scholarly journals New records of Staffia aenigmatica (Mammalia, Allotheria, Haramiyida) from the Upper Jurassic of Tendaguru in southeastern Tanzania, East Africa

Fossil Record ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf-Dieter Heinrich
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Upper Jurassic

scholarly journals New records of Staffia aenigmatica (Mammalia, Allotheria, Haramiyida) from the Upper Jurassic of Tendaguru in southeastern Tanzania, East Africa

Fossil Record ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.-D. Heinrich
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Longitudinal Direction ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Central Basin ◽  
Tooth Crown ◽  
Main Cusp ◽  
Temporal Persistence ◽  
Upper Molar

Two non-multituberculate allotherian cheek teeth are described from the Upper Jurassic of Tendaguru in southeastern Tanzania, East Africa, Both specimens were collected from dinosaur-bearing matrix of bone bed Wj of the Middle Saurian Bed at Tendaguru Site dy by the German Tendaguru Expedition (1909&ndash;1913). Bone Bed Wj represents limnic to brackish deposits of Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age. The cheek teeth, considered as lower posterior molar and upper molar, represent a single taxon of the Haramiyida and are referred to <i>Staffia aenigmatica</i>, known only from the Upper Jurassic of Tendaguru. This assignment reinforces evidence for the palaeogeographic dispersal of haramiyids to Gondwana and the temporal persistence of these non-multituberculate allotherians into the Late Jurassic. Characters that distinguish <i>Staffia aenigmatica</i> from other haramiyids include the medial position of main cusp a1 at the front of the tooth crown and the presence of a large, anterolingual main notch between cusps a1 and a2 in lower cheek teeth, as well as the development of a strong anterolabial cingular ridge in the only known upper cheek tooth. <i>Staffia</i> shows the closest resemblance to <i>Thomasia</i> from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic of Europe, although these genera are disdinctly different. Retention of the basic tooth crown pattern of haramiyids and traces of wear in the Tendaguru teeth suggest that the masticatory movements in <i>Staffia</i> were essentially restricted to a longitudinal direction, as in <i>Thomasia</i>. It is suggested that owing to its central position at the front of the tooth crown the lower main cusp a1 could have occluded in the central basin of the opposing upper molar during masticatory movements. <br><br> Aus dem Oberjura von Tendaguru in Tansania, Ostafrika, werden zwei Backenzähne eines Haramiyiden beschrieben. Beide Zähne stammen aus knochenführenden Gesteinsproben, die von der Deutschen Tendaguru Expedition (1909&ndash;1913) in der Fundstelle dy gesammelt wurden. Fundschicht der Haramiyiden-Zähne ist eine knochenführende Lage (Wj) der Mittleren Saurierschicht, die im Zeitraum Kimmeridge-Tithon in einem küstennahen Ablagerungsraum entstand. Beide Backenzähne, ein hinterer unterer Molar und ein oberer Molar, werden zu <i>Staffia aenigmatica</i> gestellt, die bisher nur aus dem Oberjura von Tendaguru bekannt ist. Beide Nachweise bestätigen erneut, daß Haramiaiden einst in Gondwana verbreitet waren und dort noch in der späten Jura-Zeit vorkamen. Merkmale, die <i>Staffia aenigmatica</i> von anderen Haramiyiden unterscheiden, sind die zentrale Position des a1-Höckers im Vorderabschnitt der Zahnkrone und die tiefe, breite anterolinguale Furche zwischen dem a1- und a2-Höcker der unteren Backenzähne sowie die starke labiale Cingulumleiste am einzigen bisher bekannten oberen Molaren. Zwischen <i>Staffia</i> aus dem Oberjura Ostafrikas und <i>Thomasia</i> aus der oberen Trias und dem unteren Jura Europas bestehen Gemeinsamkeiten, aber auch wesentliche Unterschiede. Die Beibehaltung des Backenzahn-Grundmusters der Haramiyiden und Abkauungsspuren an den Zähnen aus Tendaguru zeigen, daß die Kaubewegung bei <i>Staffia</i> im wesentlichen in longitudinaler Richtung erfolgte, wie bei <i>Thomasia</i>. Für Staffia wird vermutet, daß der a1-Haupthöcker auf Grund seiner zentralen Lage im vorderen Abschnitt der Zahnkrone in das zentrale Becken des entsprechenden oberen Backenzahnes paßte und dort bei der Zerkleinerung von Nahrungspartikeln mitwirkte. <br><br> doi:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mmng.20010040114" target="_blank">10.1002/mmng.20010040114</a>

scholarly journals New records for the lichen flora of Rwanda, East Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothee Killmann ◽  
Eberhard Fischer
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Lichen Flora

New species and new records of Nycteribiidae from the Ethiopian, Oriental and Pacific Regions

Parasitology ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Theodor
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Species ◽  
East Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Family ◽  
Bismarck Archipelago

The present paper deals with material examined since the revision of the family (Theodor, 1967) was sent to the press. Material was sent by Mr F. R. Allison from Ghana, by Dr D. Minter, Mr T, S Jones and Mr J. C. Cunningham from East Africa and by Dr F. Zumpt from South Africa and other localities in Africa. The material collected by the Noona Dan Expedition to the Bismarck Archipelago and the Philippines (1961, 1962) was examined. The collection of Nycteribiidae in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Genoa was examined and several new species were found among the material. The types of Stylidia euxesta Speiser in the collection proved different from the species considered as 8. euxesta in the past and to consist of two species. The types of S. euxesta are redescribed.

A review of Afrotropical Perasis Hermann, 1905(Diptera: Asilidae: Laphriinae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1521 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
JASON G.H. LONDT
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Similar Species

Afrotropical species of Perasis Hermann, 1905 are reviewed. The two species known from the region are P. transvaalensis Ricardo, 1925 from Southern Africa (South Africa) and P. carpenteri Oldroyd, 1970 from East Africa (Uganda and Burundi). A lectotype is designated for P. transvaalensis. Illustrations of the genitalia of these closely similar species show them to be distinct. New records of P. transvaalensis provide a better understanding of the distribution of this rarely encountered grassland / savannah species, and it is probable that Afrotropical species may be associated with river margins.

scholarly journals First haramiyid (Mammalia, Allotheria) from the Mesozoic of Gondwana

Fossil Record ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.-D. Heinrich
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
First Record ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Central Basin ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Tooth Crown ◽  
Cusp Height

Abstract. A haramiyid tooth is described from the Upper Jurassic of Tendaguru in southwestern Tanzania, East Africa. The specimen, identified tentatively as a lower posterior premolar, is made the holotype of a new taxon, Staffia aenigmatica gen. et sp. nov. which is placed in the Haramiyida. Staffia gen. nov. shares several features with Thomasia from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic of Europe, notably the arrangement of cusps in two parallel longitudinal rows bordering a central basin, cusp height which progressively decreases in both rows posteriorly, the different height of the rows, the U-shaped posterior rim, and the smooth enamel surface. The main difference between these taxa is the presence of well-developed synclines with rounded floors in Staffia gen. nov., especially that of the principal syncline LS1. Resemblances in the basic tooth crown pattern indicate that occlusion and chewing might have been similar in both genera, but the synclines in Staffia gen. nov. suggest some subtle differences in food processing. Staffia aenigmatica gen. et sp. nov. is the first record of a haramiyid from Gondwana, and also the youngest stratigraphic occurrence for this allotherian group so far. Ein unterer Backenzahn aus den oberjurassischen Tendaguru-Schichten von Tansania in Ostafrika wird als Staffia aenigmatica gen. et sp. nov. beschrieben und zu den Haramiyida gestellt. Bei dem Fund handelt es sich wahrscheinlich um einen hinteren unteren Prämolaren. Staffia gen. nov. weist zahlreiche Merkmale auf, die bei der spät-triassischen bis früh-jurassischen Gattung Thomasia auftreten. Dazu zählen z. B. die Anordnung der Höcker in zwei unterschiedlich hohen Längsreihen, die in beiden Reihen von vorn nach hinten abnehmende Höckerhöhe, der U-förmige Hinterrand und die glatte Schmelzoberfläche. Die Synklinalen zwischen den Zahnhöckern von Staffia gen. nov. stellen ein neuerworbenes Merkmal dar. Die weitgehenden Übereinstimmungen im Grundaufbau der Zahnkronen beider Gattungen lassen darauf schließen, daß die Kieferbewegung und der Kauvorgang ähnlich waren, doch deuten die Synclinalen bei Staffia gen. nov. auf eine differenziertere Aufbereitung der Nahrung hin. Staffia aenigmatica gen. et sp. nov. ist der erste Nachweis eines Haramiyiden auf dem Gondwana-Kontinent und zugleich der bisher erdgeschichtlich jüngste Beleg für diese Säugetiergruppe. doi:10.1002/mmng.1999.4860020112

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