Research Letters

Pathologies in the Early Pliocene phocid seals from Langebaanweg, South Africa

Romala Govender, Graham Avery, Anusuya Chinsamy
South African Journal of Science | Vol 107, No 1/2 | a230 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajs.v107i1/2.230 | © 2011 Romala Govender, Graham Avery, Anusuya Chinsamy | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 19 April 2010 | Published: 28 January 2011

About the author(s)

Romala Govender, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Graham Avery, Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, South Africa
Anusuya Chinsamy, University of Cape Town, South Africa

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.

Keywords

Langebaanweg; fossil seal; pathologies; arthritis; fracture

Metrics

Total abstract views: 2111
Total article views: 3040

References


Hendey QB. Palaeoecology of the Late Tertiary fossil occurrences in ‘E’ Quarry, Langebaanweg, South Africa, and a reinterpretation of their geological context. Ann S Afr Mus. 1981;84(1):1–104.

Hendey QB. Langebaanweg: A record of past life. Cape Town: South African Museum; 1989.

Hendey QB. The Pliocene fossil occurrences in ‘E’ Quarry, Langebaanweg, South Africa. Ann S Afr Mus. 1976;69(9):215–247.

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.

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.

Hendey QB, Repenning CA. A Pliocene phocid seal from South Africa. Ann S Afr Mus. 1972;59(4):71–98.

Muizon de C, Hendey QB. Late Tertiary seals from the southern Atlantic ocean. Ann S Afr Mus. 1980;82(3):91–128.

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

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.

Waldron T. Palaeopathology. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2009.

Rothschild BM, Martin LD. Paleopathology: Disease in the fossil record. Boca Raton: CRC Press Inc.; 1993.

White TD, Folkens PA. Human osteology. 2nd ed. San Deigo: Academic Press; 2000.

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

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

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

Clarke EA, Goodship AE. A severely disabled mammoth – the palaeopathological evidence. Quaternary International. 2010; doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.07.020

Bartosiewicz L. Taphonomy and palaeopathology in archaeozoology. Geobios. 2009;40:69–77.

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.

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



Reader Comments

Before posting a comment, read our privacy policy.

Post a comment (login required)

 

Crossref Citations

1. Anatomical and landmark morphometric analysis of fossil phocid seal remains from Langebaanweg, West Coast of South Africa
Romala Govender, Anusuya Chinsamy, Rebecca Rogers Ackermann
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa  vol: 67  issue: 3  first page: 135  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1080/0035919X.2012.724471

2. New Fossils ofMellivora Benfieldi(Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Langebaanweg, ‘E’ Quarry (South Africa, Early Pliocene): Re-Evaluation of the African Neogene Mellivorines
Alberto Valenciano, Romala Govender
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology  vol: 40  issue: 4  first page: e1817754  year: 2020  
doi: 10.1080/02724634.2020.1817754

3. New cetacean fossils from the late Cenozoic of South Africa
Romala Govender, Felix G. Marx
Frontiers in Earth Science  vol: 10  year: 2023  
doi: 10.3389/feart.2022.1058104

4. Multiple occurrences of pathologies suggesting a common and severe bone infection in a population of the Australian Pleistocene giant, Genyornis newtoni (Aves, Dromornithidae)
Phoebe L. McInerney, Lee J. Arnold, Carey Burke, Aaron B. Camens, Trevor H. Worthy, David Button
Papers in Palaeontology  vol: 8  issue: 1  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1002/spp2.1415

5. Palaeoecological deductions from osteohistology
Anusuya Chinsamy
Biology Letters  vol: 19  issue: 8  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0245

6. Multiple exostoses and an osteochondroma in a Pliocene canid from Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry (South Africa)
Anusuya Chinsamy, Alberto Valenciano
Journal of Anatomy  vol: 247  issue: 3-4  first page: 856  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1111/joa.14133

7. Shark–seal interaction off South Africa’s west coast during the early Pliocene (5 Ma) (with corrigendum)
Romala Govender
South African Journal of Science  vol: 117  issue: 3/4  year: 2021  
doi: 10.17159/sajs.2021/8837

8. Preliminary phylogenetics and biogeographic history of the Pliocene seal,Homiphoca capensisfrom Langebaanweg, South Africa
Romala Govender
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa  vol: 70  issue: 1  first page: 25  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1080/0035919X.2014.984258

9. A late Miocene–early Pliocene baleen whale assemblage from Langebaanweg, west coast of South Africa (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti)
Romala Govender, Michelangelo Bisconti, Anusuya Chinsamy
Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology  vol: 40  issue: 4  first page: 542  year: 2016  
doi: 10.1080/03115518.2016.1159413

10. Exceptional morphological and taxonomic diversity of early seals (Phocidae) from the Atacama Region, Chile
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro, Carolina S. Gutstein, Mario E. Suárez
Historical Biology  vol: 37  issue: 2  first page: 328  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/08912963.2023.2301671

11. Extension of the geographic range of Homiphoca into Northern Cape Province, South Africa, with comments on the possible feeding strategies used by Homiphoca
Romala Govender
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology  vol: 38  issue: 3  first page: e1463536  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1080/02724634.2018.1463536

12. Microanatomy and histology of bone pathologies of extant and extinct phocid seals
Megan R. Woolley, Anusuya Chinsamy, Romala Govender, Marthán N. Bester
Historical Biology  vol: 33  issue: 8  first page: 1231  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1080/08912963.2019.1689238

13. Taxonomic and palaeobiological implications of a large, pathological sabretooth (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodontinae) from the Lower Pliocene of South Africa
Caitlin Rabe, Anusuya Chinsamy, Alberto Valenciano, Mary Silcox
Papers in Palaeontology  vol: 8  issue: 5  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1002/spp2.1463