Comparative dental microwear texture analysis of Pleistocene carnivores on the Southwestern Cape of South Africa

Abstract

The ecologically unique Pleistocene ecosystems of South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region (CFR) have a diverse savanna-like faunal community in a system dominated by flora with C3 photosynthesis, with no modern analog. Preliminary work suggests that modern herbivore dietary ecology in the CFR often differs from Pleistocene counterparts. Carnivores are important to understanding past ecosystem function, but their diets have received little attention. Thus, we applied dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to canids and feliforms from five Pleistocene localities in the CFR’s southwestern Cape. Fossil specimens of Acinonyx jubatus, Lupulella mesomelas, Lycaon pictus, Panthera leo, Panthera pardus, Parahyaena brunnea, and Vulpes chama were compared to modern baselines. DMTA indicates that fossil taxa generally fall within the range of modern counterparts, with the exception of Ly. pictus having complexity values that exceed those of modern individuals, indicating more durophagous (hard object feeding) behavior in the Pleistocene. Overall, these results highlight niche conservatism across time and geography, as well as ecological resilience, while the few observed shifts underscore how ecological pressures, such as competition, have shaped carnivore diets through time.