Transkei 1992 "Fossils (II)"
| Issue Date | 17.09.1992 |
| ID | Michel: Scott: Stanley Gibbons: Yvert: UPU: Category: pR |
| Design | Lambert Kriedemann |
| Stamps in set | 4 |
| Value |
35c - Pseudomelania sutherlandi (Baily, 1855) 70c - Gaudryceras denseplicatum (Jimbo, 1894) 90c - Neithea quinquecostata (J Sowerby, 1814) R1,05 - Pugilina (Mayerie) acutlcarlnatus (Rennie, 1930) |
| Size (width x height) | |
| Layout | Offset |
| Products | FDC x1 |
| Paper | |
| Perforation | 14.25 x 14 |
| Print Technique | |
| Printed by | |
| Quantity | |
| Issuing Authority |
On September 17th, 1992, the Postal Authority of Transkei issued the second of three stamp sets dedicated to fossils discovered in this formerly semi-autonomous Xhosa homeland in the Republic of South Africa. This time fossils of shells, rather than plants were depicted on the stamps.
The following text was written by Dr Herbert Klinger, South African Museum, Cape Town, and attached to the official FDC
The stretch of beach between the site of the Wild Coast casino and the estuary of the Mzamba River in Transkei is locally known as the Fossil Forest. However, this name is a misnomer, for the large petrified tree trunks exposed on the beach at low tide are all orientated horizontally, lack roots and are embedded in rocks which contain a wide variety of marine fossils. This indicates an ancient marine environment in which the logs had washed up on the beach or became waterlogged. Low cliffs on either side of the Mzamba River estuary comprise alternating hard and soft sediments and continue the section exposed on the beach. These contain numerous shelly marine fossils which belong to the Santonian and Campanian Stages of the Cretaceous System of about 75 to 85 million years ago. These rocks and some of the fossils were first described in 1855 in the Quaterly Journal of the Geological Society of London by Captain RJ Garden and WH Baily respectively.
The fossils depicting on the stamps and the commemorative envelope are from the Mzamba Formation, as these rocks are now collectively referred to scientifically. They include forms which are now totally extinct, namely the ammonites, as well as others which have extant representatives, such as gastropods and bivalves.
Pseudomelania sutherlandi fossil on stamp of Transkei 1992, MiNr.: ; Scott: - Pseudomelania sutherlandi (Baily, 1855)
Gaudryceras denseplicatum fossil on stamp of Transkei 1992
This is one of the most common fossil gastropods at Mzamba and was among the first fossils to be described from this locality.
Gaudryceras denseplicatum (Jimbo, 1894)
This is an ammonite a group of animals that became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, more or less at the same time as the dinosaurs. This species is known from Transkei, KwaZulu, Madagascar, Japan and Spain.
Neithea quinquecostata fossil on stamp of Transkei 1992, MiNr.: ; Scott: . Neithea quinquecostata (J Sowerby, 1814)
Pugilina (Mayerie) acutlcarlnatus fossil on stamp of Transkei 1992,
This fossil represents a common, scallop-like bivalve with a wide geographic distribution.
Pugilina (Mayerie) acutlcarlnatus (Rennie, 1930)
This is a rather rare fossil gastropod at Mzamba.
Related stamps
Transkei 1990 "Fossils" 1st set of the seriesTranskei 1993 "Fossils" 3rd set of the series
Products and associated philatelic items
| FDC | Used cover | |
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| On the cachet: Texanites presoutoni (Klinger and Kennedy, 1980). This fossil is a large ammonite from the basal beds of the Mzamba Formation. |
References
Inside text of FDC, Wikipedia.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.