Local stratigraphy of the Neogene outcrops of the western coastal region of the emirate of Abu Dhabi

Book synopsis: This extensively illustrated volume brings together for the first time the results of research on Arabian continental vertebrates discovered in the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Yemen. Eminent scientists from Arabia, Europe, and the United States provide up-to-date information on Arabian paleontology as well as on Arabian stratigraphical, geological, isotopic, and paleomagnetic topics. The book presents new fossil records from Arabia and Pakistan and discusses the closing of the ancient Middle East Tethys seaway. The first section of the book provides a history of the Abu Dhabi Miocene project, and the second describes the local geology and stratigraphy. Part III details studies on Late Miocene invertebrates, fish, reptiles, and mammals from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including several new species. Part IV reviews taphonomy, carbon isotopes, ancient Arabian environments, and the earliest evidence of the genus Homo in the region. The fifth section links research findings in Arabia to others in Asia and Africa, and the final section looks at Arabia in the larger context of Old World Tertiary faunas and the world`s Tertiary oceans

Tomographic techniques for the study of exceptionally preserved fossils

Three-dimensional fossils, especially those preserving soft-part anatomy, are a rich source of palaeontological information; they can, however, be difficult to work with. Imaging of serial planes through an object (tomography) allows study of both the inside and outside of three-dimensional fossils. Tomography may be performed using physical grinding or sawing coupled with photography, through optical techniques of serial focusing, or using a variety of scanning technologies such as neutron tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and most usefully X-ray computed tomography. This latter technique is applicable at a variety of scales, and when combined with a synchrotron X-ray source can produce very high-quality data that may be augmented by phase-contrast information to enhance contrast. Tomographic data can be visualized in several ways, the most effective of which is the production of isosurface-based ‘virtual fossils’ that can be manipulated and dissected interactively

Avian palaeoneurology: Reflections on the eve of its 200th anniversary

In birds, the brain (especially the telencephalon) is remarkably developed, both in relative volume and complexity. Unlike in most early-branching sauropsids, the adults of birds and other archosaurs have a well-ossified neurocranium. In contrast to the situation in most of their reptilian relatives but similar to what can be seen in mammals, the brains of birds fit closely to the endocranial cavity so that their major external features are reflected in the endocasts. This makes birds a highly suitable group for palaeoneurological investigations. The first observation about the brain in a long-extinct bird was made in the first quarter of the 19th century. However, it was not until the 2000s and the application of modern imaging technologies that avian palaeoneurology really took off. Understanding how the mode of life is reflected in the external morphology of the brains of birds is but one of several future directions in which avian palaeoneurological research may extend. Although the number of fossil specimens suitable for palaeoneurological explorations is considerably smaller in birds than in mammals and will very likely remain so, the coming years will certainly witness a momentous strengthening of this rapidly growing field of research at the overlap between ornithology, palaeontology, evolutionary biology and neurosciences.This is a contribution to the research project CGL2017-89123-P funded by FEDER/Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation State Research Agency. F. Knoll is an ARAID Senior Researcher and a member of the research group E04_17R FOCONTUR co-founded by the Government of Aragon Department of Innovation, Research and University and FEDER Aragon 2014-2020 ‘Building Europe from Aragon’