Assemblage Data and Bone and Teeth Modifications as an Aid to Paleoenvironmental Interpretations of the Open-Air Pleistocene Site of Tighenif (Algeria)

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannicke Dauphin ◽  
Casimir Kowalski ◽  
Christiane Denys
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Complex Interaction ◽  
Fossil Bones

AbstractVariations in the proportions of the various groups of Rodentia collected from eight stratigraphic levels at Tighenif had previously been interpreted as representing environmental (climatic) changes. However, the processes involved in the formation of assemblages are still not well understood. Examination of fragmentation, crystallinity, and chemical composition of fossil bones and teeth, compared to recent samples, shows that a possible explanation for the variations in frequencies is the differential preservation of skeletal remains. Thus, the evaluation of postmortem effects is essential in determining the accuracy of the fossil record. The abundance and composition of remains are governed by the complex interaction of many factors. As indicated by actualistic studies, direct deductions from fauna lists must be avoided as much as possible.

scholarly journals Morphological taphonomic transformations of fossil bones in continental environments, and repercussions on their chemical composition

Archaeometry ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Fernandez-Jalvo ◽  
B. Sanchez-Chillon ◽  
P. Andrews ◽  
S. Fernandez-Lopez ◽  
L. Alcala Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Fossil Bones

Analyses of Coprolites Produced by Carnivorous Vertebrates

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Chin
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Significant Source ◽  
Digestive Efficiency ◽  
Fossil Bones ◽  
Source Of Information

The fossil record contains far more coprolites produced by carnivorous animals than by herbivores. This inequity reflects the fact that feces generated by diets of flesh and bone (and other skeletal materials) contain chemical constituents that may precipitate out under certain conditions as permineralizing phosphates. Thus, although coprolites are usually less common than fossil bones, they provide a significant source of information about ancient patterns of predation. The identity of a coprolite producer often remains unresolved, but fossil feces can provide new perspectives on prey selection patterns, digestive efficiency, and the occurrence of previously unknown taxa in a paleoecosystem. Dietary residues are often embedded in the interior of coprolites, but much can be learned from analyses of intact specimens. When ample material is available, however, destructive analyses such as petrography or coprolite dissolution may be used to extract additional paleobiological information.

scholarly journals A mid-Cretaceous enantiornithine foot and tail feather preserved in Burmese amber

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lida Xing ◽  
Ryan C. McKellar ◽  
Jingmai K. O’Connor ◽  
Kecheng Niu ◽  
Huijuan Mai
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Skin Surface ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Tail Feather ◽  
Burmese Amber ◽  
Morphological Disparity

Abstract Since the first skeletal remains of avians preserved in amber were described in 2016, new avian remains trapped in Cretaceous-age Burmese amber continue to be uncovered, revealing a diversity of skeletal and feather morphologies observed nowhere else in the Mesozoic fossil record. Here we describe a foot with digital proportions unlike any previously described enantiornithine or Mesozoic bird. No bones are preserved in the new specimen but the outline of the foot is recorded in a detailed skin surface, which is surrounded by feather inclusions including a partial rachis-dominated feather. Pedal proportions and plumage support identification as an enantiornithine, but unlike previous discoveries the toes are stout with transversely elongated digital pads, and the outer toe appears strongly thickened relative to the inner two digits. The new specimen increases the known diversity and morphological disparity among the Enantiornithes, hinting at a wider range of habitats and behaviours. It also suggests that the Burmese amber avifauna was distinct from other Mesozoic assemblages, with amber entrapment including representatives from unusual small forms.

Effect of climate on chemical composition of fossil bones

Nature ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 269 (5631) ◽  
pp. 792-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
CS. M. BUCZKO ◽  
L. VAS
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Fossil Bones

scholarly journals Latest Cretaceous eggshell assemblage from the Willow Creek Formation (upper Maastrichtian – lower Paleocene) of Alberta, Canada, reveals higher dinosaur diversity than represented by skeletal remains

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darla K. Zelenitsky ◽  
François Therrien ◽  
Kohei Tanaka ◽  
Philip J. Currie ◽  
Christopher L. DeBuhr
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Taxonomic Affinity ◽  
The North ◽  
Arid Conditions ◽  
Fossil Bones ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Upper Maastrichtian

The Willow Creek Formation (upper Maastrichtian – lower Paleocene) of southwestern Alberta is a poorly fossiliferous formation that preserves a low end-Cretaceous dinosaur diversity compared with most correlative terrestrial deposits in the North American Western Interior. Although only three dinosaur taxa are known from skeletal remains (Tyrannosaurus rex, Hadrosauridae indet., and Leptoceratopsidae indet.), study of hundreds of dinosaur eggshells recovered from several sites in the formation reveals the presence of a more diverse dinosaur assemblage. Morphological and histological analyses of the eggshells indicate the presence of at least seven dinosaur ootaxa (Continuoolithus, Montanoolithus, Porituberoolithus, Prismatoolithus spp., Spheroolithus spp.). These ootaxa are referable to at least two ornithopod and five small theropod species, likely including dromaeosaurids, oviraptorosaurs, and troodontids. When considering the taxonomic affinity of eggshells and skeletal remains, the present study triples the known dinosaur diversity of the Willow Creek Formation, increasing the number of dinosaurs from three to at least nine species. Probable ornithopod eggshells comprise most of the eggshells preserved, although small theropods were likely an important component of the Willow Creek ecosystem, as most ootaxa can be ascribed to these dinosaurs. Although fossil bones are rarely found in the Willow Creek Formation, fossil eggshells are common compared with most other dinosaur-bearing formations in Alberta. The caliche-bearing deposits, indicative of arid to semi-arid conditions, typical of the formation were likely conducive to the preservation of calcareous eggshells.

scholarly journals XVI.—On the Solubility of Fluoride of Calcium in Water, and its relation to the occurrence of Fluorine in Minerals, and in Recent and Fossil Plants and Animals

1846 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Wilson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Phosphoric Acid ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Fossil Plants ◽  
Zoological Society ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Fossil Bones

The investigation I am about to bring before the Royal Society, was undertaken in consequence of a discussion which took place in the Zoological Society of London in 1843, in reference to the chemical composition of the bones of the gigantic bird the Dinornis, discovered some time previously in New Zealand. At the meeting in question, the distinguished palæontologist Dr Falconer drew attention to the frequent, if not constant, occurrence of fluoride of calcium in fossil bones, and, as he stated, also in those of mummies; and threw out the suggestion, that the fluoride might shew itself in these animal remains, not as an original ingredient of the bones, or as derived from the matrix in which they were found, but as a product of the transmutation of their phosphate of lime. The idea of such a conversion taking place, is as old at least as the days of Klaproth, who suggested the possibility of phosphoric acid becoming changed into fluoric. It is commented upon by Fourcroy and Vauquelin, as well as by Gay Lussac, as a thing possible but not probable, and which their ignorance of the nature of fluoric acid prevented them from discussing satisfactorily.

The Croonian Lecture - Radiocarbon dating and Quaternary history in Britain

1961 ◽  
Vol 153 (952) ◽  
pp. 287-320 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Complex Interaction ◽  
Quaternary Period ◽  
Climatic Oscillation ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Quaternary History ◽  
Glacial Time ◽  
Raised Beaches

The lecture is an attempt to show the way in which research upon the Quaternary Period in Britain is being affected by the application to it of radiocarbon dating. Mild interstadial periods during the last glaciation can be distinguished, set in sequence and related to similar European interstadials. It is shown that a brief climatic oscillation occurs widely in the Late-glacial transition from Full-glacial to Post-glacial time, and that the vegetational changes registered in pollen zonations of the Post-glacial Period are to some degree synchronous. They reflect widespread climatic changes, as do major horizons in bog stratigraphy that can also be correlated by radiocarbon dating. The method has a most powerful application to archaeology and it promises some resolution of the complex interaction of eustatic, isostatic and tectonic factors that have affected those relative movements of land and sea level recorded by the submerged forests, estuarine formations and raised beaches of the British Isles. Between the results of British Quaternary study in these and other fields there is developing considerable consistency of pattern , as also between British Quaternary History and that of other parts of the world.

scholarly journals A Pliocene–Pleistocene continental biota from Venezuela

2021 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge D. Carrillo-Briceño ◽  
Rodolfo Sánchez ◽  
Torsten M. Scheyer ◽  
Juan D. Carrillo ◽  
Massimo Delfino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
South American ◽  
Late Pliocene ◽  
Bony Fishes ◽  
Great American Biotic Interchange ◽  
Stratigraphic Position ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe Pliocene–Pleistocene transition in the Neotropics is poorly understood despite the major climatic changes that occurred at the onset of the Quaternary. The San Gregorio Formation, the younger unit of the Urumaco Sequence, preserves a fauna that documents this critical transition. We report stingrays, freshwater bony fishes, amphibians, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, aquatic and terrestrial turtles, and mammals. A total of 49 taxa are reported from the Vergel Member (late Pliocene) and nine taxa from the Cocuiza Member (Early Pleistocene), with 28 and 18 taxa reported for the first time in the Urumaco sequence and Venezuela, respectively. Our findings include the first fossil record of the freshwater fishes Megaleporinus, Schizodon, Amblydoras, Scorpiodoras, and the pipesnake Anilius scytale, all from Pliocene strata. The late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene ages proposed here for the Vergel and Cocuiza members, respectively, are supported by their stratigraphic position, palynology, nannoplankton, and 86Sr/88Sr dating. Mammals from the Vergel Member are associated with the first major pulse of the Great American Biotic Interchange. In contrast to the dry conditions prevailing today, the San Gregorio Formation documents mixed open grassland/forest areas surrounding permanent freshwater systems, following the isolation of the northern South American basin from western Amazonia. These findings support the hypothesis that range contraction of many taxa to their current distribution in northern South America occurred rapidly during at least the last 1.5 million years.

scholarly journals On the Tracks of Neandertals: The Ichnological Assemblage from Le Rozel (Normandy, France)

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-200
Author(s):  
Jérémy Duveau ◽  
Gilles Berillon ◽  
Christine Verna
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Upper Pleistocene ◽  
Archaeological Material

AbstractHominin tracks represent a unique window into moments in the life of extinct individuals. They can provide biological and locomotor data that are not accessible from skeletal remains. However, these tracks are relatively scarce in the fossil record, particularly those attributed to Neandertals. They are also most often devoid of associated archaeological material, which limits their interpretation. The Palaeolithic site of Le Rozel (Normandy, France) located in a dune complex formed during the Upper Pleistocene has yielded between 2012 and 2017 several hundred tracks (257 hominin footprints, 8 handprints as well as 6 animal tracks). This ichnological assemblage is distributed within five stratigraphic subunits dated to 80,000 years. These subunits are rich in archaeological material that attests to brief occupations by Neandertal groups and provides information about the activities that they carried out. The ichnological assemblage discovered at Le Rozel is the largest attributed to Neandertals to date and more generally the most important for hominin taxa other than Homo sapiens. The particularly large number of footprints can provide major information for our understanding of the Palaeolithic occupations at Le Rozel and for our knowledge of the composition of Neandertal groups.

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