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Cooper’s D is a fossil locality in the Bloubank Valley close to other important sites such as Sterkfontein and Kromdraai in Gauteng, South Africa. The fossil deposits of Cooper’s D date to 1.38 ± 0.11 Ma. Hominins like Paranthropus robustus and early Homo have been recovered from Cooper’s Cave. We report here on the Equidae remains. Our sample contains specimens from the extinct Equus capensis, and a specimen which represents an extinct hipparion Eurygnathohippus cf. cornelianus. This particular specimen was previously identified as plains zebra (Equus quagga). The contribution of Equidae to the total fossil assemblage of Cooper’s D is relatively low, and these remains were likely accumulated by various predators such as spotted and brown hyenas and leopards. The Equidae, as well as the other fauna from Cooper’s D supports the existence of grassland, wooded and water components in the vicinity of the site.

Ungulate and small mammalian fauna have been recovered from Holocene deposits at Wonderwerk Cave, in the interior of South Africa, in the area of excavation 1. Statistical analyses of relative abundances of rodents and insectivores indicate that conditions were warm (between 19.1 and 19.3 °C) and very dry in the early Holocene in the Wonderwerk palaeo-environment, becoming moister in the mid-Holocene and still moister in the late Holocene. Temperatures in the late Holocene appear to have been about 1 °C lower than conditions in the early to mid-Holocene. In terms of habitats reflected by rodents, the early Holocene is associated with an abundance of the arid-indicator species, Desmodillus auricularis. The degree of aridity subsequently decreases, associated with an increase in a woodland savanna species, Saccostomus campestris. A later increase in abundance of Mystromus albicaudatus reflects an increase in open grassland in the Late Holocene. Equids (zebras) and alcelaphines (including wildebeest and hartebeest) dominate the ungulate assemblages. Two extinct species are represented in the early Holocene, namely Equus capensis (the giant zebra) and Megalotragus priscus (a large alcelaphine). Possible causes of their extinction may include both environmental and cultural factors. Homo sapiens was probably the main agent of accumulation of the Holocene deposits at Wonderwerk, although leopards (Panthera pardus) may have temporarily used the cave in the mid-Holocene at a time when wind-blown Kalahari sands were introduced.

The dietary regimes of 15 ungulate species from the middle Pleistocene levels of the hominid-bearing locality of Elandsfontein, South Africa, are investigated using the mesowear technique. Previous studies, using taxonomic analogy, classified twelve of the studied species as grazers (Redunca arundinum, Hippotragus gigas, Hippotragus leucophaeus, Antidorcas recki, Homoiceras antiquus, Damaliscus aff. lunatus, Connochaetes gnou laticornutus, Rabaticerus arambourgi, Damaliscus niro, Damaliscus sp. nov., an unnamed “spiral horn” antelope and Equus capensis), one as a mixed feeder (Taurotragus oryx) and two as browsers (Tragelaphus strepsiceros and Raphicerus melanotis). Although results from mesowear analysis sustain previous dietary classifications in the majority of cases, five species were reclassified. Three species previously classified as grazers, were reclassified as mixed feeders (H. gigas, D. aff. lunatus and R. arambourgi), one previously classified as a grazer, was reclassified as a browser (the “spiral horn” antelope), and one previously classified as a mixed feeder, was reclassified as a browser (T. oryx). While current results broadly support previous reconstructions of the Elandsfontein middle Pleistocene environment as one which included a substantial C3 grassy component, the reclassifications suggest that trees, broad-leaved bush and fynbos were probably more prominent than what was previously thought.

In order to expand on the potential range of early human experiences and adaptive strategies, it is first necessary to determine the paleoenvironmental signatures for a given region of study. In this paper we report on proxy terrestrial, marine, and sea level data in order to reconstruct past environments of Namaqualand, South Africa, during MIS 6-2. Although this semiarid southern extension of the Namib Desert is a prime area to investigate early modern human adaptive innovations, environmental and human history of Namaqualand has been largely neglected. We present environmental, chronological, and subsistence data from recent excavations at Spitzkloof Rockshelter A, and review equivalent data from other sites in the Succulent Karoo Biome. The presence of handaxes on the landscape point to a pre-MIS 6 presence in the region, but current evidence suggests that a more dedicated human occupation of the region likely began during MIS 5. Subsequent human dispersals into Namaqualand are recurrent but heavily pulsed and typically linked to humid stadial phases when sea levels were lower. We propose that the westward movement of the coastline potentially increased the carrying capacity of the region by promoting the colonization of grasses onto the coastal plain, attracting larger game. The mechanism driving this change can be attributed to either an increase in inland precipitation as the Benguela-cooled coastline moved west or reduced evapotranspiration due to lowered temperatures. The strongest evidence for this pattern is during MIS 2 when faunal and floral data indicate a cold but humid environment. Faunal species from Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) layers at Spitzkloof A and Apollo 11 include large ungulates such as Equus capensis , a moisture-loving species that disappears toward the end of MIS 2 (~14 ka) when conditions become more xeric.

The extinct Cape zebra (Equus cupensis Broom) was first described from the Cape Town region of South Africa in 1909. Subsequent materials were reported from the hinterland of the Cape and into the Orange Free State, with records from Zimbabwe and Zambia, and 18 species were named. These were synonymised with the type binomial. Populations similar to the Cape zebra were described in East Africa as E. oldowayensis. Recently, specimens, also referable to the Cape zebra, have been recovered from Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, northwest Africa. The known temporal range of these Cape zebra populations is from Late Pliocene in East and South Africa and from Late Pleistocene in Egypt, to Middle Holocene in northeast and South Africa, and to Recent in northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia and the northeast of southern Somalia where it is represented by the extant E. grevyi, Grevy's zebra. The occlusal patterns of the lower cheek teeth (P3-M2) of the South African type, and individuals ...

The dietary regime of Equus capensis from the Middle Pleistocene of South Africa is investigated by mesowear analysis. Results indicate that the mesowear signature of this species resembles that of two extant mixed feeders, the Grant's Gazelle (Gazella granti) and the Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsoni), suggesting a mixed feeding dietary strategy for E. capensis. The mesowear signature of a contemporaneous population of Equus mosbachensis from Europe (Arago, France) is also determined for comparative purposes and has a typical grazing signature. In general, all extant species of Equus are believed to be almost exclusively grazers. However, a considerable degree of dietary flexibility is recently reported. The dietary signal of E. capensis is considered to be the result of feeding on the unique fynbos vegetation, which was beginning to establish itself at this time in southwestern South Africa. Grasses are a minor component of this floral kingdom. Our findings thus provide further evidence for the unexpected flexibility in feeding strategies of Equus, the most widely distributed equid taxon in the Quaternary. They highlight the potential use of the attrition"abrasion wear equilibrium as a habitat indicator, by mirroring the availability of food items in mammalian herbivore ecosystems.

Excavations conducted at the White Paintings Rock Shelter (WPS) have uncovered 7 m of deposits ranging in age from the historic period to at least 100,000 years at the base. Eleven stratigraphic units are described in relation to palaeoenvironmental conditions inferred from sediments and other data. These units contain seven major divisions in the cultural sequence highlighted by a lengthy record of Later and Middle Stone Age deposits. A wide variety of mammals as well as other animals were found in the upper 3 m. Numerous fish bones, wetland mammals and barbed bone points make this site especially interesting because of its desert location. The highest frequencies of fish bones are found between c . 80/90–130 cm (Upper Fish deposits) and between 210–280 cm below the surface (Lower Fish deposits). Most of the barbed bone points were recovered in the Upper Fish deposits. The Lower Fish deposits contain extinct Equus capensis and a microlithic industry as well as some bone points. A large blade industry is found beneath the Lower Fish deposits. This blade industry shows continuity with the underlying Middle Stone Age.

Vertebrates and invertebrates associated with lithic artifacts are reported from a later middle Pleistocene horizon in Dakhleh Oasis, probably dating to isotope stage 7. This represents the first middle Pleistocene fauna of this stage from a site in the Egyptian Western Desert and demonstrates the presence of extensive permanent lakes along the margin of the Libyan Escarpment. The fauna includes two freshwater snails (Limnaea stagnalis, Planorbis planorbis), a catfish (Clarias sp.), two reptiles (Varanus cf. griseus, ?Trionyx sp.), four water birds (Grus grus, Anas platyrhynchos, Anas sp. small, Arenaria interpres) and one land bird (Struthio camelus), and probably eleven mammals (Phacochoerus aethiopicus, Hippopotamus amphibius, Camelus ?thomasi, Pelorovis antiquus, ?Damaliscus, large antelope, Gazella sp. large, Gazella cf. dorcas, small antelope, Equus capensis, and possibly Hyaena hyaena). Most of the fossils derive from a near shore marl deposit in a freshwater lake that occupied a depression whose northern boundary coincides with the present southern margin of the oasis in its eastern end. Casts of the stems of reeds are also present. The animals represent a proximal freshwater tied fauna of obligatory aquatics and those who require freshwater during much of their activity, a distal savanna fauna of grazers, browsers or rooters who migrate to water on a diurnal cycle, and probable transitory avian migrants attracted to the palaeolake in passage. Human presence is attested by flakes and bifaces found in situ.

Ludovic Orlando et al., The rich fossil record of the family Equidae (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) over the past 55 MY has made it an icon for the patterns and processes of macroevolution. Despite this, many aspects of equid phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy remain unresolved. Recent genetic analyses of extinct equids have revealed unexpected evolutionary patterns and a need for major revisions at the generic, subgeneric, and species levels. To investigate this issue we examine 35 ancient equid specimens from four geographic regions (South America, Europe, Southwest Asia, and South Africa), of which 22 delivered 87–688 bp of reproducible aDNA mitochondrial sequence. Phylogenetic analyses support a major revision of the recent evolutionary history of equids and reveal two new species, a South American hippidion and a descendant of a basal lineage potentially related to Middle Pleistocene equids. Sequences from specimens assigned to the giant extinct Cape zebra, Equus capensis, formed a separate clade within the modern plain zebra species, a phenotypicically plastic group that also included the extinct quagga. In addition, we revise the currently recognized extinction times for two hemione-related equid groups. However, it is apparent that the current dataset cannot solve all of the taxonomic and phylogenetic questions relevant to the evolution of Equus. In light of these findings, we propose a rapid DNA barcoding approach to evaluate the taxonomic status of the many Late Pleistocene fossil Equidae species that have been described from purely morphological analyses.