First Eugereonidae (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera) from the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous) of the Piesberg site near Osnabrück, Germany

Sandiella herbigi sp. nov. is the first record of the family Eugereonidae Handlirsch, 1906 (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera) in the Pennsylvanian (Late Carboniferous: Westphalian D) sequence of the Piesberg quarry near Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is represented by a single fragment of a mesothoracic wing with the typical coarse reticulation in this family. The species is mainly characterized by the following features: (i) the shape of the mesothoracic wing is extremely narrow, (ii) the posterior subcostal vein is ending before the wing apex, (iii) all the main veins show a typical bend close to the posterior margin. The new wing is the second most ancient record of the Eugereonidae.

Distribution of Marine Palynomorphs in Surface Sediments, Prydz Bay, Antarctica

<p><b>Prydz Bay Antarctica is an embayment situated at the ocean-ward end of the LambertGlacier/Amery Ice Shelf complex East Antarctica. This study aims to document thepalynological assemblages of 58 surface sediment samples from Prydz Bay, and tocompare these assemblages with ancient palynomorph assemblages recovered fromstrata sampled by drilling projects in and around the bay.</b></p> <p>Since the early Oligocene, terrestrial and marine sediments from the Lambert Grabenand the inner shelf areas in Prydz Bay have been the target of significant glacialerosion. Repeated ice shelf advances towards the edge of the continental shelfredistributed these sediments, reworking them into the outer shelf and Prydz ChannelFan. These areas consist mostly of reworked sediments, and grain size analysisshows that finer sediments are found in the deeper parts of the inner shelf and thedeepest areas on the Prydz Channel Fan. Circulation within Prydz Bay is dominatedby a clockwise rotating gyre which, together with coastal currents and ice bergploughing modifies the sediments of the bay, resulting in the winnowing out of thefiner component of the sediment.</p> <p>Glacial erosion and reworking of sediments has created four differing environments(Prydz Channel Fan, North Shelf, Mid Shelf and Coastal areas) in Prydz Bay whichis reflected in the palynomorph distribution. Assemblages consist of Holocenepalynomorphs recovered mostly from the Mid Shelf and Coastal areas and reworkedpalynomorphs recovered mostly from the North Shelf and Prydz Channel Fan. Thepercentage of gravel to marine palynomorph and pollen counts show a relationshipwhich may reflect a similar source from glacially derived debris but the percentageof mud to marine palynomorph and pollen counts has no relationship.</p> <p>Reworked palynomorphs consist of Permian to Eocene spores and pollen and Eocenedinocysts which are part of the Transantarctic Flora. Holocene components are avaried assemblage of acritarchs, dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts), prasinophyte algae,red algae and large numbers of Zooplankton sp. and foraminifera linings. In situdinocysts are dominated by the heterotroph form Selenopemphix antarctica and none of the Holocene dinocyst species found in Prydz Bay have been recorded in theArctic. In contrast acritarchs, prasinophytes and red algae are all found in the Arcticand reflect a low salinity and glacial meltwater environment. Comparison withmodern surface samples from the Arctic and Southern Ocean show there is a strongcorrelation to reduction in the autotroph:heterotroph dinocyst ratio with increasinglatitude.</p> <p>Todays assemblage of marine palynomorphs are more complex than those recordedin ancient assemblages and there is a lower level of reworked material. Acritarchs(Leiosphaeridia spp. Sigmopollis sp.) and prasinophytes (Cymatiosphaera spp.</p> <p>Pterospermella spp. Tasmanites spp.) are recorded in the ancient record in Antarcticaas well as surface sediments in Prydz Bay, but there are very low numbers ofLeiosphaeridia spp. and Sigmopollis spp. present today in comparison to the ancientrecord. Dinocysts in situ and recovered in Prydz Bay are endemic to the Antarcticbut have not been recorded in the ancient record.</p>

Distribution of Marine Palynomorphs in Surface Sediments, Prydz Bay, Antarctica

<p><b>Prydz Bay Antarctica is an embayment situated at the ocean-ward end of the LambertGlacier/Amery Ice Shelf complex East Antarctica. This study aims to document thepalynological assemblages of 58 surface sediment samples from Prydz Bay, and tocompare these assemblages with ancient palynomorph assemblages recovered fromstrata sampled by drilling projects in and around the bay.</b></p> <p>Since the early Oligocene, terrestrial and marine sediments from the Lambert Grabenand the inner shelf areas in Prydz Bay have been the target of significant glacialerosion. Repeated ice shelf advances towards the edge of the continental shelfredistributed these sediments, reworking them into the outer shelf and Prydz ChannelFan. These areas consist mostly of reworked sediments, and grain size analysisshows that finer sediments are found in the deeper parts of the inner shelf and thedeepest areas on the Prydz Channel Fan. Circulation within Prydz Bay is dominatedby a clockwise rotating gyre which, together with coastal currents and ice bergploughing modifies the sediments of the bay, resulting in the winnowing out of thefiner component of the sediment.</p> <p>Glacial erosion and reworking of sediments has created four differing environments(Prydz Channel Fan, North Shelf, Mid Shelf and Coastal areas) in Prydz Bay whichis reflected in the palynomorph distribution. Assemblages consist of Holocenepalynomorphs recovered mostly from the Mid Shelf and Coastal areas and reworkedpalynomorphs recovered mostly from the North Shelf and Prydz Channel Fan. Thepercentage of gravel to marine palynomorph and pollen counts show a relationshipwhich may reflect a similar source from glacially derived debris but the percentageof mud to marine palynomorph and pollen counts has no relationship.</p> <p>Reworked palynomorphs consist of Permian to Eocene spores and pollen and Eocenedinocysts which are part of the Transantarctic Flora. Holocene components are avaried assemblage of acritarchs, dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts), prasinophyte algae,red algae and large numbers of Zooplankton sp. and foraminifera linings. In situdinocysts are dominated by the heterotroph form Selenopemphix antarctica and none of the Holocene dinocyst species found in Prydz Bay have been recorded in theArctic. In contrast acritarchs, prasinophytes and red algae are all found in the Arcticand reflect a low salinity and glacial meltwater environment. Comparison withmodern surface samples from the Arctic and Southern Ocean show there is a strongcorrelation to reduction in the autotroph:heterotroph dinocyst ratio with increasinglatitude.</p> <p>Todays assemblage of marine palynomorphs are more complex than those recordedin ancient assemblages and there is a lower level of reworked material. Acritarchs(Leiosphaeridia spp. Sigmopollis sp.) and prasinophytes (Cymatiosphaera spp.</p> <p>Pterospermella spp. Tasmanites spp.) are recorded in the ancient record in Antarcticaas well as surface sediments in Prydz Bay, but there are very low numbers ofLeiosphaeridia spp. and Sigmopollis spp. present today in comparison to the ancientrecord. Dinocysts in situ and recovered in Prydz Bay are endemic to the Antarcticbut have not been recorded in the ancient record.</p>

State of the Art Management of the Central American Locust Schistocerca piceifrons piceifrons (Walker, 1870)

The Central American locust (CAL), Schistocerca piceifrons piceifrons (Walker, 1870), is a transboundary pest that is distributed from Mexico to Panama. It is a true locust species characterized by density-dependent phase polyphenism. The ancient record of the CAL is found in the Popol Vuh, the Mayan sacred book, demonstrating how it has affected humans for millennia. In Mexico, the CAL have been declared a national threat to agriculture since 1824. Serious locust plagues occurred in 1882–1883 when swarms of 20 km2 in size invaded the Yucatán Peninsula and neighboring states in southern Mexico and, since then, management actions to suppress populations and economic damage have been implemented. A better understanding of the biology, ecology, and behavior of the CAL replaced a manual and mechanical collection of locust swarms, hopper bands, and egg pods with modern techniques such as the use of safer chemical products and environmentally friendly bioinsecticides. Presently, biomodels and GIS support the monitoring and forecasting of outbreaks. Currently, studies are conducted to investigate environmental factors that trigger locust gregarization, the evolution of phase polyphenism, and CAL bioactive compounds and nutritional contents, envisioning its potential use in biotechnological industries. Findings will be crucial to improve the management strategies of the CAL.

Human versus computer vision in archaeological recording

As 3D scanning and photogrammetry are supplanting traditional illustration techniques with increasing speed, archaeologists and architectural historians have sounded alarms about what stands to be lost if hand drawing is altogether eliminated from fieldwork. This paper argues that the most direct threat is to a particular form of archaeological illustration which does not necessarily share the advantages attributed to other kinds of drawing. Recording by means of “technical drawing” communicates a collectively agreed interpretation of the ancient record, and its primary benefit is not stimulating creative thought but rather enhancing human observation. A review of two cases comparing the illustration of ancient Greek architecture through analogue and digital methods indicates that, in practice, both approaches draw attention away from the ancient subject and focus it on distracting protocols for the great majority of the time spent in the field. Even so, technical drawing requires protracted, in-person scrutiny of the subject, whereas 3D technologies pose a genuine risk of altogether eliminating meaningful human interpretation from the recording process. The greater efficiencies of digital techniques suggest a path forward, as time once allocated to tedious stages of technical drawing might be applied toward more thoughtful interpretive tasks. However, such measures must be deliberately integrated into a digital research program through planning around the very different cadences of the digital process.

First sequencing of ancient coral skeletal proteins

Here we report the first recovery, sequencing, and identification of fossil biomineral proteins from a Pleistocene fossil invertebrate, the stony coral Orbicella annularis. This fossil retains total hydrolysable amino acids of a roughly similar composition to extracts from modern O. annularis skeletons, with the amino acid data rich in Asx (Asp + Asn) and Glx (Glu + Gln) typical of invertebrate skeletal proteins. It also retains several proteins, including a highly acidic protein, also known from modern coral skeletal proteomes that we sequenced by LC–MS/MS over multiple trials in the best-preserved fossil coral specimen. A combination of degradation or amino acid racemization inhibition of trypsin digestion appears to limit greater recovery. Nevertheless, our workflow determines optimal samples for effective sequencing of fossil coral proteins, allowing comparison of modern and fossil invertebrate protein sequences, and will likely lead to further improvements of the methods. Sequencing of endogenous organic molecules in fossil invertebrate biominerals provides an ancient record of composition, potentially clarifying evolutionary changes and biotic responses to paleoenvironments.

Record of a nonbarred clastic shoreline

The morphology of wave-dominated clastic shorelines (i.e., foreshore and upper-shoreface sediments) can vary from barred to nonbarred, though the ancient record of nonbarred, sand-dominated shorelines has yet to be recognized. Here, a facies and quantitative architectural analysis of a clastic succession characterized by sandy inclined beds is presented and interpreted as the record of a high-gradient, nonbarred shoreline. Inclined beds dip seaward, have a tangential geometry (&lt;3 m height, &lt;40 m length, &lt;11° dip), and are composed of planar lamination along the foresets and subordinate small-scale trough cross-bedding in the bottomsets. This facies distribution reflects a steep beach profile with a narrow surf zone and the development of plane beds both in foreshore and proximal upper-shoreface settings. Successive packages of inclined beds (a few tens of meters wide) are interpreted as the seaward accretion of this shoreline morphology, producing distinctive architectural elements (foresets and bottomsets). For the first time, we propose diagnostic criteria for identification in the rock record of the widely used modern nonbarred clastic shoreline model, and we contrast them with classical facies models of barred systems. Moreover, we discuss similarities and differences with radar-based Holocene coastal architectural elements, highlighting the need to incorporate detailed two-dimensional quantitative studies for refining the reconstruction of deep-time and recent clastic shorelines.

What Makes Urban Life Possible?

This article introduces and explains a novel concept – the urban-rural system – as a means for addressing the question, what makes urban life possible? To address this question, the authors examine the archaeological record from the first agrarian villages, market towns, and eventual first cities that arose during the late Paleolithic through early Neolithic world of the Fertile Crescent (roughly modern-day Syria and Iraq). Following this, they reflect on what the ancient record can teach us about urban dependency on rural resources and how this shapes environmental, economic, political, and cultural dynamics. They conclude with brief consideration of the contemporary utility of the urban-rural system concept, emphasizing the continued need urban populations have for rural resources.