Romala Govender

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  • Curator of Cenozoic Palaeontology, Research and Exhibitions, Iziko Museums of South Africa; Honorary Research associate Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
Fossil of the skull and. mandibles of the new species. Alberto Valenciano

Fossil find introduces a new ancestor to the jackal family tree

Alberto Valenciano Vaquero, Universidad de Zaragoza; Jorge Morales Romero, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), and Romala Govender, University of Cape Town

Jackals appeared and established themselves in Africa in at least the last five million years. These animals have evolved and adapted to the changing environment, allowing them to survive.
What South Africa’s West Coast might have looked like 5 million years ago. In the foreground, a giant wolverine feeds on a pig while chasing away a primitive hyena. Maggie Newman, Geological Society of South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand

Gigantic wolverines, otters the size of wolves: fossils offer fresh insights into the past

Alberto Valenciano Vaquero, University of Cape Town and Romala Govender, University of Cape Town

The teeth and limb bones we studied help to understand the role and lifestyle of these species in extinct ecosystems.
There is an abundance of baby fur seals on the west coast of South Africa, but true seals, which inhabited the area five million years ago, no longer do so. Supplied

Unlocking the mystery of how true seals disappeared from the Cape

Romala Govender, University of Cape Town

Climate and sea level changes over time have led to the disappearance of the true seals, although these mammals still exist in the Antarctic.

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