The Last Record of an Ailuropod Bear from the Iberian Peninsula
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JVP 26(3) September 2006—ABSTRACTS
Neoceti Symposium, Saturday 8:45 acid-prepared osteolepiforms Medoevia and Gogonasus has offered strong support for BODY SIZE AND CRYPTIC TROPHIC SEPARATION OF GENERALIZED Jarvik’s interpretation, but Eusthenopteron itself has not been reexamined in detail. PIERCE-FEEDING CETACEANS: THE ROLE OF FEEDING DIVERSITY DUR- Uncertainty has persisted about the relationship between the large endoskeletal “fenestra ING THE RISE OF THE NEOCETI endochoanalis” and the apparently much smaller choana, and about the occlusion of upper ADAM, Peter, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; JETT, Kristin, Univ. of and lower jaw fangs relative to the choana. California, Davis, Davis, CA; OLSON, Joshua, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los A CT scan investigation of a large skull of Eusthenopteron, carried out in collaboration Angeles, CA with University of Texas and Parc de Miguasha, offers an opportunity to image and digital- Marine mammals with homodont dentition and relatively little specialization of the feeding ly “dissect” a complete three-dimensional snout region. We find that a choana is indeed apparatus are often categorized as generalist eaters of squid and fish. However, analyses of present, somewhat narrower but otherwise similar to that described by Jarvik. It does not many modern ecosystems reveal the importance of body size in determining trophic parti- receive the anterior coronoid fang, which bites mesial to the edge of the dermopalatine and tioning and diversity among predators. We established relationships between body sizes of is received by a pit in that bone. The fenestra endochoanalis is partly floored by the vomer extant cetaceans and their prey in order to infer prey size and potential trophic separation of and the dermopalatine, restricting the choana to the lateral part of the fenestra. -
Carnivora from the Late Miocene Love Bone Bed of Florida
Bull. Fla. Mus. Nat. Hist. (2005) 45(4): 413-434 413 CARNIVORA FROM THE LATE MIOCENE LOVE BONE BED OF FLORIDA Jon A. Baskin1 Eleven genera and twelve species of Carnivora are known from the late Miocene Love Bone Bed Local Fauna, Alachua County, Florida. Taxa from there described in detail for the first time include the canid cf. Urocyon sp., the hemicyonine ursid cf. Plithocyon sp., and the mustelids Leptarctus webbi n. sp., Hoplictis sp., and ?Sthenictis near ?S. lacota. Postcrania of the nimravid Barbourofelis indicate that it had a subdigitigrade posture and most likely stalked and ambushed its prey in dense cover. The postcranial morphology of Nimravides (Felidae) is most similar to the jaguar, Panthera onca. The carnivorans strongly support a latest Clarendonian age assignment for the Love Bone Bed. Although the Love Bone Bed local fauna does show some evidence of endemism at the species level, it demonstrates that by the late Clarendonian, Florida had become part of the Clarendonian chronofauna of the midcontinent, in contrast to the higher endemism present in the early Miocene and in the later Miocene and Pliocene of Florida. Key Words: Carnivora; Miocene; Clarendonian; Florida; Love Bone Bed; Leptarctus webbi n. sp. INTRODUCTION can Museum of Natural History, New York; F:AM, Frick The Love Bone Bed Local Fauna, Alachua County, fossil mammal collection, part of the AMNH; UF, Florida Florida, has produced the largest and most diverse late Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Miocene vertebrate fauna known from eastern North All measurements are in millimeters. The follow- America, including 43 species of mammals (Webb et al. -
The Carnivora (Mammalia) from the Middle Miocene Locality of Gračanica (Bugojno Basin, Gornji Vakuf, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-018-0353-0 ORIGINAL PAPER The Carnivora (Mammalia) from the middle Miocene locality of Gračanica (Bugojno Basin, Gornji Vakuf, Bosnia and Herzegovina) Katharina Bastl1,2 & Doris Nagel2 & Michael Morlo3 & Ursula B. Göhlich4 Received: 23 March 2018 /Revised: 4 June 2018 /Accepted: 18 September 2018 # The Author(s) 2018 Abstract The Carnivora (Mammalia) yielded in the coal mine Gračanica in Bosnia and Herzegovina are composed of the caniform families Amphicyonidae (Amphicyon giganteus), Ursidae (Hemicyon goeriachensis, Ursavus brevirhinus) and Mustelidae (indet.) and the feliform family Percrocutidae (Percrocuta miocenica). The site is of middle Miocene age and the biostratigraphical interpretation based on molluscs indicates Langhium, correlating Mammal Zone MN 5. The carnivore faunal assemblage suggests a possible assignement to MN 6 defined by the late occurrence of A. giganteus and the early occurrence of H. goeriachensis and P. miocenica. Despite the scarcity of remains belonging to the order Carnivora, the fossils suggest a diverse fauna including omnivores, mesocarnivores and hypercarnivores of a meat/bone diet as well as Carnivora of small (Mustelidae indet.) to large size (A. giganteus). Faunal similarities can be found with Prebreza (Serbia), Mordoğan, Çandır, Paşalar and Inönü (all Turkey), which are of comparable age. The absence of Felidae is worthy of remark, but could be explained by the general scarcity of carnivoran fossils. Gračanica records the most eastern European occurrence of H. goeriachensis and the first occurrence of A. giganteus outside central Europe except for Namibia (Africa). The Gračanica Carnivora fauna is mostly composed of European elements. Keywords Amphicyon . Hemicyon . -
A Partial Short-Faced Bear Skeleton from an Ozark Cave with Comments on the Paleobiology of the Species
Blaine W. Schubert and James E. Kaufmann - A partial short-faced bear skeleton from an Ozark cave with comments on the paleobiology of the species. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 65(2): 101-110. A PARTIAL SHORT-FACED BEAR SKELETON FROM AN OZARK CAVE WITH COMMENTS ON THE PALEOBIOLOGY OF THE SPECIES BLAINE W. SCHUBERT Environmental Dynamics, 113 Ozark Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, and Geology Section, Research and Collections, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL 62703 USA JAMES E. KAUFMANN Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO 65409 USA Portions of an extinct giant short-faced bear, Arctodus simus, were recovered from a remote area with- in an Ozark cave, herein named Big Bear Cave. The partially articulated skeleton was found in banded silt and clay sediments near a small entrenched stream. The sediment covered and preserved skeletal ele- ments of low vertical relief (e.g., feet) in articulation. Examination of a thin layer of manganese and clay under and adjacent to some skeletal remains revealed fossilized hair. The manganese in this layer is con- sidered to be a by-product of microorganisms feeding on the bear carcass. Although the skeleton was incomplete, the recovered material represents one of the more complete skeletons for this species. The stage of epiphyseal fusion in the skeleton indicates an osteologically immature individual. The specimen is considered to be a female because measurements of teeth and fused postcranial elements lie at the small end of the size range for A. simus. Like all other bears, the giant short-faced bear is sexually dimorphic. -
Chapter 1 - Introduction
EURASIAN MIDDLE AND LATE MIOCENE HOMINOID PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY AND THE GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF THE HOMININAE by Mariam C. Nargolwalla A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by M. Nargolwalla (2009) Eurasian Middle and Late Miocene Hominoid Paleobiogeography and the Geographic Origins of the Homininae Mariam C. Nargolwalla Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2009 Abstract The origin and diversification of great apes and humans is among the most researched and debated series of events in the evolutionary history of the Primates. A fundamental part of understanding these events involves reconstructing paleoenvironmental and paleogeographic patterns in the Eurasian Miocene; a time period and geographic expanse rich in evidence of lineage origins and dispersals of numerous mammalian lineages, including apes. Traditionally, the geographic origin of the African ape and human lineage is considered to have occurred in Africa, however, an alternative hypothesis favouring a Eurasian origin has been proposed. This hypothesis suggests that that after an initial dispersal from Africa to Eurasia at ~17Ma and subsequent radiation from Spain to China, fossil apes disperse back to Africa at least once and found the African ape and human lineage in the late Miocene. The purpose of this study is to test the Eurasian origin hypothesis through the analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of distribution, in situ evolution, interprovincial and intercontinental dispersals of Eurasian terrestrial mammals in response to environmental factors. Using the NOW and Paleobiology databases, together with data collected through survey and excavation of middle and late Miocene vertebrate localities in Hungary and Romania, taphonomic bias and sampling completeness of Eurasian faunas are assessed. -
What Size Were Arctodus Simus and Ursus Spelaeus (Carnivora: Ursidae)?
Ann. Zool. Fennici 36: 93–102 ISSN 0003-455X Helsinki 15 June 1999 © Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board 1999 What size were Arctodus simus and Ursus spelaeus (Carnivora: Ursidae)? Per Christiansen Christiansen, P., Zoological Museum, Department of Vertebrates, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 København Ø, Denmark Received 23 October 1998, accepted 10 February 1999 Christiansen, P. 1999: What size were Arctodus simus and Ursus spelaeus (Carnivora: Ursidae)? — Ann. Zool. Fennici 36: 93–102. Body masses of the giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus Cope) and the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller & Heinroth) were calculated with equations based on a long-bone dimensions:body mass proportion ratio in extant carnivores. Despite its more long-limbed, gracile and felid-like anatomy as compared with large extant ursids, large Arctodus specimens considerably exceeded even the largest extant ursids in mass. Large males weighed around 700–800 kg, and on rare occasions may have approached, or even exceeded one tonne. Ursus spelaeus is comparable in size to the largest extant ursids; large males weighed 400–500 kg, females 225–250 kg. Suggestions that large cave bears could reach weights of one tonne are not supported. 1. Introduction thera atrox) (Anyonge 1993), appear to have equalled the largest ursids in size. The giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus Cope, Extant ursids vary markedly in size from the Ursidae: Tremarctinae) from North America, and small, partly arboreal Malayan sunbear (Ursus ma- the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller & layanus), which reaches a body mass of only 27– Heinroth, Ursidae: Ursinae) from Europe were 65 kg (Nowak 1991), to the Kodiak bear (U. -
5 the Influence of Character Correlations on Phylogenetic Analyses
Comp. by: PG0963 Stage : Proof ChapterID: 9780521515290c05 Date:16/2/10 Time:11:23:52 Filepath:G:/3B2/Goswami_&_Friscia-9780521515290/Applications/3B2/ Proof/9780521515290c05.3d 5 The influence of character correlations on phylogenetic analyses: a case study of the carnivoran cranium anjali goswami and p.david polly Introduction Character independence is a major assumption in many morphology- based phylogenetic analyses (Felsenstein, 1973; Emerson and Hastings, 1998). However, the fact that most studies of modularity and morphological integration have found significant correlations among many phenotypic traits worryingly calls into question the validity of this assumption. Because gathering data on character correlations for every character in every taxon of interest is unrealistic, studies of modularity are more tractable for assessing the impact of character non-independence on phylogenetic analyses in a real system because modules summarise broad patterns of trait correlations. In this study, we use empirically derived data on cranial modularity and morphological integration in the carnivoran skull to assess the impact of trait correlations on phylogenetic analyses of Carnivora. Carnivorans are a speciose clade of over 270 living species, with an extremely broad range of morphological and dietary diversity, from social insectivores to folivores to hypercarnivores (Nowak, 1999; Myers, 2000). This diversity offers many opportunities to isolate various potential influences on morphology, and, in this case, to study the effects of trait correlations -
Giant Mustelids Roamed South Africa 5 Million Years Ago - Study
1 June 2020 Giant mustelids roamed South Africa 5 million years ago - study Over five million years ago wolf-sized otters and leopard-sized relatives of living wolverines (members of the weasel family that look more like badgers than wolves) lived along the West Coast of South Africa. This is according to recent discoveries by scientists at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Iziko Museums of SA. These animals known as mustelids – a family of carnivorans that include weasels, otters and badgers among others – represent the first mustelid specimens described from Langebaanweg in over 40 years. In an article published in the journal PeerJ, Dr Alberto Valenciano and Dr Romala Govender of UCT’s Department of Biological Sciences, describe the teeth, forelimb and hindlimb skeletons of these giant mustelids: the wolf-sized otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi) and the leopard-sized wolverine (Plesiogulo aff. monspesulanus). “Our work has led to important new data about the locomotion and diet of the rather poorly known giant otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi), that is unique to Langebaanweg. In addition, we confirm that Langebaanweg’s wolverine (Plesiogulo aff. Monspesulanus), is a different species to that of the large bodied Plesiogulo botori from Kenya and Ethiopia,” shared Valenciano. The carnivores at the Langebaanweg fossil locality are quite common and they include a minimum of 20 different species of mustelids, bears, seals, jackals, hyenas, saber-tooth cats, giant civets and mongoose. “We report for the first time the presence of both giant mustelids in the main members at Langebaanweg,” Govender added. The team hypothesises that the wolf-sized otter (Sivaonyx hendeyi), that lived five million years ago, had a role similar to that of the living African clawless otter and the Asian small- clawed otter. -
Paleoecological Comparison Between Late Miocene Localities of China and Greece Based on Hipparion Faunas
Paleoecological comparison between late Miocene localities of China and Greece based on Hipparion faunas Tao DENG Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044 (China) [email protected] Deng T. 2006. — Paleoecological comparison between late Miocene localities of China and Greece based on Hipparion faunas. Geodiversitas 28 (3) : 499-516. ABSTRACT Both China and Greece have abundant fossils of the late Miocene Hipparion fauna. Th e habitat of the Hipparion fauna in Greece was a sclerophyllous ever- green woodland. Th e Chinese late Miocene Hipparion fauna is represented respectively in the Guonigou fauna (MN 9), the Dashengou fauna (MN 10), and the Yangjiashan fauna (MN 11) from Linxia, Gansu, and the Baode fauna (MN 12) from Baode, Shanxi. According to the evidence from lithology, carbon isotopes, paleobotany, taxonomic framework, mammalian diversity and faunal similarity, the paleoenvironment of the Hipparion fauna in China was a subarid open steppe, which is diff erent from that of Greece. Th e red clay bearing the Hipparion fauna in China is windblown in origin, i.e. eolian deposits. Stable carbon isotopes from tooth enamel and paleosols indicate that C3 plants domi- nated the vegetation during the late Miocene in China. Pollens of xerophilous and sub-xerophilous grasses show a signal of steppe or dry grassland. Forest mammals, such as primates and chalicotheres, are absent or scarce, but grass- land mammals, such as horses and rhinoceroses, are abundant in the Chinese Hipparion fauna. Th e species richness of China and Greece exhibits a similar KEY WORDS trend with a clear increase from MN 9 to MN 12, but the two regions have Hipparion fauna, low similarities at the species level. -
Mustelidae: Carnivora) from the Late Miocene of Africa
A new species of Plesiogulo (Mustelidae: Carnivora) from the Late Miocene of Africa Yohannes Haile-Selassie1, Leslea J. Hlusko2* & F. Clark Howell3 1Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH 44106, U.S.A. 2Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A. 3 Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A. Receiced 21 October 2003. Accepted 9 November 2004 A new species of Plesiogulo (Plesiogulo botori sp. nov.) is described from 5.5–6.0 Ma deposits in East Africa. This new fossil material comes from two localities: Lemudong’o in southern Kenya, and Adu Dora, in the Afar Depression of Ethiopia. The new mustelid species is larger than all known Old World Plesiogulo species and extends the temporal and spatial range of the genus in Africa. Plesiogulo botori sp. nov. documents the earliest occurrence of the genus in Africa in general and the first evidence of its occurrence in late Miocene deposits of eastern Africa. Associated mammalian fauna at both localities where the species has been found indicate a closed/wooded habitat for the genus. This and other occurrences of the genus across Europe, Asia, and the New World indicate that the genus Plesiogulo was geographically widely dispersed during the upper Tertiary. Keywords: Late Miocene, Carnivora, Mustelidae, Kenya, Ethiopia. INTRODUCTION considerably smaller than those of P. crassa. However, The large mustelid Plesiogulo (Zdansky, 1924) was first Harrison (1981) has since reported that P. crassa falls described from the late Miocene or early Pliocene of China within the range of variation observed in P. -
Migration of Organisms Climate • Geography • Ecology Ashraf M
Ashraf M.T. Elewa Migration of Organisms Climate • Geography • Ecology Ashraf M. T. Elewa (Editor) Migration of Organisms Climate • Geography • Ecology With 67 Figures 123 Dr. Ashraf M. T. Elewa Professor Minia University Faculty of Science Geology Department Egypt E-mail: [email protected] Library of Congress Control Number: 2005927792 ISBN-10 3-540-26603-8 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York ISBN-13 978-3-540-26603-7 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitations, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005 Printed in The Netherlands The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: Erich Kirchner Production: Luisa Tonarelli Typesetting: Camera-ready by the editor Printed on acid-free paper 30/2132/LT – 5 4 3 2 1 0 Dedication This book is dedicated to all people who Believe in One God Believe in Peace Believe in Migration in the Way of God To my father who died on Sunday, the 10th of April, 2005 Foreword P. -
On the Socio-Sexual Behaviour of the Extinct Ursid Indarctos Arctoides: an Approach Based on Its Baculum Size and Morphology
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital.CSIC On the Socio-Sexual Behaviour of the Extinct Ursid Indarctos arctoides: An Approach Based on Its Baculum Size and Morphology Juan Abella1,2*, Alberto Valenciano3,4, Alejandro Pe´rez-Ramos5, Plinio Montoya6, Jorge Morales2 1 Institut Catala` de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Auto`noma de Barcelona. Edifici ICP, Campus de la UAB s/n, Barcelona, Spain, 2 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, Madrid, Spain, 3 Departamento de Geologı´a Sedimentaria y Cambio Medioambiental. Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC, UCM), Madrid, Spain, 4 Departamento de Paleontologı´a, Facultad de Ciencias Geolo´gicas UCM, Madrid, Spain, 5 Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de Vale`ncia, Paterna, Spain, 6 Departament de Geologia, A` rea de Paleontologia, Universitat de Vale`ncia, Burjassot, Spain Abstract The fossil bacula, or os penis, constitutes a rare subject of study due to its scarcity in the fossil record. In the present paper we describe five bacula attributed to the bear Indarctos arctoides Depe´ret, 1895 from the Batallones-3 site (Madrid Basin, Spain). Both the length and morphology of this fossil bacula enabled us to make interpretative approaches to a series of ecological and ethological characters of this bear. Thus, we suggest that I. arctoides could have had prolonged periods of intromission and/or maintenance of intromission during the post-ejaculatory intervals, a multi-male mating system and large home range sizes and/or lower population density. Its size might also have helped females to choose from among the available males.