Abstract

REYNOLDS, Sally Christine. Temporal variation in Plio-Pleistocene Antidorcas (Mammalia: Bovidae) horncores: The case from Bolt's Farm and why size matters. S. Afr. j. sci. [online]. 2007, vol.103, n.1-2, pp.47-50. ISSN 1996-7489.

Morphological differences in samples of fossil (Antidorcas recki) and modern (A. marsupialis) springbok horncores suggest that the ancestral species shows less sexual dimorphism than is observed in the horn dimensions of modern springbok. This pattern may prove useful when evaluating fossil springbok specimens in South African Plio-Pleistocene faunal assemblages. Undated Antidorcas craniodental specimens from Pit 3, Bolt's Farm (Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa) have previously been referred to A. recki by Cooke.¹ However, comparison with numerous other springbok samples suggests that these specimens are more likely to represent male and female fossils of the extant species, A. marsupialis. This re-evaluation adds weight to the fossil evidence implying that the modern form of springbok is a southern African endemic species which first appeared around 1.5-1.0 million years ago in Swartkrans Member 1.^2,3 Bolt's Farm Pit 3 fossils are inferred to be of a similar age.

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