The record of Aplodontidae (Rodentia, Mammalia) in the Oligocene and Miocene of the Valley of Lakes (Central Mongolia) with some comments on the morphologic variability

The present publication reports new discoveries of Oligocene and early Miocene aplodontid rodents from the Taatsiin Gol area (Valley of Lakes) in Mongolia. The fossil aplodontids recovered in this area are mainly composed of dental remains, some fragmentary jaws plus one partially preserved skull. Aplodontid rodents have been found from the early Oligocene (local biozone A) to the early middle Miocene (local biozone D). Altogether, eight taxa belonging to five genera have been identified in the investigated deposits: Ninamys arboraptus, Ninamys kazimierzi, Promeniscomys cf. sinensis, Prosciurus? mongoliensis and Prosciurus? sp. nov. in the early Oligocene; N. arboraptus, Proansomys badamae sp. nov. and Ansomyinae indet. in the late Oligocene; and Ansomys sp.1 in the early Miocene. In addition, although outside of the topic of the present special issue, one additional taxon, Ansomys sp.2, is reported from the ?middle Miocene. The material of aplodontids is usually relatively scarce in Asian localities. For the first time, with a sample size of 81 specimens, the material from Central Mongolia (mainly from the Oligocene) now allows a more accurate description of the morphological and size variability and resolves some systematic problems. The study of these aplodontids reveals that they are more abundant and diverse in the early Oligocene and that the diversity decreases during the late Oligocene and Miocene. One hypothesis, to explain the opposite diversity trend observed previously for sciurids in the same region, is that both Sciuromorpha families might have competed for the same resources from the early Oligocene to the middle Miocene in Central Mongolia

El método del caso en la enseñanza del Derecho Mercantil: Derecho de sociedades

Memoria del primer año de un Proyecto de Innovación Docente plurianual explicando el desarrollo y ejecución de un sistema de enseñanza de tipo angloamericano, basado en el método del caso y la dialéctica en su resolución como actividad permanente en todas las sesiones docentes, potenciando el valor de la universidad presencial

Paleoenvironmental characterization of the Paracuellos-3 and Paracuellos-5 sites (Middle Miocene, Madrid Basin) based on the body weight structure of mammalian faunas

El evento de enfriamiento global del Mioceno medio ha sido descrito, a escala local, en el centro de la Península Ibérica (Cuenca de Madrid). Algunos yacimientos paleontológicos como Somosaguas (14,1 Ma) y Cerro de los Batallones (9 Ma) han sido ampliamente estudiados. Además, otros yacimientos situados temporalmente entre ellos, como los yacimientos de Paracuellos del Jarama, tienen un gran potencial de estudio. En este trabajo se han caracterizado los paleoambientes de los yacimientos de Paracuellos-5 (13,7 Ma) y Paracuellos-3 (12,8 Ma), ambos pertenecientes al Mioceno medio, para dar una visión más completa de las características paleoambientales de este intervalo. Se emplearon seis modelos cuantitativos de inferencia climática basados en la estructura de pesos corporales de los mamíferos para estimar la temperatura y la precipitación en el área de estudio. Las inferencias ambientales obtenidas permiten exponer la hipótesis de que en un intervalo de tiempo menor a 1 millón de años, el ambiente existente en Paracuellos tuvo una tendencia hacia el aumento de la humedad, aún manteniéndose como un ambiente de extrema aridezThe middle Miocene global cooling event has been described at a local scale in central Spain (Madrid Basin). There are well-studied fossil sites as Somosaguas (14.1 Ma) and Cerro de los Batallones (9 Ma). In addition, other fossil sites situated temporarily between them, such as the Paracuellos del Jarama fossil sites have a great potential. In this work, the palaeoenvironments of Paracuellos-5(13.7 Ma) and Paracuellos-3 (12.8 Ma) sites, both from the middle Miocene, have been characterized to show a more complete view of the environmental characteristics prevailing during this period. Six quantitative climatic inference models based on body-size structure of mammal faunas have been used to estimate temperature and precipitation of the study area. The obtained environmental inferences allow formulating the hypothesis that, in a time interval of less than 1 million years, the environment of Paracuellos experienced a trend through slightly more humid conditions, remaining as an extremely arid environmen

Oligocene and early Miocene mammal biostratigraphy of the Valley of Lakes in Mongolia

The Taatsiin Gol Basin in Mongolia is a key area for understanding the evolution and dispersal of Central Asian mammal faunas during the Oligocene and early Miocene. After two decades of intense fieldwork, the area is extraordinarily well sampled and taxonomically well studied, yielding a large dataset of 19,042 specimens from 60 samples. The specimens represent 176 species-level and 99 genus-level taxa comprising 135 small mammal species and 47 large mammals. A detailed lithostratigraphy and new magnetostratigraphic and radiometric datings provide an excellent frame for these biotic data. Therefore, we test and evaluate the informal biozonation scheme that has been traditionally used for biostratigraphic correlations within the basin. Based on the analysis of the huge dataset, a formalised biostratigraphic scheme is proposed. It comprises the Cricetops dormitor Taxon Range Zone (Rupelian), subdivided into the Allosminthus khandae Taxon Range Subzone and the Huangomys frequens Abundance Subzone, the Amphechinus taatsiingolensis Abundance Zone (early Chattian), the Amphechinus major Taxon Range Zone (late Chattian), subdivided into the Yindirtemys deflexus Abundance Subzone and the Upper Amphechinus major T. R. Z., and the Tachyoryctoides kokonorensis Taxon Range Zone (Aquitanian). In statistical analyses, samples attributed to these biozones form distinct clusters, indicating that each biozone was also characterised by a distinct faunal type

New Cricetodontini from the middle Miocene of Europe: An example of mosaic evolution

A new species of Cricetodontini (Cricetidae, Rodentia, Mammalia), Cricetodon nievei sp. nov. from the Toril section (Toril 3A, Toril 3B, Toril 2) and Las Planas 5H is described. All this sites belong to the local biozone G3 (late Aragonian, late middle Miocene) from the Calatayud-Daroca Basin (Zaragoza, Spain). The new species displays a mosaic pattern consisting in a combination of primitive and derived characters: the upper molars have a basal Cricetodon-like pattern –short and not complete ectolophs –, whereas the lower molars share several derived features with the older representatives of Hispanomys – absence of metalophulid II. The generic assignation of the new taxon is further discussed and it is compared with all the species of Cricetodon and Hispanomys described until date. This mosaic evolutionary pattern of dental characters is also recognized in other species of Cricetodontini from Europe during the late Aragonian, although involving different combination of morphological characters. At this time, the diversity of the tribe increases, including species with complex morphology and higher intraspecific variability than the older representatives. The new species proposed here is morphologically close to Cricetodontini recorded outside the Calatayud-Daroca Basin, especially C. albanensis and H. decedens from France. Finally, the palaeoecological context of the new species is discussed; the stratigraphical distribution of Cricetodon nievei sp. nov. coevals changes in the faunal assemblages which are possibly related to an increase of humidity detected in the Calatayud-Daroca Basin

Virtual cranial reconstruction of Hispanomys moralesi (Rodentia, Mammalia) from Cerro de los Batallones (upper Miocene, Spain)

El Cerro de los Batallones is one of the most important fossil sites of the Miocene. The quantity and preservation of its fossil remains have allowed us to describe many new mammal species. One of these is Hispanomys moralesi, a derived species of the Tribe Cricetodontini, a wide group of rodents with great importance in the faunal assemblage during the Miocene. Unlike most fossil micromammals in this fossil site, we have obtained skull remains that preserve never recorded anatomical structures in this time interval. Due to the fragility of the material, it could only be studied in detail using X-ray micro-computed tomography (µ-CT Scan). With this technique, we obtained three-dimensional models of 12 skulls of Hispanomys moralesi, in which different osteological parts have been described. In this way, we compared the morphological variation of the skull with other fossil cricetids and concluded that Batallones’ species is an opisthodont rodent, with a relatively elongated rostrum, a robust base of zygomatic arches and big-sized tooth rows. Opisthodont incisor characterises omnivore and herbivore diets in rodents. Therefore, these new findings of Hispanomys moralesi could allow us to describe the dietary affinities of this extinct species

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Post-COVID Pain in Hospitalized COVID-19 Survivors Depending on Infection with the Historical, Alpha or Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variant

We compared the prevalence of musculoskeletal post-COVID pain between previously hospitalized COVID-19 survivors infected with the historical, Alpha or Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant. Data about musculoskeletal post-COVID pain were systematically collected through a telephone interview involving 201 patients who had survived the historical variant, 211 who had survived the Alpha variant and 202 who had survived the Delta variant six months after hospital discharge. Participants were recruited from non-vaccinated individuals hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in one hospital of Madrid (Spain) during three different waves of the pandemic (historical, Alpha or Delta variant). Hospitalization and clinical data were collected from hospital medical records. In addition, anxiety/depressive levels and sleep quality were also assessed. The prevalence of musculoskeletal post-COVID pain was higher (p = 0.003) in patients infected with the historical variant (47.7%) than in those infected with the Alpha (38.3%) or Delta (41%) variants. A significantly (p = 0.002) higher proportion of individuals infected with the historical variant reported generalized pain (20.5%) when compared with those infected with the other variants. The prevalence of new-onset post-COVID musculoskeletal pain reached 80.1%, 75.2% and 79.5% of patients infected with the historical, Alpha or Delta variants, respectively. No specific risk factors for developing post-COVID pain were identified depending on the SARS-CoV-2 variant. In conclusion, this study found that musculoskeletal post-COVID pain is highly prevalent in COVID-19 survivors six months after hospital discharge, with the highest prevalence and most generalized pain symptoms in individuals infected with the historical variant. Approximately 50% developed “de novo” post-COVID musculoskeletal pain symptoms