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Současný stav odkrytí fosiliferních karbonátů v Suchém Dole (Český masiv, lužická oblast, krkonošsko-jizerské krystalinikum)

The collection of fossils in the abandoned limestone (? Lower Cambrian) quarry in Suchý Důl close to Dolní Albeřice (eastern margin of the Krkonoše Mts.) became practically impossible after the end of mining and modification of the pit for private recreational purposes. However, in the last phase of mining (2016), hundreds of blocks of these limestones with a weight of 200 to 500 kg were used to reinforce the banks of the Lysečiny and Albeřice brooks and the retention reservoir on the Lysečiny brook. After several years of natural weathering of the surfaces, the primary and secondary textures in the limestones are very well preserved and distinct when viewed with the naked eye or a hand lens. In the summer of 2022, I examined about 10 m2 of mostly oolitic limestone surfaces with a hand lens and found several structures which were probably of organic origin. The total area of studiable limestone is estimated at 100–250 m2. Due to weathering of the surfaces, the possibility of collection of fossils culminates in the current years and will become negligible within 5–10 years. Only cross-sections through the potential biogenic structures were observed. They have an ovoid, elliptical, or triangular shape. This could indicate their affiliation to the Archaeocyatha group, two individuals of which have been already found in the quarry. The comparison with the previous findings suggests that the findings depicted in Fig. 1A–1D can represent preserved fragments of Archaeocyatha. A little crest of an irregularly sinusoid shape in Fig. 1E shows preservation similar to the primary textures, i.e. ooids. This suggests its organogenic origin. The size and course of the crest indicates that it could represent, for example, a cross-section through a trilobite cephalon. For comparison, a usual way of weathering of veins of secondary origin in limestone block is shown in Fig. 1F. In addition to their sharp contact, they are tightly folded, which is typical of deformed rocks. On the other hand, during the field work in 2022, any deformed, flattened or elongated ooids (as known, e.g., from the Ordovician ferrite ooids of the Barrandian area) were observed. It is suggested that during deformation, the ooids (primarily build of magnesium carbonate) “floated” in the ductile matrix (primarily calcite) similar to, for example, raisins in leavened dough. Therefore, the deformation, judging from the shape of the ooids, is small or negligible; in reality, however, the shells of the vast majority of organisms were completely destroyed, “mixed up”. Acceptance of this idea then explains why the Albeřice carbonates are so poor in fossils, although the oolitic facies gives the impression of a rock that is not deformed or recrystallized at all and the carbonates point to a revived, climatically favourable, rather shallow marine environment. However, the results of a field research in August 2022 show that the search for fossils in the limestones around Albeřice is currently (and will be for at most 10 years) in a promising state, due to the use of the Albeřice blocks as a flood control measure in the villages and their gradual selective weathering. A very fragmentary preservation of fossils can be expected.

A phasianid bird from the Pleistocene of Tainan: the very first avian fossil from Taiwan

Taiwan accommodates more than 600 avian species, including about 30 endemic ones. As yet, however, no fossil birds have been scientifically documented from Taiwan, so that the evolutionary origins of this diversified avifauna remain elusive. Here we report on the very first fossil bird from Taiwan. This Pleistocene specimen, a distal end of the left tarsometatarsus, shows diagnostic features of the galliform Phasianidae, including an asymmetric plantar articular facet trochlea metatarsi III. Our discovery of a Pleistocene phasianid from Taiwan opens a new perspective on studies of the evolution of the avifauna in Taiwan because the fossil shows that careful search for fossils in suitable localities has the potential of recovering avian remains. In general, East Asia has an extremely poor avian fossil record, especially if terrestrial birds are concerned, which impedes well-founded evolutionary scenarios concerning the arrival of certain groups in the area. The Phasianidae exhibit a high degree of endemism in Taiwan, and the new fossil presents the first physical evidence for the presence of phasianids on the island, some 400,000–800,000 years ago. The specimen belongs to a species the size of the three larger phasianids occurring in Taiwan today (Syrmaticus mikado, Lophura swinhoii, and Phasianus colchicus). Still, an unambiguous assignment to either of these species is not possible due to the incomplete nature of the left tarsometatarsus. Because the former two species are endemic to Taiwan, the fossil has the potential to yield the first data on their existence in the geological past of Taiwan if future finds allow identification on species-level.

Pterodactyloid pterosaur bones from Cretaceous deposits of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Fossil vertebrates from Antarctica are considerably rare, hampering our understanding of the evolutionary history of the biota from that continent. For several austral summers, the PALEOANTAR project has been carrying out fieldwork in the Antarctic Peninsula in search for fossils, particularly Cretaceous vertebrates. Among the specimens recovered so far are two bones referable to Pterosauria, more specifically to the Pterodacyloidea, the first volant reptiles from Antarctica to be fully described. MN 7800-V (part and counterpart) was recovered from a moraine at the Abernathy Flats (Santa Marta Formation, Lachman Crags Member, Santonian-Campanian) on James Ross Island. It is interpreted as the distal articulation of a first phalanx of the wing finger, representing an animal with an estimated wingspan between 3 and 4 m. The second specimen (MN 7801-V) comes from Vega Island (Snow Hill Island Formation, Maastrichtian) and is identified as a wing metacarpal IV of an animal with an estimated wingspan from 4 to 5 m. These occurrences show that pterodactyloids inhabited the Antarctic Peninsula at least during the Upper Cretaceous and demonstrate that large pterosaurs were widespread through all parts of the planet during that period.

Quest for the Lost World, or palaeontological geotourism

Palaeontological geotourism could be one of many forms of propagating geological values of a country. It can meet the expectations of many tourists. For this broad category of people, paleontological tourism can instill curiosity about the extinct world, offering them places where they can feel like explorers, visiting these sites with a hammer and a chisel. Many of them will cherish the memories of adventures made during the search in the future, and some will find a new passion. Similar practices are used in Germany, for example, in Solnhofen or Holzmaden, where fossil exploration is available for a small fee. In most regions of Poland, you can find numerous places with fossils that anyone can search for. The greatest number of such sites can be found in the south of Poland, in the uplands and mountains, but also at the seaside, where the practice of palaeontological geotourism is possible. In the Holy Cross Mountains, the Sudetes, or in the Silesian-Cracow region, there are places where one finds fossils of plants or animals, including trace fossils. The only effort required in addition to the search for fossils is to develop guidelines and prepare guides for amateurs that quest for the lost world.

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous Sânpetru Formation (Haţeg Basin, Romania) using paleosols and implications for the “disappearance” of dinosaurs

Paleosols of the Late Cretaceous Sânpetru Formation (Haţeg Basin, Romania) are the subject of macroscopic, microscopic, and geochemical investigation in order to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions in which dinosaurs lived. Study of overbank deposits present in an 860-m-thick stratigraphic interval of the Sânpetru Formation exposed along the Sibişel Valley reveals the presence of one facies and five different pedotypes: 1) finely laminated gray-green mudstones and siltstones interpreted as pond deposits; 2) bioturbated gray-green mudstones lacking macroscopic pedogenic features, interpreted as very poorly-developed hydromorphic paleosols; 3) bioturbated gray-green mudstones containing carbonate concretions, interpreted as poorly-developed hydromorphic paleosols; 4) mottled gray-green mudstones containing carbonate concretions and limited illuvial clay accumulation, interpreted as moderately-developed paleosols characterized by a high but fluctuating watertable; 5) bioturbated brown-red mudstones lacking macroscopic pedogenic features other than the occasional mottles, interpreted as poorly-developed paleosols that formed on the higher and better-drained floodplains; and 6) bioturbated brown-red mudstones containing carbonate nodules, interpreted as moderately-developed calcareous paleosols that formed on distal floodplain settings. Although limited exposure prevents the documentation of lateral relationships of pedotypes, the presence of paleosol profiles that display characteristics of two different pedotypes suggests that they represent a lateral continuum on the landscape related to local differences in hydrology and relief (i.e., catena). The pedotype assemblage reveals that the Sânpetru landscape was a mosaic of wetlands, seasonal wetlands, and better-drained floodplain habitats, similar to the present-day Indogangetic Plains. Pedogenic features and paleosol geochemistry indicate that the Maastrichtian climate of Romania was subhumid (< 1000 mm rain/year) and characterized by strongly seasonal precipitation. The distribution of pedotypes through the Sânpetru Formation reveals small- and large-scale palaeoenvironmental changes associated with the shifting of a complex mosaic of wet and dry habitats in response to shifts in river position on the alluvial plain. However, a major palaeoenvironmental change occurs in the upper Sânpetru Formation, where the region was transformed into extensive wetlands. Such dramatic changes coincide with river competence increase, change in palaeocurrent directions, and dearth of macrovertebrate remains, which had been previously misinterpreted as evidence for the disappearance of dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. These palaeoenvironmental changes, induced by tectonism, are responsible for the shift from preservation of macrofossils concentrated by hydraulic processes into conspicuous lenticular bonebeds in the lower Sânpetru Formation to preservation of microfossil, and more rarely macrofossil, remains in hydromorphic calcareous paleosols in the upper Sânpetru Formation. The consequences of palaeoenvironmental changes on vertebrate preservation mode must be considered in the search for fossils and interpretation of the fossil record.

Acceptance of the Waldemar Lindgren Award for 2002

Thank you very much, Nic, for the kind introduction. Mr. President, members of the Society, guests and friends: it is a great honor for me to accept the 2002 Waldemar Lindgren Award. What influences a young person to study in the field of geosciences in general, and economic geology in particular? Certainly, there are many explanations for this decision, but it appears to me that personal exposure––often at a very young age––to rocks, minerals, ores, and mines is the most common driving force. My career choice was no exception. As a child, I had the full view of headgear and washing plant of an abandoned iron ore mine from my bedroom window. At the age of 10 I spent first hours roaming the old mining dumps in the search for fossils and minerals. I have to be grateful to my parents, Ingrid and Heinz Gutzmer, for their support in what was then a rather eccentric pastime. Soon, I was so fortunate to be introduced to Siegfried Flach, one of those dedicated enthusiasts that do not only collect minerals and rocks, but who identify and describe them very accurately using little else but a binocular microscope, a series of good textbooks and a large dose of common sense. My decision to study mineralogy and economic geology at the Technical University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, at the …

The Adelaide Geosyncline: A Century of Controversy

Late Proterozoic (Adelaidean) to Late Cambrian sediments of the Adelaide Geosyncline form a mountainous backbone to South Australia. Geological studies of the region date back to the beginning of European exploration and colonisation, although these were limited until the 1940s due to the small, isolated nature of the geological community. No detailed understanding of this extensive region emerged until the beginning of the twentieth century when sections were measured and the significance of widespread Late Precambrian glaciation was recognised. The search for fossils has been long and often unsuccessful. Trilobites and archaeocyatha, which were later determined as Cambrian, were found as early as 1879. The internationally famous Ediacara fauna was discovered in 1946. Unusual piercement structures containing breccias were only widely mapped after World War Two with a diapiric origin being proposed in 1960. In 1952, the province was classified as basically miogeo-synclinal with a late stage eugeosyncline in the southeast. This has recently been reinterpreted in terms of plate tectonics.

The Geology of 'Sense and Sensibility'

'Her novels are geological structures, the earliest layer going back to her earliest writings'.1 The metaphor is a graphic expression of the central perception of Mrs Leavis's 'Critical Theory', a stimulating and controversial account of Jane Austen as a working novelist. Mrs Leavis chose to work out her theory in detail through two chief instances, the expansion of Lady Susan into Mansfield Park and the writing up of The Watsons as Emma, both of which have proved vulnerable to challenge.2 In the light of the general scepticism that the 'Critical Theory' as a whole has provoked, it is curious to observe that one of Mrs Leavis's subsidiary suggestions has not only passed unchallenged but has even attracted critical support from writers hostile to the 'Critical Theory' as a general proposition. This is her observation that 'one of the special features' of Sense and Sensibility 'is that we can by inspection see how it was evolved, for its successive layers are still perceptible'.3 Mr Southam, who rejects Mrs Leavis's theory as a whole, joins her in the search for fossils of the early version of Sense and Sensibility. There is no necessary inconsistency in this, for there is reliable evidence preserved in the Austen family that Sense and Sensibility was based on an early novel (now lost) called 'Elinor and Marianne'. Nevertheless, I believe that the search for such fossils is unwarranted and has proved an unwelcome distraction in studies of Sense and Sensibility. The earliest reference to 'Elinor and Marianne' is in Cassandra Austen's

Jefferson, Clark, and The Year of Blood’—A search for fossils in the midst of the revolution

A letter sent by Thomas Jefferson to George Rogers Clark is owned by Dr. Soldati. The letter concerns the remains of a mammoth found in Ohio and shows Jefferson’s interest in paleontology—even in the midst of the revolution. A letter sent by Thomas Jefferson to George Rogers Clark is owned by Dr. Soldati. The letter concerns the remains of a mammoth found in Ohio and shows Jefferson’s interest in paleontology—even in the midst of the revolution.