1 Mongoose Manor: Herpestidae remains from the Early Pleistocene Cooper’s D locality in the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa Brigette F. Cohen1, 2, *, Hannah J. O’Regan 3, Christine M. Steininger2, 4 1 Natural History Department, Iziko South African Museum, Gardens, PO Box 61, Cape Town, 8000 2Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa 3Department of Classics and Archaeology, Humanities Building, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K. 4DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg *Corresponding Author Email Addresses:
[email protected] (BF Cohen),
[email protected] (HJ O’Regan),
[email protected] (CM Steininger) ABSTRACT Mongooses (Herpestidae) are an important component of African ecosystems, and a common constituent of southern African fossil assemblages. Despite this, mongoose fossils from the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng, South Africa, have received relatively little interest. This paper presents the diverse mongoose craniodental assemblage of the Early Pleistocene fossil locality Cooper’s D. A total of 29 mongoose specimens from five genera were identified at Cooper’s including numerous first appearances in the Cradle or in South Africa. The exceptional mongoose assemblage at Cooper’s likely reflects the effects of an unknown taphonomic process, although mongooses follow other carnivore 2 groups in the Cradle in displaying an apparent preference for the southern part. This investigation shows the value of mongooses as palaeoecological indicators and supports previous interpretations of the environment at Cooper’s as grassland with a strong woody component near a permanent water source.