Search results for "Taxon"
showing 10 items of 1833 documents
A new ichnofauna from the Permian of the Zat Valley in the Marrakech High Atlas of Morocco
2020
Abstract A new ichnofauna from the Permian of Morocco is described in details: it is the first Palaeozoic ichnofauna from the Zat Valley in Marrakech High Atlas. The new tracksite was found in the Tighdouine region, in the middle-upper Permian of the Cham-el-Houa Siltstone Formation. An abundant and diverse ichnoassemblage composed of both protostomian (probably arthropods and annelids) traces and vertebrate tracks is recorded. The presence of protostomian burrows and traceways, associated with tetrapod tracks corresponds to the Scoyenia ichnofacies. Protostomian traces are ascribed to Diplichnites gouldi, Diplopodichnus biformis, Scoyenia cf. gracilis and Spongeliomorpha carlsbergi. Tetrap…
Disambiguating the soils of Mars
2020
Abstract Anticipated human missions to Mars require a methodical understanding of the unconsolidated bulk sediment that mantles its surface, given its role as an accessible resource for water and as a probable substrate for food production. However, classifying martian sediment as soil has been pursued in an ad hoc fashion, despite emerging evidence from in situ missions for current and paleo-pedological processes. Here we find that in situ sediment at Gusev, Meridiani and Gale are consistent with pedogenesis related to comminuted basalts mixing with older phyllosilicates – perhaps of pluvial origin – and sulfates. Furthermore, a notable presence of hydrated amorphous phases indicates signi…
Firewood and hearths: Middle Palaeolithic woody taxa distribution from El Salt, stratigraphic unit Xb (Eastern Iberia)
2017
Abstract Spatial analyses of Palaeolithic sites typically defined by hearth-related assemblages have been mostly based on lithic and faunal remains. By using spatial analysis methods in conjunction with analytical units with higher temporal resolution than typical stratigraphic units, synchronic and diachronic relationships between artifacts deposited during successive occupation events have been elucidated. Spatial analyses applied to archaeobotanical remains are scarce, and when available, are typically focused on carpological remains (seeds and fruits). The lack of spatial indicators among anthracological remains hampers obtaining significant data linked to the relationships established …
Pleistocene paleoenvironmental reconstructions and mammalian evolution in South-East Asia: focus on fossil faunas from Thailand.
2006
16 pages; International audience; Mammalian faunal studies have provided various clues for a better reconstruction of hominid Quaternary paleoenvironments. Inthis work, two methods were used: (1) the cenogram method, based on a graphical representation of the mammalian communitystructure, and (2) the species richness of murine rodents to estimate climatic parameters. These methods were applied to Middle andLate Pleistocene mammalian faunas of South-East Asia, from South China to Indonesia. Special emphasis was laid on a fauna fromnorth-east Thailand dated back to approximately 170,000 years (i.e. a glacial period). This Thai fauna seems characteristic of aslightly open forested environment …
Wildcat scats: Taphonomy of the predator and its micromamal prey
2019
Small sized felids, such as wild and domestic cats, are one of the most common predators in the nature and in sites occupied by humans in archaeological and historical contexts. Wildcats have ingestion/ digestion traits highly destructive for their prey, i.e.: teeth to chew causing extreme breakage, and digestion along the entire digestive tract with low pH gastric juices causing extreme bone corrosion. Small sized cats are also well known to play with the prey and select skeletal parts to ingest. The present study is focused on the taphonomic analysis of micromammal remains recovered from scats produced by European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) during several months and years. Exc…
Dental microwear texture analysis on extant and extinct sharks : Ante- or post-mortem tooth wear?
2020
Sharks are apex-predators that play an important role in past and present aquatic food webs. However, their diet - especially in extinct species - is often not well constrained. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has been successfully applied to reconstruct diet and feeding behaviours of different aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. However, unlike in mammals, food-to-tooth contact in sharks is rather limited because only larger prey is manipulated before swallowing. Together with a fast tooth replacement rate, this reduces wear on individual teeth. Here, we present an explorative study of dental microwear texture on extant and extinct sharks to test whether ante-mortem wear is relat…
Biometric and morphometric approaches on Lower Hettangian dinosaur footprints from the Rodez Strait (Aveyron, France).
2012
9 pages; International audience; Along the southern crystalline border of the Rouergue, the detrital Sandstones-variegated Mudstones Formation and the Dolomitic Formation yields numerous dinosaur footprints from the Earliest Hettangian. Among the 25 sites distributed along the 40 km-long transect between Marcillac-Vallon and Saint-Geniez-d'Olt, two of them, Puech de Castres and Le Bouyssou, have yielded abundant ichnites in various well-defined stratigraphic units. The combined analysis of these footprints with biometric and morphometric methods (Fourier analysis) warrants their identification to Grallator, Eubrontes and Dilophosauripus. The dual methodological approach also reveals two new…
In the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction: the microbialite refuge?
2013
7 pages; International audience; We present the first study of micro-crustaceans (ostracods) associated with microbial crusts in the aftermath of the most devastating extinction, the end-Permian extinction (EPE). These post-extinction microbialites dominated shallow shelf marine environments and were traditionally considered as devoid of any associated fauna. We present a micro-palaeontological analysis of a large record from microbial and non-microbial settings following the EPE. This dataset documents the proliferation of ostracods strictly associated with microbialites. Based on the diet of extant ostracods and uniformitarianism, we propose that the abundant microbes in the mats served a…
Revision of the genus Anasibirites Mojsisovics (Ammonoidea): An iconic and cosmopolitan taxon of the late Smithian (Early Triassic) extinction
2016
34 pages; International audience; The family Prionitidae Hyatt represents a major component of ammonoid faunas during the Smithian (Early Triassic), and the genus Anasibirites Mojsisovics is the most emblematic taxon of this family. Its stratigraphical range is restricted to the beginning of the late Smithian (Wasatchites distractus Zone). The genus is also characterized by an unusual cosmopolitan distribution, thus contrasting with most earlier Smithian ammonoid distributions that were typically restricted by latitude. Because the late Smithian witnessed an extinction of the nekton (e.g. ammonoids, conodonts) whose amplitude is equal to or larger than that of the end-Permian crisis, the nu…
Trilobites from the Red Fauna (latest Emsian, Devonian) of Hamar Laghdad, Morocco and their biodiversity
2018
36 pages; International audience; Trilobites are widespread in Early Devonian deposits of north Gondwana; some of the most emblematic ones were collected from the famous latest Emsian (Early Devonian) mudmound locality Hamar Laghdad in south-eastern Morocco. This locality is famous for its trilobites, especially for the conspicuous red-coloured remains of phacopid trilobites with often greenish eyes. Here, we present a taxonomic revision of the previously described trilobites from the so-called Red Fauna of Hamar Laghdad. We introduce the new taxa Harpes hamarlaghdadensis n. sp. and Morocops davidbrutoni n. sp. Phacopids dominate the trilobite assemblage from the Red Cliff at Hamar Laghdad …