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The Diversity of Fish Otoliths, Past and Present by Dirk NOLF.
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"The Diversity of Fish Otoliths Past and Present" (222 p. and 359 pl.) by Dirk NOLF is a monograph in natural sciences from the Operational Directorate “Earth and History of Life” of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (www.naturalsciences.be/institute/structure/index_ html#earth). It contains a historical and nomenclatural overview of otolith research in paleontology, with special emphasis on their great impact on the evaluation of the fossil record of teleostean fishes, and a systematic overview (with iconography) of the 1391 fossil species considered to be valid and of all Recent species for which otoliths have been found as fossil. For every species, the stratigraphic and geographic origin of the type material is given, and where available, also the collection numbers and depository of the holotype. Fossil species based on skeletons with otoliths in situ, but which do not have exclusively otolith-based primary types, are also included. An alphabetic list of all the 1797 nominal otolith-based fossil fish species, with an evaluation of their validity and their updated nomenclature is provided.
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Paleotemperature and seasonality in the Early Eocene southern North Sea Basin inferred from fossil fish otoliths.
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Prologue
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History of excavations, discoveries and collections.
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Spy cave, also known as the Betche aux Rotches cave, is one of the most famous Palaeolithic sites in Belgium. Excavated on numerous occasions beginning in 1879, the remains of two adult Neandertals were discovered in 1886. For the first time in the history of palaeoanthropology, human fossils were found in a stratigraphic context associated with rich archaeological material including the remains of extinct megafauna. The history of work at Spy presented here is based on a review of publications concerning the various excavations, the Lohest and Vercheval-De Puydt family archives, as well as inventories and archives possessed by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Royal Museums of Art and History. This archival review clarifies several aspects concerning the discovery of the two Neandertal specimens, particularly in light of new studies concerning the Spy material which is now dispersed amongst several public and private collections.
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Through the correspondence: the little story of the “Spy bones”.
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In the summer 1886, the Neandertal fossils of Spy were unearthed in the so-called Betche aux Rotches cave. Ever since, they have been through many events and have been the stake of discords, sometimes impassioned, between the various protagonists of their discovery and their conservation. The succession of these events will be redrawn here and the positions of each cleared up in the light of the rereading of two archives collections coming from the discoverers, namely the correspondence collection of Maximin Lohest, which is Mrs Dallemagne-Ophoven’s property, and the correspondence collection of Marcel De Puydt, handed over to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), which we shall refer to as “the Vercheval collection”.
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Geological context
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The geological context of the Spy area is presented, from Lower Palaeozoic to Quaternary. It focuses on Upper Palaeozoic, including the Lower Carboniferous limestone in which the Spy cave opens. Special attention is also given to the Quaternary.
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The stratigraphy of Spy cave. A review of the available lithostratigraphic and archaeostratigraphic information.
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This chapter presents a general review of the lithostratigraphy associated with the various excavations carried out at Spy cave since the end of the 19th century, incorporating what little information is available concerning sedimentogenesis. In addition to reviewing the types and possible causes underlying the mixed nature of the Spy archaeological material, the history of the published archaeostratigraphic interpretations of the site is presented alongside the different techno-complexes identified amongst the Spy material. Finally, the stratigraphic position of the Neandertal remains is considered and an overall stratigraphy is proposed that takes into consideration the available chronostratigraphic data.
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Non-flint raw materials.
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This paper presents a macroscopic and mesoscopic characterisation of different non-flint raw materials identified amongst the archaeological material from Spy cave. Already available information for each raw material is discussed before introducing relevant new terminology. Finally, a litho-stratigraphic attribution is proposed alongside a discussion of the geological and geographical origin of each raw material. More detailed information was recorded for black, finely bedded silicites using Raman spectrometry, and for fluorites by measuring strontium isotopes or LA-ICP-MS of rare-earth elements. In both cases, these analytical approaches allowed mac - roscopically similar materials to be distinguished and their outcrops identified. The Orneau Valley has a relatively high lithological diversity (outcrops and fluvial deposits) from which a large part of the raw materials utilised at Spy derive. These materials were complemented by sources found in the Brabant Massif (Ottignies) and the area surrounding Landen.
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Oolithic ironstones from Spy cave.
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What do we know today about the Middle Palaeolithic of Spy?
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