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Institute
Due to the fragility of the ophiuroid (brittle star) skeleton, the bulk of the group’s fossil record consists of dissociated ossicles preserved as microfossils. In spite of their great potential as basis for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, however, ophiuroid ossicles from the Paleozoic have received very little attention so far. Here, we provide an exhaustive taxonomic assessment of such fossils retrieved from sieving residues from the Silurian of Gotland, Sweden. This material was used in a previous study to describe two key taxa that allowed constraining the origin of the extant ophiuroid clade. The remaining taxa belonging to that same lineage are described in the present paper. The evidence at hand suggests that the stem of the extant ophiuroid clade was formed by two genera, Ophiopetagno and Ophiolofsson gen. nov., including six and five species, respectively, and spanning at least the upper Llandovery through upper Ludlow. We conclude that Ophiopetagno and Ophiolofsson represent sister genera that coexisted through most of the Silurian in the shallow tropical seas of Gotland. They underwent repeated body size reductions in correlation with environmental perturbations, with Ophiopetagno paicei eventually giving rise to Muldaster haakei; the first member of the living Ophiuroidea. Herein, we also introduce two new clades, Ankhurida clade nov. and Ophiovalida clade nov., and the following eight new species: Ophiolofsson joelmciveri gen. et sp. nov., O. obituary gen. et sp. nov., O. immolation gen. et sp. nov., O. archspire gen. et sp. nov., O. hendersonorum gen. et sp. nov., Ophiopetagno bonzo sp. nov., O. kansas sp. nov., O. doro sp. nov.; and two probably new species in open nomenclature: Ophiopetagno sp. 1, and Ophiopetagno sp. 2.
We can see an increasing consumption of meat together with the corresponding behavioral adaptations in early hominins, such as Homo erectus. This new development was driven by one or more behavioral adaptations, such as a shift to a higher-quality diet, increased social interactions and/or changes in the life history strategies. The methods by which these hominins obtained meat—through scavenging the carcasses of large herbivores or hunting themselves—remain a topic of debate. They seem to have thrived in expanding grasslands, which offered few resources except for herds of large, gregarious mammals. In our study, we developed an agent-based model that simulates the behavior of a group of hunter-gatherers foraging in a reconstructed tropical grassland environment. The environmental parameters, including plant availability and prey population densities, are derived from the Serengeti National Park. In this model, agents gather or hunt various species either alone or as a group, using strategies early hominins may already have access to. The basic behavior and the implemented hunting strategies are based on data from recent hunter-gatherer societies living in tropical grasslands. Our model demonstrates how foragers may have thrived in tropical grasslands by either adopting fast hunting strategies, which often require access to sophisticated hunting tools, or by cooperating extensively, which would rely on an enhanced social structure to promote cooperative behavior. Our model can be used to study other scenarios by offering the option to change the environmental conditions and aspects of the agent behavior.
The fossil record of the diverse subfamily Passifloroideae (>750 species and 17 genera) is relatively poor. Despite the distinctiveness of its leaves (glandular and often emarginate), most of the fossils from this group have been described from seeds. Fossil seeds have been recovered from Europe, and North and South America. A lack of information on seed morphology for all the genera and tribes of this subfamily has prevented a tribe-level identification of the fossils and a better understanding of their biogeographic patterns. The Passifloroideae is divided into three tribes: Passifloreae with 10 genera, Paropsieae with six genera and the monotypic Jongkindieae. This study provides new descriptions for 15 species from 5 genera from the mostly Afrotropical tribe Paropsieae based on herbarium material, and introduces an online seed database and a key for 100 species of Passifloroideae compiled from literature and direct observations. Our study shows a low morphological diversity among the seeds of Paropsieae in comparison to a much larger diversity within Passifloreae. Some rare morphologies are only present in Passifloreae and can be used to assign seeds to this tribe. Within the Paropsieae, Androsiphonia has seed that are very distinct from those in the other genera in the tribe and also from the rest of the subfamily. The genus Paropsia exhibits two main morphotypes, while the genera Barteria, Paropsiopsis and Smeathmannia have very similar seeds with a highly conserved morphology. These results suggest that living or fossil Paropsieae cannot be identified confidently based solely on seed characters.
A collection of 1149 otoliths of the Ypresian and Ypresian–Lutetian transition (early Eocene) from 18 sites across five states in the eastern and southern regions of the USA was analyzed. In total, 33 otolith-based taxa are documented, of which 27 are identified at the species level. Nine of these are introduced as new species: “Conger” biaculeatus sp. nov., Bauzaia gibbosa sp. nov., Ampheristus brevicaudatus sp. nov., Symmetrosulcus virginicus sp. nov., Neobythites longesulcatus sp. nov., “Neobythites” pamunkeyensis sp. nov., “Neobythites” stringeri sp. nov., Waitakia dorsogibbosa sp. nov., and “Haemulon” ypresiensis sp. nov. The assemblages are distinct when compared to their younger Eocene counterparts in America. This distinction is primarily characterized by the high proportion of the newly introduced species or exclusive Ypresian species. Additionally, we highlight the presence of 10 amphi-Atlantic species originally described in European deposits. Significantly, the composition of the otolith collection supports the interpretation of a shallow-water environment for the sampled sites during the Ypresian. This ecological setting appears to persist into the subsequent middle and late Eocene within the same geographic region.
Taphonomy and palaeoecology of Laetoli as well as Makuyuni, Arusha region in northern Tanzania
(2004)
This thesis is the result of the Hominid Corridor research Project in Tanzania since 1993 to 1995 that include Pliocene and Pleistocene localities. The localities under study include Laetoli and Manyara area in Arusha Region, northern Tanzania. The thesis has the following specific objectives: firstly, to identify taxa recovered from the studied assemblages; secondly, to underpin taphonomic history of the assemblages under study; thirdly, to elucidate further palaeoecological reconstruction of the assemblages; and finally, to examine surface fossil fauna modifications including agents of modifications either hominids or carnivores.
The Upper Laetolil Beds are dated at 3.5 million years ago (Ma) and the Ndolanya Beds are bracketed in age between 3.5 and 2.41 Ma. The Naibadad Beds, also from Laetoli area, are date to be between 2.2 to 2.1 Ma. The Naibadad Beds are correlated with the base of Bed I at Olduvai Gorge. There are so far no absolute dates for Manyara assemblages. Based on biostratigraphic correlation, the younger overlying unit, the Upper Manyara Beds are estimated to belong to Later Pleistocene and the Lower Manyara Beds are estimated to belong to Early Pleistocene. The Upper Manyara Beds are correlated to the age of Bed III at Olduvai Gorge, while the Lower Manyara Beds are interpreted to span the same contemporaneity with the upper part of Bed II at Olduvai Gorge.
At Laetoli localities, terrestrial mammals while localities from Manyara besides terrestrial mammals dominate fauna; they include aquatic species such as fish, crocodiles and hippopotamus. The main families recovered from Upper Laetolil Beds complement those already recovered from former research works by other workers. This is also true for the younger overlying stratigraphic horizon, the Upper Ndolanya Beds. Thus, mammalian families recovered from Upper Laetolil Beds include Bovidae, Carnivora, Elephantidae, Equidae, Lagomorpha, Suidae, Rodentia, Hominoidea and Rhenocerotidae. Remains of an invertebrate, Gastropoda were also recovered. For Upper Ndolanya Beds include almost the same families recovered from Upper Laetolil Beds, but based on former recovery of fossil fauna, these Beds outnumber greatly the Upper Laetolil Beds in bovid composition by 20 per cent. Such a change in species composition is noticed also from South African localities and East African localities such as the East Turkana. This is interpreted to be due to climatic change drier environments that included species adapted to such palaeoclimates.
For the first time, our team has been able to retrieve specimens identifiable to taxa, a pattern that not possible from previous workers who claimed to have recovered too sparse specimens to be identifiable to any taxon.
The Upper Manyara Beds as well as Lower Manyara taxonomic composition include aquatic species besides the large terrestrial mammalian fauna retrieved from there. In due regard, the former horizon is attributed to have affinity with Olduvai Bed III components and the latter, older horizon, is attributed to have affinity with upper parts of Bed II times at Olduvai Gorge. The Lower Manyara Beds can be said to have, in relative terms, affinity to species recovered from site RC 11 of the Chiwondo Beds, Malema region in northern Malawi, although the former site may be equable to the terminal age of the latter locality.
Fossil hominid remains; attributable to genus Homo and possibly species Homo erectus have been recovered from two localities, Mk 2 and Mk, along Lower Manyara Beds. On the other hand, stone tools, identified to belong to the Acheulian industrial technocomplex, were recovered from site Mk 4.
All of fossil fauna from Laetoli sites were mostly exfoliated and there shows to be little effect in terms of hydrodynamic sorting of the fossil bones. However, intense carnivore activity is witnessed due to the almost one to one ratio of proximal to distal ends. This is also true for the Lower Manyara Beds locality. Through examination of surface modifications of the fossil fauna, it has been established that there was carnivore consumption of ungulates. There is no evidence of hominid involvement that has to be testified by stone tools.
Highlights
• Protocol for extracting and analyzing pollen grains from fossil insects
• Individual fossil grains can be analyzed using a combined approach
• Simple and fast TEM embedding and sectioning protocol
• Protocol enables a taxonomic assignment of pollen
Summary
This protocol explains how to extract pollen from fossil insects with subsequent descriptions of pollen treatment. We also describe how to document morphological and ultrastructural features with light-microscopy and electron microscopy. It enables a taxonomic assignment of pollen that can be used to interpret flower-insect interactions, foraging and feeding behavior of insects, and the paleoenvironment. The protocol is limited by the state of the fossil, the presence/absence of pollen on fossil specimens, and the availability of extant pollen for comparison.
Fossil dental remains are an archive of unique information for paleobiological studies. Computed microtomography based on X-ray microfocus sources (X-μCT) and Synchrotron Radiation (SR-μCT) allow subtle quantification at the micron and sub-micron scale of the meso- and microstructural signature imprinted in the mineralized tissues, such as enamel and dentine, through high-resolution “virtual histology”. Nonetheless, depending on the degree of alterations undergone during fossilization, X-ray analyses of tooth tissues do not always provide distinct imaging contrasts, thus preventing the extraction of essential morphological and anatomical details. We illustrate here by three examples the successful application of neutron microtomography (n-μCT) in cases where X-rays have previously failed to deliver contrasts between dental tissues of fossilized specimen.
Significance
Identifying the earliest members of the genus Homo is crucial for understanding when and where selective pressures resulted in its emergence from a Plio-Pleistocene hominin taxon. Our revision of a large part of the dental fossil record from southern Africa provides evidence suggesting a paucity of Homo remains and indicates increased levels of dental variation in australopith taxa. Results of the Ba/Ca, Sr/Ca, and elemental mapping of enamel and dentine also indicate that some of the purported Homo specimens show a paleoecological signal similar to that of the australopiths.
Abstract
The origins of Homo, as well as the diversity and biogeographic distribution of early Homo species, remain critical outstanding issues in paleoanthropology. Debates about the recognition of early Homo, first appearance dates, and taxonomic diversity within Homo are particularly important for determining the role that southern African taxa may have played in the origins of the genus. The correct identification of Homo remains also has implications for reconstructing phylogenetic relationships between species of Australopithecus and Paranthropus, and the links between early Homo species and Homo erectus. We use microcomputed tomography and landmark-free deformation-based three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to extract taxonomically informative data from the internal structure of postcanine teeth attributed to Early Pleistocene Homo in the southern African hominin-bearing sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Drimolen, and Kromdraai B. Our results indicate that, from our sample of 23 specimens, only 4 are unambiguously attributed to Homo, 3 of them coming from Swartkrans member 1 (SK 27, SK 847, and SKX 21204) and 1 from Sterkfontein (Sts 9). Three other specimens from Sterkfontein (StW 80 and 81, SE 1508, and StW 669) approximate the Homo condition in terms of overall enamel–dentine junction shape, but retain Australopithecus-like dental traits, and their generic status remains unclear. The other specimens, including SK 15, present a dominant australopith dental signature. In light of these results, previous dietary and ecological interpretations can be reevaluated, showing that the geochemical signal of one tooth from Kromdraai (KB 5223) and two from Swartkrans (SK 96 and SKX 268) is consistent with that of australopiths.
Neanderthal diet has been on the spotlight of paleoanthropological research for many years. The majority of studies that tried to reconstruct the diet of Neanderthals were based on the analysis of zooarchaeological remains, stable isotopes, dental calculus and dental microwear patterns. In the past few years, there have been a few studies that linked dental macrowear patterns of Neanderthals and modern humans to diet and cultural habits. However, they mostly focused on maxillary molars. Although mandibular molars have been widely used in microwear dietary research, little is known about their usage at the macroscopic scale to detect information about human subsistence strategies. In this study, we compare the macrowear patterns of Neanderthal (NEA), fossil Homo sapiens (FHS), modern hunter-gatherers (MHG), pastoralists, early farmers and Australian Aborigines from Yuendumu mandibular molars in order to assess their utility in collecting any possible information about dietary and cultural habits among diverse human groups. We use the occlusal fingerprint analysis method, a quantitative digital approach that has been successfully employed to reconstruct the diet of living non-human primates and past human populations. Our results show macrowear pattern differences between meat-eater MHG and EF groups. Moreover, while we did not find eco-geographical differences in the macrowear patterns of the fossil sample, we found statistically significant differences between NEA and FHS inhabiting steppe/coniferous forest. This latter result could be associated with the use of distinct technological complexes in these two species, which ultimately could have allowed modern humans to exploit natural resources in a different way compared to NEA.
Palaeosphryon menatensis gen. et sp. nov., first unambiguous representative of the longhorn beetle subfamily Prioninae from the Paleocene of Menat (France), is described and illustrated. The new fossil is placed into the tribe Prionini, showing some similarities with some species of the extant genera Osphryon (Papua New Guinea) and Titanus (Brazil, Colombia, Guianas, Ecuador, Peru), viz. in general body shape, antennomere 3 as long as first and second together but shorter than the length of fourth plus fifth, elongate elytra, and small spines on the lateral margin of the pronotum disposed in a relatively similar way as in Osphryon. Nevertheless, the exact affinities of the new fossil within the Prionini remain uncertain because of the lack of a recent phylogenetic analysis in which it could be integrated. This fossil beetle is exceptional for its very large size, with a body 70 mm long. Some other large longhorn beetles have been found in the same outcrop, and are awaiting description. The positions of the previously described Cerambycidae from Menat are also discussed. This exceptional fauna of Cerambycidae is in accordance with the current palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for the Menat Konservat-Lagerstätte, as a small maar lake surrounded by a warm and humid, probably evergreen forest.
The ammonoids of the family Maenioceratidae from Givetian sedimentary rocks of the Anti-Atlas (Morocco) are investigated. The study is based on new collections stored in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. The genera Maenioceras Schindewolf, 1933 and Afromaenioceras Göddertz, 1987 are revised; the genus Trimaenioceras is newly described. The species Maenioceras afroterebratum sp. nov., Maenioceras mzerrebense sp. nov., Maenioceras oufranense sp. nov., Maenioceras beckeri sp. nov., Afromaenioceras sulcatostriatum (Bensaïd, 1974), Afromaenioceras hiemale sp. nov., Afromaenioceras bensaidi sp. nov., Afromaenioceras brumale sp. nov., Afromaenioceras crassum (Bensaïd, 1974), Trimaenioceras klugi gen. et sp. nov., Trimaenioceras eculeus gen. et sp. nov., Trimaenioceras fuscina gen. et sp. nov. and Trimaenioceras paucum gen. et sp. nov. are described in detail.
The first sawfly from the Oligocene of Céreste (Southern France (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae)
(2024)
Luberotenthredo cerestensis gen. et sp. nov. is the first record of the sawfly family Tenthredinidae from the Oligocene of Céreste (Southern France). This taxon is described and illustrated based on a well-preserved specimen. This genus resembles the extant genus Perineura (subfamily Tenthredininae, tribe Perineurini) with which it shares forewing venation similarities and numerous morphological characters. This new taxon is the first fossil representative of the tribe Perineurini and can be used as a calibration point for future investigation of the diversification of the family Tenthredinidae.
Here, we report on 33 molluscan species from Miocene ’Calcari a Lucina’ hydrocarbon-seep deposits in northern Italy. Three new species are described: the chilodontaid gastropod Putzeysia diversii sp. nov., the lucinid bivalve Miltha (sensu lato) romaniae sp. nov., and Sisonia ultimoi sp. nov., a heterodont bivalve of uncertain taxonomic affinity. Fourteen species are described in open nomenclature. The common but enigmatic gastropod species Phasianema taurocrassa is here suggested to belong to the seguenzioid genus Cataegis. Most gastropod species are inhabitants of the deep-sea floor in general, and are not restricted (obligate) to sites of hydrocarbon-seepage. The gastropod Putzeysia diversii sp. nov. and the bivalve Sisonia ultimoi sp. nov. are the geologically oldest members of their genera known to date. While the genus Putzeysia is geographically restricted to the NE Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, Sisonia ultimoi sp. nov. represents another link of the Miocene Mediterranean seep fauna to that of the central Indo-West Pacific Ocean.
Lacewing larvae in the Cretaceous were more diverse in appearance than they are today, best documented by numerous fossils preserved in amber. One morphotype of an unusual larva from about 100 Ma old Kachin amber (Myanmar) was formally recognised as a distinct group called Ankyloleon. The original description erected a single formal species, Ankyloleon caudatus. Yet, it was indicated that among the five original specimens, more species were represented. We here report five new specimens. Among these is the so far largest as well as the so far smallest specimen. Based on this expanded material we can estimate certain aspects of the ontogenetic sequence and are able to recognise a second discrete species, Ankyloleon caroluspetrus sp. nov. We discuss aspects of the biology of Ankyloleon based on newly observed details such as serrations on the mandibles. Long and slender mouthparts, legs and body together with a weakly expressed outer trunk segmentation provide indications for a lifestyle hunting for prey in more confined spaces. Still many aspects of the biology of these larvae must remain unclear due to a lack of a well comparable modern counterpart, emphasising how different the fauna of the Cretaceous was.
The genus Plateosaurus is one of the most challenging aspects of early-diverging sauropodomorph taxonomy, with a total of 29 names and a century of revisions. As a result, nomina dubia have been treated as synonyms of Plateosaurus trossingensis, adding to the confusion about the extent of morphological variability. Here, we provide a thorough revision of the taxonomy proposed by von Huene as well as the subsequent taxonomic interpretations of Plateosaurus through a complete inventory of the specimens stored in the Palaeontological Collection of Tübingen. We reassess the status of the specimens in the collection and propose that the sauropodomorph-bearing layers are not necessarily monospecific. Most of the original fieldwork documentation has been lost, but we use the taxonomy established by von Huene as a historical reference point to reconstruct what was known at the time. This revised taxonomy of Plateosaurus narrows the genus to three species: Pl. trossingensis, Pl. longiceps, and Pl. gracilis (as a metataxon), and restricts the genera Gresslyosaurus and Pachysaurus to large and robust individuals, as pragmatic decisions aimed to test their affinities to other Late Triassic sauropodomorphs. Future studies should consider not only morphological variability, but also stratigraphy, palaeogeography, and environmental data when delineating species within and outside the Plateosaurus plexus.
The Miocene is a key time in the evolution of African mammals and their ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding biogeographic arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here we report discovery of the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, at the southern East African Rift System. We provide the first 1) radiometric age determinations of the fossiliferous Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of past vegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) description of fossil teeth from the southern rift. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift System in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of persistent woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossil vertebrates including new species. Further work will allow the testing of hypotheses positing the formation of a northeast-southwest arid corridor isolating species on the eastern coastal forests from those elsewhere in Africa.
Brief The Miocene is a key time in the evolution of African mammals and their ecosystems encompassing hominine origins and the establishment of an arid corridor that isolated eastern Africa’s coastal forests. Until now, however, Miocene sites from southeastern Africa have been unknown. We report the discovery of the first Miocene fossil sites from Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, and show that these sites formed in coastal settings. We provide radiometric ages for the fossiliferous sediments, reconstructions of past vegetation based on stable isotopes and fossil wood, and a description of the first fossil teeth from the region. Gorongosa is the only paleontological site in the East African Rift that combines fossil woods, marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, and terrestrial mammals. Gorongosa offers the first evidence of persistent woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene.
The Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species.
Thylacocephalans are enigmatic euarthropods, known at least from the Silurian to the Cretaceous. Despite remaining uncertainties concerning their anatomy, key features can be recognised such as a shield enveloping most of the body, hypertrophied compound eyes, three pairs of raptorial appendages and a posterior trunk consisting of eight up to 22 segments bearing appendages and eight pairs of gills. Well-known for its euarthropod diversity, the La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte (Callovian, Middle Jurassic, France) has provided many remains of four thylacocephalan species so far: Dollocaris ingens, Kilianicaris lerichei, Paraostenia voultensis and Clausocaris ribeti. In this paper, we study the type material as well as undescribed material. The re-description of La Voulte thylacocephalans reveals an unexpected diversity, with the description of two new species, Austriocaris secretanae sp. nov. and Paraclausocaris harpa gen. et sp. nov., and of specimens of Mayrocaris, a taxon originally described from Solnhofen Lagerstätten. We also reassign Clausocaris ribeti to Ostenocaris. The reappraisal of La Voulte thylacocephalans also provides important insight into the palaeobiology of Thylacocephala. New key anatomical features are described, such as an oval structure or a putative statocyst, which indicate a nektonic or nektobenthic lifestyle. Finally, we document a juvenile stage for Paraostenia voultensis.
Oligoptilomera luberonensis gen. et sp. nov., first fossil representative of the gerrid subfamily Ptilomerinae, is described and figured from the Oligocene of Murs (Vaucluse, Southern France). Extant Ptilomerinae live in streams in warm climates, of the Indo-Malaysian, eastern Palaearctic, and Papouan regions. The discovery of this Oligocene French Ptilomerinae is in accordance with the putative age of the subfamily, at least older than the Eocene, and with the Indo-Malaysian affinities previously recorded for some other insects from the Oligocene of France. The two insect assemblages of Murs and Céreste are compared and the differences discussed. Although of similar ages, that from Murs was possibly corresponding to a more shallow water paleolake than that of Céreste.
This work provides the first revision and illustration of the type material of the ammonite species Parahoplites abichi Anthula [Type species of Protacanthoplites Tovbina] and Parahoplites aschiltaensis Anthula [Type species of Acanthohoplites Sinzow] from the upper Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) of Dagestan, Russia. The close affinities and synonymy between these two species are confirmed, and Acanthohoplites aschiltaensis is here retained as the senior valid name by its long quoting history and its historical use as a zonal index of the upper Aptian. The genus Protacanthoplites should be thus synonymised with Acanthohoplites by priority in the date of publication. Comparison with, and distinction from, closely allied Acanthohoplitidae is provided.
The railway cutting near Oberrödinghausen at the northern margin of the Rhenish Mountains is the cardinal section for the investigation of Early Tournaisian (Early Carboniferous; Mississippian) ammonoids. The ammonoids from the Hangenberg Limestone (= Gattendorfia Limestone) of this and neighbouring outcrops are revised here, using the historical collections as well as undescribed new material. The ammonoid assemblages are composed of a total of 67 species, which occur in four successive ammonoid zones. The assemblages are composed of predominant prionoceratids (Order Goniatitina) with the twenty genera Mimimitoceras (two species), Globimitoceras (one species), Paragattendorfia (two species), Kornia (three species), Stockumites (eleven species), Acutimitoceras (two species), Costimitoceras (one species), Nicimitoceras (four species), Imitoceras (one species), Voehringerites (one species), Gattendorfia (eight species), Zadelsdorfia (two species), Kazakhstania (one species), Gattenpleura (one species), Weyerella (three species), Hasselbachia (three species), Paprothites (five species), Pseudarietites (three species), Rodingites (two species), Paralytoceras (one species) as well as subordinate eocanitids (Order Prolecanitida) with the genera Eocanites (eight species) and Nomismocanites (one species). The new genera Rodingites gen. nov. and Nomismocanites gen. nov. as well as the new species Mimimitoceras perditum sp. nov., Kornia fibula sp. nov., Kornia acia sp. nov., Stockumites parallelus sp. nov., Stockumites voehringeri sp. nov., Acutimitoceras ucatum sp. nov., Acutimitoceras paracutum sp. nov., Imitoceras initium sp. nov., Gattendorfia rhenana sp. nov., Gattendorfia bella sp. nov., Gattendorfia valdevoluta sp. nov., Gattendorfia schmidti sp. nov., Gattendorfia corpulenta sp. nov., Gattendorfia immodica sp. nov., Zadelsdorfia oblita sp. nov., Weyerella lenis sp. nov., Hasselbachia erronea sp. nov., Paprothites beckeri sp. nov., Paprothites kullmanni sp. nov., Eocanites delicatus sp. nov. and Nomismocanites raritas gen. et sp. nov. are described from Oberrödinghausen. Mimimitoceras mina sp. nov., Stockumites marocensis sp. nov., Zadelsdorfia zana sp. nov. and Kazakhstania kana sp. nov. are newly named for material from the Anti-Atlas of Morocco.
The early Tournaisian (Early Carboniferous; Mississippian) ammonoids from the classical abandoned limestone quarry of Gattendorf (Upper Franconia) are revised, using the historical collections as well as so far undescribed material. The ammonoid assemblage is composed of prionoceratid ammonoids of the six genera Mimimitoceras, Paragattendorfia, Stockumites, Acutimitoceras, Gattendorfia and Gattenpleura, which indicate a stratigraphic position near the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary in the earliest Carboniferous. The new species Stockumites hofensis sp. nov. and S. nonaginta sp. nov. are described.
The evolution and interrelationships of carnivorous squamates (mosasaurs, snakes, monitor lizards, Gila Monsters) are a contentious part of reptile systematics and go to the heart of conflict between morphological and molecular data in inferring evolutionary history. One of the best-preserved fossils in this motley grouping is “Saniwa” feisti Stritzke, 1983, represented by complete skeletons from the early-middle Eocene of Messel, Germany. We re-describe it on the basis of superficial examination, stereoradiography, and high-resolution X-ray computed tomography of new and published specimens. The scalation of the lizard is unique, consisting of small, keeled scales on the head (including a row of enlarged medial supraorbitals) and large, rhomboidal, keeled scales (invested by osteoderms) that covered the rest of the body. Two paired longitudinal rows of enlarged scales ran down the neck. The head was laterally compressed and box-shaped due to the presence of a strong canthal-temporal ridge; the limbs and tail were very long. Notable osteological features include: a toothed, strap-like vomer; septomaxilla with a long posterior process; palpebral with a long posterolateral process; a lacrimal boss and a single lacrimal foramen; a well-developed cultriform process of the parabasisphenoid; two hypoglossal (XII) foramina in addition to the vagus; a lack of resorption pits for replacement teeth; and possibly the presence of more than one wave of developing replacement teeth per locus. There are no osteological modifications suggestive of an intramandibular hinge, but postmortem displacement of the angular-prearticular-surangular complex in multiple specimens suggests that there might have been some degree of mobility in the lower jaw based on soft-tissue modifications. Using phylogenetic analyses on a data-set comprising 473 morphological characters and 46 DNA loci, we infer that a monophyletic Palaeovaranidae Georgalis, 2017, including Eosaniwa Haubold, 1977, lies on the stem of Varanidae Merrem, 1820, basal to various Cretaceous Mongolian taxa. We transfer feisti to the new genus Paranecrosaurus n. gen. Analysis of gut contents reveals only the second known specimen of the cryptozoic lizard Cryptolacerta hassiaca Müller, Hipsley, Head, Kardjilov, Hilger, Wuttke & Reisz, 2011, confirming a diet that was at least partly carnivorous; the preservation of the teeth of C. hassiaca suggests that the gastric physiology of Paranecrosaurus feisti (Stritzke, 1983) n. comb. had high acidity but low enzyme activity. Based on the foregoing and linear discriminant function analysis, we reconstruct P. feisti n. comb., as a powerful, widely roaming, faunivorous-carnivorous stem monitor lizard with a sensitive snout. If the molecular phylogeny of anguimorphs is correct, then many of the features shared by Helodermatidae Gray, 1837 and Varanidae must have arisen convergently, partly associated with diet. In that case, a reconciliation of morphological and molecular data would require the discovery of equally primitive fossils on the helodermatid stem.
The present corrigendum corrects errors that occurred in: Zheng Y., Hu H., Chen D., Chen J., Zhang H. & Rasnitsyn A.P. 2021. New fossil records of Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. European Journal of Taxonomy 733: 146–159. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.733.1229
Die reichen Fossilienlagerstätten im Norden Malawis haben Spuren des ältesten Menschen preisgegeben – nach fast zehn Jahren der Suche. Die Geschichte des aufsehenerregenden Funds, welche Rolle Schweinezähne dabei gespielt haben,und wie es zu einem Museum in der Malawischen Provinz kam, berichten die Paläontologen Friedemann Schrenk und Ottmar Kullmer.
A massive occurrence of microbial carbonates, including abundant sponge remains, within the Devonian Elbingerode Reef Complex was likely deposited in a former cavity of the fore-reef slope during the early Frasnian. It is suggested that the formation of microbial carbonate was to a large part favored by the activity of heterotrophic, i.e., sulfate-reducing bacteria, in analogy to Quaternary coral reef microbialites. The Elbingerode Reef Complex is an example of an oceanic or Darwinian barrier reef system. In modern barrier reef settings, microbialite formation is commonly further facilitated by weathering products from the central volcanic islands. The Devonian microbialites of the Elbingerode Reef Complex occur in the form of reticulate and laminated frameworks. Reticulate framework is rich in hexactinellid glass sponges, the tissue decay of which led to the formation of abundant micrite as well as peloidal and stromatactis textures. Supposed calcimicrobes such as Angusticellularia (formerly Angulocellularia) and Frutexites, also known from cryptic habitats, were part of the microbial association. The microbial degradation of sponge tissue likely also contributed to the laminated framework accretion as evidenced by the occurrence of remains of so-called “keratose” demosponges. Further typical textures in the microbialite of the Elbingerode Reef Complex include zebra limestone, i.e., the more or less regular intercalation of microbial carbonate and cement. Elevated concentrations of magnesium in the microbialite as compared to the surrounding metazoan (stromatoporoid-coral) reef limestone suggests that the microbialite of the Elbingerode Reef Complex was initially rich in high-magnesium calcite, which would be yet another parallel to modern, cryptic coral reef microbial carbonates. Deposition and accretion of the microbialite largely occurred in oxygenated seawater with suboxic episodes as indicated by the trace element (REE + Y) data.
One of the most important events in human history occurred during the Early Pleistocene: the dispersal of early hominins out of Africa and into Europe and Asia. In Western Europe, the earliest evidences of the genus Homo have been found in the Baza Basin, at the sites of Orce in the SE of the Iberian Peninsula. These sites contain fossils and lithic industry dated approximately as 1.4–1.3 Ma.While hominin remains and artifacts at Orce, as well as the accompanying fauna, have been extensively studied, the properties and evolution of the Early Pleistocene vegetation in the basin remain unknown. The general effect of climate change on the expansion of early hominins from Africa into Eurasia still remains unclear. It is not known if the Early Pleistocene climate changes and the development of glacials periods led to the extirpation of European communities, or if those communities were able to endure and persist through such adverse climatic periods. This open question highlights the need for climate and environmental analyses for the time before, during and after the first presence of Homo in Europe. This PhD thesis contributes to that need by the presentation of the first long pollen record of the Baza Basin, where the oldest hominin sites in Western Europe are found.
Climatic niches describe the climatic conditions in which species can persist. Shifts in climatic niches have been observed to coincide with major climatic change, suggesting that species adapt to new conditions. We test the relationship between rates of climatic niche evolution and paleoclimatic conditions through time for 65 Old-World flycatcher species (Aves: Muscicapidae). We combine niche quantification for all species with dated phylogenies to infer past changes in the rates of niche evolution for temperature and precipitation niches. Paleoclimatic conditions were inferred independently using two datasets: a paleoelevation reconstruction and the mammal fossil record. We find changes in climatic niches through time, but no or weak support for a relationship between niche evolution rates and rates of paleoclimatic change for both temperature and precipitation niche and for both reconstruction methods. In contrast, the inferred relationship between climatic conditions and niche evolution rates depends on paleoclimatic reconstruction method: rates of temperature niche evolution are significantly negatively related to absolute temperatures inferred using the paleoelevation model but not those reconstructed from the fossil record. We suggest that paleoclimatic change might be a weak driver of climatic niche evolution in birds and highlight the need for greater integration of different paleoclimate reconstructions.
Biominerals fossilisation: fish bone diagenesis in plio–pleistocene african hominid sites of Malawi
(2020)
Fish fossilisation is relatively poorly known, and skeletal element modifications resulting from predation, burial and diagenesis need to be better investigated. In this article, we aim to provide new results about surface, structural and chemical changes in modern and fossil fish bone. Fossil samples come from two distinct localities of roughly the same age in the Pliocene–Pleistocene Chiwondo Beds adjacent to Lake Malawi. Optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry were carried out on three categories of fish bones: (i) fresh modern samples collected in the lake, (ii) extracted from modern fish eagle regurgitation pellets, and (iii) fossils from Malema and Mwenirondo localities. A comparison of these data allowed us to detect various modifications of bone surfaces and structure as well as composition changes. Some differences are observed between fresh bones and modern pellets, and between pellets and fossils. Moreover, fossil fish bone surface modifications, crystallinity, and chemical composition from Malema and Mwenirondo differ despite their chronological and spatial proximities (2.5–2.4 Ma, 500 m). In both sites, the post-predation modifications are strong and may hide alterations due to the predation by bird of prey such as the fish eagle. The combination of the used methods is relevant to analyses of diagenetic alterations in fish bones.
Das Cranium eines fossilen Hominiden des Formenkreises Homo sapiens sapiens wurde relativ-geologisch sowie absolut durch Radiokohlenstoff und Aminosäuren auf ungefähr 31 000 Jahre B.P. datiert. Andere absolute sowie relative Daten an Mollusken und Mammutzähnen in überlagernden jüngeren Straten datieren auf 18 000 — 21000 und 16 000 Jahren B.P. Geomorphologische und geophysikalische Datierungen stimmen somit gut überein. Er ist der älteste datierte und früheste Bewohner Zentraleuropas, der dem Homo sapiens sapiens angehört.
Our knowledge of early evolution of snakes is improving, but all that we can infer about the evolution of modern clades of snakes such as boas (Booidea) is still based on isolated bones. Here, we resolve the phylogenetic relationships of Eoconstrictor fischeri comb. nov. and other booids from the early-middle Eocene of Messel (Germany), the best-known fossil snake assemblage yet discovered. Our combined analyses demonstrate an affinity of Eoconstrictor with Neotropical boas, thus entailing a South America-to-Europe dispersal event. Other booid species from Messel are related to different New World clades, reinforcing the cosmopolitan nature of the Messel booid fauna. Our analyses indicate that Eoconstrictor was a terrestrial, medium- to large-bodied snake that bore labial pit organs in the upper jaw, the earliest evidence that the visual system in snakes incorporated the infrared spectrum. Evaluation of the known palaeobiology of Eoconstrictor provides no evidence that pit organs played a role in the predator–prey relations of this stem boid. At the same time, the morphological diversity of Messel booids reflects the occupation of several terrestrial macrohabitats, and even in the earliest booid community the relation between pit organs and body size is similar to that seen in booids today.
In den hessischen Mittelgebirgen wurden in der späten Bronzezeit erste befestigte Höhensiedlungen errichtet. Während für diese Zeit in den benachbarten fruchtbaren Beckenlagen eine intensive landwirtschaftliche Nutzung belegt ist, wissen wir über die Nutzungssysteme sowie die Entnahme von Ressourcen in den Mittelgebirgen noch vergleichsweise wenig. Im Rahmen des LOEWE-Projektes „Bronzezeitliche Burgen zwischen Taunus und Karpaten“ werden mit Hilfe archäobotanischer Analysen die Art und Intensität der Nutzung, mögliche Auswirkungen durch die Befestigungen auf die Vegetation der Umgebung sowie ihr Verhältnis zu den zentralen Altsiedellandschaften untersucht. Die pollenanalytischen Arbeiten konzentrieren sich auf den Taunus, den Raum Fulda und die Rhön. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen dort im ausgehenden 2. und beginnenden 1. Jt. v. Chr. eine deutliche Veränderung der Vegetation, die sich insbesondere durch einen raschen Wandel der von linden- zu buchendominierten Wäldern auszeichnet. Inwieweit der Bau der befestigten Höhensiedlungen in der späten Bronzezeit für die großen waldgeschichtlichen Umbrüche mit verantwortlich war oder eher als Reaktion darauf zu verstehen ist, soll im Zuge der weiteren Untersuchungen geklärt werden.
This paper provides a glimpse into the palaeoecological conditions at the prehistoric settlement Corneşti-Iarcuri in the southwest Romanian Banat, which is known as the largest Bronze Age fortification in Europe. Preservation of pollen is generally poor in the region, where extensive marshlands have been drained and converted into arable lands since the 18th century. Remarkably, some fossil topsoils buried under thick colluvial layers within the fortification proved to contain pollen. Together with the sediments themselves, which serve as direct evidence for anthropogenically infl uenced geomorphodynamics and could partially be put into chronological context by radiocarbon dating, the on-site palynological data offer a unique opportunity to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental setting at Corneşti. Results reveal that during the Chalcolithic period, a partially cleared open woodland with Tilia, Quercus and Corylus prevailed. Soil erosion began in some central parts of the settlement site, resulting in the accumulation of up to 90 cm of colluvium in the main valley. Until the Early Iron Age, regional tree percentages dropped from around 38 to 22 %, while anthropogenic indicators (Cerealia, Plantago lanceolata, Polygonum aviculare) increased from 11 to 16 %. Meanwhile, between 50 to 170 cm of colluvium were deposited at the investigated floodplain sites.
The fossil record is widely informative about evolution, but fossils are not systematically used to study the evolution of stem-cell-driven renewal. Here, we examined evolution of the continuous growth (hypselodonty) of rodent molar teeth, which is fuelled by the presence of dental stem cells. We studied occurrences of 3,500 North American rodent fossils, ranging from 50 million years ago (mya) to 2 mya. We examined changes in molar height to determine whether evolution of hypselodonty shows distinct patterns in the fossil record, and we found that hypselodont taxa emerged through intermediate forms of increasing crown height. Next, we designed a Markov simulation model, which replicated molar height increases throughout the Cenozoic and, moreover, evolution of hypselodonty. Thus, by extension, the retention of the adult stem cell niche appears to be a predictable quantitative rather than a stochastic qualitative process. Our analyses predict that hypselodonty will eventually become the dominant phenotype.
In seiner Ordnung der Dinge postuliert Michel Foucault bekanntermaßen die Vorgängigkeit der Geschichte der Dinge vor derjenigen des Menschen: Der Mensch, der am Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts erscheint, hat ihm zufolge keine 'eigene' Geschichte mehr, er ist 'enthistorisiert', weil ihm die Zeit fortan "von woanders her als von ihm selbst [kommt]". Als Subjekt der Geschichte bildet er sich allein "in der Überlagerung der Geschichte der Lebewesen, Dinge und Wörter" und insofern er selbst als lebendes, arbeitendes und sprechendes Wesen erscheint.
Zum Herzstück seiner Analyse der neu aufkommenden Geschichte der Dinge hat Foucault das Fossil gemacht und dargelegt, wie das zweidimensionale, über Ähnlichkeiten verbundene Wissenstableau der Naturgeschichte aufbrach, als das Fossil bei George Cuvier zum Wissensobjekt der Tiefendimension des Lebens und seiner Funktionen wurde. Während Foucault hier weniger auf geologische als vielmehr auf biologische bzw. generell auf wissensgeschichtliche Raum- und Zeitdimensionen abhebt, möchte ich im Folgenden zum einen nachzeichnen, wie das Fossil um 1800 zum Lot der sogenannten Tiefenzeit wurde und welche Her- und Darstellungsweisen von Zeit sich in und mit ihm ergaben. Zum anderen möchte ich aufzeigen, wie gerade im Narrativ des Fossils als Wissens-, aber eben auch als Nichtwissensobjekt der Zeit die Frage kulminierte, welche Tiefen- bzw. Oberflächendimension dem Mensch und seiner Darstellung noch eigen sein kann. Als Leerstelle im Archiv der Fossilienfunde kam ihm nämlich die Zeit nicht nur "von woanders her als von ihm selbst". In der Überlagerung mit der Geschichte der Dinge, Lebewesen und Wörter erreichte sie ihn vielmehr gar nicht mehr. Um diese gerade literarisch ausgeloteten Abgründe der Tiefenzeit wird es mir in der Auseinandersetzung mit E.T.A. Hoffmanns Erzählung 'Die Bergwerke zu Falun' (1819) gehen. Wie ich darlegen möchte, romantisiert Hoffmann gerade im Zeichen des Fossils die Geschichte des Menschen konsequent zu Ende.
This article was republished on October 14, 2015, to correct the order of Figs 8–13. The publisher apologizes for the error. Please download this article again to view the correct version. The originally published, uncorrected article and the republished, corrected article are provided here for reference.
Diverse epidermal appendages including grouped filaments closely resembling primitive feathers in non-avian theropods, are associated with skeletal elements in the primitive ornithischian dinosaur Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus from the Kulinda locality in south-eastern Siberia. This discovery suggests that “feather-like” structures did not evolve exclusively in theropod dinosaurs, but were instead potentially widespread in the whole dinosaur clade. The dating of the Kulinda locality is therefore particularly important for reconstructing the evolution of “feather-like” structures in dinosaurs within a chronostratigraphic framework. Here we present the first dating of the Kulinda locality, combining U-Pb analyses (LA-ICP-MS) on detrital zircons and monazites from sedimentary rocks of volcaniclastic origin and palynological observations. Concordia ages constrain the maximum age of the volcaniclastic deposits at 172.8 ± 1.6 Ma, corresponding to the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic). The palynological assemblage includes taxa that are correlated to Bathonian palynozones from western Siberia, and therefore constrains the minimum age of the deposits. The new U-Pb ages, together with the palynological data, provide evidence of a Bathonian age—between 168.3 ± 1.3 Ma and 166.1 ± 1.2 Ma—for Kulindadromeus. This is older than the previous Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ages tentatively based on local stratigraphic correlations. A Bathonian age is highly consistent with the phylogenetic position of Kulindadromeus at the base of the neornithischian clade and suggests that cerapodan dinosaurs originated in Asia during the Middle Jurassic, from a common ancestor that closely looked like Kulindadromeus. Our results consequently show that Kulindadromeus is the oldest known dinosaur with “feather-like” structures discovered so far.
Polychelidan lobsters (Decapoda: Polychelida) are crustaceans with extant species which are restricted to deep water environments. Fossil species, however, used to live in more varied palaeoenvironments, from shallow water to deep water, and were more diverse morphologically. We redescribe two species of polychelidan lobsters, the Late Triassic Rosenfeldia triasica Garassino, Teruzzi & Dalla Vecchia, 1996 and the Late Jurassic Eryon oppeli Woodward, 1866, recently assigned to the same genus, Rosenfeldia, based upon only a few characters. Our investigation of all available material of both species leads us to distinguish these two species and to erect Rogeryon gen. nov. to accommodate Eryon oppeli. The palaeobiology of both species is interpreted for the first time. Rosenfeldia triasica with its stout first pereiopods and mandibles with both incisor and molar processes (documented for the first time in Polychelida) was benthic and probably fed either on slow-moving sedentary preys or was a scavenger. Rogeryon oppeli gen. et comb. nov. was benthic, visually adapted to shallow water palaeoenvironments, and possibly had a diet similar to that of slipper lobsters and horseshoe crabs. The redescription of these two species highlights the palaeobiological diversity of fossil polychelidans.
The first Cenozoic roproniid wasp from the Paleocene of Menat, France (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea)
(2016)
Paleoropronia salamonei gen. et sp. nov., the first Cenozoic Roproniidae, is described from the Paleocene of Menat (Massif Central, France) on the basis of its fore wing venation. The Roproniidae range between the Mesozoic and the present time. P. salamonei gen. et sp. nov. was perhaps a parasitoid on tenthredinid sawfly larvae, as these insects were present in the wasp fauna from Menat outcrop.
Prehistoric dental treatments were extremely rare, and the few documented cases are known from the Neolithic, when the adoption of early farming culture caused an increase of carious lesions. Here we report the earliest evidence of dental caries intervention on a Late Upper Palaeolithic modern human specimen (Villabruna) from a burial in Northern Italy. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we show the presence of striations deriving from the manipulation of a large occlusal carious cavity of the lower right third molar. The striations have a "V"-shaped transverse section and several parallel micro-scratches at their base, as typically displayed by cutmarks on teeth. Based on in vitro experimental replication and a complete functional reconstruction of the Villabruna dental arches, we confirm that the identified striations and the associated extensive enamel chipping on the mesial wall of the cavity were produced ante-mortem by pointed flint tools during scratching and levering activities. The Villabruna specimen is therefore the oldest known evidence of dental caries intervention, suggesting at least some knowledge of disease treatment well before the Neolithic. This study suggests that primitive forms of carious treatment in human evolution entail an adaptation of the well-known toothpicking for levering and scratching rather than drilling practices.
Background: Dental biomechanics based on finite element (FE) analysis is attracting enormous interest in dentistry, biology, anthropology and palaeontology. Nonetheless, several shortcomings in FE modeling exist, mainly due to unrealistic loading conditions. In this contribution we used kinematics information recorded in a virtual environment derived from occlusal contact detection between high resolution models of an upper and lower human first molar pair (M1 and M1, respectively) to run a non-linear dynamic FE crash colliding test.
Methodology: MicroCT image data of a modern human skull were segmented to reconstruct digital models of the antagonistic right M1 and M1 and the dental supporting structures. We used the Occlusal Fingerprint Analyser software to reconstruct the individual occlusal pathway trajectory during the power stroke of the chewing cycle, which was applied in a FE simulation to guide the M1 3D-path for the crash colliding test.
Results: FE analysis results showed that the stress pattern changes considerably during the power stroke, demonstrating that knowledge about chewing kinematics in conjunction with a morphologically detailed FE model is crucial for understanding tooth form and function under physiological conditions.
Conclusions/Significance: Results from such advanced dynamic approaches will be applicable to evaluate and avoid mechanical failure in prosthodontics/endodontic treatments, and to test material behavior for modern tooth restoration in dentistry. This approach will also allow us to improve our knowledge in chewing-related biomechanics for functional diagnosis and therapy, and it will help paleoanthropologists to illuminate dental adaptive processes and morphological modifications in human evolution.
Fossils are often anatomically and functionally compared to extant model taxa such as Pan, Gorilla, Pongo and modern Homo sapiens to put the respective fossils into the (taxonomical) context of human evolution. Therefore, knowledge of extant hominid anatomy is necessary as well as knowledge of which traits differ between sexes, populations, (sub-)species and taxa, and whether these differences are pronounced enough to separate respective groups. Dental and mandibular structures have been of particular interest in many paleoanthropological studies, simply due to the fact that these morphological structures are most abundant in the human fossil record.
Various studies have addressed questions regarding taxonomy, variation and sexual dimorphism of hominid taxa with regard to dental and mandibular size. Tooth size, however, has almost exclusively referred to crown size, with little focus on root size. The focus on tooth crowns is partly due to roots being embedded in mandibular bone which makes access difficult. With the help of micro-computed tomography (μCT) it is now possible to render virtual 3D models of dental roots and measure these models without harming the original specimens. In addition, measurements are much more precise using μCT data than previous techniques such as 2D x-rays. The present study used 3D models of 231 (first, second and third) molars and 80 mandibles of 53 Pan troglodytes verus (consisting of individuals form the Tai and Liberia populations), 14 Gorilla sp. and 13 Pongo sp. individuals to investigate molar and mandibular sizes within, and between, taxa and populations with regard to sexual dimorphism, variability and taxonomical value. Molar root size was assessed by applying 7 measurements to each molar. Mandibular size was investigated using three different measurements: overall mandibular size, mandibular robusticity (at each molar position) and 15 linear measurements. Overall mandibular size and root measurements were used to investigate the dental and mandibular size relationship. Furthermore, based on data acquired from great apes, how well fossil mandibles (including their dentition) of Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus sp. and Homo sp. match one or multiple extant hominid taxa was examined Overall, molar root and mandibular metrics are suitable to differentiate between sexes, populations and taxa. Investigation of 40 (21 molar and 19 mandibular) different measure ments resulted in five common characteristics among Pan, Gorilla and Pongo only: firstly, molar root size sequence in root volume and root surface area (M3 < M1 < M2). Secondly, M2 as the molar with the largest cervical area, root volume, root surface area and mesial root lengths and thirdly, mandibular robusticity is larger in females than in males, yet the difference is not signifficant. Fourthly, mandibular length and premolar width are sexually dimorphic and fifthly, the best factors to discriminate between taxa are bicondyle width and molar root length. There is no generalized answer to the question which molar and/or measurement (dental or mandibular) is best to discriminate between sex or taxa in extant hominids. Moreover, size relationships differ among taxa, depending on the measurement. The overall trend, however, is that Pan is the taxa with the smallest, and Gorilla the largest, mean values. Among Pan populations, Liberian chimpanzees tend to have larger average values compared to Tai chimpanzees, with the exception of mandibular robusticity. The highest percentage of sexual dimorphic measurements is found in Pongo, yet only half of the measurements are statistically different between sexes. African apes are less sexually dimorphic compared to Pongo, and surprisingly, Gorilla is only slightly more dimorphic than Pan. The study also shows that statements and conclusions relating to \mandibular size" should not be generalized: whereas male and female Pongo do not differ significantly in overall mandibular size, they do differ in linear mandibular measurements. Moreover, Gorilla has the overall largest mandible, yet robusticity is higher in Pan, as are some linear measurements. Sexual dimorphism in overall mandibular size does not seem to reflect body mass dimorphism, whereas mandibular size appears to be related to body mass. The same was previously proposed for mandibular robusticity, yet Pan, the smallest taxa, has the most robust mandibular corpus (> Gorilla > Pongo). A substantial amount of molar measurements that positively correlate with (overall) mandibular size was found, but in African apes only. This contrasts with former studies which found no, or weak, correlations between dental and mandibular sizes. Given that the percentage of correlation is highest in Pan, and not present in Pongo, it is proposed that small jaws feature small teeth, rather than large jaws feature large teeth. This proposition assumes a size-threshold from which, when reached, dental and mandibular sizes no longer correlate, as has been previously proposed for the relationship between canine size and mandibular breadth. This assumption is further supported by the fact that the smaller and more robust Tai population shows more significant correlation compared to the less robust and larger Liberia population. Results show that fossil metrics are similar to one or multiple extant hominid taxa, depending on the measurement (dental or mandibular) used for comparison. Subsequently, the assignment to a specific sex depends on the earlier selected extant model taxa. Therefore the study questions whether choosing one model taxa for one fossil, or taxonomical group, is advisable. This study is the first to extensively investigate molar root size in extant hominids and to broadly describe differences in molar root sizes among and between taxa and therefore provides a solid database for future studies. The same applies to mandibular robusticity which has not been investigated as systematically or to such a great extent as in this work. The study specifically shows how complex the search for taxa or sex differentiating molar root and/or mandibular measurements is. Subsequently it shows that generalizations in relation to taxonomical values and statements about sexual dimorphism can be misleading.
In addition, the study contributes to the understanding of intra- and inter-population differences within Pan torglodytes verus. Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that results of a subspecies sample very likely depend on the sample composition, i.e. whether the sample consists of individuals from one or more populations. This study serves as a database for further studies investigating molar root sizes in great apes, whether these studies are investigating various relationships between taxa, population or sex, or as database to investigate functional adaptations or to examine mandibular robusticity and molar root relationships.
The bug Gyaclavator kohlsi Wappler, Guilbert, Wedmann et Labandeira, gen. et sp. nov., represents a new extinct genus of lace bugs (Insecta: Heteroptera: Tingidae) occurring in latest early Eocene deposits of the Green River Formation, from the southern Piceance Basin of Northwestern Colorado, in North America. Gyaclavator can be placed within the Tingidae with certainty, perhaps it is sistergroup to Cantacaderinae. If it belongs to Cantacaderinae, it is the first fossil record of this group for North America. Gyaclavator has unique, conspicuous antennae bearing a specialized, highly dilated distiflagellomere, likely important for intra- or intersex reproductive competition and attraction. This character parallels similar antennae in leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae), and probably is associated with a behavioral convergence as well.
We describe a new large-sized species of hypercarnivorous hyainailourine–Kerberos langebadreae gen. & sp. nov.–from the Bartonian (MP16) locality of Montespieu (Tarn, France). These specimens consist of a skull, two hemimandibles and several hind limb elements (fibula, astragalus, calcaneum, metatarsals, and phalanges). Size estimates suggest K. langebadreae may have weighed up to 140 kg, revealing this species as the largest carnivorous mammal in Europe at that time. Besides its very large size, K. langebadreae possesses an interesting combination of primitive and derived features. The distinctive skull morphology of K. langebadreae reflects a powerful bite force. The postcranial elements, which are rarely associated with hyainailourine specimens, indicate an animal capable of a plantigrade stance and adapted for terrestrial locomotion. We performed the first phylogenetic analysis of hyainailourines to determine the systematic position of K. langebadreae and to understand the evolution of the group that includes other massive carnivores. The analysis demonstrates that Hemipsalodon, a North American taxon, is a hyainailourine and is closely related to European Paroxyaena. Based on this analysis we hypothesize the biogeographic history of the Hyainailourinae. The group appeared in Africa with a first migration to Europe during the Bartonian that likely included the ancestors of Kerberos, Paroxyaena and Hemipsalodon, which further dispersed into North America at this time. We propose that the hyainailourines dispersed into Europe also during the Priabonian. These migrants have no ecological equivalent in Europe during these intervals and likely did not conflict with the endemic hyaenodont proviverrines. The discovery of K. langebadreae shows that large body size appears early in the evolution of hyainailourines. Surprisingly, the late Miocene Hyainailouros shares a more recent common ancestor with small-bodied hyainailourines (below 15 kg). Finally, our study supports a close relationship between the Hyainailourinae and Apterodontinae and we propose the new clade: Hyainailouridae.
The early Middle Eocene locality of Grube Messel, near Darmstadt (Germany), is famous for its complete vertebrate skeletons. The degree of preservation of soft tissues, such as body silhouettes, internal organs and gut contents, is frequently remarkable. The present specimen was analyzed for remnants of the reproductive system. Classic anatomy and osteology and high-resolution micro-x-ray were applied to describe the fetus of the European Eocene equoid Eurohippus messelensis. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) was used for determination of soft tissue remnants. The fetus is the earliest and best-preserved fossil specimen of its kind. The postcranial fetal skeleton is almost complete and largely articulated, allowing the conclusion that the pregnant mare was in late gestation. The apparent intrauterine position of the fetus is normal for the phase of pregnancy. Death of mare and fetus were probably not related to problems associated with parturition. Soft tissue interpreted as the uteroplacenta and a broad uterine ligament are preserved due to bacterial activity and allow considerations on the evolutionary development of the structures.
Three fossil leafhopper inclusions from Eocene Baltic amber, representing three new extinct genera and species, are described and illustrated. Eomegophthalmus lithuaniensis gen. et sp. nov. is tentatively placed in Megophthalminae, although it may represent the stem group from which Megophthalminae, Ulopinae, and Membracidae arose. Xestocephalites balticus gen. et sp. nov. and Brevaphrodella nigra gen. et sp. nov. are placed in Aphrodinae: Xestocephalini based on the structure of the head, leg chaetotaxy, and male genital capsule. These new genera and species represent the oldest known representatives of their respective subfamilies and the latter is the oldest known brachypterous adult leafhopper.
The osteology of Rhinopycnodus gabriellae gen. and sp. nov., a pycnodontiform fish from the marine Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon, is studied in detail. This new fossil genus belongs to the family Pycnodontidae, as shown by the presence of a posterior brush-like process on its parietal. Its long and broad premaxilla, bearing one short and very broad tooth is the principal autapomorphy of this fish. Within the phylogeny of Pycnodontidae, Rhinopycnodus occupies an intermediate position between Ocloedus and Tepexichthys.
26 samples were processed for a taxonomic study of ostracods from the Upper Permian (Changhsingian) - Lower Triassic (Griesbachian) interval of the Dajiang section, Guizhou Province, South China. 112 species belonging to 27 genera are recognized. Five new species are described: Acratia candyae sp. nov, Bairdia adelineae sp. nov., Bairdia? huberti sp. nov., Bairdia jeromei sp. nov., Orthobairdia jeanlouisi sp. nov. The unexpected survival faunas associated with microbial formations in the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction are documented for the first time. Ostracod biodiversity variations and palaeo-environmental modifications associated with microbial growth through the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) are discussed.
Nach den Kräften, welche die Oberflächenformen schufen, sondere ich das Diluvium im Westen der Weser nach horizontaler Richtung in ein glaciales, glacialfluviatiles und fluviatiles Diluvium. Von diesen drei Bezirken ist das glacial-fluviatile als eine nur unvollkommen zu begrenzende Zwischenzone zwischen dem nördlichen, glacialen und dem südlichen, fluviatilen Diluvium belegen.
Meine vergleichenden Untersuchungen über das Diluvium im Westen der Weser führten mich betreffs der Gliederung desselben zu Ergebnissen, welche mit den Anschauungen der holländischen Autoren nur teilweise sich decken. So weichen unsere Ansichten über das Alter derjenigen Flussablagerungen voneinander ab, aus denen südlich der Vecht die Mehrzahl der Höhen aufgebaut ist. Auch hinsichtlich der Stellung des "Sanddiluviums" kann ich jenen Forschern nicht in allen Punkten beipflichten. Ferner vermisse ich bei ihnen Angaben über das Vorhandensein einer Innenmoräne, und endlich, glaube ich, ist die Nomenklatur, welche in der niederländischen Diluvialliteratur sich eingebürgert hat, keineswegs einwandfrei. Da ich im Rahmen meiner vorigen Arbeit die Ansichten anderer Autoren nicht in erschöpfender Weise berücksichtigen konnte, so sei es meine Aufgabe, das dort unterlassene hier nachzuholen.
Die Ostrakoden bilden eine der niederen Ordnungen der Krebstiere. Der Panzer ist in eine zweiklappige Schale umgewandelt und erinnert so an die Schale der Muscheltiere. Die Systematik hat sich zwar bei Aufstellung der Gruppen und Gattungen von inneren Merkmalen des Tierkörpers leiten lassen, aber der Bau der Schale geht so sehr mit dem der Weichteile Hand in Hand, dass es im allgemeinen möglich, in den meisten Fällen verhältnismäßig leicht ist, die Tiere nach der Schale allein zu bestimmen, ein Umstand, der für die geologischen Funde von der größten Bedeutung ist. Ostrakoden finden sich nämlich in fast allen geologischen Formationen, welche überhaupt organische Überreste führen. In unseren nordischen Silur Geschieben sind sie beispielsweise von den Herren R. Jones und A. Krause zur Genüge nachgewiesen. Häufiger kommen sie bereits in der Steinkohlenformation vor, wie besonders die Arbeiten des Herrn Professors T. R. Jones dartbun. Am häufigsten treten sie jedoch in der Kreide und besonders im Tertiär auf. Aus dem nordwestdeutschen Tertiär habe ich z. B. 96 Species beschrieben.
Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Foraminiferen-Fauna des Ober-Oligocäns vom Doberg bei Bünde : Theil 2
(1895)
Über Prestwichia rotundata H. Woodw. sp. aus der Steinkohlenformation des Piesberges bei Osnabrück
(1885)
Schon früher ist von mir das Vorkommen der Gattung Prestwichia in der Steinkohlenformation des Piesberges genauer besprochen. Damals suchte ich nachzuweisen, dass die in den hangenden Schieferthonen des Flötz Mittel gefundenen fossilen Krebse wegen ihrer unbeweglich miteinander verwachsenen Rumpf- und Hinterleibs- Segmente zu jener Xiphosuren - Gattung zu stellen seien, und dass von den Species derselben die grösste Verwandtschaft mit den Piesberger Exemplaren Prestwichia rotundata H. Woodw. sp. besässe. Da aber damals von dieser Art nur die Abbildung von Prestwich vorlag und eine genauere Beschreibung erst noch aus der Feder Woodward's zu erwarten war, so liess ich es unentschieden, ob die scheinbar abweichende Ausbildung der Glabella bei dem einen Exemplare die Aufstellung einer besonderen Species erforderte. Nachdem jetzt schon vor längerer Zeit der betreffende Teil der Woodward'schen Monographie über die Merostomata, in welcher die Xiphosuren beschrieben, erschienen ist, glaube ich diese Frage zum Abschluss bringen zu können.
Im Frühling dieses Jahres machte mich der leider seitdem verstorbene Conducteur Peters hier darauf aufmerksam, dass in einem Muschelkalk-Steinbruche, östlich der sogenannten Quellenburg, Versteinerungen ziemlich häufig vorkämen. Da bekanntlich die Muschelkalkschichten der nächsten Umgebung hiesiger Stadt dem mittleren Muschelkalke (dem Dolomit) angehören und sich durch einen gänzlichen Mangel an Versteinerungen auszeichnen; so war mir die erhaltene Mittheilung äußerst wichtig und versäumte ich nicht, den betreffenden Steinbruch einer näheren Untersuchung zu unterziehen.
In dieser Arbeit geht es um die Korallen Micrabacia senoniensis und Cyclabacia Fromenteli. Diese wurden in der sog. Böllerts-Kuhle in der Honschaft Speldorf unweit Mühlheim a. d. Ruhr in Schichten gefunden. Weiterhin werden noch die Korallen Thamnastraea tenuissima, Dimorphastraea cf. parallela und Dimorphastraea Deickei, welche in einem Steinbruche in der Stadt Mühlheim selbst gefunden wurden, beschrieben. Die letzten genannten drei Specien lagen über dem Kohlensandsteine und sind einem an Glaukonit sehr reichen, weissen Pläner eingebacken.
Die betreffenden Schichten gehören ohne Zweifel zur Tourtia. Aus derselben waren bis jetzt aus Westphalen nur drei Species von Korallen bekannt, nämlich Synhclia gibbosa Münst. sp., Micrabacia coronula Goldf. sp. und Anthophyllum conicum Reuss. (s. Bölsche, Korallen des unteren Pläners im sächsischen Elbthale in: Geinitz, Elbthalgebirge, Dd. I, p. 5G).
Als ich in diesem Jahre meine Sammlung einer genaueren Durchsicht unterwarf, fand ich, dass in derselben genügendes Material vorhanden war, um dasselbe für einen kleineren Beitrag zur Paläontologie der Juraformation verwerten zu können. Nicht allein zeigte es sich, dass manche Species, wenn auch schon beschrieben, doch von neuen Fundorten vorlagen, und dass andere noch ganz neu für die jurassischen Schichten des nordwestlichen Deutschland waren, sondern die Untersuchung des vorliegenden Materials gab auch für die Kenntnis und Auffassung mancher bekannter Species neue Gesichtspunkte an die Hand. In dem folgenden ersten Theile, der Versteinerungen des unteren und teilweise des mittleren Jura (bis zu den Coronaten - Schichten inclus.) behandelt, habe ich in Bezug des geognostischen Vorkommen der Species die Einteilung des Jura den Werken von Brauns (der untere Jura im nordwestlichen Deutschland 1871, der mittlere Jura 1869) entnommen. Um eine spätere Kritik zu ermöglichen, ist bei den Species das Werk angegeben, nach dem dieselben bestimmt sind. Von Fundorten sind meistens nur die neuen angeführt.
This study demonstrates that alkaline earth elements in enamel of hippopotamids, in particular Ba and Sr, are tracers for water provenance and hydrochemistry in terrestrial settings. The studied specimens are permanent premolar and molar teeth found in modern and fossil lacustrine sediments of the Western Branch of the East African Rift system (Lake Kikorongo, Lake Albert, and Lake Malawi) and from modern fluvial environments of the Nile River.
Concentrations in enamel vary by two orders of magnitude for Ba (120–9336 μg g−1) as well as for Sr (9–2150 μg g−1). The variations are partially induced during post-mortem alteration and during amelogenesis, but the major contribution originates ultimately from the variable water chemistry in the habitats of the hippopotamids which is controlled by the lithologies and weathering processes in the watershed areas. Amelogenesis causes a distinct distribution of MgO, Ba and Sr in modern and fossil enamel, in that element concentrations increase along profiles from the outer rim towards the enamel–dentin junction by a factor of 1.3–1.9. These elements are well correlated in single specimens, thus suggesting that their distribution is determined by a common, single process, which can be described by closed system Rayleigh crystallization of bioapatite in vivo.
Enamel from most hippopotamid specimens has Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca which are typical for herbivores. However, Ba/Sr ranges from 0.1 to 3 and varies on spatial and temporal scales. Thus, Sr concentrations and Ba/Sr in enamel differentiate between habitats having basaltic mantle rocks or Archean crustal rocks as the ultimate sources of Sr and Ba. This provenance signal is modulated by climate change. In Miocene to Pleistocene enamel from the Lake Albert region, Ba/Sr decreases systematically with time from 2 to 0.5. This trend can be correlated with changes in climate from humid to arid, in vegetation from C3 to C4 biomass as well as with increasing evaporation of the lake water. The most plausible explanation is that Ba mobility decreased with increasing aridification due to preferential deposition with clay and Fe-oxide-hydroxide or barite on the watershed of Lake Albert.
Zwischen dem westlichen Teile des Teutoburger Waldes und der Weserkette findet sich eine Reihe tertiärer Hügel, die als einzelne Schollen von dem Ganzen der tertiären Ablagerungen dieser Gegend übrig geblieben sind. Hierzu gehört das Ober-Oligocän in der Bauerschaft Krevinghausen bei SchIedehausen und der bei weitem wichtigste dieser Hügel, der Doberg. Nach einleitenden Bemerkungen und einem Verzeichnis der Schriften, welche auf den Doberg Bezug nehmen, wird die oligozäne Fauna des Gebietes mit folgenden Kapiteln dargestellt: I. Vertebrata, Wirbeltiere. II. Cephalopoda, Kopffüsser. III. Glossophora, Schnecken. IV. Lamellibranchiata, Muscheln. V. Brachiopoda, Armfüsser. VI. Crustacea, Krustentiere. VII. Annelida, Ringelwürmer. VIII. Echinoidea, Seeigel. IX. Bryozoa, Moostierchen. X. Anthozoa, Korallen. XI. Foraminiferen. XII. Algen (1 Art).
Aus einer verlassenen Mergelgrube am Rubbenbrucher See westlich von Osnabrück werden 61 Foraminiferen-, 10 Bryozoen- und 22 Ostrakoden-Arten namhaft gemacht. Diese Funde, zusammen mit den Resten anderer Organismen, ergeben als Biotop ein ufernahes Litoral des Oberoligozän-Meeres, vergleichbar mit den klassischen Vorkommen von Astrup und Bünde.
It has been forty years since the Jurassic site of Veillon in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire (Vendée, France), where footprints of vertebrates were found, was plundered. This outstanding site belonging to Vendée's geological patrimony needs to be preserved and developed. Some footprints from Veillon are displayed in the collections of about thirty public institutions and six museums.
Using the fossil dinosaur footprints of the lower Lias of Le Veillon at Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, (Vendée) as a starting point, the reconstitution by pupils of a unique fossil-bearing site is under consideration. The paleobiology and paleoecology of reptiles in this geological site are dealt with.
Palichnites et muséologie
(2003)
After they had intrigued the inquiring or observant mind for decades, it was realised that certain "natural curiosities" were tracks of extinct creatures, related to gigantic birds or other antediluvian animals. At the beginning of the XIXth century a new science, ichnology, came into being and developed, thanks to the collection, preservation and study of fossil prints. The increasing quantity of evidence thus unearthed reveals the diversity of vertebrate faunas which have trod the earth’s surface and left behind valuable information about their characteristics and behaviour. Like other institutions labouring on behalf of conservation, knowledge of nature and the preservation of our natural heritage, the Nantes Natural History Museum has, for nearly two centuries, collected, conserved, displayed and brought to the attention of the public those valuable pieces of evidence, fossil footprints. Displays of fossil prints are regularly presented during different exhibitions. Examples of them permit one to follow the evolution of our knowledge of these prints and illustrate how the information yielded by these prints has been transmitted.
The Ichnospace is a specific exhibition dedicated to traces and tracks left by recent and fossil animals on ground. The Ichnospace is located at Luzech, a little town with a long historic past, near Cahors (about 17 km W) in the valley of the river Lot. Every living being leaves traces of its activities (habitat, locomotion, diet, etc.) in its environment. These traces are the signing of the individual and they may be preserved and fossilised in geological time. They provide information about biodiversity, the habits of individuals and their distribution in time and space. In the Causses of Quercy area very near of Luzech and well known by palaeontologists and geologists, many dinosaur and pterosaur tracks have been discovered. Some of them are exposed with various fossil invertebrates, turtles, crocodiles and so on, from upper Jurassic when the sea Tethys ran along shores of the large Central island. Movie and an audio-visual show complete the exhibited specimens with French and English comments.
Hettangian stratotype shows an example of preservation and valorisation of a scientifical historical place. Earth Story is understood thanks to geological heritage; this heritage is very vulnerable. Judicial framework and mentality evolution allow us to make a conservation of particularly interesting places.
The Liassic Talmont-Saint-Hilaire (Vendée, France) outcrop has been studied here according to the abundance of fossil plants of the Cheirolepidiaceous family (Gymnosperms, Coniferales). A new species of Brachyphyllum has been studied in light microscopy, even in scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It is, at that time, one of the most complete study realized on a fossil taxon. Epidermal cells, subsidiary cells and guard cells have been described on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces, in transversal and longitudinal sections. Cuticle ultrastructural variations have been observed between epidermal and stomatal cells. To conclude, we propose a discussion about the cuticle structure variations related to environmental conditions and the functional morphology of the different cells.
Analyse d'un exemple de fossilisation d'une trace de pas de Dinosaure (Lias inférieur des Causses)
(2003)
A calcareous block made of algo-laminated (stromatolitic) material exhibits at its upper surface a foot print of a Dinosaurian. A vertical section (sawing) and a thin section allow to make detailed observations. The early diagenesis permits the preservation of the deformations caused by the foot print.
In the inter/supratidal algal mats, the early diagenesis products a progressive induration. It is enough to preserve all the deformations affecting the mats, including footprints of vertebrates, tracks and burrows of small invertebrates, and physical actions (desiccation cracks).
Comparaison des ichnopopulations des Grands Causses (Sud de la France) et du Veillon (Vendée)
(2003)
From descriptive statistic method concerning length (L), width (W) and L/W, it is suggested that Grallator variabilis samples from Vendée (Le Veillon) and Grands Causses belong to the same ichnospecies. Also, by this way, G. maximus of Hettangian of Vendée could be synonym of G. minusculus from USA Hettangian.
Numerous footprints areas has been found, since 1962, in Permian, Triassic and Hettango-Sinemurian. All show precised oriented trackways. So that they were undestood like walking ways but their precise meaning is still enigmatic.
Footprints are numerous in France where they found from Carboniferous to Quaternary levels. Those of Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) are especialy interesting because they are tridactyl footprints made probably by first dinosaurs. First skelettons are known from Upper Ladinian / lower Carnian.
The Veillon ichnofauna, early Liassic in age, includes various Reptile taxa: quadruped Pseudosuchian, Coelurosaurians, Theropods, primitive Iguanodon – like Ornithopods and some unspecified forms. This ichnofauna is very comparable to the early Liassic footprint assemblage of the Connecticut.
Clastic deposits related to alluvial and estuarine environments sedimented during the early Liassic in the Veillon area (south of Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Vendée, France). A reptile fauna including various taxa, just known by innumerable footprints, lived in that environment, in rather hot and dry climatic conditions.
On the intertidal zone of Le Veillon at Talmond-Saint-Hilaire (Vendée, France), in 1963 Gilbert Bessonnat discovered traces of vertebrate footprints in a Hettangian formation. On March 28th & 29th, at this site a study session was held on the theme: "sites with vertebrate footprints on the Triassic-Jurassic limit". Palæontologists, palæobotanists, sedimentologists, hydrologists, scientific historians and naturalists compared their results and projected further research. This exceptional Vendée heritage site is to be protected and developed.
Anhand mikrolazieller, paläontologischer und sedimentologischer Untersuchungen wird die tempestitische Natur des oberen Teils der Zwischenbank (Mittelkimmeridge VII, Oberer Jura) am Kalkrieser Berg (SW-Niedersachsen) dargelegt. An der Oberkante der Kalkbank ist ein hardground ausgebildet, der erosiv Ireigelegt und anschließend besiedelt wurde. Das Milieu stellt sich als Ilachmarin und küsten nah dar. Die Arbeit ist die erste Beschreibung der Genese eines deutschen jurassischen hardgrounds s. s. und der erste Nachweis eines kalkigen oberjurassischen Tempestits.
Unter den Geschieben des Kies-Sand-Rückens ,Laer-Heide' (Landkreis Osnabrück) fand sich ein Geschiebe des ,grünlich-grauen Graptolithengesteins' mit Calymene orthomarginata SCHRANK 1970 und Leonaspis mutica (EMMRICH 1844) aus dem baltischen Silur. Es stammt vermutlich aus dem Gebiet der "North Mid-Sea Bank" SSW von Gotland und ESE der Südspitze Ölands. Stratigraphisch ist es dem Bereich des Unterwenlock bis unteren Oberwen lock zuzuordnen. Nach einem kurzen Überblick über den Fossilinhalt des Geschiebes und der systematischen Einordnung der gefundenen Trilobitentaxa werden folgende Larvalstadien von Trilobiten beschrieben: 1 Paraprotaspis-Stadium eines Odontopleuriden, das wahrscheinlich Leonaspis mutica zuzuordnen ist, 1 nahezu vollständiges frühes Meraspis-Stadium und eine Reihe frühmeraspider und spätmeraspider Cranidien und Pygidien, die Calymene orthomarginata zugeordnet werden. Abschließend werden einige Beobachtungen zur Ontogenie von Calymene orthomarginata während der meraspiden Phase dargelegt.
Der erste Insektenrest (linker Vorder- und Hinterflügel) aus Gesteinen des Westfalium D (Ober-Karbon = Silesium) vom Piesberg N'Osnabrück wird als Erasipterella piebergensis n. g. n. sp. beschrieben und abgebildet. Er gehört in die nächste Verwandtschaft der ältesten bekannten Libellen-Gattung Erasipteron (Ordnung Odonata; Unterordnung Meganisoptera), unterscheidet sich von dieser aber vornehmlich durch die wesentlich kleineren Ausmaße, den weniger schlanken Flügel-Umriß und die stärkere Auflösung der hinteren Anal- Adern in Zellen-Reihen. In dem letztgenannten Merkmal ist Erasipterella n. g. weniger ursprünglich als ihre vermutliche Ahnenform Erasipteron und weist schon in Richtung moderner Typen der Odonata. Das Exemplar vom Pies berg ist der zweite Nachweis dieser Unterordnung aus dem westdeutschen Ober-Karbon.
Xiphosuriden (Schwertschwänze) sind in einigen Fazies-Bereichen des Ober- Karbons (Silesium) recht weit verbreitet und an einigen wenigen FundsteIlen sogar häufig. Im paralisehen Ober-Karbon West-Deutschlands sind sie jedoch sehr selten. Vor kurzem ist nun ein neues Opisthosoma der Xiphosuren-Gattung Euproops in Gesteinen des Westfalium 0 vom Piesberg nördlich Osnabrücks gefunden worden, das wahrscheinlich konspezifisch ist mit den 4 schon früher an derselben Lokalität aufgesammelten Stücken (BÖLSCHE 1875; BOEKSCHOTEN 1968). Die Erhaltung aller Stücke vom Piesberg erlaubt jedoch keine genauere Bestimmung als Euproops sp. In diesem Zusammenhang wird auch darauf hingewiesen, daß noch erhebliche Schwierigkeiten hinsichtlich der infragenerischen Systematik von Euproops bestehen, da noch nicht genügend bekannt ist über die spezifische Variabilität und Ontogenie dieser merkmalsarmen Gattung. Nach den neuen Untersuchungen über die Lebensweise von Euproops danae durch FISHER (1979) dürfte auch die Euproops-Form vom Piesberg weitgehend subaerisch gelebt haben.
An der Basis einer Brekzie aus zechsteinzeitlichen Karbonatgesteinen konnten auf dem Hüggel-Horst Sedimente mit mariner Fauna (Ober-Miozän: Langenfelde-Gram) beobachtet werden. Ihre Fossilführung und Petrographie wird beschrieben. Sie sind in Höhlen, die bei Subrosion von Zechstein-Sulfaten entstanden, im küstennahen Bereich des Miozän-Meeres eingespült und abgelagert worden. Sie belegen, daß der Hüggel-Horst schon im Miozän gehoben und bis auf die Zechstein-Gesteine abgetragen worden war.
Eine Lagerstätte kreidezeitlicher und paläogener Chondrichthyes-Reste bei Fürstenau (Niedersachsen)
(1979)
Aus einer durch Glaziotektonik verstellten Kiesbank innerhalb einer Folge mariner Sedimente bei Fürstenau wird eine 49 Arten umfassende Liste von Chondrichthyes genannt. Diese Fauna enthält Arten des Campans, Oberpaläozäns und Unter- bis Mitteleozäns. Die Entstehung dieser Kiesbank könnte einerseits einer Transgressionsphase oder andererseits einer Kondensation verbunden mit der Erosion von Folgen des oben genannten Alters während des Lediums zugeschrieben werden. Diese Kiesbank besitzt in Oldenburg und im Emsland eine weite Verbreitung.
Die Knochenansammlung im grauen vulkanischen Tuff der Südserengeti gibt als ökologisch unmögliches
Gemisch ein gutes Abbild des Gesamtbestandes und des Lebensraumes der altquartärcn ost- und innerafrikanischen Fauna. Diese lebte formenreich in Urwald, Savanne und offener Steppe. Das Fehlen wasserlebender Tiere ist hier auf örtliche Umstände zurückzuführen: die vulkanischen Aschen gingen auf Steppenboden nieder, Die benachbarten, ungefähr gleichalten Knochenlager enthalten solche Tiere. Neu ist an der Serengetifauna der bereits beträchtliche Anteil von Kleinsäugern (Nager; Insektivoren fehlen noch). Diese wird weitere Forschung vermehren. Die klimatische Entsprechung der Fauna wird in tropischen, feuchtwarmen Bedingungen erblickt. Obwohl viele tertiäre Formen enthaltend, wird die Fauna nicht als jungtertiär angesehen, sondern wegen des Auftretens moderner· Formen als eine Tiergesellschaft, welche das Quartär eröffnet. Als Leitfossil für dessen Beginn wird der Gattung Archidiskodon, aus welcher die echten Elefanten, darunter auch der afrikanische (Loxodonta africana ) entstanden sind, vor den Equiden der Vorzug gegeben.
Ostafrika, das ja als Tierparadies schlechthin gilt, lebte bis vor kurzem noch im Quartär. Das Schrifttum über seine Tierwelt scheint zwar fast unermeßlich groß, aufs Ganze gesehen ist das Wissen weder tief noch auch nur oberflächlich vollständig. Die Hauptleistung des "weißen Mannes" bestand in der Störung und Vernichtung der Fauna. Aber die Natur ist groß; sie hält noch einen Schatz im Inneren ihrer Gebirge bereit, damit der Mensch seine Stellung zu ihr und den Sinn seines Lebens ergründe, einen von vielen: dle quartäre Lebewelt selbst. Möge die hohe Aufgabe, ihn zu heben, uns Deutschen vergönnt sein! Eine Probe hat Dr. KOHL-LARSEN gesichert.
Fossile Libellen sind eine echte paläontoloqische Rarität. Wenn man außerdem noch von ihnen erwartet, daß sie besonders gut erhalten sind, dann werden sie zu wahren wissenschaftlichen Kostbarkeiten. Sowohl der Paläontologe als auch der Zoologe sind deshalb gleichermaßen angetan von dem einzigartigen Fossilmaterial (Abb. 1), das sich durch viele Seitenblicke auf die Formenvielfalt rezenter Libellen, ihre Morphologie, ihre Lebensweise, kurzum ihre gesamte Biologie, wieder "zu neuem Leben erwecken" läßt.
Aus dem Obercampan von Münster und Umgebung werden neben 5 biostratigraphisch leitenden Foraminiferen noch 9 Arten beschrieben und abgebildet, die bisher in N-Deutschland nur aus der höchsten Oberkreide und dem Dan publiziert worden sind. Viele der letztgenannten Foraminiferen sind in den Ablagerungen der Tethys häufig, sogar in der Oberkreide unterhalb des Maastricht.
An Hand der im einzelnen dargelegten Anschauungen der pflanzlichen Gesellschaftslehre der Neobotanik wird das Vorhaben verfolgt, gleichartige Wege für die Beantwortung soziologischer Fragen bei fossilen Floren auf paläobotanischer Grundlage zu finden. Geologisch-historisch ergeben sich dabei zwei Probleme, welche dem Neobotaniker als Zeitgenossen seiner Objekte unbekannt sind und für ihn aus der heute vorliegenden Situation gar nicht entstehen können. Um paläobotanische Soziologie überhaupt betreiben zu können, sind für die Realität einer fossilen Pflanzengemeinschaft erst zwei Voraussetzungen zu gewinnen: die Synchronie, die regionale Gleichaltrigkeit der Gesteinsschicht, in oder auf der die fossile Flora bis heute konserviert wurde, der Individuums beg riff, der erst auf Grund der jetzigen Fundumstände geprägt werden kann. Unter Auswertung von Untertage-Vorkommen von fossilreichen Pflanzenschichten im gefalteten Westfal A und B des mittleren und nördlichen Ruhrgebietes wurde von zwei Mitarbeitern des Autors eine größere Anzahl von Synchronen ermittelt und unter Formung und Präzisierung des Individuumsbegriffes die Möglichkeit qeschaffen. die Paläosoziologie für einen Teil der oberkarbonischen Pflanzenwelt der euramerischen Floraprovinz zu erarbeiten.
Zum ersten Male wird berichtet über nicht-marine Muschelgesellschaften mit mehr als 170 Exemplaren. Die Mehrzahl stammt aus dem Hangenden des Flözes Dreibänke, einige Funde kommen aus dem Hangenden des Flözes Bänkchen und Zweibänke (Unteres Westfal D) des Piesberges. Die Muscheln gehören alle der Gattung Anthraconaia an und wurden unter fluvio-Iakustrinen Bedingungen abgelagert.
Ein "Taqesaufschluß", aufgeschürft bei Baggerarbeiten an der Straßenböschung E Niedermoschel/Pfalz, erbrachte den ersten Nachweis von Limuliden im saarpfälzischen Unter-Rotliegenden. Die Funde werden als neue Art beschrieben und einer neuen Gattung zugeordnet: Palatinaspis beimbaueri n.g. et n.sp. Eine aus dem Stefanium der Halleschen Mulde als Pringlia fritschi W. & R. REMY 1959 beschriebene Art wird in die neue Gattung einbezogen.
Während die klassische Darstellungsweise der Paläontologie stets vom Niederen zum Höheren und vom Alteren zum Jüngeren führt, entspricht die Fragestellung der paläontologischen Forschung einem vergleichenden Hin und Her zwischen den Lebensformen der Gegenwart und der Vergangenheit. Die folgende Darstellung versucht dem dadurch Ausdruck zu verleihen, daß die Gegenwart in ihr nicht nur als Ziel des Ausblicks, sondern auch als Ausgangspunkt der Betrachtung fungiert.
The first fossil cyphophthalmid harvestman (Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi) from Palaeogene (Eocene) Baltic amber is described. This is only the third fossil example of this basal harvestman lineage; the others being from the probably slightly younger Bitterfeld amber and the much older, early Cretaceous, Myanmar (Burmese) amber. Although incomplete and lacking most of the appendages, the new Baltic amber fossil can be identified as a female. The somatic characters preserved, especially spiracle morphology and the coxo-genital region, allow it to be assigned with some confidence to the extant genus Siro Latreille, 1796 (Sironidae). This fossil is formally described here as Siro balticus sp. nov. It resembles modern North American Siro species more than modern European ones, and can be distinguished principally on its relatively large size and the outline form of the body.
Ein neuer isolierter Insekten-Flügel aus dem Westfalium D vom Piesberg N' Osnabrück gehört zu einer neuen Art: Aspidothorax aestatis n. sp. (Megasecoptera: Aspidothoracidae). Diese ist nahe verwandt mit Aspidothorax triangularis BRONGNIART 1894 aus dem Stephanium B von Commentry (Zentral-Frankreich), unterscheidet sich aber vor allem durch (1) den weniger deutlich markierten Apex, (2) die breitere Praeradial-Area, (3) die ungeteilten Adern MP- und CuP- sowie (4) die unregelmäßiger angeordneten Queradern.
Die Faunenhorizonte der "Subfurcaten-Schichten" (Bajocium, Niortense-Zone) in Nordwestdeutschland
(1992)
Aufgrund neuer Aufschlüsse der "Subfurcaten-Schichten" (Bajocium, Niortense- Zone) in Nordwestdeutschland ist es möglich, die Schichtenfolge in Ammonitenfaunen-Horizonte zu untergliedern. Eine paläontologische Revision der Ammonitengattung Strenoceras HYATTmit den Untergattungen Strenoceras HYATT(m) und Garantiana HYATT(M) wird durchgeführt.