ESTIMATION OF GLYCOLIPIDS IN FOUR SELECTED LOBES OF HUMAN BRAIN IN NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES1

Glycolipid (ganglioside, cerebroside and cerebroside sulphate) and cholesterol concentrations for cerebral grey matter from frontal, occipital, temporal and hippocampal lobes of patients with neurological diseases (Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, cerebrocortical atrophy, schizophrenia and chronic alcoholism) and controls are reported. The results indicate that the concentrations of these lipids are not uniform in the different lobes of both diseased and control brains. The concentrations of the cerebrosides and cerebroside sulphates were generally highest in the occipital lobe and lowest in the frontal lobe; ganglioside N-acetymeuraminic acid (NANA) concentrations on the other hand were lowest in the occipital lobe and highest in the frontal lobe. About one-half of the total NANA was found in the lipid-free residues. There was a general decrease in the concentrations of the glycolipids in the grey matter from the frontal, temporal and hippocampal lobes of brain obtained from patients with neurological diseases (the chronic alcoholic being excluded) below the control values from patients with no known neurological diseases. The cholesterol concentrations in the schizophrenic and alcoholic brains were reduced slightly in all the lobes studied. The general decrease in the glycolipid concentration in the diseased brain may indicate the extent of cortical degeneration.     

Glutathione peroxidase activity in surgical and autopsied human brains

Glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity was assayed in normal cerebral gray and white matter samples obtained from frontal, temporal, occipital and parietal lobes during surgical approach to an underlying lesion, and also in normal autopsied human frontal gray and white matter. GSHPx was assayed by a 2 step enzyme reaction which was monitored by following the oxidation of NADPH at 340 nm. It was found that all the brain samples studied contained GSHPx activity. Parietal lobe appeared to have the lowest GSHPx activity compared to temporal, occipital or frontal lobes. Mean enzyme activity in autopsied samples was comparable to that in surgical material. However, considerable loss of activity was observed after 10 years of tissue storage at –80°C.This investigation was supported by the Verterans Administration.     

Middle Eocene–Early Pliocene Subantarctic planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of Site 1090, Agulhas Ridge

The analysis of planktic foraminiferal assemblages from Site 1090 (ODP Leg 177), located in the central part of the Subantarctic Zone south of South Africa, provided a geochronology of a 330-m-thick sequence spanning the Middle Eocene to Early Pliocene. A sequence of discrete bioevents enables the calibration of the Antarctic Paleogene (AP) Zonation with lower latitude biozonal schemes for the Middle–Late Eocene interval. In spite of the poor recovery of planktic foraminiferal assemblages, a correlation with the lower latitude standard planktic foraminiferal zonations has been attempted for the whole surveyed interval. Identified bioevents have been tentatively calibrated to the geomagnetic polarity time scale following the biochronology of Berggren et al. (1995). Besides planktic foraminiferal bioevents, the disappearance of the benthic foraminifera Nuttallides truempyi has been used to approximate the Middle/Late Eocene boundary. A hiatus of at least 11.7 Myr occurs between 78 and 71 m composite depth extending from the Early Miocene to the latest Miocene–Early Pliocene. Middle Eocene assemblages exhibit a temperate affinity, while the loss of several planktic foraminiferal species by late Middle to early Late Eocene time reflects cooling. During the Late Eocene–Oligocene intense dissolution caused impoverishment of planktic foraminiferal assemblages possibly following the emplacement of cold, corrosive bottom waters. Two warming peaks are, however, observed: the late Middle Eocene is marked by the invasion of the warmer water Acarinina spinuloinflata and Hantkenina alabamensis at 40.5 Ma, while the middle Late Eocene experienced the immigration of some globigerinathekids including Globigerinatheka luterbacheri and Globigerinatheka cf. semiinvoluta at 34.3 Ma. A more continuous record is observed for the Early Miocene and the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene where planktic foraminiferal assemblages show a distinct affinity with southern mid- to high-latitude faunas.     

Relationship between body mass index and gray matter volume in 1,428 healthy individuals

Objective: To investigate any correlation between BMI and brain gray matter volume, we analyzed 1,428 healthy Japanese subjects by applying volumetric analysis and voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) using brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, which enables a global analysis of brain structure without a priori identification of a region of interest. Methods and Procedures: We collected brain MR images from 690 men and 738 women, and their height, weight, and other clinical information. The collected images were automatically normalized into a common standard space for an objective assessment of neuroanatomical correlations in volumetric analysis and VBM with BMI. Results: Volumetric analysis revealed a significant negative correlation in men (P < 0.001, adjusting for age, lifetime alcohol intake, history of hypertension, and diabetes mellitus), although not in women, between BMI and the gray matter ratio, which represents the percentage of gray matter volume in the intracranial volume. VBM revealed that, in men, the regional gray matter volume of the bilateral medial temporal lobes, anterior lobe of the cerebellum, occipital lobe, frontal lobe, precuneus, and midbrain showed significant negative correlations with BMI, while those of the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, posterior lobe of the cerebellum, frontal lobes, temporal lobes, thalami, and caudate heads showed significant positive correlations with BMI. Discussion: Global loss and regional alterations in gray matter volume occur in obese male subjects, suggesting that male subjects with a high BMI are at greater risk for future declines in cognition or other brain functions.     

Evolution of Paleocene to Early Eocene larger benthic foraminifer assemblages of the Indus Basin,Pakistan

Afzal, J., Williams, M., Leng, M.J., Aldridge, R.J. & Stephenson, M.H. 2011: Evolution of Paleocene to Early Eocene larger benthic foraminifer assemblages of the Indus Basin, Pakistan. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 299–320. The Paleocene–Early Eocene carbonate successions of the Indus Basin in Pakistan formed on the northwestern continental shelf margin of the Indian Plate in the eastern Tethys Ocean. Based on larger benthic foraminifera (LBF), eight Tethyan foraminiferal biozones (SBZ1–SBZ8) spanning the Paleocene to Early Eocene interval are identified. The base of the Eocene is identified by the first appearance of Alveolina sp. Other stratigraphically important LBFs that are characteristic of the earliest Eocene are Ranikothalia nuttalli, Discocyclina dispansa and Assilina dandotica. Stable isotope analysis through the Paleocene–Eocene (P–E) boundary interval identifies more positive δ¹³C values for the Late Paleocene (+3.4‰ to +3.0‰) and lower values (+2.7‰ to +1.6‰) for the earliest Eocene. However, there is insufficient sampling resolution to identify the maximum negative δ¹³C excursion of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. During Late Paleocene times LBF assemblages in the Indus Basin were taxonomically close to those of west Tethys, facilitating biostratigraphic correlation. However, this faunal continuity is lost at the P–E boundary and the earliest Eocene succession lacks typical west Tethys Nummulites, while Alveolina are rare; LBFs such as Miscellanea and Ranikothalia continue to dominate in the Indus Basin. The absence of Nummulites from the earliest Eocene of Pakistan and rarity of Alveolina, elsewhere used as the prime marker for the base of the Eocene, may imply biogeographical barriers between east and west Tethys, perhaps caused by the initial stages of India‐Asia collision. Later, at the level of the Eocene SBZ8 Biozone, faunal links were re‐established and many foraminifera with west Tethys affinities appeared in east Tethys, suggesting the barriers to migration ceased. □Biostratigraphy, Eocene, India‐Asia collision, larger benthic foraminifera, palaeoecology, Paleocene.     

The long‐term history of dispersal among lizards in the early Eocene: new evidence from a microvertebrate assemblage in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming,USA

Abstract: Early Eocene mammal faunas of North America were transformed by intercontinental dispersal at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary, but lizard faunas from the earliest Eocene of the same area were dominated by immigrants from within the continent. A new lizard assemblage from the middle early Eocene of Wyoming sheds light on the longer‐term history of dispersal in relation to climate change. The assemblage consists of three iguanid species (including two new species possibly closely related to living Anolis), Scincoideus, ‘Palaeoxantusia’, four anguids, two species of an undescribed new anguimorph clade, Provaranosaurus and a varanoid (cf. Saniwa). Most North American glyptosaurin glyptosaurines are now referred to Glyptosaurus, and Glyptosaurus hillsi is given a new diagnosis. Scincoideus is otherwise known only from the mid‐Paleocene of Belgium, and the specimens described here are the first to document intercontinental dispersal to North America among lizards in the early Eocene. Like in mammals, some immigrant lizard lineages first appearing in the Bighorn Basin in the earliest Eocene persisted in the area long after the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum, but other immigrants appear to have been restricted to the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum.     

A new large philisid (Mammalia,Chiroptera, Vespertilionoidea) from the late Early Eocene of Chambi,Tunisia

Abstract: Among the new dental remains from the late Early Eocene of Chambi (Kasserine area, Tunisia) is a large‐sized upper molar of a new bat species, Witwatia sigei nov. sp. (Chiroptera, Vespertilionoidea, Philisidae), described herein. The locality of Chambi has revealed evidence for an early appearance of two modern microchiropteran superfamilies in Africa: Dizzya exsultans, a Philisidae, which is considered to be an archaic Vespertilionoidea, and an indeterminate Rhinolophoidea. In addition to D. exsultans, the new species, W. sigei, is the second representative of the Philisidae in this locality. W. sigei extends back to the late Early Eocene the occurrence of the genus Witwatia, which was previously only reported from the early Late Eocene of the Fayum (BQ‐2, Egypt). By analogy with the largest extant microbats, the large size of Witwatia suggests a tendency to the opportunistic diet of this taxon, thereby contrasting with the strict insectivory characterizing primitive bats found in other continents in the same epoch.     

Geographical structure,narrow species ranges,and Cenozoic diversification in a pantropical clade of epiphyllous leafy liverworts

The evolutionary history and classification of epiphyllous cryptogams are still poorly known. Leptolejeunea is a largely epiphyllous pantropical liverwort genus with about 25 species characterized by deeply bilobed underleaves, elliptic to narrowly obovate leaf lobes, the presence of ocelli, and vegetative reproduction by cladia. Sequences of three chloroplast regions (rbcL, trnL‐F, psbA) and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region were obtained for 66 accessions of Leptolejeunea and six outgroup species to explore the phylogeny, divergence times, and ancestral areas of this genus. The phylogeny was estimated using maximum‐likelihood and Bayesian inference approaches, and divergence times were estimated with a Bayesian relaxed clock method. Leptolejeunea likely originated in Asia or the Neotropics within a time interval from the Early Eocene to the Late Cretaceous (67.9 Ma, 95% highest posterior density [HPD]: 47.9–93.7). Diversification of the crown group initiated in the Eocene or early Oligocene (38.4 Ma, 95% HPD: 27.2–52.6). Most species clades were established in the Miocene. Leptolejeunea epiphylla and L. schiffneri originated in Asia and colonized African islands during the Plio‐Pleistocene. Accessions of supposedly pantropical species are placed in different main clades. Several monophyletic morphospecies exhibit considerable sequence variation related to a geographical pattern. The clear geographic structure of the Leptolejeunea crown group points to evolutionary processes including rare long‐distance dispersal and subsequent speciation. Leptolejeunea may have benefitted from the large‐scale distribution of humid tropical angiosperm forests in the Eocene.     

New proviverrines (Hyaenodontida) from the early Eocene of Europe; phylogeny and ecological evolution of the Proviverrinae

We describe six proviverrine species from the Early Eocene of France. Three species are new: M inimovellentodon russelli sp. nov. from Mutigny [mammal palaeogene (MP)8 + 9], B oritia duffaudi sp. nov. from La Borie (MP8 + 9), and L eonhardtina godinoti sp. nov. from Grauves (MP10). We describe new specimens and propose new generic combinations for three species from MP10: Protoproviverra palaeonictides, Matthodon menui, and Oxyaenoides lindgreni. We also propose a new generic combination for the primitive Eoproviverra eisenmanni (MP7). Matthodon menui was previously considered as a possible oxyaenodontan, but the new fossils clearly support its reference to Hyaenodontida. Leonhardtina godinoti and Ma. menui are the oldest occurrences for these genera, which were previously unknown before the Middle Eocene. Moreover, the discovery of the proviverrine Mi. russelli in Mutigny implies that the Proviverrinae dispersed in Northern Europe between biozone Palaeocene‐Eocene (PE) III (Abbey Wood) and biozone PE IV (Mutigny). This also supports a homogenization of the European faunas during the Early Eocene. The dispersal is concomitant with the disappearance of the oxyaenodontans, arfiines, and sinopines (Hyaenodontida) from Europe. The proviverrines may have filled the ecological niches left vacant by the disappearance of the other carnivorous mammals. With 20 genera and over 30 species, proviverrines were successful in Europe. We performed the first phylogenetic analysis comprising almost all the Proviverrinae. Our analyses indicate that the Proviverrinae diversified greatly during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum and show a general trend towards specialization throughout the Eocene. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

Usefulness of Multi-Parametric MRI for the Investigation of Posterior Cortical Atrophy

Background

Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive decline in selective cognitive functions anatomically referred to occipital, parietal and temporal brain regions, whose diagnosis is rather challenging for clinicians. The aim of this study was to assess, using quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques, the pattern of regional grey matter loss and metabolism in individuals with PCA to improve pathophysiological comprehension and diagnostic confidence.

Methods

We enrolled 5 patients with PCA and 5 matched controls who all underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS). Patients also underwent neuropsychological and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assessments. MRI data were used for unbiased assessment of regional grey matter loss in PCA patients compared to controls. MRS data were obtained from a set of brain regions, including the occipital lobe and the centrum semiovale bilaterally, and the posterior and anterior cingulate.

Results

VBM analysis documented the presence of focal brain atrophy in the occipital lobes and in the posterior parietal and temporal lobes bilaterally but more pronounced on the right hemisphere. MRS revealed, in the occipital lobes and in the posterior cingulate cortex of PCA patients, reduced levels of N-Acetyl Aspartate (NAA, a marker of neurodegeneration) and increased levels of Myo-Inositol (Ins, a glial marker), with no hemispheric lateralization.

Conclusion

The bilateral but asymmetric pattern of regional grey matter loss is consistent with patients’ clinical and neuropsychological features and with previous literature. The MRS findings reveal different stages of neurodegeneration (neuronal loss; gliosis), which coexist and likely precede the occurrence of brain tissue loss, and might represent early biomarkers. In conclusion, this study indicates the potential usefulness of a multi-parametric MRI approach for an early diagnosis and staging of patients with PCA.     

Facies dynamics in Eocene to Oligocene circumalpine carbonates

A new concept, termed ‘Facies Dynamics’ (defined as changes of specific carbonate facies types in time and space, which are controlled by phylogenetic, ecological and geological parameters), is introduced. This concept aims to define and interpret spatial and temporal changes of carbonate facies patterns. It is based on Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene shallow-water carbonate facies types from the circumalpine area (north-eastern Italy, northern Slovenia, Austria and southern Bavaria), which are compared with respect to dominating biogenic components and their distributions along a shelf gradient. This comparison has lead to the distinction and definition of 14 Major Facies Types (MFTs), which are dominated by coralline algae, larger and smaller foraminifera, corals and bryozoans. The presence and distribution of these MFTs from three different time slices (Middle Eocene, Late Eocene and Early Oligocene) is compared. Nine aspects of facies dynamics are distinguished: origination, extinction, immigration, emigration, expansion, reduction, stasis, shift, and replacement of MFTs. These changes are controlled by regional changes in ecological parameters, but also by global events, especially extinction patterns at the Middle/Late Eocene boundary and at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary.     

Variations and asymmetries in regional brain surface in the genus Homo

Paleoneurology is an important field of research within human evolution studies. Variations in size and shape of an endocast help to differentiate among fossil hominin species whereas endocranial asymmetries are related to behavior and cognitive function. Here we analyse variations of the surface of the frontal, parieto-temporal and occipital lobes among different species of Homo, including 39 fossil hominins, ten fossil anatomically modern Homo sapiens and 100 endocasts of extant modern humans. We also test for the possible asymmetries of these features in a large sample of modern humans and observe individual particularities in the fossil specimens.This study contributes important new information about the brain evolution in the genus Homo. Our results show that the general pattern of surface asymmetry for the different regional brain surfaces in fossil species of Homo does not seem to be different from the pattern described in a large sample of anatomically modern H. sapiens, i.e., the right hemisphere has a larger surface than the left, as do the right frontal, the right parieto-temporal and the left occipital lobes compared with the contra-lateral side. It also appears that Asian Homo erectus specimens are discriminated from all other samples of Homo, including African and Georgian specimens that are also sometimes included in that taxon. The Asian fossils show a significantly smaller relative size of the parietal and temporal lobes. Neandertals and anatomically modern H. sapiens, who share the largest endocranial volume of all hominins, show differences when considering the relative contribution of the frontal, parieto-temporal and occipital lobes. These results illustrate an original variation in the pattern of brain organization in hominins independent of variations in total size. The globularization of the brain and the enlargement of the parietal lobes could be considered derived features observed uniquely in anatomically modern H. sapiens.     

Parietal lobe variation in cercopithecid endocasts

In extant primates, the posterior parietal cortex is involved in visuospatial integration, attention, and eye‐hand coordination, which are crucial functions for foraging and feeding behaviors. Paleoneurology studies brain evolution through the analysis of endocasts, that is molds of the inner surface of the braincase. These may preserve imprints of cortical structures, such as sulci, which might be of interest for locating the boundaries of major cortical regions. Old World monkeys (Cercopithecidae) represent an interesting zoological group for evolutionary studies, because of their diverse ecologies and locomotor behaviors. In this study, we quantify parietal lobe variation within the cercopithecid family, in a sample of 30 endocasts including 11 genera and 17 species, by combining landmark‐based and landmark‐free geometric morphometric analyses. More specifically, we quantitatively assess variation of the parietal proportions based on landmarks placed on reliable anatomical references and of parietal lobe surface morphology through deformation‐based methods. The main feature associated with the cercopithecid endocranial variation regards the inverse proportions of parietal and occipital lobes, with colobines, Theropithecus, and Papio displaying relatively larger parietal lobes and smaller occipital lobes compared with cercopithecins. The parietal surface is anteroposteriorly longer and mediolaterally flatter in colobines, while longitudinally shorter but laterally bulging in baboons. Large parietal lobes in colobines and baboons are likely to be independent evolutionary traits, and not necessarily associated with analogous functions or morphogenetic mechanisms.     

Stereotypic boring behaviour inferred from the earliest known octopod feeding traces: Early Eocene,southern England

Todd, JA. & Harper, EM. 2011: Stereotypic boring behaviour inferred from the earliest known octopod feeding traces: Early Eocene, southern England. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 214–222. A bulk sample of 267 disarticulated valves of the bivalve Venericor clarendonensis (Wood) collected from the Lower Eocene London Clay (southern UK) yielded 38 individuals that had been perforated by small drill holes (0.70–2.14 mm in outer diameter). These drill holes had more or less circular plan views, with slightly irregular openings, and taper as they pass through the valve, conforming to the ichnotaxon Oichnus simplex Bromley. They show stereotypic positioning, being concentrated in the posterior region on the prey, moreover there is remarkable preference for perforating the sites of muscle attachment (principally the posterior adductor). We consider the most likely culprits to be octopods. As such these are the oldest octopod drill holes yet recorded. They provide the only evidence of these important top predators in this shallow marine community and also demonstrate that the sophisticated predatory behaviour shown by modern octopods had been evolved by at least the Early Eocene. □Eocene, octopod behaviour, Oichnus, stereotypic boring.     

Microfacies and sequence stratigraphy of the Amapá Formation, Late Paleocene to Early Eocene, Foz do Amazonas Basin, Brazil

On the basis of thin-section studies of cuttings and a core from two wells in the Amapá Formation of the Foz do Amazonas Basin, five main microfacies have been recognized within three stratigraphic sequences deposited during the Late Paleocene to Early Eocene. The facies are: 1) Ranikothalia grainstone to packstone facies; 2) ooidal grainstone to packstone facies; 3) larger foraminiferal and red algal grainstone to packstone facies; 4) Amphistegina and Helicostegina packstone facies; and 5) green algal and small benthic foraminiferal grainstone to packstone facies, divisible locally into a green algal and the miliolid foraminiferal subfacies and a green algal and small rotaliine foraminiferal subfacies. The lowermost sequence (S1) was deposited in the Late Paleocene–Early Eocene (biozone LF1, equivalent to P3–P6?) and includes rudaceous grainstones and packstones with large specimens of Ranikothalia bermudezi representative of the mid- and inner ramp. The intermediate and uppermost sequences (S2 and S3) display well-developed lowstand deposits formed at the end of the Late Paleocene (upper biozone LF1) and beginning of the Early Eocene (biozone LF2) on the inner ramp (larger foraminiferal and red algal grainstone to packstone facies), in lagoons (green algal and small benthic foraminiferal facies) and as shoals (ooidal facies) or banks (Amphistegina and Helicostegina facies). Depth and oceanic influence were the main controls on the distribution of these microfacies. Stratal stacking patterns evident within these sequences may well have been related to sea level changes postulated for the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene. During this time, the Amapá Formation was dominated by cyclic sedimentation on a gently sloping ramp. Environmental and ecological stress brought about by sea level change at the end of the biozone LF1 led to the extinction of the larger foraminifera (Ranikothalia bermudezi).     

A new species of Limnofregata (Pelecaniformes: Fregatidae) from the Early Eocene Wasatch Formation of Wyoming: implications for palaeoecology and palaeobiology

A humerus and a coracoid from the Early Eocene Wasatch Formation in the Washakie Basin of south‐western Wyoming are the oldest materials (by ~2 million years) of the pelecaniform Limnofregata (Aves) and represent a new large species, Limnofregata hutchisoni sp. nov. This fossil is the oldest known member of the frigatebird lineage. Other than its large size relative to Limnofregata azygosternon and L. hasegawai, the new material is very similar morphologically to other known Limnofregata specimens. The size of this new species is comparable to the largest living species (e.g. Fregata minor and Fregata magnifiscens) and much larger than the two described species of Limnofregata. This fossil indicates that the hard minimum date previously advocated for molecular calibration of the split between Fregatidae and Suloidea is an underestimate by approximately two million years. The presence of early pelecaniform bird lineages (represented by Limnofregata and Masillastega) in limnic ecosystems prior to their known occurrences in marine deposits/habitats appears to indicate that some clades of pelecaniform birds may have undergone an evolutionary transition from freshwater to marine habitats in a pattern reminiscent of what has been suggested during the evolution of pinnipeds or that their palaeoecology included broader niches ranging across a variety of aquatic habitats. That transition in habitat occupation and the origin of many of the characteristic biological aspects present in the crown frigatebird clade likely occurred during a significant temporal gap (> 45 million years) in the fossil record of the frigatebird lineage after these earliest occurrences in the Early Eocene and before the oldest records of the extant Fregata species in the Pleistocene.     

Rhizocorallium hamatum (Fischer-Ooster 1858), a Zoophycos-like trace fossil from deep-sea Cretaceous-Neogene sediments

Rhizocorallium hamatum (Fischer-Ooster 1858) is a trace fossil of the Zoophycos group, which is distinguished by its mostly horizontal, branched spreite lobes. It has so far, been ascribed mainly to Zoophycos, but the latter should be limited to forms having helical whorls, which are absent in R. hamatum. It has also been ascribed to Phycosiphon, which, however, shows J-shaped spreite lobes, while the lobes of R. hamatum are U-shaped. R. hamatum is very similar to R. commune var. irregulare, but the latter displays a distinctly wider marginal tunnel with respect to lobe width. R. hamatum occurs from the Turonian to Eocene, possibly from the Hauterivian to Oligocene, but mostly from Maastrichtian to Palaeocene, deep sea, mainly turbiditic sediments rich in marl. The tracemaker, probably a ‘worm’-like invertebrate, ingested an organic-rich mud of the background sediment and relocated it into the middle to deep tiers within the underlying turbiditic marl, mostly in form of faecal pellets packed within the spreite lobes, for further use as a food resource. This way of feeding was a response to food deficiency on the deep-sea floor.     

Early Palaeogene Louisinidae (Macroscelidea,Mammalia), their relationships and north European diversity

Seventeen species from the Palaeocene and Early Eocene of northern Europe, of which 12 are new, are described belonging to the extinct macroscelidean family Louisinidae, raised here from subfamily rank. These species belong to nine genera, of which five are new. The new genera are Walbeckodon , Berrulestes , Gigarton , Thryptodon , and Prolouisina . The new species are Walbeckodon krumbiegeli , Walbeckodon girardi , Paschatherium levei , Berrulestes phelizoni , Berrulestes pellouini , Berrulestes poirieri , Gigarton meyeri , Gigarton sigogneauae , Gigarton louisi , Thryptodon brailloni , Louisina marci , and Teilhardimys brisswalteri . Prolouisina is erected for ‘Louisina’atavella Russell, 1964. Cladistic analysis was undertaken to understand the relationships within the Louisinidae and between them and the North American family Apheliscidae, in which they had earlier been included as a subfamily. Louisinidae are shown to be sister group to a clade consisting of Apheliscidae plus Amphilemuridae and part of a paraphyletic and polyphyletic Adapisoricidae, all of which are tentatively considered to be stem members of the order Macroscelidea. The most primitive macroscelidid, Chambius, from the Early Eocene of northern Africa is nested within Apheliscidae when postcranial characters were included, but in a majority of cases within the Louisinidae when postcranial characters were excluded. Most species from northern Europe became extinct at the end of the Palaeocene, although the genus Paschatherium survived for much of the Early Eocene and Teilhardimys survived into the earliest Eocene. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164 , 856–936.     

The timing of spheno‐occipital fusion in hominoids

The degree of spheno‐occipital fusion has been used to assign a relative age to dentally mature hominoid cranial specimens. However, a recent study of captive individuals (Poe: Am J Phys Anthropol 144 (2011) 162–165) concluded that fusion of the spheno‐occipital suture in great ape taxa is of little utility for aging dentally mature individuals. In this contribution, I use dentally mature samples of extant hominoid taxa (Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and Hylobates lar) to investigate a) the temporal relationship between spheno‐occipital fusion and dental maturity, b) whether there is an association between the degree of spheno‐occipital fusion and relative age, c) whether there are differences in relative timing of spheno‐occipital fusion between taxa, and d) whether there are sex differences in the relative timing of spheno‐occipital fusion. Results suggest that a) a substantial proportion of dentally mature wild‐shot chimpanzee, gorilla and orang‐utans have unfused or partially fused spheno‐occipital synchondoses, b) there is an association between the degree of spheno‐occipital fusion and age, c) there are interspecific differences in the timing of spheno‐occipital fusion, and d) there are significant sex differences in spheno‐occipital fusion in chimpanzees, orang‐utans and gibbons. Thus, contrary to previous work, degree of spheno‐occipital fusion is a potentially useful indicator of relative maturity, especially in great ape taxa. Am J Phys Anthropol 156:135–140, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.