A note on Salenia gr. nutrix Peron and Gauthier, 1881 (Echinoidea) from the Maastrichtian type area (southeastern Netherlands, northeastern Belgium)

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. M. Jagt ◽  
Raymond W. J. M. Van Der Ham ◽  
Roland Meuris ◽  
Ludo Indeherberge

A single specimen of a saleniid echinoid recently collected from the Late Maastrichtian of the type area of the Maastrichtian Stage is notable in being closely related to Salenia nutrix Peron and Gauthier, 1881. Representatives of the “nutrix group” have previously been recorded from the Late Cretaceous of the Mediterranean and north Africa. The occurrence in the type Maastrichtian of a representative of this group thus furnishes additional evidence of Tethyan incursions in the area during the Late Maastrichtian.

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie John ◽  
Richard I. Vane-Wright

We report a recent observation of D. c. chrysippus f. 'alcippus' in Cyprus, a variant of the Plain Tiger or African Queen butterfly infrequently seen in the Mediterranean, especially in the east of the region. D. c. chrysippus f. 'alcippus' appears to have been recorded from Cyprus on just one previous occasion, by R. E. Ellison, in 1939. However, a specimen of the similar f. 'alcippoides' collected by D. M. A. Bate in Cyprus in 1901 could perhaps be the source of Ellison's otherwise undocumented claim. These records are assessed in relation to the known distributions of the various forms of D. chrysippus across the Mediterranean, North Africa and Middle East, and more briefly with respect to the vast range of this butterfly across much of the Old World tropics and subtropics. The ambiguity and potential confusion caused by using an available name to designate both a geographically circumscribed subspecies or semispecies, and a genetically controlled phenotype that can be found far beyond the range of the putative subspecies or semispecies, is also discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-112
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Mavropoulos

In the wake of Italy’s unification, the country’s expansionist designs were aimed, as expected, toward the opposite shore of the Mediterranean. The barrage of developments that took place in this strategic area would shape the country’s future alliances and colonial policies. The fear of French aggression on the coast of North Africa drove officials in Rome to the camp of the Central Powers, a diplomatic move of great importance for Europe’s evolution prior to World War I. The disturbance of the Mediterranean balance of power, when France occupied Tunisia and Britain held Cyprus and Egypt, the inability to find a colony in proximity to Italy, and a series of diplomatic defeats led Roman officials to look to the Red Sea and to provoke war with the Ethiopian Empire.


2011 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander WA. Kellner ◽  
Sergio A.K. Azevedo ◽  
Elaine B. Machado ◽  
Luciana B. de Carvalho ◽  
Deise D.R. Henriques

A new spinosaurid taxon, Oxalaia quilombensis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on the anterior part of a snout and a fragment of a maxilla. These specimens were collected at the Laje do Coringa site, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of the São Luis Basin. Unlike Cristatusaurus and Suchomimus, Oxalaia quilombensis lacks serrations on the teeth. The new species differs from Angaturama limai by having the anterior part of the premaxillae more expanded and by lacking a sagittal premaxillary crest. It further differs from Spinosaurus cf. S. aegyptiacus and the Algerian spinosaurid by the rounder shape of the terminal expansion. Furthermore, xalaia quilobensis has one functional tooth followed by two replacement teeth, a feature not previously observed in theropods. Oxalaia quilombensis appears to be more closely related to the spinosaurids found in North Africa than to the Brazilian members of this clade and thus further increases the diversity of these enigmatic predatory dinosaurs in this country.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecily S. C. Nicholl ◽  
Eloise S. E. Hunt ◽  
Driss Ouarhache ◽  
Philip D. Mannion

Notosuchians are an extinct clade of terrestrial crocodyliforms with a particularly rich record in the late Early to Late Cretaceous (approx. 130–66 Ma) of Gondwana. Although much of this diversity comes from South America, Africa and Indo-Madagascar have also yielded numerous notosuchian remains. Three notosuchian species are currently recognized from the early Late Cretaceous (approx. 100 Ma) Kem Kem Group of Morocco, including the peirosaurid Hamadasuchus rebouli . Here, we describe two new specimens that demonstrate the presence of at least a fourth notosuchian species in this fauna. Antaeusuchus taouzensis n. gen. n. sp. is incorporated into one of the largest notosuchian-focused character-taxon matrices yet to be compiled, comprising 443 characters scored for 63 notosuchian species, with an increased sampling of African and peirosaurid species. Parsimony analyses run under equal and extended implied weighting consistently recover Antaeusuchus as a peirosaurid notosuchian, supported by the presence of two distinct waves on the dorsal dentary surface, a surangular which laterally overlaps the dentary above the mandibular fenestra, and a relatively broad mandibular symphysis. Within Peirosauridae, Antaeusuchus is recovered as the sister taxon of Hamadasuchus . However, it differs from Hamadasuchus with respect to several features, including the ornamentation of the lateral surface of the mandible, the angle of divergence of the mandibular rami, the texture of tooth enamel and the shape of the teeth, supporting their generic distinction. We present a critical reappraisal of the non-South American Gondwanan notosuchian record, which spans the Middle Jurassic–late Eocene. This review, as well as our phylogenetic analyses, indicate the existence of at least three approximately contemporaneous peirosaurid lineages within the Kem Kem Group, alongside other notosuchians, and support the peirosaurid affinities of the ‘trematochampsid’ Miadanasuchus oblita from the Maastrichtian of Madagascar. Furthermore, the Cretaceous record demonstrates the presence of multiple lineages of approximately contemporaneous notosuchians in several African and Madagascan faunas, and supports previous suggestions regarding an undocumented pre-Aptian radiation of Notosuchia. By contrast, the post-Cretaceous record is depauperate, comprising rare occurrences of sebecosuchians in north Africa prior to their extirpation.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 753-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalifa Sifaw Ghenghesh ◽  
Ezzedin Franka ◽  
Khaled Tawil ◽  
Momtaz Wasfy ◽  
Salwa F. Ahmed ◽  
...  

Typhoid fever is endemic in the Mediterranean North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) with an estimated incidence of 10-100 cases per 100,000 persons. Outbreaks caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi are common and mainly due to the consumption of untreated or sewage-contaminated water. Salmonella enterica Paratyphi B is more commonly involved in nosocomial cases of enteric fever in North Africa than expected and leads to high mortality rates among infants with congenital anomalies. Prevalence among travellers returning from this region is low, with an estimate of less than one per 100,000. Although multidrug resistant strains of Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi are prevalent in this region, the re-emergence of chloramphenicol- and ampicillin-susceptible strains has been observed. In order to better understand the epidemiology of enteric fever in the Mediterranean North African region, population-based studies are needed. These will assist the health authorities in the region in preventing and controlling this important disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loubna Boutahar ◽  
Free Espinosa Torre ◽  
Yassine Sghaier ◽  
Atef Ouerghi ◽  
Mohamed MAANAN ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-260
Author(s):  
R. Van der Ham ◽  
M. Van Birgelen

AbstractThe Late Cretaceous echinoid genus Echinogalerus König, 1825 is remarkably diverse in the Maastrichtian type area (SE Netherlands and adjacent parts of NE Belgium and western Germany). So far, five species have been recognised, namely E. belgicus (Lambert, 1898), E. minutus (Smiser, 1935), E. muelleri (Schlüter, 1902), E. pusillus Lambert, 1911 and E. vetschauensis (Schlüter, 1902), which occur from the base of the Lower Maastrichtian (E. belgicus, E. pusillus, E. muelleri) up to the K/T boundary (E. minutus). Echinogalerus muelleri, which has the longest stratigraphical range, is the most diverse, while E. pusillus is the smallest echinoid in the area, reaching maximum lengths of 4.5 mm. Comparisons with other species of Echinogalerus described in the literature have now led to the recognition of three tentative infrageneric alliances. It is argued that the ordinal position of Echinogalerus (Holectypoida or Cassiduloida) cannot be evaluated as long as many species are still insufficiently known and two genera, from the Maastrichtian of northern Germany and Denmark, intermediate between the two orders, remain undescribed.


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