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Material from the Bokkeveld Group includes bivalves, brachiopods,
crynoids, trilobites and sponges
Trace Fossil Collection
There are some 300 trace fossils, which are mainly arthropod
trackways from the Lower Ecca varved shales (Early Permian).
This collection comprises several thousand ammonite
specimens. These are mostly keeled, although there are also some good
examples of heteromorphs with anomalously coiled shells. The Van Hoepen type specimens are on permanent loan from the National Museum
in Bloemfontein.
There are over 1000 specimens of marine and fresh-water Ostracoda, Crustacea
and Foraminifera.
These collections include fossil and sub-fossil terrestrial, marine and
freshwater vertebrates and invertebrates representing approximately the last two
million years. This period also covers much of the development of early human
ancestors. The collections provide environmental and ecological contexts for
faunal evolution and biodiversity as well as the development of human behaviour.
These observations also contribute to our knowledge of long-term environmental
change and understanding of modern issues such as global warming.
Taphonomy Collection
The collection includes comparative assemblages of marine molluscs from
modern contexts.
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