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Ruscinian and early Pleistocene Soricidae (Insectivora, Mammalia) from Tegelen (The Netherlands) and Hungary
No full textPlio-Pleistocene Soricidae have been studied from Tegelen (The Netherlands) and from seven Hungarian localities: Osztramos 1, 3, 7, 9, 13, Csarnóta 2, and Villány 3. The subdivision of the subfamily Soricinae into tribes is revised. Of the three tribes recognized by Repenning (1967), two have been retained, viz. the Soricini Fischer von Waldheim, 1817 and the Blarinini Kretzoi, 1965. The third tribe (Neomyini Repenning, 1967) is split into four new (or resurrected) tribes: Soriculini Kretzoi, 1965 (this name having preference over Neomyini Repenning, 1967); Beremendiini new tribe, Amblycoptini Kormos, 1926, and Notiosoricini new tribe. In addition, the Allosoricini Fejfar, 1966 replaces the formerly separate subfamily Allosoricinae, but it includes taxa included earlier in the Neomyini (Petenyiella gracilis) and in the Limnoecinae (Paenelimnoecus). Two new genera are discribed: Mafia and Sulimskia, both belonging to the Blarinini. Five new species are discribed: Sorex bor, Deinsdorfia janossyi, Deinsdorfia kordosi, Blarinella europaea, and Mafia csarnotensis. Some new terms are introduced for the dental morphology. In the P4, the connective ridge between the parastyle and the paracone is called the parastylar crest. For the lower incisor, names (adjectives) are introduced to describe the number of cuspules on the dorsal edge: acuspulate (for an I inf. without cuspules), monocuspulate (1), bicuspulate (2), tricuspulate (3), and tetracuspulate (4 cuspules). Furthermore, the degree of posterior emargination in M1 and M2 has been quantified by means of a formula; the result is the PE-index. Some palaeoecological conclusions are drawn. The observed differentiation of the climate during the Csarnótanian and the Villányian is of particular interest. For two genera it has been possible to reconstruct migratiory trends. It is noted that in Central Europe Episoriculus gradually retreated southwards. This retreat started in the Ruscinian and continued into the Pleistocene; it might have been caused by the gradual deterioration of the climate. Crocidura originates from Africa and invaded Europe, starting in Asia Minor in the Ruscinian and ending its invasion in England during the last interglacial. It has since withdrawn from England, but still occurs in Europe below c. 53°N. Finally, it can be concluded that during the Ruscinian the Soricidae were a very successful group, showing an explosion in species diversity. The Villányian climatic decline caused many extinctions and a considerable impoverishment of the soricid diversity. Of the — at least — eleven genera found in the late Ruscininian, four became extinct at the Ruscinian-Villányian boundary, two during the Villányian and two at the Villányian-Biharian boundary. At present only four genera are found in Europe; only one of these (Sorex) was already in Europe during the early Ruscinian, the others immigrated later
Een eetbaar fossiel
No full textDe lamprei is een bijzonder dier. Hij is geen vis, maar wordt
wel als zodanig aangeduid. Hij is bekend onder diverse
namen en leidt een riskant en turbulent leven dat na het
liefdesspel eindigt met dood, of eerder al op het bord van
de gefortuneerde liefhebbe
[The fossil record of the Eurasian Neogene insectivores (Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha, Mammalia) : Part I / L.W. van den Hoek Ostende, C.S. Doukas and J.W.F. Reumer (editors)]: The Netherlands
No full textIntroduction This chapter concerns Neogene (Miocene and Pliocene) insectivores from The Netherlands. The same biogeographical and tectonical realm, i.e. the southeastern part of the North Sea Basin, also has several sites in the western part of Germany, but these localities are discussed in the chapter on Germany (Ziegler et al., 2005).
Most of the region concerned was covered by (often shallow) seas during most of the Neogene. A late Miocene coastline can be reconstructed as running in a SW-
NE
direction from Antwerp (Belgium), Liessel (The Netherlands, province of Noord-Brabant), Uedem/Kevelaer (Germany, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen), to Miste/Winterswijk (The Netherlands, province of Gelderland) by the finds of glauconitic greensand-deposits containing shells and the skeletons of (beached?) whales (e.g. Hampe, 1996; Bol, 2000; Peters & Monteiro, 2005, and literature therein). No continental deposits are to be expected northwest if this line. Only during Late Pliocene and Pleistocene times the coastline recedes in a northwestern direction, in times leaving the North Sea more or less dry during climate-induced regressions (e.g., during the Late Weichselian).
As far as I can reconstruct, the oldest fossil insectivores from The Netherlands were found in the late 1830's after a well was drilled in the town of Gorinchem (Schreuder, 1941). There, some postcranials and a fragmentary mandible of Desmana were brought to light from a depth of 109 m. The remains were originally described as Viverra [= Galerix] exilis (Harting, 1853), but were recognized as a desman by Schreuder (1941).
Since that time, Neogene fossils from The Netherlands were restricted for a long perio
Geo(Im)pulse|An unexpected fossil crinoid from the ‘Kor en Bot’ trawling tripson the Oosterschelde (Zeeland, the Netherlands)
No full textDuring the 2007 ‘Kor en Bot’ collecting trip across the Oosterschelde (province of Zeeland, southwest Netherlands), on board trawler cutter ZZ10, a stem fragment of a fossil isocrinid was recognised amongst the contents of the nets pulled on deck. This specimen is here interpreted to be of Early Jurassic age and assignable to the genus Isocrinus. However, because only internodals are preserved in this pluricolumnal, specific identification cannot be but approximate (Isocrinus (Chladocrinus) cf. tuberculatus). In the absence of any outcrop of Jurassic deposits in Zeeland and adjacent Dutch and Belgian territory, the most likely explanation is that this crinoid represents erratic material transported by precursors of the presentday River Maas (Meuse). Between the Langres Plateau and Sedan (northeast France), this river cuts through several occurrences of Lower Jurassic strata from which the present isocrinid might have originated. A less likely explanation is that it stems from boulders used for coastal reinforcement or from a Roman limestone votive altarpiece put up at the temple complex for the goddess Nehalennia, formerly present at Colijnsplaat, near Domburg (Noord-Beveland, Zeeland). Transportation from either northwest France or the southern or eastern United Kingdom, where there are coastal exposures of Jurassic strata, via the North Sea, is another option which, however, is also considered less feasible in view of the good state of preservation of the crinoid
Taphonomic reinterpretation of a bone sample of endemic Pleistocene deer from Crete (Greece): osteoporosis versus regurgitation
No full textA sample of fossil deer remains (genus Candiacervus) from Mavro Mouri cave, Crete, Greece is studied because
a large proportion shows aberrant, seemingly pathological changes to the morphology and the structure of the
bones. Here we show that the aberrant appearance of the Mavro Mouri bone sample can be understood through a
simple taphonomical explanation: post-mortem damage to the bones inflicted by bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus).
Hence they are not osteoporotically altered due to supposed malnutrition, as proposed before. This conclusion
has a bearing on our understanding of island evolution, as it eliminates a supposed direct relation between
persistent malnutrition on the one hand, and island dwarfing on the other
Classical Natural History: the importance of volunteers in collection management and research
No full textAs a result of increasing budget constraints and decreasing interest in classical natural history, the work effort
of volunteer researchers and the need for private funding are of growing importance. A brief historical background is provided,
showing the decreasing interest in the subject shown by governments and university authorities. Here, we illustrate how to
tackle this deplorable phenomenon with some examples from the Rotterdam Natural History Museum, notably in the curation of the collections, the organization of fieldwork, and the digitalization of the collections through databases and the interne
Geo(Im)pulseBite marks on early Holocene Tursiops truncatus fossils from the North Sea indicate scavenging by rays (Chondrichthyes, Rajidae)
No full textA number of Tursiops truncatus mandibles in the collection of fossil marine mammals in the Rotterdam Natural History Museum have marks consisting of several parallel linear grooves. These marks are also found on four atlas complexes, a scapula and on one vertebra. The hypothesis
that they are bite marks and were caused by scavenging rays (Rajidae, Chondrichthyes) was tested with a real-life experiment using different shark and ray species, allowing them to scavenge on cow ribs as proxies for the dolphin bones. The bite marks of these animals were compared with the fossil marks and show that the fossil marks are most likely caused by scavenging rays
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