Blackened bioclasts and bituminous impregnations in the Koněprusy Limestone (Lower Devonian), the Barrandian area, Czech Republic: implications for basin analysis

Carbonate reef talus facies of the Koněprusy Limestone (Pragian, Lower Devonian, Barrandian) locally exhibit widespread impregnation by organic matter resulting in a partial to complete blackening of the limestones. Two contrasting types of impregnation are recognized: blackening of individual carbonate fossils and bioclastic layers within the limestone originated very early during diagenesis. The blackening is due to finely dispersed organic matter and possibly some iron sulphides and clay minerals that selectively adhered to the outer layers of corals, bryozoans, and crinoid fragments, leaving other fossils unaltered. These darkened fossils are similar to black pebbles—i.e., reworked, dark to black limestone clasts and bioclasts that are known to occur exclusively in shallow-water zones of both ancient and modern carbonates. The alteration of fossil fragments may have taken place in very shallow-water environments, possibly those of saline and reducing back-reef lagoons or supratidal-intertidal zones, with organic matter being derived from decayed algae and microbes, or early vascular terrestrial plant material. Following the coloration, the blackened fossils were removed from their original position by waves or storms and transported into relatively deeper-water reef slope settings to form graded, “salt-and-pepper”-colored bioclastic beds. The presence of blackened fossils in the carbonate succession may point to episodic emergence and indicates a vanished vegetated siliciclastic hinterland that may once have existed to the west or south from the present-day erosive edge of the Barrandian Devonian strata. Subvertical veins cutting the Koněprusy Limestone and filled with black solid bitumen and blackened calcite resulted from a subsequent but substantially later diagenetic event, which is a testament of aqueous and petroleum fluid migration through the succession during deeper burial. Microthermometric characteristics of the aqueous inclusions embedded in vein calcite indicate that the veins were precipitated by brines of low to moderate salinity (0.5–9.5 wt% NaCl equiv.) with temperatures in the range of 87–116°C. The bitumen in the veins is epi-impsonite (R_r?=?0.70–1.90%), which is interpreted as degraded petroleum residuum that experienced thermal alteration at around 120°C. The AFT modeling combined with fluid inclusion microthermometry and wider geological considerations indicate that the veins originated during the Variscan orogeny, most probably upon deep burial of the Lower Paleozoic strata in Carboniferous time.     

Trepostome bryozoans from the Zahořany Formation (Upper Ordovician) of Loděnice,Prague Basin,Czech Republic

Three trepostome bryozoan species are described from the Upper Ordovician Zaho?any Formation of Loděnice, Prague Basin, Czech Republic. One genus is new—Lodenicella gen. nov. One species is described in open nomenclature. The described fauna contains ramose colonies or ramose branched projections from encrusting tubular-shaped colonies which inhabited shallow environment with moderate wave energy and significant influx of clastic material.     

Holocene subfossil chironomid stratigraphy (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the sediment of Plešné Lake (the Bohemian Forest,Czech Republic): Palaeoenvironmental implications

A faunal record of chironomid remains was analyzed in the upper 280 cm of a 543 cm long sediment core from Ple?né jezero (Ple?né Lake), the Bohemian Forest (?umava, Böhmerwald), Czech Republic. The chronology of the sediment was established by means of 5 AMS-dated plant macroremains. The resolution of individual 3-cm sediment layers is ～115 years and the analyzed upper 280 cm of the sediment core represent 10.4 cal. ka BP. As the results of DCA show, two marked changes were recorded in the otherwise relatively stable Holocene chironomid composition: (1) at the beginning of the Holocene (ca. 10.4-10.1 cal. ka BP) only oligotrophic and cold-adapted taxa (Diamesa sp., M. insignilobus-type, H. grimshawi-type) were present in the chironomid assemblages, clearly reflecting a cool climate oscillation during the Preboreal period, and (2) during an event dated in the interval 1540–1771 AD, when most taxa vanished entirely and only Zavrelimyia sp. and Procladius sp. were alternately present accompanied by Tanytarsus sp. Although, the age of this event is in agreement with the dating of the Little Ice Age, the most probable reason for the elimination of many chironomid taxa was very low sums recorded in this part of the sediment, rather than cool conditions connected with the LIA. Variations in the chironomid fauna after the Preboreal period were reflected mainly by changes in abundances of dominant taxa rather than by changes in species composition. These variations could be explained by: (1) climatic changes, namely temperature and amount of rainfall resulting in oscillations in lake level, with changes in the occurrence of macrophytes in the littoral and (2) increasingly dense afforestation which led to a considerable input of organic material into the lake and a subsequent increase in the trophic status of the lake water.     

Contribution to the European Pollen Database in Neotoma: a pollen diagram of Rokytecká slať mire,Bohemian Forest/Šumava (Czech Republic)

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany -     

Trends in cereal cultivation in the Czech Republic from the Neolithic to the Migration period (5500 b.c.–a.d. 580)

This study summarises the current state of research on cultivated cereals from archaeological sites in the Czech Republic. We discuss the first appearances of particular cereals, their first proven cultivation (which usually happens much later) and their part within cereal husbandry. The questions of possible contamination of archaeobotanical material and problems concerning the identification of some cereal taxa are related to this topic. Trends in the importance of the cultivation of individual cereals are shown with generalized linear models (GLMs), based on an assemblage of 81 newly sampled sites. The results of GLM enable the division of the cereals into four groups characterised by: (1) species showing a gradual decrease in importance—Triticum monococcum (einkorn) and T. dicoccum (emmer), (2) species with progressively accumulating representation on sites during prehistory—Hordeum vulgare (common barley) and T. spelta (spelt), (3) those with a marked increase by the end of prehistory—T. aestivum/turgidum (naked wheat), Avena sp. (oats) and Secale cereale, (rye) and (4) a specific group including only Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet). There is a gradual increase in the diversity of cultivated cereals through time, starting with T. monococcum and T. dicoccum, followed by Hordeum, Panicum, T. spelta and T. aestivum/turgidum, Secale and Avena. Comparison of the chronological development of cereal cultivation in the area of the Czech Republic and surrounding countries shows a general correspondence with the trends observed in other parts of eastern-central Europe, although with some local specific differences.     

Avian remains from the Upper Pleistocene (MIS3) site of Aguilón P-7, south of the Ebro River,Spain

Aves are represented by abundant fossil remains in Quaternary sites. Birds are well adapted to the environment they inhabit, so they make very good paleoenvironmental indicators for Quaternary sites. Here we analyse the avian remains from the Late Pleistocene (probably MIS3) site of Aguilón P-7 (AGP-7). The Pleistocene sediments fill up a shallow cave, which is located in the Zaragozan part of the Iberian Range, 55 km south of the city of Zaragoza. We have for the first time provided a taxonomic and taphonomic study of the avian assemblage of AGP-7, as well as a preliminary paleoenvironmental analysis based on these data. Nine avian taxa have been identified: Galliformes indet., Lagopus sp., Aquila chrysaetos, Gyps fulvus, Passeridae indet., Anthus sp., Prunella modularis,Sturnus cf. unicolor and Corvus monedula. The taphonomic analysis did not provide conclusive information. However, it suggests an accumulation of uneaten food remains by diurnal birds of prey. The identified taxa currently inhabit the Iberian Peninsula, populating woodland environments with rocky areas. They are found in areas with an oceanic climate, in contrast to the Mediterranean climate that now prevails in Aguilón.     

Tree seedlings: how do they establish in spontaneously developed forests? A study from a mountainous area in the Czech Republic

The aim of this study was to find out which tree species can establish in spontaneously developed forests (SDFs) on mesic stands and how many tree seedlings are present there. The influence of different factors was examined and an attempt made to find out if there are some general trends true for groups of species typical for different stages of succession or with different types of distribution. All tree seedlings present in 48 permanent plots were counted (100 m²). The following factors were tested: altitude, slope and exposition, distance from the nearest forest, age and species composition of tree layer, species composition of herb layer, light conditions and soil reaction. The species composition was dependent on altitude and soil reaction. There were surprisingly high numbers of seedlings (in average 145 tree seedlings per 100 m²) and species (in average 5) present in SDFs. Not only species common in the area were found, but also uncommon species were present there, although in low numbers. Nonspecific species are the best colonisers of SDFs, and the anemochorous trees are better colonisers than zoochorous ones. The establishment of different tree species is influenced by different factors. The SDFs most probably shift toward forest with a number of species in the tree layer. The dominant species tend to be spruce and maple, but species typical for early stages of succession will be common in these growths.     

Size factor as one of the problems in the sex estimation of skulls: upper palaeolithic sample from Predmostí (Czech Republic) as an example

In this study we estimate sex and population affinity of Gravettian Predmostí (P) skulls using linear and geometric discriminant analysis (DA), and compare them with results of 2D geometric morphometrics (GM). We used the measurements of P3 and P9 males, P4 and P10 females, as originally estimated by Matiegka (1934), as well as two databases--the recent skull database of Howells and the fossil data of Henke. DA classifies the P skulls as robust and belonging to the "male" region, loosing the sensitivity of inter-population differences influenced by size factor. That is why this approach could not be applied. The geographic inter-population differences according to DA do not define P skull shapes as extreme. The influence of geographic variability could be stronger than the inter-sexual differences. Despite the chronological differences between databases and Gravettian skulls, these differences are a component of regional inter-population variability. According to our results, GM is more successful methodological approach than DA. Our previous sex estimation of P skulls with help of GM is completely in accordance with the classical morphoscopic estimation. However, an appropriate reference database is necessary in both the GM and DA approaches. For the sexing of skull with unknown population affinity, and with absence of appropriate reference database, we suggest to use the application of more subjective visual scoring methods.     

Palaeovegetation in the Pavlovské vrchy hills region (South Moravia,Czech Republic) around 25,000 bp: the Bulhary core

This paper presents results of pollen and macroscopic analyses of a geological core from the village of Bulhary, at the north-eastern foot of the limestone Pavlovské vrchy hills, South Moravia, Czech Republic. The core reached down to about 10 m of aeolic loess layers and some 40–50 cm of compressed organogenic sediments. They accumulated around ca 25,000 years bp. The moss peat and algal gyttja we have analysed were deposited in an ox-bow of the past flood-plain of the river Dyje. The time of the sedimentation may be synchronous with the time when the northern foot of the Pavlovské vrchy hills was inhabited by upper Palaeolithic people of the Gravettian (Pavlovian) culture, dated generally to an Upper Würmian interstadial. Archaeologists excavated their settlements in the villages of Dolní Věstonice and Pavlov, neighbouring our site of Bulhary. Our analyses permit the reconstruction of the vegetation of that time in the region but may also reveal the environment and living conditions of the Palaeolithic people. In our assemblages over 200 types of palynomorphs (pollen, spores, etc.) have been found, which indicates a very rich flora and vegetation growing in at least six different biotopes of the Pavlovské vrchy hills region: (1) Open, mostly coniferous stands with grass and herbaceous cover in their undergrowth. These were probably situated in the lowest parts of the territory and could also have dominated in the broader vicinity with loess cover. (2) Grass and herbaceous steppe-like vegetation probably occupied the belt above where the trees occurred but still within the loess zone. (3) The highest elevations of the hills and their limestone cliffs formed biotopes for a complex of subalpine (alpine) communities. (4) The flood plain was certainly occupied by very diversified tall-herb vegetation with scattered alder and willow trees or shrubs. (5) Aquatic communities of the infilled stages in the river ox-bows are well documented by microscopic and macroremain finds of water macrophytes, algae and mosses. (6) The presence of scattered spring outflows and their communities is indicated by pollen of typical spring plants, e.g. Chrysosplenium, Montia, Cardamine amara etc. The vegetation, especially that in the flood-plain, produced enough plant biomass to feed numerous herds of large herbivorous mammals, which were hunted by the Palaeolithic tribes. Also the climate was probably relatively suitable for the style of living at that time. It could have been similar to that of the present northern boreal zone of NE Scandinavia and N Russia or even milder.     

The spread of agriculture in northern Iberia: new archaeobotanical data from El Mirón cave (Cantabria) and the open-air site of Los Cascajos (Navarra)

This paper presents archaeobotanical results from the Neolithic levels (5,300–4,000 b.c.) of two recently excavated sites in northern Iberia: El Mirón cave (Cantabria) and the open-air site of Los Cascajos (Navarra). A cereal grain from El Mirón is currently the earliest domesticated plant remain from this region. Despite the large number of samples examined, plant remains are few. They include basically cereals (Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. aestivum/durum/turgidum and Hordeum vulgare) and some nuts and fruits (Corylus avellana, Quercus sp., Vitis sp., etc.). The presence of free-threshing wheats at El Mirón opens up an interesting subject for debate, as until now naked wheats have been absent from the early Neolithic archaeobotanical record of the coastal Cantabrian region. Hulled wheat chaff is the main plant component from Los Cascajos, south of the Cantabrian Cordillera in Navarra, indicating waste from processing activities. The association of barley almost exclusively with both a burial and a ritual vase in Los Cascajos could be related specific rituals or ceremonies.     

Velvet worm (Phylum Onychophora) on a sand island,in a wetland: Flushed from a Pleistocene refuge by recent rainfall?

Velvet worms (Onychophora) are restricted to moist, humid microclimates, but are poorly known from south‐east Queensland, Australia, where they are typically rainforest fauna. We made the unlikely observation of one of these invertebrates clinging to floating debris in a wetland on North Stradbroke Island. Palaeoecology of this wetland reveals that it once was within rainforest and has remained moist for at least the past 80 000 years, thus potentially harbouring an onychophoran population as a relic of a past broader, rainforest distribution. The presence of this animal, floating in the wetland, can be explained by recent climate, since the wetland filled following heavy rainfall shortly before the observation. This highlights the importance of groundwater‐fed wetlands as evolutionary refugia for moisture‐dependent biota.     

A new Parakneria Poll 1965 (Gonorhynchiformes: Kneriidae), ‘Mikinkidi’ from the Upper Lufira Basin (Upper Congo: DRC): Evidence from a morphologic and DNA barcoding integrative approach

A new species, Parakneria alytogrammus, is described from the main stream of the Upper Lufira River. This species is easily distinguished from its congeners from the Congo Basin by its unique colouration, consisting of a low number of transversal bands on each of the caudal-fin lobes, 2 (vs. 3–5) and the presence of an uninterrupted lateral mid-longitudinal black band in fresh and preserved specimens (vs. absent). In addition, the new species differs from its Upper Lualaba congeners by the narrow width of its pectoral-fin base, 4.8–5.6% L_S [vs. wider, 8.2–10.1% for P. lufirae, 8.6% L_S for P. damasi (holotype), and 7.6–7.9% L_S for P. thysi]. Finally, it differs from the only species currently known from the Luapula-Mweru system, P. malaissei, by having a short post-dorsal distance, 36.4–36.6% L_S (vs. longer, 38.6–41.1% L_S) and a short post-pelvic distance of 40.0–40.6% L_S (vs. longer, 41.4–44.1% L_S). Mitochondrial DNA-haplotypes of P. alytogrammus sp. nov. form a clade, which is sister to the P. thysi clade, and from which it diverges by a genetic (Kimura 2-parameter and uncorrected p) distance of 0.7% in the COI-barcoding locus. The Upper Lufira, one of the sub-basins of the Upper Congo Basin, remains poorly explored relative to its fish fauna. In contrast, the region is well explored with regard to its mineral wealth. Unfortunately, mining exploitation is carried out in the region without proper concern for the environment. Thus, the discovery of this new species for science calls for increased protection and aquatic biodiversity exploration in this mining region.     

A new find of macrofossils of feather grass (Stipa) in an Early Bronze Age storage pit at Vliněves, Czech Republic: local implications and possible interpretation in a Central European context

The abundance of Stipa remains in material dated to the Middle Neolithic (ca. 4400–4000 b.c.) from Kujawy (central Poland) and their presence in a storage pit at Vliněves (Czech Republic) dated to the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2300–1600 b.c.) are most probably connected with gathering of the plant. Stipa grains are edible and the whole plant could have been used as insulation, for making mattresses and for a range of similar purposes. Nowadays spikelets of Stipa are used for decoration. They are dangerous to herbivores because of the sharpness of the basal part of the spikelet and the tendency of the awns to unroll in wet conditions. Already in the first half of the 20th century the plant was regarded as a weed of meadows. The gathering and use of Stipa, as suggested by the abundance of its archaeological macro-remains, was most probably prompted by changes in the local environment. These latter arose from intensive human activity, mostly deforestation and grazing by domestic animals, leading to the formation of steppe-like vegetation. This process is documented by a pollen diagram from a peat section located near the Vliněves site.     

Allozyme relationships in hypostomines (Teleostei: Loricariidae) from the Itaipu Reservoir,Upper Rio Paraná basin,Brazil

In an allozyme electrophoresis survey of 15 hypostomine species from the Itaipu Hydroelectric Reservoir, 25 loci from 14 enzyme systems were scored. Allozyme data allowed recording diagnostic genetic markers for all species analyzed and for some species groups within Hypostomus, a taxon which is taxonomically still unresolved in the Upper Rio Paraná basin. The mean expected heterozygosity of the species was considerably variable and hypotheses to tentatively explain this variation are discussed. A cladogram based upon the allelic frequencies of the species analyzed was produced by the continuous maximum likelihood method: Rhinelepis aspera and M. parananus were separated from the species of Hypostominae by a long branch length. Pterygoplichthys anisitsi was the sister of all the representatives of the genus Hypostomus. Within Hypostomus, two main clades were produced: in the first, H. cochliodon was the sister of the species comprising the H. plecostomus group, and in the second, the tree showed the following relationships: (H. albopunctatus (H. regani + Hypostomus sp. 3) + (H. margaritifer (H. microstomus (Hypostomus sp. 1 (H. ternetzi + Hypostomus sp. 2))))). Hypostomus ternetzi and Hypostomus sp. 2 are referred to here as representatives of the H. ternetzi group.     

Lunzia austriaca – a bennettitalean microsporangiate structure with Cycadopites-like in situ pollen from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) of Lunz,Austria

Based on new evidence obtained from freshly collected fossils, we here provide an emendation of Lunzia and Lunzia austriaca with an updated interpretation of the organ architecture, function and affiliation. The specimens reveal that Lunzia austriaca is a pollen organ resembling structures assigned to Weltrichia. Lunzia austriaca comprises cup-shaped pollen organs that develop up to about ten, basally fused lobes carrying appendices. The appendices are arranged pairwise and inserted laterally to a rachis-like structure, in a pinnate architecture on their adaxial side and are interpreted as prominent segments or fertile pinnae that bear numerous synangia identifying them as microsporophylls. The nature of the rachis-like structure is not straightforward. The rachis-like structure could either be fused with a bract – this fused structure then constituting the lobes – or itself been modified depicting a foliate appearance. The microsporophylls are narrow at the base and involute apically or with a sterile apical cowl. Numerous synangia with contracted bases are arranged on the inner (adaxial) side of the microsporophylls in long rows. The synangia consist of presumably four pollen sacs (microsporangia), are oblong and dehisce longitudinally. The pollen is monosulcate, elliptical and with a smooth exine (psilate). It is identified as Monocolpopollenites (=Cycadopites); from the size range, it fits best into Cycadopites accerimus. The architecture and the epidermal anatomy of Lunzia austriaca is discussed and its structure is compared with several contemporary bennettitaleans; sterile foliage and ovulate structures most likely associated with Lunzia austriaca are Pterophyllum filicoides and Westersheimia pramelreuthensis, respectively.     

Long-term monitoring of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phengaris</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) butterflies in the Přelouč surroundings (Czech Republic): is the waterway construction a serious threat?

The monitoring of sympatrically occurring Phengaris teleius and P. nausithous metapopulations in the surroundings of P?elou?, Czech Republic, was launched over a decade ago in connection with the planned waterway construction on the Elbe river. The mark-recapture surveys were initially restricted to 10 habitat patches on the right river bank, but in 2010 three new patches were discovered on the opposite bank. We use the monitoring results for 2011–2015 to assess how the discovery of additional populations alters the impact evaluation of the prospective construction. The overall abundance of P. teleius in the recently discovered populations was about twice as high as on the right bank (ca. 2,800 vs. 1,400 adults on average), while the numbers of P. nausithous on both banks proved to be balanced (at ca. 600 adults on average). Furthermore, we confirmed a substantial exchange of butterflies between population representing both banks, which indicates a well-integrated metapopulation in both species. Since the waterway would partly destroy the two largest populations on the right bank, the potential loss due to its construction is estimated at 40.1–64.3% P. teleius individuals and 20.2–47.4% P. nausithous individuals occurring there. Nevertheless, concerning the entire metapopulation, the predicted decline is considerably smaller, reaching 13.9–25.7% in P. teleius and 8.5–20.0% in P. nausithous. Consequently, a long-term survival of the species is likely even in the case of the waterway construction, as long as appropriate management is applied on the unaffected habitat patches.