Necrosaurus or Palaeovaranus? Appropriate nomenclature and taxonomic content of an enigmatic fossil lizard clade (Squamata)

Necrosaurus cayluxi is an enigmatic lizard from the Paleogene of the Phosphorites of Quercy, France that was first mentioned in the 19th century. Although it is generally believed that Filhol was the author who established this taxon, I am herein demonstrating that authorship should in fact be attributed to Zittel, a fact that also influences not only its generic nomenclature, but also its appropriate type material. As such, the valid name for this taxon should be Palaeovaranus cayluxi and its holotype is a left maxilla. Additionally, Ophisauriscus eucarinatus from the middle Eocene of Geiseltal, Germany, another taxon that was previously assigned to Necrosaurus, is herein shown to be a nomen dubium, whereas Melanosauroides giganteus from the same locality, is considered a valid species and is recombined as Palaeovaranus giganteus comb. nov. The suggested changes in nomenclature also affect “Necrosauridae”, a poorly defined clade of lizards from the Cretaceous–Paleogene of Europe, North America, and Asia. In order to maintain nomenclatural stability and define a monophyletic lineage, I am here establishing the new family Palaeovaranidae fam. nov., which includes solely the genus Palaeovaranus. The known occurrences of Palaeovaranus across the Paleogene of Western Europe are discussed.     

The Late Miocene species Ochotona kalfense (Mammalia,Lagomorpha) of Moldova: The oldest European record of the genus in the context of the earliest Ochotoninae

Although the pika from the Moldovan Kalfa locality (early MN10) — representing the oldest European record of Ochotoninae (the clade derived from Bellatona) — is of crucial importance to understand the earliest history of Ochotona, its taxonomy has remained unclear until now. The paper fills the gap by providing a detailed revision of the type material from Kalfa, originally referred to Proochotona kalfense. The analysis is supported by a direct comparison with type materials of Proochotona eximia, Bellatonoides eroli, and Ochotona ozansoyi, the important early ochotonines of the peri-Paratethyan area. The genus Proochotona is regarded here as a junior subjective synonym of Ochotona. The specie kalfense is confirmed to be valid, undoubtedly belonging to the genus Ochotona. It demonstrates an occurrence of a surprisingly advanced p3 phenotype already present in the pre-Turolian of Europe. At the Holoarctic scale, a detailed synoptic survey and discussion of the fossil record, taxonomy, and phylogeny of the oldest representatives of Ochotoninae are provided.     

Taxonomy of a platy coral association from the Late Cenomanian of the southern Corbières (Aude,France)

The Upper Cenomanian cover of the Palaeozoic Mouthoumet Massif (southern Corbières, Aude, France), on the southern flank of the Bézu anticline, shows accumulations of large platy corals. However, while being already presented in stratigraphic, palaeoecological and sedimentological contexts, these organisms have not been the subject of a palaeontological study. The coral fauna encompasses 16 species of the families Leptophylliidae, Microsolenidae, and Siderastraeidae and is here presented in detail.     

The Madagascan Maastrichtian bryozoans of Ferdinand Canu – Systematic revision and scanning electron microscopic study

In 1922, the first taxonomic work on Maastrichtian bryozoans from Madagascar was published in the Annales de Paléontologie by Ferdinand Canu. Canu described 25 species, 17 of which were regarded as new but the material has never been revised until now. Here we employ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to illustrate Canu's material and revise the taxonomy. Based on this revision, 23 species, comprising eight cyclostomes and 15 cheilostomes, are recognized. A new genus, Fehiborypora, is introduced for the cribrimorph Cribilina (?) labiatula, and two new species are described: ‘Plagioecia’ antanihodiensis sp. nov. and ‘Escharoides’ charbonnieri sp. nov. Galeopsis parvipora is synonymized with Crustoporina prona Stoliczka. All bryozoan species found are encrusters on echinoids or oysters.     

Fossil bats from the Late Pleistocene site of the Aguilón P7 Cave (Zaragoza,Spain)

Bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) are a valuable and independent source of palaeoenvironmental information in Quaternary sites because bat assemblages are not necessarily produced by the same processes as those of other small mammals. Here, we report a small collection of bats (MNI 15) from a cave infill of the Aguilón P7 (AGP-7) site (Zaragoza, Spain) dated Late Pleistocene (MIS 3). This is one of the rare localities south of the Ebro River (right bank) with Neanderthal tracks; therefore, the palaeoenvironmental data provided here may help us to understand Neanderthal history. Nine bat taxa were identified, viz. Rhinolophus ferumequinum, R. hipposideros, Myotis gr. myotis/blythii, M. cf. bechsteinii, M. emarginatus, M. daubentonii, Plecotus gr. auritus/austriacus, Hipsugo savii vel. Pipistrellus kuhlii/nathusii, and Miniopterus schreibersii. The presence of a high number of yearlings of the former four species suggests the presence of breeding colonies. The surprisingly high diversity of the sample indicates a variegated vegetation cover and relatively high humidity for the MIS 3 stage in the region.     

Early Tithonian entactinarian Radiolaria from the Solnhofen area (southern Germany). Part I

The article describes part of the Entactinaria radiolarians from a very rich and well-preserved radiolarian assemblage extracted from a lower Tithonian sample (Mue 22) collected from the Mühlheim Member of the Mörnsheim Formation of southern Germany. With a single exception (genus Odoghertites nov. gen.), all other Entactinaria described are of primitive type, that is their initial spicules are not differentiated into an apical and a basal group and are not connected by arches to form a heteropolar “microsphere”. They have been assigned to five families, four of which are new (Isometractiniidae, Triumbraculidae, Hollandocachoniidae, Odoghertitidae), 10 new genera (Isometractinia, Triumbraculum, Tardentactinia, Lententactinia, Hollandocachonia, Sphaerentofurca, Stylentofurca, Zuegelifurca, Spongentofurca, Odoghertites), and 19 new species. One of the new species comes from the lower Bajocian of Oregon. A new skeletal structural term, support structure, is introduced as a special type of connection between the primary spines and the macrosphere or cortical shell.     

Révision taxonomique du genre d'ammonite téthysien Simoceras et création d'un nouveau genre Volanoceras (Ammonitina,Simoceratidae)

The type-species of the genus SimocerasZittel isS. biruncinatum (Qu.). This genus includes the species-group biruncinatum (Qu.) — admirandum (Zitt.). The new genus Volanoceras is created for the volanense (Opp.) species-group which is excluded from the genus Simoceras.     

Separating objects and 'neural' computation

This article demonstrates how that the effectiveness of nervous system in doing the computations essential to an organism can be based on using algorithms that are readily implemented by nervous system 'device biophysics'. Collective effects and collective algorithms that exploit their dynamics provide powerful potential for useful neuronal computations.     

Resurrection of Indian Ocean humbug damselfish,Dascyllus abudafur (Forsskål) from synonymy with its Pacific Ocean sibling,Dascyllus aruanus (L.)

Previous phylogeographic studies of the humbug damselfish, a widespread Indo-West Pacific coral reef fish, have revealed a split of two main mitochondrial lineages distributed on either side of the Indo-Pacific barrier. This has been interpreted as the result of vicariance. It has been hypothesized that reproductive barriers might currently limit gene flow between humbug damselfish populations from the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. In this study, we review the published phylogeographic information to update the distribution of the two main mitochondrial lineages of humbug damselfish. The Indian lineage was distributed from the Red Sea to the eastern extremity of the Sunda Shelf while the Pacific lineage, which diverged from the former by 0.6% net nucleotide divergence and diagnostic substitutions at three nucleotide sites at the cytochrome b locus, was distributed east and north of the Sunda Shelf. The two forms, which are also genetically distinct at nuclear loci, were also characterized by distinct pigmentation patterns. We argue that the two forms represent geminate species. Epithet aruanus Linnaeus is maintained for the Pacific Ocean humbug damselfish while epithet abudafur (Forsskål) is here resurrected for the Indian Ocean humbug damselfish. Future studies should focus on the population genetic structure of the transition zone between Dascyllus abudafur and D. aruanus.     

The evolution of the Brachycytheride Ostracoda in the context of the breakup of Pangea

The ostracode Family Brachycytheridae is one of the most common taxa of Late Cretaceous shallow marine microfossils, and occurs in the marginal basins of Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, South and North America and the Caribbean region. Their migration pathways were controlled largely by the plate tectonic events associated with the breakup of Pangea and the formation of the North and South Atlantic Oceans, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. This study is an attempt to combine specific information on the plate tectonic events as evidenced by the timings of continental-scale structural movements, sea level dynamics (largely the product of mantle processes), the creation and destruction of migration pathways, and taxonomy of the group, and thus relate deep-seated Earth processes, surficial expression of these movements, and biological evolution. Although the Late Cretaceous Brachycytheridae are very widely distributed, their use for correlation has been hampered due to their conservative external morphology, with all of them having a posteriorly-sloped dorsal margin and a swollen ventrolateral carapace, and all of them were long assigned to a single genus, Brachycythere. In 2002, Puckett defined a new genus, Acuminobrachycythere, based on a distinctive clade of North American brachycytherids. It was also recognized at that time that the members of the family from Gondwana (mainly Africa and South America) were distinct in having a single (unsplit) second adductor muscle scar, whereas all of those from North America had a split second adductor. This tiny difference holds significant paleogeographic—and presumably evolutionary—information. Two new genera are therefore described herein, Sapucariella, which is restricted to Gondwana, and Tricostabrachycythere, which is an early, short-lived genus that occurred around the margins of Gondwana. Three new species are described and one is re-described. In all, there are six genera in the Family Brachycytheridae, which include Acuminobrachycythere, Brachycythere, Kaesleria (which is restricted to the Middle East), Opimocythere (which evolved in the Paleogene of North America and is the last of the Brachycytheridae), Sapucariella and Tricostabrachycythere. Taxonomic information is presented for 85 species, including new images of many of the type specimens. A summary of the breakup of Pangea is also presented, with precise paleogeographic reconstructions based on global magnetic anomalies.     

Campanian–early Eocene cephalopods from Kharga Oasis,Western Desert,Egypt

The Campanian–lower Eocene sedimentary succession in the Kharga Oasis yields rare cephalopods that have so far received little attention. Eight cephalopod species; six nautiloids and two ammonites, are identified in the study area. The nautiloids are referred to five genera in three families. All nautiloid species are recorded from the Paleocene and Eocene rocks, two of which are described as new, as follows: Cimomia kurkurensis nov. sp. and Deltoidonautilus hassani nov. sp. The two ammonite species are Libycoceras ismaelis (von Zittel, 1884) and Baculites ovatus Say, 1820, representing the families Sphenodiscidae and Baculitidae, respectively. Baculites anceps of Quaas (1902, non Lamarck, 1822) from the Maastrichtian of the Western Desert of Egypt is here assigned to Baculites ovatus. The palaeobiogeography of these species is studied in detail.     

Les Cryptotrogus Kraatz de la faune d’Iran et des régions limitrophes (Coleoptera : Scarabaeoidea : Melolonthidae)

Le genre Cryptotrogus Kraatz, 1888 est étudié. Après étude des spécimens-types des espèces associées et de nouveaux matériels, ce genre est redéfini et Cyphonoxia Reitter, 1889 en est à nouveau considéré comme synonyme. Les nouvelles combinaisons et synonymies suivantes sont établies ou restaurées : Cryptotrogus buettikeri (Sabatinelli & Pontuale, 1998) n. comb., Cryptotrogus delhiensis (Anand, 1988) n. comb., Cryptotrogus haarlovi (Petrovitz, 1955) n. comb., Cryptotrogus kermanensis (Semenov & Medvedev, 1936) n. comb., Cryptotrogus kircheri (Balthasar, 1930) n. comb., Cryptotrogus praestabilis (Reitter, 1889) n. comb., Cryptotrogus tatianae (Semenov & Medvedev, 1936) n. comb., Cryptotrogus zarudnyi (Semenov & Medvedev, 1936) n. comb., Cyphonotus bicoloratus Petrovitz, 1962 n. syn. de Cryptotrogus mesopotamicus (Petrovitz, 1962), Cryptotrogus miksici Petrovitz, 1965, et Cryptotrogus orita (Reitter, 1902) n. syn. de Cryptotrogus niveus (Hampe, 1852), Cyphonoxia glasunowi Semenov, 1897 n. syn. de Cryptotrogus brenskei (Reitter, 1895) comb. rev., Cyphonoxia kermanensis Semenov & Medvedev, 1936 n. syn. de Cryptotrogus zarudnyi (Semenov & Medvedev, 1936) n. comb., Cryptotrogus zemindar (Sharp, 1876) n. comb. Par ailleurs, huit espèces sont décrites et comparées aux espèces proches : sept d’Iran, Cryptotrogus borumandi n. sp., Cryptotrogus ebrahimii n. sp., Cryptotrogus miesseni n. sp., Cryptotrogus mirzayansi n. sp., Cryptotrogus monodi n. sp., Cryptotrogus morgani n. sp. et Cryptotrogus parallelus n. sp., et une, Cryptotrogus irakanus n. sp., d’Irak. Enfin, de nouvelles données sont présentées pour quelques espèces de la faune iranienne appartenant aux genres Melolontha Fabricius, 1775, Anoxia Castelnau, 1832, Polyphylla Harris, 1841 et Microphylla Kraatz, 1890. Une espèce est nouvelle pour la faune d’Iran : Melolontha aceris Faldermann, 1835.     

Stephanorhinus jeanvireti (Mammalia,Rhinocerotidae) from the early Pleistocene of Colțești (southwestern Romania)

The Rhinocerotidae material from the early Pleistocene Tetoiu Formation of Colțești (southwestern Romania) is here described for the first time. The rhinoceros is documented by calcaneus and second, third, and fourth metatarsals, probably belonging to the same individual. The morphology and the dimensions of these specimens enable us to record the presence of Stephanorhinus jeanvireti, a relatively rare rhinoceros usually reported from late Pliocene European localities and recently considered a junior synonym of S. elatus. Nevertheless, the taxon Rhinoceros elatus is here regarded as a nomen dubium and the name S. jeanvireti is retained in order to maintain nomenclatural stability, being it based on much more diagnostic material. In Romania, S. jeanvireti has been listed within a few late Pliocene faunal assemblages, but the rhinoceros remains are fragmentary and isolated bones. The Colțești find is among the best documented records of S. jeanvireti in Romania. The biochronological distribution of S. jeanvireti is mainly confined within the MNQ16 (early and early middle Villafranchian), and its first occurrence is doubtfully reported in late MNQ15 faunas. The record of Colțești (MNQ17/MNQ18) represents, instead, the last occurrence of this taxon in Europe.