1.9 million year old fossilised Genet bones shed light on the Malapan Environment

The use of small-bodied animals, especially small Carnivora, as indicators of palaeoenvironment, is becoming more pronounced. These smaller taxa are more spatiotemporally constrained, owing to high territoriality, ecosystem sensitivity and physical limitations on their ability to travel large distances within their lifespan. This article describes seven new Viverridae specimens, together with a re-evaluation of a previously published specimen, from the hominin-bearing site of Malapa, located in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, South Africa. When combined with other palaeoenvironmental indicators, the addition of these eight specimens, consisting of Genetta sp., Genetta genetta, and Genetta cf. tigrina, allows for a more precise reconstruction of the environment surrounding Malapa as well as providing additional insights into possible depositional factors that could have resulted in the accumulation of the Malapa deposit. Both species have small home ranges, avoid open or grassland areas and live primarily in woodland areas. The fossils presented here include juvenile and partial skeletons with no carnivore modification evident, which suggests that these individuals lived in or around the cave opening at the time of deposition. the presence of both G. genetta and G. tigrina further supports the existing palaeo-reconstructions for Malapa, specifically that the immediate area surrounding the cave opening was a closed canopy forested/woodland area with a nearby permanent water source, with open grassland in the vicinity. 

New Viverridae specimens from the Malapa Hominin Site and their utility as palaeoenvironmental indicators

Renier Hendrik van der Merwe, Stephanie Edwards-Baker, Brian F. Kuhn

DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2021.04.005