Taxonomie du grand canidé de la grotte du Vallonnet (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, France)

The large canid of Vallonnet cave belongs to Xenocyon lycaonoides. Its remains are similar to the Xenocyon from Untermassfeld in Germany. X. Lycaonoides, and evoluated form of the Xenocyon genus, is characteristic of the second half of the Lower Pleistocene. The genus Xenocyon may be the ancestor of both Cuon and Lycaon.     

J. Deprat,l’Eubée (Grèce) et les fossiles introuvables

In Evia (Greece), limestones attributed to the lower Cretaceous by J. Deprat are in fact of Triassic to Upper Jurassic age. These erroneous attributions are based on the allegedly presence of Barremian and Albian fossils and on the supposed progressive passage of these limestones to the Cenomanian ones. Generally, except for the upper Cretaceous rich in Rudists and known since older works, a big part of the stratigraphical attributions of J. Deprat in Median Evia are erroneous.     

La phalange distale du pouce d’Orrorin tugenensis (Miocène supérieur du Kenya)

The lion's share of articles dealing with the thumb anatomy of Plio-Pleistocene hominids has focussed on the capacity to manipulate and manufacture tools, and has largely neglected the locomotor aspects. However, in these hominids, the forelimb was still employed in locomotion. Certain of the anatomical characters classically associated with manipulation and/or fabrication of tools are already present in the Late Miocene species Orrorin tugenensis as shown by the terminal thumb phalanx BAR 1901'01. This specimen reveals crucial information suggesting that thumb morphology is not exclusively related to such tool using and manufacturing activities but reflects in a frequently bipedal creature a deeper adaptation concerning the precision grip essential for climbing and balancing, different from that of apes.     

Apport des grands mammifères de la grotte du Vallonnet (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, France) à la connaissance du cadre biochronologique de la seconde moitié du Pléistocène inférieur d'Europe

The large mammals of Vallonnet cave, found into a level contemporary of Jaramillo event, are characteristics of the second half of the Lower Pleistocene. Some differences with the faunas of Fuente Nueva 3 and Barranco Leon, in Spain, which datation is the middle of the Lower Pleistocene, show that Vallonnet is younger. On the other hand, the differences are clear with Soleilhac faunas, which datation is the beginning of the middle Pleistocene.     

La migration de la plate-forme urgonienne entre le Jura plissé et les Chaînes subalpines septentrionales (France, Suisse)

The stratigraphic study of the Urgonian carbonate platform presented here was carried out on a directed transversal NW-SE and passing by Geneva. This transversal extends on 100 km length; it lies between the face of the “folded Jura” (Champagnole, the Jura) and the septentrional subalpine chains (Aravis, Haute-Savoie). Essentially based on the biostratigraphy (ammonites, orbitolinids, echinids) and on sequence stratigraphy, this study illustrates the progradation of the Urgonian platform from the “folded Jura” (top of the Lower Hauterivian) to the Aravais chain (lowermost Barremian).     

Stratigraphie et sédimentologie des « Couches rouges » continentales du Jurassique-Crétacé du Haut Atlas central (Maroc) : implications paléogéographiques et géodynamiques

In several synclines of the central High Atlas, the “Redbeds” following the closure of the marine Tethyan Atlasic trough during the Middle Jurassic are constituted by three successive formations or units of continental deposits dated recently with biostratigraphical elements. Some micropaleontological markers, mainly charophytes and ostracods, allow to precise the stratigraphy in agreement with a Bathonian-?Callovian assignment for the lower unit (Guettioua Formation), and in dating the middle and upper units. The Upper Jurassic, mainly the Kimmeridgian, is developed in the lower part of the middle unit (Iouaridene Formation). The Barremian has been recognized in this middle unit and in the upper unit (Jbel Sidal Formation). The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary is thus delimited for the first time with micropaleontological data. These new data are very significant for the Atlasic history during the Mesozoic. The basaltic flows inserted in the continental Jurassic-Cretaceous deposits of the central High Atlas result from two separate events in the Middle Jurassic and in the Barremian. The tectogenesis in the basins is characterized by a polyphase process including notably a synsedimentary tectonic activity conspicuous in the Barremian. The evidence of marine to brackish intercalations allows moreover to date the first Cretaceous transgressive event on the NW boundary of the High Atlas during the Lower Barremian and to consider an Atlantic paleogeographical interaction. SW margin of the Tethyan trough in the Lower and Middle Jurassic, the central High Atlas is merged with the margin of the central Atlantic Ocean during the Lower Cretaceous.     

Nouveaux gisements à rongeurs dans le Miocène moyen continental du Bassin d'Aït Kandoula (Maroc)

The Azdal section in the Aït Kandoula basin show a succession of four fossiliferous layers delivering micromammals particularly rodents are very abundant than the great mammals. Mellalomys kandoulati nov. sp. is described in the oldest layer of the section. Compared to the Middle Miocene fauna of North Africa all the species from different layers are not yet reach the evolutionary stage of those of Pataniak 6. The old level has an age similar to those of Beni Mellal. The magnetostratigraphic study allows to situating these fore layers in chron C5An.2n and C5AAn.     

Anglesites gen. nov. (Ammonoidea, Ancyloceratina), un nouveau genre d’ammonites hétéromorphes du Barrémien supérieur du Sud-Est de la France

The revision of the Crioceras puzosianum d’Orbigny, 1842 made during the revision of the Paléontologie Française of d’Orbigny, shows that this taxon belongs to a new genus: Anglesites gen. nov. This new genus, from upper Barremian age, is monospecific for the moment and is homeomorphic to the Leptoceratoides from the Lower Barremian. It is temporarily included in the subfamily of the Leptoceratoidinae. A neotype for the “Crioceras” puzosianum d’Orbigny, 1842 is herein designated.     

Récentes découvertes de restes d'Hominidés fossiles en Chine du Sud

After the discovery of the controversial hominids and artefacts at the Longgupo site, three Early Pleistocene sites in the southern valleys of the Changjiang (Yangtze) were excavated from 1998 to 2000 in order to test the hypothesis that the hominids exist in China before 2 Ma. Three cheek teeth of Meganthropus palaeojavanicus, more than six hundreds pieces of artefacts of Mode 1 technology and thousands pieces of mammal fossils of Villafranchian age were unearthed in situ at the Longgudong Site in Hubei Province. More than 120 pieces of artefacts of Mode 1 technology and seven thousands pieces of mammal fossils of Villafranchian age were unearthed in situ at the Renzidong Site in Anhui Province. Although no new materials of hominids and artefacts were unearthed at the Yuanmou Man Site at Danawu in Yunnan Province, new materials of mammalian fauna confirm the horizon yielding the Yuanmou Man fossils is of the Early Pleistocene. These new discoveries imply that the appearance of hominids in China is very likely before 2 Ma. If the new report of 3 Ma artefact from Yuxian of the Nihewan Basin in northern China can be confirmed, it will be a strong support for the Continuity Theory.     

Les faunes de grands mammifères de la Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel) dans le cadre biochronologique des faunes du Pléistocène moyen italien

The fossiliferous levels of Caune de l'Arago supply a useful tool to investigate the relationships between faunal renewals and climate changes in a restricted area during the Middle Pleistocene. On the other hand the Italian fossil assemblages of the middle Galerian testified changes of palaeoenvironmental conditions. A biochronologic and palaeoecologic comparison among large mammalian faunas of these quite different Mediterranean regions have been performed in the aim to value possible vicariance of taxa and differences of faunal renewal dynamic during the Middle Pleistocene. After the results of our analysis we can correlate the faunal assemblages from the “Complexe moyen, ensemble stratigraphique I”, “Complexe moyen, ensembles stratigraphiques II and III”, “Complexe supérieur, sols A and B” of Caune de L'Arago sedimentary succession with the Italian Isernia (middle Galerian), Fontana Ranuccio (late Galerian) and Torre in Pietra (early Aurelian) faunal units (FUs) respectively. The French faunal assemblages were characterised by the absence of browsers and, conversely, by the presence of boreal taxa, mainly grazers, that were rare or never occurred in Italy. Accordingly, at no one Italian faunal complex, as expected, we can find any indication of continental cold climatic condition as showed by the faunal complexes of the Caune de l'Arago. Nevertheless, the major climate changes characterising the Middle Pleistocene can be detected in both regions. During the span time of Isernia FU, the temperature was at its lowest and arid conditions prevailed, whereas during the following Fontana Ranuccio FU humidity and temperature increased, as is more evident in central Italy local faunas. Moreover, after the similarity analysis, the Visogliano local fauna (North-Eastern Italy) was more related to the French than to the Italian ones. During the late Middle Pleistocene (Torre in Pietra FU) a moderate faunal reconstruction can be detected in both regions. The renewal was linked to climatic modifications taking place in the Mediterranean area approximately around OIS 11/OIS 10 transition, when interstadials became progressively milder and average humidity increased.     

Ostracodes bathyaux du Crétacé terminal - Éocène moyen en Atlantique tropical (Plateau de Demerara, Leg 207)

Ostracode faunal assemblages which lived in bathyal environments are analysed from uppermost Maastrichtian - middle Eocene sediments of sites 1260 and 1261, drilled on the distal margin of Demerara, off Surinam (Leg 207, western tropical Atlantic). As for numerous other groups, the Cretaceous/Tertiary mass extinction event led to the disappearance of numerous bathyal ostracode species and it was followed by a very slow recovery during the Palaeocene. It appears that this extinction event was more devastating for detritus-feeder ostracode species than for filter or silt-eater groups, which crossed the K/T boundary without any or little morphological change. This extinction selectivity may be explained by the drop in productivity of surface waters which took place at the K/T boundary. Finally, psychrospheric ostracode species were encountered in Middle Eocene sediments, confirming thus the general cooling of deep oceanic realm recognised in general for this time interval.     

Comparaison de l'expression de certains caractères crâniens sur les hominidés chinois du Pléistocène récent et de l'Holocène (grotte supérieure de Zhoukoudian, sites de Longxian et de Yanqing)

The human remains recovered from “Grotte supérieure de Zhoukoudian” are the best-preserved Late Pleistocene human fossils in East Asia. For decades, as the representative of the Late Pleistocene human in East Asia, the Upper Cave skulls have been playing important role in the research of origins of modern Mongoloids and American Indians. With the advance of the origin and evolution of modern humans, more attention has been paid to the details and the mechanisms for the late Pleistocene human evolution and the formation of modern human populations. Both the origin and diversification of modern humans have been stressed. Some studies further trigger the debaters on the Upper Cave Man concerning its evolutionary level and its role in the formation of modern human populations in East Asia. To further explore these problems, we examined and compared 12 non-metric features on the 3 Late Pleistocene Upper Cave skulls and 162 Holocene individuals earthed from two archaeological sites of North China (Longxian and Yanqing). Our results indicate that 8 on the 12 features have different expression patterns between Upper Cave Man and recent Chinese leading the authors to believe that more primitive expressions appeared on the Upper Cave Man than on recent Chinese populations. Based on these findings, some problems on the intragroup variation in Late Pleistocene and Holocene populations are discussed.     

L'industrie lithique du Paléolithique dans la région de Jungwon en Corée

Prehistoric people have been often lived in the Jungwon region during the Paleolithic. It is a reference for development of the Paleolithic cultures in Korea. During the lower Paleolithic, pebble tool culture has been developed: tools were made with local raw materials and direct percussion and anvil technique were utilized. Debitage and raw material of the middle Paleolithic did not make a great difference to the lower Paleolithic. Otherwise, tool size became small and the number of flake tools increased. The crucial changes occurred during the upper Paleolithic. Technique, acquisition of raw material and tool kits were thoroughly innovated. All of these changes would reveal that the upper Paleolithic people have carried out more various activities, that earlier periods and their social structure would be more complex than other ones'.     

L'hominidé du Pléistocène supérieur en Corée

Since the middle of 1970s, one rock-shelter, six caves and one open archaeological site have yielded several hominid fossils. Among them, fossils from Yonggok, Mandal, Sangsi and Hungsu cave sites are useful to reconstruct the general shape of the Upper Pleistocene Hominids in Korea. The main study of this paper is to focus on the reconstruction of the general shape of the upper Pleistocene hominids, and to examine the cause of cranial changes from the late upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic period in Korea. Biomechanical principles are also applied to reconstruct the social activity of the upper Paleolithic man in Korea. In addition, it is assumed that main proponent of Paleolithic cultures in Korea might be Homo sapiens rather than any other species. Based on the anatomical characteristics of skull, the axillary border of the scapular and the midshaft of the femur, general appearance of Homo sapiens during the Pleistocene in Korea could be reconstructed.     

Les séries silicoclastiques miocènes du Nord-Est au Sud-Ouest de la Tunisie : une mise au point

During the Miocene time, the Atlas-pelagian block, which is limited northward by the atlasic-alpin chain of North Africa-Sicily, southward by the Gafsa-Jeffara-Azizia fault and eastward by the Malta escarpment, resulted from the extension-compression regime, mainly controlled by the subduction-collision processes. This regime induced the opening of many Miocene microbasins, which have been infilled by silicoclastic materials showing lateral and vertical facies variations and several hiatus associated to tectonic and stratigraphic unconformities. Excepting the very local transgressive regimes, such as those of Langhian and Messinian periods, most of the Miocene deposits took place on internal platforms, especially at the NE part of the country. The fluviodeltaic and alluvial sediments are, in fact, lateral equivalents which infilled the valley and depression enclosed systems towards the SW. In this context (rapid facies variations in time and space, superposition of tectonic and eustatic unconformities, climatic variations, rare or absent stratigraphic markers…), some controversies remain as regards the correlation and dating of these series. This work consists of a study of the lateral and vertical facies and thickness variations, coupled to the identification of the main unconformities. It is also a study of significance of the main sedimentological mechanisms and an inventory of the different palynological and paleontological content of the sediments. The aim of this work is to propose a new vision on the Miocene deposits in Tunisia along a NE-SW axis. Then, using these data, we have correlated the different lithological formations, discuss their age and, finally, proposed paleogeographical drafts for them.     

Les kystes de dinoflagellés des Argiles Ostréennes du Bassin de Paris, France

Palynological studies realized from a borehole drilled on the site of ANDRA (Agence Nationale pour la gestion des Déchets RAdioactifs; Aube Centre near Soulaines, Paris Basin, France) show a sedimentary discontinuity between, on one hand, the Argiles à Plicatules (lower Aptian in age) and Argiles Ostréennes (Lower Barremian/Upper Barremian in age) and, on the other hand, between these same Argiles Ostréennes and the Calcaire à Spatangues (Lower Hauterivian). These conclusions argue against the chronostratigraphical subdivision recently proposed on the basis of sequence stratigraphical and sedimentological interpretations.     

Age determination of the Arcillas de Morella Formation (Maestrazgo Basin,Spain)

New palynological analysis of the Arcillas de Morella Formation provides data for determinations of age of the Lower Cretaceous strata in the Ermita Sant Antoni de la Vespa section located in the district of Els Ports in the Morella sub-basin of Castellón province, north-eastern Spain. Controversy still exists over the age of this formation, which is imprecisely dated as either Barremian or Aptian in age. Detailed reconnaissance of palynological content (dinocyst, pollen and spore assemblages) together with ammonoid data permits a more accurate biostratigraphic assessment of this deposit. The presence of Subtilisphaera terrula, Florentinia mantelli and Oligosphaeridium abaculum indicates a Barremian age at the base of the formation. The presence of Stellatopollis at the top of this formation possibly indicates that the deposit may be as old as latest Barremian. Furthermore, a recent study of ammonoids situated the Barremian-Aptian boundary within the overlying Cap de Vinyet Member of the Forcall Formation in the Morella sub-basin. This study together with the palynological assemblage from the Arcillas de Morella Formation indicates a Barremian age for this deposit.     

NEW MULTITUBERCULATE MAMMALS FROM THE HAUTERIVIAN/BARREMIAN TRANSITION OF EUROPE (IBERIAN PENINSULA)

Abstract: New multituberculate mammals from the Hauterivian/Barremian transition of Europe are described. They were found in the late Hauterivian‐early Barremian fossiliferous locality of La Cantalera (Josa, Teruel, Spain), one of the Early Cretaceous sites in the Aragonese branch of the Iberian Ranges, in northeastern Iberia. The fossils have been assigned to at least three taxa on the basis of nine isolated teeth: a new pinheirodontid taxon, Cantalera abadi gen. et sp. nov.; a representative of the eobaatarid Eobaatar; a taxon described as Plagiaulacidae or Eobaataridae gen. et sp. indet.; and other as Plagiaulacida indet. These fossils have increased the resolution of European Early Cretaceous multituberculate mammalian biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography: the oldest representative of Eobaatar is described here; a taxon is assigned to ?Plagiaulacidae, in which case it would be the first of this family in the Iberian Peninsula; and the discovery of a new late Hauterivian pinheirodontid taxon demonstrates greater biodiversity and a wider distribution for these multituberculates than was previously known. The mutituberculate fauna of La Cantalera consists of endemic taxa (Pinheirodontidae), which were restricted to what is now Western Europe, and others (Eobaataridae) which have also been described in Asia. Consistent with the Iberian record of late Barremian gobiconodontid mammals, the presence of Eobaatar in Iberia with representatives from the late Hauterivian to late Barremian, as well as in the Aptian or Albian of Mongolia, indicates that faunal exchanges between Europe and Asia could have existed for most of the Early Cretaceous, either sporadically or constantly.     

Biostratigraphie d’après les foraminifères et paléoenvironnements des séries post-Éocène du sondage ASHTART 28, golfe de Gabès (Tunisie)

The Cenozoic sequence of Ashtart 28 well drilled in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia) is the subject of a biostratigraphical study. The samples recovered in cuttings from 390 m and downwards allowed to recognize, above the Late Eocene sediments, a sedimentary series, lithologically diversified, nearly 1600 m thick. Marine Pliocene deposits, generally attesting a low bathymetry, lie unconformably above the Messinian (Oued Bel Khedim formation), which shows the usual features of the Mediterranean confinement. The underlying Messinian pre-evaporitic platform series (Melqart formation), that is over 250 m thick, is typical of a perireefal environment. The sediments assigned to the Tortonian (Somâa Sands formation) are continental and occur unconformably above the approximately 500-metres-thick Middle Miocene strata (Saouaf, Mahmoud, Aïn Grab and Salammbô pars formations). The marine Lower Miocene and Oligocene sediments (Salammbô pars and Ketatna formations), that are more than 300 m thick, lie in continuity under the Middle Miocene. The infralittoral Chattian sequence has especially supplied a diversified assemblage of larger foraminifera recovered in other west-mediterranean basins. Datings were obtained based on planktonic and larger benthic foraminifera (Miogypsinidae, Nummulitidae, Lepidocyclinidae) and by correlations obtained by means of well loggings and lithostratigraphy. Benthic foraminifera, mainly listed for the Miocene and Oligocene, are studied from a systematic, stratigraphic and paleogeographic point of view. The paleoenvironments of deposits are defined for each considered stratigraphic interval. Comparisons are sketched with other drillings of the Gulf of Gabes. Thanks to the numerous data obtained by this detailed study, the Ashtart drilling can serve as a reference for the Tertiary sequence of this part of the Mediterranean domain.     

Evolution of the rudist bivalve Agriopleura Kühn (Radiolitidae,Hippuritida) from the Mediterranean region

The genus Agriopleura (Radiolitidae) is restricted to the Lower Cretaceous of the Mediterranean region, including the Middle East, and this rudist is apparently absent from the New World. Agriopleura underwent a size increase from late Hauterivian to mid‐late Barremian, matching Cope's rule, followed by a Lilliput phase in the early Aptian. The relative development of radial bands increased through time and represents a key evolutionary index. During its evolution, Agriopleura increased in species diversity and expanded geographically onto the European Mediterranean Tethyan margin from the late Hauterivian to Barremian, after which it disappeared from the region (pseudotermination). In the lower Aptian, after a Lazarus gap, the genus reappears in the southern Mediterranean Tethyan margin. Assuming that Archaeoradiolites is the direct descendant of Agriopleura, the disappearance of the genus in the mid‐Aptian was a pseudoextinction and this coincided with a major crisis of shallow carbonate settings and their associated biota. The definition of Agriopleura species is based on a set of qualitative and quantitative external and internal characters. Five species are recognized: three Barremian species, Agriopleura blumenbachi, the type species, A. marticensis and A. carinata; one lower Aptian species A. libanica; and a new species A. sequana restricted to the upper Hauterivian. Principal component analysis is used to test the distinctiveness of the species and the pattern of relationships of some of their key quantitative characters.