Karoo Origins fossil centre opens in Graaff-Reinet

The new Karoo Origins fossil centre has opened its doors in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape.

The centre offers visitors and researchers a view into the Karoo’s rich palaeontological and geological heritage. Operated under the direction of Professor Bruce Rubidge, former Director of the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, the centre operates in collaboration with Wits and already serves as a field base for local and international scientists studying the rocks and fossils of the region.

The centre’s world-class displays trace the geological history of the Karoo and the fossil record of key evolutionary milestones, including the origins of dinosaurs, tortoises, crocodiles, and mammals. Its foundation is the internationally renowned Rubidge Fossil Collection, previously housed for 91 years on Wellwood, the Rubidge family farm. The collection was initiated in 1934 when farmer Sidney Rubidge, inspired by a question from his 10-year-old daughter Peggy, discovered the remarkably complete skull of a large therapsid – later named Dinogorgon rubidgei by noted palaeontologist Dr Robert Broom.

Over the following decade, Rubidge assembled one of the world’s most significant collections of Permian and Triassic fossils. The collection is distinguished by its 107 holotype specimens – the original reference fossils used to define new species – the largest number displayed in any single exhibition globally. “The Rubidge Fossil Collection contains a wide diversity of fossil ‘reptile’ species that lived between 260 and 250 million years ago,” says Professor Bruce Rubidge. “At that time, the most abundant land-living vertebrates were therapsid mammal-like reptiles, the most distant ancestors of mammals.”

The Karoo Supergroup, deposited between 300 and 180 million years ago, preserves a fossil record of Gondwana – the supercontinent that comprised present-day Africa, South America, Madagascar, India, Antarctica, and Australia. Fossils from the same species are found across these continents, underscoring the global scientific importance of the Rubidge Collection. Outcrops north of Graaff-Reinet also preserve the best terrestrial record of the end-Permian mass extinction event, 252 million years ago, when 90% of species vanished.

Displays at Karoo Origins provide opportunities to explore the causes and consequences of this extinction and consider implications for today’s biodiversity crisis. “What is being created here is an exciting experience and journey into the distant past,” says Rubidge. “We are looking forward to welcoming anyone with an interest in palaeontology, from amateur enthusiasts to local and international scientists, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.”