History of the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in the eastern Baltic region and its implications for the origin and immigration routes of the recent northern European wild reindeer populations

A total of 45 subfossil reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) antlers and bones - artefacts excluded - have been found over the years in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The relatively high number of specimens suggests a stable residence of the species in the eastern Baltic region. For the first time, 12 of these finds were radiocarbon-dated. The ages of the samples range between 12085 and 9970 C-14 yr BP (14180-11280 cal. yr BP), and cover the Lateglacial and early Holocene, a time period during which climatic conditions shifted from periglacial to temperate. The dates suggest a rapid colonization of the area during the deglaciation period and a local extinction around the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. The results of the study do not support the theory that the recent wild reindeer populations of northern Europe had their origin in the Late Weichselian reindeer populations of the eastern Baltic region

The biostratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the earliest diversification of tetrapods (Late Devonian)

The earliest diversification of tetrapods is dated as Late Devonian based on 10 localities worldwide that have yielded bone remains. At least 18 different species are known from these localities. Their ages span the 'middle' - late Frasnian to latest Famennian time interval, with three localities in the Frasnian, one at the F/F transition (though this one is not securely dated) and six in the Famennian. These localities encompass a wide variety of environments, from true marine conditions of the nearshore neritic province, to fluvial or lacustrine conditions. However, it does not seem possible to characterize a freshwater assemblage in the Upper Old Red Sandstone based upon vertebrates. Most of the tetrapod-bearing localities (8 of 10) were situated in the eastern part of Laurussia (=Euramerica), one in North China and one in eastern Gondwana (Australia), on a pre-Pangean configuration of the Earth, when most oceanic domains, except Palaeotethys and Panthalassa, had closed

The biostratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the earliest diversification of tetrapods (Late Devonian)

International audienceThe earliest diversification of tetrapods is dated as Late Devonian based on 10 localities worldwide that have yielded bone remains. At least 18 different species are known from these localities. Their ages span the "middle"-late Frasnian to latest Famennian time interval, with three localities in the Frasnian, one at the F/F transition (though this one is not securely dated) and six in the Famennian. These localities encompass a wide variety of environments, from true marine conditions of the nearshore neritic province, to fluvial or lacustrine conditions. However, it does not seem possible to characterize a freshwater assemblage in the Upper Old Red Sandstone based upon vertebrates. Most of the tetrapod-bearing localities (8 of 10) were situated in the eastern part of Laurussia (= Euramerica), one in North China and one in eastern Gondwana (Australia), on a pre-Pangean configuration of the Earth, when most oceanic domains, except Palaeotethys and Panthalassa, had closed

The bio stratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the earliest diversification of tetrapods (Late Devonian). In Becker R.T. & Kirchgasser W.T. (eds), Devonian Events and Correlations (SDS volume in honour of M. R. House)

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