To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Fossil species.
Journal articles on the topic 'Fossil species'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Fossil species.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
DOWELD, ALEXANDER B. "Styrax carranzae, a new name for extant Styrax lanceolatus P.W. Fritsch non Engelhardt (Styracaceae)." Phytotaxa 460, no. 3 (2020): 235–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.460.3.7.
Full textAbstract:
In revising fossil records of the genus Styrax Linnaeus (1753: 444) for the International Fossil Plant Names Index (IFPNI, 2014 onwards) with the aim of listing all fossil plant species (Doweld 2015, 2016a), it became apparent that a few fossil-species are later illegitimate homonyms of the extant species of Styrax, and their nomenclature was recently resolved by proposing new replacement names for them (Doweld 2016b). However, an additional case of the homonymy of an extant species by a preoccupied name in fossils remained unsettled.
2
Donoghue, Philip C. J., and Ziheng Yang. "The evolution of methods for establishing evolutionary timescales." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 371, no. 1699 (2016): 20160020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0020.
Full textAbstract:
The fossil record is well known to be incomplete. Read literally, it provides a distorted view of the history of species divergence and extinction, because different species have different propensities to fossilize, the amount of rock fluctuates over geological timescales, as does the nature of the environments that it preserves. Even so, patterns in the fossil evidence allow us to assess the incompleteness of the fossil record. While the molecular clock can be used to extend the time estimates from fossil species to lineages not represented in the fossil record, fossils are the only source of information concerning absolute (geological) times in molecular dating analysis. We review different ways of incorporating fossil evidence in modern clock dating analyses, including node-calibrations where lineage divergence times are constrained using probability densities and tip-calibrations where fossil species at the tips of the tree are assigned dates from dated rock strata. While node-calibrations are often constructed by a crude assessment of the fossil evidence and thus involves arbitrariness, tip-calibrations may be too sensitive to the prior on divergence times or the branching process and influenced unduly affected by well-known problems of morphological character evolution, such as environmental influence on morphological phenotypes, correlation among traits, and convergent evolution in disparate species. We discuss the utility of time information from fossils in phylogeny estimation and the search for ancestors in the fossil record. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Dating species divergences using rocks and clocks’.
3
NICOLI, LAURA. "The fossil record of Ceratophrys Wied-Neuwied (Anura: Ceratophryidae): a revision and update of fossil South American horned frogs." Zootaxa 4658, no. 1 (2019): 37–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4658.1.2.
Full textAbstract:
Ceratophrys is the most diverse and widely distributed genus of Ceratophryidae, the clade of South American horned frogs. Numerous anuran fossil remains, including several fossil species, have been assigned to this genus. However, this seemingly extensive fossil record is problematic because several of the fossils are not properly identified and most of the taxonomic assignations are not justified. The present study traces all the fossil material attributed to Ceratophrys, clarifying, when possible, institutional allocations. Each of the remains was examined and its taxonomic assignation revisited, based on the morphology and possible synapomorphies of the genus, including its living species. Numerous fossils were properly identified and assigned with certainty to Ceratophrys. Only one fossil species, Ceratophrys ameghinorum, is considered valid. This information, along with recently reported evidence of fossil Ceratophrys, is briefly summarized to serve as a practical reference for the entire known fossil record of the genus. The fossil record is not especially informative about the evolution or distribution pattern of Ceratophrys, because most of the remains are relatively young (post-Miocene), collected within the present distribution of the genus, and morphologically consistent with that of the extant species. However, some useful information has emerged. The presence of Ceratophrys is well documented since the Neogene in the Pampean Region of South America. The single valid fossil species, Ceratophrys ameghinorum, possesses a unique combination of characters that reflects a mixture of characters observed in different clades of the genus; thus, resolution of its phylogentic position will inform our understanding of the evolution of the genus. The paleoenvironmental significance of some Ceratophrys fossils is also discussed, addressing the wide, but incompletely known current distribution and environmental tolerance of the genus.
4
Puttick, Mark N. "Partially incorrect fossil data augment analyses of discrete trait evolution in living species." Biology Letters 12, no. 8 (2016): 20160392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0392.
Full textAbstract:
Ancestral state reconstruction of discrete character traits is often vital when attempting to understand the origins and homology of traits in living species. The addition of fossils has been shown to alter our understanding of trait evolution in extant taxa, but researchers may avoid using fossils alongside extant species if only few are known, or if the designation of the trait of interest is uncertain. Here, I investigate the impacts of fossils and incorrectly coded fossils in the ancestral state reconstruction of discrete morphological characters under a likelihood model. Under simulated phylogenies and data, likelihood-based models are generally accurate when estimating ancestral node values. Analyses with combined fossil and extant data always outperform analyses with extant species alone, even when around one quarter of the fossil information is incorrect. These results are especially pronounced when model assumptions are violated, such as when there is a trend away from the root value. Fossil data are of particular importance when attempting to estimate the root node character state. Attempts should be made to include fossils in analysis of discrete traits under likelihood, even if there is uncertainty in the fossil trait data.
5
Thuy, Ben, and Lea D. Numberger-Thuy. "The Northernmost Occurrence of the Tropical-Subtropical Brittle Star Ophiocoma (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) from a Late Cretaceous Rocky Shore in Southern Sweden." Taxonomy 3, no. 3 (2023): 346–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/taxonomy3030020.
Full textAbstract:
In spite of considerable progress during the last few years, the fossil record of the ophiuroids, or brittle stars, is still poorly known, especially with respect to taxa restricted to specific environments. Here, we describe new ophiuroid fossils collected from an Upper Cretaceous rocky shore in Ivö Klack, southern Sweden, consisting of fully disarticulated skeletal remains retrieved from the sediments deposited between boulders and hummocks. The fossils are identified as a new species of the extant ophiocomid genus Ophiocoma. In a critical revision of the ophiocomid fossil record, we show that all fossils previously assigned to the Ophiocomidae belong to other families. Thus, the fossil record of the Ophiocomidae is currently restricted to the new species described herein, and Amphiura? gigantiformis from the Miocene of Austria which, in fact, is a species of Ophiocoma. Since recent species of Ophiocoma exclusively occur in tropical to subtropical shallow subtidal environments, our discovery of a fossil Ophiocoma species in the rocky shore sediments of Ivö therefore conforms with the previously assumed subtropical palaeotemperatures prevailing in southern Sweden during the Late Cretaceous. Most notably, it represents the northernmost occurrence of an ophiocomid recorded to date.
6
Martinetto, Edoardo, Cesare Ravazzi, Guido Roghi, Giorgio Teruzzi, Raymond Van der Ham, and Roberto Zorzin. "Neotypification of the name Juglandites bergomensis, basionym of the fossil-species Juglans bergomensis (Juglans sect. Cardiocaryon, Juglandaceae)." Phytotaxa 234, no. 3 (2015): 280. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.234.3.9.
Full textAbstract:
Juglans bergomensis is the name of a fossil-species belonging to Juglans sect. Cardiocaryon that is based on the basionym Juglandites bergomensis, whose type material, represented by a single fruit, is missing. However, the type locality can be indicated with certainty in the Early Pleistocene brown coal bearing sediments of Leffe, in northern Italy, which yielded several other fossil fruits with characters corresponding to the missing holotype. In the same site fruits of Juglandaceae of different fossil-species occurred. We select a specimen from a collection stored in Padua, with dimensions and sculpture most closely approaching those of the missing holotype, as neotype for the name Juglandites bergomensis, in order to fix the application of the name Juglans bergomensis. Even if the nuts of this species show “seemingly quite minor” differences from those of J. cinerea (smaller seeds, more shallow seed lobes, and generally more elongate shape), it is not convenient to use for these fossils, occurring in Eurasia, the name of the extant North American species. The use of the fossil-species name J. bergomensis, taking priority over J. tephrodes, permits to establish a clear relationship among several hundreds of Eurasian fossils assignable to sect. Cardiocaryon, and to highlight the morphological distinction from a few other fossil-species.
7
Tumpeesuwan, Sakboworn, Mongkol Udchachon, Komsorn Lauprasert, et al. "The Richest Diversity and Highest Abundance of Freshwater Bivalve Fossils from the New Fossil Locality of the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation at Roi Et Province, Northeastern Thailand." Tropical Natural History 24 (October 28, 2024): 137–52. https://doi.org/10.58837/tnh.24.1.261318.
Full textAbstract:
A new fossil freshwater bivalves locality in the Sao Khua Formation was discovered at the top of a small hill named Phu Kum Khao in the Pho Chai District, Roi Et Province, northeastern Thailand. The fossils bed is a mud-nodule conglomeratic sandstone of the Sao Khua Formation and has proved to be both of high abundance and species diversity (6,637 specimens of nine species). The most abundant species is Pseudohyria (Matsumotoina) somanai Tumpeesuwan, Sato, and Nakhapadungrat, 2010, which is not only the dominant species of the Sao Khua Formation but also the index fossil representative of the Late Barremian age for the formation. The bivalves from this locality are preserved as both articulated and disarticulated shells. Associated vertebrate fossils are preserved as bone fragments and micro remains. According to the fossil assemblage and its taphonomy and orientation, lithology, and geometry, we interpret this fossil bed as having been deposited by a crevasse splay of a meandering river system.
8
SOHN, JAE-CHEON, CONRAD LABANDEIRA, DONALD DAVIS, and CHARLES MITTER. "An annotated catalog of fossil and subfossil Lepidoptera (Insecta: Holometabola) of the world." Zootaxa 3286, no. 1 (2012): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3286.1.1.
Full textAbstract:
In this catalog, we attempt to assemble all fossil records of Lepidoptera described formally or informally in the worldliterature. A total of 667 records dealing with at least 4,568 specimens have been compiled. They include descriptions of131 fossil genera and 229 fossil species, as well as 72 extant genera and 21 extant species to which some of these fossilssupposedly belong or show superficial similarity. Replacement names of two fossil genera are proposed to avoidhomonymy: Baltopsyche Sohn, gen. nov. for Palaeopsyche Sobczyk and Kobbert, 2009 and Netoxena Sohn, gen. nov. forXena Martins-Neto, 1999. New generic combinations are proposed for: Tortrix? destructus Cockerell, 1916, Tortrixflorissantanus Cockerell, 1907, and Tortrix sp. sensu Gravenhorst (1835), all three to Tortricites Kozlov, 1988;Pterophorus oligocenicus Bigot, Nel and Nel, 1986, to Merrifieldia Tutt, 1905; Aporia sp. sensu Branscheid (1969) toPierites Heer, 1849; Noctua spp. sensu Hope (1836) and Lomnicki (1894), both to Noctuites Heer, 1849. Eleven namesimproperly proposed for lepidopteran fossils are invalidated: Baltonides roeselliformis Skalski in Kosmowska-Ceranowicz and Popiolek, 1981; Baltodines Kupryjanowicz, 2001; Barbarothea Scudder, 1890; Lepidopterites Piton,1936; Palaeozygaena Reiss, 1936; Psamateia calipsa Martins-Neto, 2002; Saxibatinca meyi Skalski in Kristensen andSkalski, 1998; Spatalistiforma submerga Skalski, 1976; Thanatites juvenalis Scudder, 1875; Tortricibaltia diakonoffiSkalski, 1976; and Zygaenites Reiss, 1936. An unnecessary subsequent type designation for Pierites Heer, 1849, isdiscussed. A total of 129 records include lepidopteran fossils which cannot be placed in any taxonomic rank. There alsoexist at least 25 fossil records which lack any evidence of the supposed lepidopteran association. Misidentified specimens,including 18 fossil genera, 29 fossil species and 12 unnamed fossils, are excluded from Lepidoptera. All the knownlepidopteran fossils are annotated by fossil type, specimen deposition, excavation locality, association with plants when present, and geological age. A bibliographic list of lepidopteran fossils is provided.
9
Torres, Jesús M., Concepción Borja, Luis Gibert, Francesc Ribot, and Enrique G. Olivares. "Twentieth-Century Paleoproteomics: Lessons from Venta Micena Fossils." Biology 11, no. 8 (2022): 1184. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11081184.
Full textAbstract:
Proteomics methods can identify amino acid sequences in fossil proteins, thus making it possible to determine the ascription or proximity of a fossil to other species. Before mass spectrometry was used to study fossil proteins, earlier studies used antibodies to recognize their sequences. Lowenstein and colleagues, at the University of San Francisco, pioneered the identification of fossil proteins with immunological methods. His group, together with Olivares’s group at the University of Granada, studied the immunological reactions of proteins from the controversial Orce skull fragment (VM-0), a 1.3-million-year-old fossil found at the Venta Micena site in Orce (Granada province, southern Spain) and initially assigned to a hominin. However, discrepancies regarding the morphological features of the internal face of the fossil raised doubts about this ascription. In this article, we review the immunological analysis of the proteins extracted from VM-0 and other Venta Micena fossils assigned to hominins and to other mammals, and explain how these methods helped to determine the species specificity of these fossils and resolve paleontological controversies.
10
Peng, Yuan, Rixin Jiang, Chao Shi, Xiaoxuan Long, Michael S. Engel, and Shuo Wang. "A New Subgenus and Species of Priochirus from Mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Osoriinae)." Insects 13, no. 6 (2022): 513. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects13060513.
Full textAbstract:
As one of the largest families of beetles (Coleoptera), the Staphylinidae (rove beetles and their relatives) are rich not only in extant species but also in a comparatively robust fossil record. Despite this preponderance of available fossil material, fossils of the diverse subfamily Osoriinae remain rare. Here, we describe a new ososriine species, Priochirus trisclerite sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. The new specimen is similar to the only other definitive fossil of the genus, Priochirus thayerae Yamamoto 2019, and both are placed in the extinct subgenus Eopriochirus subgen. nov. The new species differs noticeably in a number of morphological details in relation to the submentum, gular sutures and protibial crenulae. The new fossil provides further evidence for understanding the radiation of staphylinoid beetles.
11
Sun, Jiarui, Xiaokang Liu, Yunfei Huang, et al. "Automatic identification and morphological comparison of bivalve and brachiopod fossils based on deep learning." PeerJ 11 (October 11, 2023): e16200. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16200.
Full textAbstract:
Fossil identification is an essential and fundamental task for conducting palaeontological research. Because the manual identification of fossils requires extensive experience and is time-consuming, automatic identification methods are proposed. However, these studies are limited to a few or dozens of species, which is hardly adequate for the needs of research. This study enabled the automatic identification of hundreds of species based on a newly established fossil dataset. An available “bivalve and brachiopod fossil image dataset” (BBFID, containing >16,000 “image-label” data pairs, taxonomic determination completed) was created. The bivalves and brachiopods contained in BBFID are closely related in morphology, ecology and evolution that have long attracted the interest of researchers. We achieved >80% identification accuracy at 22 genera and ∼64% accuracy at 343 species using EfficientNetV2s architecture. The intermediate output of the model was extracted and downscaled to obtain the morphological feature space of fossils using t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE). We found a distinctive boundary between the morphological feature points of bivalves and brachiopods in fossil morphological feature distribution maps. This study provides a possible method for studying the morphological evolution of fossil clades using computer vision in the future.
12
Yudha, Donan Satria, Muhammad Ageng Prabowo, Rusyad Adi Suriyanto, and Didit Hadi Barianto. "The Diversity of Ray-finned Fishes (Actinopterygii) in Plio-Pleistocene Java." Journal of Tropical Biodiversity and Biotechnology 5, no. 2 (2020): 149. http://dx.doi.org/10.22146/jtbb.43694.
Full textAbstract:
Java has been known in the world of Paleontology as a contributor to the findings of Homo erectus fossils, but there are still other fossil findings that have not been identified until now, especially fossil fishes of the subclass Actinopterygii. This research was conducted to recognize the diversity of the actinopterygians fishes in Plio-Pleistocene of Java and to determine the diagnostic characters of each taxon group of fossils in the Plio-Pleistocene of Java. The study was carried out using comparative anatomical methods with present-day specimens and fossil findings collection of the Laboratory of Bioanthropology and Paleoanthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada; Bandung Geological Museum and Sangiran Early Man Site. The research found at least 8 species of fish fossils in Java which belong to three order, i.e., the order Siluriformes with 5 identified species: Bagarius gigas, Hemibragus nemurus, Clarias macrocephalus, family Ariidae with indeterminate genus or species, Plotosus canius, Clarias batrachus, and family Pangasiidae with indeterminate genus or species; the order Perciformes with two identified species: Anabas testudineus and Sphyraena crassidens; and the order Cypriniformes with one identified species: Osteochilus vittatus. Based on the fossil findings showed that the Java Island during the Plio-Pleistocene used to be a marine environment that gradually ascending into a lowland river which closes to mangrove swamps and estuaries while the ancient Bandung lake site was a lacustrine environment with calm currents and is overgrown with riparian vegetation.
13
Schram, Frederick R., Cees H. J. Hof, Royal H. Mapes, and Polly Snowdon. "Paleozoic cumaceans (Crustacea, Malacostraca, Peracarida) from North America." Contributions to Zoology 72, no. 1 (2003): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18759866-07201001.
Full textAbstract:
Three new species of malacostracans are described from North America in the Upper Mississippian Into Formation of Arkansas, and the Pennsylvanian Eudora Shale of southeastern Kansas. These appear to be the oldest fossils attributed to the Cumacea and are only the third collection of fossil cumaceans anywhere to be described. Previously depicted forms occur in the Permian and Jurassic of Europe. We herein double the number of described fossil cumacean species and suggest some necessary adjustments to the higher taxonomy of the group to accommodate apomorphic features of the fossil and Recent forms.
14
Gut, Carolin, Jasna Vukić, Radek Šanda, Timo Moritz, and Bettina Reichenbacher. "Identification of past and present gobies: distinguishing Gobius and Pomatoschistus (Teleostei: Gobioidei) species using characters of otoliths, meristics and body morphometry." Contributions to Zoology 89, no. 3 (2020): 282–323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18759866-bja10002.
Full textAbstract:
Gobies (Gobiidae + Oxudercidae) are among the largest groups of extant marine fishes. Fossils of gobies are abundant since the Miocene, and many species have been reported so far. However, delimitation of fossil goby species is challenging because molecular markers and diagnostic traits such as the disposition of sensory head papillae are lost. This study provides, for the first time, an actualistic framework for the identification of fossil goby species. We focus on characters that can in principle be recognized in fossils, and evaluate their ability to discriminate between extant goby species based on statistical analyses. Using 14 extant species of Gobius and seven species of Pomatoschistus, we conducted otolith morphometry, elliptic Fourier shape analysis of otoliths using the package ‘Momocs’, conventional fish morphometry, and meristic counts. In addition, the otoliths of all species are depicted based on SEM images and briefly described. Otolith Fourier shape analysis proved to be most efficient in discrimination of species within both genera, Gobius and Pomatoschistus. Several characters used in the other approaches also worked well, but the results were variable, and the relative taxonomic significance of particular variables tended to change depending on the species under consideration. We propose otolith shape analysis as a powerful tool to explore ancient goby species diversity when samples with abundant fossil otoliths are present. Overall, the herein presented data will greatly facilitate delimitation of fossil goby species in future studies, and will consequently shed new light on the evolution of goby diversity and biogeography through time.
15
Conran, John G., Raymond J. Carpenter, and Gregory J. Jordan. "Early Eocene Ripogonum (Liliales: Ripogonaceae) leaf macrofossils from southern Australia." Australian Systematic Botany 22, no. 3 (2009): 219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb08050.
Full textAbstract:
We present evidence that fossil leaves from an early Eocene estuarine mudstone deposit at Lowana Road in western Tasmania include the oldest records of the extant monocot genus, Ripogonum (Ripogonaceae). These fossils are similar to the extant eastern Australian and Papua New Guinean R. album R.Br. and New Zealand R. scandens J.R. et G.Forst., and are described as a new species, R. tasmanicum Conran, R.J.Carp. & G.J.Jord. The venation, cuticular and other leaf features of this fossil are included in a morphology-based phylogenetic analysis for the genus, and character evolution is discussed in relation to the ecology of the extant species and the palaeoenvironments of known Ripogonaceae fossil sites. The fossil (albeit on leaf characters) was placed close to the base of a black-fruited, Australian endemic Ripogonum clade. This suggests that the family have a long and conservative evolutionary history in association with moist forests, with the fossil locality showing palaeoclimate similar to the environments that most Ripogonum species still occupy today.
16
Rule, James Patrick, Gustavo Burin, and Travis Park. "A quantitative test of the “Ecomorphotype Hypothesis” for fossil true seals (Family Phocidae)." PeerJ 12 (June 19, 2024): e17592. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17592.
Full textAbstract:
The fossil record of true seals (Family Phocidae) is mostly made up of isolated bones, some of which are type specimens. Previous studies have sought to increase referral of non-overlapping and unrelated fossils to these taxa using the ‘Ecomorphotype Hypothesis’, which stipulates that certain differences in morphology between taxa represent adaptations to differing ecology. On this basis, bulk fossil material could be lumped to a specific ecomorphotype, and then referred to species in that ecomorphotype, even if they are different bones. This qualitative and subjective method has been used often to expand the taxonomy of fossil phocids, but has never been quantitatively tested. We test the proposed ecomorphotypes using morphometric analysis of fossil and extant northern true seal limb bones, specifically principal components analysis and discriminant function analysis. A large amount of morphological overlap between ecomorphotypes, and poor discrimination between them, suggests that the ‘Ecomorphotype Hypothesis’ is not a valid approach. Further, the analysis failed to assign fossils to ecomorphotypes designated in previous studies, with some fossils from the same taxa being designated as different ecomorphotypes. The failure of this approach suggests that all fossils referred using this method should be considered to have unknown taxonomic status. In light of this, and previous findings that phocid limb bones have limited utility as type specimens, we revise the status of named fossil phocid species. We conclude that the majority of named fossil phocid taxa should be considered nomina dubia.
17
Hill, RS, and SS Whang. "A new species of Fitzroya (Cupressaceae) from oligocene sediments in north-western Tasmania." Australian Systematic Botany 9, no. 6 (1996): 867. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb9960867.
Full textAbstract:
Vegetative twigs from Oligocene sediments in north-western Tasmania are assigned to a new fossil species of Fitzroya, F. tasmanensis. These twigs differ from extant F. cupressoides in leaf shape and stomatal orientation and morphology. This is the first fossil record of Fitzroya from outside the current range of the genus (South America). Previous fossil records of Fitzroya from South America are almost certainly erroneous. These fossils occur in sediments with leaves and cupules of Nothofagus subgenus Nothofagus, which is also restricted to South America today. This suggests that some current plant associations in southern South America provide good analogues for vegetation in Oligocene Tasmania.
18
Jordan, Gregory J. "A new early pleistocene species of Nothofagus and the climatic implications of co-occurring Nothofagus fossils." Australian Systematic Botany 12, no. 6 (1999): 757. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb98025.
Full textAbstract:
A new species of Nothofagus, N. pachyphylla, is proposed based on fossils from Early Pleistocene sediments at Regatta Point, western Tasmania. This extinct species occurred for some time with its sister species, N. cunninghamii, which is still extant in Tasmania. The fossil leaves of N. cunninghamii in the Regatta Point sediments are all very small and are only consistent with leaves from cold climate extant populations of this species. The fossil leaves of other taxa in these sediments are also mostly at the small (and cool climate) end of the range of the leaves of their extant relatives. These data provide corroborating evidence for floristically based inferences of colder than modern palaeoclimates for this fossil site. The co-occurrence of small- and large-leaved sister species is paralleled in a number of modern Tasmanian rainforest genera.
19
Ausich, William I., and David L. Meyer. "Hybrid crinoids in the fossil record (Early Mississippian, Phylum Echinodermata)." Paleobiology 20, no. 3 (1994): 362–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0094837300012823.
Full textAbstract:
Potential hybrid fossil crinoids, Eretmocrinus magnificus x Eretmocrinus praegravis, are identified from the Lower Mississippian Fort Payne Formation of south-central Kentucky. These are the first fossil hybrid crinoids identified, and one of very few examples of hybrids recognized in the fossil record. Eretmocrinus magnificus x E. praegravis specimens have shapes and calyx plate sculpturing that are morphologically intermediate between well-defined, distinct parent species. Suspected hybrids occur at localities where parent species co-occur and where the parent species are the most abundant; the hybrids occur at what may have been the distributional margins of the parent species; and the mixture of characters on suspected hybrids seems to be morphogenetically partitioned. Parent species are derived from separate lineages within Eretmocrinus, and hybridization is the most probable explanation for these morphologically intermediate specimens. This example highlights the need to consider hybridization as a potential interpretation of intermediate morphologies among fossils and raises questions concerning the impact of hybridization for our interpretation of the fossil record and the role of hybridization in the evolutionary process.
20
Guillerme, Thomas, and Natalie Cooper. "Assessment of available anatomical characters for linking living mammals to fossil taxa in phylogenetic analyses." Biology Letters 12, no. 5 (2016): 20151003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.1003.
Full textAbstract:
Analyses of living and fossil taxa are crucial for understanding biodiversity through time. The total evidence method allows living and fossil taxa to be combined in phylogenies, using molecular data for living taxa and morphological data for living and fossil taxa. With this method, substantial overlap of coded anatomical characters among living and fossil taxa is vital for accurately inferring topology. However, although molecular data for living species are widely available, scientists generating morphological data mainly focus on fossils. Therefore, there are fewer coded anatomical characters in living taxa, even in well-studied groups such as mammals. We investigated the number of coded anatomical characters available in phylogenetic matrices for living mammals and how these were phylogenetically distributed across orders. Eleven of 28 mammalian orders have less than 25% species with available characters; this has implications for the accurate placement of fossils, although the issue is less pronounced at higher taxonomic levels. In most orders, species with available characters are randomly distributed across the phylogeny, which may reduce the impact of the problem. We suggest that increased morphological data collection efforts for living taxa are needed to produce accurate total evidence phylogenies.
21
von Salis, K. "Some fossil “living coccolithophorid” species." Journal of Nannoplankton Research 16, no. 3 (1994): 109–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.58998/jnr2261.
Full text
22
Kahraman, Nurfeddin. "General properties of elmacik fossil beds and Its importance in view of anatolian paleogeography." New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences 2, no. 2 (2016): 229–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.18844/prosoc.v2i2.449.
Full textAbstract:
Tefenni Basin, is located in the southwestern part of Burdur Basin. Elmacık village where paleontological excavations was made, is established at the place where Elmacık stream opens to Tefenni basin.     Elmacık fossil beds, were discovered during the geomorphological studies we did in 1997. Lake containing fossil, marsh layers consisting of fillers, are located on the Formation of Burdur. These layers showing different color and texture features, are tilted 10-15 degrees to the east-southeast direction by tectonic movements affecting region. Due to subsidence and rising as a cause of tectonic reasons, this layer series are located at different altitudes. Elmacık fossil beds insitu situation have mostly fossil localities. Secondary fossils are also observed in some layer series. Secondary fossil finds, consists of horn and bone oms belonging to various species lived in earlier periods. Elmacık vertebrate fossil bed, is located between the Neogene fossil beds in Tokmacık town of Isparta province and Özlüce village of Muğla province in south west Anatolia., According to these findings, Elmacık fossil bed shows a bed feature where comparisons can be made in view of the spread and migration of the upper Neogene faunal species. Between 2006 - 2009, excavations were made in five localities in Elmacık fossil beds. Through this excavations, the presence of twelve different macro species were identified in the region, macro proboscidians being in the first place. Among the excavated fossils, defense tooth of South Mamut, has been the largest ivory ever found in Turkey. Palaeontological findings excavated from the Elmacık beds, will be exhibited in a museum of natural history established in the center of Burdur. With new work to be done in the Elmacık fossil beds, withdrawal stages of Burdur Pliocene lake, Pliocene tectonic movements affecting the region and new evidence of Quaternary transition period may also be obtained.   Keywords: Elmacık fossil beds, Burdur Formation, South mammoth, the natural history museum.
23
Damiano, Giuseppina, Alessandro Garassino, Stefano Scali, and Giorgio Teruzzi. "Morphometric analysis of extant Nephrops norvegicus (Linné, 1758) and Solenocera membranacea (Risso, 1826) applied to systematic palaeontology of fossil decapod crustaceans." Contributions to Zoology 72, no. 2-3 (2003): 95–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18759866-0720203005.
Full textAbstract:
The study of fossil decapods have shown the need for reliable statistics to document the value of the characters considered. Morphometric data, however, are usually absent in scientific papers on living decapod crustaceans since neontological systematists normally analyze internal organs and tissues not available in fossils. A series of morphometric data for two extant species have been processed statistically in order to obtain numerical models that could be applied to fossil species showing morphological affinities.
24
Singh, Hukam, Pawan Kumar Singh, Mahesh Prasad, and Sanjai Kumar Singh. "Fossil Leaves Belonging to Family Annonaceae from Sub-Himalayan Zone (Siwalik) of Himachal Pradesh, India and their Climatic and Phytogeographical Implication." Journal of Palaeosciences 73, no. 2 (2024): 165–80. https://doi.org/10.54991/jop.2024.1893.
Full textAbstract:
Investigation on the fossil leaves collected from Middle Siwalik sediments of Sarkaghat area, in the Sub-Himalayan zone of Himachal Pradesh revealed the presence of four new fossil species belonging to the family Annonaceae. The fossil leaves have been identified with the extant species, Annona reticulate Linn. Polyalthia longifolia (Son.) Thw. P. siamiarum (Buchanan-Hamilton ex Hooker and Thomson and cananga odorata Hook. f. and Th. The analysis of the current distribution of fossils' nearest living relatives (NRLs) shows that these species are currently found in the evergreen forests of northeastern and south-east Asia, rather than in and around the study area or throughout the sub-Himalayan zone of India. This suggests that after Miocene these taxa could not survive there and migrated towards south and south-east region. Based on the data available the phytogeographical aspect of these fossil taxa along with family Annonaceae has been discussed.
25
Jasinski, Steven E. "A new slider turtle (Testudines: Emydidae: Deirochelyinae:Trachemys) from the late Hemphillian (late Miocene/early Pliocene) of eastern Tennessee and the evolution of the deirochelyines." PeerJ 6 (February 13, 2018): e4338. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4338.
Full textAbstract:
Trachemys(Testudines: Emydidae) represents one of the most well-known turtle genera today. The evolution ofTrachemys, while being heavily documented with fossil representatives, is not well understood. Numerous fossils from the late Hemphillian Gray Fossil Site (GFS) in northeastern Tennessee help to elucidate its evolution. The fossilTrachemysat the GFS represent a new species. The new taxon,Trachemys haugrudi, is described, and currently represents the most thoroughly described fossil emydid species known. A phylogenetic analysis, including 31 species, focusing on the subfamily Deirochelyinae is performed that includes the new fossil species, along with numerous other modern and fossil deirochelyine species, representing the first phylogenetic analysis published that includes several fossil deirochelyines. The phylogenetic analysis, utilizing morphological evidence, provides monophyletic clades of all modern deirochelyines, includingChrysemys,Deirochelys,Pseudemys,Malaclemys,Graptemys, andTrachemys. A strict consensus tree finds the recently described fossil speciesGraptemys kernerito be part of a clade ofGraptemys+Malaclemys. Three fossil taxa, including one previously referred toPseudemys(Pseudemys caelata) and two toDeirochelys(Deirochelys carriandDeirochelys floridana) are found to form a clade with modernDeirochelys reticularia reticularia, withD. floridanasister to the other members of the clade.Chrysemysis found to be part of a basal polytomy withDeirochelysin relation to other deirochelyine taxa. Two fossil taxa previously referred toChrysemys(Chrysemys timidaandChrysemys williamsi) form a paraphyly with the modernChrysemys picta pictaandDeirochelys, and may be referable to distinct genera. Additionally, fossil taxa previously attributed toTrachemys(Trachemys hillii,Trachemys idahoensis,Trachemys inflata, andTrachemys platymarginata) andT. haugrudiare found to form a clade separate from clades of northern and southernTrachemysspecies, potentially suggesting a distinct lineage ofTrachemyswith no modern survivors. Hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships mostly agree between the present study and previous ones, although the inclusion of fossil taxa provides further clues to the evolution of parts of the Deirochelyinae. The inclusion of more fossil taxa and characters may help resolve the placement of some taxa, and further elucidate the evolution of these New World turtles.
26
Xu, Shenglan, Hanzhang Song, Helanlin Xiang, Weiqiu Liu, Cheng Quan, and Jianhua Jin. "Fossil Fruits of Ceratophyllum from the Late Eocene and Miocene of South China." Biology 11, no. 11 (2022): 1614. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11111614.
Full textAbstract:
Ceratophyllum L. is a cosmopolitan genus of perennial aquatic herbs that occur in quiet freshwaters. Fossils of this genus have been widely reported from the Northern Hemisphere, most of them occurring in the temperate zone. Here, we describe two species of fossil fruits discovered from subtropical areas of China. The fossil fruit discovered in the late Eocene Huangniuling Formation of the Maoming Basin is designated as C. cf. muricatum Chamisso, and fruits discovered from the Miocene Erzitang Formation of the Guiping Basin are assigned to the extant species C. demersum L. The discovery of these two fossil species indicates that Ceratophyllum had spread to South China by the late Eocene and their distribution expanded in subtropical China during the Miocene.
27
Warnock, Rachel C. M., Tracy A. Heath, and Tanja Stadler. "Assessing the impact of incomplete species sampling on estimates of speciation and extinction rates." Paleobiology 46, no. 2 (2020): 137–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/pab.2020.12.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractEstimating speciation and extinction rates is essential for understanding past and present biodiversity, but is challenging given the incompleteness of the rock and fossil records. Interest in this topic has led to a divergent suite of independent methods—paleontological estimates based on sampled stratigraphic ranges and phylogenetic estimates based on the observed branching times in a given phylogeny of living species. The fossilized birth–death (FBD) process is a model that explicitly recognizes that the branching events in a phylogenetic tree and sampled fossils were generated by the same underlying diversification process. A crucial advantage of this model is that it incorporates the possibility that some species may never be sampled. Here, we present an FBD model that estimates tree-wide diversification rates from stratigraphic range data when the underlying phylogeny of the fossil taxa may be unknown. The model can be applied when only occurrence data for taxonomically identified fossils are available, but still accounts for the incomplete phylogenetic structure of the data. We tested this new model using simulations and focused on how inferences are impacted by incomplete fossil recovery. We compared our approach with a phylogenetic model that does not incorporate incomplete species sampling and to three fossil-based alternatives for estimating diversification rates, including the widely implemented boundary-crosser and three-timer methods. The results of our simulations demonstrate that estimates under the FBD model are robust and more accurate than the alternative methods, particularly when fossil data are sparse, as the FBD model incorporates incomplete species sampling explicitly.
28
Gabrielyan, Ivan, Merine Sargsyan, and Arpine Achoyan. "Fossil remains of the genus Crataegus (Rosaceae, Amygdaloideae) from south-eastern Armenia." Acta Palaeobotanica 64, no. 2 (2024): 351–59. https://doi.org/10.35535/acpa-2024-0012.
Full textAbstract:
As a result of the research, we determined the sectional affiliation of fossil remains of the genus Crataegus from the Early Pleistocene of the south-eastern part of Armenia, in the middle reaches of the Vorotan River. Plant fossils and imprints help to establish the distribution of species over the Earth’s surface during different geological periods. Of particular interest are the findings of species of the genus Crataegus, which is considered to be systematically very complex due to its inherent hybridization, apomixis, and polyploidy. In the modern flora of Armenia, the genus Crataegus is represented by three sections with 23 species. Comparative macromorphological analysis of fossil and modern hawthorns showed that the studied fossil remains belong to the section Crataegus. Among the species found in the territory, in terms of macromorphological characteristics, they are close to Crataegus rhipidophylla, C. caucasica and C. monogyna.
29
Deza, Anthony, Edwin Cadena, and Jean-Noël Martinez. "Pleistocene Fossil Turtles (Testudinoidea, Cryptodira) from the Talara Tar Seeps, Peru." Revista Peruana de Biología 26, no. 2 (2019): 189–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v26i2.15118.
Full textAbstract:
A description of Pleistocene fossil turtles discovered in the Talara Tar Seeps, Tablazos deposits of the northern coast of Peru is provided in this paper. The specimens are mostly fragmentary plates of carapaces and plastra of turtles belonging to two cryptodiran families of the superfamily Testudinoidea, identified to genus level based on measurements and comparisons with extant and fossil taxa and identification of mosaic diagnostic features. Turtles of the Geoemydidae family are the most abundant, with fossil remains attributed to Rhinoclemmys (indeterminate species). Less abundant fossil remains belong to the Testudinidae, with specimens attributed to the genus Chelonoidis (indeterminate species). These fossils show that the northern coast of Peru had ecosystems that supported abundant aquatic and terrestrial turtles (tortoises) during the Pleistocene in areas where they are completely absent today.
30
Barido-Sottani, Joëlle, Gabriel Aguirre-Fernández, Melanie J. Hopkins, Tanja Stadler, and Rachel Warnock. "Ignoring stratigraphic age uncertainty leads to erroneous estimates of species divergence times under the fossilized birth–death process." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286, no. 1902 (2019): 20190685. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0685.
Full textAbstract:
Fossil information is essential for estimating species divergence times, and can be integrated into Bayesian phylogenetic inference using the fossilized birth–death (FBD) process. An important aspect of palaeontological data is the uncertainty surrounding specimen ages, which can be handled in different ways during inference. The most common approach is to fix fossil ages to a point estimate within the known age interval. Alternatively, age uncertainty can be incorporated by using priors, and fossil ages are then directly sampled as part of the inference. This study presents a comparison of alternative approaches for handling fossil age uncertainty in analysis using the FBD process. Based on simulations, we find that fixing fossil ages to the midpoint or a random point drawn from within the stratigraphic age range leads to biases in divergence time estimates, while sampling fossil ages leads to estimates that are similar to inferences that employ the correct ages of fossils. Second, we show a comparison using an empirical dataset of extant and fossil cetaceans, which confirms that different methods of handling fossil age uncertainty lead to large differences in estimated node ages. Stratigraphic age uncertainty should thus not be ignored in divergence time estimation and instead should be incorporated explicitly.
31
Scott, Eric, and Kathleen B. Springer. "First records ofCanis dirusandSmilodon fatalisfrom the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada." PeerJ 4 (June 21, 2016): e2151. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2151.
Full textAbstract:
Late Pleistocene groundwater discharge deposits (paleowetlands) in the upper Las Vegas Wash north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). The TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Over 600 discrete body fossil localities have been recorded from the wash, including an area that now encompasses Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK). Paleowetland sediments exposed in TUSK named the Las Vegas Formation span the last 250 ka, with fossiliferous sediments spanning ∼100–13 ka. The recovered fauna is dominated by remains ofCamelopsandMammuthus, and also includes relatively common remains of extinctEquusandBisonas well as abundant vertebrate microfaunal fossils. Large carnivorans are rare, with onlyPuma concolorandPanthera atroxdocumented previously. Postcranial remains assigned to the speciesCanis dirus(dire wolf) andSmilodon fatalis(sabre-toothed cat) represent the first confirmed records of these species from the TSLF, as well as the first documentation ofCanis dirusin Nevada and the only known occurrence ofSmilodonin southern Nevada. The size of the recovered canid fossil precludes assignment to other Pleistocene species ofCanis. The morphology of the felid elements differentiates them from other large predators such asPanthera,Homotherium, andXenosmilus, and the size of the fossils prevents assignment to other species ofSmilodon. The confirmed presence ofS. fatalisin the TSLF is of particular interest, indicating that this species inhabited open habitats. In turn, this suggests that the presumed preference ofS. fatalisfor closed-habitat environments hunting requires further elucidation.
32
dos Reis, Mario, Philip C. J. Donoghue, and Ziheng Yang. "Neither phylogenomic nor palaeontological data support a Palaeogene origin of placental mammals." Biology Letters 10, no. 1 (2014): 20131003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.1003.
Full textAbstract:
O'Leary et al . (O'Leary et al. 2013 Science 339 , 662–667. ( doi:10.1126/science.1229237 )) performed a fossil-only dating analysis of mammals, concluding that the ancestor of placentals post-dated the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary, contradicting previous palaeontological and molecular studies that placed the ancestor in the Cretaceous. They incorrectly used fossil ages as species divergence times for crown groups, while in fact the former should merely form minimum-age bounds for the latter. Statistical analyses of the fossil record have shown that crown groups are significantly older than the oldest ingroup fossil, so that fossils do not directly reflect the true ages of clades. Here, we analyse a 20 million nucleotide genome-scale alignment in conjunction with a probabilistic interpretation of the fossil ages from O'Leary et al. Our combined analysis of fossils and molecules demonstrates that Placentalia originated in the Cretaceous.
33
PERIS, DAVID, JOSEF JELÍNEK, SIMONE SABATELLI, et al. "Cretabaltoraea volsella gen. et sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) from Cretaceous Kachin amber and its relationship with Eocene Baltoraea (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)." Mesozoic 1, no. 3 (2024): 298–308. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/mesozoic.1.3.10.
Full textAbstract:
Here we describe Cretabaltoraea volsella Peris, Jelínek & Audisio gen. et sp. nov. of the family Nitidulidae (Coleoptera). As implied by its generic name, the new species is described after a fossil specimen preserved in the Upper Cretaceous Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. This new species is rather similar to the two fossil nitidulid species of Baltoraea Kurochkin & Kirejtshuk, 2010, previously described from the Eocene Baltic amber. The comparison between this group of fossils and the study of Baltoraea simillima Kurochkin & Kirejtshuk, 2010 using CT-scanning suggest that Cretabaltoraea volsella gen. et sp. nov. and the two Baltoraea species should be placed in the extinct Apophisandrinae, a basal subfamily of Nitidulidae which until now only includes a group of Cretaceous fossils from the Kachin amber, described as ancient pollinators of both gymnosperms and basal angiosperms.
34
Poinar Jr, George O. "New fossil nematodes in Dominican and Baltic amber." Nematology 14, no. 4 (2012): 483–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156854111x612199.
Full textAbstract:
Four new species of fossil mermithids (Nematoda: Mermithidae) are described from amber: Heydenius arachnius n. sp. from a spider (Arachnida: Araneae) in Dominican amber, H. phasmatophilus n. sp., from a walking stick (Phasmatodea: Phasmatidae) in Baltic amber, H. podenasae n. sp. from a moth (Lepidoptera) in Baltic amber and H. trichorosus n. sp. from a caddis fly (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) in Baltic amber. With previous descriptions of fossil mermithids from Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Hemiptera, there are now representatives of seven insect orders as hosts of fossil mermithids. With these additional four fossils, the total number of described nematode fossils is now 95, with 70 occurring in amber.
35
Archibald, S. Bruce, and Robert A. Cannings. "Fossil dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands, western North America." Canadian Entomologist 151, no. 6 (2019): 783–816. http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/tce.2019.61.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractWe describe the first dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands of far-western North America from nine fossils. Six are assigned to five species in four new, named genera of Aeshnidae: Antiquiala snyderaenew genus and species, Idemlinea versatilisnew genus and species, Ypshna brownleeinew genus and species, Ypshna latipennatanew genus and species, and Eoshna thompsonensisnew genus and species; we treat one as Aeshnidae genus A, species A; one is assigned to Gomphidae: Auroradraco eosnew genus and species; and we treat a ninth, fragmentary fossil of unknown family affinity as Anisoptera indeterminate genus A, species A, which represents a seventh genus and eighth species. The dominance of Aeshnidae is consistent with other Paleocene and Eocene fossil localities. Auroradraco eos is the only fossil Gomphidae in the roughly 66-million-year gap between occurrences in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber and the early Oligocene of France. Ypshna appears close to Parabaissaeshna ejerslevense from the early Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark; this is not surprising given Holarctic intercontinental connections at this time and a growing list of insect taxa shared between the Okanagan Highlands and the Fur Formation.
36
Barden, Phillip, Brendon Boudinot, and Andrea Lucky. "Where Fossils Dare and Males Matter: combined morphological and molecular analysis untangles the evolutionary history of the spider ant genus Leptomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera : Dolichoderinae)." Invertebrate Systematics 31, no. 6 (2017): 765. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/is16067.
Full textAbstract:
The distinctive ant genus Leptomyrmex Mayr, 1862 had been thought to be endemic to Australasia for over 150 years, but enigmatic Neotropical fossils have challenged this view for decades. The present study responds to a recent and surprising discovery of extant Leptomyrmex species in Brazil with a thorough evaluation of the Dominican Republic fossil material, which dates to the Miocene. In the first case study of direct fossil inclusion within Formicidae Latreille, 1809, we incorporated both living and the extinct Leptomyrmex species. Through simultaneous analysis of molecular and morphological characters in both Bayesian and parsimony frameworks, we recovered the fossil taxon as sister-group to extant Leptomyrmex in Brazil while considering the influence of taxonomic and character sampling on inferred hypotheses relating to tree topology, biogeography and morphological evolution. We also identified potential loss of signal in the binning of morphological characters and tested the impact of parameterisation on divergence date estimation. Our results highlight the importance of securing sufficient taxon sampling for extant lineages when incorporating fossils and underscore the utility of diverse character sources in accurate placement of fossil terminals. Specifically, we find that fossil placement in this group is influenced by the inclusion of male-based characters and the newly discovered Neotropical ‘Lazarus taxon’.
37
Martin, Anthony J., Dorothy Stearns, Meredith J. Whitten, Melissa M. Hage, Michael Page, and Arya Basu. "First known trace fossil of a nesting iguana (Pleistocene), The Bahamas." PLOS ONE 15, no. 12 (2020): e0242935. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242935.
Full textAbstract:
Most species of modern iguanas (Iguania, Iguanidae) dig burrows for dwelling and nesting, yet neither type of burrow has been interpreted as trace fossils in the geologic record. Here we describe and diagnose the first known fossil example of an iguana nesting burrow, preserved in the Grotto Beach Formation (Early Late Pleistocene, ~115 kya) on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas. The trace fossil, located directly below a protosol, is exposed in a vertical section of a cross-bedded oolitic eolianite. Abundant root traces, a probable land-crab burrow, and lack of ghost-crab burrows further indicate a vegetated inland dune as the paleoenvironmental setting. The trace fossil matches dimensions and overall forms of burrows made by modern iguanas, and internal structures indicate active backfilling consistent with modern iguana nesting burrows. The trace fossil is also located on an island with a modern native species of rock iguana (Cyclura riyeli riyeli), suggesting a presence of iguanas on San Salvador since the Late Pleistocene. This nesting burrow may provide a search image for more fossil iguana burrows in The Bahamas and other places with long-established iguana species and favorable geological conditions for preserving their burrows.
38
Krell, Frank-Thorsten. "The fossil record of Mesozoic and Tertiary Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera : Polyphaga)." Invertebrate Systematics 14, no. 6 (2000): 871. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/it00031.
Full textAbstract:
Lack of characters, similarity of stem species of adelphotaxa and the necessity to know the extant world fauna of the studied group of fossils are the main difficulties in palaeontology of beetles. The paucity of characters of most of the fossils of supposed Scarabaeoidea prevents their inclusion in a reliable phylogenetic analysis. Only rarely can an autapomorphy of Scarabaeoidea be seen in a fossil classified as a member of this group. Therefore, the classification of Mesozoic and Tertiary fossils is often tentative. Based on a critical literature review of all recorded fossil Scarabaeoidea from the Mesozoic and Tertiary, the minimum age for families and/or subfamilies of this group is determined. An annotated catalogue of named fossils and ichnofossils of Scarabaeoidea and of their lagerstÄtten is given. 238 fossil species and subspecies of this group have been described, of which 27 are doubtful, eight already identified as belonging to other taxa, and two subspecies synonymised with extant taxa. 189 species and 12 ichnospecies probably or reliably belong to the Scarabaeoidea. Nomenclatural acts: Hongscarabaeus, nom. nov. for Proscarabaeus Hong, 1982 (nec Schrank, 1781); Onthophagus urusheeri, nom. nov. for Onthophagus urus Heer, 1847 (nec Ménétries, 1832); Aphodius anteactus, nom. nov. for Aphodius antiquus Heer, 1847 (nec Faldermann, 1835); Aphodius theobaldi, nom. nov. for Aphodius incertus Théobald, 1937 (nec Ballion, 1878); Anomala palaeobrunnea, nom. nov. for Anomala brunnea (Hong, 1985) (nec Klug, 1855); Eophyllocerus scrobiculatus Haupt, 1950 is designated as the type species of Eophyllocerus Haupt, 1950; Cangabola Lengerken, 1955 is a junior synonym of Coprinisphaera Sauer, 1955. ‘Mais en présence des Coléoptères, sauf très rares exeptions, tout spécialiste sérieux ne peut que se récuser’. R. Jeannel (1942: 191) on fossil faunas.
39
Near, Thomas J., and Michael J. Sanderson. "Assessing the quality of molecular divergence time estimates by fossil calibrations and fossil–based model selection." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 359, no. 1450 (2004): 1477–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1523.
Full textAbstract:
Estimates of species divergence times using DNA sequence data are playing an increasingly important role in studies of evolution, ecology and biogeography. Most work has centred on obtaining appropriate kinds of data and developing optimal estimation procedures, whereas somewhat less attention has focused on the calibration of divergences using fossils. Case studies with multiple fossil calibration points provide important opportunities to examine the divergence time estimation problem in new ways. We discuss two cross–validation procedures that address different aspects of inference in divergence time estimation. ‘Fossil cross–validation’ is a procedure used to identify the impact of different individual calibrations on overall estimation. This can identify fossils that have an exceptionally large error effect and may warrant further scrutiny. ‘Fossil–based model cross–validation’ is an entirely different procedure that uses fossils to identify the optimal model of molecular evolution in the context of rate smoothing or other inference methods. Both procedures were applied to two recent studies: an analysis of monocot angiosperms with eight fossil calibrations and an analysis of placental mammals with nine fossil calibrations. In each case, fossil calibrations could be ranked from most to least influential, and in one of the two studies, the fossils provided decisive evidence about the optimal molecular evolutionary model.
40
Miller, Kelly B., and Sara H. Lubkin. "Calicovatellus petrodytes, a new genus and species of primitive vatelline diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Hydroporinae: Vatellini) from the Miocene Barstow Formation, southern California, USA." Journal of Paleontology 75, no. 4 (2001): 890–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022336000016991.
Full textAbstract:
Relatively few fossil dytiscids have been described. This is unfortunate since fossils can provide useful phylogenetic and evolutionary information including unique character combinations not present in extant taxa and minimum ages for divergences. However, even when fossils are found, important characters are often not visible since they may be poorly preserved or obscured. The fossil insects present in calcareous nodules from the Miocene Barstow Formation of the Calico Mountains in Southern California are exceptionally well preserved (Palmer, 1957). The original organisms are replaced by silica or other minerals and when the nodules are dissolved in formic acid, the three-dimensional fossil can be retrieved from the resulting residue. These nodules have yielded a wide variety of fossils, including larvae of the dytiscid species Schistomerus californense Palmer, 1957 and numerous other terrestrial and fresh-water arthropods (Palmer, 1957). The purposes of this paper are to describe a new dytiscid genus and species from an exceptionally well-preserved specimen from the Barstow Formation and to present a hypothesis of the phylogenetic placement of the new taxon.
41
Tsai, Cheng-Hsiu, and Gerald Mayr. "A phasianid bird from the Pleistocene of Tainan: the very first avian fossil from Taiwan." Journal of Ornithology 162, no. 3 (2021): 919–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01886-w.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractTaiwan accommodates more than 600 avian species, including about 30 endemic ones. As yet, however, no fossil birds have been scientifically documented from Taiwan, so that the evolutionary origins of this diversified avifauna remain elusive. Here we report on the very first fossil bird from Taiwan. This Pleistocene specimen, a distal end of the left tarsometatarsus, shows diagnostic features of the galliform Phasianidae, including an asymmetric plantar articular facet trochlea metatarsi III. Our discovery of a Pleistocene phasianid from Taiwan opens a new perspective on studies of the evolution of the avifauna in Taiwan because the fossil shows that careful search for fossils in suitable localities has the potential of recovering avian remains. In general, East Asia has an extremely poor avian fossil record, especially if terrestrial birds are concerned, which impedes well-founded evolutionary scenarios concerning the arrival of certain groups in the area. The Phasianidae exhibit a high degree of endemism in Taiwan, and the new fossil presents the first physical evidence for the presence of phasianids on the island, some 400,000–800,000 years ago. The specimen belongs to a species the size of the three larger phasianids occurring in Taiwan today (Syrmaticus mikado, Lophura swinhoii, and Phasianus colchicus). Still, an unambiguous assignment to either of these species is not possible due to the incomplete nature of the left tarsometatarsus. Because the former two species are endemic to Taiwan, the fossil has the potential to yield the first data on their existence in the geological past of Taiwan if future finds allow identification on species-level.
42
Ramirez, Jamie, Agnieszka Bugaj-Nawrocka, Artur Taszakowski, and Christiane Weirauch. "New species and reclassification of the fossil assassin bug Koenigsbergia (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Phimophorinae)." Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 82 (May 13, 2024): 369–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/asp.82.e114213.
Full textAbstract:
The assassin bug genus Koenigsbergia Popov, 2003 is currently monotypic and represented by a female holotype from Baltic Amber (~33.9–55.8 MYA). The genus was originally described within Phymatinae (Phymatine Complex or phymatine clade). However, our literature review reveals that the amber fossil likely belongs to the subfamily Phimophorinae, which is distantly related to the phymatine clade. The recent acquisition of one male and one nymph of Koenigsbergia provides the opportunity to reevaluate the systematic placement of this genus. We here examine the new fossils, concluding that the adult male represents an undescribed species, and describe it as Koenigsbergia explicativa, new species. Our morphological comparison between Phimophorinae, Phymatinae, and Koenigsbergia (macro imagining, scanning electron microscopy) shows that the fossil genus shares notable similarities with Phimophorus Bergroth, 1886 and Mendanocoris Miller, 1956. We therefore formally transfer the fossil genus to Phimophorinae.
43
Moser, Marina, Roger A. Burks, Jonah M. Ulmer, John M. Heraty, Thomas van de Kamp, and Lars Krogmann. "Taxonomic description and phylogenetic placement of two new species of Spalangiopelta (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae: Ceinae) from Eocene Baltic amber." PeerJ 9 (May 25, 2021): e10939. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10939.
Full textAbstract:
Spalangiopelta is a small genus of chalcid wasps that has received little attention despite the widespread distribution of its extant species. The fossil record of the genus is restricted to a single species from Miocene Dominican amber. We describe two new fossil species, Spalangiopelta darlingi sp. n. and Spalangiopelta semialba sp. n. from Baltic amber. The species can be placed within the extant genus Spalangiopelta based on the distinctly raised hind margin of the mesopleuron. 3D models reconstructed from µCT data were utilized to assist in the descriptions. Furthermore, we provide a key for the females of all currently known Spalangiopelta species. The phylogenetic placement of the fossils within the genus is analyzed using parsimony analysis based on morphological characters. Phylogenetic and functional relevance of two wing characters, admarginal setae and the hyaline break, are discussed. The newly described Baltic amber fossils significantly extend the minimum age of Spalangiopelta to the Upper Eocene.
44
Kolesnikov, Vasiliy B., Dmitry D. Vorontsov, Evgeny E. Perkovsky, and Pavel B. Klimov. "An exceptionally well-preserved Eocene fossil mite, Histiogaster altilis sp. n. (Acari: Astigmata), from tree sap: Evidence of morphological and ecological niche conservatism, with a review of fossil Astigmata." Acarologia 65, no. 1 (2025): 213–41. https://doi.org/10.24349/c35e-8bmj.
Full textAbstract:
We describe Histiogaster altilis sp. nov. (Acari: Astigmata: Acaridae), a newly identified species of mite from Eocene Rovno amber (34–37 Ma), based on both male and female specimens. The exceptional preservation of the fossils, coupled with advanced amber preparation and imaging techniques—including high-resolution microscopy, differential interference contrast (DIC) with transmitted light, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) equipped with a super-resolution detector—enabled detailed examination of nearly all diagnostic features. These data allowed us to perform a comprehensive comparison between this fossil species and extant representatives of the genus Histiogaster. Based on morphological similarities with extant species of known biology, and the presence of syninclusions such as fossilized phloem sap emulsions and fungal or bacterial hyphae, we hypothesize that this fossil mite likely fed on fermented tree sap and associated microorganisms. Our findings indicate that species within the genus Histiogaster have undergone minimal morphological changes since the Eocene, while continuing to occupy their ancestral ecological niche. We also review fossil Astigmata and provide an annotated checklist of 14 fossil astigmatid records, and exclude 8 records, including the genus Palaeotyroglyphus Dubinin, 1962, from Astigmata.
45
GUINOT, GUILLAUME, SYLVAIN ADNET, KENSHU SHIMADA, et al. "On the need of providing tooth morphology in descriptions of extant elasmobranch species." Zootaxa 4461, no. 1 (2018): 118. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4461.1.8.
Full textAbstract:
Elasmobranchii is a clade of chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes) that comprises sharks, skates and rays represented today by approximately 1,200 species. Chondrichthyans have a long evolutionary history dating back to the Late Ordovician (ca. 450 million years ago [Mya]) based on isolated dermal denticles (Janvier 1996). Other remains such as articulated skeletons and teeth are known from the Lower Devonian (ca. 410 Mya: Mader 1986; Miller et al. 2003). The fossil record of modern elasmobranchs (Neoselachii) can be traced back to the Early Permian (ca. 290 Mya) and is represented by isolated teeth (Ivanov 2005), with fossils of crown group sharks and rays appearing in Lower Jurassic (ca. 200 Mya) rocks (e.g., Cappetta 2012). Since their appearance in the geological record, elasmobranchs are mainly represented by isolated teeth, whereas articulated skeletons are very rare and restricted to a small number of fossil localities (e.g., Cappetta 2012). The scarcity of skeletal remains in their fossil record is due to their poorly mineralized cartilaginous skeleton that requires special taphonomical conditions to be preserved. Elasmobranch teeth, in contrast, are composed of highly mineralized tissues (hydroxyapatite) that have a strong preservation potential (Shimada 2006). In addition, elasmobranchs replace their teeth continuously over the course of their life span (polyphyodonty) and therefore shed thousands of teeth in their lifetime (Reif et al. 1978; Schnetz et al. 2016) leading to large numbers of potential fossils. These morphologically highly diverse isolated teeth constitute much of the rich fossil record of elasmobranchs, and largely form the basis of our understanding of elasmobranch diversity and evolution through geological time.
46
Han, Zhuochen, Hui Jia, Xiangning Meng, et al. "A New Clue for the Late Eocene Freshwater Ecosystem of Central China Evidenced by New Fossils of Trapa L. and Hemitrapa Miki (Lythraceae)." Biology 11, no. 10 (2022): 1442. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology11101442.
Full textAbstract:
Both Trapa L. and the extinct Hemitrapa Miki are aquatic plants in the family Lythraceae, with abundant fossil records in Eurasia and North America in the Cenozoic. However, documented materials are mainly based on fruit and pollen grains without reliable leaf fossils. Here, we report fossil leaves, fruit, and roots of Trapa and fruit of Hemitrapa from the late Eocene of Weinan, the Weihe Basin of central China. The fossil leaves are identified as a new species, Trapa natanifolia Z. C. Han et H. Jia sp. nov., which represents the earliest known record of a Trapa leaf fossil. It is remarkably similar to extant species of Trapa, mostly due to the unique inflated petiole structures found in both of them. While displaying prominent intergeneric differences, the incomplete fossil fruits are assigned to Trapa sp. indet. and Hemitrapa sp. indet. The former is the earliest fossil fruit record of Trapa, and the latter represents the earliest fossil record of Hemitrapa found in Asia. These new fossil discoveries suggest that the divergence of Trapa and Hemitrapa occurred at least by the late Eocene. It is believed that modern Trapa most likely originated in China. Furthermore, this unexpected aquatic plant fossil assemblage indicates that central China was warm and humid, with freshwater ponds or lakes, in the late Eocene and not as arid as previously thought.
47
Singh, Sanjai Kumar, and Mahesh Prasad. "Record of fossil leaves of Ziziphus and Lagerstroemia from Mahuadanr Valley, Jharkhand, India and their ecological implications." Journal of Palaeosciences 59, no. (1-3) (2010): 55–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.54991/jop.2010.188.
Full textAbstract:
A study based on the fossil leaf assemblage collected from the Late Tertiary sediments of Mahuadanr Valley revealed the occurrence of two new extant species Ziziphus funiculosa (Rhamnaceae) and Lagerstroemia macrocarpa (Lythraceae) of the Dicotyledon in the area during Late Tertiary Period. Present day distribution of these modem comparable species of the fossils indicates that both the taxa presently distributed in the moist deciduous forests ofthe northeast India, central and south India, which suggests that such type offorest was flourishing in and around the fossil locality during the sedimentation.
48
Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquín, and Oscar J. Polaco. "FOSSIL BATS FROM MESOAMERICA." Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 66, no. 1 (2008): 155–60. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13415140.
Full textAbstract:
(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Recent bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) represent one of the most diverse mammalian orders, with more than 1,000 species, but the fossil record is poorly known. To date, records are for 41 species from 17 Mesoamerican localities in México (15) and Central America (2). This number corresponds to 24.8% of the 165 currently-known living bats for the region, pertaining to six out of eight known families. Most of the records are from Rancholabrean age deposits, with only one extinct species known for Pliocene sediments and two Pleistocene extinct vampire bat species. All other species presently range in the same region, but two of them. Most localities are cave deposits that correspond to the cave roosting habits for most of the species, either exclusive or temporal; only six are open spaces. Most of the fossils represent species that are insectivores (24), while others are frugivores (6), nectarivores (5), blood-eaters (4), and carnivores (2). The most dramatic change is with the blood-eater bats. While in the past there were three species within the genus Desmodus, only one is extant at present. Finally, future fieldwork should include the recovery of microremains from cave deposits to increase the findings of bats and other small vertebrates.
49
Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquín, and Oscar J. Polaco. "FOSSIL BATS FROM MESOAMERICA." Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 66, no. 1 (2008): 155–60. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13415140.
Full textAbstract:
(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Recent bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) represent one of the most diverse mammalian orders, with more than 1,000 species, but the fossil record is poorly known. To date, records are for 41 species from 17 Mesoamerican localities in México (15) and Central America (2). This number corresponds to 24.8% of the 165 currently-known living bats for the region, pertaining to six out of eight known families. Most of the records are from Rancholabrean age deposits, with only one extinct species known for Pliocene sediments and two Pleistocene extinct vampire bat species. All other species presently range in the same region, but two of them. Most localities are cave deposits that correspond to the cave roosting habits for most of the species, either exclusive or temporal; only six are open spaces. Most of the fossils represent species that are insectivores (24), while others are frugivores (6), nectarivores (5), blood-eaters (4), and carnivores (2). The most dramatic change is with the blood-eater bats. While in the past there were three species within the genus Desmodus, only one is extant at present. Finally, future fieldwork should include the recovery of microremains from cave deposits to increase the findings of bats and other small vertebrates.
50
KATO, MOE. "Crinoids lived around the Cretaceous seeps: the second example from cold-seep deposit in the Yezo Group in Hokkaido, Japan." Zoosymposia 15, no. 1 (2019): 88–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zoosymposia.15.1.10.
Full textAbstract:
Cold seep deposits are characterized by authigenic carbonates with very low δ13C signatures and specific fossils of chemosynthetic community members. These members are mainly composed of mollusks, whereas only a few occurrences of fossil echinoderms from cold seep deposits have been reported. The information of paleoecology of fossil echinoderms in or near cold seep environments is also sporadic. Allochthonous columnal fossils of an Isocrinina crinoid species were found in a boulder of Cretaceous cold seep carbonate from the Yezo Group in northern Hokkaido. The stable carbon isotope of the fossil crinoid specimens showed very low values, approximately −30‰ (VPDB) or much lower value. The low δ13C signatures of the seep crinoids and their mode of occurrences suggest that the fossil crinoids lived near the seep environment, and they assimilated low δ13C organic particles shifted from there.