0000000000143622
AUTHOR
Mateusz Antczak
Aliens and dragons: purposefully-framed play and non-standard learning methods in teaching evolutionary processes to primary school pupils
Evolutionary processes lie at the base of the entire observable biodiversity, both at present and in the geological past (i.e., in the fossil record). For this reason, the teaching of evolution should receive more recognition than it currently has (e.g., in Poland) and become accurately applied from the early formal education stages onwards. To test the possibility of effective teaching of evolution to primary school pupils, workshops using non-standard learning methods (‘purposefully-framed play’) were organised during childrens’ university (UNIKIDS) courses of one-hour sessions for 33 groups, comprising several to 20 participants, aged 7 to 12. The final task for all participants was to p…
Teaching scientific method to primary school pupils by using the example of adaptation of secondarily aquatic animals to the marine environment
Abstract Science classes in public schools are usually strictly linked to several subjects and taught by reference to the reading-listening model. Non-formal educational institutions and events such as ‘children universities’ and science fairs (and to some degree also some private schools) implement elements of interdisciplinary teaching of science and learning through experiments and the use of scientific methods. Workshops conducted within non-formal educational structures prove that only is this method engaging and understandable to primary school pupils, it also is possibly much more effective than the traditional learning style for coding information and explaining common misconception…
Pelvic girdle morphology in Stagonolepis, with remarks on aetosaur systematics
In recent years, the Upper Triassic deposits at Krasiejów (south-west Poland) have yielded several tetrapod taxa, both aquatic and terrestrial. Stagonolepis olenkae is one of the terrestrial vertebrates recovered there; a quadrupedal, armoured aetosaur, which belonged to the crocodile-line archosaurs with a characteristic shovel-shaped snout. Several previous studies (osteological, histological and taphonomic) have attempted to understand the mode of life, growth pattern and possible dimorphism of this species and on this basis, to interpret palaeoecological, palaeoclimatic and stratigraphical implications. So far, the pelvic girdle of S. olenkae from Krasiejów remained undescribed. Here, t…
Diversity of vertebrate remains from the Lower Gogolin Beds (Anisian) of southern Poland
Middle Triassic (Muschelkalk) limestones and dolostones of southern Poland contain vertebrate remains, which can be used for palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analyses. The results presented concern vertebrate remains uncovered at four localities in Upper Silesia and one on Opole Silesia, a region representing the south-eastern margin of the Germanic Basin in Middle Triassic times. The most abundant remains in this assemblage are fish remains, comprising mostly actinopterygian teeth and scales. Chondrichthyan and sauropsid remains are less common. Reptilian finds include vertebrae, teeth and fragments of long bones, belonging to aquatic or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as nothosaurids, …
Diversity of Fish Scales in Late Triassic deposits of Krasiejów (SW Poland)
Abstract. Taxonomy of extinct fishes is mostly based on the shapes of their bodies, teeth and skeletons and sometimes the coverage of the body. Analysis of modern fishes shows that sometimes even single-scale morphology can also be used as a taxonomic tool. In spite of the fact that variation in scales character in one species can be broad, some specific features distinguish species of the same genus. Analysis of the fossilized scales of fishes found in the Late Triassic deposits of Krasiejow (SW Poland) shows that the microstructure of the external surface of scales can also be considered as a taxonomic tool in the fossil record. Description of the ornamentation pattern of several scales o…
Ornamentation of dermal bones of Metoposaurus krasiejowensis and its ecological implications
Background Amphibians are animals strongly dependent on environmental conditions, like temperature, water accessibility, and the trophic state of the reservoirs. Thus, they can be used in modern palaeoenvironmental analysis, reflecting ecological condition of the biotope. Methods To analyse the observed diversity in the temnospondyl Metoposaurus krasiejowensis from Late Triassic deposits in Krasiejów (Opole Voivodeship, Poland), the characteristics of the ornamentation (such as grooves, ridges, tubercules) of 25 clavicles and 13 skulls were observed on macro- and microscales, including the use of a scanning electron microscope for high magnification. The different ornamentation patterns fo…
Preliminary report on the microvertebrate faunal remains from the Late Triassic locality at Krasiejów, SW Poland
Fossil vertebrate remains from the Keuper unit in the vicinity of the village of Krasiejów have been analyzed for almost two decades. However, the main goal of these works was focused mainly on large vertebrates. Here the authors present the first description of microvertebrate fossils from that site. The collection of around 5,000 specimens is mainly comprised of teeth and scales. The most numerous remains belong to osteichthyans: dipnoans (Ptychoceratodus and cf. Arganodus), palaeoniscids, semionotids, redfieldiids and chondrichthyans, such as Lonchidion sp., which is the first indisputable record of that genus in the Upper Triassic of Poland and the first shark at the Krasiejów locality.…
Aetosaur pes from the Upper Triassic of Krasiejów (Poland), with remarks on taxonomy of isolated bones
The incomplete, articulated, right pes of an aetosaur, extracted from the lower bone-bearing horizon of the Krasiejów Late Triassic site, is larger than any other, known from among the Aetosauria. Its individual bones resemble those of at least three genera: Desmatosuchus (astragalus), Typothorax (ungual phalanges), and Stagonolepis (metatarsals). This underscores the highly speculative nature of the taxonomical classification of isolated postcranial bones and makes it impossible to assign the limb to any particular genus. The phalangeal formula is 2-3-4-5-?; for the fifth finger: 2/3/4 is possible. The anatomy of the pes indicates adaptation for digging.