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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
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.
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.
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.