Abstract
The Drimolen Palaeocave System Main Quarry deposits (DMQ) are some of the most
prolific hominin and primate-bearing deposits in the Fossil Hominids of South Africa
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discovered in the 1990s, excavations into the DMQ
have yielded a demographically diverse sample of Paranthropus robustus (including
DNH 7, the most complete cranium of the species recovered to date), early Homo,
Papio hamadryas robinsoni and Cercopithecoides williamsi. Alongside the hominin and
primate sample is a diverse macromammalian assemblage, but prior publications have
only provided a provisional species list and an analysis of the carnivores recovered
prior to 2008. Here we present the first description and analysis of the non-primate
macromammalian faunas from the DMQ, including all 826 taxonomically identifiable
specimens catalogued from over two decades of excavation. We also provide a
biochronological interpretation of the DMQ deposits and an initial discussion of local
palaeoecology based on taxon representation.The current DMQ assemblage consists of
the remains of minimally 147 individuals from 9 Orders and 14 Families of mammals.
The carnivore assemblage described here is even more diverse than established in prior
publications, including the identification of Megantereon whitei, Lycyaenops silberbergi,
and first evidence for the occurrence of Dinofelis cf. barlowi and Dinofelis aff. piveteaui
within a single South African site deposit. The cetartiodactyl assemblage is dominated
by bovids, with the specimen composition unique in the high recovery of horn cores
and dominance of Antidorcas recki remains. Other cetartiodactyl and perissodactyl taxa
are represented by few specimens, as are Hystrix and Procavia; the latter somewhat
surprisingly so given their common occurrence at penecontemporaneous deposits in
the region. Equally unusual (particularly given the size of the sample) is the identification
of single specimens of giraffoid, elephantid and aardvark (Orycteropus cf. afer)
that are rarely recovered from regional site deposits. Despite the diversity within the
DMQ macromammalian faunas, there are few habitat- or biochronologically-sensitive
species that provide specific ecologic or age boundaries for the deposits...