Ostracodes são microcrustáceos que possuem uma carapaça bivalve constituída por quitina e carbonato de cálcio, que vivem em ambientes marinhos e não-marinhos. São amplamente utilizados em estudos paleoceanográficos e paleoclimáticos, sendo bons indicadores batimétricos, de salinidade e de temperatura. Nas bacias brasileiras, os ostracodes têm larga aplicação bioestratigráfica, especialmente em intervalos não marinhos cretáceos. Por sua vez, os ostracodes marinhos têm se destacado pelos bons resultados paleoceanográficos em bacias marginais, entre elas a Bacia de Pelotas. Este trabalho propõe novas espécies eomiocênicas da família Cytherellidae e do gênero Actinocythereis. A partir do estudo taxonômico discutem-se implicações paleozoogeográficas de eventos como o estabelecimento da Corrente Circumpolar Antártica e da Corrente das Malvinas, cuja ação influenciou a dispersão dos ostracodes ora registrados na Bacia de Pelotas. A partir da análise do intervalo testemunhado 1300 m-1318 m do poço offshore 2-RSS-1 coletado pela Petrobras na década de 1970, são registradas cinco espécies da família Cytherellidae, duas das quais aqui descritas, como segue: Inversacytherella atlantica sp. nov., Cytherella pelotensis sp. nov., Cytherella sp. 1, Cytherella sp. 2 e Grammcythella? sp. É também proposta Actinocythereis imbeensis sp. nov., a qual constitui a segunda espécie descrita para o gênero no Brasil. São ainda registradas, Krithe coimbrai, Krithe gnoma e Henryhowella kempfi, atribuídas em trabalhos anteriores ao estabelecimento de massas de água frias na costa Sul-Brasileira. As ocorrências de Inversacytherella e Grammcythella, por sua vez, constituem evidências para o intercâmbio faunístico entre a América e a Oceania decorrentes de mudanças hidrológicas no Oceano Austral ao longo do Neogeno. O Apêndice 1 apresenta a lista e a documentação fotográfica das demais espécies registradas. / Ostracods are microcrustaceans with a bivalve carapace composed by chitin and calcium carbonate, living in both marine and non-marine environments. They are broadly used in paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies as indicators of bathymetry, salinity and temperature. In the Brazilian sedimentary basins the ostracodes have biostratigraphic importance, mainly in Cretaceous non-marine sections. The marine species, on the other hand, supply good paleoceanographyc data in marginal basins, including Pelotas Basin. In this work new Early Miocene species of the family Cytherellidae and the of genus Actinocythereis are proposed. Based on this taxonomic study some paleozoogeographic remarks are made, linking to the inception of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Malvinas Current, to the dispersal of the ostracodes recorded in the Pelotas Basin. From the analysis of the core section 1300 m-1318 m of the offshore well 2-RSS-1 drilled by Petrobras in the 1970 decade, five species of cytherellids are recorded, two of them herein described, as follows: Inversacytherella atlantica sp. nov., Cytherella pelotensis sp. nov., Cytherella sp. 1, Cytherella sp. 2 and Grammcythella? sp. It is also proposed Actinocythereis imbeensis sp. nov., which constitutes the second species described for the genus in Brazil. Moreover, Krithe coimbrai, Krithe gnoma and Henryhowella kempfi, assigned in previous studies to the inception of cool water masses in Southern Brazilian coast, are recorded. The presence of Inversacytherella and Grammcythella, supply additional evidence for the faunal interchange between America and Oceania influenced by hydrological events in Southern Ocean along the Neogene. The Appendix 1 features the list and photographic documentation of other species registered.

Ostracodes são microcrustáceos que possuem uma carapaça bivalve constituída por quitina e carbonato de cálcio, que vivem em ambientes marinhos e não-marinhos. São amplamente utilizados em estudos paleoceanográficos e paleoclimáticos, sendo bons indicadores batimétricos, de salinidade e de temperatura. Nas bacias brasileiras, os ostracodes têm larga aplicação bioestratigráfica, especialmente em intervalos não marinhos cretáceos. Por sua vez, os ostracodes marinhos têm se destacado pelos bons resultados paleoceanográficos em bacias marginais, entre elas a Bacia de Pelotas. Este trabalho propõe novas espécies eomiocênicas da família Cytherellidae e do gênero Actinocythereis. A partir do estudo taxonômico discutem-se implicações paleozoogeográficas de eventos como o estabelecimento da Corrente Circumpolar Antártica e da Corrente das Malvinas, cuja ação influenciou a dispersão dos ostracodes ora registrados na Bacia de Pelotas. A partir da análise do intervalo testemunhado 1300 m-1318 m do poço offshore 2-RSS-1 coletado pela Petrobras na década de 1970, são registradas cinco espécies da família Cytherellidae, duas das quais aqui descritas, como segue: Inversacytherella atlantica sp. nov., Cytherella pelotensis sp. nov., Cytherella sp. 1, Cytherella sp. 2 e Grammcythella? sp. É também proposta Actinocythereis imbeensis sp. nov., a qual constitui a segunda espécie descrita para o gênero no Brasil. São ainda registradas, Krithe coimbrai, Krithe gnoma e Henryhowella kempfi, atribuídas em trabalhos anteriores ao estabelecimento de massas de água frias na costa Sul-Brasileira. As ocorrências de Inversacytherella e Grammcythella, por sua vez, constituem evidências para o intercâmbio faunístico entre a América e a Oceania decorrentes de mudanças hidrológicas no Oceano Austral ao longo do Neogeno. O Apêndice 1 apresenta a lista e a documentação fotográfica das demais espécies registradas. / Ostracods are microcrustaceans with a bivalve carapace composed by chitin and calcium carbonate, living in both marine and non-marine environments. They are broadly used in paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies as indicators of bathymetry, salinity and temperature. In the Brazilian sedimentary basins the ostracodes have biostratigraphic importance, mainly in Cretaceous non-marine sections. The marine species, on the other hand, supply good paleoceanographyc data in marginal basins, including Pelotas Basin. In this work new Early Miocene species of the family Cytherellidae and the of genus Actinocythereis are proposed. Based on this taxonomic study some paleozoogeographic remarks are made, linking to the inception of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Malvinas Current, to the dispersal of the ostracodes recorded in the Pelotas Basin. From the analysis of the core section 1300 m-1318 m of the offshore well 2-RSS-1 drilled by Petrobras in the 1970 decade, five species of cytherellids are recorded, two of them herein described, as follows: Inversacytherella atlantica sp. nov., Cytherella pelotensis sp. nov., Cytherella sp. 1, Cytherella sp. 2 and Grammcythella? sp. It is also proposed Actinocythereis imbeensis sp. nov., which constitutes the second species described for the genus in Brazil. Moreover, Krithe coimbrai, Krithe gnoma and Henryhowella kempfi, assigned in previous studies to the inception of cool water masses in Southern Brazilian coast, are recorded. The presence of Inversacytherella and Grammcythella, supply additional evidence for the faunal interchange between America and Oceania influenced by hydrological events in Southern Ocean along the Neogene. The Appendix 1 features the list and photographic documentation of other species registered.

Ostracodes são microcrustáceos que possuem uma carapaça bivalve constituída por quitina e carbonato de cálcio, que vivem em ambientes marinhos e não-marinhos. São amplamente utilizados em estudos paleoceanográficos e paleoclimáticos, sendo bons indicadores batimétricos, de salinidade e de temperatura. Nas bacias brasileiras, os ostracodes têm larga aplicação bioestratigráfica, especialmente em intervalos não marinhos cretáceos. Por sua vez, os ostracodes marinhos têm se destacado pelos bons resultados paleoceanográficos em bacias marginais, entre elas a Bacia de Pelotas. Este trabalho propõe novas espécies eomiocênicas da família Cytherellidae e do gênero Actinocythereis. A partir do estudo taxonômico discutem-se implicações paleozoogeográficas de eventos como o estabelecimento da Corrente Circumpolar Antártica e da Corrente das Malvinas, cuja ação influenciou a dispersão dos ostracodes ora registrados na Bacia de Pelotas. A partir da análise do intervalo testemunhado 1300 m-1318 m do poço offshore 2-RSS-1 coletado pela Petrobras na década de 1970, são registradas cinco espécies da família Cytherellidae, duas das quais aqui descritas, como segue: Inversacytherella atlantica sp. nov., Cytherella pelotensis sp. nov., Cytherella sp. 1, Cytherella sp. 2 e Grammcythella? sp. É também proposta Actinocythereis imbeensis sp. nov., a qual constitui a segunda espécie descrita para o gênero no Brasil. São ainda registradas, Krithe coimbrai, Krithe gnoma e Henryhowella kempfi, atribuídas em trabalhos anteriores ao estabelecimento de massas de água frias na costa Sul-Brasileira. As ocorrências de Inversacytherella e Grammcythella, por sua vez, constituem evidências para o intercâmbio faunístico entre a América e a Oceania decorrentes de mudanças hidrológicas no Oceano Austral ao longo do Neogeno. O Apêndice 1 apresenta a lista e a documentação fotográfica das demais espécies registradas. / Ostracods are microcrustaceans with a bivalve carapace composed by chitin and calcium carbonate, living in both marine and non-marine environments. They are broadly used in paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies as indicators of bathymetry, salinity and temperature. In the Brazilian sedimentary basins the ostracodes have biostratigraphic importance, mainly in Cretaceous non-marine sections. The marine species, on the other hand, supply good paleoceanographyc data in marginal basins, including Pelotas Basin. In this work new Early Miocene species of the family Cytherellidae and the of genus Actinocythereis are proposed. Based on this taxonomic study some paleozoogeographic remarks are made, linking to the inception of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Malvinas Current, to the dispersal of the ostracodes recorded in the Pelotas Basin. From the analysis of the core section 1300 m-1318 m of the offshore well 2-RSS-1 drilled by Petrobras in the 1970 decade, five species of cytherellids are recorded, two of them herein described, as follows: Inversacytherella atlantica sp. nov., Cytherella pelotensis sp. nov., Cytherella sp. 1, Cytherella sp. 2 and Grammcythella? sp. It is also proposed Actinocythereis imbeensis sp. nov., which constitutes the second species described for the genus in Brazil. Moreover, Krithe coimbrai, Krithe gnoma and Henryhowella kempfi, assigned in previous studies to the inception of cool water masses in Southern Brazilian coast, are recorded. The presence of Inversacytherella and Grammcythella, supply additional evidence for the faunal interchange between America and Oceania influenced by hydrological events in Southern Ocean along the Neogene. The Appendix 1 features the list and photographic documentation of other species registered.

Beavers are members of Castoridae - the family of large rodents characterized by a robust skull of sciuromorphic type, a sciurognathous mandible, dentition with a tendency to hypsodoncy and incisives by uniserial microstructure. The aim of the thesis is a detailed morphometric analysis of the fossil material of beavers coming from the early Miocene (MN 3a) locality Ahníkov I, II in the Czech Republic. In the numerous material comprising 388 fragmentary specimens, all belonging to the genus Steneofiber, two distinct species were distinguished, attributed here as - Steneofiber eseri (the larger form) and Steneofiber aff. dehmi (the smaller form). Their taxonomy, systematics and assumed position within existing phylogenetic models were discussed. Key words: Castoridae, Steneofiber, Czech republic, Ahníkov, MN 3, early Miocene

Deformation of the Eastern Cordillera, as a double-verging thrust belt that separates the Magdalena Valley from the Llanos Basin, is a defining moment in the history of the northern Andes in South America. Here we examine the age and depositional setting of the youngest stratigraphic unit in three sectors of the Eastern Cordillera: (i) the Santa Teresa Formation (western flank), (ii) the Usme Formation (southern central axis), and (iii) the Concentración Formation (northeastern central axis). These units were deposited prior to the main Neogene deformation events. They represent the last preserved record of lowland conditions in the Eastern Cordillera, and they are coeval with a thick syn-orogenic deposition reported in the Llanos Basin and Magdalena Valley. Based on palynological data, we conclude that the upper Usme Formation was deposited during the Bartonian-earliest Rupelian? (Late Eocene-earliest Oligocene?); the Concentración Formation was deposited during the Late Lutetian-Early Rupelian (Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene), and the upper Santa Teresa Formation was accumulated during the Burdigalian (Early Miocene). These ages, together with considerations on maximum post-depositional burial, provide important time differences for the age of initial uplift and exhumation along the axial zone and western foothills of the Eastern Cordillera. The switch from sediment accumulation to erosion in the southern axial zone of the Eastern Cordillera occurred during the Rupelian-Early Chattian (Oligocene, ca 30 to ca 26 Ma), and in the northeastern axial zone occurred prior to the latest Chattian-Aquitanian (latest Oligocene-Early Miocene ca 23 Ma). In contrast, in the western flank, the switch occurred during the Tortonian (Late Miocene, ca 10 Ma). In addition, we detected a marine transgression affecting the Usme and Concentración formations during the Late Eocene; coeval marine transgression has been also documented in the Central Llanos Foothills and Llanos Basin, as evidenced by the similarity in floras, but not in the western foothills. Our dataset supports previous sedimentological, geochemical and thermochronological works, which indicated that (i) deformation in the Eastern Cordillera was a diachronous process, (ii) the sedimentation along the axial zone stopped first in the south and then in the north during the Oligocene, (iii) depositional systems of the axial zone and central Llanos Foothills kept partly connected at least until the Late Eocene, and (iv) Miocene strata were only recorded in adjacent foothills as well as the Magdalena and Llanos basins.

Beavers are members of Castoridae - the family of large rodents characterized by a robust skull of sciuromorphic type, a sciurognathous mandible, dentition with a tendency to hypsodoncy and incisives by uniserial microstructure. The aim of the thesis is a detailed morphometric analysis of the fossil material of beavers coming from the early Miocene (MN 3a) locality Ahníkov I, II in the Czech Republic. In the numerous material comprising 388 fragmentary specimens, all belonging to the genus Steneofiber, two distinct species were distinguished, attributed here as - Steneofiber eseri (the larger form) and Steneofiber aff. dehmi (the smaller form). Their taxonomy, systematics and assumed position within existing phylogenetic models were discussed. Key words: Castoridae, Steneofiber, Czech republic, Ahníkov, MN 3, early Miocene

Three kinds of processes are known to modify the geographical spatial arrangement of organisms: dispersal, extinction and vicariance. The Southern Hemisphere has an intriguing and complicated geological history that provides an ideal backdrop to study these processes. This thesis focuses on three historical events that illustrate these processes: the proposed marine inundation of New Zealand in the Oligocene, the asteroid impact at the K – Pg boundary, and the continental breakup of Gondwana. It investigates what impact these events had on species diversification by studying the phylogenetic relationships of two groups of taxa – the family Anostostomatidae (insects), and Neoaves (birds). Anostostomatidae were studied in relation to the Oligocene drowning and the break up of Gondwana as they have a wide southern distribution, found on all “Gondwanan” fragments with the exception of Antarctica, and are thought represent an ancient lineage that predates the Gondwanan breakup. Birds, in particular Neoaves, were studied in relation to the asteroid impact at the K – Pg boundary. Although birds are mobile and many circumnavigate the globe between seasons, they are suggested to have originated in the Southern Hemisphere in Gondwanan times, and subsequently undergone range expansion and diversification around the world. In order to address the relationship (if any) between modern biotic diversity and historical geological events, phylogenetic relationships were determined and where possible, molecular clock analysis carried out. Timing information provided by molecular clock analysis is important as it enables distinction between opposing hypotheses such as vicariance and dispersal. In Chapter Two, the phylogenetic relationships within the family Anostostomatidae are investigated. One of the most controversial times in New Zealand’s geological history is during the Oligocene. Some suggest that the lack of fossils and evidence for recent dispersal of numerous taxa support the notion that all modern biota reached the region during the last 25 million years. Anostostomatidae were chosen as they represent a group of insects that are thought to be ancient and there is little published data in the literature. Previous studies focused on the relationships within Hemideina and Deinacrida suggesting that these groups diversified in the early Miocene. The data presented here are from mitochondrial (COI and 12S) and nuclear (18S and 28S) sequences. Molecular dating using a relaxed clock as implemented in BEAST suggest that in fact some lineages were present at or shortly after continental breakup and could have survived throughout this turbulent time. As there were no definitive fossils to use for calibration points, geological events were used as calibration points for the molecular clock. Mutation rates obtained from the different analyses were compared to those published for other insects in an attempt to identify the most likely model. Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses support the presence of three distinct ecological groups in New Zealand; Hemiandrus (ground weta), Anisoura/Motuweta (tusked weta) and Hemideina–Deinacrida (tree–giant weta). With regards to their Australasian relatives (taxa from Australia and New Caledonia) it appears that the family is divided with the most northern New Zealand taxa (tusked weta) more closely related to New Caledonian taxa while all other New Zealand taxa are more closely related to Australian taxa. There does not appear to be any link between the Australian and New Caledonian taxa studied here. Results should be viewed with caution however as an increased mutation rate was observed in the New Caledonian-tusked weta lineage, something future studies will have to address. Chapter Three presents new sequence data and phylogenetic analyses that go towards resolving the apparent basal polytomy of neoavian birds. This chapter includes analyses carried out on previously published data with the addition of nine new mitochondrial genomes. My contribution to this larger project was to perform the phylogenetic analysis and to sequence three of the nine mitochondrial genomes. The genomes I sequenced were the Southern Hemisphere species: dollar bird (Eurystomus orientalis), Owlet nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus cristatus) and great potoo (Nyctibius grandis). The inclusion of these nine new genomes allows assessment and comparison of the six hypothesised groups reported in Cracraft (2001). First an improved conditional down-weighting technique is described reducing noise relative to signal, which is important for resolving deeper divergences. Second, a formula is presented for calculating probabilities of finding predefined groupings in the optimal tree. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian based phylogenetic analyses were carried out and in addition, dating using a relaxed molecular clock was performed in BEAST. Results suggested that the six groups suggested by Cracraft (2001) represent robust lineages. The results suggested that one group, the owls, are more closely related to other raptors, particularly accipitrids (buzzards/eagles) and the osprey rather than the Caprimulgiformes, which could indicate morphological convergent evolution. In addition, a group termed shorebirds appears to be distinct from the large group referred to as ‘Conglomerati’ to which previous publications have suggested they belong. The ‘Conglomerati’ is the least well studied group and may actually comprise of at least three subgroups (as suggested by Cracraft). Within the three suggested groups, Cracraft grouped shorebirds with pigeons and sandgrouse, neither of which (pigeons or sandgrouse) were analysed here. So although the shorebirds are at least close to the ‘Conglomerati’ and may be within that group, their exact position is still not clear. The molecular dating reported here utilised two fossil calibrations (Vegavis and Waimanu), for which there is relatively little dispute as to age or the lineage to which they belong. Calibrations resulting from BEAST analyses suggest that at least 12 distinct lineages were present prior to the K – Pg boundary, a finding supported by previous studies. Robust phylogenies will allow future studies to investigate not only the relationships within Neoaves, but look more closely at the biological and ecological evolution of the group. Chapter Four for the first time investigates whether the phylogenetic relationships within the family Anostostomatidae follow the conventionally accepted order and timing of Gondwanan breakup. Following the initial restults for taxa studied in Australasia (Chapter Two) an attempt to resolve family relationships in a wider spatial (geographic) context was carried out to determine if Australasian taxa are monophyletic when other members of the family are included. Again both maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were carried out on both mitochondrial (COI and 12S) and nuclear (18S and 28S) sequences. In this chapter, datasets included samples from across the geographic range of Anostostomatidae (South Africa, Madagascar, South America, Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand), and two clades were observed, congruent with earlier findings. Sequence divergence within geographic regions was found to be relatively high in the mitochondrial genes (COI and 12S) while low in the nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (18S and 28S) as expected given their relative mutation rates. Under the vicariance paradigm, phylogenetic relationships should follow the order of continental breakup, but this was not found. Further, if dispersal and colonisation were continuous, no geographic substructure is expected, however distinct geographic substructure within clades was consistently observed. This interesting phylogenetic pattern may be a case of convergent evolution or paraphyletic sampling which highlights taxonomic issues of the group. Future studies need to include not only molecular data but information on morphology, ecology and behaviour along with the implementation of biogeographic programs that can test alternative hypotheses (such as dispersal and vicariance) directly. Also, the inclusion of the recently reported fossil from the subfamily Euclydesinae (Martins-Neto 2007) should allow for more accurate date estimates within the family. Taken as a whole the results presented in this thesis suggest that microevolutionary processes are sufficient to explain modern diversity without the need to invoke abiotic events. The three cases investigated here - marine inundation, asteroid impact and continental drift - all appear to have had only a limited effect on the diversity of taxa studied. To reach even stronger conclusions future studies should incorporate different data (for instance nuclear genes, intron position, and genome structure) and use biogeographic software capable of including ecological, morphological and habitat information.

Terrestrial plants and insects account for the majority of the Earth's biodiversity today, and almost half of all insect species are herbivores. Thus, insects and plants share ancient associations date back for more than 400 million years. However, investigation of their interactions stands largely at the beginning in Western Europe. Nearly 4300 plant remains showing various kinds of feeding damages are available for the present study. These trace fossils are classified as so-called functional feeding-groups supply an outstanding example of the complexity, the structure and the changes of terrestrial ecosystems, are not well known during this interval. In Europe, the Neogene is characterized by palaeogeographic re- organization due to the collision of the African with the Eurasian plates. The Neogene plant record in Europe is rich and diverse offering a profound large-scale understanding of the floristic and vegetational development. A database of fossil traces from the Most Basin was compiled and analyzed by various statistical methods in terms of the diversity and intensity of palaeo-herbivory. The primary objective is to present results on the development of insect herbivory through the section of the Bílina Mine in North Bohemia, with the aim of understanding principal factors that caused the...