Koeberg Nuclear Power Station: Zanclean, South Africa

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Sparidae indet.
Govender 2019
Heyaenidae indet.
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Carnivora - Phocidae
Phocidae indet. (Gray 1821)
Avery and Klein 2011
original and current combination Phocadae
Homiphoca sp. Muizon and Hendey 1980
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Carnivora - Otariidae
Otariidae indet. (Gray 1825)
Avery and Klein 2011
Arctocephalus sp. Cuvier 1826
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Cetacea
Odontoceti indet. Flower 1867
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Cetacea - Ziphiidae
cf. Izikoziphius sp. Bianucci et al. 2007
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Cetacea - Delphinidae
Delphinidae indet. Gray 1821
Mannino et al. 2015
Mammalia - Cetacea - Phocoenidae
Phocoenidae indet. (Gray 1825)
Mannino et al. 2015
cf. Australithax sp. Muizon 1988
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Cetacea - Physeteridae
Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus 1758
Mannino et al. 2015
Mammalia - Cetacea - Balaenopteridae
Balaenopteridae indet. Gray 1864
Mannino et al. 2015
Fragilicetus sp. Bisconti and Bosselaers 2016
Govender 2019
Diunatans sp. Bosselaers and Post 2010
Govender 2019
sp. 1
"Balaenoptera" borealina Van Beneden 1880
Govender 2019
nomen dubium belonging to Balaenopteridae
Mammalia - Bovidae
Pelorovis antiquus (Duvernoy 1851)
Govender 2019
Taurotragus strepiceros
Govender 2019
Connochaetes sp. (Lichtenstein 1812)
Govender 2019
Antilopini indet. Gray 1821
Govender 2019
Antidorcas sp. Sundevall 1847
Govender 2019
Redunca sp. Smith 1827
Govender 2019
Raphicerus sp. Smith 1827
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Ceratotherium sp. Gray 1868
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae
Hipparion sp. de Christol 1832
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Lagomorpha
Lagomorpha indet. Brandt 1885
Govender 2019
Mammalia - Rodentia - Bathyergidae
Bathyergidae indet. Waterhouse 1841
Govender 2019
Reptilia - Spheniscidae
"Dege" hendeyi Simpson 1979
Olson 1985 2 specimens
"Inguza" predemersus (Simpson 1971)
Olson 1985 13 specimens
Nucleornis insolitus n. gen., n. sp. Simpson 1979
12 specimens
    = "Nucleornis" insolitus Simpson 1979
Olson 1985
Reptilia
"Palaeospheniscus" huxleyorum Simpson 1973
Olson 1985 43 specimens
Reptilia - Oceanitidae
Oceanites sp. Keyserling and Blasius 1840
Olson 1985 1 specimen
Reptilia - Procellariidae
Procellariidae indet. Vigors 1825
Olson 1983
Calonectris sp. Mathews and Iredale 1915
Olson 1985 2 specimens
Fulmarinae indet.
Olson 1985 1 specimen
Pachyptila sp. Illiger 1811
Olson 1985 4 specimens
species B & C
Pachyptila salax Olson 1985
Olson 1985 8 specimens
Puffinus (Puffinus) sp. Brisson 1760
Olson 1985 17 specimens
species A & B & C
Procellaria sp. Linnaeus 1758
Olson 1985 2 specimens
Reptilia - Suliformes - Sulidae
Sulidae indet. Reichenbach 1849
Olson 1983
Sula sp. Brisson 1760
Olson 1985 1 specimen
Reptilia - Suliformes - Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocoracidae indet. Reichenbach 1850
Olson 1983
3 spp.
Phalacrocorax (cf. Microcarbo) sp. (Bonaparte 1856)
Olson 1985 1 specimen
original and current combination Microcarbo
Phalacrocorax sp. Brisson 1760
Olson 1985 23 specimens
Reptilia - Phasianidae
Francolinus sp. Stephens 1819
Olson 1985 1 specimen
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudinidae indet. Batsch 1788
Govender 2019
Actinopteri - Siluriformes - Ariidae
Tachysurus sp. Lacepede 1804
Govender 2019
Actinopteri - Istiophoriformes - Xiphiidae
Xiphiidae indet. Swainson 1839
Govender 2019
Actinopteri - Tetraodontiformes - Balistidae
Balistidae indet.
Govender 2019
Chondrichthyes - Carcharhiniformes - Sphyrnidae
Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus 1758)
Govender 2019
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Carchariidae
Carcharias taurus Rafinesque 1810
Govender 2019
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Otodontidae
Carcharocles megalodon (Agassiz 1835)
Govender 2019
recombined as Otodus megalodon
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Lamnidae
Isurus oxyrhynchus (Rafinesque 1810)
Govender 2019
original and current combination Isurus oxyrinchus
Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus 1758)
Govender 2019
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Alopiidae
Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre 1788)
Govender 2019
Chondrichthyes - Rhinopristiformes - Pristidae
Pristidae indet. Bonaparte 1838
Govender 2019
Chondrichthyes - Myliobatiformes - Myliobatidae
Myliobatidae indet. Bonaparte 1838
Govender 2019
see common names

Geography
Country:South Africa
Coordinates: 33.7° South, 18.4° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:33.8° South, 18.0° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Pliocene
Stage:Zanclean 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 6
Key time interval:Zanclean
Age range of interval:5.33300 - 3.60000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Varswater
Stratigraphic resolution:formation
Stratigraphy comments: early Pliocene

The fossils provide a Zanclean age (5 Ma) for the deposit4 which is equivalent to the Muishond Fontein Pelletal Phosphorite Member of the Varswater Formation at Langebaanweg.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:red,yellow sandstone
Includes fossils?Y
Environment:paralic indet.
Geology comments: JA: originally entered by Uhen as eolian (terrestrial) but the material is clearly from a beach and almost entirely marine, so I have changed it to paralic
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:selective quarrying
Collection size:0 specimens
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Metadata
Also known as:Duinefontein
Database number:100313
Authorizer:M. Uhen Enterer:M. Uhen
Modifier:M. Uhen Research group:vertebrate
Created:2010-12-08 02:30:41 Last modified:2017-05-23 16:34:15
Access level:the public Released:2010-12-08 02:30:41
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
25188. G. G. Simpson. 1979. Tertiary penguins from the Duinefontein site, Cape Province, South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 79(1):1-7 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]

Secondary references:

37211 G. A. Avery and R. G. Klein. 2011. Review of fossil phocid and otariid seals from the southern and western coasts of South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 66(1):14-24 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
62247 R. Govender. 2019. Fossil cetaceans from Duinefontein (Koeberg) an early Pliocene site on the southwestern Cape, South Africa. Palaeontologia Electronica 22(1.6A):1-21 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
43662 D. T. Ksepka and D. B. Thomas. 2012. Multiple Cenozoic invasions of Africa by penguins (Aves, Sphenisciformes). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 279:1027-1032 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/J. Alroy]
57380 M. A. Mannino, S. Talamo, A. Tagliacozzo, I. Fiore, O. Nehlich, M. Piperno, S. Tusa, C. Collina, R. Di Salvo, V. Schimmenti, and M. P. Richards. 2015. Climate-driven environmental changes around 8,200 years ago favoured increases in cetacean strandings and Mediterranean hunter-gatherers exploited them. Scientific Reports 5:16288 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
34469 S. L. Olson. 1983. Fossil seabirds and changing marine environments in the late Tertiary of South Africa. South African Journal of Science 79:399-402 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
34440 S. L. Olson. 1985. An early Pliocene marine avifauna from Duinefontein, Cape Province, South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 95(4):147-164 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]