1975). "A new dicynodont reptile from the Tapinocephalus Zone (Karoo System, Beaufort series) of South Africa, with evidence of the jaw adductor musculature". Annals of the South African Museum. 67: 7–23.
^Cisneros, Juan Carlos; Rubidge, Bruce S.; Mason, Richard; Dube, Charlton (2008-01-01). "Analysis of millerettid parareptile relationships in the light of new material ofBroomia perplexaWatson, 1914, from the Permian of South Africa". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 6 (4): 453–462. Bibcode:2008JSPal...6..453C. doi:10.1017/s147720190800254x. ISSN1477-2019. S2CID73723455.
^Angielczyk, Kenneth D.; Rubidge, Bruce S.; Day, Michael O.; Lin, Florence (2016-02-06). "A reevaluation ofBrachyprosopus broomiandChelydontops altidentalis, dicynodonts (Therapsida, Anomodontia) from the middle PermianTapinocephalusAssemblage Zone of the Karoo Basin, South Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (2): e1078342. Bibcode:2016JVPal..36E8342A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1078342. ISSN0272-4634. S2CID130520407.
^ANGIELCZYK, KENNETH D.; RUBIDGE, BRUCE S. (2010-09-01). "A new pylaecephalid dicynodont (Therapsida, Anomodontia) from theTapinocephalusAssemblage Zone, Karoo Basin, Middle Permian of South Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (5): 1396–1409. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30.1396A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.501447. ISSN0272-4634. S2CID129846697.
^Boos, A. D. S.; Kammerer, C. F.; Schultz, C. L.; Paes Neto, V. D. (2015-11-01). "A tapinocephalid dinocephalian (Synapsida, Therapsida) from the Rio do Rasto Formation (Paraná Basin, Brazil): Taxonomic, ontogenetic and biostratigraphic considerations". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 63: 375–384. Bibcode:2015JSAES..63..375B. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2015.09.003. ISSN0895-9811.
^Boonstra, L.D., 1969. The fauna of the Tapinocephalus Zone (Beaufort beds of the Karoo)
^Bond, D.P.G.; Wignall, P.B.; Wang, W.; Izon, G.; Jiang, H.-S.; Lai, X.-L.; Sun, Y.-D.; Newton, R.J.; Shao, L.-Y.; Védrine, S.; Cope, H. (2010-06-01). "The mid-Capitanian (Middle Permian) mass extinction and carbon isotope record of South China". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 292 (1–2): 282–294. Bibcode:2010PPP...292..282B. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.03.056. ISSN0031-0182.
^Reisz, Robert R.; Dilkes, David W.; Berman, David S. (1998-09-15). "Anatomy and relationships ofElliotsmithia longicepsBroom, a small synapsid (Eupelycosauria: Varanopseidae) from the late Permian of South Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18 (3): 602–611. Bibcode:1998JVPal..18..602R. doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011087. ISSN0272-4634.
^MODESTO, SEAN; SIDOR, CHRISTIAN A.; RUBIDGE, BRUCE S.; WELMAN, JOHANN (2007-01-02). "A second varanopseid skull from the Upper Permian of South Africa: implications for Late Permian 'pelycosaur' evolution". Lethaia. 34 (4): 249–259. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.2001.tb00053.x. ISSN0024-1164.
^Cluver, M.A. and Hotton, N., 1981. The genera Dicynodon and Diictodon and their bearing on the classification of the Dicynodontia (Reptilia, Therapsida). South African Museum.
^Marsicano, Claudia & Latimer, Elizabeth & Rubidge, Bruce & Smith, Roger. (2017). The Rhinesuchidae and early history of the Stereospondyli (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) at the end of the Palaeozoic. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 181. 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlw032.
^Bender, P.A. (2005). A new deep-bodied Late Permian actinopterygian fish from the Beaufort Group, South Africa.
^Bruce S. Rubidge, Michael O. Day, Julien Benoit, First record of the rare dicynodont Colobodectes from the southern Karoo Basin of South Africa has implications for middle Permian continental biostratigraphy, Journal of African Earth Sciences, Volume 208, 2023, 105097, ISSN 1464-343X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2023.105097.
^ Matlhaga, Fonda R.; Benoit, Julien; Rubidge, Bruce S. (2024). "A new middle Permian burnetiamorph (Therapsida: Biarmosuchia) from the South African Karoo filling a gap in the biarmosuchian record". Palaeontologia Africana. 58: 28–36. hdl:10539/40426.
^Boonstra, L. D., 1969, The fauna of the Tapinocephalus zone (Beaufort beds of the Karoo): Annals of the South African Museum, v. 56, part 1, p. 1-73.
^Reisz, Robert & Dilkes, David. (1992). The taxonomic position of Anningia megalops, a small amniote from the Permian of South Africa. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 29. 1605-1608. 10.1139/e92-126. Anningia megalops Broom, 1927 is based upon a poorly preserved, incomplete skull and was interpreted originally as an intermediate form between therapsids and primitive nontherapsid synapsids (pelycosaurs). Restudy of the type specimen indicates that A. megalops is a nondiagnosable primitive synapsid and is, therefore, declared to be a nomen vanum.
^Cisneros, Juan Carlos; Abdala, Fernando; Rubidge, Bruce S.; Dentzien-Dias, Paula Camboim; Bueno, Ana de Oliveira (2011-03-25). "Dental Occlusion in a 260-Million-Year-Old Therapsid with Saber Canines from the Permian of Brazil". Science. 331 (6024): 1603–1605. Bibcode:2011Sci...331.1603C. doi:10.1126/science.1200305. ISSN0036-8075. PMID21436452. S2CID8178585.