Early rhinocerotids (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from South Asia and a review of the Holarctic Paleogene rhinocerotid record

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Olivier Antoine ◽  
Stéphane Ducrocq ◽  
Laurent Marivaux ◽  
Yaowalak Chaimanee ◽  
Jean-Yves Crochet ◽  
...  

The earliest rhinocerotids from South Asia are identified on the basis of few dental remains originating from the Late Eocene of Thailand (Wai Lek mine, Krabi Basin) and the Early Oligocene of Pakistan (Paali nala C2, Bugti Hills). Once synthesized, the Holarctic Paleogene rhinocerotid record points out a westward diachronism of rhinocerotid First Appearance Data, from North America to Europe via Asia, throughout mid-Cenozoic times. The faunal similarity among mammal localities from the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene of peninsular Thailand, southern China, and Pakistan suggests the existence of a single South Asian paleoprovince during this interval and the persistence of a tropical–subtropical climate. Substantial faunal changes recorded in eastern Balochistan reveal a significant climatic deterioration from the middle part of the Oligocene. Neither provinciality nor endemism is noticeable for rhinocerotoid taxa recognized in the Oligocene of the Indian subcontinent: neither the Himalayas nor the Tibet Plateau was a paleogeographic barrier for large mammals during this interval.

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Vlasta Premec-Fućek ◽  
Morana Hernitz Kučenjak ◽  
Gabrijela Pecimotika ◽  
◽  

An upper Campanian to upper Oligocene stratigraphic succession has been examined from six deep exploration wells in the Palmyrides area of Syria. Most of the sedimentary succession contains rich and well to moderately preserved planktonic foraminiferal assemblages that enable successful age determination. The upper Campanian and Maastrichtian planktonic fauna is highly diverse with domination of warm water taxa such as Globotruncana aegyptiaca, Gansserina gansseri, Globotruncanella havanensis, Globotruncanita angulata and Pseudotextularia elegans. The most dramatic turnover occurred across the Cretaceous/Palaeocene boundary when most planktonic foraminiferal species became extinct. The oldest Palaeocene planktonic foraminiferal assemblage, rich in the number of specimens, but not very diverse, includes the following species: Eoglobigerina eobulloides, Globanomalina archeocompressa, Chiloguembelina morsei, Woodringina claytonensis and Parasubbotina pseudobulloides. The late Palaeocene is marked by origination of the morozovellids, acarininids and globanomalinids, while the early Eocene is characterized by a tropical assemblage, dominated by muricate species, and by intensive speciation of Acarinina and Subbotina in the latest part. Most of these species continue into the middle Eocene and become a significant component of the planktonic community. The middle Eocene is characterized by intensive speciation and domination of warm water genera such as Acarinina, Morozovelloides, and to a lesser degree Turborotalia, Globigerinatheka and Hantkenina. The middle/late Eocene boundary is marked by double extinction of the last muricate taxa Acarinina mcgowrani and Morozovelloides crasssatus, which indicate a variable climate, water column instability, and loss of surface habitats. In contrast, Turborotalia and Globigerinateheka become more important in the late Eocene. The Eocene/Oligocene boundary is marked by the extinction of most warm water taxa including Turborotalia cerroazulensis group, Hantkenina, Globigerinatheka and some subbotinids. The beginning of the early Oligocene is indicated by the domination of cool water taxa such as Dentoglobigerina, Globorotaloides, Tenuitella and Chiloguembelina. Speciation of the spinose surface dweller Ciperoella ciperoensis group reflects warming in the late Oligocene. The combined observations of lithology with the diversity and composition of planktonic foraminifera assemblages indicate that the Palmyrides area in Syria was a Tethyan bioprovince with a tropical to subtropical climate from the late Campanian to the end of the Eocene with deposition in deep sea environments (upper bathyal to outer shelf). In contrast, Oligocene deposits and their microfossil content suggest temperate to warm climate conditions and sedimentation in middle to inner shelf environments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 281-300
Author(s):  
Amanda Lanzillo

Focusing on the lithographic print revolution in North India, this article analyses the role played by scribes working in Perso-Arabic script in the consolidation of late nineteenth-century vernacular literary cultures. In South Asia, the rise of lithographic printing for Perso-Arabic script languages and the slow shift from classical Persian to vernacular Urdu as a literary register took place roughly contemporaneously. This article interrogates the positionality of scribes within these transitions. Because print in North India relied on lithography, not movable type, scribes remained an important part of book production on the Indian subcontinent through the early twentieth century. It analyses the education and models of employment of late nineteenth-century scribes. New scribal classes emerged during the transition to print and vernacular literary culture, in part due to the intervention of lithographic publishers into scribal education. The patronage of Urdu-language scribal manuals by lithographic printers reveals that scribal education in Urdu was directly informed by the demands of the print economy. Ultimately, using an analysis of scribal manuals, the article contributes to our knowledge of the social positioning of book producers in South Asia and demonstrates the vitality of certain practices associated with manuscript culture in the era of print.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Hill ◽  
Leonie J. Scriven

A re-investigation of macrofossils previously referred to the extantpodocarpaceous genus Falcatifolium Laubenfels shows thatno records can be sustained. Falcatifolium australisD.R.Greenwood from Middle Eocene sediments in Victoria bears littleresemblance to extant species in the genus and is transferred to the newfossil genus Sigmaphyllum R.S.Hill & L.J.Scriven.Specimens from Early Oligocene sediments in Tasmania previously assigned toFalcatifolium are described as a second species ofSigmaphyllum, S. tasmanensisR.S.Hill & L.J.Scriven, and specimens from mid to late Eocene sediments inTasmania previously assigned to Falcatifolium do notbelong to that genus, although their true generic affinities are uncertain.Dispersed cuticle specimens from Late Eocene–Oligocene sediments inSouth Australia referred to Falcatifolium are notreliable records of the genus and require further investigation. However,Dacrycarpus eocenica D.R.Greenwood, from Middle Eocenesediments in Victoria is transferred to Falcatifolium,and is similar to the extant species F. angustumLaubenfels, which has a leaf morphology unusual for the genus.Falcatifolium eocenica (D.R.Greenwood) R.S.Hill & L.J.Scriven is the only reliable record of the genus in the Australian fossilrecord to date.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuoqiu Wu ◽  
Xiaoyan Ma

<p>The melting of glaciers and snow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the Earth’s “Third Pole” and “World Water Tower”, is source of fresh water for hundreds of millions of people in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, but it is now suffering from an unprecedented crisis. The black carbon deposited on the surface of the glacier will reduce the snow albedo and absorb more solar radiation, leading to accelerated melting of ice and snow.Previous studies have shown that black carbon from South Asia is one of the main sources of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the transportation of black carbon to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau presents obviously seasonal differences.However, the transport of black carbon from South Asia to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in different seasons shows a completely opposite trend to wind field conditions.This study uses the WRF-Chem model to study the transmission mechanism of South Asian black carbon to the Tibetan Plateau in April (pre-monsoon), July (summer monsoon) and December (winter monsoon).MIX emission inventory and Peking University's global black carbon emission inventory (PKU-BC) were involved to analyze the seasonal distribution of black carbon concentration, dry and wet deposition in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and South Asia, and the distribution of BC concentration and wind field at different altitudes.Combined with the vertical distribution of BC concentration across the Himalayas, the transport mechanism of black carbon in South Asia to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in different seasons is studied.In the selected three months, December had the highest surface black carbon concentration in South Asia and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, while July had the lowest black carbon concentration; Mainly because of the large amount of wet deposition of black carbon brought about by the heavy precipitation in South Asia in July;According to the vertical distribution of black carbon,black carbon can climb up the hillside and eventually reach the southern slope of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in April. In July, black carbon is mainly distributed below 3km. In December, black carbon can be uplifted to 4-5km, and finally transported into Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.</p>


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12074
Author(s):  
Shorouq F. Al-Ashqar ◽  
Erik R. Seiffert ◽  
Dorien de Vries ◽  
Sanaa El-Sayed ◽  
Mohamed S. Antar ◽  
...  

Background The rich rodent assemblages from the Eocene–Oligocene deposits of the Jebel Qatrani Formation (Fayum Depression, Egypt) have important implications for our understanding of the origin and paleobiogeography of Hystricognathi, a diverse clade that is now represented by the Afro-Asiatic Hystricidae, New World Caviomorpha, and African Phiomorpha. Methods Here we present previously undescribed material of the enigmatic hystricognath clade Phiocricetomyinae, from two stratigraphic levels in the lower sequence of the Jebel Qatrani Formation—a new genus and species (Qatranimys safroutus) from the latest Eocene Locality 41 (~34 Ma, the oldest and most productive quarry in the formation) and additional material of Talahphiomys lavocati from that species’ type locality, early Oligocene Quarry E (~31–33.2 Ma). Results The multiple specimens of Qatranimys safroutus from L-41 document almost the entire lower and upper dentition, as well as mandibular fragments and the first cranial remains known for a derived phiocricetomyine. Specimens from Quarry E allow us to expand comparisons with specimens from Libya (late Eocene of Dur at-Talah and early Oligocene of Zallah Oasis) that have been placed in T. lavocati, and we show that the Dur at-Talah and Zallah specimens do not pertain to this species. These observations leave the Fayum Quarry E as the only locality where T. lavocati occurs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 2977-3018 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Pascher ◽  
C. J. Hollis ◽  
S. M. Bohaty ◽  
G. Cortese ◽  
R. M. McKay

Abstract. The Eocene was characterised by "greenhouse" climate conditions that were gradually terminated by a long-term cooling trend through the middle and late Eocene. This long-term trend was determined by several large-scale climate perturbations that culminated in a shift to "ice-house" climates at the Eocene–Oligocene Transition. Geochemical and micropaleontological proxies suggest that tropical-to-subtropical sea-surface temperatures persisted into the late Eocene in the high-latitude Southwest Pacific Ocean. Here, we present radiolarian microfossil assemblage and foraminiferal oxygen and carbon stable isotope data from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 277, 280, 281 and 283 from the middle Eocene to early Oligocene (~ 40–33 Ma) to identify oceanographic changes in the Southwest Pacific across this major transition in Earth's climate history. The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum at ~ 40 Ma is characterised by a negative shift in foraminiferal oxygen isotope values and a radiolarian assemblage consisting of about 5 % of low latitude taxa Amphicraspedum prolixum group and Amphymenium murrayanum. In the early late Eocene at ~ 37 Ma, a positive oxygen isotope shift can be correlated to the Priabonian Oxygen Isotope Maximum (PrOM) event – a short-lived cooling event recognized throughout the Southern Ocean. Radiolarian abundance, diversity, and preservation increase during the middle of this event at Site 277 at the same time as diatoms. The PrOM and latest Eocene radiolarian assemblages are characterised by abundant high-latitude taxa. These high-latitude taxa also increase in abundance during the late Eocene and early Oligocene at DSDP Sites 280, 281 and 283 and are associated with very high diatom abundance. We therefore infer a~northward expansion of high-latitude radiolarian taxa onto the Campbell Plateau towards the end of the late Eocene. In the early Oligocene (~ 33 Ma) there is an overall decrease in radiolarian abundance and diversity at Site 277, and diatoms are absent. These data indicate that, once the Tasman Gateway was fully open in the early Oligocene, a frontal system similar to the present day was established, with nutrient-depleted subantarctic waters bathing the area around DSDP Site 277, resulting in a more oligotrophic siliceous plankton assemblage.


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