Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho
Complex structures in the sandstones of the Lower Jurassic aeolian Clarens Formation (Karoo Supergroup) are found at numerous localities throughout southern Africa, and can be assigned to five distinct architectural groups: (1) up to 3.3-m high, free-standing, slab-shaped forms of bioturbated sandst...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academy of Science of South Africa
2009-09-01
|
| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
| Online Access: | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/10246 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850269452734562304 |
|---|---|
| author | E.M. Bordy A.J. Bumby O. Catuneanu P.G. Eriksson |
| author_facet | E.M. Bordy A.J. Bumby O. Catuneanu P.G. Eriksson |
| author_sort | E.M. Bordy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Complex structures in the sandstones of the Lower Jurassic aeolian Clarens Formation (Karoo Supergroup) are found at numerous localities throughout southern Africa, and can be assigned to five distinct architectural groups: (1) up to 3.3-m high, free-standing, slab-shaped forms of bioturbated sandstones with elliptical bases, orientated buttresses and an interconnecting large burrow system; (2) up to 1.2-m high, free-standing, irregular forms of bioturbated sandstones with 2-cm to 4-cm thick, massive walls, empty chambers and vertical shafts; (3) about 0.15-m to 0.25-m high, mainly bulbous, multiple forms with thin walls (larger than 2 cm), hollow chambers with internal pillars and bridges; (4) about 0.15-m to 0.2-m (maximum 1-m) high, free-standing forms of aggregated solitary spheres associated with massive horizontal, orientated capsules or tubes, and meniscate tubes; and (5) about 5 cmin diameter, ovoid forms with weak internal shelving in a close-fitting cavity. Based on size, wall thickness, orientation and the presence of internal chambers, these complex structures are tentatively interpreted as ichnofossils of an Early Jurassic social organism; the different architectures are reflective of the different behaviours of more than one species, the history of structural change in architectural forms (ontogenetic series) or an architectural adaptation to local palaeoclimatic variability. While exact modern equivalents are unknown, some of these ichnofossils are comparable to nests (or parts of nests) constructed by extant termites, and thus these Jurassic structures are very tentatively interpreted here as having been made by a soil-dwelling social organism, probably of termite origin. This southern African discovery, along with reported Triassic and Jurassic termite ichnofossils from North America, supports previous hypotheses that sociality in insects, particularity in termites, likely evolved prior to the Pangea breakup in the Early Mesozoic. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5f9b04c415424f898424a2e85f3bd64b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2009-09-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-5f9b04c415424f898424a2e85f3bd64b2025-08-20T01:53:08ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892009-09-011059/103563568427Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and LesothoE.M. Bordy0A.J. Bumby1O. Catuneanu2P.G. Eriksson3Department of Geology, Rhodes UniversityDepartment of Geology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.cDepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of AlbertabDepartment of Geology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.Complex structures in the sandstones of the Lower Jurassic aeolian Clarens Formation (Karoo Supergroup) are found at numerous localities throughout southern Africa, and can be assigned to five distinct architectural groups: (1) up to 3.3-m high, free-standing, slab-shaped forms of bioturbated sandstones with elliptical bases, orientated buttresses and an interconnecting large burrow system; (2) up to 1.2-m high, free-standing, irregular forms of bioturbated sandstones with 2-cm to 4-cm thick, massive walls, empty chambers and vertical shafts; (3) about 0.15-m to 0.25-m high, mainly bulbous, multiple forms with thin walls (larger than 2 cm), hollow chambers with internal pillars and bridges; (4) about 0.15-m to 0.2-m (maximum 1-m) high, free-standing forms of aggregated solitary spheres associated with massive horizontal, orientated capsules or tubes, and meniscate tubes; and (5) about 5 cmin diameter, ovoid forms with weak internal shelving in a close-fitting cavity. Based on size, wall thickness, orientation and the presence of internal chambers, these complex structures are tentatively interpreted as ichnofossils of an Early Jurassic social organism; the different architectures are reflective of the different behaviours of more than one species, the history of structural change in architectural forms (ontogenetic series) or an architectural adaptation to local palaeoclimatic variability. While exact modern equivalents are unknown, some of these ichnofossils are comparable to nests (or parts of nests) constructed by extant termites, and thus these Jurassic structures are very tentatively interpreted here as having been made by a soil-dwelling social organism, probably of termite origin. This southern African discovery, along with reported Triassic and Jurassic termite ichnofossils from North America, supports previous hypotheses that sociality in insects, particularity in termites, likely evolved prior to the Pangea breakup in the Early Mesozoic.https://sajs.co.za/article/view/10246 |
| spellingShingle | E.M. Bordy A.J. Bumby O. Catuneanu P.G. Eriksson Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho South African Journal of Science |
| title | Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho |
| title_full | Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho |
| title_fullStr | Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho |
| title_full_unstemmed | Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho |
| title_short | Possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the Lower Jurassic (Karoo Supergroup) of South Africa and Lesotho |
| title_sort | possible trace fossils of putative termite origin in the lower jurassic karoo supergroup of south africa and lesotho |
| url | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/10246 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT embordy possibletracefossilsofputativetermiteorigininthelowerjurassickaroosupergroupofsouthafricaandlesotho AT ajbumby possibletracefossilsofputativetermiteorigininthelowerjurassickaroosupergroupofsouthafricaandlesotho AT ocatuneanu possibletracefossilsofputativetermiteorigininthelowerjurassickaroosupergroupofsouthafricaandlesotho AT pgeriksson possibletracefossilsofputativetermiteorigininthelowerjurassickaroosupergroupofsouthafricaandlesotho |