Preserved appendages in a Silurian binodicope: implications for the evolutionary history of ostracod crustaceans

Ostracod crustaceans originated at least 500 Ma ago. Their tiny bivalved shells represent the most species-abundant fossil arthropods, and ostracods are omnipresent in a wide array of freshwater and marine environments today and in the past. Derima paparme gen. et sp. nov. from the Herefordshire Silurian Lagerstätte (~430 Ma) in the Welsh Borderland, UK, is one of only a handful of exceptionally preserved ostracods (with soft parts as well as the shell) known from the Palaeozoic. A male specimen provides the first evidence of the appendages of Binodicopina, a major group of Palaeozoic ostracods comprising some 135 Ordovician to Permian genera. The appendage morphology of D. paparme, but not its shell, indicates that binodicopes belong to Podocopa. The discovery that the soft-part morphology of binodicopes allies them with podocopes affirms that using the shell alone is an unreliable basis for classifying certain fossil ostracods, and knowledge of soft-part morphology is critical for the task. Current assignment of many fossil ostracods to higher taxa, and therefore the evolutionary history of the group, may require reconsideration

Preserved appendages in a Silurian binodicope: implications for the evolutionary history of ostracod crustaceans

Ostracod crustaceans originated at least 500 Ma ago. Their tiny bivalved shells represent the most species-abundant fossil arthropods, and ostracods are omnipresent in a wide array of freshwater and marine environments today and in the past. Derima paparme gen. et sp. nov. from the Herefordshire Silurian Lagerstätte (~430 Ma) in the Welsh Borderland, UK, is one of only a handful of exceptionally preserved ostracods (with soft parts as well as the shell) known from the Palaeozoic. A male specimen provides the first evidence of the appendages of Binodicopina, a major group of Palaeozoic ostracods comprising some 135 Ordovician to Permian genera. The appendage morphology of D. paparme, but not its shell, indicates that binodicopes belong to Podocopa. The discovery that the soft-part morphology of binodicopes allies them with podocopes affirms that using the shell alone is an unreliable basis for classifying certain fossil ostracods, and knowledge of soft-part morphology is critical for the task. Current assignment of many fossil ostracods to higher taxa, and therefore the evolutionary history of the group, may require reconsideration

A importância das artes num projecto autárquico de turismo cultural

As artes são uma mais-valia em qualquer projecto de Turismo Cultural. Faz todo o sentido a comunhão da estética, da ética, memórias, usos e costumes, tradições e conhecimento, que nos afecta, melhorando a visão do mundo que nos rodeia e fazendo de nós turistas ou não, pessoas abertas às diferenças e às mudanças dum mundo, que se altera a cada moment

THE LAKE IL’MEN CLINT, RUSSIA: A POTENTIAL DEVONIAN GEOPARK

The Devonian rocks exposed on the shores of Lake Il’men, some 150 km SSE of Saint Petersburg, are important historically in the context of the recognition of the Devonian System. Moreover, they provide unique potential for a range of geological studies today. The non-geological heritage of the area – its flora, fauna, past and current industrial use and cultural links – is also a very worthy one. Since 2001 the area has been recognised asa Specially Protected Natural Territory. A ‘Geopark’ is a unified area of local or wider extent that has been so designated based on its significant geological and associated natural and cultural heritage. There are many positive criteria for considering that the Lake Il’men area could acquire the appellation of a Geopark. Scientific investigations dedicated to understanding the geodynamical conditions operating at Lake Il’men would resolve how to best to help promote the future preservation of this unique natural area

The paleobiogeographical significance of the Silurian and Devonian trilobites of Japan

Six major groups of trilobites from the Silurian and Devonian of Japan are evaluated for their paleobiogeographical signature. Silurian illaenids and scutelluids show four generic-level and at least two species-level links with the Australian segment of the Gondwana paleocontinent; encrinurids also indicate two generic-level links with Australia and also the South China paleocontinent; whilst Devonian phacopids, and possibly proetids, suggest at least two generic-level links with the North China paleocontinent. These different patterns may reflect the fragmentary biostratigraphical record of Japanese trilobites, but they also appear to reflect paleoenvironmental parameters associated with lithofacies, and paleoecology. Thus, Japanese assemblages of proetids and phacopids occurring in deep-water clastic lithofacies have counterparts in similar settings in North China, and Japanese scutelluids and illaenids are strongly associated with shallow marine carbonate lithofacies that are similar to those of their occurrences in Australia. Japanese encrinurids occur in carbonate rocks indicative of shallow marine settings in the Kurosegawa Terrane, and they demonstrate a consistent paleobiogeographical affinity with Australia and South China. Larval ecology cannot be directly assessed for Japanese trilobite groups. However, proetids have consistently been shown to have planktonic protaspides, whereas illaenids, scutelluids, and encrinurids have benthic protaspides. Planktonic protaspides would have a greater propensity for distribution in ocean currents than benthic ones, and therefore may be of more limited paleobiogeographical utility. The combined data from the six different groups indicates that the complex paleobiogeographical patterns of the Japanese trilobite assemblages need to be interpreted with caution, and similarity of taxa does not necessarily denote paleogeographical proximity to other regions

Evaluation of university library impact on students’ academic success

U radu se iznosi teorijski okvir vrednovanja knjižnica, a posebno se govori o mogućnostima istraživanja utjecaja zbirki i usluga sveučilišnih knjižnica na akademski uspjeh studenata. Ukazuje se na terminološke probleme vezane uz vrednovanje knjižnica, o važnosti vrednovanja za poslovanje knjižnica, o knjižničnoj statistici, a posebno o mjerenju utjecaja knjižničnih zbirki i usluga na korisnike. U Hrvatskoj se do sada nisu provodila istraživanja utjecaja sveučilišnih knjižnica na korisnike, a istraživanja vezanih uz utjecaj knjižnice na obrazovanje studenata jako je malo i u svijetu. Razlog tome je činjenica da je utjecaje relativno teško izmjeriti, no oni su veoma važni pokazatelji uspješnosti poslovanja određene akademske knjižnice.The paper gives a theoretical framework for library evaluation, and indicates possible effects the library collections and services might have on students’ academic achievement. The paper discusses terminological problems, the importance of evaluation for library performance, library statistics, and focuses on the measurement of impact of library collections and services on their users. So far, there has been no research in Croatia about the impact of university libraries on student academic achievement, and the studies that deal with this topic are rare even around the world. The reason for this lies in the fact that the outcomes are very difficult to measure, and are therefore avoided in measurements. However, they represent extremely important indicators of university library impact on students’ academic performance

Data from: A three-dimensionally preserved lobopodian from the Herefordshire (Silurian) Lagerstätte, UK

The Herefordshire (Silurian) Lagerstätte (c. 430 MYr BP) has yielded, amongst many exceptionally preserved invertebrates, a wide range of new genera belonging to crown-group Panarthropoda. Here we increase this panarthropod diversity with the lobopodian Thanahita distos, a new total-group panarthropod genus and species. This new lobopodian preserves at least nine paired, long, slender appendages, the anterior two in the head region and the posterior seven representing trunk lobopods. The body ends in a short post-appendicular extension. Some of the trunk lobopods bear two claws, others a single claw. The body is covered by paired, tuft-like papillae. T. distos joins only seven other known three-dimensionally preserved lobopodian or onychophoran (velvet worm) fossil specimens and is the first lobopodian to be formally described from the Silurian. Phylogenetic analysis recovered it, together with all described Hallucigenia species, in a sister-clade to crown-group panarthropods. Its placement in a redefined Hallucigeniidae, an iconic Cambrian clade, indicates the survival of this clade to Silurian times

OUMC29529

Acaenoplax hayae posterior VAMXL files for specimen OUM C.2952

OUMC29691

Acaenoplax hayae posterior VAMXL file for specimen OUM C.2969