PLEISTOCENE BIRD FOSSILS FROM KROMDRAAI AND STERKFONTEIN
PLEISTOCENE BIRD FOSSILS FROM KROMDRAAI AND STERKFONTEIN
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克罗姆德拉伊和斯特克方丹的更新世鸟类化石
DOI：
10.1080/00306525.1969.9639100
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发表时间：
1969
期刊：
影响因子：
1
通讯作者：
T. N. Pocock
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
T. N. Pocock
通过对Krugersdorp地区的一个名为“猿人”或南方古猿化石遗址Kromdraai的大量小型脊椎动物群化石中的鸟类成分进行分类和整理，对大约100万年前的更新世早期德兰士瓦高原的鸟类区系有了一些了解。对另一个地点Sterkfontein的材料的分类也已开始。第三个地点是茨瓦特克兰茨，虽然这三个地点距离很近，相距不到一英里，但它们的动物化石群却存在差异，这表明它们不是同时代的。Brain（1958年）的矿物学分析表明，克罗姆德赖洞穴充填存款是在一个比现在更潮湿的气候阶段形成的，而斯泰克方丹是在一个比现在更干燥的气候阶段形成的，具有Zwartkrantz中间状态。不幸的是，这些遗址无法确定年代，对斯泰克方丹遗址的研究至今没有成功（Tobias和Hughes，1969）。根据较大的哺乳动物群得出结论，克罗姆德赖是三个地点中最年轻的，而斯特克方丹是最古老的（Ewer和Cooke，1964年），但这一点有些可疑，因为微型动物群没有证实这一点。可以说的是，这三个地点虽然时间不同，但都属于大约一百万年前的更新世晚期。然而，尽管存在差异，动物群的一般特征是相似的，表明该地区当时和现在一样，是适度开放的草地，没有厚灌木的物种特征（Ewer和Cooke，1964年）。这一结论得到了微型动物区系的证实，最常见的啮齿动物是Mystrornys Iiausleitneri，其现代后代M。albicaudatus（较大但其他方面相似）是稀树草原的一个物种（Davis，1962）。这三个地点都有相当数量的微型动物遗骸，其中大部分几乎可以肯定是由猫头鹰带来的（Broom 1948; Davis 1959; De Graaff 1960~）。Kromdraai系列源自18英尺。CK Brain博士从Kromdraai B挖掘的分解角砾岩，这是该遗址的两个挖掘之一。戴维斯（Davis，1959，1962）对微型动物区系中的哺乳动物进行了初步研究，但尚未发表完整的分析。本文件本身是初步的，因为由于参考材料不足，没有确定所有内容。也不打算在这个阶段完全描述化石或将它们命名为新物种，尽管在一两个情况下这可能是合理的。
Some insight into the avifauna of the Transvaal Highveld during the early Pleistocene, about one million years ago, has been afforded by sorting and classifying the avian elements from a large quantity of small fossil vertebrate fauna from Kromdraai, one of the so-called “ape-man” or australopithecine fossil sites in the Krugersdorp district. Sorting has also begun on material from another of the sites, Sterkfontein. A third site is Zwartkrantz.Although close together, lying within a mile of each other, the three sites show differences in their fossil fauna indicating that they are not contemporaneous. Mineralogical analysis by Brain (1958) has shown that the Kromdraai cave-filling deposit was laid down during a wetter, and Sterkfontein a drier climatic phase than the present, with Zwartkrantz intermediate. Unfortunately the sites cannot be absolutely dated, attempts in the case of Sterkfontein having so far been unsuccessful (Tobias and Hughes 1969). It has been concluded on the basis of the larger mammal fauna that Kromdraai is the youngest and Sterkfontein the oldest of the three sites (Ewer and Cooke 1964), but this is somewhat dubious as it is not borne out by the microfauna. All that can be said is that all three sites while differing in time, all belong in the lower Pleistocene approximately a million years ago. Despite the differences, however, the general characteristics of the faunas are similar and indicate that the area was then, as now, moderately open grass country, species characteristic of thick bush being absent (Ewer and Cooke 1964). This conclusion is confirmed by the microfauna, the commonest rodent being Mystrornys Iiausleitneri, whose modern descendant M. albicaudatus (larger but otherwise similar) is a species of savanna grassland (Davis, 1962). All three sites are characterized by considerable quantities of microfaunal remains, the bulk of which was almost certainly brought in by owls (Broom 1948; Davis 1959; De Graaff 1960~). The Kromdraai collection is derived from 18 ft. of decomposed breccia excavated by Dr. CK Brain from Kromdraai B, one of the two excavations at the site. Preliminary findings on the mammals in the microfauna have been given by Davis (1959, 1962) but a full analysis has yet to be published. The present paper is itself preliminary since, owing to inadequacy of reference material, not everything has been identified. Nor is it intended to describe the fossils fully or name them as new species at this stage although this may be justifiable in one or two cases.