Eocene Western European endemic genus Thaumastosaurus: new insights into the question “Are the Ranidae known prior to the Oligocene?”

Background Amphibians, due to their ecophysiological peculiarities, have a physiology dependent on environmental conditions and sensitively respond to their changes. Here, the oldest record of the genus Thaumastosaurus is described, whose fossil record known exclusively from Western Europe is discussed in the scope of the climatic changes of 33.5–40.5 Ma. Results In the present paper, the fossil remains of the genus from three localities in Switzerland (11 samples overall) have been studied and referred to the species Thaumastosaurus bottii. Its stratigraphic distribution has been revised and summarised. The studied localities present the stratigraphically oldest and the most eastern occurrences of the genus Thaumastosaurus. Eocene probable ranids (Ranidae indet./Rana sp./? Rana sp.) from Europe could be referred to Thaumastosaurus. Discussion Their first occurrence of ranids most likely coincides with a warm phase of the global climate at 40 Ma, as tropical conditions were prevailing in Europe. As a result of the gradual cooling of the global climate, the tropical conditions in Europe were replaced by drier open habitats towards the latest Eocene at 34 Ma, when the latest occurrence of the European endemic genus Thaumastosaurus is known. Taking the fossil record and the climate evolution of that time into account, it can be concluded that Thaumastosaurus represents one of the groups among the vertebrates that disappeared during the large extinction event at the Eo–Oligocene transition, known as the Grande Coupure. The fossil finds of the genus from the studied localities allow to refer the previously suggested Eocene true frogs to the genus Thaumastosaurus, hereby stating the arrival of the true frog family Ranidae by the genus Pelophylax in Europe from the east at the earliest Oligocene

3D morphology of pharyngeal dentition of the genus Capoeta (Cyprinidae): Implications for taxonomy and phylogeny

Capoeta is a herbivorous cyprinid fish genus, widely distributed in water bodies of Western Asia. Recent species show a distinct biogeographic pattern with endemic distribution in large fluvial drainage basins. As other cyprinids, the species of this genus are characterized by the presence of the pharyngeal bone with pharyngeal teeth. Despite this, the detailed morphology of the pharyngeal teeth, its interspecific and topologic variations, and the importance for taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Capoeta are still not established. For the first time, a detailed comprehensive study of the pharyngeal dentition of 10 Capoeta species has been provided. The morphologic study of the pharyngeal dentition bases on the 3D microtomography and follows the purpose to evaluate the potential taxonomic and phylogenetic signals of these elements, as well as to study interspecific and topologic variations of the pharyngeal teeth. In this study, we propose a new methodology to categorize the studied pharyngeal teeth in 18 shape classes. The results of this study show that the detailed 3D morphology of the pharyngeal teeth is a useful tool for the identification of isolated teeth at the generic and/or specific level and that in certain cases, the tooth position in the teeth rows can be identified. Additionally, the preliminary analysis shows that the morphology of the pharyngeal teeth provides a potential phylogenetic signal. Both these patterns are very important for the taxonomy of cyprinid fishes and especially can be applied to fossil records

First fossil frog from Antarctica: Implications for Eocene high latitude climate conditions and Gondwanan cosmopolitanism of Australobatrachia

Cenozoic ectothermic continental tetrapods (amphibians and reptiles) have not been documented previously from Antarctica, in contrast to all other continents. Here we report a fossil ilium and an ornamented skull bone that can be attributed to the Recent, South American, anuran family Calyptocephalellidae or helmeted frogs, representing the first modern amphibian found in Antarctica. The two bone fragments were recovered in Eocene, approximately 40 million years old, sediments on Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The record of hyperossified calyptocephalellid frogs outside South America supports Gondwanan cosmopolitanism of the anuran clade Australobatrachia. Our results demonstrate that Eocene freshwater ecosystems in Antarctica provided habitats favourable for ectothermic vertebrates (with mean annual precipitation ≥900 mm, coldest month mean temperature ≥3.75 °C, and warmest month mean temperature ≥13.79 °C), at a time when there were at least ephemeral ice sheets existing on the highlands within the interior of the continent.Fil: Mörs, Thomas. Stockholms Universitet; SueciaFil: Reguero, Marcelo Alfredo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Vasilyan, Davit. University of Fribourg; Suiz

Fossil amphibians and reptiles from the Neogene locality of Maramena (Greece), the most diverse European herpetofauna at the Miocene/Pliocene transition boundary

We herein describe the fossil amphibians and reptiles from the Neogene (latest Miocene or earliest Pliocene; MN 13/14) locality of Maramena, in northern Greece. The herpetofauna is shown to be extremely diverse, comprising at least 30 different taxa. Amphibians include at least six urodelan (Cryptobranchidae indet., Salamandrina sp., Lissotriton sp. [Lissotriton vulgaris group], Lissotriton sp., Ommatotriton sp., and Sala- mandra sp.), and three anuran taxa (Latonia sp., Hyla sp., and Pelophylax sp.). Rep- tiles are much more speciose, being represented by two turtle (the geoemydid Mauremys aristotelica and a probable indeterminate testudinid), at least nine lizard (Agaminae indet., Lacertidae indet., ?Lacertidae indet., aff. Palaeocordylus sp., ?Scin- cidae indet., Anguis sp., five morphotypes of Ophisaurus, Pseudopus sp., and at least one species of Varanus), and 10 snake taxa (Scolecophidia indet., Periergophis micros gen. et sp. nov., Paraxenophis spanios gen. et sp. nov., Hierophis cf. hungaricus, another distinct “colubrine” morphotype, Natrix aff. rudabanyaensis, and another dis- tinct species of Natrix, Naja sp., cf. Micrurus sp., and a member of the “Oriental Vipers” complex). The autapomorphic features and bizarre vertebral morphology of Perier- gophis micros gen. et sp. nov. and Paraxenophis spanios gen. et sp. nov. render them readily distinguishable among fossil and extant snakes. Cryptobranchids, several of the amphibian genera, scincids, Anguis, Pseudopus, and Micrurus represent totally new fossil occurrences, not only for the Greek area, but for the whole southeastern Europe. The four different types of serration within the Varanus teeth from Maramena raise questions on the taxonomic importance or the variability of this feature. The large number of distinct amphibian and reptile taxa in Maramena makes this Greek locality by far the most diverse and speciose among all European localities across the latest Miocene and earliest Pliocene. An estimation of the palaeoprecipitation value of the locality is provided. The biogeographic origins of the Maramena herpetofauna are not fully resolved, though certain of its elements were previously only known from the early and middle Miocene of Central Europe

Possible species-flock scenario for the evolution of the cyprinid genus Capoeta (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) within late Neogene lake systems of the Armenian Highland

We studied 4 Ma old isolated pharyngeal teeth from lake sediments of Çevirme (Tekman Palaeolake, Erzurum Province). Based on shape characters defined for 3D models of modern species, we found that the Pliocene lake constitutes sympatric occurrence of four Capoeta species (C. cf. umbla, C. cf. baliki, C. cf. sieboldi and C. sp. sevangi/capoeta), whose modern relatives belong to a monophyletic clade inhabiting today three different drainage systems of this region (Euphrates River, Kura River and Black Sea). We interpreted this high local diversity of closely related species in terms of the species-flock model. The Tekman palaeolake was a part of an unrecognized extended late Miocene to Pliocene palaeolake system in the present- day Armenian Highland, which has been disrupted by Pliocene tectonic activities. Surface uplift of the Armenian Highland contributed to the very characteristic biogeographic distribution and endemism of Capoeta in West Asian drainage systems. Thus, we proposed a species-flock scenario for the evolution and dispersal of the cyprinid genus Capoeta in a huge unrecognized palaeolake system in the present-day Armenian Highland

First record of fossil anguines (Squamata; Anguidae) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Turkey

Fossil anguine lizard specimens from several Turkish localities are described in this paper. The material comes from ten different localities, spanning a large geographic area consisting of both parts of the European Turkey and Anatolia, and ranging in age from the Oligocene to the Late Miocene. In certain cases, the generic determination was possible and, accordingly, members of Ophisaurus and Anguis were identified and described in detail. The specimens of Anguis, found in different, Middle and Late Miocene localities from Anatolia, represent two of only a few fossil occurrences of this taxon. Moreover, the material reported herein represents the oldest occurrences of anguine lizards, not only from Turkey, but from southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean basin as a whole. These rare records provide important information about the dispersal routes of anguines from Europe to Asia and significantly enhance our understanding of their biogeography

A new alligatoroid from the Eocene of Vietnam highlights an extinct Asian clade independent from extant Alligator sinensis

During systematic paleontological surveys in the Na Duong Basin in North Vietnam between 2009 and 2012, well-preserved fossilized cranial and postcranial remains belonging to at least 29 individuals of a middle to late Eocene (late Bartonian to Priabonian age (39–35 Ma)) alligatoroid were collected. Comparative anatomical study of the material warrants the diagnosis of a new taxon, Orientalosuchus naduongensis gen. et sp. nov. The combined presence of an enlarged fifth maxillary tooth, prominent preorbital ridges, a large supraoccipital exposure on the skull table, a palatine-pterygoid suture anterior to the posterior end of the suborbital fenestra, and a pterygoid forming a neck surrounding the choana is unique to this species. Unlike previous phylogenies, our parsimony analysis recovers a monophyletic Late Cretaceous to Paleogene East to Southeastern Asian alligatoroid group, here named Orientalosuchina. The group includes Orientalosuchus naduongensis, Krabisuchus siamogallicus, Eoalligator chunyii, Jiangxisuchus nankangensis and Protoalligator huiningensis, all of them sharing a medial shifted quadrate foramen aerum. The recognition of this clade indicates at least two separate dispersal events from North America to Asia: one during the Late Cretaceous by Orientalosuchina and one by the ancestor of Alligator sinensis during the Paleogene or Neogene, the timing of which is poorly constrained

A new stem-varanid lizard (Reptilia, Squamata) from the early Eocene of China

Monitor lizards (genus Varanus) are today distributed across Asia, Africa and Australasia and represent one of the most recognizable and successful lizard lineages. They include charismatic living species like the Komodo dragon of Indonesia and the even larger extinct Varanus prisca (Megalania) of Australia. The fossil record suggests that living varanids had their origins in a diverse assemblage of stem (varaniform) species known from the Late Cretaceous of China and Mongolia. However, determining the biogeographic origins of crown-varanids has proved problematic, with Asia, Africa and Australia each being proposed. The problem is complicated by the fragmentary nature of many attributed specimens, and the fact that the most widely accepted, and most complete, fossil of a stem-varanid, that of Saniwa ensidens, is from North America. In this paper, we describe a well-preserved skull and skeleton of a new genus of stem-varanid from the Eocene of China. Phylogenetic analysis places the new genus as the sister taxon of Varanus, suggesting that the transition from Cretaceous varaniform lizards to Varanus occurred in East Asia before the origin and dispersal of Varanus to other regions. The discovery of the new specimen thus fills an important gap in the fossil record of monitor lizards. The similar lengths of the fore- and hindlimbs in this new taxon are unusual among the total group Varanidae and suggest it may have had a different lifestyle, at least from the contemporaneous North American S. ensidens. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'

The earliest evidence for Upper Paleolithic occupation in the Armenian Highlands at Aghitu-3 Cave

With its well-preserved archaeological and environmental records, Aghitu-3 Cave permits us to examine the settlement patterns of the Upper Paleolithic (UP) people who inhabited the Armenian Highlands. We also test whether settlement of the region between ∼39–24,000 cal BP relates to environmental variability. The earliest evidence occurs in archaeological horizon (AH) VII from ∼39–36,000 cal BP during a mild, moist climatic phase. AH VI shows periodic occupation as warm, humid conditions prevailed from ∼36–32,000 cal BP. As the climate becomes cooler and drier at ∼32– 29,000 cal BP (AH V-IV), evidence for occupation is minimal. However, as cooling continues, the deposits of AH III demonstrate that people used the site more intensively from ∼29–24,000 cal BP, leaving behind numerous stone artifacts, faunal remains, and complex combustion features. Despite the climatic fluctuations seen across this 15,000-year sequence, lithic technology remains attuned to one pattern: unidirectional reduction of small cores geared towards the production of bladelets for tool manufacture. Subsistence patterns also remain stable, focused on medium-sized prey such as ovids and caprids, as well as equids. AH III demonstrates an expansion of social networks to the northwest and southwest, as the transport distance of obsidian used to make stone artifacts increases. We also observe the addition of bone tools, including an eyed needle, and shell beads brought from the east, suggesting that these people manufactured complex clothing and wore ornaments. Remains of micromammals, birds, charcoal, pollen, and tephra relate the story of environmental variability. We hypothesize that UP behavior was linked to shifts in demographic pressures and climatic changes. Thus, by combining archaeological and environmental data, we gain a clearer picture about the first UP inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands

Biochronological and palaeobiogeographical significance of the earliest Miocene mammal fauna from Northern Vietnam

Current scientific knowledge of Tertiary fossils from south of the Ailao Shan-Red River shear zone is extremely poor, in sharp contrast with the situation nowadays, as the area of Laos and Vietnam is regarded as a global hotspot of biodiversity. In this context, the few localities that yielded fossil assemblages are of first importance for the understanding of Cenozoic palaeobiogeography and the tectonic and palaeogeographical evolution of the region. Hang Mon 1 (Son La Province, Northern Vietnam) was the first site that provided evidence of Tertiary mammals, but its age remained very controversial, interpretations ranging from Oligocene to Late Miocene. Herein, we re-investigate the mammal fauna of the locality based on newly collected material and previously published fossil mammals. A new outcrop, Hang Mon 2, provides evidence of the rhinoceroses Pleuroceros blanfordi and Bugtirhinus sp. Together with the earlier finds of uncommonly small-sized Protaceratherium, these fossils allow a correlation to the earliest Miocene (most probably ranging from ~23 to ~21 Ma; Aquitanian) based on faunal comparison with the Sulaiman Province of Pakistan. The revision of the mammals from Hang Mon 1 is in agreement with this stratigraphic proposal. In addition, the discoveries from Vietnam (the rhinocerotid assemblage and Hyotherium) further support the hypothesis of strong biogeographical and environmental affinities between Europe, the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia (Vietnam) during the Aquitanian