A lovebird (Psittaciformes: Agapornis) from the Plio-Pleistocene Kromdraai B locality, South Africa

A lovebird (Psittaciformes: Agapornis) from the Plio-Pleistocene Kromdraai B locality, South Africa

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The previous report of the presence of lovebirds (Agapornis) at the Plio-Pleistocene Kromdraai B fossil locality is confirmed by the identification of a humerus from Member 3.That fossil specimen differs from extant lovebird species in morphology, and its hp pavilion 15-eg1053cl slightly smaller size indicates that it likely represents an extinct taxon.This lovebird specimen is likely from the early Pleistocene (younger than 1.95 Myr) u11-200ps and appears to have been deposited around the same time as the fossil hominid specimens that have been uncovered at the site.The modern preference of lovebirds for a wide variety of wooded and forested habitats adds support to the mammalian-based idea that the palaeohabitat around Kromdraai B where Australopithecus robustus lived in the early Pleistocene was a mosaic that included wooded or forested habitats.