1,721,022 research outputs found

    Talpa fossilis or talpa europaea. using geometric morphometrics and allometric trajectories of humeral moles remains from Hungary to answer a taxonomic debate

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    The taxonomic validity of Talpa fossilis has been subject to a longstanding debate. Talpa fossilis has been considered as a chronospecies, stratigraphic species, and finally as junior synonym of Talpa europaea. In this study, the large humeral sample of T. fossilis and T. europaea from the Plio-Pleistocene of Hungary is re-investigated using a geometric morphometrics analysis. Furthermore, the differences in the static allometric slopes under the allometric constraint hypothesis were tested. The results indicate that T. fossilis and T. europaea have significant differences in both size and shape. The allometric slopes of T. fossilis and T. europaea were found to be different, revealing that the two taxa follow different patterns of shape modification according to size. In light of this evidence, T. fossilis and T. europaea are supported as two distinct species

    New systematic insights about plio-pleistocene moles from poland

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    The generic attribution of the Plio-Pleistocene Polish moles ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni has been questioned several times in the past. The fossil material belonging to ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni is re-evaluated here and a new diagnosis is provided on the basis of qualitative considerations. In addition, a Geometric Morphometric analysis of the humerus has been performed including both extant and extinct Neurotrichini and Urotrichini taxa for comparison. Our results proved the unique morphology of the Polish material suggesting a distinct taxonomic state. The morphological variations evidenced by the humeral shape analysis agree with the observed qualitative differences and support a new generic allocation. The new genus Rzebikia gen. nov. is proposed for all the material previoulsly ascribed to ?Neurotrichus polonicus and ?Neurotrichus skoczeni

    When moles became diggers: Tegulariscaptor gen. nov., from the early Oligocene of south Germany, and the evolution of talpid fossoriality

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    The systematics of Geotrypus is among the most debated within Talpidae, but the recent development of quantitative methods for shape analyses allows us to provide a thorough reconsideration of Geotrypus spp. In the present study, we perform a systematic revision of the species Geotrypus minor from the early Oligocene of Germany using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics on the humerus, and cladistic analyses using two different character matrices. Our results suggest a distinct generic allocation for this species based on its unique humeral shape. Cladistic analyses reveal that G. minor has closer phylogenetic relationships with urotrichine shrew-moles than with other Geotrypus species or highly fossorial moles. Quantitative methods applied in this study support qualitative observations and fully justify a new generic allocation. In light of these results, Tegulariscaptor gen. nov. is proposed to encompass the material previously assigned to G. minor.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8A839F1E-0EC8-4799-B3AE-1A4E54A95F0

    Evolutionary trends and stasis in molar morphology of Rhagapodemus-Rhagamys lineage in the Pleistocene of Sardinia.

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    ""Stasis, random walk and directional evolution patterns have been tested on the lower and upper first molars of the Rhagapodemus-Rhagamys lineage (Rodentia, Muridae) from Middle and Late Pleistocene fissure fillings of Monte Tuttavista, Orosei, Sardinia, Italy. We recorded the maximum length\\\/maximum width ratio and size on 252 lower first molars and 208 upper first molars belonging to different populations of Rhagapodemus minor and Rhagamys orthodon in order to explore evolutionary dynamics underlying molar morphology evolution. Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) was used for selection of the best model of evolution, in order to distinguish different evolutionary patterns. Our results clearly show that Rhagapodemus-Rhagamys lineage undergoes stasis during the middle and late Pleistocene of Sardinia, while size shows a random walk pattern between populations, characterized by an increase in size at the Rhagapodemus minor-Rhagamys orthodon transition.. "

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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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