1,354,185 research outputs found
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and the birth of stratigraphy
No full textMost geological handbooks attribute the birth of stratigraphy to William Smith in the 19th century, after a brief mention of the pioneering contribution of Niels Stensen (Nicholaus Stenonis) who, almost a century before, had introduced in his Dissertationis prodromus of 1669 the principles of geometric relationships between strata. On the contrary, Leonardo da Vinci is related, among other scientists, to the intuition that fossils are remains of living organisms. Da Vinci was indeed much more than that. All concepts commonly associated with stratigraphy, e. g., fossils as age-diagnostic tools, geometric properties and position of strata, correlations of stratigraphic successions, are deeply-rooted in Leonardo’s writings and fully expressed in his paintings, integrated in mature observations and reproduction of the landscape. The celebration of the five-hundredth anniversary of Leonardo’s death gives us the opportunity to finally link Leonardo da Vinci to the birth of modern stratigraphy
The Italian journal of geosciences is increasing its appeal among geoscientists
No full textThis is an Editorial of the new Editorial Board of the Italian Journal of Geosciences, composed by Marco Balini (Milan), Hugo Bucher (Zürich), Simonetta Cirilli (Perugia), Laura Crispini (Genoa), Maurizio Mazzucchelli (Modena), and Giulio Ottonello (Genoa), which underlines the progress in the appeal of the journal among Geoscientists
Cymbospondylus vertebrae (Ichthyosauria, Shastasauridae) from the Upper Anisian Prezzo Limestone (Middle Triassic, Southern Alps) with an overview of the chronostratigraphic distribution of the group.
No full textFour vertebral centra from the well known fossil-bearing Prezzo Limestone (Upper Anisian, Middle Triassic) of the new locality Piazza Brembana (Bergamo) are described. The four bones were originally articulated and exposed on bed surface. Despite the incompleteness of three centra due to the erosion, the fairly good preservation allowed their study and their attribution to a shastasaurid ichthyosaur; the diapophysis reaching the cranial margin of the centrum are considered as diagnostic for the genus Cymbospondylus Leidy, 1868 (Sander 1997; Maisch & Matzke 2000).
The new finding comes from an ammonoid-bearing facies, as usual for ichthyosaurs. The bio-chronostratigraphic position of Piazza Brembana bones is well constrained by ammonoids from the lowest part of the Paraceratites trinodosus Zone (Illyrian, Middle Triassic). The record of Cymbospondylus in the Southern Alps and the Germanic Basin is summarized and all the previous occurrences of the genus are bio-chronostratigraphically calibrated by using the rich ammonoid literature available. The genus spans from the Pelsonian (late Middle Anisian) to the Longobardian (Late Ladinian) and its stratigraphic distribution is strictly controlled by the development of the basins. Within the basins the distribution of the specimens seems to include relatively protected and shallow waters. Such a distribution is consistent with the mode of life of this group of ichthyosaurs, suggested by morphofunctional analysis. Cymbospondylus probably was an undulatory swimmer, better manoeuvrer but slower than their Jurassic forthcomer
MIDDLE TRIASSIC CERATITIDS (AMMONOIDEA) COLLECTED BY C. RENZ FROM HYDRA (GREECE)
No full textThis paper is focused on the description of an assemblage of ceratitids collected more than 50 years ago by C. Renz from the Han-Bulog Limestone of Hydra (Greece), up to the present never described. The identified forms are Asseretoceras camunum (Assereto, 1963), Megaceratites aff. fallax Balini, 1992b, Ronconites sp. n. A, "Kellnerites" sp. ind., Nevadites sp. ind. Two ceratitids of uncertain attribution are also described. These species have only paleoecological implications, since a stratigraphic bed-by-bed sampling has not been performed. A. camunum and the genera Megaceratites and Ronconites are reported for the first time from the Han-Bulog Limestone. Megaceratites and Ronconites are also reported for the first time out of the Southern Alps
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