Search results for " paleontology"
showing 10 items of 893 documents
Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution
2014
The Permian and Triassic were key time intervals in the history of life on Earth. Both periods are marked by a series of biotic crises including the most catastrophic of such events, the end-Permian mass extinction, which eventually led to a major turnover from typical Palaeozoic faunas and floras to those that are emblematic for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Here we review patterns in Permian-Triassic bony fishes, a group whose evolutionary dynamics are understudied. Based on data from primary literature, we analyse changes in their taxonomic diversity and body size (as a proxy for trophic position) and explore their response to Permian-Triassic events. Diversity and body size are investigate…
Foreword for the thematic volume of the 8ISCPP. Recent advances in present and past cephalopod studies.
2012
3 pages, éditorial.; International audience
New Tree-Ring Evidence from the Pyrenees Reveals Western Mediterranean Climate Variability since Medieval Times
2017
Paleoclimatic evidence is necessary to place the current warming and drying of the western Mediterranean basin in a long-term perspective of natural climate variability. Annually resolved and absolutely dated temperature proxies south of the European Alps that extend back into medieval times are, however, mainly limited to measurements of maximum latewood density (MXD) from high-elevation conifers. Here, the authors present the world’s best replicated MXD site chronology of 414 living and relict Pinus uncinata trees found >2200 m above mean sea level (MSL) in the Spanish central Pyrenees. This composite record correlates significantly ( p ≤ 0.01) with May–June and August–September mean …
Geographical and bathymetric distribution of foraminiferal assemblages from the Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean)
2018
A total of 176 surface sediment samples, recovered in the Alboran Sea by the oceanographic vessel Vizconde de Eza during the 2002 and 2003 campaigns, were analysed for their foraminiferal content. Planktonic and benthic foraminifera were picked up, studied and classified. In addition, a series of diversity indices were calculated. An attempt was made to correlate diversity (Fisher alpha index) with longitude, latitude and depth. Planktonic assemblages are strongly dominated by the species Globorotalia inflata (d’Orbigny) together with Globigerina bulloides d’Orbigny. Correlation analysis show only a weak relation between planktonic foraminiferal diversity and both longitude and distance to …
A functional multivariate analysis of Mesopithecus (Primates: Colobinae) humeri from the Turolian of Greece.
2012
12 pages; International audience; The genus Mesopithecus is well represented in the late Miocene of Greece by several recognized species. The present paper investigates functional aspects of the humeri of Mesopithecus delsoni/pentelicus, M. pentelicus and M. aff. pentelicus of several Turolian sites from central and northern Greece, using multivariate approaches. For these purposes, we selected significant humeral functional features, which were represented by 23 linear dimensions and three angles on 14 fossil humeri and 104 humeri from 10 genera and 22 species of extant African and Asian Colobines. All size-adjusted measurements were examined through a principal components analysis, follow…
Reappraisal of some species of the giant galericine Deinogalerix (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Erinaceomorpha, Erinaceidae) from the Miocene of south-east…
2019
A revision of the remains of Deinogalerix from the Terre Rosse of Gargano, stored at the Department of Earth Sciences of Florence, improved our knowledge of the genus. The goals of this study are to clear the taxonomic status of the specimens and to tackle several issues connected with the evolutionary relationships of the different species. The sample of dental remains of Deinogalerix freudenthali provides new information, which confirms that this species belongs to the most primitive members of the genus, alongside D. masinii. It is now clear that D. freudenthali is very close to the hypothetical ancestor of all other Gargano species, except D. masinii. Nonetheless, the oldest fissures of…
Macrobotanical evidence (wood charcoal and seeds) from the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt, Eastern Iberia: Palaeoenvironmental data and plant re…
2018
Despite the current growing number of studies that focus on macrobotanical remains from Middle Palaeolithiccontexts, plant use among hunter-gatherer societies remains unknown in many regions of Europe. Large-scaleflotation of archaeological sediments has made it possible to recover a large amount of plant remains (fruits,seeds and wood) from units VIII, IX, Xa and Xb at El Salt, Eastern Iberia (49.2–52.3 ka BP). The combination ofanthracological and carpological analyses has provided a more accurate picture of the Middle Palaeolithiclandscape in the Serpis valley, as well as significant information about other possible uses of plants, not only asfuel, but for woodworking or food, for instan…
Neandertal spatial patterns and occupation dynamics: a regional focus on the central region in Mediterranean Iberia
2020
En el siguiente trabajo se estudian varios conjuntos pertenecientes al Paleolítico medio procedentes del mediterráneo peninsular ibérico con el objetivo de examinar los patrones de ocupación y las estrategias de gestión del territorio. Se presta especial atención al abastecimiento de las materias primas y los comportamientos tecnológicos, los datos procedentes de la fauna y los análisis microespaciales. La variabilidad en los tipos de ocupación de los distintos conjuntos nos muestra una gran diversidad y una multitud de factores, aunque no parece tener una sola explicación cultural, funcional, temporal o ambiental. Más bien son explicaciones que responden a una amplia variabilidad en los co…
Captación y selección de materias primas en la primera metalurgia del Sureste de la península ibérica
2020
The authors are grateful for the technical and human support provided by SGIker of UPV/EHU and European funding (ERDF and ESF). We are also in debt with Eduardo Galán, Ruth Maicas and Carmen Cacho, curators of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid) for facilitating the sampling and study of metal objects as well as with Ignacio Soriano Llopis for his help on the selection and sampling of the Palmela points, with Massimo Chiaradia who performed the analyses of the Palmela points at the Department of Earth Sciences (University of Geneva, Switzerland) and with Óscar García Vuelta for his pictures of some assemblages. We also appreciate and the careful work of editing and style of the TP edit…
Timing the Western Mediterranean Last Hunter-Gatherers and First Farmers
2017
The spread of domestic plants and animals from the Near East towards the Western Mediterranean region is analysed using the current radiocarbon dataset relating to the last hunter-gatherers and the first farmers in the area. In order to do this, we have selected radiocarbon dates and built summed probability distributions and density maps, as a means of investigating the processes involved in the expansion of food production economies throughout this wide territory, in a ‘longue duree’ view, in accordance with a multiscalar approach covering both the general and the regional scenarios. This approach allows us to visualise the time of the expansion in this broad area, starting at the beginni…