Vertebrate paleontology of Nooitgedacht 68: a Lystrosaurus maccaigi-rich Permo-Triassic boundary locality in South Africa

摘要: The farm Nooitgedacht 68 in the Bethulie District of the South African Karoo Basin contains strata that record a complete Permo-Triassic boundary sequence providing important new data regarding the end-Permian extinction event in South Africa. Exploratory collecting has yielded at least 14 vertebrate species, making this locality the second richest Permo-Triassic boundary site in South Africa. Furthermore, fossils include 50 specimens of the otherwise rare Late Permian dicynodont Lystrosaurus maccaigi. As a result, Nooitgedacht 68 is the richest L. maccaigi site known. The excellent preservation, high concentration of L. maccaigi, presence of relatively rare dicynodonts such as Dicynodontoides recurvidens and Dinanomodon gilli, and the large size of many of these Permian individuals makes Nooitgedacht 68 a particularly interesting site for studying the dynamics of the end …