The idea of studying the colour of organisms in the fossil record has for a long timeseemed nothing more than the far flung dreams of a few idealistic palaeontologists.The last 5 years however have brought sweeping advances in this area, such that theidea is no longer hypothetical but an actual possibilty. Recent studies on the preserva-tion of fossilised pigment containing organelles, melanosomes, have hailed a new eraof palaeontological study and reconstruction. In this work geochemical techniques areapplied to study such structures in fossil feathers and an amphibian, to determine thenecessary level of confidence that these structures are not bacterial, discuss the relativeadvantages and disadvantages of the techniques used in the study of fossil melanin, andextend the study of fossil colour to other pigments in fossil algae. Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data is shown to provide some of the most consistentevidence of the presence of melanin, however it does not enable us to adequately dis-tinguish between the two major types, eu- and pheomelanin. Determining the presenceof bacteria in fossil stromatolites is shown to be most effective by using tetra-methylammonium hydroxide assisted pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GCMS) to look for the distribution pattern of fatty acid methyl esters. Such analysisshows that samples identified as bacterial have identical patterns that differ signifi-cantly from those of fossil plants and animals. Such a biomarker is shown to be morereliable than hopanes, further commonly used bacterial biomarkers. The combination of FTIR and Py-GCMS suggest the presence of the red algal pigment phycoerythrin inthe Jurassic fossil Solenopora jurassica, strengthening its identification as a calcareousalga.

The Tremarctinae are a subfamily of bears endemic to the New World, including two of the largest terrestrial mammalian carnivores that have ever lived: the giant, short-faced bears Arctodus simus from North America and Arctotherium angustidens from South America (greater than or equal to 1000 kg). Arctotherium angustidens became extinct during the Early Pleistocene, whereas Arctodus simus went extinct at the very end of the Pleistocene. The only living tremarctine is the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), a largely herbivorous bear that is today only found in South America. The relationships among the spectacled bears (Tremarctos), South American short-faced bears (Arctotherium) and North American shortfaced bears (Arctodus) remain uncertain. In this study, we sequenced a mitochondrial genome from an Arctotherium femur preserved in a Chilean cave. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the South American short-faced bears were more closely related to the extant South American spectacled bear than to the North American short-faced bears. This result suggests striking convergent evolution of giant forms in the two groups of short-faced bears (Arctodus and Arctotherium), potentially as an adaptation to dominate competition for megafaunal carcasses.

No

<p>This dataset contains results of a palynological study completed by Dr. Robert L. Raven from the IRF Group Inc in December 29, 2018</p> <p><br></p> <p>Palynological analysis was performed on siltstone samples that were collected from 4 outcrops of cenozoic strata from the study area of Chapter 3 in the eastern Alaska Range. This file includes the results of that study and detail about he present pollen assemblages as well as images</p> <p><br></p> <p>Jeffrey Benowitz contracted this work</p>

Thesis (MSc (Botany and Zoology. Palaeontology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / The fossil sites and fossils reported here range from the Archaean to the Recent. Information is presented on the circumstances of the discovery of some fossil sites in Southern Africa. A number of fossil sites, some of which can no longer be studied, are photographically recorded. Some recorded sites were relocated, while failure to locate others is noted. The assemblages at selected fossil sites are compiled, including some additions to their floras and faunas. Certain individual fossils are illustrated and discussed. Techniques which are not standard are outlined.

No description available.

<p>Arthropods have a rich fossil record spanning the Phanerozoic. Biomineralized forms such as the extinct trilobites are particularly common and are proven index fossils for biostratigraphy. Forms with an unmineralized cuticle are more rare, preserved only in so called <i>konservat lagerstätten</i>. Cambrian strata of Greenland have yielded rich trilobite faunas with potential for intercontinental correlation of Cambrian strata, but also an exceptionally preserved fauna, the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte. The first part of this thesis is concerned with trilobite biotratigraphy of the provisional Cambrian Series 2 in Greenland. The second part is concerned with exceptionally preserved arthropods from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, but also from 'Orsten' deposits from the Cambrian of Sweden.</p><p><i>Perissopyge phenax occurs</i> in the Henson Gletscher and Paralleldal formations spanning the Series 2 and 3 boundary interval in North Greenland. It also occurs in the Sekwi Formation of Yukon Territory, demonstrating that the species may hold potential for correlation within Laurentia. An indeterminate species of <i>Perissopyge</i> is shown to occur in the Ella Island Formation of North-East Greenland together with <i>Olenellus</i> cf. <i>hanseni</i>, which is similar to <i>Olenellus</i> cf. <i>truemani</i> described from the Henson Gletscher Formation. If this correlation is further corroborated it would offer a first tie-point for the An t'Sron Formation of North-West Scotland which yields <i>Fritzolenellus</i> <i>lapworthi</i>, herein reported for the first time from the Bastion Formation which underlies the Ella Island Formation.</p><p><i>Oelandocaris</i> <i>oelandica</i> from ‘Orsten’ deposits in the Cambrian series 3 and 4 boundary interval in Sweden is an early representative of the Crustacean stem lineage. <i>Kiisortoqia</i> <i>avannaarsuensis</i> is a new arthropod from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte with robust antennulae strikingly similar to the 'raptorial' limb of the problematic anomalocaridids. The ventral morphology of the 'bivalved' <i>Isoxys</i> <i>volucris</i> is described for the first time and compared with other species assigned to <i>Isoxys</i> from Cambrian lagerstätten around the world. Finally, <i>Siriocaris</i> <i>trolla</i>, is a new arthropod that similarities with trilobites and certain ‘trilobitomorphs’ but seems to lack important synapomorphies of these taxa, though this may be due to preservational limitations in the material at hand.</p>

Le passage entre les étages géologiques du Pliensbachien et du Toarcien au Jurassique inférieur est suivi au Toarcien inférieur par un évènement anoxique d’importance planétaire (TOAE pour Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event). Dans les archives de l’histoire de la terre, ce moment correspond en bien des endroits à un temps de fossilisation massive de matière organique donnant ici où là des roches mères d’intérêt pétrolier. Si, en termes de fluctuation du niveau eustatique, ces évènements sont souvent situés dans une zone d’inondation maximale de 2ème ordre, ils sont aussi interprétés comme une perturbation globale du cycle du carbone avec acidification des océans, liée à la mise en place des provinces ignées du Karroo-Ferrar en Afrique du Sud et en Amérique du Sud, contrées jointives à ce moment-là. Il s’agit d’une période de réchauffement global faisant suite à une période particulièrement froide au Pliensbachien. Cette perturbation écologique globale a certainement affecté la biosphère dans une mesure qui reste aujourd’hui très mal connue. Nous connaissons des études par exemple sur des ammonites ou des bivalves dont la définition stratigraphique permet rarement de distinguer l’impact du passage de la limite entre les deux étages du passage au Toarcien inférieur de la TOAE et la seule étude disponible sur les coraux est une étude purement bibliographique (Lathuilière et Marchal 2009) qui laisse supposer une extinction significative sur la même période. Les coraux sont très généralement des marqueurs particulièrement précieux des perturbations écologiques majeures comme on peut le voir pour les cinq grandes extinctions et même pour la sixième extinction en cours. Cette extinction au Pliensbachien-Toarcien pour l’instant considérée de second ordre mérite donc d’être analysée de ce point de vue. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, des collectes de coraux ont été effectuées sur le terrain au Maroc et en Italie dans un contexte sédimentologique défini de part et d’autre de la limite Pliensbachien - Toarcien. Les prélèvements ont été réalisés de façon à pouvoir évaluer la diversité ainsi que, dans la mesure du possible, la variabilité intraspécifique. Le traitement statistique des données a été réalisé dans le souci d’assurer une bonne connaissance de la variabilité pour fournir une taxinomie fiable dans l’optique de comparer des populations comparables en termes d’analyse de la diversité, des extinctions et des apparitions de taxons. Au total, 107 espèces ont été décrites (dont au moins 19 nouvelles espèces) réparties parmi 60 genres (dont 5 nouveaux) dans au moins 22 familles (dont 1 nouvelle). Cette étude nous révèle pour les eaux froides et chargées en matière organique du Pliensbachien des assemblages de coraux présentant une grande part d’affinité avec les faunes du Trias (en termes de genres et familles). Ils partagent une partie de leurs niches écologiques sur les plateformes internes de l’ouest téthysien avec des bivalves constructeurs de récifs connaissant alors un succès évolutif fulgurant : les lithiotidés. Les données récoltées témoignent de conditions ayant contraint les coraux à s’adapter et à se diversifier pour se maintenir lors de cette période peu propice, au profit des formes solitaires et phacéloïdes et au détriment des formes de plus hauts niveaux d’intégration. Au Toarcien inférieur, le réchauffement global des eaux couplé à la disparition quasi-totale des concurrents des coraux a permis une explosion de diversité déterminante pour l’avenir de ce groupe avec la mise en place de faunes d’assemblages très similaires à celles du Jurassique moyen et supérieur (en terme de genres, familles et morphologies coloniales). Il s’agit d’un évènement d’extinction biphasé dont la première phase se produit au passage entre Pliensbachien et Toarcien, la seconde phase correspondant au passage du TOAE. L’évènement pris dans son ensemble amène à l’extinction de près de 97% des espèces de coraux présentes au Pliensbachien / The transition from the Pliensbachian to the Toarcian geological stages in Lower Jurassic is followed by a global oceanic anoxic event during the lower Toarcian (TOAE for Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event). This moment corresponds to a massive fossilization time for organic matter in the worldwide geological record that produced here and there source rocks of petroleum interest. Concerning the eustatic fluctuations, these events are associated to a second-order maximal flooding zone. They are also interpreted as the remains of a global carbon-cycle perturbation case associated with oceanic acidification and correlated with the setup of Karoo-Ferrar igneous provinces in the southern Pangea territories corresponding to present-day Southern Africa and Southern America. It corresponds to a period of global warming that directly follow a global cooling at the Pliensbachian. This worldwide ecological perturbation probably disturbed the biosphere in a degree that is still poorly quantified. For example, studies about ammonites and bivalvs are known but the stratigraphic definition generally do not allow to distinguish the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary itself to the TOAE effect on these fauna. One single available study about corals is purely bibliographic (Lathuiliere and Marchal 2009) and suggests a significant extinction event for this group at the same period. Corals are generally precious indicators for major ecological disruptions as it is testified in the case of the big-five major crisis and the current sixth one. The Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction has been considered up-to-now as a second-order crisis event and require to be studied as such. In the context of this thesis, fossilized corals have been collected in the field in Morocco and Italy in a well-defined sedimentological context before and after the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary. Sampling has been in view to quantify the diversity and as far as possible, the intraspecific variability. The statistical treatment of the data has been realized in view to provide a satisfying quantification of the variability in order to supply a strong taxonomy and be able to compare comparable populations in analyses of diversity, extinctions and apparitions of taxons. In total, 107 species have been describes (including at least 19 new species) as part of 60 genera (including 5 new ones) among 22 families (including a new one). According to this study, the cold and highly concentrated in organic matter oceanic waters of the Pliensbachian contained corals faunas with an important affinity with Triassic faunas (in terms of genera and families). They shared the ecological niches of the western tethysian inner platforms with the lithiotids, a group of aberrants reefal bivalvs that demonstrated a stupendous evolutive success during the same period. Collected data attest of conditions that constrained corals to adapt and diversify in view to maintain during these unfavourable times, for the benefit of the solitary and phaceloid form but at the expense of the highly integrated forms. During the Lower Toarcian, global warming of oceanic waters associated with the almost total disparition of the competitors premised an explosion of diversity that is determinant for the future of the corals, with the apparition of faunal assemblages very similar to the typical Middle and Upper Jurassic ones (in terms of genera, families and colonial morphologies). It is a two-folded extinction event with a first phase during the Pliensbachian –Toarcian transition and a second phase at the onset of the TOAE. In the end, this pulsed event led to the extinction of approximately 97% of the Pliensbachian coral species

The acanthodians were a common and widespread group of fishes throughout the world during the mid-Palaeozoic. In this study, a full-scale systematic analysis of Silurian to Middle Devonian acanthodian taxa of eastern Australia was undertaken, incorporating a review and updating of historical records and descriptions of taxa. Phylogenetic relationships within the group and with other early gnathostomes are uncertain. The structure, function and modes of growth of acanthodian scales were described and investigated, and these features were used for comparisons between different taxa within the group, and between acanthodians and other early vertebrates. Histological and morphological characters of the scales were incorporated in a cladistic analysis of genera erected for articulated fish. This analysis did not support the traditional ordinal level groups, the Climatiida, Ischnacanthida and Acanthodida. Therefore, the highest taxonomic level used in the study was the family. Rarely were acanthodians preserved as articulated fossils. The only examples known from the Silurian-Middle Devonian of Australia are one specimen of the putative acanthodian Yealepis douglasi Burrow & Young 1999 from the Ludlow of Victoria, five specimens of an indeterminate ?ischnacanthidid from the late Givetian of New South Wales and a rich assemblage from the Givetian lacustrine shales of Mt Howitt, Victoria. The latter fauna (originally dated as Late Devonian) includes six incomplete specimens of the culmacanthidid Culmacanthus stewarti Long 1983 and about 60 specimens of acanthodidid Howittacanthus kentoni Long 1986. In contrast, disassociated remains of the group are ubiquitous in microvertebrate faunas from the mid-Palaeozoic of eastern Australia. Although scales of other fish groups are sometimes more common in particular facies, acanthodian elements are found in all depositional environments, from deep shelf marine to transitional to freshwater. Most of the taxa, particularly those only preserved as isolated scales, had not been systematically described by other workers. This thesis incorporates descriptions of new taxa, and revision and updating of other taxa. Several overseas studies have produced biostratigraphic charts based on acanthodian scales. A similar biostratigraphic overview was undertaken based on a systematic analysis of the Early Devonian acanthodians of eastern Australia, permitting comparisons with acanthodian faunas of other regions. Acanthodian scales and fin spines are the most common elements in the few vertebrate faunas that are known from the Silurian of Australia. Diversity and geographic distribution of the acanthodian faunas peaked during the Early Devonian. This study has been hampered by the low numbers of scales in many samples, and by uncertainty over their dating (particularly for the faunas from non-limestone deposits). Nevertheless, the work shows that changes in the marine assemblages are broadly correlated with the pattern of marine transgressions and regressions. Composition of the acanthodian faunas, and their abundance relative to other vertebrates in the assemblages, depend on the depositional environment. This correlation is best illustrated in Lower Devonian deposits, in which acanthodians are the most prolific and diverse. In transitional and marginal marine deposits, thelodonts are dominant, and acanthodians a minor element of the fauna. In off-shore assemblages, acanthodians and placoderms are dominant, and thelodonts are rare or absent. Vertebrate faunas are poor in the earliest Devonian deposits, but become more common by the late Lochkovian, with near-shore assemblages characterized by Trundlelepis cervicostulata and ANostolepis@ guangxiensis, and deeper shelf assemblages by a new genus, possibly assignable to the Ischnacanthidae. The vertebrate record is sparse through the middle Pragian, though AN.@ guangxiensis is present low in the Coopers Creek Limestone (upper sulcatus-pireneae zones), being replaced by Nostolepoides platymarginata, Gomphonchus? bogongensis, and Radioporacanthodes sp. aff. R. (Gomphonchus) liujingensis by the kindlei Zone. Microvertebrate assemblages are more common by the late Pragian (pireneae Zone), with Radioporacanthodes sp. aff. R. liujingensis in deeper shelf deposits, and N. platymarginata and G.? bogongensis dominating near-shore assemblages. The earliest Emsian (dehiscens Zone) is marked by the incoming Cheiracanthoides wangi. Middle Emsian (perbonus-serotinus zones) assemblages are characterized by two new species, possibly assignable to Gomphonchus.The Middle Devonian cosmopolitan association of Cheiracanthoides comptus and AAcanthoides@ dublinensis, which characterizes early Middle Devonian faunas from North America, Europe and China, appears first in the latest Emsian at the serotinus-patulus zone boundary. As well as showing the value of acanthodians in biostratigraphy and as indicators of environmental settings, their use in biogeography was demonstrated. Although many of the acanthodian taxa are endemic, several are also found in other regions. The Silurian to earliest Devonian faunas of eastern Australia are most closely related to coeval Chinese assemblages. Several latest Silurian-earliest Devonian taxa are also recorded from the circum-Arctic region. The late Lochkovian to early Emsian assemblages, particularly from south-eastern Australia, have many taxa in common with Chinese faunas. The mid-Emsian taxa show highest endemicity; and the latest Emsian-Eifelian assemblages have the most cosmopolitan aspect. Acanthodian faunas become rarer and depauperate in the Middle Devonian, particularly in the south-eastern corner, and are mostly in poorly dated, ?fluviatile/marginal marine deposits. This study of acanthodian faunas has encompassed a full scale systematic review of the group in this region, an appraisal of phylogenetic relationships within the group and with other early vertebrates, their palaeoecology, and their use in biostratigraphy and biogeography.

The acanthodians were a common and widespread group of fishes throughout the world during the mid-Palaeozoic. In this study, a full-scale systematic analysis of Silurian to Middle Devonian acanthodian taxa of eastern Australia was undertaken, incorporating a review and updating of historical records and descriptions of taxa. Phylogenetic relationships within the group and with other early gnathostomes are uncertain. The structure, function and modes of growth of acanthodian scales were described and investigated, and these features were used for comparisons between different taxa within the group, and between acanthodians and other early vertebrates. Histological and morphological characters of the scales were incorporated in a cladistic analysis of genera erected for articulated fish. This analysis did not support the traditional ordinal level groups, the Climatiida, Ischnacanthida and Acanthodida. Therefore, the highest taxonomic level used in the study was the family. Rarely were acanthodians preserved as articulated fossils. The only examples known from the Silurian-Middle Devonian of Australia are one specimen of the putative acanthodian Yealepis douglasi Burrow & Young 1999 from the Ludlow of Victoria, five specimens of an indeterminate ?ischnacanthidid from the late Givetian of New South Wales and a rich assemblage from the Givetian lacustrine shales of Mt Howitt, Victoria. The latter fauna (originally dated as Late Devonian) includes six incomplete specimens of the culmacanthidid Culmacanthus stewarti Long 1983 and about 60 specimens of acanthodidid Howittacanthus kentoni Long 1986. In contrast, disassociated remains of the group are ubiquitous in microvertebrate faunas from the mid-Palaeozoic of eastern Australia. Although scales of other fish groups are sometimes more common in particular facies, acanthodian elements are found in all depositional environments, from deep shelf marine to transitional to freshwater. Most of the taxa, particularly those only preserved as isolated scales, had not been systematically described by other workers. This thesis incorporates descriptions of new taxa, and revision and updating of other taxa. Several overseas studies have produced biostratigraphic charts based on acanthodian scales. A similar biostratigraphic overview was undertaken based on a systematic analysis of the Early Devonian acanthodians of eastern Australia, permitting comparisons with acanthodian faunas of other regions. Acanthodian scales and fin spines are the most common elements in the few vertebrate faunas that are known from the Silurian of Australia. Diversity and geographic distribution of the acanthodian faunas peaked during the Early Devonian. This study has been hampered by the low numbers of scales in many samples, and by uncertainty over their dating (particularly for the faunas from non-limestone deposits). Nevertheless, the work shows that changes in the marine assemblages are broadly correlated with the pattern of marine transgressions and regressions. Composition of the acanthodian faunas, and their abundance relative to other vertebrates in the assemblages, depend on the depositional environment. This correlation is best illustrated in Lower Devonian deposits, in which acanthodians are the most prolific and diverse. In transitional and marginal marine deposits, thelodonts are dominant, and acanthodians a minor element of the fauna. In off-shore assemblages, acanthodians and placoderms are dominant, and thelodonts are rare or absent. Vertebrate faunas are poor in the earliest Devonian deposits, but become more common by the late Lochkovian, with near-shore assemblages characterized by Trundlelepis cervicostulata and ANostolepis@ guangxiensis, and deeper shelf assemblages by a new genus, possibly assignable to the Ischnacanthidae. The vertebrate record is sparse through the middle Pragian, though AN.@ guangxiensis is present low in the Coopers Creek Limestone (upper sulcatus-pireneae zones), being replaced by Nostolepoides platymarginata, Gomphonchus? bogongensis, and Radioporacanthodes sp. aff. R. (Gomphonchus) liujingensis by the kindlei Zone. Microvertebrate assemblages are more common by the late Pragian (pireneae Zone), with Radioporacanthodes sp. aff. R. liujingensis in deeper shelf deposits, and N. platymarginata and G.? bogongensis dominating near-shore assemblages. The earliest Emsian (dehiscens Zone) is marked by the incoming Cheiracanthoides wangi. Middle Emsian (perbonus-serotinus zones) assemblages are characterized by two new species, possibly assignable to Gomphonchus.The Middle Devonian cosmopolitan association of Cheiracanthoides comptus and AAcanthoides@ dublinensis, which characterizes early Middle Devonian faunas from North America, Europe and China, appears first in the latest Emsian at the serotinus-patulus zone boundary. As well as showing the value of acanthodians in biostratigraphy and as indicators of environmental settings, their use in biogeography was demonstrated. Although many of the acanthodian taxa are endemic, several are also found in other regions. The Silurian to earliest Devonian faunas of eastern Australia are most closely related to coeval Chinese assemblages. Several latest Silurian-earliest Devonian taxa are also recorded from the circum-Arctic region. The late Lochkovian to early Emsian assemblages, particularly from south-eastern Australia, have many taxa in common with Chinese faunas. The mid-Emsian taxa show highest endemicity; and the latest Emsian-Eifelian assemblages have the most cosmopolitan aspect. Acanthodian faunas become rarer and depauperate in the Middle Devonian, particularly in the south-eastern corner, and are mostly in poorly dated, ?fluviatile/marginal marine deposits. This study of acanthodian faunas has encompassed a full scale systematic review of the group in this region, an appraisal of phylogenetic relationships within the group and with other early vertebrates, their palaeoecology, and their use in biostratigraphy and biogeography.