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Revision of the stratigraphic position of cynodonts from the upper part of the Karroo (Gondwana) System in Lesotho

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

B. R. Turner
B. R. Turner
Affiliation:
Bernard Price InstituteUniversity of the WitwatersrandJohannesburg, South Africa
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Summary

Cynodonts from two localities in Lesotho have been assigned by earlier workers to the Triassic Molteno beds of the upper part of the Karroo (Gondwana) System. These are important inasmuch as they were thought to represent the only evidence of reptilian remains in an otherwise barren sequence and may help to bridge the palaeontological gap in this part of the Karroo succession. Critical examination of both localities during the course of a regional analysis of the Molteno basin showed discrepancies in stratigraphic interpretation. These discrepancies are pointed out and the stratigraphy revised as a result of which the cynodonts can no longer be assigned to the Molteno beds; one is in the underlying Cynognathus zone (confirmed by further finds of typical Cynognathus zone reptiles) and the other is in the Red beds above. At the Tsoaning River locality a pebble conglomerate resting on an eroded surface provides a good local marker for the base of the Molteno. The implications of this with respect to the fossil flora and fauna at these localities are briefly discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 109 , Issue 4 , July 1972 , pp. 349 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1972

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