New data on the morphology of Sphenothallus Hall: implications for its affinities

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73676/1/j.1502-3931.1992.tb01378.x.pd

A New Basal Sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from Quebrada del Barro Formation (Marayes-El Carrizal Basin), Northwestern Argentina

BACKGROUND: Argentinean basal sauropodomorphs are known by several specimens from different basins; Ischigualasto, El Tranquilo, and Mogna. The Argentinean record is diverse and includes some of the most primitive known sauropodomorphs such as Panphagia and Chromogisaurus, as well as more derived forms, including several massospondylids. Until now, the Massospondylidae were the group of basal sauropodomorphs most widely spread around Pangea with a record in almost all continents, mostly from the southern hemisphere, including the only record from Antarctica. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We describe here a new basal sauropodomorph, Leyesaurus marayensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Quebrada del Barro Formation, an Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic unit that crops out in northwestern Argentina. The new taxon is represented by a partial articulated skeleton that includes the skull, vertebral column, scapular and pelvic girdles, and hindlimb. Leyesaurus is diagnosed by a set of unique features, such as a sharply acute angle (50 degrees) formed by the ascending process of the maxilla and the alveolar margin, a straight ascending process of the maxilla with a longitudinal ridge on its lateral surface, noticeably bulging labial side of the maxillary teeth, greatly elongated cervical vertebrae, and proximal articular surface of metatarsal III that is shelf-like and medially deflected. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Leyesaurus as a basal sauropodomorph, sister taxon of Adeopapposaurus within the Massospondylidae. Moreover, the results suggest that massospondylids achieved a higher diversity than previously thought. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our phylogenetic results differ with respect to previous analyses by rejecting the massospondylid affinities of some taxa from the northern hemisphere (e.g., Seitaad, Sarahsaurus). As a result, the new taxon Leyesaurus, coupled with other recent discoveries, suggests that the diversity of massospondylids in the southern hemisphere was higher than in other regions of Pangea. Finally, the close affinities of Leyesaurus with the Lower Jurassic Massospondylus suggest a younger age for the Quebrada del Barro Formation than previously postulated

Morphometric analysis of lumbar vertebra UMP 67-28: Implications for spinal function and phylogeny of the Miocene Moroto hominoid

Fossil hominoid remains from the Miocene site of Moroto II include a well preserved lumbar vertebra (UMP 67-28). This vertebra is associated with a palate that has been included in the hominoid tribe Afropithecini and referred by some to Afropithecus. UMP 67-28 originally was described as having close morphological affinities with lumbar vertebrae from African apes and humans (Walker & Rose, 1968). The present analysis, however, indicates that UMP 67-28 shares no exclusive proportional or structural similarities with lumbar vertebrae from any particular extant catarrhine. The Moroto vertebra is the size of lumbar elements from female chimpanzees and orang-utans or large male cercopithecoids. Regression analysis of vertebral body surface area suggests that the individual represented by UMP 67-28 had a body weight of approximately 38 kg. UMP 67-28 is similar to large-bodied hominoids in general, in position and orientation of its transverse process, absence of anapophyses, inclination of its neural spine, and pedicular shape, marking the earliest appearance in the catarrhine fossil record of lumbar morphology resembling that of modern hominoids. Conversely, vertebral body proportions in UMP 67-28 most closely resemble those in male baboons, and in other traits the specimen cannot be differentiated between hominoids and cercopithecoids. The overall morphology of UMP 67-28 indicates that lumbar vertebrae of the Moroto hominoid were mole derived toward the great ape condition than those of Proconsul heseloni and P. nyanzae. In contrast to Proconsul, UMP 67-28 shares features with other dorsostable-backed mammals, suggesting that the Moroto hominoid and Proconsul possessed very different locomotor capabilities. Dental traits linking the Moroto hominoid with other afropithecins are thought to correspond functionally to a fundamental shift in diet, relative to the primitive catarrhine condition. It is possible that evolution of the lumbar region of early hominoids toward the morphotype of extant large-bodied hominoids, evidenced in UMP 67-28, was adaptively driven by modifications in substrate use coincident with changes in resource acquisition.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31743/1/0000682.pd

Bedeutung gasfoermiger Komponenten an den Grenzflaechen Sediment/Atmosphaere und Wasser/Atmosphaere

As a contribution to the SWAP-Project the trace gas fluxes of the three macro elements nitrogen (NO, NO_2, N_2O), carbon (CO_2, CH_4) and sulfur (H_2S, COS, CH_3SH, DMS, CS_2) between the Wadden Sea and the atmosphere were analyzed. The measuring program was designed to determine the spatial and temporal variations of the gaseous C-, N- and S-fluxes. The quantification of atmospheric trace gasfluxes is an essential part to calculate the element balance of the Wadden Sea. The trace gas fluxes were investigated by conducting eleven measuring campaigns between August 1990 and September 1994. Measurements were performed at representative sites mainly in different sediments of the Koenigshafen but also in a wider range of the Sylt-Roemoe tidal flat area. The in situ-fluxes of the different trace gases were determined by using static and dynamic chamber techniques focussing on dry sediment periods. Additional experiments were performed in order to determine gas-concentrations in the sea water (S-gases) as well as in the sediment between the surface and 70 cm depth (S-gases, CH_4). The transfer rates of gaseous nitrogen compounds between the Wadden Sea and the atmosphere were of minor importance compared to the exchange of CO_2 and reduced S-gases. Nevertheless the occurrence of seagrass and green-algal mats caused a distinct increase of the N_2O-fluxes. Highest flux rates between the sediment and the atmosphere were demonstrated for CO_2. The generally observed diurnal cycle of CO_2-exchange (deposition during the daytime and a release from the sediment during nighttime) reflected the amplitude of photosynthetic primary production as well as the respiratory activities of the organisms present in or above the sediment. As found for N_2O-transfer there was only low emissions of CH_4 from uncovered sediment areas, but relatively high CH_4-emissions (up to 90 fold) were found in seagrass beds or green algal-mats. In most cases H_2S was the dominant gaseous sulfur compound emitted from the sediment to the atmosphere, contributing up to 77% of the total S-emission at this interface. The comparison of H_2S-emission and the corresponding sulfur reduction rates showed that depending on season and sediment type between 1600 and 26000 times more H_2S was produced than emitted. These findings demonstrate the efficiency by which sediments retain the H_2S produced during sulfate reduction, and indicate a high H_2S consumption by biological and chemical sediment processes. During the submersion period DMS was, in contrast to the gas exchange between the sediment/atmosphere interface, the predominant S-compound emitted to the atmosphere contributing 40% to 93% to the total S-emission. In summary, the increased input of organic material to the Wadden Sea and the resulting ecological changes like increase of anaerobic sediment areas or increasing green algal mats result in increasing emission rates of different trace gases like N_2O, CH_4, H_2S and with respect to green algae also of DMS. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F96B1244+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Sylter Wattenmeer Austauschprozesse. Teilprojekt 3.4a: Lokale Nettofluesse gasfoermiger Kohlenstoff-, Stickstoff- und Schwefelverbindungen zwischen Wattenmeer und Atmosphaere Abschlussbericht

The purpose of the present part-project was to determine the transfer of gaseous nitrogen (N_2O, NO, NO_2), carbon (CO_2, CH_4) and sulphur (H_2S, DMS, CH_3SH, COS, CS_2) compounds between the wadden sea and the atmosphere. This in turn was to permit a determination of the temporal and spatial variations in the ecosystem's trace gas flows and thus a reliable estimate of the diurnal and seasonal net balances. A total of 11 measuring campaigns were performed in the time from August 1990 to September 1994. In situ trace gas flows between sediment and atmosphere were measured during low tide. Measurements were primarily performed in certain parts of the mud flats of the Koenigshafen (Kings' Harbour). Reduced sulphur compounds, CH_4, and N_2O were measured discontinuously in the wider surroundings of the Sylt Roemoe mud flats. Further focal points of the study were measurements of the transfer between water and atmosphere (sulphur compounds, CO_2) and the determination of concentration gradients in the sediment of the wadden sea (sulphur compounds, CH_4). (orig./SR)Im Rahmen des Teilprojektes wurde der Transfer der gasfoermigen Stickstoff-(N_2O, NO, NO_2), Kohlenstoff- (CO_2, CH_4) und Schwefelverbindungen (H_2S, DMS, CH_3SH, COS, CS_2) zwischen Wattenmeer und Atmosphaere bestimmt. Das Ziel der Untersuchungen war die Erfassung zeitlicher und raeumlicher Variationen der Spurengasfluesse im Oekosystem um zu einer zuverlaessigen Abschaetzung der diurnalen und saisonalen Nettobilanz zu gelangen. Insgesamt wurden 11 Messkampagnen im Zeitraum zwischen August 1990 und September 1994 durchgefuehrt. Die Bestimmung der in situ Spurengasfluesse zwischen Sediment und Atmosphaere erfolgte waehrend der Ebbephase in erster Linie in verschiedenen Wattbereichen des Koenigshafens; die reduzierten S-Verbindungen, sowie CH_4 und N_2O wurden diskontinuierlich aber auch in groesserem Umfeld des Sylt-Roemoe-Wattgebietes erfasst. Weitere Untersuchungsschwerpunkte waren Messungen zum Transfer zwischen Wasser und Atmosphaere (S-Verbindungen, CO_2) sowie die Bestimmung von Konzentrationsgradienten im Wattsediment (S-Verbindungen, CH_4). (orig./SR)Available from TIB Hannover: F96B1245 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman