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Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa
The main Karoo Basin of South Africa contains a relatively continuous sequence of continental deposits that accumulated over a 100 million year period from Permo-Carboniferous (280 Ma) to early Jurassic (180 Ma). In the southwestern region of the basin the Karoo succession is approximately 4 000 m t...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Geological Sciences
2017
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| _version_ | 1867614330810269696 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Smith, Roger M H |
| author2 | Minter, Laurie |
| author_browse | Minter, Laurie Smith, Roger M H |
| author_facet | Minter, Laurie Smith, Roger M H |
| author_sort | Smith, Roger M H |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The main Karoo Basin of South Africa contains a relatively continuous sequence of continental deposits that accumulated over a 100 million year period from Permo-Carboniferous (280 Ma) to early Jurassic (180 Ma). In the southwestern region of the basin the Karoo succession is approximately 4 000 m thick, the upper half of which consists of vertebrate fossil-bearing fluvial rocks of the Beaufort Group. This study deals with Lower Beaufort (Adelaide Subgroup) strata belonging to the Teekloof Formation which are exposed in the cast-west trending erosional escarpment between the towns of Beaufort West and Fraserburg in the central Cape Province. The 450-mctre succession consists mainly of vertically accreted floodplain mudrocks with interbedded continuous sheets of fine-grained sandstone that bear evidence of having accumulated by lateral accretion on the inner banks of meandering channels. The mudrocks contain numerous fossilized skeletons of therapsid "mammal-like" reptiles as well as more primitive cotylosaurs and a few amphibians. Rarely, impressions of Glossopteris leaves and equisetalcan stems are found although root moulds are relatively abundant. Several types of calcareous nodules and sheets occur in the mudrocks and arc interpreted as evidence of calcic palaeosols that formed under semi-arid climatic conditions. This is an interdisciplinary study that integrates a conventional sedimentary facies analysis with investigations of the taphonomy of in situ therapsid fossils and the nature and distribution of palaeosols. Such an approach has not previously been applied to any of the Karoo strata. The results contain descriptive and quantitative information on sedimentary processes, palaeohydrology, absolute time represented in the stratigraphic record and the topography, soils and habitats of the ancient landscape. These are summarized into a palaeoenvironmental synthesis of the Teckloof Formation. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/23646 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:50:20.246Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Department of Geological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Geological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/23646 Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa Smith, Roger M H Minter, Laurie Cluver, Mike Mineralogy Geology The main Karoo Basin of South Africa contains a relatively continuous sequence of continental deposits that accumulated over a 100 million year period from Permo-Carboniferous (280 Ma) to early Jurassic (180 Ma). In the southwestern region of the basin the Karoo succession is approximately 4 000 m thick, the upper half of which consists of vertebrate fossil-bearing fluvial rocks of the Beaufort Group. This study deals with Lower Beaufort (Adelaide Subgroup) strata belonging to the Teekloof Formation which are exposed in the cast-west trending erosional escarpment between the towns of Beaufort West and Fraserburg in the central Cape Province. The 450-mctre succession consists mainly of vertically accreted floodplain mudrocks with interbedded continuous sheets of fine-grained sandstone that bear evidence of having accumulated by lateral accretion on the inner banks of meandering channels. The mudrocks contain numerous fossilized skeletons of therapsid "mammal-like" reptiles as well as more primitive cotylosaurs and a few amphibians. Rarely, impressions of Glossopteris leaves and equisetalcan stems are found although root moulds are relatively abundant. Several types of calcareous nodules and sheets occur in the mudrocks and arc interpreted as evidence of calcic palaeosols that formed under semi-arid climatic conditions. This is an interdisciplinary study that integrates a conventional sedimentary facies analysis with investigations of the taphonomy of in situ therapsid fossils and the nature and distribution of palaeosols. Such an approach has not previously been applied to any of the Karoo strata. The results contain descriptive and quantitative information on sedimentary processes, palaeohydrology, absolute time represented in the stratigraphic record and the topography, soils and habitats of the ancient landscape. These are summarized into a palaeoenvironmental synthesis of the Teckloof Formation. 2017-01-27T12:50:47Z 2017-01-27T12:50:47Z 1989 2017-01-23T13:32:23Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/23646 eng application/pdf Department of Geological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Mineralogy Geology Smith, Roger M H Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa |
| title_full | Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa |
| title_short | Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa |
| title_sort | fluvial facies vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the teekloof formation permian near beaufort west cape province south africa |
| topic | Mineralogy Geology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/23646 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT smithrogermh fluvialfaciesvertebratetaphonomyandpalaeosolsoftheteekloofformationpermiannearbeaufortwestcapeprovincesouthafrica |