Remains Of Vertebrates Research Articles

Geology of the Black Mingo Group (Paleocene) in the Kingstree and St. Stephen Areas of South Carolina

PALEOCENE VERTEBRATE REMAINS from the areas of Kingstree and St. Stephen, South Carolina, come from the Rhems and Williamsburg formations of the Black Mingo Group. Sedimentary textures and fossils indicate that both units accumulated in shallow, nearshore marine, lagoonal, and deltaic depositional environments. Calcareous nannofossils and dinoflagellates indicate that the vertebrate-bearing portions of the Williamsburg Formation near St. Stephen belong within calcareous nannoplankton Zones NP 3-5 (Lower Bridge Member) and within calcareous nannoplankton zones NP 8-9 (Chicora Member). Paleocene vertibrate remains from Kingstree probably all come from near the base of the Rhems Formation. Introduction The towns of Kingstree and St. Stephen, located in the east-central part of the South Carolina Coastal Plain (Figure 1), lie within the outcrop belt of the richly fossiliferous Black Mingo Group. This group is composed of the Rhems Formation (lower Paleocene), the Williamsburg Formation (lower? and upper Paleocene), and the Fishburne Formation (lower Eocene) (Gohn et al., 1983). During the last two decades, numerous vertebrate fossils have been recovered from the vicinity of both towns. Remains that are of Paleocene age are the focus of this volume. Kingstree area In and near Kingstree, especially in Clapp Creek within the town limits (Erickson, 1998, this volume), vertebrate remains have been recovered largely by digging in small pits or ditches. These excavations have yielded a wide variety of fossils ranging from Late Cretaceous to Pliocene and/or Pleistocene in age. The stratigraphy in the immediate vicinity of these pits is poorly known. However, the abundant presence of phosphate pebbles and the generally worn and abraded appearance of most of the fossils strongly indicate that most of these

Earliest Acheulian Industry from Peninsular India

Decouverte d'un assemblage de 152 objets lithiques a Bori (Maharashtra, Inde) representant le plus ancien materiel connu de l'Acheuleen du subcontinent indien

Relative Abundances of Skeletal Specimens and Taphonomic Analysis of Vertebrate Remains

Attempts to establish relative frequencies of skeletal parts as distinctive of particular bone accumulating and depositional agents have a deep history in taphonomic research. Various authors have developed a set of mathematically equiualent statistics and equations all of which are meant to measure the relative or percentage frequencies of skeletal parts. None of these clearly accounts for differential fragmentation of skeletal elements in part because the quantitative units used in them are not explicitly defined. Comparisons of frequencies of skeletal parts deposited by different bone-accumulating agents and reported by different analysts may thus be comparisons of differential fragmentation rather than differential deposition of skeletal parts

Two species of the genus Eryx (Serpentes; Boidae; Erycinae) from the Spanish Neogene with comments on the past distribution of the genus in Europe

AbstractSnakes of the living genus Eryx were widely distributed in countries lying between the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the period between the end of lower Miocene to the late Pliocene. Vertebral remains of Eryx reported from two Spanish localities, the uppermost Miocene (MN 13) of Salobreña and the middle Pliocene (MN 15) of Gorafe 5, belong to E. cf. E. jaculus and E. primitivus sp. nov., respectively. The available fossil record sugests that most representatives of Eryx inhabiting Europe in the past were similar to the recent Asiatic members of the genus. However, E. primitivus sp. nov., displaying primitive conditions in its caudal osteology, probably represented an early offshoot of a hypothetical ancestral stock leading to the extant species of Eryx.

Diet and Foraging Behavior of Blanford's Foxes, Vulpes cana, in Israel

Blanford's fox, Vulpes cana , was discovered in Israel in 1981, and has not been studied systematically in the wild. Herein we document diet and related aspects of its ecology at two study sites, 300 km apart. Feces ( n = 344) collected from known individual Blanford's foxes revealed that invertebrates and plant material were major foods. In Eilat Mountains Nature Reserve (by the Red Sea) 98.1% and in Ein Gedi (by the Dead Sea) 92.5% of all samples contained remains of invertebrates. Frequencies of occurrence of plant material in the feces ranged between 60–70%, and in Eilat Mountains Nature Reserve 50% of those samples contained seeds of the caperbush, Capparis cartilaginea . Remains of vertebrates averaged 12%. No differences in diet composition were detected between seasons or sexes within each location, but significant differences were found between the two locations. Diet did not differ significantly between neighboring pairs.

Earliest known Australian Tertiary mammal fauna

REMAINS of Early Eocene vertebrates from freshwater clays near Murgon, southeastern Queensland, represent Australia's oldest marsupials, bats, non-volant placentals, frogs, madtsoiid snakes, trionychid turtles1and birds. Radiometric dating of illites forming part of the matrix of the mammal-bearing zone has given a minimum age estimate of 54.6 ± 0.05 x 106 years, which is roughly twice as old as any marsupials previously known from Australia2 and well before the 38 million year (Myr) separation of Australia from Antarctica/South America3. All marsupials so far known from the Tingamarra Local Fauna are more derived (being dilambdodont) than peradectids. None of them is clearly a member of a previously known Australian family, but some could be uniquely plesiomorphic dasyuroids or perameloids. Another is autapomorphically specialized and indicative of at least partial isolation of the Australian portion of Gondwana. Here we report on the discovery of a tooth of the earliest non-volant placental known from Australia, Tingamarra porterorum gen.et sp. nov., which seems to be a condylarth-like placental mammal. The presence of non-volant placentals in the Early Tertiary of Australia challenges a common presumption that marsupials dominated Australia's therian assemblages because of failure of such placentals to reach Australia before the Late Tertiary.

Taphonomy of Paleogene and Neogene vertebrate assemblages

The Paleogene of Wyoming and Montana and the Neogene Siwaliks of Pakistan contain deposits representing a wide variety of terrestrial environments. Although fossils are preserved in all of these environments, fossil vertebrates are abundant in only certain facies. These principal preservational environments vary within and, particularly, between formations in each region.The Bighorn and Crazy Mountain basins of Wyoming and Montana contain abundant remains of Paleocene and Eocene vertebrates. Over 1800 localities in this region have been established in the Paleocene Fort Union and Paleocene to Eocene Willwood formations. The distribution of vertebrate remains changes dramatically upsection in this sequence. The Fort Union consists of thick fluvial sandstones and minor swampy floodplain mudstones in the lower part, and more widely separated channel sandstones interbedded with better drained floodplain deposits that include paleosol horizons in the upper part. These changes reflect a local increase in aggradation rate. Vertebrates are preserved almost exclusively in channel mud-clast conglomerates in the lower part of the formation, but appear in a wider variety of environments (channels, splays, swamps, and paleosols) in the upper part. The Willwood Formation continues the changes evident in the upper Fort Union. With increased aggradation rates, floodplain deposits became thicker and more well drained. Except for rare occurrences in other environments (channels, a variety of calcareous environments, and oxbows), fossils are recovered primarily from paleosol horizons developed in fine grained floodplain deposits.The Fort Union channel deposits contain assemblages that are often highly biased samples of faunal composition with large aquatic taxa well represented and small terrestrial forms unevenly represented. The upper Fort Union and Willwood floodplain paleosols contain more homogeneous (and therefore comparable) assemblages. These paleosols differ systematically, however, in terms of soil maturity and vertebrate composition, and they are commonly biased against large or aquatic taxa.The distribution of Siwalik vertebrate localities among sedimentary environments is known for four formations spanning early middle to late Miocene: Kamlial, Chinji, Nagri, and Dhok Pathan. The principal deposits in which fossils occur are: major stream channel complexes, secondary (floodplain) channels, crevasse splays, and floodplains. The Kamlial and Nagri formations, dominated by coarse lithologies (>50% sandstone), are notably less productive of fossil localities than the Chinji and Dhok Pathan formations, dominated by fine grained lithologies (>50% mudstone). In the Kamlial and Nagri formations, major channel complexes form the most prevalent environment, and more localities are associated with these channels than with any other environment. In the Chinji and Dhok Pathan formations, the most prevalent environment is floodplain, but more localities are associated with the secondary channels on these floodplains than with any other environment. In the Chinji Formation, most localities developed in secondary channels occur in fining-upward fill sequences, whereas in the Dhok Pathan Formation, most sites in these channels occur in their lag deposits. In these more productive formations, the abundance of certain mammalian taxa is correlated with specific depositional environments. Change upsection in the abundance of these taxa could result largely from change in facies productivity.The taphonomy of the two areas is similar in that channel lag deposits are an important source of fossil vertebrates. The major difference is that the Rocky Mountain Paleogene contains fewer, but highly productive, environments that changed significantly through time, including the Eocene emergence of floodplain paleosols as the primary environment of vertebrate preservation.

Miocene Bats from the Lower Valentine Formation of Northeastern Nebraska

Two specimens of Microchiroptera are described from the middle Miocene locality known as “Annies Geese Cross” in the lower Valentine Formation in Knox Co., Nebraska. They occurred among remains of vertebrates and plants indicative of a subtropical sluggish-stream paleocommunity. An edentulous dentary probably represents the widespread genus Myotis. A skull fragment exhibits a unique double infraorbital foramen and is named as a new genus and species of Vespertilionidae.

Oxygen-related biofacies in marine strata: an overview and update

Abstract Recent studies of contemporary basins and ancient strata have provided a basis for expanding and refining early oxygen-related marine biofacies models. New observations permit higher resolution in palaeoecological, palaeoceanographic, and basin analyses. Five oxygen-related biofacies are currently recognized. (1) Anaerobic biofacies: well-laminated strata lacking in situ macro- and microbenthic body fossils and microbioturbation; may contain well-preserved remains of nektonic vertebrates, epiplanktonic or otherwise transported invertebrates, and faecal material of planktonic and/or nektonic origin. (2) Quasi-anaerobic biofacies: laminated strata, subtly disrupted by microbioturbation, containing microbenthic body fossils but lacking in situ macrobenthic body fossils; allochthonous body fossils and recognizable planktonic faecal material may be common. (3) Exaerobic biofacies: laminated strata similar to that of anaerobic or quasianaerobic biofacies but containing in situ epibenthic macroinvertebrate body fossils. (4) Dysaerobic biofacies: bioturbated strata characterized by low-diversity assemblages of relatively small, poorly calcified macrobenthic body fossils or absence of body fossils altogether. (5) Aerobic biofacies: bioturbated strata (where physical processes do not dominate) containing diverse assemblages of relatively large, heavily calcified macrobenthic body fossils. Recognition of these biofacies facilitates the recognition of relative palaeo-oxygenation gradients along the seafloor, vertically across the sediment-water interface, and through time. Application of sensitive trace-fossil models permits even more detailed reconstructions of benthic oxygenation histories for bioturbated strata, particularly those that fall within the previously defined dysaerobic realm.

Danish Finds of Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach)) Stratigraphical position, dating and evidence of Late Pleistocene environment

A catalogue of all known remains of mammoth in Denmark is presented, comprising 125 finds. Half of the mammoth material is molars, which are morphologically referred to Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach), a third is tusk, and the rest is bone fragments. 14 specimens of mammoth have been C-14 dated. 13 samples have ages from older than 40 000 to ca 21500 C-14 years B.P., and one sample gave an age of ca 13200 C-14 years B.P. As the skeletal material is redeposited, these dates at the same time give maximum ages of the glacial deposits in which they are found. On the basis of this evidence the glacial development during the Weichselian is reviewed. An ice-free period from before 45000 B.P. to around 20 000 years B.P. is indicated. A mammoth tusk from the Tirstrup sandur on Djursland, dated to 13240 +760/-690 B.P., marks an important stage in the ice retreat in Denmark, and shows that the mammoth re-immigrates after the maximum expansion of the Weichselian ice. Remains of other Late Pleistocene vertebrates are also mentioned. On the basis of floral and faunal remains the environmental changes during the Late Pleistocene are then reconstructed. The ice-free period in the Middle Weichselian was characterized by a steppe biome, which may appropriately be termed the mammoth steppe. This Weichselian environment seems to be incomparable to any environment known today.

A procynosuchid cynodont from central Europe

Diversified assemblages of non-mammalian synapsids (or mammal-like reptiles) have long been known from the Upper Permian of southern Africa1 and the Russian Platform2. In contrast, Upper Permian deposits in central and western Europe have rarely yielded remains of terrestrial vertebrates. The German Kupferschiefer (basal Zechstein 1) and its English equivalent, the Marl Slate, have yielded several reptiles: the gliding diapsid Coelurosauravus3 (also known from the Lower Sakamena Formation of Madagascar3−4), the archosauromorph Protorosaurus5, and the pareiasaur Parasaurus6. The Cuttie's Hillock Sandstone of northern Scotland has yielded the pareiasaur Elginia and two dicynodont synapsids and is regarded as equivalent to the Daptocephalus zone of southern Africa7−8. We report here the discovery of an incomplete left dentary of Procynosuchus from a fissure-filling in limestones, the so-called Randkalk, of the lower Zechstein in the Fisseler quarry, 1 km south of Korbach, northern Hessen (West Germany). This cynodont mammal-like reptile has previously only been known from the uppermost Permian of sub-Saharan Africa1−9. Its presence supports a latest Permian (Tatarian) age for the European Zechstein and, together with other tetrapods common to Europe and Africa/Madagascar, indicates a wide distribution of Late Permian terrestrial vertebrates.

Vertebrate Remains from Lekkerwater

Vertebrate Remains from Lekkerwater

Vertebrate Remains in Pellets of the Barn Owl, Tyto Alba, From Planet Downs Station, South-Western Queensland.

Vertebrate remains in a collection of barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets from south-western Queensland were largely those of mammals, including Rattus villosissimus, Mus musculus, Leggadina forresti, Planigale tenuirostris, Sminthopsis macroura and S. crassicaudata. R. villosissimus was the most common prey item. P. tenuirostris had not been recorded previously from the area. Other vertebrate remains included those of birds, lizards and frogs. Some insects were also found in the pellets.

Vertebrate Remains from Two Sites on Moreton Island, Queensland

Vertebrate remains from two sites on Moreton Island, Queensland show that fish remains from Family Sparidae are dominant in this area. The paper represents the first tentative steps towards an archaeological approach to the study of the prehistoric diet in the Moreton region. The vertebrate remains from two sites Minner Dint and Toulkerrie are presented here.

Taphonomic investigations of owl pellets

Owls are important consumers of small vertebrates, and because they regurgitate pellets rich in bone, they may be important potential contributors of the concentrated remains of small vertebrates to the fossil record. Owls of three sizes, the large great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), the medium-sized barn owl (Tyto alba), and the small screech owl (Otus asio), were fed a common diet of mice. The bony contents of the pellets were analyzed to determine the amount of bone loss by digestion, bone completeness, and sites of bone breakage. For all three species, only about half the number of bones ingested were recovered in the pellets. Mandibles and femora were most abundant, and pelves and scapulae were the least abundant. Screech owls broke 80% of the cranial and limb elements, barn owls only 30%. Skulls fared poorly in great horned and screech owl pellets, while barn owls returned 80% of the skulls intact, with only the caudal portion of the cranium damaged; barn owls also returned articulated strings of vertebrae and complete paws. These results provide a baseline for the recognition of owls as agents of accumulation of small bones in the fossil record and suggest that the actions of ancient predators may be revealed by species-specific patterns of bone destruction of an assemblage of fossil prey species.

Restes de vertebres et de mollusques continentauxdans le Villafranchien de la Sardaigne

Remains of vertebrates of Villafranchian age have been found in the Nuraghe Su Casteddu (Nuoro, Sardinia) formation. The fossiliferous layer contain a rich fauna of continental molluscs. The composition of the vertebrate fauna is as follows: Rana sp., ? Coluber sp., Aves indet., Episoriculus aff. gibberodon PETENYI, Talpa sp., Chiroptera indet. and Rodentia indet. It is the first discovery of Villafranchian vetebrates in Sardinia.

Paleoecology of Dinosaur Provincial Park (Cretaceous), Alberta, interpreted from the distribution of articulated vertebrate remains

The distribution of articulated remains of fossil vertebrates is not uniform within the Oldman Formation (Campanian, Cretaceous) of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. The mesofauna gradually declines in importance from the west to the east, but a corresponding decline in megafauna does not occur until the eastern limit of the park is reached. The mesofauna is also impoverished low in the exposed section, although the megafauna is as abundant there as in higher levels. Woody vegetation may have supported 88% of the megafaunal herbivore biomass. A fine-grained mosaic of several vegetational types was superimposed on a broader west–east gradient of marsh–forest with an abundant mesofauna to an open woodland dominated by hadrosaurids. High densities of large ectothermic dinosaurs would have made intensive use of available vegetation and profoundly influenced landscapes. Distributions of vertebrates in sedimentary units resulting from normal environmental gradients should be distinguished from those postulated to be associated with the onset of changes that brought the Mesozoic to a close.

The vertebrate fauna of the type Cromerian

The rich vertebrate fauna of the Upper Freshwater Bed of West Runton, Norfolk. England (pollen assemblage zone Cr II) is described and related to vegetational conditions based on analysis of fossil pollen and macroscopic plant remains. The general picture is of fishes associated with aquatic plants in a slow‐flowing river, amphibious vertebrates living in water‐side habitats, and a terrestrial fauna generally reflecting a regional mixed oak forest cover, but also including grassland voles associated with local herb‐dominated communities on the river floodplain. The fossil assemblage appears to have accumulated largely from the remains of terrestrial vertebrates washed in as the river eroded its banks. A reassessment of the fossil voles indicates that only five species occur, although ten were previously described. The sparse fauna from the overlying marine gravel (zone Cr III) is also discussed. On the basis of vertebrate faunas and other evidence, sites in England and Germany arc correlated with the type Cromerian.

A New Species of Camel (Genus Camelops) from the Pleistocene of Aguascalientes, Mexico

Camelops traviswhitei, from the Cedazo local fauna, Tacubaya Formation, medial Pleistocene age, differs from described species of Camelops in sharply V-shaped lakes in both upper and lower cheek teeth, with moderately thick enamel on the labial sides of the lakes but very thin enamel on the lingual sides, and lacking cementum in the lakes. Other species of Camelops have bent-oval lakes, bordered on both lingual and labial sides by thick enamel, and filled with cementum. During the past 18 years the senior author has gathered remains of medial Pleistocene vertebrates from the small ravines southeast of the City of Aguascalientes, State of Aguascalientes, in Central Mexico. Some of these fossils have been reported (e.g. Mooser 1955, 1959; Hibbard and Mooser 1963; Alvarez and Ferrusquia 1967). In the collection there are many specimens of camels, including represen- tatives of two species of the genus Camelops. One of these is similar to Camelops hesternus Leidy, best known from the Rancho La Brea of California (Webb 1965), and we have referred remains of this kind to Camelops cf. hesternus. The second species is distinct from C. cf. hesternus and all currently recognized species of the genus. It may be known as:

A New Species of Four-Horned Antilocaprid from Mexico

A new species of antilocaprid from the Cedazo local fauna, Tacu- baya Formation, late medial Pleistocene age, near the City of Aguascalientes, State of Aguascalientes, Mexico, is characterized by long posterior horn cores with straight external sulci; short, flat, anterior horn cores, almost cone-shaped in lateral view, with straight sulci; and horn cores not set so far out on the orbits as other antilocaprids. During the past 18 years Dr. Oswaldo Mooser has gathered remains of late medial Pleistocene vertebrates from the small ravines southeast of the City of Aguascalientes, State of Aguascalientes, in central Mexico. A number of these fossils have been reported (for example, Mooser, 1959; Hibbard and Mooser, 1963; Alvarez and Ferrusquia, 1967). Dr. Mooser has permitted me to describe a new species of antilocaprid from his collection that is markedly different from other members of the family.