Mid Miocene Research Articles

Molecular phylogeny of microhylid frogs (Anura: Microhylidae) with emphasis on relationships among New World genera.

BackgroundOver the last ten years we have seen great efforts focused on revising amphibian systematics. Phylogenetic reconstructions derived from DNA sequence data have played a central role in these revisionary studies but have typically under-sampled the diverse frog family Microhylidae. Here, we present a detailed phylogenetic study focused on expanding previous hypotheses of relationships within this cosmopolitan family. Specifically, we placed an emphasis on assessing relationships among New World genera and those taxa with uncertain phylogenetic affinities (i.e., incertae sedis).ResultsOne mitochondrial and three nuclear genes (about 2.8 kb) were sequenced to assess phylogenetic relationships. We utilized an unprecedented sampling of 200 microhylid taxa representing 91% of currently recognized subfamilies and 95% of New World genera. Our analyses do not fully resolve relationships among subfamilies supporting previous studies that have suggested a rapid early diversification of this clade. We observed a close relationship between Synapturanus and Otophryne of the subfamily Otophryninae. Within the subfamily Gastrophryninae relationships between genera were well resolved.ConclusionOtophryninae is distantly related to all other New World microhylids that were recovered as a monophyletic group, Gastrophryninae. Within Gastrophryninae, five genera were recovered as non-monophyletic; we propose taxonomic re-arrangements to render all genera monophyletic. This hypothesis of relationships and updated classification for New World microhylids may serve as a guide to better understand the evolutionary history of this group that is apparently subject to convergent morphological evolution and chromosome reduction. Based on a divergence analysis calibrated with hypotheses from previous studies and fossil data, it appears that microhylid genera inhabiting the New World originated during a period of gradual cooling from the late Oligocene to mid Miocene.

Large‐scale splay faults on a strike‐slip fault system: The Yakima Folds, Washington State

The Yakima Folds (YF) comprise anticlines above reverse faults cutting flows of the Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group of central Washington State. The YF are bisected by the ~1100‐km‐long Olympic‐Wallowa Lineament (OWL), which is an alignment of topographic features including known faults. There is considerable debate about the origin and earthquake potential of both the YF and OWL, which lie near six major dams and a large nuclear waste storage site. Here I show that the trends of the faults forming the YF relative to the OWL match remarkably well the trends of the principal stress directions at the end of a vertical strike‐slip fault. This comparison and the termination of some YF against the OWL are consistent with the YF initially forming as splay faults caused by an along‐strike decrease in the amount of strike‐slip on the OWL. The hypothesis is that the YF faults initially developed as splay faults in the early to mid Miocene under NNW‐oriented principal compressive stress, but the anticlines subsequently grew with thrust motion after the principal compressive stress direction rotated to N‐S or NNE after the mid‐Miocene. A seismic profile across one of the YF anticlines shows folding at about 7 km depth, indicating deformation of sub‐basalt strata. The seismic profile and the hypothesized relationship between the YF and the OWL suggest that the structures are connected in the middle or lower crust, and that the faults forming the YF are large‐scale splay faults associated with a major strike‐slip fault system.

Three-dimensional basin analysis of the Heidelberg Basin, Upper Rhine Graben

The Heidelberg Basin (HB) is a part of the Upper Rhine Graben that has undergone very strong subsidence throughout its existence. We present the first results of three-dimensional structural modelling of the basin, based on interpretation of reflection seismics, and decompaction based on our own porosity data measured from core material. Firstly, we mapped six horizons from all available industrial (ca. 100 km) and our own reflection seismic sections (ca. 15 km), which lie within a 8 km radius around the Heidelberg Uni-Nord 1/2 boreholes. We interpret these horizons as Base Quaternary, Internal and Base Pliocene, Base Upper Miocene, Internal and Base Mid Miocene Hydrobien beds.

Review of Miocene shallow marine and lacustrine depositional environments in Northern Croatia

The Neogene and Quaternary depositional and structural characteristics of the southwestern Croatian Pannonian Basin System (CPBS) are unique within the Pannonian Basin System (PBS). Due to its position at the basin margin, the area was covered by shallow and partially isolated parts of the Pannonian Sea in the Badenian (Mid Miocene). Later, in the Pannonian and Pontian ages, the area contained several brackish lakes, the largest being Sava Lake and Drava Lake. Tectonic events, sedimentation and depositional mechanisms occurring during the Neogene in the CPBS have revealed that those areas can be considered as former shallow seas or lakes dominated by clastic sedimentation. Marine coarse-grained clastic sedimentation took place during the Badenian, with local sources of material and numerous alluvial fans developed during the first transtensional phase. In the Pannonian and Pontian (Late Miocene), sediments were deposited by turbidity currents from a single, distal material source located in the Eastern Alps during the second transtensional tectonic phase. &nbsp

Molecular phylogenetics of the arboreal Australian gecko genus Oedura Gray 1842 (Gekkota: Diplodactylidae): Another plesiomorphic grade?

The family Diplodactylidae is the most ecologically diverse and geographically widespread radiation of geckos within Australasia. Herein we present a first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of relationships of diplodactylid geckos currently assigned to the genus Oedura, a group of relatively generalised arboreal Australian geckos. Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian and Maximum Parsimony analyses of a combination of over two and a half kilobases of nuclear (PDC, Rag-1) and mitochondrial (ND2, ND4, tRNA) sequence data all identified four distinctive lineages within Oedura s.l. Based on their deep divergences and a suite of diagnostic morphological characters we recognise each of these four lineages as genera, two of which are monotypic and newly described herein. Our molecular data also suggest that Oedura s.l. is not monophyletic, but is instead a plesiomorphic grade restricted to islands of rocky or forested habitat around coastal and central Australia. In contrast, combined analysis of all data suggests the Australian arid zone is dominated by a single comparatively derived and relatively species rich clade including most other genera of Australian Diplodactylidae. Additional data are required to properly resolve basal divergence events within the Diplodactylidae, however the emerging pattern of relationships and divergence is consistent with the hypothesis that monsoonal and temperate lineages are ancestral to the arid zone fauna, but also indicate that arid zone lineages and radiations are relatively old, and potentially date back to the mid Miocene or earlier.

The volcanic evolution of Martinique Island: Insights from K–Ar dating into the Lesser Antilles arc migration since the Oligocene

The Lesser Antilles island arc bifurcates into two lines in its northern part, with an old branch to the east and a recent active branch to the west. Martinique is located at the southern tip of the separation. The two arcs diverge northward, and at maximum divergence are separated by a 50 km wide depression. Despite this separation, which suggests a jump in volcanism, activity has been almost continuous in Martinique Island with a slow displacement of the eruptive centers to the west. Considering timing of emplacement, previous authors defined three cycles of activity, the old, intermediate and recent arcs, of Late Oligocene–Early Miocene, Mid Miocene and Late Miocene to present ages, respectively. The present study investigates the timing of emplacement of the volcanic units in Martinique Island in order to constrain the activity of the old and intermediate Lesser Antilles arcs, as recorded on this island. Unspiked K–Ar age determinations on groundmass and plagioclase separates (Cassignol–Gillot technique) were conducted on 20 samples from the old and intermediate volcanic chains. Martinique has evolved as eight distinct volcanic centers: (1) Basal Complex and Sainte Anne Series (24.8 ± 0.4–20.8 ± 0.4 Ma) for the old arc; (2) Vauclin–Pitault Chain (16.1 ± 0.2–8.44 ± 0.12 Ma) and (3) South-western Volcanism (9.18 ± 0.16–7.10 ± 0.10 Ma) for the intermediate arc; and (4) Morne Jacob volcano (5.14 ± 0.07–1.54 ± 0.03 Ma), (5) Trois Ilets Volcanism (2.358 ± 0.034 Ma and 346 ± 27 ka), (6) Carbet Complex (998 ± 14 to 322 ± 6 ka), (7) Mount Conil (543 ± 8 to 127 ± 2 ka) and (8) Mount Pelée (126 ± 2 ka to present) for the recent arc ( Germa et al., 2010, 2011a).We propose migration rates of 1.1–1.4 km/Myr westward, toward the back arc region throughout the whole volcanic history of Martinique Island. These rates, together with geochemical evidence for a more enriched signature in the youngest magmas, are consistent with a geodynamic evolution involving the migration of the northern volcanic front away from the trench in response to the subduction of an aseismic ridge, possibly influenced by convergence between North-American and South-American plates.

Neotropical Blepolenis butterflies: wing pattern elements, phylogeny, and Pleistocene diversification (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)

This study re-describes and provides a phylogeny for the Brassolini genus Blepolenis, which includes three species from the Brazilian Atlantic forest. A diagnosis and illustrations of habitus and genitalia are given for each species. We compare variation in wing color pattern among the genera Blepolenis, Opsiphanes, Orobrassolis and Mielkella, and discuss the repeated loss of male wing androconial organs within Blepolenis. DNA sequence (nuclear and mitochondrial genes) provided the strongest signal for phylogeny reconstruction, given that Blepolenis species are morphologically homogeneous. Estimated time of divergence between Blepolenis and Opsiphanes dates from the Mid Miocene (ca. 15 million years ago), and was followed by an apparent period of stasis. Extant Blepolenis species seem to have diverged in the Pleistocene (ca. 2.5 mya).

Phylogenetic structure and species boundaries in the mountain pitviper Ovophis monticola (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) in Asia

We investigated phylogenetic structure and morphological variation in Asian mountain pitvipers of the genus Ovophis (comprising 3–4 species some of which are considered polytypic) by sequencing four mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4, 12S and 16S rRNA) from 72 specimens, and analysed them in a Bayesian framework together with another 26 sequences from closely related genera. We reconstructed the region of origin and direction of dispersal of the major clades, and of Ovophis as a whole, using likelihood framework analysis. We also defined morphogroups from 280 specimens from across the range of Ovophis to allow the geographic extent of the major clades to be determined, as well as to allow inclusion of specimens lacking sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the monophyly of Ovophis as currently defined, and revealed that it contains two major lineages, eastern (mainly Chinese) and western, with both occurring in southwestern China, central and northern Viet Nam. The most likely origin of the genus, and of individual lineages, coincides with the northeastern boundary of the Indomalayan hotspot. Major diversification in this species group likely corresponded to major climatic changes arising from the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau in the early to mid Miocene. With reference to the defined morphogroups, we suggest that at least five species are present and provide appropriate names. With a few exceptions, the newly defined species boundaries do not correspond to the existing taxonomy.

The Mendel Formation: Evidence for Late Miocene climatic cyclicity at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula

A detailed description of the newly defined Mendel Formation is presented. This Late Miocene (5.9–5.4Ma) sedimentary sequence with an overall thickness of more than 80m comprises cyclic deposition in terrestrial glacigenic, glaciomarine and marine environments. Subglacial till was deposited by a thick grounded Antarctic Peninsula ice stream advancing eastwards through the Prince Gustav Channel, crossing the northernmost part of present-day James Ross Island, with most of the material carried actively at the base of the warm-based glacier. The form of the Prince Gustav Channel originated before the late Miocene and its present glacial over-deepening resulted in multiple grounded glacier advances during the Neogene and Quaternary. The sea prograded from the east and the glacier margin became buoyant, building a small ice shelf, below and in front of which glaciomarine and marine sediments were deposited. These sedimentary deposits are composed of material that was transported mostly by small glaciers and subsequently by the floating ice shelf and by calving icebergs towards the open sea. These environmental and glaciological conditions differ strongly from the present cold-based local glaciers of James Ross Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. These changes were triggered by the global sea level fluctuation connected with climatic changes due to Antarctic ice sheet build up and decay. This reveals Late Miocene obliquity-driven cyclicity with a ~41ka period. The Mendel Formation sedimentary sequence is comprised of at least two glacial periods and one interglacial period. Sea level rise at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula between glacial lowstand and interglacial highstand was more than 50m during the late Miocene and was followed by a subsequent sea level fall of at least the same magnitude. The presence of well-preserved, articulated pectinid bivalves support “interglacial” open sea conditions. The re-deposition of palaeontological material was shown to be important for the Mendel Formation. Reworked pectinid shells revealed an open marine “interglacial” condition in this part of the Antarctic Peninsula during the Early to Mid Miocene (20.5–17.5Ma). Unfortunately, relevant sedimentary deposits have not been found on land.

Precipitation patterns in the Miocene of Central Europe and the development of continentality

Understanding climate patterns, with their decisive influence on plant distribution and development, is crucial to understanding the history of vegetation patterns in Europe during the Miocene. This paper presents the detailed analyses of several precipitation parameters, including monthly precipitation of the wettest, driest and warmest months, for five Miocene stages. In conjunction with seasonality of temperature, those parameters provide a meaningful measure of continentality and can help to document Miocene climate changes and patterns and their possible influence on vegetation. Climate reconstructions provided here are entirely based on palaeobotanical material. In total, 169 Miocene floras were selected, including 14 Burdigalian, 41 Langhian, 40 Serravallian, 36 Tortonian, and 38 Messinian localities. All floras were analysed using the Coexistence Approach. The analysis of several precipitation parameters, the statistical inter-correlation of results, and the comparison with modern patterns provides a comprehensive account on Miocene precipitation. Miocene climatic changes after the Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) are evidenced in our data set by three major factors, i.e. (1) increasing seasonality of temperature, (2) changes in the annual distribution of precipitation towards a precipitation peak in summer, and (3) a late increase of longitudinal gradients of precipitation parameters. Evidence of continental climate in Eastern Europe first appears during the Messinian. In addition to changes in temperature, shifts in the annual distribution of precipitation may have played a major role in post-Langhian climate changes. However, the most significant climatic transformations occurred later, from the end of Miocene through to the present. Several authors have described patterns of vegetation development in Europe that are in good agreement with our finding of the first evidence for continental climate in Eastern Europe during the Messinian. Our data do not support an onset of opening of vegetation during the Tortonian or even earlier, as has been described for some parts of Eastern and Southern Europe. Possibly either non climatic parameters influenced such an early development, or our data lack the required resolution and/or spatial coverage to fully decipher the influence of continentality on vegetation and to correlate climate and vegetation statistically. Nevertheless, climatic data that quantify continentality can provide a sound basis for explaining the expansion of grassland in Eurasia.

Dispersals of Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae (Solanaceae) from the New World to Eurasia in the early Miocene and their biogeographic diversification within Eurasia

The cosmopolitan Solanaceae contains 21 tribes and has the greatest diversity in South America. Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae are the only tribes of this family distributed exclusively in Eurasia with two centers of diversity: the Mediterranean–Turanian (MT) region and the Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, we examined the origins and biogeographical diversifications of the two tribes based on the phylogenetic framework and chronogram inferred from a combined data set of six plastid DNA regions (the atpB gene, the ndhF gene, the rps16-trnK intergenic spacer, the rbcL gene, the trnC- psbM region and the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer) with two fossil calibration points. Our data suggest that Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae each forms a monophyletic group independently derived from different New World lineages in the early Miocene. Phylogenetic relationships within both tribes are generally well resolved. All genera of Hyoscyameae are found to be monophyletic and they diversified in middle to late Miocene. At nearly the same time, Mandragoreae split into two clades, corresponding to the MT region and the TP region, respectively. Both the phylogenetic relationships and the estimated ages of Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae support two independent dispersal events of their ancestors from the New World into Eurasia. After their arrivals in Eurasia, the two tribes diversified primarily in the MT region and in the TP region via multiple biogeographic processes including vicariance, dispersal, recolonization or being preserved as relicts, from the mid Miocene to the late Quaternary.

Los Andes Fueguinos: el registro micropaleontologico de los mayores acontecimientos paleooceanograficos australes del Campaniano al Mioceno.

The succession of microfossil assemblages in the almost complete marine Late Cretaceous-Miocene stratigraphic column found in the Fuegian Andes, the orogenic margin of the Austral Basin, reveals a close relationship with the local tectonic events, the Atlantic transgressions-regressions on the Patagonian Platform, and the most relevant paleoceanographic global events. The Fuegian upper Campanian-lower Eocene sequence, dominated by flysch-type assemblages of agglutinated foraminifers and poorly oxygenated waters of fairly limited depth, is coherent with silled basins in a recently proposed cortical stretching period. The Maastrichtian (Policarpo Formation) has a cosmopolitan agglutinated foraminiferal assemblage contrasting with the coeval austral endemic calcareous assemblages of Patagonia. In the Paleocene/Eocene transition the assemblages of calcareous microfossils, of restricted distribution, exhibit the greatest Cenozoic turnover from a cosmopolitan Midway-type assemblage (La Barca Formation) to a strongly endemic Early Eocene assemblage (Punta Noguera Formation), with the oldest records of the Fuegian-Patagonian Cenozoic most typical genera. The Early Paleogene has no record of philothermic taxa such as larger foraminifera or morozovelids planktonic foraminifera, and only a short-lived bryozoan limestone (Rio Bueno Formation) and the low percentage of the ostracod family Hemicytheridae insinuated a warm period. The upper middle-uppermost Eocene sequence (La Despedida Group) starts with a transgression recorded in the Austral Basin (Leticia, Man Aike, Rio Turbio formations and Boltovskoyella beds), and in the Colorado Basin. This transgression is coeval with a temperature peak of 42 Ma, bringing a Fuegian retrograde fauna and a foraminiferal assemblage with large-sized nodosarids, which were replaced throughout the Late Eocene (Cerro Colorado Formation) by typical Antarctic genera that reflect the falling global temperature, culminating in the Tenuitella insolita Zone with abundant Chiloguembelina, a local effect of the global environmental fluctuations. The Eocene/Oligocene boundary and the Oi-1 seem to be represented by an unconformity and/or the Tchat Chii Conglomerate. In the earliest Oligocene (Maria Cristina beds) foredeep environments below the LCC and deep water foraminifer indicators appear, contrasting with coeval global high δ18O values and a Late Eocene-Early Oligocene withdrawal in the Patagonian Platform, which suggest that the coeval deepening recorded in the Fuegian Andes is due only to tectonic causes that facilitated the incursion of Antarctic waters into the basin. The latest Oligocene-Early Miocene global warm anomaly corresponds to a constriction period of the Drake Passage; in the Fuegian Andes lysocline conditions dominate, and a generalized transgression occurs including an Antarctic corrosive water current, which penetrates in the Patagonian Platform; on both regions, there are minor discontinuities coincident with the Mi-1, and an extended unconformity is found prior to the mid Miocene transgressive pulse coeval with the Neogene optimum.

Palaeomagnetic study of the Kepezdağ and Yamadağ volcanic complexes, central Turkey: Neogene tectonic escape and block definition in the central-east Anatolides

The Anatolian accretionary collage between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia is currently subject to two tectonic regimes. Ongoing slip of Arabia relative to Africa along the Dead Sea Fault Zone in the east is extruding crustal blocks away from the indenter by a combination of strike-slip and rotation. This zone of compression gives way to an extensional province in western Turkey, which also includes the eastern sector of Aegean Province. Although it is now well established that rotational deformation throughout Anatolia is distributed and differential, the sizes of the blocks involved are poorly understood. As a contribution towards evaluating this issue in central-east Turkey, we report palaeomagnetic study of the mid-Miocene Kepezdağ and Yamadağ volcanic complexes in central-south Anatolia (38–39.5°N, 37.5–39°E). A distributed sample through the Yamadağ complex identifies eruption during an interval of multiple geomagnetic field reversals (40 normal, 36 reversed, 8 intermediate sites) with a selected mean defined by 63 sites of D/ I = 335.4/51.1° ( α 95 = 4.4°). The smaller Kepezdağ complex (8 reversed, 4 normal and 1 intermediate site) yields a comparable mean direction from 12 sites of 338.7/49.8° ( α 95 = 14.1°). In the context of a range of radiometric age evidence, two thick normal polarity zones within the Yamadağ succession probably correlate with zones C5ACn and C5ADn of the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale and imply that the bulk of the volcanic activity took place between ∼15 and 13.5 Ma. Comparison of the palaeomagnetic results with the adjoining major plate indenters shows that the Yamadağ complex has rotated CCW by 29.3 ± 5.2° relative to Eurasia; the much smaller dataset from the Kepezdağ complex indicates a comparable CCW rotation of 26.0 ± 11.8° with respect to Eurasia. The Arabian Indenter has also been rotating CCW since mid Miocene times, and the block incorporating these two volcanic complexes north of the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) is determined to have rotated 18.2 ± 6.0° CCW relative to the northern perimeter of Arabia. Comparison with data to the north identifies quasi-uniform rotation across a ∼200 km wide block extending from the Central Anatolian Fault Zone in the northwest to close to the East Anatolian transform fault zone in the south east. Although absence of suitable younger rocks does not permit the timing of this rotation to be determined in the study area, analogies with results from the Sivas Basin suggest that it is young, and followed establishment of the major transform faults. Rotation has evidently taken place around bounding arcuate faults and accompanied westward expulsion as the accretionary collage north of Arabia has been subject to ongoing post-collisional indentation.

Magnetostratigraphy of the Ouarzazate Basin: Implications for the timing of deformation and mountain building in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Two magnetostratigraphic profiles (450 samples) have been carried out to constrain the age of synorogenic formations in the southern foreland of the High Atlas of Morocco. The Amekchoud profile covers the Aït Ouglif and Aït Kandoula alluvial formations that form the bulk of the Ouarzazate basin fill, indicating an age between the upper Langhian and the Messinian (Miocene). Data obtained in the previously unexplored Hadida formation profile covers the oldest terms of the foreland basin succession, but the low quality of the magnetic record only allows proposing a tentative age between the middle Lutetian and an undetermined middle to late Eocene. The correlation of the Amekchoud profile is based on the recognition of the long C5n chron (Tortonian) in the middle part of the section studied and a new vertebrate locality of upper Tortonian age found in the upper part. These results indicate a discontinuous record of foreland basin development in the southern Atlas domain from mid Eocene to late Miocene times, punctuated by an intermediate large hiatus of 20-25 ma (late Eocene to mid Miocene). Thrusting in the Sub-Atlas frontal thrust belt began before the Aït Ouglif and Kandoula formations, probably during the Oligocene, and extends up to recent times. The alternation of periods of deposition with others of no sedimentary record, which does not coincide with specific tectonic events, results probably from the interference of orogenic deformation and the mantle-related thermal uplift events that have been described for the Moroccan Atlas.

Molecular phylogenetics of moray eels (Muraenidae) demonstrates multiple origins of a shell-crushing jaw (Gymnomuraena, Echidna) and multiple colonizations of the Atlantic Ocean

Moray eels (Muraenidae) are apex predators on coral reefs around the world, but they are not well studied because their cryptic habitats and occasionally aggressive behaviors make them difficult to collect. We provide a molecular phylogeny of moray eels including 44 species representing two subfamilies, eight genera, and all tropical ocean basins. Phylogenetic relationships among these taxa are estimated from portions of mitochondrial loci cytochrome b (632bp) and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (596bp), and portions of the nuclear loci RAG-1 (421bp) and RAG-2 (754bp). We test four sets of contrasting phylogenetic hypotheses using Bayes Factors, Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests, and Templeton tests. First, our results support the subfamily-level taxonomic distinction between true morays (Muraeninae) and snakemorays (Uropterygiinae), statistically rejecting hypotheses of non-monophyly for each subfamily. Second, we reject a monophyletic grouping of the genera Gymnomuraena and Echidna, which share a durophagous (shell-crushing) cranial morphology and dentition, indicating that the durophagous characters are not homologous. Third, we demonstrate that durophagous feeding habits and associated morphological characters have evolved in parallel in an ancestor of Gymnomuraena and at least three additional times within the genus Echidna. Finally, the tree topology indicates multiple invasions of the Atlantic from the Indo-Pacific, one of these occurring immediately prior to formation of the Isthmus of Panama approximately 2.8MYA (million years ago) and one or two others occurring in the early to mid Miocene. Cladogenesis occurring within the Atlantic during the mid Miocene and Pliocene also contributed to moray species diversity. These data include a pair of sister species separated by the Isthmus of Panama, allowing a time-calibrated tree with an estimated crown age for Muraenidae at between 41 and 60MYA, consistent with fossil evidence. Most lineage accumulation within morays occurred from the late Oligocene (24–27MYA) through the Miocene (5–23MYA) to the late Pliocene (∼2.5MYA).

Palaeo island-affinities revisited – Biogeography and systematics of the Indo-Pacific genus Cethosia Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

The Indo-Pacific is a very complex region encompassing several micro-continents with unique tectonic and geomorphologic histories. Unsurprisingly, the biogeographic history of Indo-Pacific biota is generally poorly known, especially that of organisms found in the heart of the region, the biodiversity hotspot known as Wallacea. Here, we explore the biogeographic history of the Indo-Pacific butterfly genus Cethosia using all known species and many distinctive subspecies. Cethosia butterflies span the Indo-Pacific tropics, including several lineages with localized endemism that are critically important when reconstructing biogeographic history of the Indo-Pacific and, in particular, of Wallacea. A phylogenetic hypothesis is proposed, based on sequences of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and NADH dehydrogenase 5 (ND5), and the nuclear wingless gene. Both Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian analyses showed that the genus is monophyletic and consistently recovered seven, generally very well supported, clades, namely the cydippe, leschenault, biblis, nietneri, hypsea, penthesilea and cyane clades. Species group relationships are largely concordant with general morphology (i.e., wing pattern and colouration) and, based on the phylogeny, we propose a revised systematic classification at the species level. The evolution of the genus appears associated with the inferred geological history of the region, in particular with respect to the expanding Wallacea theory, whereby ancient connected terranes were fragmented during the mid Miocene to early Pliocene, approximately 14–3Mya. Recent diversification events in Cethosia were likely promoted by climatic fluctuations during the Pliocene and, to a lesser extent, the Pleistocene. Our results support the view that, while dispersal has been important for Cethosia throughout much of the region, the high levels of island endemism and the essentially allopatric radiations recovered in Cethosia in Wallacea are better explained by vicariant processes linked to the history of formation of micro-continent and associated palaeo islands.

The evolution of Miocene climates in North China: Preliminary results of quantitative reconstructions from plant fossil records

The Miocene climate evolution in North China is preliminarily discussed by means of comparisons in seven climate parameters quantitatively reconstructed by the Coexistence Approach on 34 selected macro- and microfloras over North China. The Miocene temperatures show no great difference in the western and eastern part of North China. Temperature fluctuations, particularly in mean annual temperature, are found within floras from several sites. The fluctuation pattern, from a climate optimum in the Mid Miocene to cooling decline in the Late Miocene, is generally consistent with the global trend of Miocene temperature change. The reconstructed precipitation from all the sites studied shows much wetter conditions in North China during the Miocene than at present, which corroborates the results from paleoprecipitation proxy of fossil mammals. Like the situation in paleo-temperature, the Miocene precipitation from North China shows no distinct difference between the western and eastern regions. It is suggested that North China, particularly in the western part, was by no means under an arid or semi-arid environment during the Miocene. North China is an ideal region for study of the impact of the East Asian monsoon system, however, the pattern of precipitation change derived from the monsoon index (MSH) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) shows contradictory results. Therefore, there appears no definite conclusion on when the East Asian summer monsoon intensified. Possible reasons for inconsistency in temperature and precipitation changes are discussed. Directions of future work to improve the resolution of climate evolution are also pointed out.

Compaction trend and its implication in the overpressures estimate for the formations of the Colombian Foothills of the Eastern Plains

The main objective of this article is to raise a hypothesis to explain the main causes of overpressure in the formations of the Tertiary sequence for the stratigraphic column of the Colombian Foothill. For this purpose it was conducted an analysis of compaction trends from the Guayabo Formation until the unit C8 of the Carbonera Formation; in the area of foreland, where the tectonic affectation has been minimal. This analysis integrates the most representative basins modeling and tectono-stratigraphic events for such sedimentary sequence. It mapped overpressure areas, comparing them with geological parameters such as the subsidence, uplift, heat flow and speeds of sedimentation, to identify relations of these parameters with the overpressure of the area. As the main result, it stresses the identification of different sedimentation and compacting rates for each tectono-stratigraphic sequence and its relationship with the overpressure of the formations. These differences are represented in specific equations presented in this work. One of the main conclusions relates the rapid uplift of the basin, occurred in mid Miocene and the lack of liberation of stresses; as one of the causes of the pressures that are currently observed.

A new eagle (Aves: Accipitridae) from the Mid Miocene Bullock Creek Fauna of northern Australia. In Proceedings of the VII International Meeting of the Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution, ed. W.E. Boles and T.H. Worthy

A large accipitrine bird of prey is described from the Mid Miocene Camfield Beds, Bullock Creek, Northern Territory, Australia, based on a distal humeral fragment. Comparisons with the larger living Australian eagles show that this bird belongs in Aquila rather than Haliaeetus. It can be differentiated from living species of Aquila by morphology and size, and is here named as a new fossil species. This specimen comprises the oldest record of this genus in Australia, and possibly the oldest in the world.

Alkaline series related to Early-Middle Miocene intra-continental rifting in a collision zone: An example from Polatlı, Central Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract A large volcanic area (∼7600 km2), the Galatean Volcanic Province (GVP), developed in northwest Central Anatolia during the Miocene along the Neo-Tethys Ocean suture zone possibly by post-collisional processes. The GVP mainly comprises 20–14 My old acid to intermediate volcanites with a geochemical signature indicating a mantle source modified by earlier (Late Cretaceous) subduction-related events. 100 km south of the GVP, near Polatli, Ankara, basaltic rocks that cover large areas are intercalated with the Miocene deposits of the Beypazari basin, an intra-continental subsidence zone at the southwest of the GVP. Field observations, geochemistry and K–Ar age dating of the Polatli volcanites show that they are Early (19.9 Ma) to mid (14.1 Ma) Miocene in age, covering an area as large as 215 km2. Variations in lava thickness and the thickness of the underlying silicified/baked zones suggest that the basaltic lavas erupted from a southern source, possibly from the Eskisehir fault zone, and flowed northwards. Most Polatli samples have chemical compositions that indicate derivation from a mantle source with crustal contamination during ascent. They do not display any characteristic to suggest a subductional component. Although the GVP and Polatli lavas formed close in time and space, they were derived from different mantle sources. Considering the positions of these two magmatic regions with regard to the Tethyan suture zone, we propose that the mantle beneath the GVP and near the suture zone memorised the earlier subduction while the mantle beneath Polatli that is located about 100 km further from the suture zone remained apparently unchanged. After a significant volume of magma was consumed in the GVP, a later (∼10 My) and last activity (Guvem activity) has produced quantitatively much less basaltic rocks where this subductional signature seems to completely disappear. Considering that the western Anatolian crust is proposed to undergo extension since the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene times, the Early Miocene intra-plate Polatli activity may have developed within this extensional tectonic regime. Combined with regional data, Polatli data also provide broad estimations on how long a subductional event continues to modify the mantle after the subduction ceased (at least ∼20 My), how long the subductional signature is preserved during significant magmatism (between 6 and 10 My) and how far the subductional effect disappears laterally on the mantle with respect to the collision zone (