A área de ocorrência das formações Tatuí e Irati, na região centro-leste do Estado de São Paulo, entre as cidades de Leme e Rio das Pedras é objeto desta pesquisa. São detalhadas as ocorrências destas duas formações, através de seções estratigráficas, caracterizando e analisando as sucessões de litotipos, conteúdo fossilífero, tafonomia dos fósseis, além de enfocar hipóteses paleoecológicas e paleoambientais. Na FormaçãoTatuí foram identificadas quatro fácies, a inferior de arenitos finos e paleoambiente incerto, duas refletindo contexto não marinho e a de topo com influência marinha. As duas fácies do contexto predominantemente não marinho são respectivamente siltitos arenosos com fósseis de água doce e arenitos grossos ou conglomeráticos, fácies Ibicatu, localmente com lenhos. A fácies de topo é caracterizada por depósitos de arenitos finos, ocasionalmente com grandes estratificações cruzadas, estratificações \"hummockies\", apropriado para um grande corpo d\'água salino. O conteúdo fóssil da Formação Tatuí inclui três tipos de icnofósseis em três fácies diferentes (fácies basal do estudo, Ibicatu, e no topo), grandes caules vegetais (pteridófitas e espermatófitas) na fácies Ibicatu, crustáceos (conchostráceos e fragmentos indeterminados) ocorrem na fácies síltica, escamas, dentes e partes ósseas de peixes ósseos na fácies siltica e topo da Formação Tatuí. O Membro Taquaral é reconhecido por duas fácies e dois paleoambientes de salinidade variável. A fácies basal, composta de arenitos finos a conglomeráticos, granulometria irregular horizontal e verticalmente e com ictiofósseis, é interpretada como depositada em ambiente raso dominado por ondas. A segunda fácies, folhelhos sílticos, é típica de paleoambientes mais calmos, provavelmente com menor salinidade. Os fósseis da base arenosa do Membro Taquaral são peixes, representados por Chondrichthyes sob a forma de dentes cladodontes, espinhos de Euselachii (Amelacanthuse Iratiacanthus), espinhos Ctenacanthiformes (Sphenacanthus sanpauloensis eS. sp.), dentes de Xenacanthiformes, Diplodoselachidae (Taquaralodus albuquerquei) e Xenacanthidae, dentes de Orodontiformes, (Orodus ipeunaensis), Petalodontiformes (Itapyrodus punctatus eI. sp.) e Holocephali indeterminados. A fauna de Osteichthyes é a mais abundante em número de espécimes, sendo composta, predominatemente, de dentes e escamas paleoniscóides, raras escamas de Coelacanthimorpha, partes ósseas e dentes labirintodontes, estes atribuídos a Osteolepiformes e a tetrápodes Temnospondyli. Os fósseis estão normalmente dispersos e desarticulados e os elementos ósseos fragmentados e desgastados. O conteúdo fóssil da fácies folhelho síltico do Membro Taquaral é raro, os mais comuns são crustáceos, principalmente do gênero Clarkecaris, e restos muito fragmentados de Coelacanthimorpha e Palaeonisciformes. / The following Paraná Basin, Late Paleozoic lithoestratigraphic units, the upper part of the Tatuí Formation, located under the lower partof the Irati Formation, Taquaral Member are cropping out at center-eastern State of São Paulo, Brazil, between Rio das Pedras and Leme. The lithologies, fossil contents and taphonomy ofthese units are studied through stratigraphic sections, allowing the formulations of paleoecological and paleoenvironmental hypothesis. Four facies were recognized at the top of the Tatuí Formation stratigraphic sections which were interpreted as following; the basal an uncertain paleoenvironment of deposition, two paleoenvironmental contexts; mostly continental and one under deposits marine influence. The two facies interpreted as mostly continental are respectively, sandy-siltstones facies with freshwater fossils and coarse to conglomeratic sandstone, Ibicatu facies, locally with log plants. The top facies, interpreted as under a marine influence, is characterized by deposits of fine sandstones, occasionally with large cross beds, hummockies, and, locally, tidal deposits, suited for a large body, of saline water. The fossil content of Tatui Formation include three kinds of trace fossils in three different facies (basal, Ibicatu and top respectively), large stem plants (Pterydophyta and Spermatophyta) in the Ibicatu deposit, with indeterminated fragments of crustaceans and conchostraceans, found out in the siltstone facies and scales, teeth and bone pieces, found out in siltstone and of the top facies. Two facies were recognized at the Taquaral Member. The basal are fine to conglomeratic sandstone with irregularly grain size both horizontal and vertically, with ichthyofossils. Itis interpreted as laid down in a salty shallow water dominated by waves. The second are silty shale laid down in low saline water. The fossils of the sandy facies are Chondrichthyes: cladodontes teeth, Euselachii finspines (Amelacanthus and Iratiacanthus santamariaensis), Ctenacanthiformes finspines (Sphenacanthus sanpauloensisand S.sp.), Xenacanthiformes teeth, Diplodoselachidae (Taquarodus albuquerquei) and Xenacanthidae, Orodontiformes: Orodus ipeunaensis, Petalodontiformes (Itapyrodus punctatus andI. sp.) and undetermined Holocephali. The fauna of Osteichthyes, the most abundant in number of specimens are predominantly paleoniscoid teeth and scales, rare Coelacanthimorpha scales, labyrinthodonts bones and teeth, assigned to Osteolepiformes and tetrapods Temnospondyli. The fossils are usually scattered, disorganized, fragmented and worn. The fossil content of the Taquaral silty-shale facies is meager, the most common are crustaceans, mainly of the genus Clarkecaris, and very fragmented remains of Coelacanthimorpha and Palaeonisciformes.

This final thesis represents a complete guide to making didactic aids which can be used in teaching Biology in primary and secondary schools. It completes my bachelor thesis on the topic of the Taxidermy of selected species of birds with detailed photographs of individual steps made throughout the creation process of a dermoplastic mount. It also compares the creation of bird mounts to those of mammal mounts, and it deals with making skeletons of vertebrates. This final thesis acquaints the reader with the taxidermic species, and includes research of foreign literature focussing on interesting facts about mounts. The final output of this thesis is a series of mounts and assembled skeletons of different species of vertebrates, which can all be used as didactic aids at the Department of Biology and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Education, Charles University. KEY WORDS taxidermy, skeletons, vertebrates, didactic aids, dermoplastic mount

Les éléments cis-régulateurs contrôlent l'expression spatio-temporelle des gènes au cours du développement. La segmentation du rhombencéphale en rhombomères (r) établit l'organisation du cerveau postérieur des vertébrés. La spécification et la formation des segments r3 et r5 sont gouvernées par l'expression du facteur de transcription Krox20/Egr2, sous le contrôle de plusieurs éléments cis-régulateurs. Les éléments B (dans r5) et C (dans r3 et r5) sont actifs au démarrage de l'expression de Krox20 alors que l'élément A (dans r3 et r5) est un élément autorégulateur. En générant la délétion de l'élément A dans le génome murin, nous avons montré qu'il est nécessaire au maintien de l'expression de Krox20 dans r3 et r5. De façon inattendue, la délétion de l'élément C n'impacte pas la phase de démarrage mais abolit le maintien de l'expression de Krox20 dans r3 de manière analogue à celle de l'élément A. J'ai mis en évidence par différentes approches génétiques que l'élément C coopère en cis avec l'élément A, lors de la phase d'autorégulation. Plusieurs approches de conformation et d'accessibilité de la chromatine au locus Krox20 indiquent que l'élément A interagit de façon constitutive avec le promoteur et que l'élément C est capable d'affecter l'accessibilité de l'élément A à distance. Parallèlement, j'ai montré que la délétion de l'élément C chez le poisson-zèbre n'entraîne pas de modification de l'expression du gène Krox20 contrairement à la souris malgré un patron d'expression similaire. Ces approches complémentaires ont permis de caractériser le rôle fonctionnel de plusieurs éléments cis-régulateurs contrôlant l'expression d'un gène clef du développement des Vertébrés. / Cis-regulatory elements ensure the specifity and the maintenance of the spatio-temporal gene expression pattern throughout the development of an organism. Segmentation of the hindbrain into rhombomeres (r) establishes the posterior brain organisation in vertebrates. The specification and formation of r3 and r5 are governed by the expression of the transcription factor Krox20/Egr2, controlled by three cis-regulatory elements. Elements B (in r5) and C (in r3 and r5) are active during the initiation of Krox20 expression while element A (in r3 and r5) is an autoregulatory element. By studying the deletion of element A in the mouse genome, we have shown that Krox20 expression is not maintained in absence of this element. Unexpectedly, the deletion of element C does not impair Krox20 initiation but abolishes the maintenance of expression in r3, similarly to element A knock-out. I also showed by different genetic approaches that element C cooperates in cis with element A. Moreover, investigation of chromatin conformation and accessibility in the Krox20 locus indicate that element A and the promoter are engaged in a constitutive interaction and that element C is able to affect the accessibility of element A at a distance. In parallel, the deletion of element C in zebrafish did not reveal any modification in Krox20 expression, despite a similar expression pattern in mouse. These complementary approaches lead to the characterization of the functional role of several cis-regulatory elements driving the expression of a key developmental gene in vertebrates.

When dabbling ducks are involuntarily submerged, arterial vasoconstriction produces a large increase in the peripheral resistance to blood flow which is balanced by a decrease in output of the heart, and arterial blood pressure is maintained. Arterial baroreceptors sense systemic blood pressure, and provide the afferent information to the baroreflex for pressure regulation. The effector limbs of the baroreflex are the same as those involved in the diving responses, and the baroreceptors are likely to be important in the integration of the cardiovascular responses to diving. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the arterial baroreceptors in maintaining blood pressure during diving, and in the initiation and maintenance of the diving responses. Baroreceptor function was studied by diving ducks at various times after barodenervation, and by electrically stimulating the central end of one baroreceptor nerve in baroreceptor-denervated animals to simulate a controlled baroreceptor input before and during submersion. Intact baroreceptor innervation was not necessary for the development of peripheral vasoconstriction, but loss of the baroreceptors modified the cardiac response to submersion by impairing the vagally mediated bradycardia. There was no effect of baroreceptor nerve stimulation on peripheral resistance during diving, and the baroreflex operated via the heart rate in modulating blood pressure early in the dive. Later in the dive, stimulation was ineffective in altering either heart rate or blood pressue. Strong chemoreceptor drive results from decreased blood oxygen and increased carbon dioxide levels in the dive, and the results of experiments to determine the mechanism of baroreflex attenuation showed that an interaction between chemoreceptor and baroreceptor inputs may be at least partly responsible for reducing baroreflex effectiveness. The main conclusion from this work is that the arterial baroreceptors contribute to the diving responses through modulation of heart rate, to help balance the fall in cardiac output against the baroreceptor-independent peripheral vasoconstriction in the first minute of forced dives. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

The Diadectomorpha is a central taxon in understanding the origin and early evolution of amniotes. It is considered a sister taxon to Amniota and is so similar to amniotes that some researchers have placed it within the Amniota itself. This group is composed of three families: the Limnoscelidae, the Tseajaiidae, and the Diadectidae. Being the most basal member of this group, the family Limnoscelidae is especially important in these studies.

L'objectif de mon projet de recherche était de faire le lien entre structures cérébrales et fonctions, pour mieux comprendre les bases de la cognition. La première partie de ma thèse a été de développer des tests comportementaux pour analyser la cognition et ses fondamentaux. Les résultats suggèrent fortement que les téléostéens possèdent des fonctions exécutives semblables à celles des mammifères. J’ai par la suite cherché le substrat anatomique de ces capacités cognitives nouvellement mises à jour chez cette espèce, notamment dans le pallium (équivalent du cortex cérébral des mammifères). Cependant la neuroanatomie du poisson zèbre adulte est mal connue, car il est souvent utilisé au stade larvaire. Une seconde partie de mon travail a cherché à analyser et identifier l'origine développementale des structures cérébrales adultes. Nous avons découvert que certaines structures considérées jusqu'ici comme faisant partie du cerveau antérieur (prosencéphale) font en fait partie du cerveau médian (mésencéphale) chez le poisson zèbre. L’une de ces structures est le lobe inférieur, précédemment considéré comme hypothalamique. Une autre structure est le noyau préglomérulaire, le noyau sensoriel relais majeur et analogue fonctionnel du thalamus. Cette voie sensorielle contient la principale voie visuelle vers le pallium. Ainsi, même si certaines structures ont la même fonction, elles peuvent avoir une origine évolutive et développementale différente des structures connues chez les mammifères. En résumé, des fonctions similaires ont évolué indépendamment chez les amniotes et les téléostéens. Ce travail élargit ainsi les champs d'application pour la recherche en neurosciences, et permet d'approcher les fondamentaux de la cognition de manière nouvelle par l'identification des structures essentielles à l'émergence d'une cognition de haut niveau telle qu'elle est observée dans l'espèce humaine. / The aim of my research project was to link brain structures and functions, to better understand the fundamental bases of cognition. The first part of my thesis consisted in the development of behavioral tests to analyze the essential principles of cognition. The results strongly suggest the existence of executive functions in teleosts similar to those of mammals. Then I looked for the anatomical structures responsible for these cognitive capacities, in particular in the pallium (equivalent of the mammalian cerebral cortex). However, little is known about adult zebrafish neuroanatomy. Indeed, zebrafish is often studied at larval stage. A second part of my work aimed at studying adult structures in more detail through their developmental origin. This has redefined some parts of the brain. We have discovered that some of the structures that were considered as part of the forebrain (prosencephalon) are actually part of the midbrain (mesencephalon) in zebrafish. This includes the inferior lobe, previously classified as hypothalamus. Another structure is the major sensory relay nucleus, the preglomerular nucleus, functional analogue of the thalamus (part of the forebrain) in amniotes. This sensory pathway contains the main visual pathway to the pallium. Thus, even if some structures have the same function, they may have an evolutionary and developmental origin different from structures known in mammals. In summary, similar functions have independently evolved in amniotes and teleosts. This comparative work adds new perspectives for neuroscience research. It also allows us to approach the fundamentals of cognition in a new way: what are the essential building blocks for a higher level of cognition like the human one?

Adhesive organs are widespread structures among vertebrate larvae. They allow the larvae to attach to a substrate, so that the time for the development of mouth or motoric apparatus could be prolonged. Similar structures in ascidians, larvaceans and lancelets are known too. Thus, it might be hypothesized that the presence of some type of adhesive gland could indeed represent the ancestral state for chordate larvae. Interestingly, however, whilst in most species these glands take their developmental origin in ectodermal layer, in bichir, a member of a primitive actinopterygian lineage, their origin was suggested to be endodermal already at the beginning of 20th century. Since then, however, the former study has become almost forgotten and even recent analyses do not come with new findings on this topic. Because of the essential importance of study of bichir cement glands for understanding the relationship between these structures among chordates, I have decided to focus on this subject. To obtain appropriate comparative data Xenopus, Weather loach and Ribbed newt embryos were included in this study as well. By using combination of immunohistochemical and histological techniques the endodermal origin of cement glands in bichir was proven and their morphogenesis was described into considerable details. The...

Aquatic larvae of many vertebrate lineages develop specialized, cranially located cement or attachment glands which allow them to remain attached to a substrate by means of polysaccharide secretion. The larvae can thus remain still and safe in well-oxygenated water out of reach of any predators until the digestive and locomotory apparatus fully develops. Xenopus cement gland is the most thoroughly studied example of this type of glands, since it was used as a model for the anteriormost patterning of the developing head. Based on shared expression patterns of key transcription factors and a similar ectodermal origin it has been repeatedly suggested that Xenopus cement gland is homologous to adhesive organs of teleosts and adhesive papillae of ascidians. The lack of comprehensive knowledge on this type of glands in other lineages however rendered any considerations of homology among such a distant lineages rather inconclusive. In the present work I have focused on a detailed study of the cement glands and other corresponding structures in three representatives of basal actinopterygian lineages: Senegal bichir (Polypterus senegalus), sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), and tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus). Using a combination of in vivo fate-mapping approaches with a Micro-CT imaging of cranial endoderm...

The Rancholabrean Land Mammal Age (RLB) occurred in the late Pleistocene, incorporating at least the Wisconsin Glaciation and possibly the preceding interglacial ('Sangamon'). The RLB is defined based on the occurrence of Bison. The first occurrence (arrival time) of Bison is not well established and is still debated. A conservative approach toward the RLB includes: (1) restricting the RLB to faunas south of 55°. N latitude in North America, (2) defining the RLB by the earliest arrival of Bison south of this latitude, (3) placing the best-corroborated arrival time of Bison (therefore the beginning of the RLB) between approximately 210 and 160. ka, and (4) the end of the RLB is marked by the extinction of mainly large mammals as an event or process culminating at approximately 11 radiocarbon ka BP. RLB faunas contain a wealth of information including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, but clearly the most is known about the latter. Glacial climate regimes forced species into communities that do not occur today (nonanalog or disharmonious scenarios). The debate about the terminal RLB extinctions continues with the cause either being (1) overkill due to the arrival of the First Americans, or (2) the climatic and environmental defragmentation of biotic communities.

The Rancholabrean Land Mammal Age (RLB) occurred in the late Pleistocene, incorporating at least the Wisconsin Glaciation and possibly the preceding interglacial ('Sangamon'). The RLB is defined based on the occurrence of Bison. The first occurrence (arrival time) of Bison is not well established and is still debated. A conservative approach toward the RLB includes: (1) restricting the RLB to faunas south of 55°. N latitude in North America, (2) defining the RLB by the earliest arrival of Bison south of this latitude, (3) placing the best-corroborated arrival time of Bison (therefore the beginning of the RLB) between approximately 210 and 160. ka, and (4) the end of the RLB is marked by the extinction of mainly large mammals as an event or process culminating at approximately 11 radiocarbon ka BP. RLB faunas contain a wealth of information including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, but clearly the most is known about the latter. Glacial climate regimes forced species into communities that do not occur today (nonanalog or disharmonious scenarios). The debate about the terminal RLB extinctions continues with the cause either being (1) overkill due to the arrival of the First Americans, or (2) the climatic and environmental defragmentation of biotic communities.