Ancestors of Mammals
The Karoo, South Africa
Customize your very own paleontological expeditio to excavate the ancestors of mammals and the earliest terrestrial animals in the Great Karoo
This dig is available from
July—October as a
Custom Dig
Book up to 10 participants
Ages: 18+
Participation is subject to availability and is at the full discretion of the dig location. Prices and dates dates subject to change. Terms & Conditions apply.
Design your Own Fossil Karoo Expedition in South Africa
Over 200 million years ago, South Africa formed part of the southern reaches of Pangaea, and the Karoo preserves a remarkably unbroken record of prehistoric life spanning from the Permian through the Jurassic. Its rocks hold the fossilized ancestors of mammals, terrestrial land animals of the Devonian and even dinosaurs.
The Karoo is truly one of the most important fossil locales in the world — and you can build a fully customized itinerary around what excites you most. Every element below is a building block: choose one focus, combine several, or work with any or all of the South African paleontologists listed here who work in this region. There's no fixed path, only options to mix and match into the trip that's right for you.
Whether you want to concentrate on one time period, sample across several, or shape the whole trip around a particular paleontologist's expertise, this itinerary flexes to match — swap in, swap out, and build it your way.
In South Africa, Ancient Odysseys works in partnership with GENUS Paleosciences with a portion of your fees fund bursaries for black female South African paleontologists. All the digs featured on Ancient Odysseys are non-profits and rely upon visitors and donations to continue their important scientific work. Please consider donating if you would like to support this organization's mission. All donations are tax deductible.
The Paleontologists Who Will Join You on Your Journey
Bruce Rubidge
Bruce Rubidge holds the position of Distinguished Professor at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand.
He has broad research interests but most of his work focusses on the remarkable fossil record of the Karoo, their significance in understanding the origin of mammals, and applications in stratigraphy, Pangaean biogeography, and basin development studies. He has published more than 200 research publications in internationally accredited journals. Being passionate to expose the palaeoheritage of South Africa to the public, Rubidge was instrumental in setting up a palaeoscience museum at Wits which formed the core of an extremely active palaeoscience outreach programme. He was also involved with the development of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site, the Golden Gate Dinosaur exhibition Centre, and setting up the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre in Nieu Bethesda.
Julien Benoit
Julien Benoit is a paleontologist, associate professor, and lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and a part of the Evolutionary Studies Institute.
His research focuses on therapsids, a group of vertebrates that lived during the Permian and Triassic periods. He is a leading figure in the fields of Paleobiology, Neuroscience and Evolutionary Biology, with his current research focusing on the pre-mammalian evolution of the central nervous system and sensory organs in Therapsida, using advanced computed tomography techniques.
Rob Gess
Rob Gess is South Africa’s leading researcher on Devonian (420 – 359 million year old) ecosystems and Early Vertebrates (ancient fish and early four legged creatures).
His current work is conducted at the Late Devonian Waterloo Farm lagerstätten outside Grahamstown. His excavations at Waterloo Farm have revealed the most complete high latitude Famennian ecosystem in the world, including at least 20 taxa of Early Vertebrates representing most Devonian orders, the most complete Famennian flora in the world and both water and land living invertebrates. Exceptional preservation of much of the material allows unique glimpses of the normally unpreserved soft tissue remains of early animals.
Permian Extinction Fossil Excavation with Dr. Julien Benoit or Associates
The Great Karoo, sometimes referred to "a gigantic playground packed with millions of fossils" is incredibly important to paleontologists as it is the only record of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction's effect on terrestrial animals. The end-Permian mass extinction was responsible for the elimination of 90% of species living in the sea and 70% of species living on land.
Dr. Julien Benoit and his associates excavate for fossils in multiple locations in and around Bethulie, Oviston and Beaufort West. These excavations include the search for gorgonopsids, dicynodonts and other therapsids from the Permian extinction. All training, tools, including geopicks, brushes and GPS will be provided.
In your excavations at these locations, you will be contributing to research that will help scientists decipher the biggest mass extinction event of all, and thus anticipate the effect of the ongoing biological crisis.
Prof. Bruce Rubidge | Karoo Origins Museum, Doornplaats Farm, Gats River SIte, Lootsberg Pass, Kitching Fossil Centre, Valley of Desolation
Join Prof Bruce Rubidge for an overview of Karoo fossil landscape, including therapsids, an extinct group of animals are the forerunners of mammals.
Prof. Rubidge is an authority on tetrapod evolutionary change, mammal-like reptiles of the Karoo Basin and early therapsids. His studies and research have helped shape our understanding of the Pangean continental realm during the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic eras.
Prof. Rubidge is available to guide exhilarating visits to:
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Doornplaats farm, a remarkable site with prolific vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, including fossilised fish scales, the fossilised burrows attributed to the dicynodont Cistecephalus.
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The Gats River fossil site at Nieu-Bethesda, where rocks preserve the fossilsed bones of ancient reptiles and therapsids which lived and died on the river floodplains. This area is where James Kitching began to formulate his findings that on palaeontological grounds, South Africa and Antarctica were once linked.
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Lootsberg Pass, a fossil-rich site which is one of the best places on Earth to study the effect of the Permian Triassic extinction on land. Here, we will see examples of some of the earliest Triassic fauna of the Karoo Basin, which is characterised by few dicynodont species, and a new fauna dominated by the amphibian Lystrosaurus, and early archosaurs (the most distant ancestors of dinosaurs) as well as cynodont therapsids, the ancestors of mammals.
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Kitching Fossil Exploration Center, named for legendary paleontologist James Kitching, who unearthed much of South Africa's fossil heritage,. The Kitching Centre combines life-sized reconstructions of prehistoric creatures and an immersive introduction to the age of the therapsids, the mammal-like reptiles that once ruled this landscape long before the first dinosaurs appeared.
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Private tour of the Karoo Origins Museum, home to the world's largest public collection of fossil holotypes, with more than 850 fossil skulls on display, 107 of which are holotypes – the original reference fossils used to define new species. Curated from the renowned Rubidge family collection under the direction of Professor Bruce Rubidge, the collection includes more than 107 holotypes dating back 260–250 million years, when mammal-like reptiles roamed the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. Beyond its striking dioramas and life-size reconstructions, the centre is actively engaged in research on the fossils and rocks of the Karoo, giving visitors a rare look at active palaeontology alongside one of the richest windows into life before the dinosaurs. It is estimated that over 2,000 scientific papers have been written on the fossils of this collection.
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Valley of Desolation, a geologic spectacle of tall dolerite columns that have eroded and weathered, causing the columnar structures characteristic of this area. Choose to enjoy a late afternoon sundowner and picnic dinner at a time when the valley is at its most beautiful and the perfect time to see the many species of animals who call the park home.
Listen to a 2024 Interview with Bruce Rubidge was featured on the I Know Dino podcast. He discusses fossils in South Africa, his family's contributions to paleontology and his partnership with Ancient Odysseys.
Deep Time Devonian Fossil Finding with Dr. Rob Gess at Waterloo Farm
Work alongside Dr. Rob Gess, South Africa's leading researcher on Devonian ecosystems and ancient fish and early four legged creatures for hands-on fossil-finding.
The rocks of Waterloo Farm lagerstatte are from the Antarctic Circle and have yielded fossilized life from the Late Devonian, including fish, invertebrates, plants and algae. More importatnly, is the presence of early tetrapods, which were previously believed to have lived only in the tropics.
Dr. Gess is available to lead:
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Hands-on Devonian fossil search. All tools and instruction are provided to chisel through shale blocks, to unlock the Devonian mysteries within. You are guaranteed to find fossils. If you find something that’s highly significant, it will be set aside to prepare properly in the lab.
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A guided tour of the Waterloo Farm exhibits, as well as a tour of the lab and the most important specimens in the collections, including the oldest known land-living animal from Gondwana, the oldest fossil lamprey in the world and Africa's oldest coelacanth.