Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo, Enrique Baquedano, Abel Moclan
et al.
The role of megafaunal exploitation in early human evolution remains debated. Occasional use of large carcasses by early hominins has been considered by some as opportunistic, possibly a fallback dietary strategy, and for others a more important survival strategy. At Olduvai Gorge, evidence for megafaunal butchery is scarce in the Oldowan of Bed I but becomes more frequent and widespread after 1.8 Ma in Bed II, coinciding with the emergence of Acheulean technologies, but not functionally related to the main Acheulian tool types. Here, we present the earliest direct evidence of proboscidean butchery, including a newly documented elephant butchery site (EAK). This shift in behavior is accompanied by larger, more complex occupation sites, signaling a profound ecological and technological transformation. Rather than opportunistic scavenging, these findings suggest a strategic adaptation to megafaunal resources, with implications for early human subsistence and social organization. The ability to systematically exploit large prey represents a unique evolutionary trajectory, with no direct modern analogue, since modern foragers do so only episodically.
José S. Carrión, Yolanda Carrión-Marco, Carmen M. Martínez-Varea
et al.
This article presents new data from Cueva del Arco and offers a comprehensive perspective on the palaeoenvironments inhabited by Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the interior of Murcia, southeastern Spain, during the Mousterian and Gravettian periods. We focus on the ecological structure and floristic composition of prehistoric landscapes, drawing on pollen records from coprolites and cave sediments, as well as charcoal and plant macroremains, particularly seeds. Vertebrate assemblages are discussed through taphonomic and paleoecological lenses. Our results show that the landscapes surrounding Cueva del Arco during MIS 3 underwent only limited changes despite climatic fluctuations, likely buffered by nearby glacial strongholds, such as immediate riverine hydrorefugia and biodiversity reservoirs in the Segura-Cazorla-Alcaraz Mountains. We highlight the coexistence of plant species with currently disparate bioclimatic affinities, suggesting a compression of vegetation belts. Locally, under the edaphic influence of lithosols overlying karstic bedrock, the landscape remained open, with scattered trees or small groves on deeper soils. Notably, Cupressaceae were a dominant feature of the local vegetation and constituted a critical resource for firewood, supporting human adaptation to the environment. In this resilient and ecologically diverse setting, Paleolithic populations had access to a wide variety of plant and animal resources essential for their survival.
Mohamed El Ouali, Lahcen Kabiri, Badre Essafraoui
et al.
The Tinghir-Dades-Imilchil area is a geosite of high scientific, educational, and touristic values in the Draa-Tafilalet Region, Southeast Morocco. It has a rich geodiversity, including mountain ranges, plains, deserts, plateaus, and coasts, offering geomorphological and panoramic views, oases, lacks, and unique geological features (e.g., structural geology, sedimentology, petrography, paleontology, and hydrogeology). This paper focuses on the inventory and quantitative assessment of 25 sites of geological interest using the global methodology based on scientific value (SV), potential educational use (PEU) and potential touristic use (PTU), and degradation risk (DR) of each site. Indeed, SV is very high for 15 sites, high for 9 sites, and moderate for 1 site; PEU is very high for 21 sites and high for 4 sites; PTU is very high for 8 sites and high for 17 sites; and DR is high for 10 sites and moderate for 15 sites. Thus, 15 geosites (sites with very high SV values) and 10 geodiversity sites (sites with very high PEU or PTU values) are identified. These sites show highly significant scientific, educational, and touristic potentialities that should be valued and protected from degradation. Our work fits in well with the National Program of the Geology of Morocco-2030 strategy and the UNESCO directives, which aim at the inventory, awareness, valorization, and preservation of geological heritage. In addition, identifying and valuing these sites will help increase the area's attractiveness, preserve the environment, and protect and enhance the region's geological history by introducing the geoheritage concept into its local and regional development plans. Suggested recommendations for their valorization and preservation constitute a valuable tool for local stakeholders to program their future sustainable actions and to improve the living conditions of the local population by creating new employment opportunities.
The Middle and Upper Jurassic sequence near Foza (Asiago plateau; Venetian Alps) is characterized by important hiatuses. The relevant deposits are furthermore often found as sedimentary dikes, filling up fractures in the underlying carbonatic platform of the Calcari Grigi, Middle Liassic in age in the uppermost levels.
The normal Middle and Upper Jurassic sequence includes, aver the Calcari Grigi the following formations: Lower Rosso Ammonitico Veronese and "Lumachella a Posidonia alpina", both Middle Jurassic in age; "Scisti ad Aptici", Upper Rosso Ammonitico Veronese and the basal part of the "Biancone", Upper Jurassic in age.
In the Foza area the stratigraphic sequence changes quite rapidly in very short distances, with hiatuses involving one or more of the above mentioned formations. The presence of these hiatuses and of sedimentary dikes is in agreement with the location of the studied area near the edge of the "Trento plateau" during the Jurassic.
A fossil assemblage was collected from a sedimentary dike near Lazzaretti of Foza. It consists of Brachiopods, Belemnites, Bivalves and Crinoid remains. Brachiopods are prevailing both in specimens and species number; among them 6 species, even if generally poorly preserved have been determined and described.
In this paper, I will briefly discuss the elements of novelty and continuity between twentieth-century paleobiology and twenty-first-century paleontology. First, I will outline the heated debate over the disciplinary status of paleontology in the mid-twentieth century. Second, I will analyze the main theoretical issue behind this debate by considering two prominent case studies within the broader paleobiology agenda. Third, I will turn to twenty-first century paleontology and address five representative research topics. In doing so, I will characterize twenty-first century paleontology as a science that strives for more data, more technology, and more integration. Finally, I will outline what twenty-first-century paleontology might inherit from twentieth-century paleobiology: the pursuit of and plea for a new synthesis that could lead to a second paleobiological revolution. Following in the footsteps of the paleobiological revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the paleobiological revolution of the twenty-first century would enable paleontologists to gain strong political representation and argue with a decisive voice at the “high table” on issues such as the expanded evolutionary synthesis, the conservation of Earth’s environment, and global climate change.
Abstract The Smithian–Spathian boundary (SSB) crisis played a prominent role in resetting the evolution and diversity of the nekton (ammonoids and conodonts) during the Early Triassic recovery. The late Smithian nektonic crisis culminated at the SSB, ca. 2.7 Myr after the Permian–Triassic boundary mass extinction. An accurate and high-resolution biochronological frame is needed for establishing patterns of extinction and re-diversification of this crisis. Here, we propose a new biochronological frame for conodonts that is based on the Unitary Associations Method (UAM). In this new time frame, the SSB can thus be placed between the climax of the extinction and the onset of the re-diversification. Based on the study of new and rich conodont collections obtained from five sections (of which four are newly described here) in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China, we have performed a thorough taxonomical revision and described one new genus and 21 new species. Additionally, we have critically reassessed the published conodont data from 16 other sections from South China, and we have used this new, standardized dataset to construct the most accurate, highly resolved, and laterally reproducible biozonation of the Smithian to early Spathian interval for South China. The resulting 11 Unitary Association Zones (UAZ) are intercalibrated with lithological and chemostratigraphical (δ13Ccarb) markers, as well as with ammonoid zones, thus providing a firm basis for an evolutionary meaningful and laterally consistent definition of the SSB. Our UAZ8, which is characterized by the occurrence of Icriospathodus ex gr. crassatus, Triassospathodus symmetricus and Novispathodus brevissimus, is marked by a new evolutionary radiation of both conodonts and ammonoids and is within a positive peak in the carbon isotope record. Consequently, we propose to place the SSB within the separation interval intercalated between UAZ7 and UAZ8 thus leaving some flexibility for future refinement and updating. ZooBank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:12326FE6-79DD-43A8-9421-26C3883FBE2E
The extinct ray-finned fish taxon Robustichthys luopingensis from Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China represents the largest holostean known in the Middle Triassic. Despite its potential significance for investigating the holostean phylogeny and reconstructing the Triassic marine ecosystems, Robustichthys has so far not been described in detail and its phylogenetic position within the Holostei was controversy. This study provides a redescription and revision of Robustichthys based upon a comparative study of eight type specimens and nine new specimens. Newly recognized information includes a toothed parasphenoid, a pair of premaxillae not pierced by the olfactory nerve, a splint-like quadratojugal, a hatchet-shaped hyomandibula, an hourglass-shaped symplectic, anterior and posterior ceratohyals, a complete series of branchiostegal rays, and sclerotic bones. A revised reconstruction of Robustichthys is presented. Results of a cladistic analysis confirmed Robustichthys as an ionoscopiform within the Halecomorphi; the previous placements of Robustichthys as a basal ginglymodian and Ionoscopidae as a basal amiiform clade are not supported. The sister group relationship between Sinamiinae (Sinamia and Ikechaoamia) and Amiinae (Amia and Cyclurus) within the Amiidae is newly recognized. This revised topology provides new insights into the evolution and historical paleoecology of halecomorph fishes.
Bu çalışmada; Alveolina D’
Orbigny, 1826 cinsi ve onun Alveolina (Alveolina) d’Orbigny, 1826 ve Alveolina (Glomalveolina)
Hottinger, 1960 altcinsleri, tekrar incelenmiş ve tanımları yapılmıştır. Alveolina
(Alveolina)=Alv. (Alv.) ve Alveolina (Glomalveolina)=Alv. (Glomalv.)
altcinslerinin sistematikleride yeniden gözden geçirilmiş veya revize
edilmiştir. Alv. (Glomalv.) bir altcinstir ve Cins (?) değildir. Çünkü bu iki
altcinsin mikrosferik (fB) formlarının, tüm cins (generic) özellikleri aynıdır.
Bu yüzden, Alveolina D’ Orbigny, 1826 ve Glomalveolina Hottinger, 1960, ayrı
ayrı veya farklı iki Cins (?) gibi kullanılamaz. Eğer kullanılır ise: o zaman
sistematik paleontoloji bölümünde Glomalveolina, Alveolina’nın sinonimi olur.
Bu yüzden Alv. (Alv.) ve Alv (Glomalv.) birer altcinstir ve bu altcinsler
arasındaki yapısal farklılık; sadece ve sadece makrosferik (fA) formlarında
görülür. Ayrıca bugüne kadar “Glomalveolina”yı cins (?) olarak tanımlayan
çalışmaların hiçbirinde “Glomalveolina” Cinsinin (?) tanımı yapılmamıştır. Buna
rağmen Alv. (Glomalv.) çok sayıda yazar tarafından ”Cins (?) Glomalveolina Hottinger,
1960 veya 1962” olarak kullanılmıştır.
Ziphiidae (beaked whales) are a successful family of medium- to large-sized
toothed whales. Their extant members perform regular deep dives beyond the
photic zone to forage for cephalopods and fish. Conversely, extinct
long-snouted stem ziphiids are interpreted as epipelagic predators. However,
some aspects of this hypothesis remain unclear due to the lack of clear
morphological proxies for recognizing regular deep divers.
<br><br>
We compared the forelimb, neck, and pterygoid sinus system of the fossil
ziphiid <i>Messapicetus gregarius</i> with those of other odontocetes to evaluate the potential of these
body regions as proxies to assess deep-diving specialization. The
reconstructed musculature of the neck and forelimb of <i>M. gregarius</i> was also compared
with that of other odontocetes. We also quantified variation in the
proportions of the forelimb and the hamular fossa of the pterygoid sinus
(HF) using 16 linear measurements. The degree of association between diving
behaviour in extant odontocetes and these measurements was evaluated with and
without phylogenetic correction.
<br><br>
Reconstruction of the neck musculature suggests that <i>M. gregarius</i>
possessed a neck more flexible than most extant ziphiids due to the lower
degree of fusion of the cervical vertebrae and the large insertions for the
M. longus colli and Mm. intertransversarii ventrales cervicis. While neck
rigidity might be related to deep diving, differences in neck flexibility
among extant ziphiids indicate a more complex functional interpretation. The
relationship between forelimb morphology and diving behaviour was not
significant, both with and without phylogenetic correction, suggesting that it cannot be used to assess deep-diving
abilities
with the parameters considered here. Measurements of the HF revealed successful to evaluate deep-diving
abilities in odontocetes, with an enlargement of this structure in deep
divers. Considering other evidence that suggests an epipelagic behaviour, we
propose different scenarios to explain the observation of an enlarged HF in
<i>M. gregarius</i>: (1) this species may have fed at different depths; (2)
it performed deep dives to avoid potential predators; or (3) the enlarged HF
and deep-diving habitat correspond to an ancestral condition, with <i>M. gregarius</i> returning to a more epipelagic habitat.
Gonzalo D. Sottile, Yamila S. Giaché, María M. Bianchi
Resumen. La ecología de incendios es una actividad interdisciplinaria concerniente al estudio de los procesos naturales que involucran fuego en los ecosistemas y su interacción con los componentes bióticos y abióticos. Numerosos estudios orientados al conocimiento de la evolución de los ecosistemas naturales y humanos bajo la influencia recurrente del fuego atraviesan el trabajo interdisciplinario en el marco de la Ecología y de las Ciencias de la Tierra. El efecto de los incendios naturales y antrópicos en la evolución del paisaje, su impacto en las comunidades de bosque y la respuesta de los ecosistemas a los incendios son temas de debate y deben ser evaluados en diferentes escalas, tanto temporales como espaciales. En este trabajo se presentan algunos ejemplos que ponen en evidencia en qué medida la metodología aplicada al estudio de la producción, dispersión y depositación del carbón vegetal sedimentario o charcoal en cuencas lacustres y humedales contribuye a dar respuestas a estos interrogantes, se realiza una actualización bibliográfica y se describen algunos ejemplos de los estudios a escala de siglos a milenios, realizados hasta el momento en el sur de América del Sur.
Palabras clave. Paleoecología. Palinología. Métodos de reconstrucción de la historia de incendios. Ecología del fuego. Holoceno. Pleistoceno Tardío.
Abstract. FIRE REGIME RECONSTRUCTION IN PATAGONIAN TEMPERATE ECOSYSTEMS BASED ON CHARCOAL AND POLEN RECORDS DURING THE LATE QUATERNARY. METHODOLOGICAL TRENDS, RESULTS AND PERSPECTIVES. Fire ecology is an interdisciplinary activity concerning the study of natural processes that involve fire interactions with biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystems. Numerous studies focused on the knowledge of the evolution of natural and human ecosystems under the recurrent influence of fire need the interdisciplinary work between Ecology and Earth Sciences. The effect of natural and anthropogenic fires on the evolution of the landscape, its impact on forest communities and the response of ecosystems to fires are topics for debate and should be evaluated at both temporal and spatial scales. In this paper we present some examples that show the extent to which the methodology applied to the study of the production, dispersion and deposition of sedimentary charcoal in lake basins and wetlands contributes to give answers to these debates. We also present some updated references and describe examples of these paleoecological studies focused at centuries to millennia scales in southern South America.
Key words. Paleoecology. Palynology. Fire history reconstruction methods. Fire ecology. Holocene. Late Pleistocene.
Ceratopsids (“horned dinosaurs”) are known from western North America and Asia, a distribution reflecting an inferred subaerial link between the two landmasses during the Late Cretaceous. However, this clade was previously unknown from eastern North America, presumably due to limited outcrop of the appropriate age and depositional environment as well as the separation of eastern and western North America by the Western Interior Seaway during much of the Late Cretaceous. A dentary tooth from the Owl Creek Formation (late Maastrichtian) of Union County, Mississippi, represents the first reported occurrence of Ceratopsidae from eastern North America. This tooth shows a combination of features typical of Ceratopsidae, including a double root and a prominent, blade-like carina. Based on the age of the fossil, we hypothesize that it is consistent with a dispersal of ceratopsids into eastern North America during the very latest Cretaceous, presumably after the two halves of North America were reunited following the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway.
The Umbria-Marche Apennines is an arcuate fold and thrust belt, built up during Upper Miocene-Pliocene. Folds and thrusts affect at the surface the sedimentary cover. The AA. examine the innermost ridge in the sector between M. Nerone to the north and M. Serano to the south. lt is made up of a dextral en-échelon set of periclines, whose axial trend is NW-SE to the north and N-S (sometimes NNE-SSW) to the south. The en-échelon set of periclines is externally enveloped by a thrust, bent in piane view.
As the basis of the Neogene evolution of the examined structure, the AA. propose two deformation episodes. In the first the development of frontal and oblique blind thrusts (affecting only the Calcare massiccio and Anidriti di Burano formations) are responsible for macrofolds and for their planimetrie distribution. The second one is due to NE thrusting along a thrust which probably reactivates the blind thrusts. In this moment of thrust the en-échelon set of periclines constitutes the hanging-wall of the thrust.
The eoorthid brachiopod Apheoorthina is reported for the first time from the Lower Ordovician of NW Argentina. It
is represented by a species similar to A. ferrigena from the Tremadocian of the Prague Basin, increasing the faunal affinities between the Central Andean Basin and the South European microcontinents, in particular the Bohemian region (Perunica). Nine out of the fourteen brachiopod genera reported from the Tremadocian of the Central Andean Basin (~64%) are shared with the Mediterranean region, four of which (~28%) have been recorded in the Prague Basin, and two (Kvania and Apheoorthina) are restricted to the Central Andes and Perunica. Dispersal pathways around Gondwana are analyzed in the light of major factors affecting large-scale distribution of brachiopods (environment, larval capacity for dispersal, oceanic currents). The presence in Apheoorthina aff. ferrigena of a well-preserved larval protegulum measuring 420 μm in width and 210 μm in length strongly suggests that this species had planktotrophic larvae capable of long-distance dispersal. According to recent ocean-atmosphere general circulation models for the Ordovician Period, the Central Andean margin was dominated by the cold-water Antarctica Current. Despite the complex non-zonal pattern produced by current deflections around the peri-Gondwanan microcontinents, the general westward circulation sense favoured larval dispersal from the Andean region to North Africa, Avalonia, the Armorican Terrane Assemblage, and Perunica. On the other hand, the eastwards flowing Gondwana Current connected the North Gondwana waters with the South American epicontinental seas, which could explain the reversed migration of some brachiopods.