New Pleistocene remains of megalonychid ground sloths (Xenarthra: Pilosa) from the intertropical Brazilian region

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 578-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo De Iuliis ◽  
Cástor Cartelle ◽  
François Pujos
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Mandibular Condyle ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Skeletal Element ◽  
Specific Recognition ◽  
Brazilian State ◽  
Ear Ossicles ◽  
Ground Sloths ◽  
Angular Process

AbstractThe Pleistocene fossil slothAustralonyx aquaeDe Iuliis, Cartelle, and Pujos, 2009 (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megalonychidae) was described from the intertropical region of Brazil. However, its mandible was not known and only cursory descriptions of the ear ossicles were included. The mandible was subsequently recognized among the remains originally collected from the type locality, and belongs to the holotype individual. As a particularly important skeletal element for specific recognition, it requires description to complement our understanding of this species. The ossicles, usually poorly represented in the fossil record, require further description to allow differentiation from those of other sloths. Comparisons of the mandible and ossicles are conducted with homologous elements of the contemporaneous and sympatricAhytherium aureumCartelle, De Iuliis, and Pujos, 2008, the only other megalonychid sloth known from intertropical Brazil, and reinforce the distinction between these two species detailed in their initial descriptions. Comparisons with other sloths (e.g.,Acratocnus,Megalonyx,Neocnus) also reveal differences withAu.aquaein such features as form and size of the caniniform tooth, angular process, and mandibular condyle. Differences among the malleus and incus ofAu.aquaeand several species of other sloth clades reveal clade level distinctions among Megatheriidae, Nothrotheriidae, and Megalonychidae. A well-preserved skull from the Brazilian state of Rondônia is noted as probably belonging toAu.aquae. This skull cannot be assigned formally to this species because it is not deposited in a recognized institution, but it does extend considerably the known range of the species.

The middle lower Cambrian (Ovetian)Lunagraulosn. gen. from Spain and the oldest trilobite records

2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1123-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELADIO LIÑÁN ◽  
JOSÉ ANTONIO GÁMEZ VINTANED ◽  
RODOLFO GOZALO
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Lower Cambrian ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Central Spain ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
The World ◽  
The Village

AbstractThe type material ofAgraulos antiquusSdzuy, 1961 from the La Herrería Formation, northern Spain, is revised together with additional material and included in the new genusLunagraulos. The stratigraphical range ofLunagraulos antiquus(Sdzuy, 1961) – occurring below that of the trilobite species of the generaLunolenus,MetadoxidesandDolerolenusin the type locality of Los Barrios de Luna in the province of León, northern Spain – and the accompanying ichnofossil assemblage demonstrate an Ovetian age (lower part of Cambrian Stage 3, currently being discussed by the International Subcommission on Cambrian Stratigraphy) for this species. Moreover, the trilobiteLunagraulos tamamensisn. gen. n. sp. is found in the Tamames Sandstone near the village of La Rinconada in the province of Salamanca, central Spain. The biostratigraphical position of this new taxon and its accompanying ichnoassemblage is also analysed and assigned to the lowermost Ovetian Stage. The genusLunagraulosis therefore the oldest agraulid found in the fossil record. The exceptional presence ofLunagraulosin a marine coarse siliciclastic succession – a facies rather typical for the ichnofossilsCruzianaandRusophycus, some of the oldest signs of trilobite activity – suggests that first trilobite representatives may have inhabited high- to middle-energy, marine environments. This hypothesis may also explain both the taxonomic and biostratigraphic heterogeneity of the first trilobite genera appearing across the world, due to preservation problems in this type of facies. Comparison of theLunagraulos biostratigraphy with other coeval Spanish fossil assemblages allows us to propose its intercontinental correlation with the oldest records of currently known trilobites.

Paleobiology of firmground burrowers and cryptobionts at a Miocene omission surface, Alcoi, SE Spain

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 721-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zain Belaústegui ◽  
Allan A. Ekdale ◽  
Rosa Domènech ◽  
Jordi Martinell
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Community ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Trace Fossils ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
First Report ◽  
Southeastern Spain

AbstractA well-preserved omission surface (sedimentary discontinuity) in an outcrop near Alcoi in southeastern Spain displays trace fossils and body fossils that reflect a dynamic benthic community during the Miocene (Langhian–Tortonian). This outcrop, besides being the type locality of Spongeliomorpha iberica Saporta, 1887, exhibits other abundant trace fossils, such as Glossifungites saxicava Łomnicki, 1886 and Gastrochaenolites ornatus Kelly and Bromley, 1984. These trace fossils are restricted to a single stratigraphic horizon and constitute a typical firmground ichnoassemblage of the Glossifungites ichnofacies. The interiors of some of the Glossifungites and Spongeliomorpha burrows were occupied by encrusting balanomorph barnacles (Actinobalanus dolosus Darwin, 1854). This paper is the first report of cryptic barnacles colonizing the interior of open burrows that constitute a typical firmground ichnocoenose in the fossil record. Detailed ichnologic study demonstrates that the ichnospecies Glossifungites saxicava stands as a valid ichnotaxon and is not a synonym of the ichnogenus Rhizocorallium, as has been suggested by some previous workers.

scholarly journals Identification of the African–European <i>Erymnochelys</i> group (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) in the Belgian fossil record: first finding of <i>Eocenochelus eremberti</i> outside its type locality

Fossil Record ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adán Pérez-García ◽  
Thierry Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Lower Eocene ◽  
Its Analysis ◽  
First Finding ◽  
French Region ◽  
Sciences Naturelles

Abstract. An almost complete plastron, as well as several peripherals and a costal plate of a turtle from the middle Eocene of Saint-Gilles, is presented here. Although this turtle specimen was donated to the Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (Brussels, Belgium) more than a century ago, it remained undescribed. Its study allows us to recognize the second pleurodiran in the Belgian fossil record, where, until now, the Eocene Neochelys was the only one known. The Belgian material of Neochelys is known in lower Eocene (early Ypresian) levels, but the new pleurodiran specimen comes from the middle Eocene (early Lutetian). It is the first partial articulate shell of a pleurodiran turtle recognized in Belgium, and the only member of this clade recognized in this country at specific level. The new specimen is a representative of the so-called Erymnochelys group, this lineage being known in Africa from the Upper Cretaceous to the present but in Europe only during the Eocene. It represents the first specimen of Eocenochelus eremberti identified outside its type locality, the French region of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines, Île-de-France), where only one specimen was found. The plastron of the Belgian individual corresponds to the most complete for this species. Its analysis allows us not only to broaden the range of paleobiogeographical distribution of Eocenochelus eremberti but also to improve the knowledge about the anatomy and variability of this taxon.

scholarly journals Iberoccitanemys atlanticum (Lapparent de Broin & Murelaga, 1996) n. comb.: new data on the diversity and paleobiogeographic distributions of the Campanian-Maastrichtian bothremydid turtles of Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adán PÉREZ-GARCÍA ◽  
Francisco ORTEGA ◽  
Xabier MURELAGA
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
The North ◽  
New Information ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
North Of Spain ◽  
Eastern Half ◽  
Upper Maastrichtian ◽  
Upper Campanian

Bothremydidae is the most abundant clade of turtles in the Campanian and Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) fossil record of southwestern Europe. Several members of Foxemydina Gaffney, Tong & Meylan, 2006 are known in an area that includes Southern France and the North-Eastern half of Spain. The problematic ‘Polysternon’ atlanticum is the worst characterized, lacking a diagnosis that allows its specific validity to be confirmed, and whose generic attribution has been recognized as doubtful. Its presence was exclusively proposed in its type locality, the upper Campanian quarry of Laño, in Treviño County (Burgos Province, North of Spain). Despite the fact that knowledge about Bothremydidae has markedly increased after the description of ‘Polysternon’ atlanticum Lapparent de Broin & Murelaga, 1996, no new information about this species has been published since the 1990s. The analysis of abundant unpublished material of the bothremydid from Laño allows us to confirm the validity of this species. As a consequence of this study, it is not only identified in its type locality, but also in other Spanish regions and in the south of France. The diversity of Bothremydidae Baur, 1891 in the Upper Cretaceous of Europe is lower than previously considered. Thus, the species ‘Iberoccitanemys convenarum’ (Laurent, Tong & Claude, 2002), originally defined for the French record, and subsequently also identified in Spain, is identified here as a synonym of the species described in Laño. An emended diagnosis for the upper Campanian to upper Maastrichtian, Iberoccitanemys atlanticum (Lapparent de Broin & Murelaga, 1996) n. comb., is proposed.

scholarly journals Five new records and an identification key of the lichen genus Leptogium from Santa Catarina state, Brazil

Rodriguésia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-428
Author(s):  
Marcos Junji Kitaura ◽  
Emerson Luiz Gumboski ◽  
Ricardo Koroiva
Keyword(s):  
New Records ◽  
Identification Key ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Santa Catarina ◽  
Brazilian State ◽  
First Time ◽  
Santa Catarina State

Abstract Leptogium is a cosmopolitan genus with currently 180 accepted species, of which 46 are reported from Brazil. Leptogium atlanticum, L. azureum, L. cyanescens, L. sessile and L. subjuressianum are recorded from the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina for the first time. Leptogium chloromelum var. crassius is synonymized with L. sessile. Leptogium atlanticum is recorded for the first time outside the type locality. We also provide comments and the first identification key for Leptogium species found in Santa Catarina state.

scholarly journals A new species of Middle Miocene baleen whale from the Nupinai Group, Hikatagawa Formation of Hokkaido, Japan

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Tanaka ◽  
Tatsuro Ando ◽  
Hiroshi Sawamura
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Mandibular Condyle ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Baleen Whale ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Zygomatic Process ◽  
Angular Process ◽  
A New Species

A fossil whale from the Hikatagawa Formation (Middle Miocene, 15.2–11.5 Ma) of Hokkaido, Japan is described as a new genus and species Taikicetus inouei and its phylogenetic position is examined. Consistent with the result of Marx, Lambert & de Muizon (2017), the Cetotheriidae form a clade with the Balaenopteroidea, and “a clade comprising Isanacetus, Parietobalaena and related taxa” is located basal to the Balaenopteroidea + Cetotheriidae clade. Taikicetus inouei is placed in the clade with most of members of “Cetotheres” sensu lato comprising Isanacetus, Parietobalaena and related taxa. Taikicetus inouei can be distinguished from the other members of “Cetotheres” sensu lato in having an anteriorly swollen short zygomatic process, high triangular coronoid process, and angular process, which does not reach as far posterior as the mandibular condyle. Taikicetus inouei is only record of “Cetotheres” sensu lato from Hokkaido, Japan and the northern-most records of “Cetotheres” sensu lato in Japan.

scholarly journals A new synonym and seventeen new distributional records in South American Cerambycidae (Coleoptera), with notes on Chlorethe scabrosa Zajciw, 1963

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. e20206010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Santos-Silva ◽  
Juan Pablo Botero ◽  
Francisco Eriberto de Lima Nascimento ◽  
Weliton Dias Silva
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
The State ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
South American ◽  
Beetle Species ◽  
Brazilian State ◽  
New Synonym ◽  
State Records

We studied 18 cerambycid beetle species native to South America. Seventeen represent new state records in Brazil. Particularly, Chlorethe scabrosa Zajciw, 1963 is newly reported for the state of Rio de Janeiro with exclusion of C. brachyptera Zajciw, 1963. The Brazilian state of the type locality of Dufauxia guaicurana Lane, 1955 is fixed. Pirangoclytus mendosus (Galileo & Martins, 1996) is synonymized with P. mniszechii (Chevrolat, 1862), and its holotype is a female. Variation on Trypanidius maculatus Monné & Delfino, 1980 is commented. New country and department records for Paraguay are also provided.

Mammalian Evolution

1994 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Prothero
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Trade Books ◽  
Mammalian Evolution ◽  
Fossil Mammals ◽  
Museum Displays ◽  
Historical Geology ◽  
Mammal Evolution ◽  
Ground Sloths

The evolution of certain mammalian lineages has become the favorite examples of nearly every introductory textbook in historical geology, paleontology, and evolutionary biology. The evolution of the horse is the most frequently used, since it emerged in 1851 and has been reproduced many times in nearly 150 years (see Gould, 1987, and MacFadden, 1992). Occasionally, one sees a revival of one of Osborn's (1929) evolutionary sequences of brontotheres, and some books may show a sequence of mammoths and mastodonts. In most historical geology books, the discussion of fossil mammals usually consists of just these selected examples, since the authors seem to think that a fuller account of Cenozoic mammal evolution is beyond the level of their readers. Children's books, trade books, and museum displays typically show little more than the evolution of the horse and few selected pictures of spectacular beasts such as saber-toothed cats, ground sloths, mammoths, and the gigantic hornless rhinocerosParaceratherium(called by the obsolete namesBaluchitheriumorIndricotheriumin virtually every caption). Given these conditions, one cannot fault students or the general public for thinking that only horses have a good fossil record, or that there are no other well-studied groups of fossil mammals.

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