Neanderthal selective hunting of reindeer? The case study of Abri du Maras (south-eastern France)

Fieldwork was supported by the Regional Office of Archaeology Rhône-Alpes, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Ardèche Department through several scientific programs. M.G.Chacon, F. Rivals and E. Allué research are funded by ‘CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya’. Thanks to Jean-Jacques Hublin, Annabell Reiner and Steven Steinbrenner from the Max Planck Institute (MPI-EVA) for analytical support (isotope analysis). We are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive remarks on this manuscript. The English manuscript was edited by L. Byrne, an official translator and native English speaker.Peer reviewedPostprin

The phylogenetic origin and evolution of acellular bone in teleost fishes: insights into osteocyte function in bone metabolism

Vertebrate bone is composed of three main cell types: osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes, the latter being by far the most numerous. Osteocytes are thought to play a fundamental role in bone physiology and homeostasis, however they are entirely absent in most extant species of teleosts, a group that comprises the vast majority of bony ‘fishes’, and approximately half of vertebrates. Understanding how this acellular (anosteocytic) bone appeared and was maintained in such an important vertebrate group has important implications for our understanding of the function and evolution of osteocytes. Nevertheless, although it is clear that cellular bone is ancestral for teleosts, it has not been clear in which specific subgroup the osteocytes were lost. This review aims to clarify the phylogenetic distribution of cellular and acellular bone in teleosts, to identify its precise origin, reversals to cellularity, and their implications. We surveyed the bone type for more than 600 fossil and extant ray‐finned fish species and optimised the results on recent large‐scale molecular phylogenetic trees, estimating ancestral states. We find that acellular bone is a probable synapomorphy of Euteleostei, a group uniting approximately two‐thirds of teleost species. We also confirm homoplasy in these traits: acellular bone occurs in some non‐euteleosts (although rarely), and cellular bone was reacquired several times independently within euteleosts, in salmons and relatives, tunas and the opah (Lampris sp.). The occurrence of peculiar ecological (e.g. anadromous migration) and physiological (e.g. red‐muscle endothermy) strategies in these lineages might explain the reacquisition of osteocytes. Our review supports that the main contribution of osteocytes in teleost bone is to mineral homeostasis (via osteocytic osteolysis) and not to strain detection or bone remodelling, helping to clarify their role in bone physiology

First identification of the genus Argyrosomus (Teleostei, Sciaenidae) in Neogene African outcrops [Première identification du genre Argyrosomus (Teleostei, Sciaenidae) dans des sites néogènes Africains]

Disarticulated fossil remains of a same indeterminate perciform have been described in Neogene deposits from Africa, in Libya (Upper Miocene of Sahabi) and in Namibia (Middle Miocene of Arrisdrift), and then from Germany (Lower Miocene of Langenau). Found in association with strictly or dominantly freshwater faunas, they were supposed to be freshwater fish. However, their distribution was rather difficult to interpret and their comparison with freshwater ichthyotaxa did not permit to attribute them neither to a known genus even nor to a known family. By comparison with marine perciforms, the review of the African fossils allowed us to attribute them to the genus Argyrosomus (Teleostei, Sciaenidae) or "Meagre". Only new fossil material and an acute study of the osteology of extant species might allow specific attribution of this bony material. ese African fossils and those from Langenau constitute the whole bony fossil record of the genus Argyrosomus De La Pylaie, 1835 that is also known by otoliths from European Miocene deposits (Mediterranean and Paratethyan seas). ese marine fish, today present along European and African (and also Asian and West Pacific) coasts, have certain members that frequently enter estuaries and coastal freshwater streams. So, our identification of disarticulated bony remains completes the fossil record of Argyrosomus. It allows us to date their presence along the African West coast since at least the Middle Miocene and it indicates that their affinity with fresh water existed yet in the Lower Miocene. © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris

First record of a stranded specimen of the sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus (Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Molidae), from the central coast of Peru

The Molidae are a widely distributed family, but they are rarely encountered and their distribution and abundance have poorly been documented. A stranded specimen of the sharptail mola, Masturus lanceolatus (Liénard, 1840), has recently been recorded on a Pacific beach in Peru. We examined, measured and photographed the specimen. It is very likely that the presently reported sharptail mola was originally captured by a Peruvian purse seiner or longliner and later discarded as a useless bycatch

Ancient fishing (2900-2800 BP) at the Arapus site, Efate, Vanuatu (Conference Poster)

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Checklist of the marine fishes from metropolitan France

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