Search results for "Palaeontology"
showing 8 items of 28 documents
Sedimentological implications of an unusual form of the trace fossil Rhizocorallium from the Lower Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic), S. Poland
2011
Specimens of the trace fossil Rhizocorallium isp. with retrusive limbs occur in 10–20-cm-thick composite beds: the bottom layers contain abundant Planolites and Thalassinoides trace fossils, and the top layers are built of horizontally bedded pelitic limestone and contain less bioturbational structures. The first specimens of Rhizocorallium isp. occur just 2–3 cm above the lower surfaces of the top layers. The horizontal protrusive sections are 1 cm high and 1 cm wide. At some sites, the horizontal tunnels end, and the limbs become first obliquely retrusive (45°) at a distance of 1.5–2.5 cm, and then vertically retrusive at a distance of 4–6 cm, or at once vertically retrusive at a similar …
Ventastega curonica and the origin of tetrapod morphology.
2008
The gap in our understanding of the evolutionary transition from fish to tetrapod is beginning to close thanks to the discovery of new intermediate forms such as Tiktaalik roseae. Here we narrow it further by presenting the skull, exceptionally preserved braincase, shoulder girdle and partial pelvis of Ventastega curonica from the Late Devonian of Latvia, a transitional intermediate form between the 'elpistostegids' Panderichthys and Tiktaalik and the Devonian tetrapods (limbed vertebrates) Acanthostega and Ichthyostega. Ventastega is the most primitive Devonian tetrapod represented by extensive remains, and casts light on a part of the phylogeny otherwise only represented by fragmentary ta…
Testing models of dental development in the earliest bony vertebrates, Andreolepis and Lophosteus
2012
Theories on the development and evolution of teeth have long been biased by the fallacy that chondrichthyans reflect the ancestral condition for jawed vertebrates. However, correctly resolving the nature of the primitive vertebrate dentition is challenged by a dearth of evidence on dental development in primitive osteichthyans. Jaw elements from the Silurian–Devonian stem-osteichthyansLophosteusandAndreolepishave been described to bear a dentition arranged in longitudinal rows and vertical files, reminiscent of a pattern of successional development. We tested this inference, using synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) to reveal the pattern of skeletal development preser…
Análisis criptopaleontológico del lapidario de Teofrasto (s. III a.C.)
2013
The work “Perì líthon” or Teofrasto’s “Treatise of stones” has been considered the oldest text still available about minerals and rocks, even though it has remained incomplete. In this paper, the study of its contents shows that eleven of the stones called by geographic or cryptic names are either fossils from plants or vertebrates or chemical fossils. Therefore, the “Perì líthon” should also be considered as the oldest known treatise about palaeontology, because in addition to the fossils mentioned, it refers specifically to the fossilisation process.La obra “Perì líthon” o “Tratado de Piedras” de Teofrasto, es considerado el texto más antiguo conservado sobre minerales y rocas, aunque hay…
Palaeontological Virtual Congress: A new way to make science
2019
On the first month of 2018, one of the authors (VDC) of this preface had an interesting idea: to hold a virtual congress. At first, he did not know of the existence of this kind of congress, but a quick internet search showed him that there were some examples in the fields of medicine and veterinary medicine; however, it had never been done in palaeontology. For that reason, with the help of other co-workers from the Universitat de València, Museo Paleontológico de Alpuente and Museu Valencià d’Historia Natural, we decided to undertake this adventure. Fil: Crespo Roures, Vicente Daniel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebra…
New metric products, movies, and 3D models from old stereopairs and their application to the in situ palaeontological site of Ambrona
2020
3D modelling tools from photographic pictures have experienced significant improvements in the last years. One of the most outstanding changes is the spread of the photogrammetric systems based on algorithms referred to as Structure from Motion (SfM) in contrast with the traditional stereoscopic pairs. Nevertheless, the availability of important collections of stereoscopic registers collected during past decades invites us to explore the possibilities for re-using these photographs in order to generate new multimedia products, especially due to the fact that many of the documented elements have been largely altered or even disappeared. This article analyses an example of application to the …
First occurrence of Sivatherium Falconer and Cautley, 1836 (Mammalia, Ruminantia, Giraffidae) in the Iberian Peninsula
2021
he sivatherine clade includes some of the largest giraffids and emerged during the late Miocene. Sivatherium hendeyi, the earliest known species of the Sivatherium genus, was first described from the lower Pliocene of Langebaanweg (5.15 ± 0.1 Ma, Cape Province, South Africa). Here we describe the first possible occurrence of Sivatherium from western Europe from the lower Pliocene (MN14) of Puerto de la Cadena (4.9 Ma, Murcia, Spain). The new material consists of dental and postcranial remains. The Puerto de la Cadena Sivatherium, together with the presence of Macaca sp. and Debruijnimys sp., indicates a connection between African and European faunas during the early Pliocene and a possible …