Parker Jennifer F, Hopley Philip J, Kuhn Brian F
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2016 Sep 28;11(9):e0161198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161198. eCollection 2016.
The Buxton-Norlim Limeworks southwest of Taung, South Africa, is renowned for the discovery of the first Australopithecus africanus fossil, the 'Taung Child'. The hominin was recovered from a distinctive pink calcrete that contains an abundance of invertebrate ichnofauna belonging to the Coprinisphaera ichnofacies. Here we describe the first fossil bee's nest, attributed to the ichnogenus Celliforma, from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa. Petrographic examination of a cell lining revealed the preservation of an intricate organic matrix lined with the calcitic casts of numerous plant trichomes-a nesting behaviour unique to the modern-day carder bees (Anthidiini). The presence of Celliforma considered alongside several other recorded ichnofossils can be indicative of a dry, savannah environment, in agreement with recent work on the palaeoenvironment of Plio-Pleistocene southern Africa. Moreover, the occurrence of ground-nesting bees provides further evidence that the pink calcrete deposits are of pedogenic origin, rather than speleogenic origin as has previously been assumed. This study demonstrates the potential value of insect trace fossils as palaeoenvironmental indicators.
南非陶恩西南部的巴克斯顿-诺林石灰厂因发现首个南方古猿化石“陶恩幼儿”而闻名。该古人类化石是从一种独特的粉色钙结砾岩中发掘出来的，这种岩石富含属于粪球形体遗迹相的大量无脊椎动物遗迹化石。在此，我们描述了首个来自非洲上新世-更新世的、归属于遗迹属Celliforma的化石蜜蜂巢。对蜂巢内壁的岩相学检查显示，其保存了一个复杂的有机基质，内部衬有众多植物毛状体的方解石铸模——这是现代筑巢蜜蜂（Anthidiini）特有的筑巢行为。与其他一些已记录的遗迹化石一起考虑，Celliforma的存在可能表明当时是干燥的稀树草原环境，这与近期关于上新世-更新世南非古环境的研究结果一致。此外，地栖蜜蜂的存在进一步证明粉色钙结砾岩沉积物是成土成因，而非此前所认为的洞穴成因。这项研究证明了昆虫痕迹化石作为古环境指标的潜在价值。
