Search results for "FOSSILS"
showing 10 items of 159 documents
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…
The trace fossil gyrochorte: ethology and paleoecology
2021
Specimens of the trace fossil Gyrochorte from the Ordovician, Jurassic and Cretaceous of Utah, and the Pliocene of Spain are described. These occurrences expand the stratigraphic range of the ichnogenus, and allow for a reexamination of this paleoenvironmentally sensitive and puzzling trace fossil. The recognition of the penetrative characteristic of the trace is essential for a correct identification, as some trace fossils have been erroneously ascribed to Gyrochorte in the past. The producer must have been a detritus-feeding worm-like animal, probably an annelid, that created a bilobed, vertically penetrating and sometimes plaited meandering trace. Gyrochorte typically occurs in sandy f…
Melastomeae come full circle: biogeographic reconstruction and molecular clock dating.
2001
Rhexia, with 11 species in the Coastal Plain province of North America, is the only temperate zone endemic of the tropical eudicot family Melastomataceae. It is a member of the only pantropical tribe of that family, Melastomeae. Based on the chloroplast gene ndhF, we use a fossil-calibrated molecular clock to address the question of the geographic origin and age of Rhexia. Sequences from 37 species in 21 genera representing the tribe's geographical range were analyzed together with five outgroups. To obtain better clade support, another chloroplast region, the rpl16 intron, was added for 24 of the species. Parsimony analysis of the combined data and maximum-likelihood analysis of ndhF alone…
Archaeology and ichnology at Gombore II-2, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: everyday life of a mixed age hominin group 700,000 years ago
2018
AbstractWe report the occurrence at 0.7 million years (Ma) of an ichnological assemblage at Gombore II-2, which is one of several archaeological sites at Melka Kunture in the upper Awash Valley of Ethiopia, 2000 m asl. Adults and children potentially as young as 12 months old left tracks in a silty substrate on the shore of a body of water where ungulates, as well as other mammals and birds, congregated. Furthermore, the same layers contain a rich archaeological and palaeontological record, confirming that knapping was taking place in situ and that stone tools were used for butchering hippo carcasses at the site. The site gives direct information on hominin landscape use at 0.7 Ma and may p…
Three-dimensional geometric morphometrics of thorax-pelvis covariation and its potential for predicting the thorax morphology: A case study on Kebara…
2020
The skeletal torso is a complex structure of outstanding importance in understanding human body shape evolution, but reconstruction usually entails an element of subjectivity as researchers apply their own anatomical expertise to the process. Among different fossil reconstruction methods, 3D geometric morphometric techniques have been increasingly used in the last decades. Two-block partial least squares analysis has shown great potential for predicting missing elements by exploiting the covariation between two structures (blocks) in a reference sample: one block can be predicted from the other one based on the strength of covariation between blocks. The first aim of this study is to test w…
First record of Mesopithecus (Cercopithecidae, Colobinae) from the Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula
2015
We report dental remains of the extinct colobine monkey Mesopithecus from the Turolian (MN13, Late Miocene, ca. 6.23 Ma) locality of Venta del Moro (Valencia, Spain). They include most of the deciduous dentition and the unerupted germs of the first molars of a single infantile individual, as well as two lower left lateral incisors from two additional individuals. On the basis of morphometric comparisons, mainly based on the Ms, these remains are attributed to the Late Miocene species Mesopithecus pentelicus. They represent a significant addition to the knowledge of the deciduous dentition of this taxon, much less well-known than the permanent dentition. Although this genus was widely distri…
Une occupation du Bronze final et sa nécropole à Metz – ZAC du Sansonnet (Moselle). Un cas particulier de stabilisation d’un habitat.
2020
International audience
Ticket to spawn: Combining economic and genetic data to evaluate the effect of climate and demographic structure on spawning distribution in Atlantic…
2019
Abstract Climate warming and harvesting affect the dynamics of species across the globe through a multitude of mechanisms, including distribution changes. In fish, migrations to and distribution on spawning grounds are likely influenced by both climate warming and harvesting. The Northeast Arctic (NEA) cod (Gadus morhua) performs seasonal migrations from its feeding grounds in the Barents Sea to spawning grounds along the Norwegian coast. The distribution of cod between the spawning grounds has historically changed at decadal scales, mainly due to variable use of the northern and southern margins of the spawning area. Based on historical landing records, two major hypotheses have been put f…
Re-examining the rare and the lost : a review of fossil Tortricidae (Lepidoptera)
2018
We re-evaluate eleven fossils that have previously been assigned to the family Tortricidae, describe one additional fossil, and assess whether observable morphological features warrant confident assignment of these specimens to this family. We provide an overview of the age and origin of the fossils and comment on their contribution towards understanding the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera. Our results show that only one specimen, Antiquatortia histuroides Brown & Baixeras gen. and sp. nov., shows a character considered synapomorphic for the family. Six other fossils ( Electresia zalesskii Kusnezov, 1941; Tortricidrosis inclusa Skalski, 1973; Tortricites skalskii Kozlov, 1988; Tortricibaltia d…
Numerical dating of the Eckfeld maar fossil site, Eifel, Germany: a calibration mark for the Eocene time scale.
2000
Sediments of the Eckfeld maar (Eifel, Germany) bear a well-preserved Eocene fauna and flora. Biostratigraphically, Eckfeld corresponds to the Middle Eocene mammal reference level MP (Mammals Paleogene) 13 of the ELMA (European Land Mammal Age) Geiseltalian. In the maar crater, basalt fragments were drilled, representing explosion crater eruption products. By 40Ar/39Ar dating of the basalt, for the first time a direct numerical calibration mark for an Eocene European mammal locality has been established. The Eckfeld basalt inverse isochron date of 44.3 +/- 0.4 Ma suggests an age for the Geiseltalian/Robiacian boundary at 44 Ma and, together with the 1995 time scale of Berggren et al., a time…