Beaufort Group

{{Short description|Third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa}}

{{Infobox rockunit

| name = Beaufort Group

| period = Early Triassic

| age = Guadalupian-Early Triassic
~{{fossilrange|268|247}}

| type = Geologic group

| prilithology = Mudstone, claystone, siltstone

| otherlithology = Sandstone, shale, Tuff

| region = Northern Cape, Western, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State.

| country = {{flag|South Africa}}

| subunits =

| overlies = Ecca Group

| underlies = Stormberg Group

| thickness = up to {{Convert|22965.88|ft|m|-1}}

| extent = 145 000 km squared

| area =

| map = File:Geology of Karoo Supergroup.png

| map_caption = A simplified geological map of the outcrops of Karoo Supergroup rocks in Southern Africa. The Beaufort Group is represented by the yellow key on the map.

}}

The Beaufort Group is the third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. It is composed of a lower Adelaide Subgroup and an upper Tarkastad Subgroup.Keyser, A. W., & Smith, R. M. H. (1978). Vertebrate biozonation of the Beaufort Group with special reference to the western Karoo Basin. Geological Survey, Department of Mineral And Energy Affairs, Republic of South Africa.{{Cite journal|last=Smith, R.M.H., Eriksson, P.G. and Botha, W.J.|date=1993-01-01|title=A review of the stratigraphy and sedimentary environments of the Karoo-aged basins of Southern Africa|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East)|language=en|volume=16|issue=1–2|pages=143–169|doi=10.1016/0899-5362(93)90164-L|issn=0899-5362|bibcode=1993JAfES..16..143S}} It follows conformably after the Ecca Group and unconformably underlies the Stormberg Group. Based on stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlations,{{Cite journal|last1=Rubidge|first1=B. S.|last2=Hancox|first2=P. J.|date=1997|title=The role of fossils in interpreting the development of the Karoo Basin|journal=Palaeontologia Africana|url=http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/16396|language=en|issn=0078-8554}} palynological analyses, and other means of geological dating, the Beaufort Group rocks are considered to range between Middle Permian (Wordian) to Early Triassic (Anisian) in age.Rubidge, B. S. (ed.) 1995b. Biostratigraphy of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup). South African Committee of Stratigraphy. Biostratigraphic Series 1. Pretoria, Council for Geoscience.{{Citation|last1=Jirah|first1=Sifelani|title=Advances in Nonmarine Karoo Biostratigraphy: Significance for Understanding Basin Development|date=2016|work=Origin and Evolution of the Cape Mountains and Karoo Basin|pages=141–149|series=Regional Geology Reviews|publisher=Springer, Cham|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-40859-0_14|isbn=9783319408583|last2=McPhee|first2=Blair W.|last3=Viglietti|first3=Pia A.|last4=Bamford|first4=Marion K.|last5=Choiniere|first5=Jonah N.|last6=Hancox|first6=P. John|last7=Barbolini|first7=Natasha|last8=Day|first8=Michael O.|last9=Rubidge|first9=Bruce S.}}

Background

During the period when sedimentation of the Beaufort Group rocks took place, the Ecca sea had retreated to the northeastern Karoo Basin. All sediment deposition at this time took place in a terrestrial, although in a predominantly fluvial or alluvial environment that was seasonally arid. This environment covered a vast area and deposition was influenced by a retroarc foreland basin. This foreland system was caused by crustal uplift (orogenesis) that had previously begun to take course due to the subduction of the Palaeo-pacific plate beneath the Gondwanan Plate. This resulted in the rise of the Gondwanide mountain range in what is known as the Gondwanide orogeny. The continuation of mountain-building and erosion from the growing Gondwanide mountain chain and associated subduction created accommodation space for sediment deposition in the Karoo Basin. Orogenic loading was the initial subsidence mechanism acting on the Karoo Basin and flexural tectonics partitioned the Karoo Basin into the foredeep, forebulge, and backbulge flexural provinces. Orogenic loading and unloading caused changes in position of the forebulge and foredeep. This resulted in the deposition zones shifting from the proximal or distal regions of the Karoo Basin.{{Cite journal|last1=Clevis|first1=Quintijn|last2=Boer|first2=Poppe L. De|last3=Nijman|first3=Wouter|date=2004|title=Differentiating the effect of episodic tectonism and eustatic sea-level fluctuations in foreland basins filled by alluvial fans and axial deltaic systems: insights from a three-dimensional stratigraphic forward model|journal=Sedimentology|language=en|volume=51|issue=4 |pages=809–835|doi=10.1111/j.1365-3091.2004.00652.x |issn=1365-3091|bibcode=2004Sedim..51..809C|s2cid=128782169 |doi-access=free}}

The Beaufort Group rocks are predominantly mudstone-dominated up until the upper sections in the lower Tarkastad Subgroup. Tuffs are also found due to concurrent volcanic activity that took place with the foreland tectonics.{{Cite journal|last1=Waschbusch|first1=Paula|last2=Beaumont|first2=Christopher|last3=Catuneanu|first3=Octavian |date=1997-12-01|title=Interplay of static loads and subduction dynamics in foreland basins: Reciprocal stratigraphies and the "missing" peripheral bulge|journal=Geology|language=en|volume=25|issue=12|pages=1087–1090|doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<1087:IOSLAS>2.3.CO;2|bibcode=1997Geo....25.1087C|issn=0091-7613}}{{Cite journal|last1=Rubidge|first1=B. S.|last2=Hancox|first2=P. J.|last3=Catuneanu|first3=O.|date=1998-12-01|title=Reciprocal flexural behaviour and contrasting stratigraphies: a new basin development model for the Karoo retroarc foreland system, South Africa|url=http://www.earthdoc.org/publication/publicationdetails/?publication=62697|journal=Basin Research|language=en|volume=10|issue=4|pages=417–439|issn=1365-2117|bibcode=1998BasR...10..417C |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2117.1998.00078.x|s2cid=56420970 }}{{Cite journal|last1=Catuneanu|first1=O.|last2=Hancox|first2=P. J.|last3=Rubidge|first3=B. S.|date=2000-03-01|title=Sequence analysis of the Ecca—Beaufort contact in the southern Karoo of South Africa|journal=South African Journal of Geology|language=en|volume=103|issue=1|pages=81–96|doi=10.2113/103.1.81|issn=1012-0750 }}{{Cite journal|last=Catuneanu, O., Hancox, P., Cairncross, B. & Rubidge, B.|date=2002-11-01|title=Foredeep submarine fans and forebulge deltas: orogenic off-loading in the underfilled Karoo Basin|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=35|issue=4|pages=489–502|doi=10.1016/S0899-5362(02)00154-9 |issn=1464-343X|bibcode=2002JAfES..35..489C}}

Geographic extent

File:Hill at Karoo National Park.png

The geological formations of the Beaufort Group are outcrop over approximately 145 000 km², attaining a total thickness of around 6000 m thick at its thickest outcrops. In the west, the lowermost Beaufort Group rocks are found east of Laingsburg and remain continuous eastward to East London. Deposits are also found in the central Karoo and continue north-north-eastwards to Gariep Dam, Colesberg, and up to Bloemfontein. In the extreme north and north-east, the Beaufort Group outcrops in Harrismith and northeastern KwaZulu-Natal.

Stratigraphic units

Adelaide Subgroup

The Adelaide Subgroup is the lower subgroup of the Beaufort Group and contains all Middle to Late Permian-aged rocks. This subgroup contains six geological formations in total, however, these formations are latitude specific. These formations are the Abrahaamskraal and Teekloof Formations, west of 24°E, Middleton and Balfour Formations east of 24°E, and the Normandien and Emakwezini Formations in the northern Free-State and Kwa-Zulu Natal provinces. Composing the lower Beaufort succession, the rocks are mudstone-dominated. The mudstones in the lower Beaufort Group are mainly greenish-grey to blueish-grey and gradually change to greyish-red, reddish-brown or purple in color. The dominant presence of mudstones in the lower Beaufort Group represent tranquil depositional settings such as overbank or floodplain facies associations. The formations here are listed below (from oldest to youngest):

West of 24 degrees

Abrahamskraal Formation: The Abrahamskraal Formation is found in both its western and eastern deposits. Previously, east of 24 degrees deposits of the Abrahaamskraal Formation were known as the Koonap Formation.{{Cite journal|last1=Bottjer|first1=David J.|last2=Shen|first2=Shuzhong|last3=Clapham|first3=Matthew E.|date=2009-04-08|title=The double mass extinction revisited: reassessing the severity, selectivity, and causes of the end-Guadalupian biotic crisis (Late Permian)|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/double-mass-extinction-revisited-reassessing-the-severity-selectivity-and-causes-of-the-endguadalupian-biotic-crisis-late-permian/2DAC8E0FBA521986AE878E8A2469AA8D |journal=Paleobiology|language=en|volume=35|issue=1|pages=32–50|doi=10.1666/08033.1 |s2cid=26571574|issn=1938-5331}} Recently these were amalgamated into the Abrahaamskraal Formation due to recent stratigraphic and biostratigraphic research.{{Cite journal|last=Catuneanu, O. & Bowker, D.|date=2001-01-01|title=Sequence stratigraphy of the Koonap and Middleton fluvial formations in the Karoo foredeep South Africa|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=33|issue=3–4|pages=579–595 |doi=10.1016/S0899-5362(01)00095-1 |issn=1464-343X|bibcode=2001JAfES..33..579C}}{{Cite journal|last=Day, M.O. and Rubidge, B.S.|date=2014-12-01 |title=A brief lithostratigraphic review of the Abrahamskraal and Koonap formations of the Beaufort Group, South Africa: Towards a basin-wide stratigraphic scheme for the Middle Permian Karoo |journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=100|pages=227–242 |doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2014.07.001|issn=1464-343X|bibcode=2014JAfES.100..227D}}{{Cite journal|last=Jirah, S.|date=2014-12-01|title=Refined stratigraphy of the Middle Permian Abrahamskraal Formation (Beaufort Group) in the southern Karoo Basin|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=100 |pages=121–135|doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2014.06.014 |issn=1464-343X|bibcode=2014JAfES.100..121J}}{{Cite journal|last1=Day|first1=M. O.|last2=Johnson|first2=M. R.|last3=Cole|first3=D. I.|date=2016-06-01|title=Lithostratigraphy of the Abrahamskraal Formation (Karoo Supergroup), South Africa |journal=South African Journal of Geology |language=en|volume=119|issue=2|pages=415–424 |doi=10.2113/gssajg.119.2.415 |issn=1012-0750}}{{cite journal | last1 = Lucas | first1 = S. G. | year = 2001 | title = A Global Hiatus in the Middle Permian Tetrapod Fossil Record | journal = Permophiles | volume = 38 | pages = 24–27 }}
Teekloof Formation: Floodplain facies association comprising some greenish-grey mudstones. However, redder mudstones are dominant.{{Cite thesis|last=Day|first=Michael Oliver|title=Middle Permian continental biodiversity changes as reflected in the Beaufort Group of South Africa: a bio- and lithostratigraphic review of the Eodicynodon, Tapinocephalus and Pristerognathus assemblage zones|date=2014-03-04|degree=Thesis|url=http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/14014|language=en}}

East of 24 degrees

Middleton Formation: Lies conformably over the Abrahamskraal Formation in the east. Semi-arid climate supported a lush flora and fauna that thrived along meander belts and semi-permanent lakes. The formation contains lenses of red mudstone which are likely to have been deposited in a sub-aerial fluvial environment.
Balfour Formation: Low-energy, fluvial environmental facies, most likely one that had meandering rivers. Mudstone-rich.{{Cite journal|last=Viglietti, P. A., Smith, R. M., Angielczyk, K. D., Kammerer, C. F., Fröbisch, J., & Rubidge, B. S.|date=2016-01-01|title=The Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone (Lopingian), South Africa: A proposed biostratigraphy based on a new compilation of stratigraphic ranges|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=113 |pages=153–164|doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.10.011 |issn=1464-343X|bibcode=2016JAfES.113..153V}}{{Cite journal|last1=Viglietti|first1=Pia|last2=Rubidge|first2=Bruce|last3=Malcom Harris Smith|first3=Roger |date=2017-03-01|title=Revised lithostratigraphy of the upper Permian Balfour and Teekloof formations of the main Karoo Basin, South Africa |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319543960|journal=South African Journal of Geology|volume=120|issue=3–4|pages=45–60 |doi=10.25131/gssajg.120.1.45}}{{Cite journal|last1=Katemaunzanga|first1=David|last2=Gunter|first2=Cornelis Janse |date=2009|title=Lithostratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Provenance of the Balfour Formation (Beaufort Group) in the Fort Beaufort–Alice Area, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa|journal=Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition|language=en|volume=83|issue=5 |pages=902–916|doi=10.1111/j.1755-6724.2009.00110.x|s2cid=130345218 |issn=1755-6724}}
Normadien Formation (northeastern region only): Mudstone-rich, but these are interbedded with diagnostic layers of very coarse-grained sandstones that exhibit coarsening upward cycles.
Emakwezini Formation (northeastern KwaZulu-Natal only): An extremely understudied geological formation that outcrops in a thin, faulted, and meridional belt in central Eswatini and the southern Lebombo Basin of northeastern KwaZulu-Natal. It is actively mined for its coal seams which are found intercalated with fine, greenish-grey to brown mudstones and carbonaceous shales. The mudstones contain layers of fining upward successions of coarse-grained, yellow-white sandstones. Rare limestone lenses are sometimes also found. The mudstones have yielded diverse fossils, mainly of plants such as Phyllotheca, Glossopteris and associated Dictyopteridium. Insect fossils are also found, such as of Neoliomopterum picturatum, various mollusc fossils, fish scales of Coelacanthus dendrites and unidentified ganoid fish scales and teeth. Being upper Permian in age, it correlates with the Normandien and Balfour Formations, but is differentiated from these two formations due to its unique sedimentary facies structure. Unlike the rest of the Beaufort Group sequence, the Emakwezini Formation was deposited in a permanently wet, fluvial-lacustrine environment where peat swamps were present.Jourbert, M.R., 1994. Emakwezini Formation. Lexicon of South African Stratigraphy: Part, 1.{{Cite journal|last1=Prevec|first1=R.|last2=Bordy|first2=E. M.|date=2008-12-01|title=Sedimentology, palaeontology and palaeo-environments of the Middle (?) to Upper Permian Emakwezini Formation (Karoo Supergroup, South Africa)|journal=South African Journal of Geology|language=en|volume=111|issue=4|pages=429–458|doi=10.2113/gssajg.111.4.429|issn=1012-0750 }}{{Cite journal|title=New and poorly known grylloblattids (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Lopingian of the Lebombo Basin, South Africa|journal = African Invertebrates|volume = 50|issue = 2|pages = 279–286|last=Aristov, D.S., Prevec, R. and Mostovski, M.B., 2009.|doi=10.5733/afin.050.0205|year = 2009|doi-access = free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Prevec|first1=R.|last2=Bordy|first2=E. M. |date=2015-09-01|title=Lithostratigraphy of the Emakwezini Formation (Karoo Supergroup), South Africa |journal=South African Journal of Geology|language=en|volume=118|issue=3 |pages=307–310|doi=10.2113/gssajg.118.3.307 |issn=1012-0750}}

Tarkastad Subgroup

There are no equivalent deposits of the Tarkastad Subgroup west of 24°E. This is either due to erosion of the lowlands west of 24°E or sediment deposition in the western section of the Karoo Basin ceased at the end of the Permian. In the lower sections sandstones dominate, especially in the Katberg Formation. In the upper units the sandstone to mudstone ratio steadily evens out.{{Cite journal|last=R.M.H. Smith|date=1995-08-01|title=Changing fluvial environments across the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Karoo Basin, South Africa and possible causes of tetrapod extinctions |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en|volume=117|issue=1–2|pages=81–104 |doi=10.1016/0031-0182(94)00119-S|issn=0031-0182|bibcode=1995PPP...117...81S}} The Tarkastad Subgroup is composed of the following formations (from oldest to youngest):

Katberg Formation: Dominated by fine to medium-grained sandstones. Alluvial fan and braided river environmental facies.{{Cite journal|last=Viglietti, P.A., Smith, R.M.H. and Compton, J.|date=2013-12-15|title=Origin and palaeoenvironmental significance of Lystrosaurus bonebeds in the earliest Triassic Karoo Basin, South Africa|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|language=en |volume=392|pages=9–21|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.08.015 |issn=0031-0182|bibcode=2013PPP...392....9V}}
Burgersdorp Formation: Very mudstone-rich which are reddish or purple in color.
Verkykerskop Formation (extreme northeast only): Composed entirely of fine-grained sandstone interbedded with very coarse sandstones.
Driekoppen Formation (extreme northeast only): Nearly entirely composed of mudstone.{{cite journal | last1 = Johnson | first1 = M.R. | last2 = Van Vuuren | first2 = C.J. | last3 = Visser | first3 = J.N.J. | last4 = Cole | first4 = D.I. | last5 = Wickens | first5 = H. | year = 2006 | title = Sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup | journal = The Geology of South Africa Geological. Society of South Africa/Council for Geoscience | volume = 461 | page = 499 }}

File:Moschops capensis.jpg of the Middle Permian, South Africa.]]

Paleontology

File:Odd couple.png (in brown; BP/1/7199) is lying on its ventral side; Broomistega putterilli (in grey; BP/1/7200) deposited upside down on the right side of the Thrinaxodon. Source: Abdala et al. 2013)]]

The Beaufort Group is internationally renowned for its diverse fossil fauna,{{Cite journal|title=Analysis of millerettid parareptile relationships in the light of new material of Broomia perplexa Watson, 1914, from the Permian of South Africa|journal = Journal of Systematic Palaeontology|volume = 6|issue = 4|pages = 453–462|last=Cisneros, J. C., Rubidge, B. S., Mason, R. & Dube, C.|s2cid = 73723455|doi=10.1017/s147720190800254x|year = 2008}}{{Cite journal|last=Damiani, R. J.|date=2004-01-01|title=Temnospondyls from the Beaufort Group (Karoo Basin) of South Africa and Their Biostratigraphy|journal=Gondwana Research|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=165–173|doi=10.1016/S1342-937X(05)70315-4|issn=1342-937X |bibcode=2004GondR...7..165D}}{{cite journal |last1=Reisz |first1=Robert R. |last2=Laurin |first2=Michel |title=Owenetta and the origin of turtles |journal=Nature |date=January 1991 |volume=349 |issue=6307 |pages=324–326 |doi=10.1038/349324a0 |bibcode=1991Natur.349..324R |s2cid=350380 |url=https://doi.org/10.1038/349324a0 |language=en |issn=1476-4687}}{{cite journal |last1=Reisz |first1=Robert R. |last2=Scott |first2=Diane |title=Owenetta kitchingorum, sp. nov., a small parareptile (Procolophonia: Owenettidae) from the Lower Triassic of South Africa |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=8 July 2002 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=244–256 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0244:OKSNAS]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=52035390 |url=https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0244:OKSNAS]2.0.CO;2 |issn=0272-4634}}{{Cite journal|title=Anatomy and relationships of Elliotsmithia longiceps Broom, a small synapsid (Eupelycosauria: Varanopseidae) from the Late Permian of South Africa|journal = Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume = 18|issue = 3|pages = 602–611|last=Reisz, R. R., Dilkes, D. W. & Berman, D. S. 1998. |doi=10.1080/02724634.1998.10011087|year = 1998}}{{Cite journal|last1=Surkov|first1=M. V.|last2=Tverdokhlebov|first2=V. P.|last3=Benton|first3=M. J.|date=2004-11-01|title=Ecosystem remodelling among vertebrates at the Permian–Triassic boundary in Russia|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=432|issue=7013 |pages=97–100 |doi=10.1038/nature02950|pmid=15525988|issn=1476-4687|bibcode=2004Natur.432...97B|s2cid=4388173|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/15286/files/PAL_E2585.pdf }}{{Cite journal|last1=Almond|first1=John|last2=Rubidge|first2=Bruce |last3=Jirah|first3=Sifelani|last4=Abdala|first4=Fernando|last5=Güven|first5=Saniye|last6=Day|first6=Michael O.|date=2015-04-01|title=Youngest dinocephalian fossils extend the Tapinocephalus Zone, Karoo Basin, South Africa|journal=South African Journal of Science|volume=111 |issue=3–4|pages=1–5|doi=10.17159/sajs.2015/20140309|issn=0038-2353|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last=Lyson, T.R., Bever, G.S., Scheyer, T.M., Hsiang, A.Y. and Gauthier, J.A., 2013.|date=2013-06-17 |title=Evolutionary Origin of the Turtle Shell|journal=Current Biology|language=en|volume=23|issue=12|pages=1113–1119|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.003|pmid=23727095 |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|title=Osteohistology of the Triassic archosauromorphs Prolacerta, Proterosuchus, Euparkeria, and Erythrosuchus from the Karoo Basin of South Africa|journal = Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume = 31|issue = 6|pages = 1238–1254 |last=Botha-Brink, J. and Smith, R.M., 2011.|doi=10.1080/02724634.2011.621797|year = 2011|s2cid = 130744235}} in particular for its therapsid fossils.{{cite journal | last1 = Broom | first1 = R | year = 1906 | title = V.—On the Permian and Triassic Faunas of South Africa | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1687495| journal = Geological Magazine | volume = 3 | issue = 1| pages = 29–30 | doi = 10.1017/s001675680012271x | bibcode = 1906GeoM....3...29B | s2cid = 129265956 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Broom | first1 = R | year = 1935 | title = On some new genera and species of Karroo fossil reptiles | journal = Annals of the Transvaal Museum | volume = 18 | pages = 55–72 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Broom | first1 = R | year = 1948 | title = A contribution to our knowledge of the vertebrates of the Karroo Beds of South Africa | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh | volume = 61 | issue = 2| pages = 577–629 | doi = 10.1017/s0080456800004865 | s2cid = 131663553 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Cluver | first1 = M. A. | year = 1975 | title = A new dicynodont reptile from the Tapinocephalus Zone (Karoo System, Beaufort series) of South Africa, with evidence of the jaw adductor musculature | journal = Annals of the South African Museum | volume = 67 | pages = 7–23 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Cluver | first1 = M. A. | last2 = King | first2 = G. M. | year = 1983 | title = A reassessment of the relationships of Permian Dicynodontia (Reptilia, Therapsida) and a new classification of dicynodonts | journal = Annals of the South African Museum | volume = 91 | pages = 195–273 }}Boonstra, L.D., 1969. The fauna of the Tapinocephalus Zone (Beaufort beds of the Karoo).{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239523242|title=The postcranial skeleton of the earliest dicynodont synapsid Eodicynodon from the Upper Permian of South Africa {{!}} Request PDF|last=Rubidge, B.S., King, G.M. and Hancox, P.J., 1994.|website=ResearchGate|language=en|access-date=2018-12-13}}{{cite journal |last1=Laurin |first1=Michel |title=New Data on the Cranial Anatomy of Lycaenops (Synapsida, Gorgonopsidae), and Reflections on the Possible Presence of Streptostyly in Gorgonopsians |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=1998 |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=765–776 |doi=10.1080/02724634.1998.10011105 |jstor=4523954 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4523954 |issn=0272-4634}}{{Cite journal|last1=Modesto|first1=Sean|last2=Rubidge|first2=Bruce|last3=Visser|first3=Ian |last4=Welman|first4=Johann|date=2003-01-01|title=A new basal dicynodont from the Upper Permian of South Africa|journal=Palaeontology|volume=46|issue=1|pages=211–223|doi=10.1111/1475-4983.00295|s2cid=128620351 |issn=0031-0239|doi-access=free}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7r75CQAAQBAJ&q=+Lucas,+S.+G.+2005a.+Dicynodon+(Reptilia:Therapsida)+from+the+Upper+Permian+of+Russia:+Biochronologic+significance.+New+Mexico+Museum+of+Natural+History+and+Science+Bulletin,+30,+192%E2%80%93196.&pg=PA192|title=The Nonmarine Permian: Bulletin 30|last1=Lucas|first1=Spencer G.|last2=Zeigler|first2=Kate E.|date=2005|publisher=New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science|language=en}} The entire expanse of this geological group has been categorized into eight fossil biozones or assemblage zones.{{cite journal | last1 = Bain | first1 = A.G. | year = 1845 | title = On the discovery of the fossil remains of bidental and other reptiles in South Africa | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1673362| journal = Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 317–318 | doi = 10.1144/gsl.jgs.1845.001.01.72 | s2cid = 128602890 }}{{cite journal | last1 = Seeley | first1 = H.G. | year = 1892 | title = Researches on the structure, organization, and classification of the fossil Reptilia. VII. Further observations on Pareiasaurus | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B | volume = 183 | pages = 311–370 | doi = 10.1098/rstb.1892.0008 | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | last1 = Watson | first1 = D.M.S. | year = 1914 | title = II.—The Zones of the Beaufort Beds of the Karroo System in South Africa | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1506035| journal = Geological Magazine | volume = 1 | issue = 5| pages = 203–208 | doi = 10.1017/s001675680019675x | bibcode = 1914GeoM....1..203W | s2cid = 130747924 }}Kitching, J. W. (1970). A short review of the Beaufort zoning in South Africa. In Second Gondwana Symposium Proceedings and Papers (Vol. 1, pp. 309-312).{{Cite journal|last1=van der Walt|first1=Merrill|last2=Day|first2=Michael |last3=Rubidge|first3=Bruce|last4=Cooper|first4=Antony|last5=Netterberg|first5=Inge |date=2010-12-31|title=A new GIS-based biozone map of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup), South Africa |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239521002|journal=Palaeontologia Africana|volume=45|pages=1–6}} These assemblage zones are listed below:

The Beaufort Group deposits also yield numerous insect, plant, and trace fossils.{{Cite journal|last=Anderson|first=J. M.|date=1973|title=THE BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE PERMIAN AND TRIASSIC|journal=Palaeontologia Africana|url=http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/16041|language=en|issn=0078-8554}}{{Cite journal|last=Rubidge|first=Bruce S.|date=1990|title=A new vertebrate biozone at the base of the Beaufort Group, Karoo sequence (South Africa)|journal=Palaeontologia Africana|url=http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/16155|language=en|issn=0078-8554}}{{Cite journal|last=Bamford, M.K.|date=2004-01-01|title=Diversity of the Woody Vegetation of Gondwanan Southern Africa|journal=Gondwana Research|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=153–164|doi=10.1016/S1342-937X(05)70314-2 |issn=1342-937X|bibcode=2004GondR...7..153B}}

File:Snider-Pellegrini Wegener fossil map-i18n.png across present-day South America, southern Africa, Antarctica and Australia.]]

Correlation

The Beaufort Group rocks correlate chronologically with numerous other geological formations and groups within southern Africa{{Cite journal|title=Tapinocephalids (Therapsida, Dinocephalia) from the Permian Madumabisa Mudstone Formation (Lower Karoo, Mid-Zambezi Basin) of southern Zambia|journal = Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume = 34|issue = 4|pages = 980–986|last=Sidor, C.A., Angielczyk, K.D., Smith, R.M., Goulding, A.K., Nesbitt, S.J., Peecook, B.R., Steyer, J.S. and Tolan, S., 2014.|doi=10.1080/02724634.2013.826669|year = 2014|s2cid = 128431441}} and abroad. Most notably from numerous localities in Russia,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NzVGpo3M998C&q=Chudinov,+P.+K.+1969.+%5BOn+the+stratigraphic+distribution+of+Permian+vertebrates+in+eastern+European+parts+of+the+USSR.%5D.+%5BQuestions+on+the+Geology+of+the+South+Urals+and+Volga+Region%5D,+96%E2%80%93105.+Saratov:+Izdatel'stvo+Saratovskogo+Universiteta.+Chudinov,&pg=PA1|title=The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia|last1=Benton|first1=Michael J.|last2=Shishkin|first2=Mikhail A.|last3=Unwin|first3=David M.|last4=Kurochkin|first4=Evgenii N.|date=2003-12-04|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521545822|language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Laurin |first1=Michel |last2=Hook |first2=Robert W. |title=The age of North America's youngest Paleozoic continental vertebrates: a review of data from the Middle Permian Pease River (Texas) and El Reno (Oklahoma) Groups |journal=BSGF - Earth Sciences Bulletin |date=2022 |volume=193 |page=10 |doi=10.1051/bsgf/2022007 |s2cid=248955905 |url=https://doi.org/10.1051/bsgf/2022007 |language=en|doi-access=free }} China,{{Cite journal|last=Bond, D. P. G., Wignall, P. B., Wang, W., Izon, G., Jiang, H. S., Lai, X. L., Sun, Y. D., Newton, R. J., Shao, L. Y., Védrine, S. & Cope, H.|date=2010-06-01|title=The mid-Capitanian (Middle Permian) mass extinction and carbon isotope record of South China|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|language=en|volume=292|issue=1–2|pages=282–294|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.03.056 |issn=0031-0182|bibcode=2010PPP...292..282B}} South America,{{Cite journal|last1=Bueno|first1=Ana de Oliveira|last2=Dentzien-Dias|first2=Paula Camboim|last3=Rubidge|first3=Bruce S.|last4=Abdala|first4=Fernando|last5=Cisneros|first5=Juan Carlos|date=2011-03-25|title=Dental Occlusion in a 260-Million-Year-Old Therapsid with Saber Canines from the Permian of Brazil|journal=Science|language=en|volume=331|issue=6024|pages=1603–1605|doi=10.1126/science.1200305 |pmid=21436452|issn=1095-9203|bibcode=2011Sci...331.1603C|s2cid=8178585}}{{Cite journal|last=Boos, A.D.S., Kammerer, C.F., Schultz, C.L. and Neto, V.P.|date=2015-11-01|title=A tapinocephalid dinocephalian (Synapsida, Therapsida) from the Rio do Rasto Formation (Paraná Basin, Brazil): Taxonomic, ontogenetic and biostratigraphic considerations|journal=Journal of South American Earth Sciences|language=en|volume=63|pages=375–384|doi=10.1016/j.jsames.2015.09.003|issn=0895-9811|bibcode=2015JSAES..63..375B}}{{Cite journal|last1=Schultz|first1=Cesar L.|last2=Şengör|first2=A. M. Celâl|last3=Rubidge|first3=Bruce S.|last4=Atayman-Güven|first4=Saniye|last5=Abdala|first5=Fernando|last6=Cisneros|first6=Juan Carlos|date=2012-01-31|title=Carnivorous dinocephalian from the Middle Permian of Brazil and tetrapod dispersal in Pangaea|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=109|issue=5|pages=1584–1588|doi=10.1073/pnas.1115975109|issn=1091-6490 |pmid=22307615|pmc=3277192|bibcode=2012PNAS..109.1584C|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|title=Tiarajudens eccentricus and Anomocephalus africanus, two bizarre anomodonts (Synapsida, Therapsida) with dental occlusion from the Permian of Gondwana |journal = Royal Society Open Science|volume = 2|issue = 7|pages = 150090|last=Cisneros, J.C., Abdala, F., Jashashvili, T., de Oliveira Bueno, A. and Dentzien-Dias, P., 2015.|doi=10.1098/rsos.150090|pmc=4632579|pmid=26587266|year = 2015|bibcode = 2015RSOS....250090C}} Antarctica, Madagascar, India, and Australia.{{Cite journal|last1=Wit|first1=M. J. De|last2=Milani|first2=E. J.|date=2008-01-01|title=Correlations between the classic Paraná and Cape–Karoo sequences of South America and southern Africa and their basin infills flanking the Gondwanides: du Toit revisited|url=http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/294/1/319|journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |language=en|volume=294|issue=1|pages=319–342 |doi=10.1144/SP294.17|issn=2041-4927|bibcode=2008GSLSP.294..319M|s2cid=128406853}}