Heritage Cases

I am applying for a temporary export permit to send 34 small slabs containing insect fossils with my Ph.D student Mr Ben Kirkaldy, to Germany for study at the Stuttgart Museum (Stuttgart) with research collaborator Dr Arnold Staniczek. We lack the local expertise in South Africa to adequately study the morphology and taxonomy of these specimens, and would like Ben to study the fossils with world renowned mayfly and stonefly expert Dr Staniczek. In addition to the hands on expertise offered by Dr Staniczek, it is an opportunity for Ben to observe and train in a specialist palaeoentomological laboratory, and to bring his skills back to South Africa to share with other students, as well as his supervisors. The research will serve to not only train a student in local South African fossil identification, but will also add value to the fossils via accurate identification and publication of the findings. Fossil specimens are from a spectacular site we have been working on for several years now, the Onder Karoo locality near Sutherland, Northern Cape Province. The site is yielding an unprecedented diversity and number of insect fossils, and is truly worthy of being characterised as a Lagerstatte. We would like to send 34 small slabs (less than 10 cm x 10 cm in size) each containing one to multiple specimens of mayfly and stonefly nymphs, preserved as impression fossils, for Ben Kirkadly to work on with Dr Staniczek in his laboratory. The specimens will be individually wrapped in tissue paper and bubble wrap, and securely packed into a cardboard box, and will be transported by hand by Ben Kirkaldy. Dates of trip: 05-21 May 2019 Type of analysis: non-destructive observation and photography of specimens; all to be returned to the Albany Museum on 21 May. Locality: Onder Karoo, Sutherland, Northern Cape Province. The Plecoptera (Stonefly) fossils from the Onder Karoo locality represent the earliest record of Stoneflies from Southern Africa, making them extremely important for understanding the evolution of these insects in South Africa and Gondwana. Amongst these fossils are well over a hundred body fossils of the nymphs of these insects, which is incredibly unusual. Currently, in South Africa only nine Stonefly species are known from fossils, mostly from the relatively more recent Triassic period. Of these, only one species is represented by a Nymph fossil. This makes these specimens particularly exciting, as they represent not only a new Period in the history of Gondwanan Stoneflies, but also have preserved details which are often obscured in fossils. Unfortunately, Palaeoentomology is an extremely small field in South Africa, and, because of this, much of the specialized equipment and knowledge is sadly lacking. As a result of this complication, an expert palaeoentomologist, Dr. Arnold Staniczek, has been collaborating on the investigation of these fossils, in order to provide initial analyses of the specimens. He has confirmed that these are likely to be stem Stonefly specimens, but unfortunately his assistance has been hampered by not being able to work on the fossils directly himself. In many cases it is important to be able to see the fossils in person in order to make accurate descriptions, as many details are difficult to capture on camera. Allowing Dr. Arnold Staniczek to work on the actual specimens will enable him to provide much more accurate information on the fossils, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of these taxa and their place in the Stonefly phylogeny. In addition, Dr. Arnold Staniczek will be providing training and expertise on the curation and techniques he employs in managing these fossils, which will be brought back to South Africa, helping to improve and grow the field locally. Specimen details: Impression fossils of insects, in fine-grained olive-grey mudrock; each slab has its own specimen number; all slabs are small, less than 10 x 10 cm in size, and generally much smaller (3 x 3 cm on average). All specimens have been accessioned into the Albany Museum palaeontology catalogue, with the following collection numbers: AM11311, AM12497, AM12498, AM12533, AM12548, AM11268 a,b, AM11348, AM11264 a,b, AM11284, AM12952, AM12500 a,b, AM12465, AM13265, AM12909, AM12934, AM12920, AM13075, AM13109, AM13214, AM11458, AM13085, AM11343, AM12906, AM12908, AM11313, AM11348a-e.