-
Plants and people: choices and diversity through time
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Platychelone emarginata gigantic Cretaceous marine turtle from Belgium
-
Platychelone emarginata Dollo, 1909 is a large turtle from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) chalk sediments of Limburg, Belgium. Hitherto, only the name was given to this turtle without describing details or providing figures. A single well articulated carapace (IRScNB. Reg. 1681), lacking nuchal, peripherals, and pygal plates, is preserved. The distance from the first costal to the distal end of the eighth costal is 180 cm, indicating that the original carapace was about 210 cm long. Its gigantic size, flattened shell, reduction of distal half of costals, and loss of scute sulcus, indicate that Platychelone is a member of true marine turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea). Neurals are rectangular shape and inclination of the first thoracic vertebra is almost vertical, suggesting this turtle belongs to either Protostegidae or Dermochelyidae. Seventh and eighth costals are medially meeting due to the loss of neurals; this condition is shared with the genus Mesodermochelys from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian to Maastrichtian) of Japan. Thus, it seems most probable that Platychelone is a closest relative of Mesodermochelys among basal dermochelyids. Platychelone has presumed autoapomorphic characters such as very thickened distal ends of thoracic ribs and irregular sculptures on carapace, not seen in any other chelonioids. This genus is only known by the holotype, whereas Allopleuron hoffmanni, a very common cheloniid marine turtle from in the Maastrichtian deposits of Belgium and Netherland, is known from some hundred specimens. So far, there is no ancestral or related taxon of Platychelone from the Campanian deposits of Belgium. The occurrence of Platychelone is very rare but evokes a high taxonomic diversity of gigantic chelonioids in the Cretaceous Tethys.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2017
-
Pleistocene and Recent species of the family Darwinulidae BRADY & NORMAN, 1889 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in Europe
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Pleistocene gravels on the Belgian offshore investigated for composition and provenance, towards a reassessment of the transport models
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2016
-
Pleistocene Mitochondrial Genomes Suggest a Single Major Dispersal of Non-Africans and a Late Glacial Population Turnover in Europe
-
How modern humans dispersed into Eurasia and Australasia, including the number of separate expansions and their timings, is highly debated [ 1, 2 ]. Two categories of models are proposed for the dispersal of non-Africans: (1) single dispersal, i.e., a single major diffusion of modern humans across Eurasia and Australasia [ 3–5 ]; and (2) multiple dispersal, i.e., additional earlier population expansions that may have contributed to the genetic diversity of some present-day humans outside of Africa [ 6–9 ]. Many variants of these models focus largely on Asia and Australasia, neglecting human dispersal into Europe, thus explaining only a subset of the entire colonization process outside of Africa [ 3–5, 8, 9 ]. The genetic diversity of the first modern humans who spread into Europe during the Late Pleistocene and the impact of subsequent climatic events on their demography are largely unknown. Here we analyze 55 complete human mitochondrial genomes (mtDNAs) of hunter-gatherers spanning ∼35,000 years of European prehistory. We unexpectedly find mtDNA lineage M in individuals prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This lineage is absent in contemporary Europeans, although it is found at high frequency in modern Asians, Australasians, and Native Americans. Dating the most recent common ancestor of each of the modern non-African mtDNA clades reveals their single, late, and rapid dispersal less than 55,000 years ago. Demographic modeling not only indicates an LGM genetic bottleneck, but also provides surprising evidence of a major population turnover in Europe around 14,500 years ago during the Late Glacial, a period of climatic instability at the end of the Pleistocene.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2016
-
Pleistocene vertebrate faunas of the Süttő Travertine Complex (Hungary)
-
Numerous fossil remains (vertebrates, molluscs and plants) were found in more than twenty sites of the Süttő Travertine Complex during the last 150 years. The majority of these remains were recovered from fissures of the travertine, but also from the travertine and an overlying loess–paleosol sequence. The aims of this study were to review the fossil content, to determine the stratigraphical positions of the various vertebrate faunas of Süttő and provide paleoecological interpretation of the periods on the basis of their faunas and floras. In addition, this paper describes new faunas and floras from the sites Süttő 16–20 and provides 14C dates for Süttő 16. On the basis of the new uranium series isotope and optical dating (OSL), the age of the travertine complex is Middle Pleistocene (235 ± 21–314 ± 45 ka, \MIS\ 7–9), while the age of the loess–paleosol sequence in superposition of the travertine is Middle–Late Pleistocene (MIS 2–MIS 6). In contrast, the fossils of the travertine indicated an older, Pliocene–Early Pleistocene age. A fissure (Süttő 17) and a red clay layer (Süttő 19) contained mammal faunas of Early–Middle Pleistocene age. These results indicated the existence of older travertine in certain quarries (Hegyháti quarry, Cukor quarry). Sedimentological and \OSL\ data of well-dated layers of the loess–paleosol sequence (Süttő/LPS) at Süttő allowed a correlation with the layers of Süttő 6. The paleosol layer in the upper part of the sequence of Süttő 6, was correlated with a pedocomplex of the overlying loess–paleosol sequence, which was dated to \MIS\ 5c (upper, dark soil) and \MIS\ 5e (lower, reddish brown soil). The paleoecological analysis of the mammal and mollusc faunas supported the former interpretation of Novothny et al. (2011) inferring warm, dry climate during the sedimentation of the upper layers, and more humid climate for the lower layers). However, the fauna of the lower soil layer indicated cold climate, so an age of \MIS\ 5d is suggested. Dating of the fissure faunas is based on similarity studies. For some faunas, this method cannot be used, because of the low number of species. On the basis of the species compositions and former interpretations, these faunas originated mainly from sediments that were deposited under cold climatic conditions. Other fissure faunas were dated by \AMS\ 14C (Süttő 16), or by correlation with soil layers of Süttő 6. According to these results, most of the fissure faunas can be correlated with different phases of \MIS\ 5. However, there are a younger (MIS 2) and an older (Early–Middle Pleistocene) fissure fauna also.
Located in
Library
/
No RBINS Staff publications
-
Plesiadapid mammals from the latest Paleocene of France offer new insights on the evolution of Plesiadapis during the Paleocene-Eocene transition
-
Plesiadapidae are among the most successful mammal families of the Paleocene, but in North America they disappear abruptly around the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. In contrast, in Europe, they survive a few million years into the Eocene, although only as the genus Platychoerops. The latest Paleocene deposits of Petit-P^atis (Paris Basin, France) have produced three new plesiadapid species, one of each genus known in Europe: Plesiadapis ploegi, sp. nov., Platychoerops boyeri, sp. nov., and Chiromyoides mauberti, sp. nov. Each of these new species is represented by the very characteristic upper incisor, thus ascertaining their concomitant presence and in particular the spatial and temporal coexistence of Plesiadapis and Platychoerops. Plesiadapis ploegi, sp. nov., is morphologically intermediate between Plesiadapis tricuspidens and Platychoerops russelli, with a tricuspid I1 typical of Plesiadapis and a semimolariform p4 closer to Platychoerops. Its relatively high morphological variability is illustrated. Platychoerops boyeri, sp. nov., has the simple derived I1 of all Platychoerops and a p4 slightly more molariform than that of Ples. ploegi. Chiromyoides mauberti, sp. nov., is closest to Chiromyoides campanicus, but it is smaller and has a particular I1 with multiple posterocones. The systematic position of ‘Platychoerops’ georgei is discussed; this taxon is considered a chimera, and its type I1 belongs to either Chiromyoides or Plesiadapis. Cladistic analysis highlights the paraphyly or polyphyly of all genera of Plesiadapidae. Finally, there is some indication of morphological convergences between European and North American plesiadapids, which may be the result of similar environmental changes on both continents just before the Paleocene-Eocene boundary.
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2018
-
Pleuropholis germinalis n. sp. a new Pleuropholidae (Neopterygii, Teleostei) from the Early Cretaceous of Bernissart, Belgium
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2022
-
Pleuston communities are buffered from regional flood pulses: the example of ostracods in the Parana River floodplain, Brazil
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications
-
Plicathyridine brachiopods (Athyridida) from the Frasnian (Late Devonian) of Western Europe and Middle East
-
Located in
Library
/
RBINS Staff Publications 2016
