1,721,005 research outputs found
New Bovid Remains from the Early Pleistocene of Umbria (Italy) and a Reappraisal of Leptobos merlai
No full textThe extinct bovid Leptobos is one of the most characteristic elements of Eurasian faunal assemblages during most of the Villafranchian Land Mammal Age (i.e., from the late Pliocene to most of the early Pleistocene). Several species of this genus have been established since the end of XIX Century, but their taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships remain unclear due to the fact that most of them are described on the basis of scanty material. European species are divided into two groups or lineages. The first includes L. stenometopon, L. merlai, and the poorly known L. furtivus, the second L. etruscus and L. vallisarni. While the last two species are well documented in the Italian early Pleistocene fossil record, very little is known on the L. stenometopon-merlai-furtivus group and especially on L. merlai, whose richest sample is from the French locality of Saint Vallier. Here, we describe new material of L. merlai from the early late Villafranchian of Umbria (central Italy), including a nearly complete female cranium and a male neurocranium with horn cores. These remains constitute the best-preserved and complete sample of L. merlai in the Italian Peninsula and bring new consistency to the fossil record of this species. In addition, they serve to confirm the extension of the spatial distribution of L. merlai to the south and of the chronological distribution of this taxon from the middle to the early late Villafranchian. Finally, we offer critical remarks on some not well defined Leptobos species
The lost hyena from Paciano (Umbria, Italy) reconsidered
Full text linkWe redescribe and revise the taxonomic attribution of a lost hyena hemimandible recovered from Paciano (Umbria, Italy), originally reported in the early 1900s, by comparing it with relevant samples of Pliocene, Pleistocene, and extant species. The mandible of the Paciano hyena was initially attributed to Hyaena striata (= Hyaena hyaena) and subsequently listed as a record of the giant hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, but is here assigned to another “bone-cracking” hyena, the Pliocene-Early Pleistocene Pliocrocuta perrieri. The Paciano hyena contributes to the discussion on the relationships and turnover between Pl. perrieri and P. brevirostris. On the one hand, the two species are very similar in craniodental morphology; their isolated remains are often separated by size; and P. brevirostris is thought to derive from a large-sized population of Pl. perrieri. On the other, a larger size is not an aspect to disregard in hyenas as it usually correlates with the acquisition or better development of “bone-cracking” features; remains attesting the co-occurrence of Pl. perrieri and P. brevirostris are known from some sites dated at around 2.0–1.8 Ma; and the observed size differences between the two species exceed those recorded between extant and (at times) sympatric species. Therefore, taken alone the competition with P. brevirostris does not explain the extinction of Pl. perrieri, but considering it together with the concurrent spread and resulting peak of carnivoran diversity in Late Villafranchian faunas might. Pliocrocuta perrieri was outcompeted by its larger descendent in scavenging carcasses, while other carnivorans limited its options to deviate to other resources or adopt a different feeding behavior (e.g., active hunting). The case of Paciano is also significant in that it offers an example of the importance and feasibility of reconsidering historical collections, even when the original material is lost entirely. In general, the seek for “novelty” that permeates current scientific literature ensues in few descriptions or reconsiderations of historical samples, especially if the new examinations confirm old results, but we emphasize the significance of such efforts in making old data truly available for the scientific community. In addition, the hyena from Paciano has a biochronological and stratigraphic value, confirming the occurrence in western Umbria of a depositional cycle older than the late Early Pleistocene one (well represented by the rich assemblages from Pietrafitta and Selvella; Farneta Faunal Unit)
A nearly complete skeleton of a new pilot whale-like dolphin from the early Pleistocene of southern Italy.
No full textApplication of medical imaging techniques to bone anomalies of a Pleistocene dolphin from Salento (southern Italy)
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Suidae Transition at the Miocene-Pliocene Boundary: a Reassessment of the Taxonomy and Chronology of Propotamochoerus provincialis
Full text linkThe Miocene-Pliocene (Turolian-Ruscinian) transition represents a fundamental interval in the evolution of Euro-Mediterranean paleocommunities. In fact, the paleoenvironmental changes connected with the end of the Messinian salinity crisis are reflected by a major renewal in mammal faunal assemblages. An important bioevent among terrestrial large mammals is the dispersal of the genus Sus, which replaced all other suid species during the Pliocene. Despite its possible paleoecological and biochronological relevance, correlations based on this bioevent are undermined by the supposed persistence of the late surviving late Miocene Propotamochoerus provincialis. However, a recent revision of the type material of this species revealed an admixture with remains of Sus strozzii, an early Pleistocene (Middle Villafranchian to Epivillafranchian) suid, questioning both the diagnosis and chronological range of P. provincialis. Here we review the late Miocene Suidae sample recovered from the Casino Basin (Tuscany, central Italy), whose taxonomic attribution has been controversial over the nearly 150 years since its discovery. Following a comparison with other Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene Eurasian species, the Casino Suidae are assigned to P. provincialis and the species diagnosis is emended. Moreover, it is recognized that all the late Miocene (Turolian) European Propotamochoerus material belongs to P. provincialis and that there is no compelling evidence of the occurrence of this species beyond the Turolian-Ruscinian transition (MN13-MN14)
Equus stenonis (Equidae, mammalia) from the early pleistocene of pantalla (italy) and the dispersion of stenonine horses in europe
No full textStenonine horses roamed across Eurasia for a long-time interval between the Early Pleistocene and the early Middle Pleistocene. These forms probably derived from North American Equus simplicidens and recent research suggests that they can be at the basis of the radiation of the extant African zebras. Equus stenonis is the most widespread stenonine horse in the Early Pleistocene of Europe. Here we describe the Equus record from Pantalla (Italy) and we refer it to E. stenonis based on a combination of morphometric analyses of metapodials and tibia. In particular, our comparisons show remarkable similarities between the Pantalla horse and E. stenonis from Saint Vallier (France). The studied sample allows suggesting an age close to the beginning of the late Villafranchian (~2 Ma) for the Pantalla assemblage, thus representing one of the earliest records of E. stenonis in Italy. Furthermore, our analyses highlight a substantial morphometric homogeneity in European E. stenonis samples, supporting that they may represent intraspecific variation of a single long-lasting widespread species
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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