Transvaal Museum Research Articles

Michael Patrick Stuart Irwin (1925–2017)

Michael Patrick Stuart Irwin (1925–2017)

How We Came to Be: Evidence from Primate Relatives and Fossil Ancestors Offer Clues to How Human Capabilities for Birth, Posture, and Walking Evolved

How We Came to Be: Evidence from Primate Relatives and Fossil Ancestors Offer Clues to How Human Capabilities for Birth, Posture, and Walking Evolved

Surface Model and Tomographic Archive of Fossil Primate and Other Mammal Holotype and Paratype Specimens of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa.

Nearly a century of paleontological excavation and analysis from the cave deposits of the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site in northeastern South Africa underlies much of our understanding of the evolutionary history of hominins, other primates and other mammal lineages in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene of Africa. As one of few designated fossil repositories, the Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (DNMNH; the former Transvaal Museum) curates much of the mammalian faunas recovered from the fossil-rich deposits of major South African hominin-bearing localities, including the holotype and paratype specimens of many primate, carnivore, and other mammal species (Orders Primates, Carnivora, Artiodactyla, Eulipotyphla, Hyracoidea, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla, and Proboscidea). Here we describe an open-access digital archive of high-resolution, full-color three-dimensional (3D) surface meshes of all 89 non-hominin holotype, paratype and significant mammalian specimens curated in the Plio-Pleistocene Section vault. Surface meshes were generated using a commercial surface scanner (Artec Spider, Artec Group, Luxembourg), are provided in formats that can be opened in both open-source and commercial software, and can be readily downloaded either via an online data repository (MorphoSource) or via direct request from the DNMNH. In addition to providing surface meshes for each specimen, we also provide tomographic data (both computerized tomography [CT] and microfocus [microCT]) for a subset of these fossil specimens. This archive of the DNMNH Plio-Pleistocene collections represents the first research-quality 3D datasets of African mammal fossils to be made openly available. This simultaneously provides the paleontological community with essential baseline information (e.g., updated listing and 3D record of specimens in their current state of preservation) and serves as a single resource of high-resolution digital data that improves collections accessibility, reduces unnecessary duplication of efforts by researchers, and encourages ongoing imaging-based paleobiological research across a range of South African non-hominin fossil faunas. Because the types, paratypes, and key specimens include globally-distributed mammal taxa, this digital archive not only provides 3D morphological data on taxa fundamental to Neogene and Quaternary South African palaeontology, but also lineages critical to research on African, other Old World, and New World paleocommunities. With such a broader impact of the DNMNH 3D data, we hope that establishing open access to this digital archive will encourage other researchers and institutions to provide similar resources that increase accessibility to paleontological collections and support advanced paleobiological analyses.

Identification of fossil hairs in Parahyaena brunnea coprolites from Middle Pleistocene deposits at Gladysvale cave, South Africa

This research focuses on scale pattern and cross sectional morphology of hair to identify an expanded sample of fossil hairs from Parahyaena brunnea coprolites from Gladysvale cave in the Sterkfontein Valley, South Africa. The coprolites are part of a brown hyaena latrine preserved in calcified cave sediment dated to the Middle Pleistocene (257–195 ka). Forty-eight fossil hairs were extracted from 12 coprolites using fine tweezers and a binocular microscope, and examined using a scanning electron microscope. Hair identification was based on consultation of standard guides to hair identification and comparison with our own collection of samples of guard hairs from 15 previously undocumented taxa of indigenous southern African mammals. Samples were taken from the back of pelts curated at the Johannesburg Zoo and Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (formerly Transvaal Museum, Pretoria). Based on the fossil hairs identified here, this research has established that brown hyaenas shared the Sterkfontein Valley with hominins, warthog, impala, zebra and kudu. Apart from humans, these animals are associated with savanna grasslands, much like the Highveld environment of today. These findings support the previous tentative identification of fossil human hair in the coprolites, provide a new source of information on the local Middle Pleistocene fossil mammal community, and insight into the environment in which archaic and emerging modern humans in the interior of the African subcontinent lived.

Linking sexual selection and behavioral isolation in a colorful species of stream fish, Etheostoma barrenense

Linking sexual selection and behavioral isolation in a colorful species of stream fish, Etheostoma barrenense

Kotie Roodt-Coetzee se bydrae tot die kultuurhistoriese museumwese in Suid-Afrika – die Transvaalmuseumfase, 1933-1964

Kotie Roodt-Coetzee's contribution to cultural history museology in South Africa - the Transvaal Museum phase, 1933-1964: This article highlights Kotie Roodt-Coetzee's contribution to cultural history museology in South Africa. Her interest in cultural history resulted in her first visit to the Old Museum in Boom Street, Pretoria (at that stage managed by the Transvaal Museum), where she found an exceptional collection of Afrikaner cultural objects. These were regarded as the history collection, as cultural history as an academic subject was in an early stage of development and not recognized as a museum subject on par with archaeology and anthropology. Many of the objects had been collected by the Staatsmuseum of the South African Republic. Roodt-Coetzee was concerned about the poor conditions that prevailed at the Old Museum, and raised the matter on several occasions. The fact that the public saw little of the collection was also a bone of contention. She made use of two opportunities to rectify this matter: objects from the collection were exhibited at the inauguration of the Voortrekker Monument in 1949 and the Van Riebeeck Festival in 1952. After her appointment as curator at the Transvaal Museum in 1953 she planned and put up many new exhibitions, such as the display to commemorate the Centenary of Pretoria in 1955 and the well-known Cape Silver Exhibition in 1962. She succeeded in assembling an exceptional collection of cultural history objects, one of the largest in the country. She regarded the conservation of the collection and the detailed documentation of the objects as priorities. She also gave the necessary attention to the Old Museum, the Kruger House and the museum at the Voortrekker Monument. Her ideal of an independent cultural history section was realized with the establishment of the National Cultural History and Open-Air Museum in 1964. Keywords: Collection, conservation, Cultural History, cultural history museums, exhibitions, F.V. FitzSimons, museums, museolgy, Kotie Roodt-Coetzee, National South Africa Journal of Cultural History Vol. 22 (1) 2008: pp. 112-135

Description of the larva of Anchophthalmus Gerstaecker, 1854 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Pedinini), with a key to larvae of Platynotina

The larvae of Anchophthalmus algoensis Péringuey, 1904 and A. silphoides Gerstaecker, 1854 are described and illustrated for the first time, based on preserved material in the Transvaal Museum (National Flagship Institution) in Pretoria (33 larvae). The great similarity of the morphological structures of the larvae of A. silphoides and A. algoensis made it impossible to distinguish them. A key to larvae of known subtribe Platynotina is presented.

A new apterous species of the genus Orphnus MacLeay (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Orphninae) from South Africa

The African continent has a diverse fauna of scarab beetles of the subfamily Orphninae with five genera and more than 100 described species (Arrow 1912, Frolov 2005). The great majority of these species belong to the genus Orphnus MacLeay (Paulian 1948, Petrovitz 1971). Most of the species in this genus have well-developed wings. A few species, however, have reduced or almost absent wings. Recently I had the opportunity to examine two apterous specimens from the Transvaal Museum, South Africa, belonging to an undescribed species similar to O. (Parorphnus) luminosus Benderitter. This new species is described below.

Schulze, L.: A review of silk production and spinning activities in Arthropoda with special reference to spinning in Tenebrionid larvae (Coleoptera) and Brown, J. M. M.: A chromatographic analysis of Tenebrionid silk. - Transvaal Museum Memoir 19, Pretori

Schulze, L.: A review of silk production and spinning activities in Arthropoda with special reference to spinning in Tenebrionid larvae (Coleoptera) and Brown, J. M. M.: A chromatographic analysis of Tenebrionid silk. - Transvaal Museum Memoir 19, Pretori

JANSE, A. F. T.: On the types of South African Microlepidoptera - 127 S., 118 Taf., Transvaal Museum Memoir No. 16, 1968.

Deutsche Entomologische ZeitschriftVolume 16, Issue 1-3 p. 298-298 Buchbesprechung JANSE, A. F. T.: On the types of South African Microlepidoptera - 127 S., 118 Taf., Transvaal Museum Memoir No. 16, 1968. Hennemann, HennemannSearch for more papers by this author Hennemann, HennemannSearch for more papers by this author First published: 1969 https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnd.19690160130Citations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume16, Issue1-31969Pages 298-298 RelatedInformation

Morphological Differences between Three South African Species of Evides Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

The genus Evides Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) belongs to the family of wood-boring beetles commonly known as jewel beetles. This comparative study was undertaken on the morphological characteristics of three species from field specimens, private collections and collections at the Transvaal Museum of Natural History. The genus Evides consists of eleven species and one subspecies in total worldwide. Nine species and one subspecies are endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. One species is recorded from India and further species from Laos and Vietnam: Bellamy (World Catalogue, in prep.) The objective of the study was to quantify morphological differences between species representing the genus in South Africa. Specimens of E. gambiensis (Laporte & Gory, 1835), E. interstitialis (Obenberger, 1924) and E. pubiventris (Laporte & Gory, 1835) were collected in the Waterberg (Limpopo Province) and additional specimens of E. pubiventris were collected at Ezemvelo Nature Reserve (Gauteng Province). All three species are related, difficult to differentiate in the field and occur on the same host plants, marula (Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst.) and false marula (Lannea discolor (Sonder) Engl.). Results indicate that there are morphological differences and species can be differentiated according to elytra length, total elytron width, eye size, frons length, frons width and abdomen length.

Nuevas especies de los géneros Trichodesma LeConte, 1861 y Gastrallus Jacquelin du Val, 1860, del África Austral (Coleoptera, Anobiidae)

New species of the genus Trichodesma LeConte, 1861 and Gastrallus Jacquelin du Val, 1860, from South Africa (Coleoptera, Anobiidae) Continuing the review of the Anobiidae collection at the Transvaal Museum of Pretoria, we describe the following species of Anobiinae: Trichodesma endroedyyoungai n. sp., Gastrallus omedesae n. sp., G. jeremiasi n. sp., G. strydomi n. sp., G. pafuriensis n. sp., G. skukuzaensis n. sp., G. ndumuensis n. sp. and G. krugerensis n. sp. Most of these species were collected at the National Kruger Park, South Africa. As we found specimens of males of the Xyletininae, Xyletinastidius tessellatus (Español, 1971) and of the Dorcatominae, Stagetodes australis Español & Viñolas, 1995, these are described here as only females of genus Xyletinastidius (Español & Comas, 1991) and the two species were described previously.

A survey of cossid moth attack inEucalyptus nitenson the Mpumalanga Highveld of South Africa

During July 2004, an infestation of an unknown larval insect in ten-year and older Eucalyptus nitens was reported on the Mpumalanga highveld of South Africa. Samples of wood containing larvae were collected from the field and taken to the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria. The adult specimens were subsequently identified by the Transvaal Museum as the native Coryphodema tristis. No records have been found of the insect on any member of the Myrtaceae. A total of approximately 3000 hectares of E. nitens, within 95 compartments greater than eight years of age on the Mpumalanga Highveld were surveyed in September 2004. The older age classes and lower elevation sites had significantly higher infestations than the younger, higher elevation sites. Low infestations are present in young stands of E. nitens (< 6 years of age), and not restricted to lower productivity sites, an indication that the pest risk potential is higher than originally anticipated.

Larvae of the genus Anomalipus Latreille, 1846 (Coleoptera : Tenebronidae)

The immature stages of the 1 1 species of the genus Anomalipus Latreille, 1846 were presented on base of the material preserved in the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria (33 eggs and 152 larvae). The materials were collected in the natural conditions (larvae with adults association) or came from the beetles-breeding. The following larval characters distinguished the genus Anomalipus : (1) subdivided sensorium surrounding the base of the apical antennomere ; (2) deep holes places on the epicranial plate of head and lateral part of prothorax ; (3) anal segment smooth, conical, with ninth sternum extremely reduced. The results of the presented studies are not confirmed Schultze's (1978) informations of antennal structures and divisions of the Anomalipus species based on the adults (Endrôdy-Younga 1988). The high level of homogenous larval structures of the Anomalipus make its useless for species describing and grouping.

Evolving Eden: an Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna

A. Turner, M. Anton. 2004. Evolving Eden: an Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Largemammal Fauna. Columbia University Press, New York, 269 Pp. ISBN 0-231-11944-5, Price (hardbound) $39.50. Africa is rightly celebrated as harboring the world's last surviving megafauna, and today supports more orders of mammals than any other continent. However, until now, the forerunners of this fauna have lurked outside the ken of nonspecialists. Works comparable to Flannery (2001) for North America or Simpson (1980) for South America have been lacking for Africa's Tertiary mammal fauna; instead, interested biologists needed to tackle the technical literature (e.g., Vrba and Schaller 2000). Happily, that void has now been expertly filled. Evolving Eden is a collaboration between a paleontologist (Turner) and an artist (Anton). Turner worked for years at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, South Africa, contributing much to understanding of carnivore (especially felid) and hominid evolution. Anton is affiliated with the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, and has presented reconstructions of extinct mammals to numerous films, documentaries and books. The present volume is their 2nd together, succeeding The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives: An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History (1997). As in the earlier volume, they sought to develop an accurate visual account of extinct species and the landscapes and communities in which they lived. As noted by Elizabeth Vrba in the Foreword, this is an ambitious book written for both professional and lay audiences. It seeks to relate Africa's past …

John Talbot Robinson Hon. FRSSAf

In the course of his career at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, and the University of Wisconsin in Madison, USA, John Robinson made significant and pioneering contributions to our understanding of South African early hominid fossils and their relevance to human evolution.

The Bard making a hash of it?

Man has taken inspiration for his art from nature over many thousands of years. But work by Francis Thackeray of the Transvaal Museum (Pretoria, Republic of South Africa) suggests that William Shakespeare (arguably, the UK's greatest dramatist and poet) might have taken this literally, with the discovery of traces of marijuana and cocaine in pipes from the distinguished playwright's home in Stratford (UK). Not only does this shed some light on the imagery in some of the Bard's works, but it also suggests that the creativity of European artists was getting a helping hand as long ago as the 16th century. [Daily Mail (UK), 2 March 2001, p. 23.] NC

A New Species of Damaracheta from South Africa

Type.-Holotype male. South Africa: Transvaal, Luis Trichardt area, Ben Lavin Reserve, 23-09S 7-18E, 26 ii 1995 (Kriegbaum, Toms, Brozowski) Transvaal Museum, Pretoria. Diagnosis.-This species differs from all others by the male calling song (see Otte 1987 for songs of other speciesthose of D. schultzei, D. zomba, and D. capensis are not known) or by the male genitalia. The latter character easily distingushes the species from all others. Etymology.-Named after the late Helmut Kriegbaum who loved the African continent and its fauna. His work and

Studies on African zygaenoid moths (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea) The genusPsychariumHerrich-Schäffer, with descriptions of four new species (Somabrachyidae)

The genus Psycharium is revised for the first time. Until now, only a drawing of the female type species was known. The male and female of the type species, P. pellucens Herrich-Schaffer, and four new species, manta­ num, kammanassiense, bamardi and nata/ense, are comprehensively described. A key to the species of Psy­ charium, based on males and females (except for P. nata/ense where only males are known), is given. Descriptions of taxa include drawings of their genitalia. African flannel moths (Somabrachyidae) consist of two gen­ era with a highly interesting disjunct distribution. Soma­ brachys Kirby is found along the broad coastal strip from Morocco to Syria and in southern Spain, and Psycharium Herrich-Schaffer in the southwestern and eastern Cape and central Kwazulu-Natal. Somahrachys is better known taxo­ nomically, the number of constituent species ranging from one to about 30, depending upon the taxonomic treatment or opinion of authors (Aurivillius 1894; OberthUr 1908, 1911, 1922; Seitz 1912; Jordan 1916; Hopp 1927; Hering 1933; Freina & Wilt 1990). The monotypic Psycharium was only named and depicted by Herrich-Schaffer [1856] (Figure I), but he never formally described nor assigned it to a family. Since the mid-eighties extensive field work, including searches, breeding from field-collected material and light­ trapping of these moths has been carried out in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Larvae are frequently encoun­ tered, especially on the exotic conifer Pinus radiala D. Don. (Pinaceae), but rearing of larvae is, mainly due to high levels of parasitism, difficult and hardly rewarding. By these efforts, however, much material including large numbers of males, almost absent in institutional holdings, has been obtained. Material held by the National Collection of Insects, Pretoria, the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria and the South African Museum, Cape Town, was also included in this study. This has resulted in the discovery of several new taxa, including new species of Psycharium. This article is part of a series dealing with Somabrachyidae. An introduction to the family, with comments on their rela­ tionship and main features, and a description of the adult mor­ phology of Psycharium have been accepted for publication (Geertsema, in press a, b). Here the genus Psycharium, including descriptions of the type species, P. pe//ucens Her­ rich~Schaffer, and four new species (P. man/anum, P. kamma­ nassiense, P. barnardi and P. nata/en.~e), is dealt with. A key to the species is also given. Descriptions of related new taxa and descriptions of the larvae of some Psycharium species will follow later. The present study is taxonomic in nature. Adults used in this study were mostly reared from field-col­ lected larvae or from eggs. Genitalia were removed, kept in 10% KOH for 24 hours, cleaned, lightly stained with Chlora­ zol Black E, and dissected in glycerine. After drawing fea­ tures of the genitalia, they were mounted in Canada Balsam on slides (indicated as GP in the text) or stored in glycerine­ filled microvials (indicated as Glyc). Limited intraspecific variation in the structure of male geni­ talia of Psycharium is apparent, for example in P. pellucens (Figures 15-22) and P. kammanassiense (Figures 23-29), where the structure of the uncus, especially its tip, and shape of the valvae varies between some individuals. Female geni­ talia are weakly developed. The anterior lateral edges of abdominal segments 9+ I 0 are extended into a pair of poste­ rior apophyses, indicated as lateral arms in the illustrations. The lateral arms are small in P. pellucens, but well developed in the other species. The anterior apophyses are not well

Natural history museums and the biodiversity crisis: the case for a global taxonomic facility

In its dossier on Natural History Museums and the Environment (No. 190, April‐June 19S>6), Museum International focused on the challenges facing these museums in a new epoch of acute environmental awareness and called attention to the pressing problem of biodiversity preservation. The crucial role that museums can play in fostering and underpinning vital scientific research in this field is described by Malcolm J. Scoble, head of the Biodiversity Division in the Department of Entomology at the Natural History Museum, London, and formerly assistant curator/acting curator of the Hope Entomological Collections of the University Museum, Oxford University. He has also worked as a senior professional officer in entomology at the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa, and is the author of a book on Lepidoptera published by Oxford University Press, as well as a number of scientific and popular articles, mainly on taxonomy of Lepidoptera.