Palaeontologia Electronica最新文献

{"title":"A vanished ecosystem: Sophora microphylla (Kōwhai) dominated forest recorded in mid-late Holocene rock shelters in Central Otago, New Zealand","authors":"M. Pole","doi":"10.26879/1169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1169","url":null,"abstract":"When European settlers first arrived in Central Otago, New Zealand, in the 1850s, they found much of the region to be semi-arid, rocky, and treeless – at least partly due to fires after the arrival of Polynesians in the late thirteenth century or early fourteenth century. The condition of the vegetation rapidly deteriorated with the European introduction of grazing mammals (including sheep and rabbits), leading to a situation now, where it is difficult to understand what the ‘original’ vegetation was. However, rock overhangs (termed ‘shelters’ in this paper) accumulated dried vegetation in the prehuman mid-late Holocene. Much of this material appears to have been transported into the shelters as roosting material by the extinct giant moa birds. This record of dried vegetation, and sometimes the coprolites scattered through it, is therefore an important source of information about the pre-human vegetation, as well as the diet of the moa. The present study analyses samples of mid-late Holocene dried leaf material from 115 rock shelters, identifying the taxa on the basis of epidermal details of the leaf cuticle. Based on it being the only large tree in the area now, and the nearly ubiquitous presence of its leaves in the shelters, the most important plant in the area is considered to have been Sophora microphylla. Based on the size of old, relict, ‘champion’, trees in the area now, it likely formed a forest with a continuous, but low (perhaps 14 m) and open canopy over the study area. Other trees which were present and are entirely absent (or almost so) from the area now include Pittosporum tenuifolium and Pseudopanax ferox. They suggest more closed canopy forest, perhaps in more localized areas, but were subordinate to Sophora. However, other common plants included Carmichaelia, Rubus, and Hebe lycopodioides that are more suggestive of lower, open vegetation. There is no indication of a conifer component or of ‘wetter’ forest trees such as Nothofagus and Griselinia. Cuticle within the largest associated coprolites indicate that moa (Aves, Dinornithiformes) was ingesting a similar range of plants as the shelter material. Of particular interest is that moa clearly ate Sophora microphylla, the first evidence for this. Together these data suggest a Central Otago ecosystem where a low Sophora microphylla forest predominated and was utilized and perhaps maintained by moa. POLE: VANISHED-ECOSYSTEM 2 Mike Pole. Queensland Herbarium, Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, Mt Coot-tha Rd, Toowong, Australia murihiku@yahoo.com","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69147626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Continuous character variation within the Glossopleura-Anoria-Sonoraspis plexus: Dolichometopid trilobites from the Cadiz Formation (Cambrian: Miaolingian, Wuliuan), California","authors":"J. Foster","doi":"10.26879/1173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1173","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69147810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Taphonomy of an Eocene micromammal assemblage in a lake-margin depositional setting elucidates an ancient food web","authors":"K. Vasileiadou, J. Hooker, M. Collinson","doi":"10.26879/1214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1214","url":null,"abstract":"The taphonomy of the micromammalian assemblage from an unusually widespread lake-margin depositional context in the early Priabonian How Ledge Limestone, Totland Bay Member, Headon Hill Formation, Isle of Wight, UK, was studied in order to understand its method of accumulation, the trophic interrelationships between species and families, and their spatial relationships in the palaeoenvironment. The fossil remains studied consist of mainly dissociated bones and teeth, belonging to 28 species, which show selective anatomical representation and characteristic types of damage (fragmentation, etching, puncture marks), which are documented quantitatively. Predation and scavenging were important factors in the accumulation of the assemblage, with little subaerial weathering. The main predators are identified as the mammals Paramiacis sp. and Amphiperatherium species B, both present as fossils and themselves also predated, plus two possible owls not represented in the fauna. Scavenging is attributed to the predators, plus glirids, possibly nyctitheres and insects. The accumulation of remains in the lake environment is interpreted to result from seasonal retreat and advance of the lake margin, with minimal hydraulic transport. Comparison is made with a previous study of a similar micromammalian assemblage in the younger Priabonian Osborne Member, whose depositional environment is a floodplain pond. The similarities and differences are assessed in the context of a similar assemblage, although with a different dominant mammalian predator. Low post-mortem transport in each case is shown to have resulted in the preservation of an assemblage, which closely reflects the original community with some of its key trophic interactions.","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69147895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Body mass divergence in sympatric deer species of Pleistocene Crete (Greece)","authors":"E. Besiou, Maria-Nefeli Choupa, George A. Lyras, Alexandra van der Geer","doi":"10.26879/1221","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1221","url":null,"abstract":"Adaptive radiations play a crucial role in macroevolutionary theory. Insular adaptive radiations of mammals are, however, rare and often insufficiently understood. We here investigate the disparity in body mass in an insular deer genus (Candiacervus), represented with eight species of the Pleistocene of Crete (Aegean Sea, Greece). Our results, taking derived body proportions into account, show the following mass distribution: 27.8 kg (C. ropalophorus), 41.5 kg (C. listeri, C. devosi, C. reumeri), 74.7 kg (C. cretensis), 105.9 kg (C. rethymnensis), 170.1 (C. dorothensis) and 245.4 kg (C. major). The reconstructed body mass range accounts for nearly one quarter of the total range of living and fossil Cervidae. The largest species of Cretan deer (C. major) is approximately eight times heavier than the smallest species (C. ropalophorus). This remarkable degree of body mass divergence, which is unique among Cervidae, apparently evolved under ecological release on a terrestrial predator-free island with limited inter-specific competition","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69147982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pinniped (Mammalia: Carnivora) fossils from Black Rock, a new late Neogene vertebrate locality in Victoria, Australia","authors":"J. Rule, E. Fitzgerald","doi":"10.26879/1235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1235","url":null,"abstract":"The fossil record of true seals (Family Phocidae) is notoriously poorly preserved, most notably in the Southern Hemisphere. This fossil record bias has made it difficult to assess whether populations of phocid species in the Southern Hemisphere remained resident in particular regions throughout deep time, with only the eastern South Pacific preserving a near-continuous fossil record. Here we report two new seal fossil remains from the late Miocene-early Pliocene of southeastern Australia, discovered from a new site, Black Rock. This is the fourth phocid fossil site in Australia, and the seventh in Australasia. The two fossils are referrable to the clades Pinnipedia and Monachinae. Combined with other recent fossil phocid finds in Australasia, this suggests that true seals were continuously present in the region at least throughout the Pliocene. This lends further support for the importance of Australasia in the global evolution of true seals.","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69148179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ammonoids and their biozonation across the Santonian-Campanian boundary in north-eastern Coahuila, Mexico","authors":"C. Ifrim, W. Stinnesbeck","doi":"10.26879/1046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1046","url":null,"abstract":"Fossil-rich shelf carbonates of Santonian-Campanian age are superbly exposed at Tepeyac near Jiménez, northern Coahuila, north-eastern Mexico. In this paper we describe 24 species of ammonoids assigned to 12 genera from this section. The 330 specimens were mostly recorded in situ and allow for a detailed biozonation of the section. We propose the first formal biozonation across the Santonian-Campanian boundary in the Gulf Coast region. The section yields abundant Parapuzosia assigned to P. (P.) seppenradensis and may thus correspond to one of the historical sites from which Böse and Cavins documented this giant ammonite ca. 90 years ago. The faunal assemblage provides evidence for repeated and increasing faunal exchange with Europe and southern latitudes, but also includes intervals of faunal cut-off and endemic evolution. The abundance of fossils, the excellent outcrop conditions, and biozonal completeness favor the use of the Tepeyac section as a potential reference section for the Santonian-Campanian boundary in the Americas. Christina Ifrim. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany current address: SNSB Jura-Museum, Burgstr. 19, 85072 Eichstätt, Germany, ifrim@snsb.de Wolfgang Stinnesbeck. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. wolfgang.stinnesbeck@geow.uni-heidelberg.de alternative address: Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Centro en Geociencias Aplicadas, Nueva Rosita, México.","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42025544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Taxonomic utility of Early Cretaceous Australian plesiosaurian vertebrae","authors":"V. Vakil, G. Webb, A. Cook","doi":"10.26879/1095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1095","url":null,"abstract":"Despite their broad occurrence in Australian basins, lower-level taxonomy of Australian Early Cretaceous plesiosaurs is hindered by the scarcity of skulls and other diagnostic elements. This paper presents a morphological and morphometric analysis of the vertebrae of Australian plesiosaurs and a comparison with selected non-Australian elasmosaurids (basal elasmosaurs, styxosaurines, aristonectines). Biometric analysis involved measurements that include centrum height (CH), centrum width (CW), centrum length (CL), width of zygapophyses, and others. Principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were carried out on CH, CW, and CL. Morphometric ratios [Vertebral Length Index (VLI), Height Index (HI), and Breadth Index (BI)] were plotted along the length of the vertebral column and on bivariate graphs where the analysis is independent of vertebral position and correct sequencing. Direct comparison of homologous groups of vertebrae (especially anterior cervicals) easily distinguished an Australian polycotylid from all elasmosaurids in all plots. Most Australian elasmosaurid specimens plotted near basal ‘Cimoliasaurus’grade elasmosaurs, where they clustered as a group relatively distinct from, but overlapping coeval non-Australian forms. However, one specimen plotted consistently with the non-Australian styxosaurines and Opallionectes andamookaensis plotted with the aristonectines. Although it is not possible to distinguish phylogenetic relationships from morphological convergence in the plotted positions, the analyses provide potential hypotheses to be tested with additional data. Hence, vertebrae have some taxonomic value for potential assignment of Australian plesiosaurs, even in the absence of skulls or other diagnostic material. Vikram Vakil. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane St. Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia. vikram.vakil@uqconnect.edu.au Prof. Gregory Webb. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane St. Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia. g.webb@uq.edu.au Dr. Alex Cook. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane St. Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia. alex.cook@y7mail.com","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44435717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of Cricosaurus (Thalattosuchia, Metriorhynchidae) based upon a remarkably well-preserved skeleton from the Upper Jurassic of Germany","authors":"S. Sachs, M. Young, Pascal Abel, H. Mallison","doi":"10.26879/928","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/928","url":null,"abstract":"Herein we describe a new and exceptionally well-preserved skeleton of the metriorhynchid thalattosuchian Cricosaurus from the upper Kimmeridgian Torleite Formation of Painten in Bavaria (Southern Germany). The specimen is articulated, shows soft-tissue preservation, and represents one of the most complete metriorhynchid skeletons known. The exceptional preservation allows us to explore the morphological variation of the tail region in the Metriorhynchidae, a part of the skeleton that has long been neglected. Based on our description and phylogenetic analyses, we name this specimen Cricosaurus albersdoerferi sp. nov. Our phylogenetic analyses recover a Cricosaurus subclade composed of four species from Southern Germany and one from Argentina. We provide revised diagnoses for the Southern German members of this subclade, revealing the presence of at least four closely-related Cricosaurus species in the upper Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian of Southern Germany. Interestingly, within this subclade there is evidence of rapid change in tail construction and feeding ecology. However, there is no evidence of sympatry between these taxa, and the two species known from the same ammonite subzone are exclusively found in different northernTethys lagoons. Most interesting, however, is the variation in the skulls, dorsal neural spines, the tail displacement units, and flukes between these different species. This previously unexplored variation within Metriorhynchidae hints to differences in locomotory abilities between different species. Sven Sachs. Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany, and Im Hof 9, 51766 Engelskirchen, Germany. Sachs.Pal@gmail.com Mark T. Young. School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, UK. Mark.Young@ed.ac.uk Pascal Abel. Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard-KarlsUniversität Tübingen, Sigwartstraße 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany pascal.abel@ifg.uni-tuebingen.de], Heinrich Mallison. Palaeo3D, Dorfstr. 11, 86641 Rain am Lech, Germany and CeNak, Universität SACHS ET AL.: A NEW Cricosaurus SPECIES 2 Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany. mallison@palaeo3d.com","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46907852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The inner morphology of the petrosal bone of the endemic elephant of Tilos Island, Greece","authors":"D. Liakopoulou, G. Theodorou, A. H. Heteren","doi":"10.26879/1034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1034","url":null,"abstract":"The bony labyrinth, as part of the inner structure of the petrosal bone, contains the sensory organs of balance and hearing. The semicircular canals, as part of the vestibular apparatus of the inner ear, are involved in the detection of angular motion of the head for maintaining balance and guiding locomotor behavior. While the overall structure of the bony labyrinth is inaccessible embedded in the petrosal bone, high resolution computed tomography makes the study of these structures possible. The purpose of this study is to visualize and precisely quantify the complex inner ear structures of the insular mammal Palaeoloxodon tiliensis and comment on the relationship of these morphologies to the agility and hearing frequency ranges. This study focuses on imaging the shape of the bony labyrinth as well as the semicircular canals, of three petrosal bones, using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Shape and size analysis of the cochlea allow for an assessment of morphological differences between species. Specifically, measuring the dimensions of inner ear components as well as the angular distances can express the variation in their balancing abilities and the frequencies of their auditory perception. The morphological characteristics obtained through micro-CT lead to the conclusion that P. tiliensis retained similar conditions to that of its larger relatives, and it was an animal that had hearing in the low frequency ranges. Dionysia E. Liakopoulou. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, Panepistimiopolis, 15784 Athens, Greece, dliakopoulou@geol.uoa.gr George E. Theodorou. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, Panepistimiopolis, 15784 Athens, Greece, gtheodor@geol.uoa.gr Anneke H. van Heteren. Zoologische Staatssammlung München – Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, Münchhausenstraße 21, 81247 München, Germany; Ludwig-MaximiliansUniversität München, GeoBio-Center, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany; LudwigMaximilians-Universität München, Department Biologie II, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152 PlaneggMartinsried, Germany, vanHeteren@snsb.de LIAKOPOULOU, THEODOROU, & VAN HETEREN: PETROSAL BONE MORPHOLOGY 2","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43480558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-traditional applications of fire in fossil preparation","authors":"M. Brown, C. Holliday","doi":"10.26879/1149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26879/1149","url":null,"abstract":"Fossils have been collected from the field in plaster and burlap field jackets for more than a century. These jackets support and protect the contained fossils until they can be exposed under controlled conditions in the laboratory. The challenging nature of field work and complications caused by limited time, adverse weather, or supply shortages often produce suboptimal jackets that are less protective or difficult to remove. Often, the growth of vegetation through rock and fossils or poorly consolidated sediments compromises the stability of the jacket contents. In such cases, traditional methods of field jacket removal and fossil preparation can cause damage or destruction of the fossils within. We experimented with controlled application of flame to burn away organic materials from field jackets to facilitate safer extraction of sauropod fossils from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. To remove the field jacket, acetone was applied to burlap as an accelerant and then ignited with a propane torch. Combined with scoring from a utility knife, this caused the jacket to slowly weaken to the point of pliability and allow safe removal. Direct flame was also applied to plant roots infiltrating the jacket to remove them without causing vibration and mechanical damage within the specimen. Experimentation showed that with monitoring, temperatures did not reach levels that would damage the specimens through thermal shock or discoloration. Subsequent applications of these techniques demonstrate that they can be applied safely when specimens would be destroyed using more conservative methods. Matthew A. Brown. Texas Vertebrate Paleontology Collections, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA., matthewbrown@utexas.edu Casey M. Holliday. Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA and Texas Vertebrate Paleontology Collections, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. hollidayca@health.missouri.edu MAB ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-1161 CMH ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8210-8434","PeriodicalId":56100,"journal":{"name":"Palaeontologia Electronica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43213891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}