Search results for "Fauna"
showing 10 items of 513 documents
Middle Triassic sharks from the Catalan Coastal ranges (NE Spain) and faunal colonization patterns during the westward transgression of Tethys
2020
Abstract Palaeogeographic changes that occurred during the Middle Triassic in the westernmost Tethyan domain were governed by a westward marine transgression of the Tethys Ocean. The transgression flooded wide areas of the eastern part of Iberia, forming new epicontinental shallow-marine environments, which were subsequently colonized by diverse faunas, including chondrichthyans. The transgression is recorded by two successive transgressive–regressive cycles: (1) middle–late Anisian and (2) late Anisian–early Carnian. Here, we describe the chondrichthyan fauna recovered from several Middle Triassic stratigraphic sections (Pelsonian-Longobardian) located at the Catalan Coastal Basin (western…
Advances in Cretaceous palaeontology and stratigraphy – Christopher John Wood Memorial Volume; editors' preface
2018
Abstract In the last week of January 2016, the ‘Cretaceous community’ lost another of their prominent members, Chris Wood. During recent decades, Chris had been active in the United Kingdom as well as in mainland Europe, particularly in Germany and Poland. Several years ago he had been forced to leave the ranks of Associate Editors with Cretaceous Research , due to a severe illness that he was adamant to overcome. Later in 2016, two of us, fellow editors with that journal for a number of years, with the help of Rory Mortimore, approached former colleagues and friends of Chris's to contribute to a special issue. From the start, the idea has been to cover all aspects of Cretaceous stratigraph…
Unravelling extrinsic and intrinsic factors of the early Palaeozoic diversification of blastozoan echinoderms
2010
19 pages; International audience; The Subphylum Blastozoa represents more than one third of the early Palaeozoic echinoderm fauna. A comprehensive database including all records of blastozoans was built to provide quantitative analyses of palaeogeography and diversity patterns and processes, for the 10 classes currently included in this subphylum during the early Palaeozoic. The global pattern of taxonomic diversity shows two peaks during the Cambrian Series 3 and the Late Ordovician intervals. In Cambrian times, the high taxonomic diversity seems to be related with a high turnover rate and a high endemicity of blastozoan genera, whereas in Ordovician times, the rise in diversity is associa…
Late Paleozoic microfaunas in the pebbles of the Podlipoglav conglomerate, Central Slovenia
2020
Abstract The Paleozoic conglomerate at Podlipoglav in the transitional area between the External and Internal Dinarides of Slovenia contains limestone pebbles that have been examined micropaleontologically. The recovered conodont faunas are marked by the obvious absence of shallow-water taxa. The Lower to Middle Devonian faunas are characterized by relatively abundant polygnathids that are assigned to the Emsian and early Eifelian excavatus-nothoperbonus, laticostatus and costatus Zones. The Pennsylvanian conodont faunas contain relatively deep-water Neolochriea or gondolellids indicating an early Bashkirian and Moscovian age. A presence of the radiolarian species Pseudoalbaillella nodosa s…
Amphibians and reptiles as palaeonvironmental proxies during the Late Pleistocene (MIS3): The case of Stratigraphic Unit V of El Salt, Alcoi, Spain
2021
The locality of El Salt (Alcoi, Spain) is a key site for understanding the extirpation of Neanderthals in the eastern part of Iberia. In this paper, we analyse an assemblage of amphibians and reptiles from Stratigraphic Unit V (45.2 ± 3.4 ka to 44.7 ± 3.4 ka), which corresponds to one of the last regional records of Neanderthals, to improve knowledge of the palaeoecology and palaeoclimate of this event. The assemblage comprises three anurans (Pelodytes sp., Alytes obstetricans, and Epidalea calamita), two lizards (Lacertidae indet. and Chalcides bedriagai), and five snakes (Colubridae indet., Coronella sp., Coronella sp./Zamenis sp., Natrix maura, and Vipera latastei). Palaeoclimatic recons…
A Serravallian (Middle Miocene) shark fauna from Southeastern Spain and its palaeoenvironment significance
2017
The study of a new Serravallian (Middle Miocene) locality from the Southeastern Spain has yielded a shark assemblage characterized by microremains of at least seven taxa (Deania calcea, ¿Isistius triangulus, ¿Squaliolus cf. S. schaubi, ¿Paraetmopterus sp., Pristiophorus sp., Scyliorhinus sp. and a cf. Squaliformes indet) of three different orders (Squaliformes, Pristiophoriformes and Carcharhiniformes). In addition, associated macroremains have also been found, including teeth of ¿Cosmopolitodus hastalis, Isurus sp., Hemipristis serra, Odontaspis sp., Carcharhinus spp. and ¿Otodus (Megaselachus) megalodon. The assemblage contains taxa with disparate environmental preferences including not o…
Muridae from the late Miocene site of Venta del Moro (Eastern Spain)
2016
AbstractMurids are usually the dominant faunas of the late Miocene and early Pliocene micromammal assemblages. The present work deals with the murid faunas of the well-known late Miocene locality of Venta del Moro, comprising over 2700 molars ascribed to the taxa Apodemus gorafensis, Occitanomys alcalai, Paraethomys meini and Stephanomys dubari. This list differs from those of previous studies by the presence of A. gorafensis instead of A. gudrunae. The presence of A. gudrunae in younger localities than Venta del Moro implies that both species, considered ancestor and descendant, coexisted for some time. In addition, the analysis of such an extensive collection has allowed us to check the v…
NICHE PARTITIONING OF THE EUROPEAN CARNIVOROUS MAMMALS DURING THE PALEOGENE
2018
We here describe the first partial cranium of Hyaenodon leptorhynchus, the type species of the taxonomically diverse and widely distributed hypercarnivorous genus Hyaenodon (Hyaenodonta). The cranium is from the Seon Saint-Andre deposits (Marseille, France; Chattian, MP26). It is preserved in a dense red marl matrix that obscures key morphological features. CT-scans were used to reconstruct the specimen. The morphology of the cranium reinforces the homogeneity previously observed in Hyaenodon despite its specific diversity. The fossil represents a juvenile: it preserves its deciduous canines and the P3 is almost fully erupted. This pattern of delayed canine eruption is a trait shared among …
Emsian (Lower Devonian) conodonts from the Daliantang Formation at Daliantang, southeastern Yunnan, China
2021
Abstract The lower/upper Emsian boundary witnessed prominent diversification of biostratigraphically important genera Polygnathus Hinde, Caudicriodus Bultynck, and Latericriodus Muller. In contrast, conodonts previously reported around this boundary from the South China Block were characterized by relatively low species or subspecies diversity, and only a few widely distributed and extensively studied zone-defining taxa were recorded. In this paper, conodonts from the Daliantang Formation at the Daliantang section (Guangnan, southeastern Yunnan), one of the representative sections of the transitional facies between the benthic Xiangzhou facies and the pelagic Nandan facies, are investigated…
Neanderthal and carnivore activities at Llonin Cave, Asturias, northern Iberian Peninsula: Faunal study of Mousterian levels (MIS 3)
2018
Abstract This paper presents a study of the macromammalian fauna recovered from Mousterian levels of Llonin Cave. The sample is highly heterogeneous and comprises six species of ungulates, including Rupicapra pyrenaica, Capra pyrenaica, and Cervus elaphus, and seven species of carnivores, predominantly Ursus spelaeus, Crocuta spelaea, Canis/Cuon and Panthera pardus. The archaeozoological and taphonomic study of the remains shows preferential use of basal levels of the cave as a den for hyenas and leopards. Neanderthals were also present during this phase and they would have acted mainly on deer and some caprines, while the action of hyenas would mainly have been linked to scavenging of elem…