The theropod dinosaur Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru,Tanzania

Theropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic of Gondwana are still poorly known, with Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the late Kimmeridgian of Tendaguru, Tanzania, being the only taxon represented by more than isolated remains from Africa. Having long been considered a coelurosaurian, more specifically an ornithomimosaur, Elaphrosaurus is currently regarded as a basal ceratosaur. Here, we revise the osteology and phylogenetic position of this important taxon. Elaphrosaurus shows many unusual osteological characters, including extremely elongated and constricted cervical vertebrae, an expansive shoulder girdle with strongly modified forelimbs, a relatively small ilium, and elongate hindlimbs with a very small ascending process of the astragalus that is fused to the tibia. We found this taxon to share many derived characters with noasaurids, such as: strongly elongate cervical and dorsal vertebrae; low, rectangular neural spines in the mid‐caudal vertebrae; presence of only an anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior caudal vertebrae; presence of a wide, U–shaped notch between the glenoid and the anteroventral hook in the coracoid; a laterally flared postacetabular blade of the ilium; a flat anterior side of the distal tibia; and a reduced shaft of metatarsal II. Our analysis placed Elaphrosaurus within a dichotomous Noasauridae as part of a Jurassic subclade, here termed Elaphrosaurinae, that otherwise includes taxa from eastern Asia. These results underscore the long and complex evolutionary history of abelisauroids, which is still only beginning to be understood.     

Tooth Replacement in Late Jurassic Dryolestidae (Eupantotheria, Mammalia)

The discovery of juvenile dentitions of late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Dryolestidae (Eupantotheria, Mammalia) from Guimarota, Portugal, yields for the first time information on the mode of tooth replacement in therian mammals prior to the dichotomy of placentals and marsupials. As in extant placentals, tooth replacement occurs at all antemolar positions [incisors (I1–I4), canine (C), premolars (P1–P4)]. P1 and P2 have premolariform milk predecessors, whereas the large premolariform third (P3) and fourth premolars (P4) are preceded by molariform deciduous premolars (dP3, dP4). Tooth replacement takes place in two waves, at least in the lower jaw, with I₂, I₄, P₁, and P₃ in the first series and I₁, I₃, C, P₂, and P₄ in the second. P₄ is the last premolar to erupt, and it is present when the sixth molar (M₆) starts to break through. The reduced tooth replacement pattern of marsupials (with only dP3 being replaced postnatally) evolved secondarily from the primitive or plesiomorphic mammalian condition, which was retained in Dryolestidae and Eutheria.     

Modern pollen-based biome reconstructions in East Africa expanded to southern Tanzania

New detailed biome reconstructions are proposed in East Africa from modern pollen data derived from 150 sites located in northern Kenya (40 sites), north-western Uganda (51 sites) and southern Tanzania (59 new sites presented as pollen diagram), which are representative of the major vegetation associations occurring in seven phytogeographical regions, mosaics or centres of endemism. We use the standard biomisation method previously published for the African continent, but we reconsider the taxa assignment to plant functional types. We include in this approach all identified taxa (408) except aquatics, ferns and exotic taxa. The method is validated by comparison with local vegetation data and we show that 124 (82.6%) sites are assigned to the correct biome and that for all the biomes under investigation, the number of correct assignments always exceeds the number of incorrect ones. When an incorrect biome reconstruction occurs, mainly toward drier biomes, this is generally linked to the local open/degraded structure of the original vegetation or to the occurrence of a mosaic of open/closed vegetation. In turn, most of the reconstructions of more humid/closed biomes than the corresponding local vegetation (8.6%) remain unexplained. A comparison of our reconstructed biomes with the main East African vegetation types of White's map indicates that 121 (80.6%) sites are assigned to the correct biomes. However, the majority of sites are incorrectly reconstructed compared to Olson and IGBP maps from satellite data, mainly due to incorrect allocation of the land cover classes compared to the potential vegetation. The application of this method to our pollen data set demonstrates that modern pollen assemblages can successfully reconstruct the main modern East African vegetation types.     

A revision of xinjiangchelyid turtles from the Late Jurassic of Sichuan Basin,China

The type specimens of the Jurassic turtles from the Sichuan Basin (China) previously referred to plesiochelyid Plesiochelys are revised, which confirm that they belong to the family Xinjiangchelyidae. The study of a large number of additional shell material shows, as the dominant group, the Xinjiangchelyidae were greatly diversified in the Late Jurassic of the Sichuan Basin. By the absence of mesoplastron and other shell characters, Chengyuchelys baenoides is moved to Xinjiangchelyidae and considered as a valid taxon. Of the xinjiangchelyids from the Late Jurassic of Sichuan Basin, four genera are recognized: Chengyuchelys, Tienfuchelys, Yanduchelys and cf. Protoxinjiangchelys. The phylogenetic analysis results in that Chengyuchelys includes C. baenoides, C. latimarginalis and C. radiplicatus, and Tienfuchelys consists of T. tzuyangensis, T. chungkingensis and T. zigongensis. All xinjiangchelyids from the Sichuan Basin are more primitive than Xinjiangchelys in the plastron sutured to the carapace.     

Chimpanzees and their mammalian sympatriates in the Issa Valley,Tanzania

Chimpanzees have been studied for nearly 300 combined years across Africa, but aside from their roles as predators or prey, remarkably little is known about the diverse species with whom they share habitats. We calculated likely chimpanzee encounter rates with sympatric mammals in the Issa Valley, Tanzania, through modelling actual researcher encounter rates with all medium and large mammals. Compared to other long‐term chimpanzee study sites, Issa had a relatively high diversity in medium and large mammal species present, with 36 species documented. We encountered common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) most frequently, followed by yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) and bushbuck. Chimpanzees ranked fifth overall. Chimpanzees, on the other hand, were predicted to most frequently encounter bushbuck, klipspringer and hartebeest—all woodland species. We compare these results to published literature and contextualise them in light of reconstructing diverse mammalian communities in which hominins lived during the Plio‐Pleistocene and the use of chimpanzees as flagship species for conservation policy.     

Influence of rainfall seasonality on African lowland vegetation during the Late Quaternary: pollen evidence from Lake Masoko, Tanzania

Aim  To determine if changes in the key bioclimatic parameters associated with rainfall seasonality can be quantified from fossil sequences and to distinguish them from changes in the total annual rainfall.
Location  Lake Masoko, southern Tanzania (9°20' S, 33°45' E, 840 m a.s.l.).
Methods  Fossil pollen was extracted from a long and well-dated sedimentary sequence spanning the period 45,000–4400 cal. yr bp . The modern habitat, geographical distribution and climatic range (mean annual rainfall and temperature, and length of the dry season) of selected East African plants were used to infer past rainfall attributes for the most characteristic fossil pollen taxa identified from the sediments of Lake Masoko.
Results  In the Masoko pollen sequence it has been possible to identify changes in the length/severity of the dry season during the last 45,000 cal. yr bp , which are interpreted to reflect shifts in the mean position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the southern tropics. We suggest that this bioclimatic parameter has been the main driver of the vegetation dynamics in this area. The major inferred change occurred at the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition c . 11,800 cal. yr bp , when semi-deciduous forest disappeared, being replaced in the lake catchment by woodland, which persists to the present day in spite of locally high rainfall.
Main conclusions  In tropical regions under the influence of the ITCZ, the position and strength of which determine the distribution of rainfall through the year, more attention must be paid to the impact of the length and intensity of the dry season on the modern and past distribution and dynamics of the vegetation. This climatic parameter is as important as the total annual amount of rainfall, and probably one of the most relevant in lowland areas.     

New evidence of Ceratosaurus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin,Portugal

A theropod assigned to Ceratosaurus was previously reported from the Portuguese Lusitanian Basin based on a limited number of elements of a single individual. Here, we describe newly discovered elements that likely pertain to same, earlier described, specimen. The new elements provide additional evidence that the range of Ceratosaurus spanned from what is now North America into Europe. Previously, some differences were noted between the Portuguese specimens and the North American Ceratosaurus. We consider these differences to be trivial and attribute them to individual variation and/or ontogeny. The following set of features (lesser trochanter positioned low on the femur; crista tibiofibularis obliquely oriented with respect to the axis of the femoral shaft; infrapopliteal ridge present posteriorly on the femur; large cnemial crest; and medial condyle of the tibia continuous with proximal end) indicate that the Portuguese specimen is assignable to Ceratosaurus. This record constitutes one of the scarce evidence of basal ceratosaurian theropods in the Late Jurassic of Europe. Despite the abundance, diversity and wide geographical distribution of ceratosaurs during the Late Cretaceous, its early evolutionary history remains poorly understood. The Portuguese specimens constitute an important evidence for the knowledge of the paleobiogeographic evolution of the clade during the Late Jurassic.     

Late Jurassic cockroaches (Insecta,Blattaria) from the Houtiyn-Hotgor locality in Mongolia

A low-diversity cockroach assemblage from the Upper Jurassic of the Houtiyn-Hotgor locality in Mongolia is described, comprising Solemnia alexandri gen. et sp. nov. (Caloblattinidae), Blattula choutinensis sp. nov. (Blattulidae) and a presumed Triassic relict Irreblatta relicta gen. et sp. nov. (incertae familiae). The carnivorous Raphidiomimidae supposedly originated directly from the Caloblattinidae.     

Changes in large herbivore populations across large areas of Tanzania

We collated aerial census data collected during the late 1980s to early 2000s for large herbivore populations in eight large census zones in Tanzania. Of the ungulate populations that showed significant changes in densities at the start versus end of this decade, most declined; very few populations increased significantly. Thomson's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, hartebeest, reedbuck, roan antelope, sable antelope, warthog and zebra, for example, declined in over 50% of the zones where they were surveyed. Interestingly, small‐bodied species fared particularly poorly in many census zones, whereas elephant and giraffe generally fared well across the country. Most populations of all herbivores declined in some portions of the country (e.g. Burigi‐Biharamulo, Katavi, Greater Ruaha and Tarangire census zones). These surveys suggest that, even in a country renowned for its protected areas and conservation commitment, some large herbivore populations need more conservation attention in order to remain stable.     

Conservation, Small Mammals, and the Future of Sacred Groves in West Africa

This article considers the conservation of relict natural habitat in West Africa, especially habitat preserved in traditional sacred groves. Government-sanctioned conservation is contrasted with local grassroots efforts of conservation. Evidence for the ecological value of sacred groves is based on results of a field study of small mammal communities conducted on the Accra Plains of Ghana and on published sources on the conservation and use of sacred groves from various countries. The study employed standard mark-and-recapture techniques for the sampling for terrestrial small mammals, and mist netting for the sampling of bat communities. Pragmatic approaches combining conservation and sustainable use are considered, as are traditional values that have preserved the sacred groves in the past for up to several hundred years in some cases. In part because these groves shelter unique small mammal and plant communities, traditional values and protection mechanisms should be integrated into the newly emerging cultural and religious contexts. The issues encountered during this study reveal that effective conservation involving local peoples requires a concerted interdisciplinary effort. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The chronology of the cercopithecoidea of East Africa

The East African fossil record of cercopithecoids spans nearly 20 m. y. Throughout the Miocene Epoch, the diversity of monkeys was low, although at some localities the numbers of individuals is rather high. During the Plio-Pleistocene in contrast, there was a major radiation, or radiations of monkeys, involving both colobines and corcopithecines. A late Pleistocene to Recent radiation within the genusCercopithecus still seems to be under way. The history of diversity in the monkeys is in many ways a chronological inverted mirror image of the diversity history of the hominoid primates, which were highly diverse during the lower miocene, but became less diverse through time. The east african cercopithecoid record is the only one which spans much of the Neogene, and it is consequently the main one by which detailed cercopithecoid cladogenetic and anagenetic events can be dated. In this respect, it provides constraints for interpreting branching schemes derived from neontological evidence. Most of the neontological estimates for monkey origins appear to be too old, the fossil evidence suggesting that the origin of the superfamily Cercopithecoidea and the origins of the Colobinae, Papionini and Cercopithecini are younger than usually suggested on neontological evidence. The superfamily is probably no older than 25 m. y., the colobines diverged as a distinctive group about 12–14 m. y. ago, the Papionines about 8–10 m. y. ago and the Cercopithecines perhaps as late as 7 m. y. However, since the Miocene fossil record is rather spotty, these fossil-based estimates may be revised downwards with new discoveries. They are unlikely to be revised upwards. The sequence and timing of cladogenetic events deduced from the east african evidence indicates that all the modern subfamilies arose in Africa, and subsequently spread to Europe and Asia. The sequence of fossil events is in close agreement with neontological evidence such as karyology and molecular anthropology. It is only in the calibration of the sequence that there is disagreement between the fossil and neontological evidence. Strangely, the polarity of the differences in opinion are opposite to those concerning the hominoids, in which the neontological evidence has suggested much younger divergence dates than did the fossil evidence as perceived in the 1960's and 1970's.     

Postcranial anatomy of Haldanodon exspectatus (Mammalia, Docodonta) from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Portugal and its bearing for mammalian evolution

The postcranium of the Late Jurassic docodont Haldanodon exspectatus Kühne & Krusat, 1972 is represented by a partial skeleton and isolated bones of other individuals from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of the Guimarota coal mine in Portugal. Haldanodon exhibits adaptations for a fossorial lifestyle such as stout and short limb bones and humeri with greatly expanded distal joints and strong deltopectoral crests. Short first and second phalanges and moderately curved and laterally compressed terminal phalanges with lateral grooves suggest that Haldanodon was a scratch-digger. The dorso-ventrally elongated, triangular scapula has a convex transverse profile with strongly laterally reflected anterior and posterior scapula margins, enclosing a deep trough-like 'infraspinous fossa'. A supraspinous fossa is not developed. The saddle-shaped glenoid facet is mainly formed by the coracoid and orientated antero-ventrally indicating a sprawling gait. No epiphyses were detected and the wide size range of humerus and femur possibly indicate a lifelong growth. Haldanodon is more derived than Morganucodon by complete reduction of the procoracoid, absence of the procoracoid foramen, and a peg-like coracoid. It shares with monotremes a postscapular fossa that is absent in Morganucodon . A PAUP analysis based on 280 cranio-dental and postcranial characters corroborated the position of Haldanodon above morganucodontids and below Hadrocodium .  © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 145 , 219–248.     

Oncoid-dwelling foraminifera from Late Jurassic shallow-water carbonates of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria and Germany)

Oncoidal limestones with different oncoid types are ubiquitous in back-reef open-lagoonal and, to a minor amount, in closed-lagoonal facies of the Late Jurassic Plassen Carbonate Platform of the Northern Calcareous Alps. A common feature of the oncoids from moderately to well-agitated open-lagoonal habitats are incorporated small trochospiral benthic foraminifers, tentatively assigned to trochamminids, switched between individual micritic layers. Their life style is discussed concluding a specialized feeding on cyanophytes on the outer side of the oncoids and later becoming biomurated by successive sheet formations due to oncoid growing.     

重庆晚侏罗世两处兽脚类足迹组合与四川盆地侏罗纪地层(英文)

重庆市已报道了4处侏罗纪的恐龙足迹点,包括下侏罗统珍珠冲组的大足化石点,该地点发现了中国迄今最古老的蜥脚类行迹;另外两处化石点(南岸和金鸡)的层位曾被视为中或上侏罗统,这里首次将其确认为上侏罗统上沙溪庙组;第4处化石点(成渝), 本文全部作者目前都未曾观察,这里不做描述。南岸化石点是南岸重庆足迹(Chongqingpus nananensis)模式标本的所在地,位于重庆市中心,曾发现过大量兽脚类足迹,如今已消逝在城市化进程中。幸运的是,这批标本被保存于重庆自然博物馆,本文作者曾前后两次对其进行研究,并得出文中的结论。南岸重庆足迹为中型足迹(平均长约29 cm), 最可能被卡岩塔足迹(Kayentapus)所囊括,这批标本中有一些保存着边界不清的拇趾迹。该化石点的其他足迹被归于似异样龙足迹(cf. Anomoepus)。其他较小的、来自重庆市周边中侏罗统中部的足迹此前已被归于跷脚龙足迹(Grallator)。金鸡化石点保存了一条孤立的兽脚类行迹,因其粗壮的特征而被暂时归于似窄足龙足迹(cf. Therangospodus)。金鸡点的行迹也保存了非连续出现的拇趾迹。虽然重庆市和四川盆地及其周边更广泛地区之侏罗纪地层发现的兽脚类足迹日渐增多,但要明确其确切地质年龄及有效的足迹分类依然需要进一步工作。这是因为侏罗纪的恐龙足迹尽管丰富,但显示出连续变化的形态学特征,而保存状况的变化更使其难以在时间与空间上做出定义与鉴别。     

New Chironomidae (Diptera) with elongate proboscises from the Late Jurassic of Mongolia

Four new species of Chironomidae with well-developed elongate proboscises are described from a Late Jurassic site Shar Teg in SW Mongolia. These are named Cretaenne rasnicyni sp. n., Podonomius blepharis sp. n., Podonomius macromastix sp. n., ?Podonomius robustus sp. n.