Cross a crocodile and a fish… The two new species, named Tutusius umlambo in honour of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and Umzantsia amazana to affirm its South African origin, are the only Devonian tetrapods ever discovered in Africa and the only ones ever found in what was once within the Antarctic Circle. They are a remarkable 70 million years older than any other four-legged vertebrates ever found in Africa.Dr Robert Gess of the Albany Museum in Grahamstown has discovered fossils of two unique tetrapods that will force a significant rewrite of the story of life in Africa during the Devonian…
Author: Steven Lang
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Shale deposits on Waterloo Farm, two kilometres from Grahamstown, have so far produced twenty species, including the tetrapods, which are new to science. Dr Robert Gess believes that this remarkable record represents only about a third of the total number of remains yet to be described. The Waterloo Farm deposit is an exceptional fossil site which preserves a wide range of fish, plant and invertebrate fossils from 360 million years ago. They are preserved as flattened silvery white impressions in black shale. Fossils first described from Waterloo Farm include the remains of sub-Saharan Africa’s earliest woody trees (Archaeopteris notosaria), the…
On Sunday 6 May 2018, Steven Lang took photos of lions pride at Kwandwe Game Reserve.
Steven Lang One of the most remarkable vehicles in all of Albany is back on the road again thanks to the skill and determination of Neville Koch. Sourcing and fitting a new gearbox is only the latest achievement of his long and sometimes testy relationship with the beautiful, yet often troublesome black hearse belonging to the Inggs Funeral Home on Hill Street. The 1957 Plymouth Suburban is among the most stylish means of transport for anyone’s final journey. You can see your reflection in the shiny black bodywork and you need sunglasses to admire the heavily chromed front-end with double…
Shark experts from around the world recently gathered at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) to discuss the conservation status of sharks that are only found in South African waters. Nick Dulvy, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shark assessment team, said ichthyologists pay attention to sharks because they are a useful indicator species for evaluating the health of marine ecosystems. Five of the IUCN Shark Assessment group are graduates of Rhodes University’s Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Sciences (DIFS): from left Rhett Bennett: Shark and ray Conservation Officer, Madagascar & Western Indian Ocean…
The symbolism of having a meeting in a City Hall where a large proportion of the lights don’t work was not lost on Ron Weissenberg as he presented his proposal to the annual general meeting of the Grahamstown Residents’ Association (GRA) on Tuesday evening. To stress the point, he reminded the 50-odd residents present at the meeting that the two buildings alongside City Hall had been condemned because they were unsafe. Weissenberg, Chairperson of the Concerned Citizens Committee and an activist for transforming the Makana malaise into a vibrant, functioning community, did not tread softly when he came to describing…
The annual game auction at Kwandwe Game Reserve last Saturday was subtly different from previous editions. There was the usual festive atmosphere, the high-speed patter of auctioneer Brandon Leer and the enticing aroma of kudu burgers wafting through the country air. The auction went off smoothly even though buffalo prices were much lower than in previous years. The hammer often had to come down closer to a paltry two million rand rather than the six million plus of last year. The highest price paid for a pregnant buffalo was R4.5 million. The two most important factors determining value of game…
Head of School Prof. Larry Strelitz (left) and other staff members join the 2018 graduates of the School of Journalism & Media Studies last week. JMS had graduates for the BA (with a Journalism Major), the BJourn; PDMM; PgDip and MA. Photo: Supplied
While we are still functioning under drought conditions and water restrictions are most definitely in place, good rains in February indicate that we might have turned the corner. Grahamstown pluvists (those who regularly record data from their rain gauges) report on some fascinating data for the month of February. Most surprising is that this past month had the most rain-days ever recorded in the Grahamstown area over the past 32 years. Roger Rowswell at 4A Darling Street has been logging rainfall data since 1986. He records not only the amount of rain in his pluviometer but also the number of…