Search results for "Environment"
showing 10 items of 28487 documents
Morphology and preliminary biomechanical interpretation of mandibular sutures in Metoposaurus krasiejowensis (Temnospondyli, Stereospondyli) from the…
2019
Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya The morphology of the mandibular sutures in the Late Triassic temnospondyl Metoposaurus krasiejowensis has been examined in order to determine their role in mandible biomechanics. Until now, no histological studies of mandibular sutures in extinct vertebrates were performed, in contrast to cranial sutures. As a consequence, mandibular suture interpretations herein are based mainly on comparisons with previous studies of cranial sutures and with 3D cranial finite element analysis of this species. A total of 32 standard thin sections were studied under standard petrographic microscope observations in order to differentiate the morphology …
A little walk between Early Jurassic sponges and corals: a confusing morphological convergence.
2019
24 pages; International audience; Hispaniastraea Turnšek et Geyer, 1975 is a unique coral genus from the Early Jurassic Epoch (Liassic). Corals of this genus are characterised by a highly dominant major septum and a set of eleven minor septa that are very short or even abortive. Initially discovered in Spain, new samples of this genus were depicted from Morocco by Beauvais in 1980; however, this genus was interpreted as a synonym of Pseudoseptifer Fischer, 1970, a chaetetid sponge (i.e., a sponge with siliceous spicules embedded in a calcareous skeleton). The skeleton of Pseudoseptifer is composed of adjacent tubules that increase by fissiparity by means of a pseudoseptum. Based on the stud…
Characterization of recent marks produced on fossil bone surface during sullegic and trephic processes and their influence on taphonomic studies
2018
Different taphonomic processes throughout the history of a fossil assemblage may preserve, modify or destroy, particular palaeobiological traits, but these processes always increase taphonomic information of the past. Similarly, fossils are affected during later stages of taphonomic history, i.e. excavation, preparation, study and storage of fossils, known as sullegic and trephic phases. Tools used during excavation and preparation of fossils can damage them and produce marks on their surface. Some of these recent marks highly mimic taphonomic marks produced before excavation. Both modern and fossil marks lead to misinterpretations and erroneous conclusions when similarities are not clearly…
Taphonomic processes inconsistent with indigenous Mesolithic acculturation during the transition to the Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean
2018
Abstract We applied taphonomic analysis combined with geostatistical approaches to investigate the hypothesis that Cocina cave (Eastern Iberia) represents an acculturation context for the appearance of Neolithic Cardial pottery. In the 1970s, Fortea suggested that this important site was a prime example of acculturation because of the presence of early Neolithic pottery in late Mesolithic contexts. Since that time Cocina cave has been heralded as an example of indigenous hunter-gatherers incorporating Neolithic cultural elements into their lifeways. We analyzed the area excavated by Fortea in the 1970s by digitizing archaeological records and testing the spatial distribution of artifacts us…
Refitting lithic laminar fragments to assess Palaeolithic sequences: The case of Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain)
2020
Abstract The integrity of the different levels that form a sequence and the formation processes of the archaeological deposit must be assessed as a previous step to the construction of behavioural, cultural and evolutionary interpretations. This is especially relevant when dealing with long sequences and cultural evolution constructed on them, as is the case in the research on Upper Palaeolithic. Lithic taphonomy provides insight into these issues and refitting is one of its powerful tools. This approach has been applied to the Aurignacian, Gravettian and Solutrean levels of Cova de les Cendres (Teulada-Moraira, Alicante, Spain), where fracture refits of laminar fragments –including blades,…
Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Pliocene fan-delta system of the Vera Basin (SE Spain): Fossil assemblages, ichnology and taphonomy
2020
Abstract The marine fossil assemblages of the Pliocene of south Spain constitute the record of the marine fauna that colonised the western part of the Mediterranean after the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This work focuses on the analysis of lithofacies and fossil assemblages including trace fossils, invertebrates, and vertebrates with special attention to taphonomic features, for interpreting palaeoenvironmental conditions in the Vera Basin (SE Spain). The sedimentary sequences of the northern region of the Vera Basin display diverse stratigraphical, sedimentological, and palaeontological features that correspond to the evolution of a fan-delta in a narrow basin. The Vera Basin was characteri…
Preliminary report on new echinoderm Lagerstatten from the Upper Ordovician of the eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco.
2006
8 pages (p.23-30); International audience; Four distinct echinoderm Lagerstatten have recently been discovered in the Upper Ordovician of the eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco. They have yielded hundreds of exquisitely preserved specimens. Their taphonomy and associated lithology both suggest rapid, in situ burial. Here we discuss the diverse range of assemblages represented and their significance to the diversity of echinoderms in the Lower Palaeozoic. The oldest assemblage (Izegguirene Formation, lowermost Caradoc) is dominated by eocrinoids, large ophiuroids, and mitrate stylophorans associated with rare crinoids. It shows strong similarities with slightly older faunas described from the under…
The space-time relationship of taxonomic diversity and morphological disparity in the Middle Jurassic ammonite radiation.
2007
14 pages; International audience; The Middle Jurassic ammonite radiation (from the late Aalenian to the end of the mid-Bathonian) is traced using combined analyses of morphological disparity and taxonomic diversity. The global signals of disparity and diversity are compared. These signals are then broken down by paleogeographical provinces to detect any heterogeneity in the radiation. An examination of the global signals reveals three biodiversity crises (discordances between signals) where morphological disparity grows while taxonomic diversity declines. The subdivision of the signals indicates the radiation was heterogeneous between provinces: the global signal is an aggregate of signals …
Jaws and teeth of the earliest bony fishes
2007
Extant jawed vertebrates, or gnathostomes, fall into two major monophyletic groups, namely chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes) and osteichthyans (bony fishes and tetrapods). Fossil representatives of the osteichthyan crown group are known from the latest Silurian period, 418 million years (Myr) ago, to the present. By contrast, stem chondrichthyans and stem osteichthyans are still largely unknown. Two extinct Palaeozoic groups, the acanthodians and placoderms, may fall into these stem groups or the common stem group of gnathostomes, but their relationships and monophyletic status are both debated. Here we report unambiguous evidence for osteichthyan characters in jaw bones referred to th…
Quartz OSL dating of late quaternary Chinese and Serbian loess: A cross Eurasian comparison of dust mass accumulation rates
2019
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. Reconstructing dust Mass Accumulation Rate (MAR) from loess deposits is critical to understanding past atmospheric mineral dust activity and requires accurate independent age models from loess deposits across Europe and Asia. Previous correlations of loess in Europe and China have tended to focus on multi-millennial timescales, with no detailed examination of dust MAR at the two ends of the Eurasian loess belt on shorter, sub-orbital scales. Here we present a detailed quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology from the Serbian Titel Loess Plateau (Veliki Surduk loess core) and the Chinese Loess Plateau (Lingtai section). The luminescence ages pa…