Early Holocene human presence in Madagascar evidenced by exploitation of avian megafauna

Previous research suggests that people first arrived on Madagascar by ~2500 years before present (years B.P.). This hypothesis is consistent with butchery marks on extinct lemur bones from ~2400 years B.P. and perhaps with archaeological evidence of human presence from ~4000 years B.P. We report >10,500-year-old human-modified bones for the extinct elephant birds Aepyornis and Mullerornis, which show perimortem chop marks, cut marks, and depression fractures consistent with immobilization and dismemberment. Our evidence for anthropogenic perimortem modification of directly dated bones represents the earliest indication of humans in Madagascar, predating all other archaeological and genetic evidence by >6000 years and changing our understanding of the history of human colonization of Madagascar. This revision of Madagascar’s prehistory suggests prolonged human-faunal coexistence with limited biodiversity loss

An occurrence of fossil eggs from the Mesozoic of Madagascar and a detailed observation of eggshell microstructure

<div><p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Whereas fossil turtle eggs have a near global distribution and range from Middle Jurassic to Pleistocene, they are rarely documented from the Mesozoic of Gondwana. Here, we report three fossil turtle eggs from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of the Morondava Basin, Madagascar. The spherical eggs range in size from 33.5 to 35.5 mm and have an average eggshell thickness of 440 µm. They can be confidently identified as rigid-shelled turtle eggs by the presence of tightly packed shell units composed of radiating acicular crystals and a shell unit height to width ratio of 2:1. Lack of associated skeletal remains precludes taxonomic identification of the eggs. Although a large vertebrate fauna has been reported from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar, these specimens are the first eggs from the Mesozoic of the island.</p><p>SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP</p></div

Virtual brain endocasts shed new light on the early evolution of modern birds (Neornithes)

This article is included in 'Program and Abstracts', 72nd Annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, October 17—20, 2012

Overview of the discovery, distribution, and geological context of Simosuchus clarki (Crocodyliformes: Notosuchia) from the late cretaceous of madagascar

Simosuchus clarki is a bizarre, pug-nosed notosuchian crocodyliform known only from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Maevarano Formation in the Mahajanga Basin of northwestern Madagascar. When originally named and described in 2000, S. clarki was based entirely on a single specimen that included a nearly complete skull and lower jaw preserved in articulation with the anterior and mid-trunk portions of the postcranial skeleton, as well as several associated elements from the posterior region. The species is now represented by three additional partial and nearly complete articulated skeletons, as well as numerous isolated elements (mostly teeth), that permit detailed description of its entire bony anatomy, the primary subject of other chapters in this volume. These specimens were discovered as part of the \u27Mahajanga Basin Project,\u27 initiated in 1993 and conducted jointly by Stony Brook University and the Université d\u27Antananarivo, in the Berivotra and Masiakakoho study areas. The best-preserved specimens of S. clarki were entombed in massive, poorly sorted, clay-rich debris flow deposits (facics 2 of the Anembalemba Member) that accumulated in channel belts in response to exceptional rainfall events. Simosuchus, along with its contemporaries in the Maevarano assemblage, lived in a strongly seasonal, semi-arid climate some 20 million years after Madagascar separated from the India/Seychelles block and became an island isolated in the Indian Ocean. © 2010 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Overview of the discovery, distribution, and geological context of Simosuchus clarki (Crocodyliformes: Notosuchia) from the late cretaceous of madagascar

Simosuchus clarki is a bizarre, pug-nosed notosuchian crocodyliform known only from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Maevarano Formation in the Mahajanga Basin of northwestern Madagascar. When originally named and described in 2000, S. clarki was based entirely on a single specimen that included a nearly complete skull and lower jaw preserved in articulation with the anterior and mid-trunk portions of the postcranial skeleton, as well as several associated elements from the posterior region. The species is now represented by three additional partial and nearly complete articulated skeletons, as well as numerous isolated elements (mostly teeth), that permit detailed description of its entire bony anatomy, the primary subject of other chapters in this volume. These specimens were discovered as part of the \u27Mahajanga Basin Project,\u27 initiated in 1993 and conducted jointly by Stony Brook University and the Université d\u27Antananarivo, in the Berivotra and Masiakakoho study areas. The best-preserved specimens of S. clarki were entombed in massive, poorly sorted, clay-rich debris flow deposits (facics 2 of the Anembalemba Member) that accumulated in channel belts in response to exceptional rainfall events. Simosuchus, along with its contemporaries in the Maevarano assemblage, lived in a strongly seasonal, semi-arid climate some 20 million years after Madagascar separated from the India/Seychelles block and became an island isolated in the Indian Ocean. © 2010 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Miocene Shark and Batoid Fauna from Nosy Makamby (Mahajanga Basin, Northwestern Madagascar).

Madagascar is well known for producing exceptional fossils. However, the record for selachians remains relatively poorly known. Paleontological reconnaissance on the island of Nosy Makamby, off northwest Madagascar, has produced a previously undescribed assemblage of Miocene fossils. Based on isolated teeth, ten taxonomic groups are identified: Otodus, Carcharhinus, Galeocerdo, Rhizoprionodon, Sphyrna, Hemipristis, Squatina, Rostroraja, Himantura and Myliobatidae. Six are newly described from Madagascar for the Cenozoic (Galeocerdo, Rhizoprionodon, Sphyrna, Squatina, Rostroraja and Himantura). In association with these specimens, remains of both invertebrates (e.g., corals, gastropods, bivalves) and vertebrates (e.g., bony fish, turtles, crocodylians, and sirenian mammals) were also recovered. The sedimentary facies are highly suggestive of a near-shore/coastal plain depositional environment. This faunal association shares similarities to contemporaneous sites reported from North America and Europe and gives a glimpse into the paleoenvironment of Madagascar's Miocene, suggesting that this region was warm, tropical shallow-water marine

Early holocene human presence in Madagascar evidenced by exploitation of avian megafauna

Previous research suggests that people first arrived on Madagascar by ~2500 years before present (years B.P.). This hypothesis is consistent with butchery marks on extinct lemur bones from ~2400 years B.P. and perhaps with archaeological evidence of human presence from ~4000 years B.P. We report &gt;10,500-year-old human-modified bones for the extinct elephant birds Aepyornis and Mullerornis, which show perimortem chop marks, cut marks, and depression fractures consistent with immobilization and dismemberment. Our evidence for anthropogenic perimortem modification of directly dated bones represents the earliest indication of humans in Madagascar, predating all other archaeological and genetic evidence by &gt;6000 years and changing our understanding of the history of human colonization of Madagascar. This revision of Madagascar’s prehistory suggests prolonged human-faunal coexistence with limited biodiversity loss.</p

Miocene shark teeth from northwestern Madagascar.

<p>A, <i>Otodus megalodon</i> UAP-11.281; B-E, <i>Carcharhinus priscus</i>, B, UAP-14.239–1, lower tooth in labial view; C, UAP-14.239–1, lower tooth in lingual view; D, UAP-14.181–14, upper tooth in labial view; E, UAP-14.181–14, upper tooth in labial view; F, <i>Carcharhinus</i> sp. UAP-13.159; G-H, <i>Galeocerdo mayumbensis</i> UAP-13.167, UAP-13.172; I-J, <i>Rhizoprionodon ficheuri</i> UAP-14.122–9 I, labial view; J, lingual view; K, <i>Sphyrna</i> sp. UAP-13142; L-N <i>Hemipristis serra</i> UAP-10.362; O, <i>Squatina</i> UAP-10.505. Scale bar equals 10 mm, unless specified in the Figure.</p

Stratigraphic summary figure for the northern headland of Nosy Makamby.

<p>The view is towards the south and represents the profile of the eastern side.</p