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Pig Domestication and Human-Mediated Dispersal in Western Eurasia Revealed through Ancient DNA and Geometric Morphometrics
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Zooarcheological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated in Southwest Asia ∼8,500 BC. They then spread across the Middle and Near East and westward into Europe alongside early agriculturalists. European pigs were either domesticated independently or more likely appeared so as a result of admixture between introduced pigs and European wild boar. As a result, European wild boar mtDNA lineages replaced Near Eastern/Anatolian mtDNA signatures in Europe and subsequently replaced indigenous domestic pig lineages in Anatolia. The specific details of these processes, however, remain unknown. To address questions related to early pig domestication, dispersal, and turnover in the Near East, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA and dental geometric morphometric variation in 393 ancient pig specimens representing 48 archeological sites (from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Medieval period) from Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Our results reveal the first genetic signatures of early domestic pigs in the Near Eastern Neolithic core zone. We also demonstrate that these early pigs differed genetically from those in western Anatolia that were introduced to Europe during the Neolithic expansion. In addition, we present a significantly more refined chronology for the introduction of European domestic pigs into Asia Minor that took place during the Bronze Age, at least 900 years earlier than previously detected. By the 5th century AD, European signatures completely replaced the endemic lineages possibly coinciding with the widespread demographic and societal changes that occurred during the Anatolian Bronze and Iron Ages.
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Body length estimation of the European eel Anguilla anguilla on the basis of isolated skeletal elements
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Using a large series of dry skeletons of modern European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) from Belgium and the Netherlands, the relationship between fish length and individual bone measurements is investigated. The aim of the study is to provide adequate regression equations between both parameters. This methodology is relevant for both palaeoecological and ecological researches since isolated skeletal elements survive in large numbers on archaeological sites and in the stomach contents, faeces or regurgitations of piscivorous animals. The predictive value for the length estimations is explored for various skeletal elements and the accuracy of the obtained regression formulae is compared to that of the formulae already existing in literature. Particular attention is paid to the use of vertebrae, taking into account that different morphotypes can be distinguished amongst them.
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Algal Taxonomy: a Road to Nowhere? Journal of Phycology
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Rapid divergence in morphology, physiology and behaviour among island populations of lizards.
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New species of Muricidae (Gastropoda) and additional or noteworthy records from the western Pacific.
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Fourteen species of Muricidae referable to the (sub)genera Promurex Ponder & Vokes, 1988, Pygmaepterys Vokes, 1978, Murexsul Iredale, 1915, Pazinotus Vokes, 1970, Prototyphis Ponder, 1972, Ponderia Houart, 1986, Gemixystus Iredale, 1929, Leptotrophon Houart, 1995 and Scabrotrophon McLean, 1996 are reported from New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Taiwan, to depths down to 1750 m. Five new species are described: Favartia (Pygmaepterys) lifouensis n. sp. from New Caledonia with range extension to the Solomon Islands, Pazinotus chionodes n. sp. and Gemixystus calcareus n. sp. from New Caledonia, Leptotrophon wareni n. sp. from the Solomon Islands and Favartia (Pygmaepterys) circinata n. sp. from Taiwan.
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Are there widespread peracarid species in the deep sea (Crustacea: Malacostraca)?
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Correlative and dynamic species distribution modelling for ecological predictions in the Antarctic: a cross-disciplinary concept.
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Seismic stratigraphy of the late Quaternary sedimentary infill of Lac d’Armor (Kerguelen archipelago): a record of glacier retreat, sedimentary mass wasting and southern Westerly intensification.
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Lac d'Armor (49°27′S, 69°42′E) is a medium-sized, fjord-type lake located on the ‘Grande Terre’ island of the Kerguelen archipelago. A dense grid of high-resolution reflection seismic profiles was collected from this lake basin. The seismic stratigraphic facies reveal a last deglaciation to Holocene infill comparable to the seismic facies found in other glacigenic lakes all over the world. Remarkable features in the seismic stratigraphy are mounded structures found at the southern edge of both sub-basins. The sediment mounds can be interpreted as sediment drifts created by wind-induced bottom currents. The onset of the build-up of these drifts initiated at some point in the Holocene and indicates a strengthening of the southern Westerlies, which are currently the dominant winds on this island.
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Diverse assemblages of Mid Devonian megaspores from Libya.
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A restudy of Devonian palynological assemblages of samples from the A1-69 borehole, drilled in the Ghadamis Basin, western Libya, North Africa has led to the discovery of numerous well-preserved megaspores amongst abundant miospores, rare acritarchs and rare chitinozoans. Thirteen samples from base to top, 1496 ft (456 m) up to 965 ft (294 m), contain the richest Devonian megaspore assemblages from northwestern Gondwana. The section is dated by a rich diverse miospore assemblage indicating the presence of the upper part of the AD pre-Lem Biozone up to the lower part of the TCo Oppel Zone, ranging from a latest Eifelian or earliest Givetian age up to a latest Givetian or an earliest Frasnian age. Seventeen megaspore taxa have been identified. Among them, two new species (Biharisporites lugardonii and Lagenicula milleri) and four new varieties (Corystisporites acutispinosus var. acutispinosus and var. bullatus, Heliotriletes longispinosus var. longispinosus and var. radiatus) are described. One new possible megaspore species is also described: Verruciretusispora labiosa sp. nov. One core sample (1293 ft, 394 m) contains several specimens of very large megaspores (ca. 1 mm), the largest known from Devonian localities (except for one specimen observed in the Givetian from Belgium). Among the 17 megaspore taxa from Libya, 6 are present on the Euramerican Continent. This observation is in accordance with previous palynological conclusions that favour the absence of palaeogeographic barriers between the Euramerican and Gondwanan continents that are suggested to be grouped together in a “Pre-Pangea” land mass.
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A Simple Type of Wood in Two Early Devonian Plants
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