Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia, JACOPO AMALFITANO, EVELYN KUSTATSCHER
et al.
“Locality 84” is a new Konservat-Lagerstätte from the Friuli Carbonate Platform (NE Italy) preserving articulated fish skeletons and plant fossils. The fossil assemblage was collected in a carbonate olistolith of one of the megabeds characterising the upper Palaeocene-lower Eocene Grivò Flysch Formation in the Julian Prealps. Fish remains are dominant, but plant fossils form one third of the assemblage. The Late Cretaceous age of the “locality 84” olistolith is supported by the presence of the conifer Frenelopsis along with a plant fossil assemblage dominated by angiosperm leaves, by the rarity of acanthomorph teleosts represented by primitive forms and by the presence of pycnodontine pycnodontiforms. Further evidence (e.g., the affinity of some angiosperm leaves) suggests a Campanian-Maastrichtian age. The fossil assemblage differs from other similar fossil assemblages from the Cretaceous of the Friuli Carbonate Platform due to the extreme rarity of both shelled and non-shelled invertebrates, rarity of conifer shoots, a dominance of pycnodontiforms and basal non-acanthomorph teleosts (elopiforms, gonorhynchiforms, pachyrhizodontoids and putative albuliforms) in the ichthyofauna, with few acanthomorphs, no clupeomorphs, and no needlefish-like aulopiforms and chondrichthyans. The environment of deposition of the sediments containing the fossils may be a tidal flat or a restricted water body in the inner part of the Friuli Carbonate Platform but with a connection to the open sea.
LI Chun-Xiao, TANG Jian-Rong, WANG Shi-Qi, WANG Lin-Chang, ZHENG Ying-Kai, DENG Ke, LIN Min, CHEN Run-Sheng, ZHOU Guo-Wu, CHEN Zhong-Yang
Stegolophodon is an age-informative genus of mammals that had a widespread distribution during the Neogene. This paper reports the discovery of Stegolophodon fossils from the Middle Miocene lower Fotan Formation at the Zhangpu locality, Fujian Province, China. This discovery represents the first evidence of Neogene proboscidean fossils in southeastern China. The newly found molar materials have low tooth crowns, very straight lophs/lophids, and an indistinct median sulcus. The mesoconelets and posterior cingulum are well-developed, while the second posterior pretrite central conule is significantly reduced. These specimens closely resemble Stegolophodon pseudolatidens in cheek tooth morphology, and can thus be attributed to the same species. This discovery fills a gap in the fossil record of large mammals in this region during the Neogene and provides valuable insights into the evolution of proboscideans and paleoenvironments.
Abstract The highly specialised dentitions of modern sharks enable them to exploit a wide range of food sources. Exceptional fossil preservation of three Late Devonian basal chondrichthyan taxa from the Anti-Atlas, Morocco, provides the unique opportunity to study these dentitions in detail, including their tooth histology, replacement patterns, and mineralisation sequences. Thin sections and CT-data of tooth files reveal a high histological diversity and evidence a noticeable disparity in mineralisation patterns early in chondrichthyan evolution. The presence of similar tooth histology and mineralisation patterns in phylogenetically and chronostratigraphically distant chondrichthyan taxa opposes a phylogenetic signal. Although the pseudoosteodont histotype is considered plesiomorphic, we found a high disparity regarding the arrangement of dental tissues in early chondrichthyans. Tooth size differences indicate slow tooth replacement rates for Ctenacanthus and Maghriboselache. Smaller differences in Phoebodus suggest an elevated rate. Tooth retention in Maghriboselache might constitute a precursor for the holocephalan evolution of tooth plates.
AbstractLower Carboniferous deposits of Kalmard area identified with informal Gachal formation which in different outcrops have different lithologic features. This formation is consists of four members A, B, C and D that predominantly consists of carbonate and evaporite rocks. In the Gachal section, the B, C, and D members are outcropped. Member B consist of 200 m massive to thick-bedded dolostone, C member 150 m white massive gypsum, and D member from 50 m carbonate deposits with intercalation of evaporite interlayers. The lower boundary is not exposed but the upper boundary with Khan Group is unconformable. In this paper, Member D, in the Godar-e-Gachal is investigated. Based on lithologic and microscopic studies, 20 carbonate microfacies are identified which belong to the tidal flat, open to the semi-restricted lagoon, bar/shoals and open marine sub-environments. Vertical changes of microfacies and depth change curve represent that the supratidal, intertidal and lagoonal microfacies are thicker than open marine microfacies. Member D of the Gachal formation were deposited in the homoclinal ramp that was situated in the southern margin of paleo-Tethys Ocean in the Visean–Serpukhovian? in the hot and dry climatic conditions that is comparable with the conditions of modern Persian Gulf homoclinal ramp. The Member D deposits of Gachal formation consist of three depositional sequences that differentiated with sequence boundary type 2. Relationships between Member D and C in the lower part and with Khan Group in the upper part are identified with sequence boundary type 1. The above-mentioned third depositional sequences shows the late Visean age that correlateable with the Kaskaskia IV supersequence. The boundary between Gachal formation and Khan Group is correlateable with falling of sea-level in the global scale in the late Visean–Serpukhovian? stages which represent a clear disconformity and erosional surface between Gachal formation and Khan stratigraphic Group.Keywords: Gachal formation; Kalmard area; Lower Carboniferous; Sequence stratigraphy IntroductionCentral Iran is one of the basic tectonostratigraphic and complicated units in the geology of Iran that is located in the center of Iran and has a triangle shape. The Kalmard Block is a little part of Central Iran that has a northeastern trend and is located between the Kalmard Fault in the east and Naeini Fault in the west. The Lower Carboniferous rocks in the Kalmard area mainly consist of carbonate rocks and a unit C of Gachal formation that is composed of approximately 170 m gypsum and anhydrite that the name of Gachal formation derived from this unit (Aghanabati 1977). Unit D of the Gachal formation is composed of carbonate rocks such as limestone, dolomitic limestone with intercalations of gypsum and red paleosoils and collapse breccias that the complete section of this unit is seen in the Godar-e-Gachal section studied in this paper. With respect to complete Unit D in the southern part of Kalmard area and a necessary of the study of sequence stratigraphy of Tournaisian–Visean strata in this part of Central Iran, this stratigraphic section has been selected. Materials & MethodsFor identification of microfacies characters and analysis, environmental conditions, and sequence stratigraphy of unit D of Gachal formation, the Godar-e-Gachal section has been selected that has 50.4 m thickness. With respect to thickness and lateral facies change, carbonate-evaporate sedimentary cycles and key stratal sequence stratigraphy surfaces. Thirty-two rock samples have been collected and 100 microscopic thin sections have been prepared. Classification and studies of carbonate rocks were conducted based on Dunham (1962) and reconstruction of the depositional environment was based on Walther’s law of correlation of facies (Walther, 1984 in Middleton 1973). Also, vertical and lateral facies changes and comparison with recent sedimentary environments were examined by using the standard carbonate platform models (Wilson 1975; Flügel 1982; Carozzi 1989; Burchette & Wright 1992). Discussion of Results & ConclusionsThe identified depositional sequences of Member D of the Gachal formation have a lot of similarities with global depositional sequences in the Early Carboniferous (Sloss 1988). By studying Member D of Gachal formation, the following results have been obtained:The thickness of unit D changes from north to south (22 to 98 m). In the Godar-e-Gachal section the thickness of Member D is 50.4 m. With respect to carbonate rocks and intercalation of gypsum beds, it seems that this member was deposited in the south of Kalmard mixed carbonate –siliciclastic platform, under hot and dry climatic conditions. Based on microscopic and field studies, microfacies types are deposited in the tidal flat, lagoon, bar and open marine sub-environments in the Klamard homoclinal platform in the lower Carboniferous was located in the passive margin of the southern part of the Gondwanaland. Member D of the Gachal formation consists of three depositional sequences that the first depositional sequence has sequence boundary type 2 in the lower part with gypsum of Member C, and the third depositional sequence has a sequence boundary type 1 in the upper part with the Khan formation which, indeed, is a disconformity and an erosional surface. Glacial events belong to the Milankovitch orbital forcing and tectonic processes, and are main factors for the formation of sedimentary cycles and depositional sequences of Member D of Gachal formation.
Desiree L. Roerdink, Francesca Vulcano, Jan-Kristoffer Landro
et al.
Microbial sulfate reduction is generally limited in the deep sea compared to shallower marine environments, but cold seeps and hydrothermal systems are considered an exception. Here, we report sulfate reduction rates and geochemical data from marine sediments and hydrothermal vent fields along the Arctic Mid Ocean Ridges (AMOR), to assess the significance of basalt-hosted hydrothermal activity on sulfate reduction in a distal deep marine setting. We find that cored marine sediments do not display evidence for sulfate reduction, apart from low rates in sediments from the Knipovich Ridge. This likely reflects the overall limited availability of reactive organic matter and low sedimentation rates along the AMOR, except for areas in the vicinity of Svalbard and Bear Island. In contrast, hydrothermal samples from the Seven Sisters, Jan Mayen and Loki’s Castle vent fields all demonstrate active microbial sulfate reduction. Rates increase from a few 10s to 100s of pmol SO42- cm-3 d-1 in active high-temperature hydrothermal chimneys, to 10s of nmol SO42- cm-3 d-1 in low-temperature barite chimneys and up to 110 nmol cm-3 d-1 in diffuse venting hydrothermal sediments in the Barite field at Loki’s Castle. Pore fluid and sediment geochemical data suggest that these high rates are sustained by organic compounds from microbial mats and vent fauna as well as methane supplied by high-temperature hydrothermal fluids. However, significant variation was observed between replicate hydrothermal samples and observation of high rates in seemingly inactive barite chimneys suggests that other electron donors may be important as well. Sediment sulfur isotope signatures concur with measured rates in the Barite field and indicate that microbial sulfate reduction has occurred in the hydrothermal sediments since the recent geological past. Our findings indicate that basalt-hosted vent fields provide sufficient electron donors to support microbial sulfate reduction in high- and low-temperature hydrothermal areas in settings that otherwise show very low sulfate reduction rates.
Science, General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution
ROMAIN BURLOT, LAURA CODORNIÚ, LENNA DEFEND
et al.
The hindlimb of pterosaurs has been much less studied than the pterosaur wing. However, it is relevant to understand the evolution, phylogeny and ecology of these animals. This study provides the first complete and detailed description of the ankle of Pterodaustro guinazui. It documents three ontogenetic stages observed for the fusion of the tibiotarsus: in the youngest specimens the proximal tarsals are not fused to the tibia; in the subadults the tibiotarsus is formed, but with the suture still visible; in the adults, the tibiotarsus is entirely formed, without any suture. The fusion between astragalus and calcaneum precedes tibiotarsal fusion, but in close succession. The medial condyle of the tibiotarsus is made up of the astragalus, and the lateral condyle is composed of the calcaneum and part of the astragalus. The distal tibiotarsus has three articular facets, the most medial of which seems to greatly restrict the flexion-extension movement, a feature atypical of pterosaurs. The lateral part of the distal tibiotarsus, on the contrary, allows a very wide range of movement. Pterodaustro guinazui seems to have had an asymmetrical ankle joint, which could facilitate movements linked to wading behavior. We describe juvenile specimens that retain discrete distal tarsals Ⅱ and Ⅲ (common in the “non-pterodactyloid” pterosaurs), but also more mature specimens with completely fused distal tarsals Ⅱ and Ⅲ (a condition always observed in the late pterodactyloids). Moreover, the lateral distal tarsal (LDT) appears more robust in Pterodaustro than in Peteinosaurus or Dimorphodon, but shares a waisted shape with these taxa, unlike the more robust shape of the LDT of late pterodacty-loids. The new information on the Pterodaustro ankle improves our anatomical knowledge of the basal Pterodactyloidea.
Seishiro Tada, Takanobu Tsuihiji, Ryoko Matsumoto
et al.
It has long been discussed whether non-avian dinosaurs were physiologically closer to ectotherms or endotherms, with the internal nasal structure called the respiratory turbinate present in extant endotherms having been regarded as an important clue for this conundrum. However, the physiological function and relevance of this structure for dinosaur physiology are still controversial. Here, we found that the size of the nasal cavity relative to the head size of extant endotherms is larger than those of extant ectotherms, with that of the dromaeosaurid Velociraptor being below the extant endotherms level. The result suggests that a large nasal cavity accommodating a well-developed respiratory turbinate is primarily important as a thermoregulation apparatus for large brains characteristic of endothermic birds and mammals, and the nasal cavity of Velociraptor was apparently not large enough to carry out this role required for an endothermic-sized brain. In addition, a hypothesis that the enlargement of the nasal cavity for brain cooling has been associated with the skull modification in the theropod lineage toward modern birds is proposed herein. In particular, the reduction of the maxilla in derived avialans may have coincided with acquisition of the avian-like cephalic thermoregulation system.
Cnidarians diverged very early in animal evolution; therefore, investigations of the morphology and trophic levels of early fossil cnidarians may provide critical insights into the evolution of metazoans and the origin of modern marine food webs. However, there has been a lack of unambiguous anthozoan cnidarians from Ediacaran assemblages, and undoubted anthozoans from the Cambrian radiation of metazoans are very rare and lacking in ecological evidence. Here, we report a new polypoid cnidarian, Nailiana elegans gen. et sp. nov., represented by multiple solitary specimens from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota (∼520 Ma) of South China. These specimens show eight unbranched tentacles surrounding a single opening into the gastric cavity, which may have born multiple mesenteries. Thus, N. elegans displays a level of organization similar to that of extant cnidarians. Phylogenetic analyses place N. elegans in the stem lineage of Anthozoa and suggest that the ancestral anthozoan was a soft-bodied, solitary polyp showing octoradial symmetry. Moreover, one specimen of the new polyp preserves evidence of predation on an epifaunal lingulid brachiopod. This case provides the oldest direct evidence of macrophagous predation, the advent of which may have triggered the emergence of complex trophic/ecological relationships in Cambrian marine communities and spurred the explosive radiation of animal body plans. Public summary: • Polypoid animal from early Cambrian of China is a stem-group anthozoan cnidarian • Anthozoan ancestor inferred to be soft-bodied, solitary polyp of octoradial symmetry • The new anthozoan provides the oldest direct evidence of macrophagous predation • Macrophagous predation may have triggered complex food webs in early Cambrian
Caline Pereira da Silva, Edson Alves de Araújo, Jessé de França Silva
et al.
The diversity of soils and environments in the Amazon demands studies that improve the information with regard to their use and management. The objective of this study was to characterize the morphological, physical and chemical attributes of soils originating from the Cruzeiro do Sul Formation, in the Juruá Valley, Acre. Five geological profiles were selected and physical (granulometry) and chemical analyses (pH in H2O, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+ and organic matter) were conducted, and samples of horizons and related layers were obtained. The soils showed intense deepening of the mantle of weathering, with predominance of orange and yellowish colors associated with 5 YR, 7.5 YR and 10 YR hues. Sandy clay-sandy texture was predominant, with higher proportions of fine sand at subsurface level. Acidity ranged from medium to high, with pH between 4.6 and 5.2. The levels of exchangeable bases were low, indicating the chemical poverty of the source material associated with sandy texture. The sandy texture also reflected in low levels of organic matter. Al3+ contents reached 12.05 cmolc.dm-3, which may generate phytotoxicity for plant development. CTC showed a positive correlation with Al3+ and exchangeable acidity. The soils originating from sediments of the Cruzeiro do Sul Formation present low natural fertility.
A micropaleontological and geochemical study of three Upper Pliocene—Lower Pleistocene laminated units from the Monte San Nicola section in southern Sicily was carried out in order to determine prevailing surface and bottom water conditions during their deposition. Although all three laminites are devoid of benthic foraminifera, the benthic assemblages present in the marls immediately below and above the laminites are diagnostic of oxygen—depleted bottom waters and suggest that anoxic conditions persisted during laminite deposition
On the basis of the results of former studies by the present authors five main groups of bears are recognized: Ursus gr. minimus - thibetanus (black bears), Ursus gr. etruscus (etruscan bears), Ursus gr. arctos (brown bears), Ursus gr. deningei - spelaeus (cave bears) and Ursus gr. maritimus (white bears). Black bears seem to have disappeared from Europe during the Late Pliocene, immigrated again at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, and definitively died out in Europe at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene. Etruscan bears occur more or less contemporaneously in the southern areas of Europe and Asia during the Late Pliocene. The Asian branch apparently became extinct at the end of this period, while the European stock survived, giving rise to more advanced representatives during the Early Pleistocene. Brown bears seem to have originated in Asia. This group dispersed widely in holoarctic areas diversifying into a great number of varieties. They reached Europe presumably at the very end of the Early Pleistocene. The arrival of brown bears in Europe is a crucial event, which approximately coincides with the great faunal turnover which marks the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition. Brown bears replaced the etruscan bears, typical of the Villafranchian faunal assemblages, and gave rise to the cave bear line. Cave bears were very successful in Europe during the Middle and Late Pleistocene and disappeared at the end of the last glaciation or even at the very beginning of the Holocene. White bears presumably originated from northern Eurasian brown bear populations during the Late Pleistocene.
Jose Luis SAORIN PÉREZ, Cecile MEIER, Carolina RUIZ CASTILLO
et al.
In many educational settings, the use of tangible objects is used to enhance learning (models, replicas of art works, fossils...). When knowledge is disseminated through virtual environments, sometimes, the value of these tangible objects is lost. The new low-cost technologies allow solving this problem, enabling teachers to include in their virtual classroom the access and manipulation of threedimensional objects. This article describes the process of creation and dissemination of a three-dimensional, interactive educational content for learning in a virtual environment. As a practical study, we have worked on the Canary marine fossil heritage. The fossils are used as tangible material in paleontology teaching, however they are not available for work outside the classroom. For this work, it has been digitized in 3D a selection of 18 fossils. 3D files obtained are available to students in an online environment, allowing download, multi-touch display and interaction on mobile devices. In addition, if the student prefers, they can print them using a 3D printer. Finally, there has been an experience with 70 university students who, after accessing to the online files, responded to a questionnaire to assess the made materials.
The neoichnology of the freshwater mussel Anodonta (Sinanodonta) woodiana (Lea, 1834) is examined herein in some continental environments of Umbria (central Italy), such as lake-margin and river dam-margin settings. This study, based on analysis of about 200 traces, reveals that this mussel burrows employing two types of behaviours: bulldozing which produces horizontal meanders to straight bilobate traces, often filled with peloidal faecal pellets (pseudofaeces and backfill), and resting (vertical stationary into substrate) while filter feeding. A new type of very soft substrate, the ‘cloudground’ is proposed. It is placed at the water-sediment interface, above the soupground. After four years of observation, the cloudground was buried with shells and traces, preserving through the fossilization barrier about 20% of the Anodonta traces. This bivalve activity is a useful tool to recognize preservation of mud in quiet environments and parallels ichnological evidence of unknown epichnial trace fossils in the continental realm. Cloudground with resting traces must be investigated also in modern marine basin floor environments where cloud of mud dominates and considered also in geological record.
A chaetetid sponge and coral fauna from a Carboniferous exotic limestone block in the Lower Jurassic Esciorda olistostrome on the Bodrak River (Crimean Mountains) are described for the first time. The Bodrak exotic block is composed of massive limestone. It contains the chaetetid Chaetetes (Boswellia) sp., the tabulate coral Multithecopora sp., and poorly preserved rugose corals, including Dibunophyllum? sp., Cordibia? sp. and gen. et sp. indet. Only the fasciculate colonies of the rugose coral Lytvophyllum askynensis (Kossovaya, 2009) are confidently identified. The studied association of fossils is similar to that of the Donets Basin and the Urals and confirms the Lower Bashkirian age of the Bodrak limestone block.
Alessandro Garassino, Giovanni Pasini, Antonio De Angeli
et al.
We report a rich faunal assemblage from the Tyrrhenian (Late Pleistocene) of Trumbacà, located in the southern area of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). The only brachyuran reported to date from this locality is Ranilia constricta (A. Milne Edwards, 1880) by Vazzana (2008). The studied specimens have been assigned, as follows: ?Corallianassa sp., Dardanus arrosor (Herbst, 1796), Dardanus substriatus (A. Milne Edwards, 1861), Paguristes cf. P. syrtensis de Saint Laurent 1970, Anapagurus sp., Ranilia constricta (A. Milne Edwards, 1880), Ranina propinqua Ristori, 1891, Ebalia cf. E. deshayesi Lucas, 1846, Ilia nucleus (Linnaeus, 1758), Medorippe lanata (Linnaeus, 1767), Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1758), Pisa armata (Latreille, 1803), Derilambrus cf. D. angulifrons (Latreille, 1825), Atelecyclus undecimdentatus (Herbst, 1783), Carcinus sp., Pilumnus hirtellus (Linnaeus, 1761), and Xantho cf. X. incisus (Leach, 1814). The studied assemblage enlarges our knowledge on the evolution of the Mediterranean decapod faunas.
Three succeeding assemblages of Early Tournaisian (Mississippian) ammonoids are described from Fezzou (Ma'der) in the Anti-Atlas of Morocco; they are, in ascending order, composed of the following genera: (1) Gattendorfia-Eocanites Assemblage: Acutimitoceras, Costimitoceras, Imitoceras, Kornia, Gattendorfia, Kazakhstania, and Eocanites; (2) Gattendorfia-Kahlacanites Assemblage: Acutimitoceras, Hasselbachia, Gattendorfia, Becanites, and Kahlacanites; and (3) Goniocyclus-Protocanites Assemblage: Globimitoceras, Imitoceras, Gattendorfia, Goniocyclus, Eocanites, and Protocanites. The following taxa are newly described: Globimitoceras rharrhizense n. sp., Acutimitoceras sarahae n. sp., A. endoserpens n. sp., A. pentaconstrictum n. sp., Costimitoceras aitouamar n. sp., Hasselbachia arca n. sp., Kornia citrus n. gen. n. sp., Gattendorfia lhceni n. sp., and G. gisae n. sp.Drei aufeinander folgende Vergesellschaftungen von Ammonoideen aus dem Tournaisium (Mississippium) werden von Fezzou (Ma'der) im Anti-Atlas von Marokko beschrieben; diese werden, in aufsteigender Reihenfolge, durch die folgenden Gattungen zusammen gesetzt: (1) Gattendorfia-Eocanites Assemblage: Acutimitoceras, Costimitoceras, Imitoceras, Kornia, Gattendorfia, Kazakhstania und Eocanites; (2) Gattendorfia-Kahlacanites Assemblage: Acutimitoceras, Hasselbachia, Gattendorfia, Becanites und Kahlacanites; und (3) Goniocyclus-Protocanites Assemblage: Globimitoceras, Imitoceras, Gattendorfia, Goniocyclus, Eocanites und Protocanites. Die folgenden Taxa werden neu beschrieben: Globimitoceras rharrhizense n. sp., Acutimitoceras sarahae n. sp., A. endoserpens n. sp., A. pentaconstrictum n. sp., Costimitoceras aitouamar n. sp., Hasselbachia arca n. sp., Kornia citrus n. gen. n. sp., Gattendorfia lhceni n. sp. und G. gisae n. sp.doi:10.1002/mmng.200700003
Lepidorbitoides bisambergensis is characterised by having a ‘quadriserial’ embryo without any chamberlet directly arising from the deuteroconch and is a very diagnostic and common species in Lower Maastrichtian flysch successions in Anatolia. Some populations of this species present an early ontogenetic morphologic feature which is characterised by distinctly asymmetric early chamber arrangement recognised in the horizontal sections. This asymmetry is mainly caused by the pronounced difference in the size of auxiliary chamberlets which rest on both, protoconch and deuteroconch and also enhanced by the development of unequal number of chamberlets in the series arising from these auxiliary chamberlets on the protoconchal side. These asymmetric specimens are commonly identified in stratigraphic horizons below the symmetric ones after the introduction of a new auxiliary chamberlet and progressively replaced by symmetric ones in the younger populations. Asymmetric "quadriserial" specimens representing the early phylogenetic stage of L. bisambergensis described in the stratigraphic horizons corresponding to G. havanensis and G. aegyptiaca (?) zones are thought to deserve a particular taxonomic status and are attributed to Lepidorbitoides bisambergensis asymmetrica Özcan & Özkan-Altiner, 1999a.