Book a call with a safari expert

phone icon

Client reviews

5 star icon
safari experts, since 1991
Book a call with a safari expert Book a call
Client reviews Client reviews
×
SEARCH OUR STORIES
SEARCH OUR SAFARIS
Africa Geographic Travel

For visitors to Namibia, Mesosaurus Camp should be high on their destination list. Mesosaurus Camp is situated on the farm, Spitzkop, about 40 km outside Keetmanshoop. Massive nests in camel-thorn trees, home to the sociable weaver can be found at the campsite. Written by: Dr Martin Briggs


Sociable weaver nest

Quiver trees dot the surrounding hills, and the base of one of these resembles a dinosaur foot grasping the rocks – an analogy to the fossils for which this farm is famous.

The base of a quiver tree, a living fossil, resembling the foot of a dinosaur
The base of a quiver tree – a living fossil resembling the foot of a dinosaur

We were fortunate enough to arrive on a day that Giel Steenkamp was taking a group to view the fossils. Giel stumbled on these reptilian fossils and thought the imprints embedded in the rocks were those of the salamander. However, it took Dr Oelofse of the University of Pretoria to identify them. Dr Oelofse immediately realised that the creatures on Spitzkop Farm predated the salamander and correctly identified them as fossils of the order Mesosauria.

Mesosaurus fossil with indentations of the dorsal spinal processes clearly visible
Mesosaurus fossil with indentations of the dorsal spinous processes clearly visible.

Giel explained how the geological ages affected these parts of Gondwanaland and how it was once covered in water, with swamps populated by reptiles, crabs, fish, and prawn-like creatures. These lived in water mostly no deeper than 35 to 100 centimetres during the late Carboniferous and early Permian ages. Ceratosaurus and Megapnosaurus probably also lived here at a later stage.

Mesosaurus (meaning “middle lizard”) is an extinct genus of reptiles from the Early Permian age. Mesosaurus was long thought to have been one of the first marine reptiles.

Mesosaurus, an amphibian reptile living here about 270 million years ago, was the apex predator of this age and locality and is probably one of the most convincing examples to prove the drifting of continents. The same genus in the same rock formations is found in southern Africa and South America.

Their teeth were too soft to attack larger prey – they were predominantly filter feeders (e.g. plankton). As the waters receded, these inhabitants sank into the mud to be preserved as fossils. Sediment blown into the lake also covered the remnants.

Mesosaurus fossil with fracture of the middle digit

Giel takes care to prevent damage to the fossil beds from livestock and the elements. Lifting a protective sheet of corrugated iron roofing, Giel pointed out the grooves delineating a fossil embedded in the Dwyker shale. The spine and limbs of an ancient Mesosaurus were revealed. So detailed was the imprint that indentations indicating the dorsal spinous processes were clearly visible, and even a fracture suffered by the specimen in a toe could be determined in the smooth shale surface.

We learned that the Mesosaurus fossils on Giel’s farm were the oldest reptilian fossils in southern Africa. Another site revealed a Mesosaurus fossil with intact faeces. Although long since turned to stone, this’ coprolite’ still showed vividly as a brown streak. Giel explained that Dr Oelofse determined the diet by examining specimens of this coprolite.

Giel Steenkamp displays a Mesosaurus fossil
Giel Steenkamp displays a Mesosaurus fossil

Giel, joking that he was another fossil on the farm, spritely opened and closed gates as he led our convoy towards a kopje where quiver trees grew in abundance. The stem of the quiver tree is a living fossil, consisting mainly of fibre, proficient at storing water. Giel enlightened us as to the origin of the name and showed us how the Bushmen made quivers for their arrows by removing the fibrous innards of a branch. Closing one end of this ‘tube’ with a pelt resulted in a perfectly hollowed receptacle, or quiver. Small flowers appear in May, June and July in the canopy of leaves. Giel explained that, as one would expect, the leaves of this aloe are bitter, and kudu will occasionally reach up to feed on the canopy. This is possibly because of the anti-parasitical properties of the sap; early stockmen added these leaves to livestock water troughs, maintaining that parasites, such as ticks, would be suitably dislodged. The forest of quiver trees grew amongst stacked dolerite boulders, and Giel explained that the dark colouration was magnesium oxide, while iron oxide formed the lighter colours. Locally, these pigmentations are known as ‘desert varnish’.

Quiver Trees

 

To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.


Africa Geographic Travel
African safari

Why choose us to craft your safari?

Handcrafted experiential safaris since 1991.

Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early/late or a few kilometres off course, and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?

African travel

Trust & Safety

Client safari payments remain in a third-party TRUST ACCOUNT until they return from safari - protecting them in the unlikely event of a financial setback on our part.

See what travellers say about us

Responsible safari

Make a difference

We donate a portion of the revenue from every safari sold to carefully selected conservation projects that make a significant difference at ground level.

YOUR safari choice does make a difference - thank you!

[wpforms id="152903"]
<div class="wpforms-container wpforms-container-full" id="wpforms-152903"><form id="wpforms-form-152903" class="wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form" data-formid="152903" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" action="/stories/a-southern-african-mesosaurus-site" data-token="79d80837c583666be6bb33acff43b124"><noscript class="wpforms-error-noscript">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.</noscript><div class="wpforms-field-container"><div id="wpforms-152903-field_1-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-email" data-field-id="1"><label class="wpforms-field-label wpforms-label-hide" for="wpforms-152903-field_1">Email Address <span class="wpforms-required-label">*</span></label><input type="email" id="wpforms-152903-field_1" class="wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required" name="wpforms[fields][1]" placeholder="Email " required></div></div><div class="wpforms-submit-container"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[id]" value="152903"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[author]" value="3"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[post_id]" value="46546"><button type="submit" name="wpforms[submit]" id="wpforms-submit-152903" class="wpforms-submit" data-alt-text="Sending..." data-submit-text="Subscribe" aria-live="assertive" value="wpforms-submit">Subscribe</button><img src="https://africageographic.com/wp-content/plugins/wpforms/assets/images/submit-spin.svg" class="wpforms-submit-spinner" style="display: none;" width="26" height="26" alt="Loading"></div></form></div> <!-- .wpforms-container -->