Search results for "14. Life underwater"
showing 10 items of 972 documents
Dental microwear texture analysis on extant and extinct sharks : Ante- or post-mortem tooth wear?
2020
Sharks are apex-predators that play an important role in past and present aquatic food webs. However, their diet - especially in extinct species - is often not well constrained. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has been successfully applied to reconstruct diet and feeding behaviours of different aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. However, unlike in mammals, food-to-tooth contact in sharks is rather limited because only larger prey is manipulated before swallowing. Together with a fast tooth replacement rate, this reduces wear on individual teeth. Here, we present an explorative study of dental microwear texture on extant and extinct sharks to test whether ante-mortem wear is relat…
The biostratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the earliest diversification of tetrapods (Late Devonian)
2007
International audience; The earliest diversification of tetrapods is dated as Late Devonian based on 10 localities worldwide that have yielded bone remains. At least 18 different species are known from these localities. Their ages span the "middle"-late Frasnian to latest Famennian time interval, with three localities in the Frasnian, one at the F/F transition (though this one is not securely dated) and six in the Famennian. These localities encompass a wide variety of environments, from true marine conditions of the nearshore neritic province, to fluvial or lacustrine conditions. However, it does not seem possible to characterize a freshwater assemblage in the Upper Old Red Sandstone based…
A low seasonality scenario in the Mediterranean Sea during the Calabrian (Early Pleistocene) inferred from fossil Arctica islandica shells
2017
Understanding past seasonal temperature variability in the ocean is essential to evaluate the effects of future climate change on marine ecosystems. Here, we estimate seasonal water temperature amplitudes from stable oxygen isotope (δ18Oshell) values of fossil shells of Arctica islandica (assuming δ18Owater= + 0.9 ± 0.1â° V-SMOW). Specimens were collected from three Pleistocene successions (Emilian and Sicilian substages of the Calabrian) in Central and Southern Italy (i.e., Rome, Lecce and Sicily). Biostratigraphic analyses from Rome Quarry deposits indicate an age between 1.6 and 1.2 Ma, whereas Sicily and Lecce successions are slightly more recent (between 1.1 and 0.62 Ma). Prior to …
Marine Early Triassic Actinopterygii from Elko County (Nevada, USA): implications for the Smithian equatorial vertebrate eclipse
2017
AbstractThe Early Triassic vertebrate record from low paleolatitudes is spotty, which led to the notion of an ‘equatorial vertebrate eclipse’ during the Smithian. Here we present articulated ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii), collected from the marine Lower Triassic Thaynes Group at three new localities in Elko County (Nevada, USA), which were deposited within the equatorial zone. From the Smithian of the Winecup Ranch, we describe two partial skulls of the predatory actinopterygianBirgeria(Birgeriidae), attributed toB.americananew species andBirgeriasp.Birgeria americanan. sp. is distinguished from other species by a less reduced operculogular series. With an estimated total length of 1.7…
Transient metazoan reefs in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction
2011
5 pages; International audience; Recovery from the devastating Permian-Triassic mass extinction about 252 million years ago is usually assumed to have spanned the entire 5 million years of the Early Triassic epoch1,2. The post-crisis interval was characterized by large-scale fluctuations of the global carbon cycle and harsh marine conditions, including a combination of ocean acidification, euxinia, and fluctuating productivity3. During this interval, metazoan-dominated reefs are thought to have been replaced by microbial deposits that are considered the hallmark of the Early Triassic4-7. Here we use field and microscopic investigations to document Early Triassic bioaccumulations and reefs f…
Structure and evolution of a Messinian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform: the role of evaporites (Sorbas Basin, South-east Spain).
2010
36 pages; International audience; The Sorbas Member is a late Messinian complex sedimentary systemthat formed immediately following deposition of the Messinian evaporites in the Sorbas Basin (South-east Spain). This work describes the sequence architecture and facies organization of a continuous kilometre long, alluvial fan to open platform transect near the village of Cariatiz in the north-east of the basin. The postevaporitic Cariatiz platform was a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic system composed of four intermediate-frequency, fifth-order depositional sequences (Depositional Sequences 1 to 4) arranged in an overall prograding trend. The intense fracturing and brecciation of these deposits …
In the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction: the microbialite refuge?
2013
7 pages; International audience; We present the first study of micro-crustaceans (ostracods) associated with microbial crusts in the aftermath of the most devastating extinction, the end-Permian extinction (EPE). These post-extinction microbialites dominated shallow shelf marine environments and were traditionally considered as devoid of any associated fauna. We present a micro-palaeontological analysis of a large record from microbial and non-microbial settings following the EPE. This dataset documents the proliferation of ostracods strictly associated with microbialites. Based on the diet of extant ostracods and uniformitarianism, we propose that the abundant microbes in the mats served a…
Permian-Triassic extinctions and rediversifications.
2015
Ammonoids were a major component of Permian marine faunas, but were on the verge of extinction during the Permian-Triassic crisis ~ 252 myr ago. Despite the severity of this extinction, their recovery was explosive in less than 1.5 myr. By Smithian time, they had already reached levels of taxonomic richness much higher than those of the Permian. The causes for the rapid Early Triassic diversification and proliferation of these organisms still remain elusive, but the evolution of their spatio-temporal diversity and disparity patterns closely correlates with the numerous environmental changes recorded during this time interval.
Trilobites from the Red Fauna (latest Emsian, Devonian) of Hamar Laghdad, Morocco and their biodiversity
2018
36 pages; International audience; Trilobites are widespread in Early Devonian deposits of north Gondwana; some of the most emblematic ones were collected from the famous latest Emsian (Early Devonian) mudmound locality Hamar Laghdad in south-eastern Morocco. This locality is famous for its trilobites, especially for the conspicuous red-coloured remains of phacopid trilobites with often greenish eyes. Here, we present a taxonomic revision of the previously described trilobites from the so-called Red Fauna of Hamar Laghdad. We introduce the new taxa Harpes hamarlaghdadensis n. sp. and Morocops davidbrutoni n. sp. Phacopids dominate the trilobite assemblage from the Red Cliff at Hamar Laghdad …
Lowermost Jurassic dinosaur ecosystem from the Bleymard Strait (southern France): sedimentology, mineralogy, palaeobotany and palaeoichnology of the …
2021
AbstractWe report the first Hettangian theropod tracksite (~200 Ma) yielding a rich accumulation of plant remains from the Bleymard Strait (southern France). It constitutes an excellent opportunity to reconstruct lowermost Jurassic ecosystems hosting dinosaurs and which are still poorly documented in this area. Two morphotypes of tridactyl tracks are distinguished. They share similarities with Grallator and Kayentapus. Plant-bearing beds yield abundant leafy axes (Pagiophyllum peregrinum), male cones (Classostrobus sp.), wood (Brachyoxylon sp.) and pollen of conifers (Classopollis classoides). Sedimentological, petrological and mineralogical analyses demonstrated that, in the Dolomitic Form…