Search results for "Morpho"
showing 10 items of 3236 documents
Quaternary marine and continental unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units of the NW Sicily coastal belt
2017
In the coastal sector of NW Sicily, the regional correlation of relevant unconformities recognised within the Quaternary sedimentary successions allowed the mapping of seven unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units (UBSUs). The regional unconformities are marine or subaerial erosional surfaces, as well as non-depositional surfaces, locally marked by paleosoils. The erosional surfaces were produced from marine abrasion, surface water overland/concentrated flow, river erosion, karst solution, mass movement, or wind erosion. The main lithofacies of the Quaternary UBSUs consist of: (a) marine and coastal bioclastic calcarenites, (b) aeolian sandstones, (c) river deposits, (d) colluvial deposits…
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 …
Radial Symmetry, the Anterior/Posterior Axis, and Echinoderm Hox Genes
2008
20 pages; International audience; The strangeness of echinoderm pentaradiality results from superposition of radial symmetry onto ancestral deuterostome bilaterality. The Extraxial- Axial Theory shows that echinoderms also have an anterior/posterior (A/P) axis developed independently and ontogenetically before radiality. The A/P axis is first established via coelomic stacking in the extraxial region, with ensuing development of the pentamerous hydrocoel in the axial region. This is strongly correlated with a variety of gene expression patterns. The echinoid Hox cluster is disordered into two different sets of genes. During embryogenesis, members of the posterior class demonstrate temporal, …
Evidence of tephra reworking in loess based on 2D magnetic susceptibility mapping: A case study from Rocourt, Belgium
2016
Abstract In this article, a new and original approach to characterize tephra layers based on high resolution magnetic susceptibility (MS) mapping is applied to the tephra deposits of Rocourt (Belgium). A series of MS maps of selected sections show the 3D morphology of tephra horizons, including local dip and reworked structures of the Rocourt and Eltville tephras, proven by chemical analyses of phenocrysts. At Rocourt, tephras are observed in loess which is an excellent material for testing the efficiency of the magnetic susceptibility mapping of tephra deposits. We also attempted to locate the volcanic source of the Eltville tephra based on the spatial analysis of the thickness of deposits…
Subglacial topography and thickness of ice caps on the Argentine Islands
2019
AbstractThis study presents the first subglacial topography and ice thickness models of the largest ice caps of the Argentine Islands, Wilhelm Archipelago, West Antarctica. During this study, ground-penetrating radar was used to map the thickness and inner structure of the ice caps. Digital surface models of all studied islands were created from aerial images obtained with a small-sized unmanned aerial vehicle and used for the construction of subglacial topography models. Ice caps of the Argentine Islands cover ~50% of the land surface of the islands on average. The maximum thickness of only two islands (Galindez and Skua) exceeds 30 m, while the average thickness of all islands is only ~5 …
Evaluating ice fabrics using fabric analyser techniques in Sørsdal Glacier, East Antarctica
2011
AbstractIce cores (∼4 m long) obtained from areas of different surface velocities near the terminus of Sørsdal Glacier, East Antarctica, have been investigated using two versions of a fabric analyser (G50). In sections parallel to the flow plane, the microstructure is typically interlocking with elongate grains that parallel air-bubble elongation, X, reflecting their development in an earlier ductile regime. The c-axis fabric patterns vary with respect to X and vary from single–double maxima to asymmetric small-circle girdles oblique to the planar foliation, which can be attributed to a simple shear regime. The siteto-site variations in the c-axis patterns can be related to areas of differe…
Sandy fan‐like forms in the central‐eastern mazovian lowland (central poland): textural record and chronology
2016
A unique, continuous, fan-shaped belt of sandy landforms in the central-eastern Mazovian Lowland, Central Poland has been investigated using a multiproxy dataset of sediment physical properties and chronological framework. Although there are several previous studies of similar fan-like forms elsewhere in Central Poland, this central-eastern part has not been investigated in detail. A combined methodological approach, using grain-size distributions, the roundness, surface character and microtexture of quartz grains, and the mineral composition of the light and heavy fractions, indicate a predominantly aeolian origin for the fan-like forms. Overlying them are dunes, the sediment within which …
Controlled feeding experiments with diets of different abrasiveness reveal slow development of mesowear signal in goats ( Capra aegagrus hircus )
2018
ABSTRACT Dental mesowear is applied as a proxy to determine the general diet of mammalian herbivores based on tooth-cusp shape and occlusal relief. Low, blunt cusps are considered typical of grazers and high, sharp cusps typical of browsers. However, how internal or external abrasives impact mesowear, and the time frame the wear signature takes to develop, still need to be explored. Four different pelleted diets of increasing abrasiveness (lucerne, grass, grass and rice husks, and grass, rice husks and sand) were fed to four groups of a total of 28 adult goats in a controlled feeding experiment over a 6-month period. Tooth morphology was captured by medical CT scans at the beginning and end…
Allometric space and allometric disparity: a developmental perspective in the macroevolutionary analysis of morphological disparity.
2008
8 pages; International audience; Here, we advance novel uses of allometric spaces--multidimensional spaces specifically defined by allometric coefficients--with the goal of investigating the focal role of development in shaping the evolution of morphological disparity. From their examination, operational measures of allometric disparity can be derived, complementing standard signals of morphological disparity through an intuitive and process-oriented refinement of established analytical protocols used in disparity studies. Allometric spaces thereby become a promising context to reveal different patterns of evolutionary developmental changes and to assess their relative prevalence and import…
Feeding biomechanics of Late Triassic metoposaurids (Amphibia: Temnospondyli): a 3D finite element analysis approach
2017
The Late Triassic freshwater ecosystems were occupied by different tetrapod groups including large-sized anamniotes, such as metoposaurids. Most members of this group of temnospondyls acquired gigantic sizes (up to 5 m long) with a nearly worldwide distribution. The paleoecology of metoposaurids is controversial; they have been historically considered passive, bottom-dwelling animals, waiting for prey on the bottom of rivers and lakes, or they have been suggested to be active mid-water feeders. The present study aims to expand upon the paleoecological interpretations of these animals using 3D finite element analyses (FEA). Skulls from two taxa, Metoposaurus krasiejowensis, a gigantic taxon …