Shark fossil diversity (Squalomorphii, Squatinomorphii, and Galeomorphii) from the Langhian of Brielas (Lower Tagus Basin, Portugal)

The fossiliferous marine Miocene sediments of the Lower Tagus Basin (Portugal) present a great diversity of Chondrichthyes forms. The current study focuses on the fossil sharks from the Langhian Vc unit of the Brielas section, located in the Setúbal Peninsula. A total of 384 isolated fossil teeth were analysed and ascribed to 17 species from the Orders Hexanchiformes, Squaliformes, Squatiniformes, Lamniformes, and Carcharhiniformes. Centrophorus granulosus and Iago angustidens are described for the first time in Portuguese sediments, whereas Pachyscyllium dachiardii and Rhizoprionodon ficheuri represent only their second reported occurrence. Galeorhinus goncalvesi was already known from the Portuguese uppermost Miocene (Alvalade Basin), but it is now recognized in older sediments. Furthermore, the new material seems to include the first reported occurrence of Hexanchus cf. agassizi in Miocene sediments. As a whole, these new findings support the previous palaeoenvironment characterization of a warm infralittoral setting gradually deepening to a circalittoral one, where seasonal upwelling phenomena could have occurred

A New Horned Crocodile from the Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Sites at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

BACKGROUND: The fossil record reveals surprising crocodile diversity in the Neogene of Africa, but relationships with their living relatives and the biogeographic origins of the modern African crocodylian fauna are poorly understood. A Plio-Pleistocene crocodile from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, represents a new extinct species and shows that high crocodylian diversity in Africa persisted after the Miocene. It had prominent triangular "horns" over the ears and a relatively deep snout, these resemble those of the recently extinct Malagasy crocodile Voay robustus, but the new species lacks features found among osteolaemines and shares derived similarities with living species of Crocodylus. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The holotype consists of a partial skull and skeleton and was collected on the surface between two tuffs dated to approximately 1.84 million years (Ma), in the same interval near the type localities for the hominids Homo habilis and Australopithecus boisei. It was compared with previously-collected material from Olduvai Gorge referable to the same species. Phylogenetic analysis places the new form within or adjacent to crown Crocodylus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The new crocodile species was the largest predator encountered by our ancestors at Olduvai Gorge, as indicated by hominid specimens preserving crocodile bite marks from these sites. The new species also reinforces the emerging view of high crocodylian diversity throughout the Neogene, and it represents one of the few extinct species referable to crown genus Crocodylus

Gravures rupestres et rites de l'eau en Afrique du Nord.

Joleaud Léonce. Gravures rupestres et rites de l'eau en Afrique du Nord.. In: Journal de la Société des Africanistes, 1933, tome 3, fascicule 1. pp. 197-282

Un anthropoïde du miocène supérieur de l'Amérique du Nord

Joleaud L. Un anthropoïde du miocène supérieur de l'Amérique du Nord. In: Journal de la Société des Américanistes. Tome 14-15, 1922. pp. 224-226

Le prolongement de la chaîne calédonienne dans l'Extrême-nord américain

Joleaud L. Le prolongement de la chaîne calédonienne dans l'Extrême-nord américain. In: Journal de la Société des Américanistes. Tome 14-15, 1922. pp. 223-224

La Mission Labouret au Cameroun La Mission Lhote dans le Sud-algérien et le Sahara soudanais

Joleaud Léonce. La Mission Labouret au Cameroun La Mission Lhote dans le Sud-algérien et le Sahara soudanais. In: Journal de la Société des Africanistes, 1935, tome 5, fascicule 2. pp. 260-273

Le rocher de Constantine

Joleaud Léonce. Le rocher de Constantine. In: Annales de Géographie, t. 27, n°148-149, 1918. pp. 340-356