A detailed scan of a fossil therapsid embryo reveals the oldest egg belonging to a mammalian ancestor.
Articles on Karoo
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Many of the endangered mammal species are solitary. Understanding this way of life may help to protect them.
Meat from sheep that graze in South Africa’s Karoo and France’s Mont Saint-Michel lamb is deemed special.
These new finds indicate that Diictodon was burrowing and giving some parental care to its young. This was long thought to be unique to mammals.
South Africa’s Karoo region potentially holds shale gas that could transform the energy economy of the country. But given the uncertainties around exploration what’s the next logical step?
Africa has one of the world’s richest fossil records, and evidence suggests that amateurs collected really important fossils long before professionals arrived on the scene.
Good science isn’t rooted in chance. It’s based on people with expertise being in the right place at the right time, equipped with enough knowledge to know what they’re looking at.
Mammals’ ancestors had a third eye and the fossil record of its disappearance tells us the story of the evolution of one of our most important features: warm blood.
Shale gas holds considerable advantages. But there are still a number of uncertainties around whether South Africa is ready for such a bold step.
Drought is a problem in South Africa and it affects farmers. As a result, farmers and government are working together to develop strategies.
An old technique to explore the inside of fossils unfortunately ended up destroying some unique specimens. New technology has been used to reconstruct one such fossil.
How did survivors of the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction adapt to their new, harsh environment? And why is that knowledge so important for modern species?
Given the global commitment to conserve biodiversity in the face of climate change, it is important to understand how biodiversity arises in the first place – and how it is maintained.
South Africa’s pied crows are moving to areas where the climate suits them more.
South Africa’s Karoo area has potential for gas deposits and other mineral deposits like nickel and copper.
New evidence shows marked similarities between two fossils – one from Brazil, the other South Africa. This confirms compelling geological findings that continents were once one giant land mass.
The Karoo provides not only a historical record of biological change over a period of Earth’s history but also a means to test theories of evolutionary processes over long periods of time.
Fracking presents a better alternative to coal mining. Finding a way to produce the gas economically is the first challenge to getting fracking underway.
Top contributors
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Associate professor in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor, University of the Witwatersrand
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Research associate, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
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Reader, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
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Honorary Associate, University of the Witwatersrand
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Emeritus Professor Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Cape Town
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Lecturer, Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town
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Postdoctoral associate, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS); University of the Witwatersrand
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Director, Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand
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Acting Director of the Global Change Institute (GCI), University of the Witwatersrand, University of the Witwatersrand
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Researcher and Project Manager in Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change, University of Cape Town
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Research Professor of Energy, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
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Professor of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University
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Professor of Geochemistry and Petrology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Director of the Bureau for Economic Research, Stellenbosch University