South Africa

Graaff-Reinet fossil centre opens, housing world’s biggest collection of unique species

Justin Arnols at work in his laboratory at the Karoo Origins Fossil Centre. (Photo: Estelle Ellis)

6 Apr 2025

The Karoo Origins fossil centre, housing the Rubidge family’s unique collection of fossils from the area, including what globally respected paleontologist Professor Bruce Rubidge described as the biggest collection of unique species in the world.

Professor Bruce Rubidge, who inherited his grandfather’s impressive fossil collection housed for 91 years on the farm Wellwood near Nieu Bethesda, said the facility housed the biggest display of holotypes (unique species) in the world and is also an educational and research centre.

Artists from design company Fancy Horse made a prehistoric scene come to life at the Karoo Fossil Centre in Graaff-Reinet. (Photo: Supplied)

The centre, in Graaff-Reinet, is a dream held for decades by the family that has now come true.

Rubidge headed the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand for more than three decades.

“Karoo Origins already serves as a field base for local and international scientists actively involved in research on the rocks and fossils of the Karoo,” he said.

All of the fossils in Rubidge’s collection are displayed, but it is also a live collection – they will add and research new fossils found.

Read more: Dreams and discoveries: how a young fossil enthusiast is shaping palaeontology in Graaff-Reinet

At the centre, visitors can learn about the geological history of the Karoo and why it is considered a remarkable area for fossils, which include dinosaurs, tortoises, crocodiles and especially mammals.

Visitors can see life-size renderings of fossils at the Karoo Fossil Centre, including this one of a Dictodon. (Photo: Supplied)

An exhibit reconstructed from fossils at the Karoo Fossil Centre. (Photo: Supplied)

The fascinating history of how Rubidge’s grandfather, Sidney, became interested in fossils is also told at the centre.

In 1934, Rubidge’s daughter Peggy (10 at the time), came to him and asked: Daddy, what are fossils? In response, Sidney took his family on a picnic to a rocky outcrop on his farm. This outing resulted in the discovery of the remarkably complete skull of a large flesh-eating therapsid, a mammal-like reptile, which was described as a new species, Dinogorgon rubidgei, by the internationally acclaimed palaeontologist Dr Robert Broom.

Some of the quirky letters exchanged between Broom and Sidney Rubidge are also on display. The exhibitions in the centre are designed by Colin Payne and Diane Makings from the design studio Fancy Horse. Payne said he was delighted to find some of the letters exchanged between Rubidge and Broome, including one where, in the middle of a scientific discussion, Broom asked about a ram that Rubidge was having trouble with on the farm.

Read more: Nieu Bethesda II: Big mountains, little fish and old fossils

Professor Rubidge, who is passionate about keeping the collection in the Karoo, said one day Broom asked his grandfather if they could move this specific skull, also on display, to the fossil centre at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

exhibit Artists from design company Fancy Horse delivered a lifelike prehistoric scene at the Karoo Fossil Centre in Graaff-Reinet. (Photo: Supplied)

“Grandfather answered that the skull had been in the Karoo for millions of years and most certainly did not want to travel to Johannesburg,” Rubidge said.

After the first skull, Sidney Rubidge began collecting fossils on and around his farm. His collection, Rubidge said, provided much information about the Permian and Triassic animals of southern Africa. The centre also tells the story of the remarkable fossil hunter James Kitching, who, as a child, was paid to find fossils by Sidney Rubidge.

“An important feature of the Rubidge Collection is the very large number of holotype specimens. A holotype is the reference specimen of a newly described species. As all 107 of these holotype specimens are on display, Karoo Origins has the distinction of displaying the greatest number of fossil holotype specimens in any exhibit.

“The Rubidge Fossil Collection contains a wide diversity of fossil ‘reptile’ species that lived between 260-250 million years ago, and at that time, the most abundant land-living vertebrates were therapsid mammal-like reptiles, the most distant ancestors of mammals,” Rubidge said

He said the rocks of what is known as the Karoo Supergroup were deposited between 300 million and 180 million years ago.

“These rocks are internationally renowned for their wealth of ancient fossil reptiles that lived during the existence of the supercontinent of Gondwana. This giant continent included the present-day Africa, South America, Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia.”

He said this made the collection internationally important.

fossils The display cases where fossils from Sidney Rubidge's collection may be viewed. (Photo: Supplied)

“The rock outcrops north of Graaff-Reinet hold the best record on land of the greatest global mass extinction event of all times. This occurred 252 million years ago, at the end of the Permian Period, and obliterated 90% of species,” he said. This, Rubidge pointed out, made Karoo Origins a unique centre where the public could learn about past extinction events and also about the current sixth extinction.

“What is being created here is an exciting experience and journey into the distant past. We are looking forward to welcoming anyone with an interest in palaeontology, whether it be amateurs with a general interest in the geological history and fossils of the Karoo to local and international scientists, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students,” Rubidge said. The development in technology had opened the frontiers for new knowledge about fossils. He said that through CAT scans of the fossils, new research was being conducted on the metabolism of extinct animals, and how biodiversity had changed over time.

justin arnols karoo fossils Justin Arnols at work in his laboratory at the Karoo Origins Fossil Centre. (Photo: Estelle Ellis)

“The more specialised a creature is, the more vulnerable to extinction,” he said. He said they were investigating which animals survived extinction events.

He said preserving a sense of place for the fossils was very important to him. “Museums don’t usually display holotypes. This is the biggest collection of holotypes in the world.”

In the 1940s, the former Monuments Council wanted to move the fossils, but Rubidge’s grandfather persuaded the council to allow him to keep them in the Karoo.

“He realised that it would be difficult to keep them on the farm. He said the family, however, had serious concerns about the collections in South African museums becoming neglected – even 25 years ago, South Africa’s biodiversity collections were under threat.

After Rubidge intervened, steps were taken to correct the situation, but there are still concerns that more and more scientists are retiring and that collections will again be threatened.

“I think this collection has great potential for tourism,” Rubidge said.

The centre is open from 8.30am to 4.45pm in Parsonage Street, Graaff-Reinet.

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