It started with hominid discoveries at the Cradle of Humankind, then the Great Karoo uncovered ancient turtles and tortoises. Now there is another ground-breaking find in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. There is evidence that ancient fish existed in the Southern Hemisphere.
There is a snap shot of their earlier existence, millions of centuries ago. This is Africa’s first ancient fish fossils. It provides insights into the evolution of four-legged vertebrate animals from fish.
Chiselling away at tons of rock, Palaeontologist pioneer Doctor Robert Gess says it is a historic find.
“Now we are the only country in the world that has evolution from fishes through to humans, our country. The evolution of fish to tetrapods would include SA discoveries; it puts Devonian rocks of SA in the world map,” says Dr Robert Gess from the Centre of Excellence in Palasciences.
The discovery is likely to turn all theories on its head. Tetrapods lived within the Antarctic Circle and not only in tropical regions as previously thought. They were not restricted to warm environments only. This means the species move onto land, could have occurred anywhere.
“We can now confidently say it is no longer to write comprehensive without referring to SA fossil record , SA is also the cradle of mamas, tortoises, dinosaurs, today’s revelation rocks of cape adds another significant find,” says Minister of Science and Technology, Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane.
With a discovery like this, South Africa can now add insight into the emergence of land animals to its incredible fossil record. Click below for more on the story:
