Author: Julien Benoit, Associate professor in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand

Artist's impression of _Lystrosaurus_ embryo. Artist: Sophie Vrard, CC BY Between 280 and 200 million years ago, a group of animals evolved which would eventually give rise to mammals, including humans: the therapsids. They were first described more than 150 years ago, based on fossils from South Africa. Since then, many more fossils have been […]

Dinosaur footprints at Morija, Lesotho, in 1906. The person standing in front of the rock slab covered with tridactyl fossil footprints is not identified. Photos courtesy of the Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution of the University of Montpellier, France , CC BY-NC-SA For over a century, the scientific literature has credited western missionaries with “discovering” […]

A mysterious animal painted on a cave wall in South Africa’s Free State Province has long baffled scientists. Is it a walrus? It looks like one, but there are no such animals in Africa. Some cryptozoologists – people who look for legendary animals like the Loch Ness Monster – have suggested the painting might depict […]