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Human impact on avulsion and fan development in a semi-arid region: examples from SW Iran
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New lizard from the Early Eocene Vastan Lignite mine of India
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The lower Eocene (Ypresian) Cambay Formation at Vastan Lignite Mine in Gujarat, western India, has yielded a rich vertebrate assemblage including the earliest modern mammals and oldest birds of the Indian subcontinent. Among the herpetological faunas, snakes, lizards and amphibians are abundant, but, strangely, lizards are only represented by agamids. Here we describe the agamid assemblage based on numerous, diverse and well-preserved dentaries, premaxillaries, and maxillaries. At least four taxa are present at Vastan. Vastanagama susanae is characterized by dentaries with a large symphyseal facet, three anterior pleurodont teeth followed by acrodont teeth presenting a main cusp bordered by two lateral crests; the teeth increase in size posteriorly toward the coronoid process. Tinosaurus indicus exhibits a subdental ridge between the tooth row and the Meckelian canal, pleurodont symphyseal teeth including one that can be caniniform, and acrodont and tricuspid posterior teeth with poorly differentiated lateral cusps. Two other taxa represent two new genera and species. The first taxon presents multicuspid acrodont teeth with the main cusp surrounded by two or three progressively smaller lateral cusps. The second taxon presents pleurodont anterior teeth followed by a few acrodont teeth and ending with three or four subacrodont teeth near the coronoid process. Our results confirm that Agamidae (assigned to the Acrodonta) is the only lizard group present at Vastan, whereas many other groups are already present in the Early Eocene on the other continents. Agamidae is considered to have had a Gondwanan origin, with 52 genera and 420 species of extant agamids known from Asia, Australia, Africa and a few from Southern Europe. The oldest occurrence of formally recognized Acrodonta is found in the Jurassic of India. Other fossil agamids are known in the Upper Paleocene of Kazakhstan, Paleocene and Eocene of China, Early Eocene of Europe, Eocene of North America, and Middle Eocene of Pakistan. The diversity of the agamids in India and the absence of other lizard groups at Vastan tentatively support the Out-of-India hypothesis for agamids.
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New bats (Chiroptera) from the Earliest Oligocene Boutersem-TGV locality in Belgium document the earliest occurence of Myotis
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Early Oligocene mammals from Europe are not well known. In Belgium this interval (reference level MP 21) is represented by four coeval localities, Boutersem, Boutersem-TGV, Hoogbutsel and Hoeleden. Included in a vertebrate assemblage of 20+ mammalian genera, one bat, Quinetia misonnei, has been previously described from Hoogbutsel, based on four lower dentitions. Twenty new specimens of Quinetia were recently recovered from Boutersem-TGV including six upper molars, a humerus, and thirteen lower dentitions. These new specimens confirm that Quinetia is a plecotine vespertilionid and consequently represents the earliest known occurrence of this tribe. Additionally, twenty five other dental specimens document the presence of a larger vespertilionid from Boutersem-TGV. These specimens are assigned to Myotis based on the primitive 3.1.3.3 dental formula, the presence of a single-rooted p3, myotodont lower molars, a relatively high crowned lower canine with well-developed mesial and distolingual shelves, M1 and M2 lacking both paraconules and metalophs, protofossa of M1 and M2 open posteriorly, and M3 being relatively short. The Boutersem-TGV Myotis specimens represent the earliest known record of this extant genus. Only some isolated potential myotine teeth from Le Batut (MP 19) in France are older but these teeth differ from Myotis in having upper molars with a paraloph and a protofossa closed posteriorly, both features more typical of the enigmatic “Leuconoe”. Myotodont species, such as “L”. salodorensis from Oensingen (MP 25) in Switzerland and “L”. lavocati from Le Garouillas (MP 25-28) in France, both share features of upper teeth that distinguish them from Myotis. Younger still are three Myotis species from Herrlingen 8-9 (MP 29) in Germany. Compared to the Boutersem-TGV Myotis, M. minor is much smaller with a relatively smaller, shorter and more delicate p4, M. intermedius is somewhat smaller in molar dimensions but with a substantially smaller and shorter p4, while M. major has larger m1-2, similar sized m3, smaller p4, more robust M1 and a more constricted P4 lingual shelf. The origin of Myotis appears to be at least as old as the earliest Oligocene.
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Diversity of archaeonycterid bats in the Early Eocene of Europe
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Chiroptera is one of the few modern mammal orders for which no fossil record has been associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Despite intensive collecting efforts, the earliest remains of bats are still elusive. Archaeonycteris trigonodon from the early Middle Eocene of Messel Formation (MP11) in Germany along with Icaronycteris index and Onychonycteris finneyi, both from the late Early Eocene Green River Formation (Wa7) in Wyoming, have been recognized as representing the most primitive bats based on skeleton morphology. Very few dental features of any of these taxa have been studied in detail because upper and lower dentitions are in occlusion. Nearly one century after its initial description it has become possible to digitally reconstruct the teeth of A. trigonodon using micro-CT scanning technology. This permits characterization of the complete dentition of A. trigonodon and for the first time enables dental comparisons with A. brailloni from the middle Early Eocene of Avenay (MP8+9) in France. The early Early Eocene French locality of Meudon (?MP8+9) has also yielded a few isolated bat teeth that have never been formally described. M1 is distinctly smaller than M2, both have a deep ectoflexus but M1 is more asymmetric than M2. The centrocrista does not extend far toward the labial border and both have a complete lingual cingulum and no paraconule. Lower molars are relatively wide, especially the trigonid of m2. The entoconid of m1 is distinct and individualized whereas it is more reduced and in line with the hypoconulid on m2 and m3. The new taxon from Meudon is similar in size to Archaeonycteris? praecursor from the early Early Eocene of Silveiriha (MP7) in Portugal but differs from that taxon in having lower molars with a relatively longer trigonid and shorter postcristid. These results indicate that the diversity of archaeonycterid bats is higher than previously recognized and that diversification of this lineage began early in the Eocene.
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The Earliest Bats from Europe
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Chiroptera is one of the few modern mammal orders for which no fossil record has been associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum that happened 55.8 million years ago. With the exception of complete skeletons from the early Middle Eocene of the Messel Formation in Germany and the late Early Eocene Green River Formation in Wyoming, all early bats are only represented by isolated elements, mainly teeth and fragmentary jaws, making the diversity and taxonomic affinities more difficult to establish. Here we revise all of the Early Eocene bats from Europe based on dental features, including digitally reconstructed teeth using micro-CT scanning technology of some complete skeletons. The diversity of European early bats is composed of the families Onychonycteridae, Icaronycteridae, Archaeonycteridae, Palaeochiropterygidae, and some of undetermined affinities. Dental features and synapomorphies of each family are characterized for the first time. The earliest bats are dated from the early Early Eocene and are all of small size with lower molars less than 1.3 mm in length. They are represented by: Eppsinycteris anglica from Abbey Wood, east London, England, an onychonycterid with reduced lower p4 and long molars; Archaeonycteris? praecursor from Silveirinha, Portugal, an archaeonycterid with long postcristid on wide lower molars; a new archaeonycterid genus and species from Meudon, North France with long trigonid and shorter postcristid on wide lower molars. These results indicate that the diversity of European Early Eocene bats is higher than previously recognized and that diversification began early in the Early Eocene.
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New primate postcrania from the Eraly Eocene of Vastan Mine, Gujarat, India
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The Cambay Formation at Vastan Mine in Gujarat yields the oldest fossil primates known from India. New age estimates suggest that the fossils date from approximately 54.5 Ma (early Ypresian), about 2 million years older than initially thought and comparable in age to early Wasatchian Wa-4 faunas from North America. The Vastan primate fauna comprises predominantly the asiadapine adapoids Marcgodinotius and Asiadapis. Two species of omomyid primates, Vastanomys gracilis and V. major, are much rarer, each known from a single dental specimen. In addition to primate dental remains, Vastan Mine has produced the best preserved early Eocene primate postcranial elements known from anywhere in the world. Here we present new limb bones, including humeri, ulnae, femora, tibiae, and a talus, from three of the recognized primate species. They include the first omomyid postcrania from India: two femora, a talus, and a potential proximal tibia. We also report additional asiadapine postcrania: a pristine femur of Marcgodinotius and the first complete tibia of Asiadapis. Five new humeri (two complete) consist of one asiadapine and four that lack specializations of either group, making allocation difficult. Two ulnae are attributed to indeterminate euprimates due to lack of adequate comparative material. The elements attributed to Vastanomys are more primitive than any other known omomyid postcrania and are only subtly different from those of asiadapines, in contrast to the more distinct postcranial bones of their middle and late Eocene relatives. The femora attributed to Vastanomys exhibit features suggestive of leaping behavior (cylindrical femoral heads, lateral condyle higher than medial, proximal position of the third trochanter), as in other omomyids. However, while the talus of Vastanomys resembles those of omomyids more than those of other primates, features such as the relatively short, medially angled neck, and oval rather than spherical head suggest that Vastanomys was not as specialized for leaping as younger omomyids. Although asiadapines have been described as close to notharctids in morphology, the relatively wider distal femur and symmetrical condyles of Marcgodinotius resemble adapids more than notharctids and may also reflect less leaping. The revised age of the fossils, together with the similarity in morphology of omomyid and asiadapine postcrania, suggests that the postcrania, like the teeth of the most primitive members of each family, are converging toward a common morphology as we approach the base of the Eocene.
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Quantification of practical and matched CO2 storage capacity for insufficiently known reservoirs
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Virtual biomechanical analysis of the lower limbs of a Neandertal
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The First Upper Paleolithic Human Remains from Belgium: Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Magdalenian Fossils at the “Troisième caverne” of Goyet
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There is ample evidence of human occupation across Northern Europe throughout various periods of the Upper Paleolithic. However, the biological characteristics of the Northern European Upper Paleolithic humans and their mortuary practices remain largely unknown because of a dearth of human fossils. In Belgium, although the presence of humans has been verified at multiple archeological sites, no Upper Paleolithic fossil has yet been identified. In this context, the recent discovery of Upper Paleolithic human remains at Goyet (Belgium) fills in an important chronological gap. The “Troisième caverne” of Goyet, excavated at the end of the 19th and early 20th century, yielded a rich archeological sequence ranging from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic to historical times. In 2008, we began documenting the Paleolithic occupations of the “Troisième caverne” by reassessing the collections from the site which heretofore had only been partially studied. The updated inventory of human remains was accomplished by conducting a detailed sorting of the paleontological collections in order to identify human remains that may have been overlooked thus far. As a result, the collections from the “Troisième caverne” now include nearly 200 human bones/bone fragments and isolated teeth that correspond to various materials from different periods. The morphometric study of the human specimens from Goyet, completed by direct radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis, shows that they represent two main samples—a series of Late Neandertal remains (Rougier et al. 2012) and a set of modern human specimens from three periods of the Upper Paleolithic, namely the Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Magdalenian. The latter include fragmentary elements from the cranial and infracranial skeleton. Interestingly, those from the Gravettian and Magdalenian present anthropogenic traces and ochre traces. We will discuss the importance of these new fossils in the context of the human population of Northern Europe during the Upper Paleolithic.
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La détermination du sexe grâce à la méthode probabalistic diagnosis dans un environnement virtuel
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The hip bone is one of the most reliable indicators of sex in the human body due to the fact it is the most dimorphic bone. Probabilistic Sex Diagnosis (developed by Murailet al., 2005) is a method based on a worldwide hip bone metrical database and relies on the actual physical bone for analysis. Sex is determined by comparing specific measurements taken from each specimen using sliding calipers and computing the probability of the specimens being female or male. In forensic science it is sometimes not possible to sex a body due to corpse decay or injury. Skeletinization and dissection of a body is a laborious process and desecrates the body. The current study aimed to see if it was possible to virtually utilise the DSP method to avoid this process. Forty-nine innominate bones of unknown sex were obtained from ULB. Bones were analysed by two researchers using the manual DSP method and a good correlation was found between researchers. CT scans of available bones were analysed to obtain three-dimensional (3D) virtual models using a commercially available software (Amira, www.amiravis.com). Available models were imported into a customized software programme called lhpFusionBox (developed at ULB from the MAF open-source library). lhpFusionBox is an advanced musculo-skeletal software which includes many operations relevant to Biomechanics. It also enables distances to be measured via virtually- palpated bony landmarks. DSP measurements were then obtained from the located bony landmarks. There was 100% accuracy between the manual and virtual DSP analysis. To further test the method 30 virtual bones of known sex were analysed (researchers had no prior knowledge of sex before analysis). There was found to be a 97% accuracy rate with only one bone leading to a wrong determination. These
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