A new vertebrate assemblage from the matute formation of the Cameros Basin (Ágreda, Spain): implications for the diversity during the jurassic/cretaceous boundary

Altres ajuts: Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.The Ribota site (Ágreda, Soria, Spain) is a new locality in the Matute Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) composed of several carbonate layers, outstandingly rich in macrovertebrate remains. Fossils show an unusual replacement of the original bioapatite by quartz, and are found as positive reliefs protruding from lacustrine limestone beds. This type of conservation has allowed the identification of around one hundred vertebrate bone accumulations in an outcrop of more than 10 hectares. Osteichthyans (articulated partial skeletons, cranial material, and isolated postcranial bones and scales), crocodylomorphs (disarticulated cranial material, isolated teeth, vertebrae and osteoderms), turtles (partial carapaces and plastra, but also isolated plates) and pterosaurs (cranial and appendicular elements) have been identified. Around 80 specimens have been collected and a preliminary study of part of the collection (35 specimens) has allowed the identification of at least 5 different taxa: Halecomorphi indet., Neoginglymodi indet., Goniopholididae indet., Testudinata indet., and Pterodactyloidea indet. This new site represents one of the few sites from this time interval preserved in a fully lacustrine environment, so these vertebrate assemblages are unique and composed of different animals that presumably lived around and within the lake. They are dominated by aquatic and amphibian vertebrates and was formed by attrition in this lacustrine environment, possibly far from the lake shoreline. These macrovertebrate assemblages provide new data about the diversity in the faunal ecosystems from the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition of the Iberian Basin Rift System

Las prácticas de laboratorio en didáctica de las ciencias experimentales: un lugar idóneo para la convivencia de los diferentes estilos de aprendizaje

En esta comunicación se pretende destacar la importancia de las Prácticas de Laboratorio en la didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales, en los diferentes procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Este tipo de prácticas que conllevan la utilización de infraestructuras especiales, muchas veces son denostadas directa o indirectamente tanto por docentes como por los propios centros educativos. Estos centros no son conscientes en la mayoría de los casos de que este tipo de infraestructuras además de ser fundamentales para evitar el fracaso en la enseñanza y aprendizaje de las materias de ciencias y su enseñanza mediante metodologías investigativas, resulta ser un espacio adecuado para la coexistencia de los diferentes estilos de aprendizaje. Así mismo, el uso de los laboratorios en la Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales sirve para proporcionar al alumnado universitario la atención personalizada que requiere el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, siendo el lugar idóneo para tratar los contenidos y competencias de las materias relacionadas con la Didáctica del Medio Natural, facilitando la labor tanto para el docente como para el discente

A new semionotiform actinopterygian fish from the Mesozoic of Spain and its phylogenetic implications

<div><p><i>Camerichthys lunae</i> gen. et sp. nov. is a semionotiform actinopterygian fish described from the newly reported locality of San Andrés de San Pedro (province of Soria, Spain). The material, an articulated, partial three-dimensional specimen, was unearthed from the Tithonian–Berriasian beds of the Matute Formation (Tera Group) in the continental Cameros Basin. The new taxon, <i>Camerichthys lunae</i> gen. et sp. nov., differs from other ginglymodians in presenting a unique combination of characters plus: presence of a suprapreopercular bone; antorbital intermediate in depth in relation to the other anterior infraorbitals; and infraorbital placed in the anterior border of the orbit subdivided into two portions (three uniquely derived characters). The results of the cladistic analysis show that the new genus from Soria cannot be assigned to any of the three semionotiform families, Callipurbeckiidae, Macrosemiidae or Semionotidae. It is considered Semionotiformes <i>incertae sedis</i>. In the more resolutive analysis, with ordered characters, <i>Camerichthys lunae</i> gen. et sp. nov. appears as the sister group of the clade formed by the families Callipurbeckiidae plus Macrosemiidae. The effects of the new genus on the phylogeny of these two families and <i>Dapedium</i>, <i>Semionotus</i> and <i>Paralepidotus</i>, are discussed. <i>Camerichthys</i> gen. nov. is the first ginglymodian genus endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.</p><p>http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BBD15A41-5BFC-4BFF-AD40-ECD1891953F1</p></div

Taphonomy and palaeoecology of high-stress benthic associations from the Upper Jurassic of Asturias, northern Spain

The late Kimmeridgian Tereñes Formation, exposed on the coast of Asturias, northern Spain, displays a complex pattern of directed changes of grain size, carbonate content, and skeletal concentrations. In its upper part, here investigated, the formation represents a protected shelf lagoon in which four major facies types are distinguished: The Nanogyra virgula mudstone (1) and the Corbulomima concentrations (2) are characterized by concentrations of small bivalves. The carbonate mudstone (3) contains pseudomorphs after gypsum crystals and thin crusts of gypsum, occasionally in connection with thin microbial layers. Finally, the silty to fine-sandy marlstone and micrite and marly silt (4) is highly bioturbated and contains a moderately diverse benthic macrofauna. These facies indicate a generally quiet environment punctuated by brief episodes of high water energy. Two low-diversity macrobenthic assemblages can be recognized, each of them strongly dominated by a single bivalve taxon. The Nanogyra virgula assemblage exhibits a higher diversity than the near-monospecific Corbulomima assemblage. The former lived in well aerated waters of slightly reduced salinity, and the latter in dysoxic waters of more strongly reduced salinity. The environmental stress responsible for the extremely low species richness and evenness is thought to be multifactorial, produced by reduced salinity, dysoxic conditions, and a soft substrate, and resulted in simple food chains. The eurytopic opportunist Corbulomima was the only element of the shelly macrobenthos that was able to thrive in the shelf lagoon under these conditions. It occurs in countless mm- to cm-thick pavements and shell beds which show evidence of winnowing, influence of weak currents, and occasionally of distal storms, as can be deduced from the orientation pattern of shells. These rhythmic Corbulomima concentrations are explained as reflecting small-scale climatic fluctuations between wetter, stormier conditions leading to mixing of the water masses and enabling colonization of the lagoonal floor by the bivalve, and drier, more tranquil conditions. The latter resulted in a stratified water mass and anoxia at the bottom. Superimposed on this rhythmic alternation are three higher orders of cycles which are partly climatic controlled, partly reflect changes in relative sea levelFG Paläoumwelt, GeoZentrum Nordbayern der Universität Erlangen, AlemaniaBayerische Staatssammlung für Geologie und Paläontologie, AlemaniaInstituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaMuseo del Jurásico de Asturias, EspañaÁrea de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales, Departamento de Educación, Universidad de Cantabria, Españ