在中国云南发现狒狒化石

现存狒狒类(Papionin)生活于非洲(如Papio和Theropithoan)、亚洲(如Macaca)和北非(M.sylvanas)。在上新世和更新世,Theropithecus经历了从非洲到亚洲的扩散过程,在印度发现了类似化石。这次在云南中甸金沙江附近发现的下更新世狒狒化石(Papio)证明,如同亚洲猕猴和现代人类祖先一样,非洲狒狒类(Papio和Theropithecus)在同一时期从非洲扩散到亚洲。所不同的是它们没有像猕猴和人类一样生存下来。这次化石的发现对于研究以下生物学问题提供了重要依据1)探讨旧大陆猴类在上新—更新世从非洲到亚洲的扩散过程;2)研究不同旧大陆猴类的进化和环境适应性;3)为现代人类祖先在非洲—亚大陆的扩散研究提供证据;4)由于化石产地包括有人类祖先和其他动物的化石,因此,狒狒在亚洲的生态适应研究将为探讨人类在同一时期的生态适应提供证据。     

禄丰古猿化石地点的植物叶化石

1987年,在云南禄丰古猿化石地点D剖面第4层(薄层黑色炭质粘土与灰色细砂互层)发现植物叶部印痕化石,经鉴定属壳斗科绝灭的雷龙潭槲叶(Dryophyllum relongtanense Colani),该种植物常参与组成亚热带至暖温带的常绿阔叶林或常绿与落叶阔叶混交林。     

A new hominid parietal from Bodo, Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia

A piece of left parietal of a Middle Pleistocene hominid, recovered from the Upper Bodo Sand Unit, in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia, is described anatomically and compared to Middle Pleistocene hominids and modern Homo sapiens. It bears several primitive features and has important implications for the original Bodo skull, found at the same stratigraphic level in the same area. The new fossil skull represents a different individual from the original Bodo skull.     

Fungal fruiting bodies from Lower Tertiary sediments of Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, India

Fungal fruiting bodies ignored in earlier palynological investigations of the Subathu and Dagshai Formations have been studied from sediments exposed in the Dadahu Jamtah area, Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh. Taxa belonging to the genera Notothyrites, Asterothyrites, Parmathyrites, Phragmothyriles and Microthyriacites have been identified. These fossils are comparable with taxa reported from many Early Tertiary assemblages from different parts of the country and indicate a warm and humid climate.     

New Australopithecus boisei calvaria from East Lake Turkana,Kenya

The calvaria of an adult Australopithecus boisei from Area 104, Koobi Fora, Lake Turkana, is described. The specimen, KNM-ER 23000, comes from sediments dated to about 1.9 Ma. It consists of the frontal, both parietals, both temporals, most of the occipital as well as two small pieces of sphenoid, and a mandibular tooth root. The specimen is presumed to be an adult male, based on its size and the great development of features associated with the masticatory apparatus. KNM-ER 23000 is close in general size and shape to KNM-ER 406, KNM-ER 13750, and Olduvai Hominid 5 and it has a mixture of features seen in these three roughly contemporaneous crania. The frontal, especially the tori, resembles that of OH 5; the parietals are most like those of KNM-ER 13750; the occipital is like those of the two other Turkana specimens, and the temporals have a mixture of features from all of these, This specimen adds to our knowledge of variability in A. boisei. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

金粟兰科的起源、分化和地理分布研究

本文讨论了金粟兰科的系统位置和分类系统,并在较详尽地研究其现代地理分布的基础上,结合古植物学等方面的资料,探讨了金粟兰科的现代分布中心及其起源、分化和可能的散布途径,结果如下：１．金粟兰科应独立成目,处于胡椒目与樟目之间;本科４属处于同一进化水平．２．金粟兰科分布于南美、中美、马达加斯加、东亚、热带亚洲、太平洋岛屿及新西兰,属于热带美洲、亚洲、马达加斯加地区、大洋洲和太平岛屿间断分布科,现代分布中心在马来西亚植物区;中国的金粟兰科植物主要分布于长江以南地区,为金粟兰科种类的分化中心之一．３．通过化石证据推测,在白垩纪中晚期,金粟兰科祖先有较广泛的地理分布,其起源地可能在早白垩纪的环大西洋地区,即冈瓦纳古陆西北部和劳亚古陆西南部．起源时间应不晚于白垩纪的巴勒姆期．     

Study on the Fossil Woods Found in Zigong,Sichuan, China

This paper describes three fossil woods, which were firstly found in Zigong city, Sichuan Province, China. The localities of the fossil woods are close to the locality of the famous Dashanpu dinosaur quarry of Zigong. The strata of the fossil woods beating are Xiashaximiao Formation and Xintiangou Formation of the Middle Jurassic, approximately match the strata of the Dashanpu dinosaurs. According to the structures of the secondary xylem, the fossil woods belonged to the primitive conifer genus-Araucarioxylon. Because it was comparatively and obviously different from the other species in this genus, it is assigned as a new species: A. zigongensis. As there was neither fossil leaf nor fossil pollen or spore found in the dinosaur bearing strata before, the discovery of these fossil woods might bear some important significance in the dinosaur research.     

Fossil Plants from Xingyuan Formation,Pingzhuang Chifeng,Nei Monggol

This paper reports fossil plants from Xingyuan Formation, Pingzhuang Chifeng, Nei Monggol of China. The relationships between this flora and Fuxin Formation are discussed. We have also considered the relationship between this flora and the Japanese Late Jurassic flora. Meanwhile, We have described the new species-Ginkgoites pingzhangensis, and studied its cutical under both optical microscope and scanning electron microscope.     

Late Cretaceous sharks from Cuba,first record of Serratolamna serrata (Agassiz) (Lamniformes,Serratolamnidae)

Only one species of Elasmobranchii, Ptychodus cyclodontis Mutter, Iturralde-Vinent and Carmona (2005), has been reported so far from the Late Cretaceous of Cuba. Herein we describe the first record of a Maastrichtian Serratolamna serrata (Agassiz, 1843) as well as non-diagnostic remains which include a tooth referred to a lamniform shark and an isolated vertebra of an indeterminate elasmobranch. These fossils expand the temporal distribution of Cretaceous fossil sharks known from Cuba and increase our understanding of the group’s fossil diversity.     

晚奥陶世鞘藻科化石的研究

记述发现于江西省玉山县王家坝三衢山组的鞘藻目化石,并认为该化石可以和现生鞘藻属进行对比。这是迄今为止世界上最古老的鞘藻化石记录,也是我国鞘藻化石的首次报道。     

A specimen of Eocuculus Chandler, 1999 (Aves, ? Cuculidae) from the early Oligocene of France

A postcranial skeleton of a small bird from the early Oligocene locality Pichovet in Southern France is described and identified as Eocuculus cf. cherpinae Chandler, 1999. It is the second fossil record of Eocuculus which was hitherto known from a postcranial skeleton from the late Eocene of North America only. Although Eocuculus shares some derived similarities with Cuculidae (cuckoos), it distinctly differs in a number of osteological features from crown group members of this taxon. If future, more complete skeletons prove its cuculiform affinities, Eocuculus is a stem lineage representative of this taxon and not within the crown group. Recognition of Eocuculus in the early Oligocene of France provides evidence for the presence of an extinct late Eocene/early Oligocene avian taxon with an intercontinental Northern Hemisphere distribution.     

Taphonomy of the early Miocene flora, Hiwegi Formation, Rusinga Island, Kenya

A fossil flora was collected in situ from early Miocene deposits at site R117 in the Hiwegi Formation of Rusinga Island contemporaneous with and in close proximity to the sites from where the anthropoid primates were recovered. The flora exhibits a spatially and temporally patchy distribution of fruits and seeds, mixed with twigs of various sizes, fragments of wood, bark, and leaves, all with random orientations and very low depositional dips. There has been minimal transport and the flora evidently accumulated as in situ litter beneath local vegetation. Based on Nearest Living Relatives (NLR) of fruits and seeds, the vegetation represented is a deciduous broad-leaved woodland with continuous canopy, with trees, shrubs, lianas, and climbers, reminiscent of the structure of the modern vegetation in the steep-sided protected valleys in the Laetoli-Endulen area. The interpretation of the vegetation is supported by the presence of twigs, wood, and bark fragments from larger diameter axes. Climbers are represented by twining stem fragments as well as by a wide variety of distinctive fruits and seeds. The proportion of fossilised thorny twigs represents only 3% of the twig collections, and there are no unequivocal forest trees amongst the NLR. No grasses were present; monocotyledons are only represented by a single date palm stone. No conifer seeds or cones have been recovered, and there are no coniferous leafy shoots.     

Some fossil woods from the palaeogene of northern Kyushu,III

Petrified woods obtained from the Oligocene of Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka Prefecture have been studied, and four new species ofPrunus (Rosaceae) are described:Prunus palaeozippeliana, P. ascendentiporulosa, P. uviporulosa andP. polyporulosa. These four species are very similar to each other in gross anatomical features and are characterized by the diffuse porosity, exclusively simple perforation plates, spiral thickenings on vessel walls, heterogeneous rays and the presence of traumatic gum canals. The petrified woods ofPrunus are new records from the Tetiary of Japan.     

A hominoid clavicle from the Mio-Pliocene of Sahabi, Libya

The first definitive hominoid from the Libyan Mio-Pliocene site of Sahabi is described. The specimen is a left clavicle, lacking a portion of the acromial end. In superior view it shows a marked sternal curvature, similar to homonids, but it also shows a curvature in the coronal plane, similar to the pongid condition. Muscle attachments for sternocleidomastoid, pectoralis major and the anterior portion of deltoid are preserved. The robust attachment for the latter suggests relative hypertrophy of this muscle. These considerations and certain morphological similarities to hominids do not suggest a functional reconstruction of locomotor behavior similar to Miocene dryopithecines. Nevertheless, more complete functional and taxonomic discussions must await further work at Sahabi.     

湖北南漳早始新世的鳖类

本文记述了湖北南漳走马岭组上段的古鳖属—新种——沐浴古鳖 (Aspideretes muyuensis, sp. nov.),并对其分类位置和时代作了探讨.新种的主要特征是:背甲前、后缘平切;前椎板前部超出在第一对肋板内缘之前;第一对肋板与颈板之间有一对大的孔洞;椎板7块;肋板8对,最后两对在中线处左、右相遇;背甲纹饰较细小,腹甲表面光滑.     

江苏镇江莲花洞动物化石铀系年代

莲花洞位于镇江市南约 6ｋｍ的白龙岗山北坡 (原在丹徒县境内 ) ,地理座标 119°2 4′Ｅ ,32°10′Ｎ。白龙山为宁镇山脉东支 ,走向近东西 ,顶峰海拔 118ｍ。溶洞发育于三迭纪青龙组灰岩 ,洞口标高约 35ｍ。 1981年 ,南京博物院等单位[1 ] 对该地点进行发掘 ,获哺乳动物化石16种 ,其中人牙化石 1枚。洞内堆积自下而上被分为 4层 ,其中第 2层为棕红色亚粘土 ,含石灰岩碎块、铁锰质结核和大量动物化石。发掘者根据动物化石中有 3个绝灭种 ,将该地点定在“晚更新世或晚更新世早期” ,人牙化石被认为属于智人。韩德芬等[2 ] 认为莲花洞在我国晚…     

The fossil record of biodiversity: nutrients, productivity, habitat area and differential preservation

It is hypothesized that the Phanerozoic record of fossil diversity is a function of a secular increase in nutrient availability and productivity (food, energy), and cyclic changes in sea level and habitat area due to supercontinent assembly and rifting. Both variables may have affected biodiversity through the combined variable of {productivity  ×  area}. {Productivity  ×  area} remained relatively constant after the Cambro-Ordovician until the end of the Permian, as did the traditional curve for biodiversity. During assembly of Pangea, decreasing sea level and habitat area were counteracted by increasing nutrient inputs due to uplift and the spread of vascular plants and enhanced continental weathering. As Pangea underwent its final assembly, interior drainage increased, so that by the end of the Permian both habitat area and nutrient runoff decreased. Following the end-Permian extinctions, the traditional curve of diversity began to increase, habitat area, nutrient levels and productivity all increased. Despite the confounding factors of differential preservation and sampling bias toward the present, the fossil record reflects a real response by the marine biosphere to tectonism, sea level, paleoceanographic regime and climate, and the spread of terrestrial floras, and their influence on habitat area, nutrient inputs, and productivity through time.     

A new terrestrial amphipod from tertiary amber deposits of Chiapas province,Southern Mexico

Transitroides morsei new genus, new species, is described from late Oligocene Early Miocene amber deposits of Chiapas Province from southern Mexico. This new taxon is the first known fossil member of the amphipod family Talitridae and superfamily Talitroidea. It appears intermediate between regional extant palustral (salt‐marsh) genera and fully terrestrial landhoppers of the genus Caribitroides. These beetle‐like crustaceans form a significant part of the forest‐floor leaf‐litter communities in some tropical parts of the globe. Extant terrestrial amphipods occur in south‐central Mexico and adjacent rain forest habitats in Central America and the Caribbean. Their occasional use of arboreal habitats in search for decaying organic matter, which serves as food, explains their occurrence in fossilized resin.     

广西田东县祥周公社定模洞调查报告

在田东定模洞的堆积层中,发现了一枚人牙化石和共生的哺乳动物化石,其时代初步定为更新世晚期。这是桂西人类化石的一个新地点。