Pathologies in the Early Pliocene phocid seals from Langebaanweg, South Africa
Keywords:
Langebaanweg, fossil seal, pathologies, arthritis, fracture
Abstract
Abundant vertebrate fossils have been recorded from the Early Pliocene locality, Langebaanweg, South Africa. This study documents the pathologies evident in the 5 million-year-old fossil phocid seal assemblage. Careful anatomical assessment of the remains revealed that 0.73% showed evidence of disease and/or trauma. The majority of the ailments were forms of osteoarthritis, although periodontitis and osteomyelitis were also evident. Some bones also showed healed fractures, suggesting that the individuals survived the traumatic event. Two cases of dental pathologies were also noted.References
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2. Hendey QB. Langebaanweg: A record of past life. Cape Town: South African Museum; 1989.
3. Hendey QB. The Pliocene fossil occurrences in ‘E’ Quarry, Langebaanweg, South Africa. Ann S Afr Mus. 1976;69(9):215–247.
4. Pether J, Roberts DL, Ward JD. Deposits of the West Coast. In: Partridge TC, Maud RR, editors. The Cenozoic of southern Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000; p. 33–54.
5. Roberts DL. Varswater Formation (including the Langeenheid Clayey Sand, KoningVlei Gravel, Langeberg Quartz Sand and Muishond Fontein Phosphatic Sand member). In: Johnson MR, editor. Catalogue of South African lithostratigraphic units. Pretoria: South African Committee on Stratigraphy, 2006; p. 27–31.
6. Hendey QB, Repenning CA. A Pliocene phocid seal from South Africa. Ann S Afr Mus. 1972;59(4):71–98.
7. Muizon de C, Hendey QB. Late Tertiary seals from the southern Atlantic ocean. Ann S Afr Mus. 1980;82(3):91–128.
8. Franz-Odendaal T, Lee-Thorp J, Chinsamy A. Insights from stable light isotopes on enamel defects and weaning in Pliocene herbivores. J Biosci. 2003;28:765–773. doi:10.1007/BF02708437, PMid:14660876
9. Defrance SD. Paleopathology and health of native and introduced animals on southern Peruvian and Bolivian Spanish colonial sites. Int J Osteoarchaeol. 2010;20:508–524.
10. Waldron T. Palaeopathology. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2009.
11. Rothschild BM, Martin LD. Paleopathology: Disease in the fossil record. Boca Raton: CRC Press Inc.; 1993.
12. White TD, Folkens PA. Human osteology. 2nd ed. San Deigo: Academic Press; 2000.
13. Carter ML, Pontzer H, Wrangham RW, Peterhans JK. Skeletal pathology in Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2008;135:389–403. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20758, PMid:18067120
14. Bendrey R, Taylor GM, Bouwman AS, Cassidy JP. Suspected bacterial disease in two archaeological horse skeletons from southern England: Palaeopathological and biomolecular studies. J Archaeol Sci. 2008;35:1581–1590. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.002
15. Abbott C, Verstraete FJM. The dental pathology of Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). J Comp Pathol. 2005;132:169–178. doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2004.09.007, PMid:15737343
16. Clarke EA, Goodship AE. A severely disabled mammoth – the palaeopathological evidence. Quaternary International. 2010; doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.07.020
17. Bartosiewicz L. Taphonomy and palaeopathology in archaeozoology. Geobios. 2009;40:69–77.
18. Dzierzęcka M, Charuta A, Kobryń H. Pathological changes of horse bones in the middle ages in Poland – photographic records. B Vet I Pulawy. 2008;52:689–694.
19. Coltman DW, Bowen WD, Boness DJ, Iverson SJ. Balancing foraging and reproduction in the male harbour seal, an aquatically mating pinniped. Anim Behav. 1997;54:663–678. doi:10.1006/anbe.1997.0470, PMid:9299050
Published
2011-01-28
Section
Research Letters