Paleontology - Science topic

The palaeontological collections of the Natural History Museum Karlsruhe (SMNK) contain over 70,000 specimens. One of the most significant parts of these collections is the fossils of the Messel Pit near Darmstadt, Germany. These collections started with regular excavations conducted by the SMNK during the 1980s and early 1990s. The fossil collecti...

The concept of equifinality is a central issue in taphonomy, conditioning an analyst's ability to interpret the formation and functionality of palaeontological and archaeological sites. This issue lies primarily in the methods available to identify and characterise microscopic bone surface modifications (BSMs) in archaeological sites. Recent years...

Preserved records of tooth–bone interactions, known as tooth marks, can yield a wealth of information regarding organismal behavior and ecology. For this reason, workers in a wide range of disciplines, but particularly paleontology, have inspected and interpreted these features for decades. Although previous studies have gleaned invaluable insights...

This paper presents the current state of the paleontological reserve at Globu Craiovei (Iablanița commune, Caraș-Severin county, Romania) and the collections originating from this geosite: the Emil Pop collection-unpublished and the Luciana Hinculov collection-published; these collections are hosted by the National Geological Museum. The fossil sit...

This article critically examines the methodologies applied in ancient DNA (aDNA) research, particularly those developed by Dr. P\"a\"abo's team, which have significantly influenced the field. The focus is on the challenges of distinguishing original in situ DNA (oriDNA) from environmental DNA (eDNA) contamination in fossil samples. Recent analyses...

The Albertine Region of Uganda, an integral part of the Great Rift Valley, have a diverse array of geosites with exceptional geoheritage value. Despite the region's immense geological, geomorphological, structural, palaeontological, stratigraphic and mineralogical significance, as well as its potential as a prime geotourism destination, there is a...

A new occurrence of uppermost Aptian-Albian sedimentary deposits has been identified in the southern part of the Reşiţa-Moldova Nouă zone along the road connecting the Moldova Nouă and Padina Matei localities. For the first time, these deposits are cartographically represented on the geological map 1:50.000 scale. This report also includes a brief...

This groundbreaking research extracted DNA from petroleum using nanoparticle affinity bead technology, yielding 3,159,020 petroleum DNA (pDNA) sequences, primarily environmental DNA. While most original in situ DNA (oriDNA) was lost, ancient DNA (aDNA) from petroleum offers an important source of ecological and evolutionary information, surpassing...

High quality ancient DNA (aDNA) is essential for molecular paleontology. Due to DNA degradation and contamination by environmental DNA (eDNA), current research is limited to fossils less than 1 million years old. The study successfully extracted DNA from Lycoptera davidi fossils from the Early Cretaceous period, dating 120 million years ago. Using...

Objectives Previous studies report that geometric measures of incisor size and curvature in extant anthropoid primates correspond to dietary differences. However, other methodologies of assessing incisor shape variation, such as dental topographic analysis, have not been considered. Materials and Methods This study measures Relief Index (RFI), lin...

Introdução. Paleontologia, a Ciência que estuda a vida pré-histórica por meio de fósseis, tem grande importância no ensino das Ciências Naturais, pois é capaz de promover a compreensão de processos evolutivos e biológicos. No entanto, é raramente abordada nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, limitando o aprendizado sobre o passado da Terra. Int...

The transition between the Paleocene and Eocene epochs (ca. 56 Ma) was marked by a period of rapid global warming of 5 °C to 8 °C following a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) lasting 200 ky or less referred to as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The PETM precipitated a significant shift in the composition of North American floral communit...

Origin of eukaryotes, fossil protists, paleontology

Large canids (wolves, dogs, and coyote) and people form a close relationship in northern (subarctic and arctic) so-cioecological systems. Here, we document the antiquity of this bond and the multiple ways it manifested in interior Alaska, a region key to understanding the peopling of the Americas and early northern lifeways. We compile original and...

INTRODUCCIÓN La Geología en Educación Primaria La secuencia didáctica que se presenta en este trabajo está pensada para ser implementada en el último ciclo de Educación Primaria, pero es perfecta-mente válida en la Enseñanza Secundaria Obligato-ria o incluso en niveles superiores. Es decisión del docente el evaluar la idoneidad de la secuencia para...

The Tiout Formation in the Djebel Amour is characterized by an overall terrestrial deposit settled in a continental fluvial context with marine influence, commonly known in the literature as 'Continental Intercalaire'. The ichnological investigation of the upper part of this formation reveals a low diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate trace fos...

Thailand is located on the main route of faunal exchange and human dispersion during the Pleistocene and is straddled on two biozoogeographic subregions: the Sundaic and Indochinese subregion. During the Pleistocene, the diversity of the fauna community was more important in relation to the region's environmental characteristics and paleogeography....

Paleohistology provides a significant amount of information on the physiology and evolution of ancient organisms through the study of their fossilized tissues' microstructure. Such discipline has been increasingly applied in vertebrate research over the years, however comprehensive and up‐to‐date methodological resources are lacking. In the specifi...

Abstract. The article presents results of a study of the single-layer Early Upper Paleolithic site Stolbova 3 located in the lower reaches of the Kuda River valley 12 km northwest of Irkutsk in the vicinity of the village of Stolbova., Geoarchaeological studies were conducted at the location in 2012-2013 and 2019. As a result of which relative and...

21-23 жовтня 2024 р.). Київ, 2024. …с. У збірнику представлено тези доповідей наукової конференції «Стратиграфія осадових басейнів України», яка проходила в Інституті геологічних наук НАН України 21-23 жовтня 2024 р. На конференції заслухані доповіді присвячені біо-та літостратиграфії осадових басейнів фанерозою і венду України, вдосконаленню страт...

The accounting of cultural ecosystem services is challenging due to its intangible nature, which presents a significant difficulty in current ecosystem service value assessments. The current lack of targeted monitoring surveys and data collection systems has led to deficiencies of relevant accounting parameters and input data, hindering progress in...

Este trabajo presenta el perfil de Gerardo Botero Arango (1911-1986) desde sus múltiples facetas como científico, docente, ingeniero, colega, amigo y miembro de familia, a partir de su correspondencia académica y personal, así como de recuerdos de su familia más cercana, en conmemoración de los 60 años de la publicación de su trabajo “Contribución...

Population expansions and contractions out of and into Africa since the early Pleistocene have influenced the course of human evolution. While local- and regional-scale investigations have provided insights into the drivers of Eurasian hominin dispersals, a continental-scale and integrated study of hominin-environmental interactions across Palearct...

Contribution to the knowledge of the quaternary faunas of Orgnac 3 in Ardèche, France. Paleontological and archaeozoological study. Paleoecological and biostratigraphic implication Contribution à la connaissance des faunes quaternaires d'Orgnac 3 en Ardèche, France. Eude paléontologique et archéozoologique. implication paléoécologique et biostrati...

The Megafauna3D project integrates advanced 3D scanning technologies and paleontological research to bring the extinct megafauna of Uruguay to formal and informal educational settings. Through the use of digitized fossil models, interactive education materials, and a web platform, the project engages the public and educational institutions in under...

Wilhelm Friedberg was an eminent naturalist whose scientific interests scoped on Miocene geology and palaeontology of Poland and Western Ukraine. He left behind a significant scientific legacy: several scientific publications and a wealth of collections. The most outstanding work of W. Friedberg was a large two-volume monograph, the first part of w...

Throughout the Earth's history, the extinct and extant organisms have played and still play a major role in building and shaping the geological record. Both micro- and macroorganisms can drive biomineralization, i.e., the processes by which minerals are deposited in the biological matrix of living organisms, or can mediate geochemical and mineraliz...

Helmuth Plessner es considerado como uno de los iniciadores de la Antropología filosófica tal como se entiende en la actualidad: una reflexión filosófica atenta a los datos de la biología, la paleontología, la cultura o la historia. En 1928 publicó Niveles de la vida orgánica y el ser humano, inédita al castellano hasta octubre de 2022. En este art...

Fifty‐six million years ago a massive flux of exogenic carbon was rapidly released into Earth's oceans and atmosphere during the Paleocene‐Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The warming associated with this release persisted for ∼200 kyr. It had severe impacts on ocean environments, global ecosystems, and the hydrologic cycle. Yet, regional patterns of...

The area of the city of Shenzhen at the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, China, comprises rocks that preserve, with few interruptions, around 1.8 billion years of geological history. However, to date, only few scientific studies within a palaeontological context have been conducted on the sediment rocks in Shenzhen. Herein, the fossil recor...

Sampling (or sample) bias is a widespread concern in scientific research, across several disciplines. The concept of sampling bias originated in statistical studies. The consequence of a biased sample is that scientists will conclude about a population different from their target. In paleontology, sampling bias is typically related to fieldwork con...

One of the five greatest mass extinction events in the history of life occurred at the end of the Triassic (~ 201 million years ago), as confirmed by profound loss of life in marine realm. Terrestrial ecosystems were also suffered but the extent of life loss and timing of subsequent recovery remain equivocal, largely because of scarcity of fossil r...

The species is the basic unit of analysis in systematic paleontology. Yet, for most of its history the subfield of paleoanthropology has lacked any coherent concept of what fossil species are, using the species epithet variously at different times – most recently, with the conspicuous effect of minimizing apparent diversity among the hominins. The...

Genome-wide premortem DNA methylation patterns can be computationally reconstructed from high-coverage DNA sequences of ancient samples. Because DNA methylation is more conserved across species than across tissues, and ancient DNA is typically extracted from bones and teeth, previous works utilizing ancient DNA methylation maps focused on studying...

As a result of field work carried out in the framework of the long-termed Republic research program "Paleontology and stratigraphy of Aktau Mountains, Dzhungarian Alatau" a new Eocene fauna of vertebrates was discovered in the region. The available material allows us to specify an age of the lower part of the stratigraphical section situated in the...

The fossil record is the defining tool of palaeosciences as the only direct evidence of the geographic and temporal distribution of traits, species and lineages. The fossil record preserves a very small percentage of all organisms which have lived on Earth; and the chances of any particular organism being preserved are determined by multiple factor...

A small, pristinely preserved specimen recently collected from the Dolese Brothers limestone quarry near Richards Spur, Oklahoma provides evidence for the presence of a new early Permian parareptile at this locality. The specimen includes an articulated, nearly complete skull roof, and with the right premaxilla, right quadratojugal, most of the rig...

During the Triassic, fish were the most abundant group of marine vertebrates-in terms of both species richness and number of niches they occupied-as indicated by their rich skeletal record. However, the Triassic ichthyolith record is relatively poor, unlike that from younger time periods, what skews the published palaeontological data heavily towar...

The primary objective of this research was to develop an integrated wetland condition index (IWCI) for lacustrine fringe wetlands (LFWs) in Lake Tana, Ethiopia, which has been highly impacted by recessionary agriculture, water hyacinth infestation, and both short- and long-term water level fluctuations (WLFs), as well as a heavy sediment load. The...

The invasion of terrestrial ecosystems by tetrapods (c. 375 million years [Ma]) represents one of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life on Earth. The success of tetrapods on land is linked to evolutionary novelties. Among these, the evolution of a tympanic ear contributed to mitigating the problem of an impedance mismatch betwee...

Batch paleogeographic point rotation (BPPR) is a PySpark-based extensible batch data point rotation method that accelerates rotation during paleogeographic reconstruction. Data point rotation is an important part of paleogeographic reconstruction and a significant tool for exploring the co-evolution of Earth and life. However, current point rotatio...

O coletivo Arqueologia e Pré-História, ao longo dos seus 10 anos, atuou em diferentes frentes para promover a divulgação científica da arqueologia e, mais recentemente, da paleontologia. Ocupou durante esse tempo diferentes espaços como site, canal no YouTube®, Facebook®, correio eletrônico e, nos últimos três anos, Instagram® e Twitter®. Nosso pri...

Elks from the cave near Glažuta: photographic and archival evidence: - In the summer of 1913, cavers of the Cave Exploration Society (Društvo za raziskovanje podzemnih jam) from Ljubljana explored the caves near Glažuta, between Ribnica and Kočevje. They found the bones of large mammals in one, called the Linija cave, that included the remains of e...

James Parkinson studied medicine at the London Hospital when he was 20 years old and then apothecary’s apprenticed to his father for 6 years and certified as a surgeon in 1784. Parkinson had a very successful medical career, being elected a member of the Medical Society of London in 1787. Throughout his medical career, Parkinson demonstrated an eno...

The experience and contributions of Abdel Wahid Gaziry (1941-1987) in the field of vertebrate palaeontology earned him the respect of the academic world, which recognized the importance of his discoveries and appreciated his dedication and commitment to research. In his short life, Abdel Wahid Gaziry published a significant body of work on Neogene...

The frozen mummy of the large felid cub was found in the Upper Pleistocene permafrost on the Badyarikha River (Indigirka River basin) in the northeast of Yakutia, Russia. The study of the specimen appearance showed its significant differences from a modern lion cub of similar age (three weeks) in the unusual shape of the muzzle with a large mouth o...

El estudio de tamaños y masas corporales a través de la alometría es uno de los aspectos más llamativos, pero, paradójicamente, poco investigados en la paleontología. El lograr generar dichas estimaciones no solo representan el poder determinar el tamaño de un organismo fósil, sino que también nos permite realizar inferencias paleobiológicas como l...

As part of an Australian Research Council project (The Devonian Gogo Fauna. Diversity, Palaeoecology and Global Significance), which was already granted in 2021 but got delayed due to COVID restrictions and last year’s massive floods that destroyed the bridge at Fitzroy Crossing, we finally were finally able to do the planned field work in the firs...

There is limited evidence, both contemporary and archaeological/paleontological, regarding the feeding ecology of the gray brocket deer ( Subulo gouazoubira ) in Brazil's Cerrado biome. Using stable carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope analyses of dental enamel bioapatite from individuals recovered from Cuvieri Cave, Minas Gerais, we explore die...

The Úsobrno locality is known on the basis of fossil fauna findings, which were documented and published by Vašíček (1941). Field research has not been able to find the original locality yet. In this reason paleontological material which is deposited in the collections of ÚGV PřF MU was researched. We identified a total of 573 species which belonge...

Résumé Le site paléontologique du Gral (Lot) fournit une série fossile de bison rapportée à la fin du Pléistocène supérieur (entre environ 32 et 10 mille ans BP) distribuée dans plusieurs niveaux ou ensembles. L’origine des accumulations dans ce contexte de site (aven ou igue) est naturelle et une majorité d’éléments anatomiques postcrâniens sont...

This study investigates the validity of dating paleontological and archaeological material when the only context is stratigraphic. In each example, the strata are distinct, being discernible by visual, textual, and temporal differences. Some of the strata span ~1,000 years, and are capped by intrusion resistant sediments such as clay. This combinat...

This study investigates the validity of dating paleontological and archaeological material when the only context is stratigraphic. In each example, the strata are distinct, being discernible by visual, textual, and temporal differences. Some of the strata span ~1,000 years, and are capped by intrusion resistant sediments such as clay. This combinat...

On the Moroccan Atlantic coast of Casablanca, the Thomas-Oulad Hamida quarries yield Acheulean sites dated from the late Early to the early Middle Pleistocene. Given the scarcity of ancient archaeological and palaeontological stratified sites in North Africa, particularly when compared to the record of the eastern and southern parts of the continen...

A reference section of the Upper Cretaceous of the southwestern Crimea has been compiled on the basis of a detailed study and correlation of 48 individual sections. The set of methods included sedimentological, paleontological (ichnology, macrofossils: ammonites, belemnites, inoceramids), microfossils (nannoplankton, benthic and planktonic foramini...

Introdução e Objetivo. Este trabalho relata a experiência de ensino-aprendizagem de Paleontologia por meio de estratégias pedagógicas mistas, vivenciada por monitores e por uma docente na disciplina Fundamentos de Paleontologia, do curso de licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, no segundo semestre de 2022. Metodo...

To enhance our understanding of Brazilian paleontological heritage, we have launched the special edition titled “Brazilian Fossiliferous Sites with Paleobiological Importance”. A total of seven manuscripts have been accepted and published in Vol. 7 No. SI2 (2024). Recognizing our fossil heritage is essential for the scientific and cultural advancem...

A temporary outcrop near the “Rubenshuis” in the centre of Antwerp (northern Belgium) facilitated the study of the Neogene glauconitic sand of the Berchem and Kattendijk formations, west and south of their respective stratotype sections. In contrast to the latter sections, the exposed Kiel Member of the Berchem Formation contains a relatively silty...

Objective: Promoting environmental geoconservation, geodiversity and local culture, namely through tours and research on these natural environments. Theoretical Framework:t is based on modern scientific definitions used in geology, geomorphology, paleontology, culture, and for educational and geotourism purposes. Method:The literature review signif...

Fossils constitute a significant part of Earth's biodiversity, holding considerable heritage value. With an aim of improving and enhancing dissemination of knowledge and by integrating augmented reality technologies, this paper presents an AR application to identify fossils in two fossil sites, that of Agia Marina (Aegina Island) and Rafina (Attiki...

Research subject. Devonian-Carboniferous boundary beds in the Berchogur Depression (Western Kazakhstan). New data on the fauna of ammonoids, conodonts, and foraminifers from the Berchogur sections were obtained during fieldwork studies in 2018–2019. Aim. Identification of episodes of the Global Hangenberg event (crisis) in the Berchogur section and...

Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene stratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology in the Zaysan Basin, Kazakhstan. - J. of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1995, 15, 3: 41A. [Elena G. Kordikova's original data and geological & stratigraphical descriptions.]. Abstract. Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene strata exposed in the Zaysan basin of eastern Kazakhstan are nonmarine silis...

El prólogo presenta una obra sobre Geología, desarrollada por más de 100 autores donde se desarrollan los fundamentos básicos de la geología, la paleontología y sus aspectos aplicados. El libro fue editado por Gabriel Casal y César Navarrete y publicado por la Editorial de la Patagonia.

Over the past few decades, citizen science has proven to be a valuable tool for research projects by involving the public in large-scale data collection. This collaboration between researchers and volunteers has been shown to be highly beneficial, allowing for efficient data collection in shorter time frames than possible for individual researchers...

The study of past faunal assemblages and of their evolution during the last millennia can enable us to describe the long-term modification of the fauna and to understand how, when, and why, it evolved. In Southeast Asia, such studies are rare which makes complex the understanding of the trajectories of the Human/Biodiversity interactions on the mid...

Paleontology

Recent research in upper Val d'Ambria (Sondrio, Italy) has revealed a paleontologically significant site with diverse fossils. Located in the central Orobic Basin, the site is known for its geological complexity and thick stratigraphy from the early Permian. The fossils include tetrapod footprints, invertebrate traces, and sparse macroflora remains...

The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) was established to bring together experts in various fossil taxa and geological periods, to conduct both basic and applied research in invertebrate palaeontology and palaeobotany on an integral research platform. Over its 73-year research, NIGPAS has made a lot...

Over the last decade, numerous important vertebrate fossils have been discovered by scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which have significantly enriched understanding about the origin and early evolution of fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Particularly, rese...

The PUMA beamline, created for the heritage community and accessible by all fields of science, welcomed its first users in 2019. Its optical layout uses a horizontal focusing mirror to prefocus the light emitted from the wiggler source for the experimental endstation. It provides a 5 µm × 7 µm microbeam for XRF, XAS, XRD and XEOL analysis or a wide...

Resumo: O Brasil apresenta uma quantidade significativa de fósseis que são encontrados e estudados aqui; mesmo assim, o desenvolvimento e a divulgação do Ensino de Paleontologia ainda são pouco significantes no país. A pesquisa buscou investigar teses e dissertações a respeito do tema Paleontologia na Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Disser...

Paleoanthropological phylogenetic inference is based on characters assumed to be phylogenetically informative and independent. Yet, our understanding of whether these criteria are met in published character supermatrices is limited. We assess the phylogenetic information content (PHIC) of 107 discrete craniodental traits from a widely-used hominin...