Heritage Cases

This application seeks permission to temporarily export three sets of fossils for high-resolution synchrotron scanning at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, for purposes of scientific study. I have a research-productive relationship with the ESRF, previously scanning fossils such as dinosaur embryos and taxonomically important reptiles from the Karoo Basin of South Africa. This relationship has been fostered by the annual contributions of the NRF to the ESRF budget. Currently, I am working with two scientists at the ESRF, Dr Vincent Fernandez and Dr Kathleen Dollman. Both of these researchers have long histories of working in South Africa as PhD students and postdocs. To-date, every ESRF experiment I have conducted has been successful in achieving high-quality scan data and in returning specimens unharmed to South African collections. The scan data will support two PhD student projects and one large multinational collaborative research project. These projects have been approved by the competitive application process at the ESRF (proof attached to this application) and will be given additional discretionary scan time by beamline scientists Dollman and Fernandez. I detail the objectives separately below, and at the end of this motivation provide a table of specimens for your perusal. Histological and anatomical study of crocodylomorphs: PhD Student Bailey M Weiss (Wits ESI); Kathleen Dollman (ESRF, formerly Wits ESI) Today’s crocodilians are often held as examples of “living fossils” – sluggish, primitive animals with sprawling postures and aquatic habits remaining unchanged over millions of years. The fossil record surprisingly reveals that these “living fossil” traits are highly divergent from crocodile ancestors, which were small, active animals with erect postures. Among the earliest groups of crocodilians to evolve were the ‘Protosuchia’, who exemplified this paradox in being small-bodied, sometimes herbivorous terrestrial animals with long limbs and erect postures. Understanding the biology of protosuchians is therefore critical for assessing early crocodilian history, but protosuchian fossil remains are extremely rare, constituting less than 5% of fossils in most Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems. Here we propose to scan two new South African protosuchians – likely new species – that will expand our knowledge of these earliest crocodilians. These specimens are BP/1/7527, SAMPK-k410, and "Erythrochampsa" longipes SAM-PK-K11894 (this specimen has been of questionable taxonomic affinity for more than 100 years). Each specimen preserves elements of the skull, body armour, and limbs that will allow for the testing of their functional anatomy, life history traits, and phylogenetic systematics. The specimens are impossible to further prepare or study using lab-based CT methods because of their size, density, and the thin, fragile nature of the bones. Propagation phase-contrasted synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (PPC-SRµCT) at multiple resolutions will allow imaging of these specimens for the first time, making it possible to non-destructively study their anatomy, growth history, ecology, and evolution. This project will further the PhD research of student Bailey M Weiss, who is co-supervised by Jonah N Choiniere and Kathleen Dollman. Bailey is studying the evolution of early crocodylomorphs and these scans will provide histological and anatomical data necessary for his degree. We ask to temporarily export these specimens from September 24th-October 3rd, 2023. Cranial anatomy and hearing of early reptiles: Xavier Jenkins (Idaho State University), Brandon Peecook (Idaho State University), Roger Benson (American Museum of Natural History), Vincent Fernandez (ESRF). In this project, we aim to study the neuroanatomy of early Amniota, a group that includes the ancestors of today’s mammals and reptiles. Amniotes radiated in the Permian (~299-252 mya), independently evolving neurological adaptions for navigating terrestrial ecosystems, such as directional hearing, sensitivity to high-frequency sounds, and a complex inner ear system for balance and head stabilization. The repeated evolution of these traits makes early amniotes an ideal natural laboratory for studying sensory innovation in terrestrial environments, and for understanding the wide range of sensory capabilities in the ±30,000 species of living amniotes. However, no quantitative data yet exist on the morphology of neuroanatomy of most early amniotes, and the morphological features of the sensory apparatus are minute in size. These challenges confound conventional methods of palaeontological study, requiring high-resolution three-dimensional inquiry. The amniote hearing system has three regions: the outer, middle, and inner ear. The osteological components of the middle and inner ear are visible in the fossil record. The middle ear comprises the tympanum (eardrum) on the posterior surface of the skull that often emarginates the bones of the cheek in early reptiles and the stapes, a bony ossicle that transmits vibrations from the tympanum to the inner ear. The inner ear is composed of a series of canals and ampullae which can inform and amplify the directionality of sound waves; these features travel through the bones of the braincase. These features of the ear provide a hard-tissue record of the hearing capabilities for a wide array of living and extinct taxa, and can yield inferences regarding the ecology, behaviour, and evolutionary relationships of some of the earliest anatomically modern amniotes in the fossil record. By scanning the skulls of early reptiles, we will be able to three-dimensionally reconstruct the middle and inner ears, and their associated innervations from the brain. We will combine these data with our broad, but more recent, amniote sample to build a quantitative dataset suitable for reconstructing the sensory abilities of these early reptiles. We will also use the data generated in an explicitly phylogenetic comparative anatomical framework to understand the branching order of early amniotes and decipher the complexity of the macroevolution of their terrestrial senses. Moreover, the data we collect span specimens of multiple ontogenetic stages and uncertain taxonomic affinities, which will allow us to understand the growth, development, and lineage diversity of early reptiles. For this project, we seek to temporarily export the following early reptile specimens from September 24th-October 3rd, 2023, all of which preserve cranial features relevant to our inquiry: Heleosaurus scholtzi SAM-PK-K8305 Sauropareion anoplus SAM-PK-11192 Australothyris smithi SAM-PK-K8302 Youngina capensis SAM-PK-K7710 Procolophon sp. SAM-PK-K11806 Procolophon sp. SAM-PK-K11805 Millerettidae sp. NMQR 3317. Eunotosaurus africanus. NMQR 3299. Kitchingnathus utabeni BP/1/1187 *NB this is a type specimen, please see special permission granted by ESI for temporary export Unidentified diapsid. BP/1/2614. This project will further the PhD of Xavier Jenkins, who is co-advised by Jonah Choiniere, Roger Benson, and Brandon Peecook. The data we collect will enable visualization of bones of the skull and organs of the inner ear such as the labyrinth and cochlear duct. ESRF beamline scientist Vincent Fernandez is our local contact for the experiment. High-resolution scans of microfaunal shark's teeth from the earliest Triassic: Researchers Jonah N Choiniere (Wits ESI), Kathleen N Dollman (ESRF, formerly Wits ESI) and Andrew B Heckert (Appalachian State) The early Triassic site of Driefontein 11 in the Free State Province provides a microfaunal window into a shallow, freshwater ecosystem that emerged in the earliest Triassic. Fossils from the locality preferentially preserve small-bodied vertebrates including early reptiles and fish. By studying these fossils we can understand the taxonomic breadth of this ecosystem and interactions between its constituent members. We have already conducted previous scanning experiments on coprolites and limb bones from this deposit with excellent results. The application here seeks to scan some additional shark's teeth and a vertebrate osteoderm to add new dimensions to this study. This research forms part of a long-term collaboration between Wits researchers, Kathleen Dollman at the ESRF, and Andrew Heckert at Appalachian State University in the USA. The scan data we collect in this experiment will provide histological information on shark's teeth, which can be used to study growth and taxonomy. Because this part of the exported material will be scanned using discretionary beam time to Kathleen Dollman, we ask to loan the shark's teeth and osteoderm for a period of one year, to ensure they can be scanned. BP/1/8900: Lissodus sp. Single tooth. BP/1/8905: Lissodus tumidoclavus. BP/1/8983: Unnamed hybodont. Individual tooth. BP/1/8982: Unnamed hybodont. Individual tooth. BP/1/8952. Polyacrodus sp. BP/1/9069. Archosauromoph osteoderm?