‘Paleontological treasure trove’ to be revealed in the Eastern Cape

01 June 2016 - 12:09 By Karen Van Rooyen

Officials from the South African National Roads Agency Ltd and Albany Museum will on Wednesday reveal South Africa's newest fossil discovery site – that was "blasted open" in the Eastern Cape. The site was uncovered during controlled road-cutting explosions on the N2 between Grahamstown and Fish River two weeks ago.Described as a "paleontological treasure trove in fossiliferous shale"‚ the site is said to contain new plant and invertebrate species from the Devonian era‚ which have never been documented or described in international palaeontology literature.The fossils are said to differ from those found at the important Waterloo Farm excavations‚ which were revealed three years ago.The site gives some insight into life 360-million years ago when South Africa was part of the supercontinent Gondwana‚ and what is now the Eastern Cape was situated at high latitude‚ within 15 º degrees of the South Pole. – TMG Digital/The HeraldStunning #Devonian#Goniatite#Fossil from #Moroccohttps://t.co/m42wUp46ah via @Etsy#EtsyGiftspic.twitter.com/9RbtuGnTvQ— Marion at St Ives (@marionatstives) May 15, 2016 async#MagmaMonday: #Devonian#ChelmsfordMA granite intruding & cutting bedding in the #Silurian Berwick Fm at #GrotonMA. pic.twitter.com/RaBKoJqiBX— Mass. Geol. Survey (@MassGeol) May 2, 2016async Presumed #Devonian age #FridayFold related to doming of the NeoProterozoic Fourmile #gneiss at #ErvingMA. #geologypic.twitter.com/JH31v0R3Ln— Mass. Geol. Survey (@MassGeol) April 29, 2016async #ScienceTwitter, tree roots or sea life? Based on geography: Oj #Ordovician, Dcbs #Devonian or St #Silurian#fossilspic.twitter.com/dRdXUHIMzv— Jackie (@MatroidGirl) April 25, 2016async ..

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