Overview

• Researchers from the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience documented a unique trace on the Cape south coast and dated the sandy horizon to roughly 126,000 years using optically stimulated luminescence.
• The impression measures about 95 by 13 centimeters, shows five parallel striations, and includes a roughly 2-centimeter raised rim interpreted as possible urolite or coprolite.
• The team attributes the trace to a rock hyrax based on its match with known modern behaviors, including rear-end scooting and communal dung and urine deposition.
• 3D photogrammetry captured the morphology of the feature on a fallen block of aeolianite, strengthening the ichnological case for a behavioral track rather than a random surface mark.
• Alternative explanations—such as a predator or human dragging prey, or an elephant trunk scuff—were dismissed because they would likely leave associated tracks and do not account for the raised rim.