Lower Elliot dicynodont fossil

Re Motivation to conduct a paleontological excavation of potentially important Karoo fossil
In 2022 the owner of Ben Avis farm in Joe Gqabi Distract of Eastern Cape alerted Dr Rose Prevec of Albany Museum of a set of large fossil bones weathering out a rock outcrop on his farm. Dr Prevec passed on this information to Dr Emese Bordy, a geologist and specialist in upper Karoo stratigraphy at the University of Cape Town. She and her honours student visited the site in 2022, conducted a geological appraisal and some tentative conservation to the weathering skeleton. Not having any experience of Karoo vertebrate fossils they did not feel qualified to identify or excavate the specimen. However, Dr Bordy did confirm that the bones are in strata of the lowermost Elliot Formation ( Late Triassic ). Subsequently, in 2023, Mr David Cock, the farm owner, alerted Dr Derik Wolvaardt , a research palaeontologist attached to ESI Wits, and my masters student at the time, of the existence of this specimen and his concern that it was getting further damaged by cattle trampling. Photos taken by the farmer and passed on to Dr Wolvaardt indicated an in-situ, partially articulated, skeleton of what appeared to be a large dicynodont therapsid. If this tentative ID and Dr Bordy’s stratigraphic positioning were proven correct – this would be only the second dicynodont specimen ever found in the Elliot Formation.
For this reason, in June this year, Dr Wolvaardt and I visited the farm and were guided to the specimen by two farm workers. On arrival we could immediately see that the protective plastic sheeting that Dr Bordy had placed over the bones was missing, and that the protruding bones had been further damaged since the owners photographs were taken.
Derik and I spend a full day collecting all the loose bone pieces lying around the skeleton bagging and labelling them separately according to their likely position on the skeleton. I took photos and made a sketch of the skeleton ( see attached) and by the end of the day was encouraged by how much still remained in situ after years of exposure.
Interestingly, our preliminary enquiries have ascertained that the fossil was discovered some 24 years ago by the son of the original owner of the farm, Charles van der Spuy. It turns out that Charles and Dr Wovaardt were in school together for 12 years, in Aliwal North. Derik will be contacting Charles to get the full history.
Dr Christian Kammerer (Museum North Carolina, US) is a renowned dicynodont expert and the scientist who described the first, and to date the only, Elliot dicynodont Pentasaurus . From the images and my sketch he agreed that it was a dicynodont, and was therefore a very rare and researchworthy specimen that must be urgently recovered and prepared for study. Currently, we believe that this is the skull and much of the semi articulated skeleton of the genus Pentasaurus (see paper by Kammerer here The first skeletal evidence of a dicynodont from the lower Elliot Formation of South Africa (wits.ac.za)). The type and only specimen for this taxon is just the beak of the lower jaw. It was found by Aliwal North postmaster and naturalist Alfred (Gogga) Brown and sent to Vienna in 1876. Derik and I recently been researching Gogga Brown’s fossil finds and have made transcripts of his journals in the SA Museum. So, if this new specimen is indeed Pentasaurus it is a very important find. If it is not, but some new dicynodont, then perhaps even more so.
In the interests of research and heritage conservation, Dr Prevec has agreed that I take charge of the excavation and transportation of the specimen to Iziko Karoo Paleo lab in Cape Town for preparation and study, after which it will be moved to Albany Museum in Grahamstown for permanent storage and possible display.
If the excavating permit is issued in time, we could begin excavating in December 2024. Preparation, however, will take at least 2 years and that will depend on procuring sufficient research funds to cover the costs. Consequently, if it can be arranged. I think that a 3 year research permit would be more appropriate for this project.