"Stick 'n' peel": Explaining unusual patterns of disarticulation and loss of completeness in fossil vertebrates

Few fossil vertebrate skeletons are complete and fully articulated. Various taphonomic processes reduce the skeletal fidelity of decaying carcasses, the effects of most of which are reasonably well understood. Some fossil vertebrates, however, exhibit patterns of disarticulation and loss of completeness that are difficult to explain. Such skeletons are one of two variants. They are incomplete, often markedly so, but the preserved parts are highly articulated. Alternatively, they are complete, or nearly so, but articulation varies markedly between parts of the body. A characteristic feature is the absence of skeletal elements that, on the basis of their larger size and/or greater density, would be predicted to be present. Here we erect a model, termed “stick ‘n’ peel”, that explains how these distinctive patterns originate. The model emphasizes the role of decay products, especially fluids released from the carcass while resting on the sediment surface. These fluids permeate the sediment below and around the carcass. As a result, skeletal elements on the downward facing side of the carcass become adhered to the sediment surface, and are less likely to be remobilized as a result of current activity than others. The pattern of articulation and, especially, completeness is thus not what would be predicted on the basis of the size, shape and density of the skeletal elements. The effects of stick ‘n’ peel are difficult to predict a priori. Stick ‘n’ peel has been identified in vertebrate fossils in lacustrine and marine settings and is likely to be a common feature of the taphonomic history of many vertebrate assemblages. Specimens becoming adhered to the substrate may also explain the preservation in situ of the multi-element skeletons of invertebrates such as echinoderms, and integumentary structures such as hair and feathers in exceptionally preserved fossils

Review of Community Pharmacy Staff Educational Needs for Supporting Mental Health Consumers and Carers

Development of a mental health education package for community pharmacy staff should be informed by mental health consumers/carers’ needs, expectations and experiences, and staff knowledge, skills and attitudes. This review (1) explored research on community pharmacy practice and service provision for mental health consumers/carers, and (2) identified validated methods for assessing staff knowledge, skills and attitudes about mental illness to inform the development of a training questionnaire. A literature scan using key words knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs combined with community pharmacy, pharmacist, and pharmacy support staff, and mental illness, depression, anxiety was conducted. A small number of studies were found that used reliable methods to assess pharmacists’ training needs regarding mental illness and treatment options. There was little published specifically in relation to depression and anxiety in community pharmacy practice. No studies assessed the training needs of pharmacy support staff. A systematic analysis of pharmacy staff learning needs is warranted

“Stick ‘n’ peel”: how unusual patterns of disarticulation and loss of completeness in fossil vertebrates originate as a result of carcasses adhering to the substrate during decay

International Meeting on Taphonomy and Fossilization (8º. 2017. Viena)The taphonomic histories of fossil vertebrate skeletons can be both complex and difficult to resolve, even if only examples from exceptional biotas (Konservat Lagerstätten) are considered. Typically, the fidelity with which skeletons are preserved in exceptional biotas is “good to excellent” - even in cases where the non-biomineralised tissues have decayed completely. Crucially, it is, however, unusual that for any biota as a whole, all skeletons are complete and fully articulated. At least a minority, - and often the majority - of taxa within an assemblage show some loss of completeness and articulation.UCD School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, IrlandaPaläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universität, SuizaMuseo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaSchool of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University College Cork, IrlandaSouth African Heritage Resources Agency, Archaeology, Palaeontology and Meteorites Unit, SudáfricaPeer reviewe

“Stick ‘n’ peel”: Explaining unusual patterns of disarticulation and loss of completeness in fossil vertebrates

Few fossil vertebrate skeletons are complete and fully articulated. Various taphonomic processes reduce the skeletal fidelity of decaying carcasses, the effects of most of which are reasonably well understood. Some fossil vertebrates, however, exhibit patterns of disarticulation and loss of completeness that are difficult to explain. Such skeletons are one of two variants. They are incomplete, often markedly so, but the preserved parts are highly articulated. Alternatively, they are complete, or nearly so, but articulation varies markedly between parts of the body. A characteristic feature is the absence of skeletal elements that, on the basis of their larger size and/or greater density, would be predicted to be present. Here we erect a model, termed “stick ‘n’ peel”, that explains how these distinctive patterns originate. The model emphasizes the role of decay products, especially fluids released from the carcass while resting on the sediment surface. These fluids permeate the sediment below and around the carcass. As a result, skeletal elements on the downward facing side of the carcass become adhered to the sediment surface, and are less likely to be remobilized as a result of current activity than others. The pattern of articulation and, especially, completeness is thus not what would be predicted on the basis of the size, shape and density of the skeletal elements. The effects of stick ‘n’ peel are difficult to predict a priori. Stick ‘n’ peel has been identified in vertebrate fossils in lacustrine and marine settings and is likely to be a common feature of the taphonomic history of many vertebrate assemblages. Specimens becoming adhered to the substrate may also explain the preservation in situ of the multi-element skeletons of invertebrates such as echinoderms, and integumentary structures such as hair and feathers in exceptionally preserved fossils