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Biostratigraphy and Paleoecology of Continental Tertiary Vertebrate Faunas in the Lower Rhine Embayment (NW-Germany)
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences / Geologie en Mijnbouw 81 (2): 177-183 (2002) Biostratigraphy and paleoecology of continental Tertiary vertebrate faunas in the Lower Rhine Embayment (NW-Germany) Th. Mors Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet/Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Palaeozoology, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden; e-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received: October 2000; accepted: January 2002 ^ Abstract This paper discusses the faunal content, the mammal biostratigraphy, and the environmental ecology of three important con tinental Tertiary vertebrate faunas from the Lower Rhine Embayment. The sites investigated are Rott (MP 30, Late Oligocene), Hambach 6C (MN 5, Middle Miocene), Frechen and Hambach 11 (both MN 16, Late Pliocene). Comparative analysis of the entire faunas shows the assemblages to exhibit many conformities in their general composition, presumably re sulting from their preference for wet lowlands. It appears that very similar environmental conditions for vertebrates reoc- curred during at least 20 Ma although the sites are located in a tectonically active region with high subsidence rates. Differ ences in the faunal composition are partly due to local differences in the depositional environment of the sites: lake deposits at the margin of the embayment (Rott), coal swamp and estuarine conditions in the centre of the embayment (Hambach 6C), and flood plain environments with small rivulets (Frechen and Hambach 1 l).The composition of the faunal assemblages (di versity and taxonomy) also documents faunal turnovers with extinctions and immigrations (Oligocene/Miocene and post- Middle Miocene), as a result of changing climate conditions. Additional vertebrate faunal data were retrieved from two new assemblages collected from younger strata at the Hambach mine (Hambach 11C and 14). -
Factors Regulating the Invasion of Two Mediterranean Anurans the Role of Niche Conservatism, Species Interaction and Habitat Selection
FACTORS REGULATING THE INVASION OF TWO MEDITERRANEAN ANURANS THE ROLE OF NICHE CONSERVATISM, SPECIES INTERACTION AND HABITAT SELECTION Daniel Escoriza Dipòsit legal: Gi. 1353-2015 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/300902 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ca Aquesta obra està subjecta a una llicència Creative Commons Reconeixement Esta obra está bajo una licencia Creative Commons Reconocimiento This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence TESI DOCTORAL FACTORS REGULATING THE INVASION OF TWO MEDITERRANEAN ANURANS THE ROLE OF NICHE CONSERVATISM, SPECIES INTERACTIONS AND HABITAT SELECTION DANIEL ESCORIZA BOJ 2014 TESI DOCTORAL FACTORS REGULATING THE INVASION OF TWO MEDITERRANEAN ANURANS THE ROLE OF NICHE CONSERVATISM, SPECIES INTERACTIONS AND HABITAT SELECTION DANIEL ESCORIZA BOJ 2014 PROGRAMA DE DOCTORAT EN CIÈNCIA I TECNOLOGIA DE L'AIGUA DIRIGIDA PER: DANI BOIX I MASAFRET MEMÒRIA PRESENTADA PER OPTAR AL TÍTOL DE DOCTOR PER LA UNIVERSITAT DE GIRONA El Dr. Dani Boix i Masafret, de l’Institut d’Ecologia Aquàtica de la Universitat de Girona, DECLARO: Que el treball titulat FACTORS REGULATING THE INVASION OF TWO MEDITERRANEAN ANURANS THE ROLE OF NICHE CONSERVATISM, SPECIES INTERACTIONS AND HABITAT SELECTION, que presenta Daniel Escoriza Boj per a l’obtenció del títol de doctor, ha estat realitzat sota la meva direcció. i, perquè així consti i tingui els efectes oportuns, signo aquest document. Girona, 6 d’octubre de 2014 Estudiar els amfibis és observar un mostra del passat en l'evolució dels vertebrats. Els amfibis han arribat a sobreviure en els nostres dies tot i la dominància establerta per llinatges més moderns de vertebrats, molt més intel·ligents i competitius, com són els mamífers o les aus. -
Frogs (Amphibia, Anura) from the Eocene and Oligocene of the Phosphorites Du Quercy (France)
FOSSIL IMPRINT • vol. 72 • 2016 • no. 1-2 • pp. 53–66 (formerly ACTA MUSEI NATIONALIS PRAGAE, Series B – Historia Naturalis) FROGS (AMPHIBIA, ANURA) FROM THE EOCENE AND OLIGOCENE OF THE PHOSPHORITES DU QUERCY (FRANCE). AN OVERVIEW JEAN-CLAUDE RAGE Sorbonne Universités, CR2P CNRS-MNHN-UPMC Paris 6, Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 38, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France; e-mail: [email protected]. Rage, J.-C. (2016): Frogs (Amphibia, Anura) from the Eocene and Oligocene of the Phosphorites du Quercy (France). An overview. – Fossil Imprint, 72(1-2): 53–66, Praha. ISSN 2533-4050 (print), ISSN 2533-4069 (on-line). Abstract: Anuran assemblages from the Eocene and Oligocene of the Phosphorites du Quercy (southwestern France) are documented by a modest number of isolated bones, incomplete skulls, and some ‘mummies’. However, at the family level, the diversity is not significantly lower than in coeval frog assemblages from other regions. By contrast, a larger number of amniote specimens and taxa are known from the Phosphorites. The sparse anuran record within the Phosphorites most likely results from the karstic environment in which the fossiliferous sites formed. Such an environment is not favorable for animals dependent on water and moisture. Upper middle and upper Eocene localities in the Phosphorites produced Alytidae, Pelobatidae, Pelodytidae and ranoids. The presence of bufonids or microhylids, and rhacophorids cannot be definitely rejected, and potentially distinctive, but unidentifiable taxa also may be present. The occurrence of Pelodytidae in the Eocene of Europe is confirmed by diagnostic bones from the Phosphorites. In Oligocene localities in the Phosphorites, anurans are even less diverse, with only Alytidae, Pelobatidae and ranoids having been recovered. -
Evolution of Anuran Assemblages in the Tertiary and Quaternary Of
Evolution of anuran assemblages in theT ertiary and Quaternary of Europe, in thecontext of palaeoclimateand palaeogeography Jean-ClaudeRage 1, Zbynek† Rocek† 2 1 Laboratoirede Palé ontologie, UMR 8569 CNRS, Musé um National d’ HistoireNaturelle, 8 rueBuffon, F-75005Paris, France 2 Dept.Palaeontology, Geological Institute, Academy ofSciences, Rozvojová135, CZ-165 00 Prague,and Dept. Zoology,Charles University,CZ-128 44 Prague, Czech Republic Abstract. Thehistory of the faunas of anurans during the Tertiary and Quaternary in Europe is presented. Twofamilies (Discoglossidaeand Palaeobatrachidae) were recordedfrom the Cretaceous ofEurope and both survivedthe Cretaceous/ Tertiarycrisis. Theearliest knownTertiary anurans, represented by theDiscoglossidae andperhaps Palaeobatrachidae, come fromHainin, Belgium (middle Paleocene). Only the Bufonidae appear tojoin them beforethe end of thePaleocene, however,they subsequently disappeared only to re-appear at the beginningof the Miocene. The paucity of Paleocene data is dueto a lack offossiliferousstrata, rather thana post-Cretaceousdiscontinuity of the anuran fauna. Europe and North America were separated bythe Atlantic Ocean inthe early Eocene(50 Ma) andclimate at thattime was tropical.Ranidae, Pelobatidae, Pelodytidae, Leptodactylidaeappeared in the Eocene; the last familywas representedby thegenus Thaumastosaurus which is aGondwananelement. Others were eitherimmigrants, probably from Asia, ororiginatedin Europe (Pelodytidae) orinNorthAmerica (Pelobatidae).Supposed temporary presence oftheMicrohylidae -
Member Magazine Summer 2013 Vol. 38 No. 3 2 News at the Museum 3
Member Magazine Summer 2013 Vol. 38 No. 3 2 News at the Museum 3 From the For many people, summer means vacations cultural points of view, presenting the roles, both Ancient Mariners: New Initiative Makes and precious time away from professional positive and negative, that poison has played and President responsibilities. At the Museum, summer continues to play in nature and human history. At Rare Display of Trilobites Membership Card Count is a time of tremendous activity! the same time, scientists, computer engineers, and Ellen V. Futter Field season kicks into high gear and many visualization experts in the Rose Center for Earth The Museum’s Grand Gallery recently became home to a remarkable case of of our scientists head to locations around the and Space are putting the finishing touches on trilobites. Called “butterflies of the sea,” “frozen locusts,” or simply “bugs” by world to further their research. Of course, field a thrilling new Hayden Planetarium Space Show, the researchers who study them, these ancient arthropods are distant relatives expeditions are a long-standing tradition at the which will reveal dramatic recent discoveries in of modern lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and spiders. Museum—part of our DNA, if you will. Museum the fast-moving field of astrophysics and forecast The temporary exhibition, overseen by Neil Landman, curator in the scientists now undertake some 120 expeditions what’s in store in cosmology in the years ahead. Museum’s Division of Paleontology, includes 15 fossils of various trilobite species each year, and that work advances not only The Space Show will premiere on October 5 and from the Museum’s permanent collection. -
'Extinct' Frog Is Last Survivor of Its Lineage : Nature News & Comment
'Extinct' frog is last survivor of its lineage The rediscovered Hula painted frog is alive and well in Israel. Ed Yong 04 June 2013 Frank Glaw The newly renamed Latonia nigriventer, which lives in an Israeli nature reserve, may be the only surviving species in its genus. In 1996, after four decades of failed searches, the Hula painted frog became the first amphibian to be declared extinct by an international body — a portent of the crisis that now threatens the entire class. But it seems that reports of the creature’s death had been greatly exaggerated. In October 2011, a living individual was found in Israel’s Hula Nature Reserve, and a number of others have since been spotted. “I hope it will be a conservation success story,” says Sarig Gafny at the Ruppin Academic Center in Michmoret, Israel, who led a study of the rediscovered animal. “We don’t know anything about their natural history and we have to study them. The more we know, the more we can protect them.” Gafny's team has not only rediscovered the frog, but also reclassified it. It turns out that the Hula painted frog is the last survivor of an otherwise extinct genus, whose other members are known only through fossils. The work appears today in Nature Communications1. “It’s an inspiring example of the resilience of nature, if given a chance,” says Robin Moore, who works for the Amphibian Specialist Group of the the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Arlington, Virginia, and has accompanied Gafny on frog-finding trips. -
Ecological and Genetic Variation of the Distribution of Various Species of Amphibians at the Southern Border of Their Distribution
Volume-9, Issue-1 Jan-Mar-2019 Coden:IJPAJX-CAS-USA, Copyrights@2019 ISSN-2231-4490 Received: 25th Feb-2019 Revised: 25th Mar-2019 Accepted: 26th Mar-2019 DOI: 10.21276/Ijpaes http://dx.doi.org/10.21276/ijpaes Research Article ECOLOGICAL AND GENETIC VARIATION OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF VARIOUS SPECIES OF AMPHIBIANS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF THEIR DISTRIBUTION Gad Degani1,2* 1MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute, KiryatShmona, Israel 2Faculty of Science and Technology, Tel-Hai Academic College, KiryatShmona, Israel ABSTRACT : The current mini-review describes the distribution of amphibian species in terms of their adaptation from Mediterranean to desert climates. According to the data collected in this mini-review and from some unpublished data, it was found that the adaptation of amphibian species from arid to Mediterranean climates was highest for Bufovariabilis, followed by Triturusvittatus,Hylasavignyi, Pelobatessyriacus, Rana bedriagae and Latonia nigriventer. Many parameters affecting adaptation to different habitats have been described, including aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Among them, the most important parameters affecting semi-arid and arid habitats are the large number of tadpoles, the short growth and complete metamorphosis period, finding hiding places to prevent dehydration, and physiological adaptation to accumulate urea in the body fluid. A quality model is suggested to show the adaptation of various amphibian species to habitats at the southern border of its distribution. Keywords:Bioindicator;Environmental pollution;Genetic -
Distribution of Alien Tetrapods in the Iberian Peninsula
NeoBiota 64: 1–21 (2021) A peer-reviewed open-access journal doi: 10.3897/neobiota.64.55597 DATA PAPER NeoBiota https://neobiota.pensoft.net Advancing research on alien species and biological invasions Distribution of alien tetrapods in the Iberian Peninsula Fernando Ascensão1, Marcello D’Amico1, Ricardo C. Martins1, Rui Rebelo2, A. Márcia Barbosa3, Joana Bencatel1, Rafael Barrientos4, Pedro Abellán5, José L. Tella6, Laura Cardador7, José D. Anadón8, Martina Carrete9, Enrique Murgui10, Pedro Fernandes11, Sara M. Santos12, António Mira12, Maria da Luz Mathias13, Patrícia Tiago2, Eduardo Casabella14, Luís Reino1, Octávio S. Paulo2, Henrique M. Pereira15, César Capinha16 1 CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal 2 cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências da Uni- versidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal 3 CICGE – Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal 4 Road Ecology Lab, Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, E-28040, Madrid, Spain 5 Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain 6 De- partment of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain 7 CREAF – Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals. Campus de Bellaterra (UAB) Edifici C, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain8 Department of Agricultural Sciences and the Environment, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain 9 Department -
The Emerging Amphibian Fungal Disease, Chytridiomycosis: Akeyexampleoftheglobal Phenomenon of Wildlife Emerging Infectious Diseases JONATHAN E
The Emerging Amphibian Fungal Disease, Chytridiomycosis: AKeyExampleoftheGlobal Phenomenon of Wildlife Emerging Infectious Diseases JONATHAN E. KOLBY1,2 and PETER DASZAK2 1One Health Research Group, College of Public Health, Medical, and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; 2EcoHealth Alliance, New York, NY 10001 ABSTRACT The spread of amphibian chytrid fungus, INTRODUCTION: GLOBAL Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is associated with the emerging AMPHIBIAN DECLINE infectious wildlife disease chytridiomycosis. This fungus poses During the latter half of the 20th century, it was noticed an overwhelming threat to global amphibian biodiversity and is contributing toward population declines and extinctions that global amphibian populations had entered a state worldwide. Extremely low host-species specificity potentially of unusually rapid decline. Hundreds of species have threatens thousands of the 7,000+ amphibian species with since become categorized as “missing” or “lost,” a grow- infection, and hosts in additional classes of organisms have now ing number of which are now believed extinct (1). also been identified, including crayfish and nematode worms. Amphibians are often regarded as environmental in- Soon after the discovery of B. dendrobatidis in 1999, dicator species because of their highly permeable skin it became apparent that this pathogen was already pandemic; and biphasic life cycles, during which most species in- dozens of countries and hundreds of amphibian species had already been exposed. The timeline of B. dendrobatidis’s global habit aquatic zones as larvae and as adults become emergence still remains a mystery, as does its point of origin. semi or wholly terrestrial. This means their overall The reason why B. dendrobatidis seems to have only recently health is closely tied to that of the landscape. -
3Systematics and Diversity of Extant Amphibians
Systematics and Diversity of 3 Extant Amphibians he three extant lissamphibian lineages (hereafter amples of classic systematics papers. We present widely referred to by the more common term amphibians) used common names of groups in addition to scientifi c Tare descendants of a common ancestor that lived names, noting also that herpetologists colloquially refer during (or soon after) the Late Carboniferous. Since the to most clades by their scientifi c name (e.g., ranids, am- three lineages diverged, each has evolved unique fea- bystomatids, typhlonectids). tures that defi ne the group; however, salamanders, frogs, A total of 7,303 species of amphibians are recognized and caecelians also share many traits that are evidence and new species—primarily tropical frogs and salaman- of their common ancestry. Two of the most defi nitive of ders—continue to be described. Frogs are far more di- these traits are: verse than salamanders and caecelians combined; more than 6,400 (~88%) of extant amphibian species are frogs, 1. Nearly all amphibians have complex life histories. almost 25% of which have been described in the past Most species undergo metamorphosis from an 15 years. Salamanders comprise more than 660 species, aquatic larva to a terrestrial adult, and even spe- and there are 200 species of caecilians. Amphibian diver- cies that lay terrestrial eggs require moist nest sity is not evenly distributed within families. For example, sites to prevent desiccation. Thus, regardless of more than 65% of extant salamanders are in the family the habitat of the adult, all species of amphibians Plethodontidae, and more than 50% of all frogs are in just are fundamentally tied to water. -
Species Biodiversity
SPECIES: THE CORNERSTONE OFBIODIVERSITY AN EXAMINATION OF HOW SPECIES DIVERSITY IS THE KEY TO A HEALTHY PLANET, AND A CLOSER LOOK AT A MAJOR TOOL USED IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 4 Kathryn Pintus, IUCN So far, we’ve had a look at genetic diversity, and we’ve learned that genes are responsible for the wide variety of species that exist on Earth. But what exactly is a species? A species is a basic biological unit, describing organisms which are able to breed together and produce fertile offspring (offspring that are able to produce young). The above statement is a fairly widely accepted definition, and in some cases it is easy enough to determine whether two organisms are separate species simply by looking at them; the mighty blue whale is clearly not the same species as the fly agaric mushroom. A BANANA SLUG EATING A RASPBERRY AT A CAMPSITE IN REDWOOD NATIONAL PaRK, CALIFORNIA, USA. © Anthony Avellano (age 14) 39 CHAPTER 4 | Species: the cornerstone of biodiversity However, the situation is not taxonomy, and this provides and where it lives), and others always quite so straightforward. us with a common language that still on phylogenetics (using The science of describing and we can all use to communicate molecular genetics to look at classifying organisms is called about species, but it can get evolutionary relatedness). For rather complicated! Biology is this reason, when considering split into several fields, including two organisms which on botany, zoology, ecology, the surface may look almost genetics and behavioural identical, scientists sometimes science, and scientists from each disagree as to how to classify of these branches of biology will them. -
Feeding in Amphibians: Evolutionary Transformations and Phenotypic Diversity As Drivers of Feeding System Diversity
Chapter 12 Feeding in Amphibians: Evolutionary Transformations and Phenotypic Diversity as Drivers of Feeding System Diversity Anthony Herrel, James C. O’Reilly, Anne-Claire Fabre, Carla Bardua, Aurélien Lowie, Renaud Boistel and Stanislav N. Gorb Abstract Amphibians are different from most other tetrapods because they have a biphasic life cycle, with larval forms showing a dramatically different cranial anatomy and feeding strategy compared to adults. Amphibians with their exceptional diversity in habitats, lifestyles and reproductive modes are also excellent models for studying the evolutionary divergence in feeding systems. In the present chapter, we review the literature on amphibian feeding anatomy and function published since 2000. We also present some novel unpublished data on caecilian feeding biome- chanics. This review shows that over the past two decades important new insights in our understanding of amphibian feeding anatomy and function have been made possible, thanks to a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships between taxa, analyses of development and the use of biomechanical modelling. In terms of functional analyses, important advances involve the temperature-dependent nature of tongue projection mechanisms and the plasticity exhibited by animals when switch- A. Herrel (B) Département Adaptations du Vivant, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, UMR 7179 C.N.R.S/M.N.H.N, 55 rue Buffon, 75005, Paris Cedex 05, France e-mail: [email protected] J. C. O’Reilly Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University, Cleveland Campus, Cleveland, Ohio 334C, USA A.-C. Fabre · C. Bardua Life Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK A. Lowie Department of Biology Evolutionary, Morphology of Vertebrates, Ghent University, K.L.