A large Eomys antiquus (Aymard, 1853) (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the early Oligocene sedimentary deposits at Bouldnor Cliff (Isle of Wight, England, UK)

A collection of approx. 150 isolated cheek teeth of the eomyid rodent Eomys antiquus which was obtained from a very thin layer in the HamsteadMember of the Bouldnor Formation at Bouldnor Cliff (Isle ofWight, England, UK) is described. The material is post-Grande Coupure, and earliest Oligocene in age. Comparison is made with and new data are given on teeth of Eomys from localities of a similar age situated elsewhere in Europe: Eomys antiquus from Hoogbutsel (Belgium), andMöhren 13, 19, and 20 (Germany), and Eomys aff. antiquus from Montalbán 1D (Spain), and Kocayarma (Turkish Thrace, Turkey). Teeth from Bouldnor Cliff and Hoogbutsel (Mammal Paleogene zone 21) are morphologically close to those from Möhren 13 (Mammal Paleogene zone 22), but tend to be larger. Size decrease in the course of time is also suggested by the smaller size of the teeth from Montalbán 1D (Mammal Paleogene zone 23). The morphological differences observed between the English, Belgian, and German material at the one side, and the Spanish and Turkish material at the other, confirm that the species from Montalbán 1D and Kocayarma is a different, although closely related form. The taxonomic history of Eomys antiquus is reviewed. The species is the commoner of the two oldest European Eomyidae known. General knowledge on the ecology of the eomyids suggests that at the time of deposition of the Eomys-containing layer in the Hampshire Basin forest was close by

A small assemblage of early Oligocene rodents and insectivores from the Sivas basin, Turkey

The assemblage of small mammals from a site near Yeniköy (Anatolia) is described. The assemblage was collected by screen-washing a sample from a locality in the Selimye Formation (Sivas basin). The site has a magneto-stratigraphic calibrated age of 29 Ma (younger part of the early Oligocene). The murids dominate in this relatively small collection with Eucricetodon and Pseudocricetodon. In addition, a dipodid, an unidentified erinaceide and the new baluchimyin hystricognath genus and species Zorania milosi nov. gen. et nov. sp. are present. The study of Eucricetodon, Pseudocricetodon and Zorania nov. sp. includes an analysis of incisor enamel microstructure. The incisor microstructure of Eucricetodon shows that there are several parallel long-living lineages within the genus. The Anatolia-Balkans biogeography of the late Eocene-Oligocene is reviewed. Its rodent assemblages are characterised by dominance of murids and presence of taxa that are known from low-latitude Asia. The Paleogene Anatolia-Balkans biogeographic province, is therefore rather different from those of western European and the Indian subcontinent

On the antiquity and status of the Spalacidae, new data from the late Eocene of south-East Serbia

A new blind mole-rat species Debruijnia tintinnabulus nov. sp. is described from the late Eocene of south east Serbia. This find is approximately 10 Ma older than the hitherto oldest records of Spalacidae Vetusspalax and Pannoniamys, both from the late Oligocene of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The antiquity of the new species (~34 Ma) is in accordance with recent genetically based age estimates of Spalacidae as an early branch of the Supramyomorpha. A review of the fossil record shows that the Spalacidae are probably not closely related to the Rhizomyinae and Myospalacinae. The spalacid finds from the Paleogene of the Balkans and the Neogene of Anatolia suggests that the family underwent a radiation during the Oligocene involving Debruijnia, Vetusspalax, Pannoniamys and Heramys. During the middle and late Miocene Heramys evolved into a large number of species, here all tentatively allocated to Pliospalax

Case study report on IMCHA’s research and policy engagement work in Tanzania 2015-2022

The Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa (IMCHA) project tackles health systems issues by focusing on ensuring that research is designed, presented, and packaged to influence policy. In Tanzania, most projects had at least two innovations leading to positive outcomes across the different categories, showing there were multiple pathways for impacts to scale. The Tanzanian case study demonstrates sustainability of project results. Impact stemmed from the conscious effort to coordinate teams and to create the conditions for cooperation. Between 2014-2022, the initiative was implemented in 11 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, with Tanzania hosting the largest number of projects.Global Affairs CanadaCanadian Institutes of Health Researc

Impact of infection on proteome-wide glycosylation revealed by distinct signatures for bacterial and viral pathogens

Mechanisms of infection and pathogenesis have predominantly been studied based on differential gene or protein expression. Less is known about posttranslational modifications, which are essential for protein functional diversity. We applied an innovative glycoproteomics method to study the systemic proteome-wide glycosylation in response to infection. The protein site-specific glycosylation was characterized in plasma derived from well-defined controls and patients. We found 3862 unique features, of which we identified 463 distinct intact glycopeptides, that could be mapped to more than 30 different proteins. Statistical analyses were used to derive a glycopeptide signature that enabled significant differentiation between patients with a bacterial or viral infection. Furthermore, supported by a machine learning algorithm, we demonstrated the ability to identify the causative pathogens based on the distinctive host blood plasma glycopeptide signatures. These results illustrate that glycoproteomics holds enormous potential as an innovative approach to improve the interpretation of relevant biological changes in response to infection

Gerbillidae from the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe

Volume: 38Start Page: 187End Page: 20

The westernmost tarsier: A new genus and species from the Miocene of Pakistan

As the closest living sister group of anthropoids, tarsiers (Family Tarsiidae) are an important group in primate evolution. However, their fossil record is poor: only four species have been described, two from the Eocene of China and two from the Miocene of Thailand. All are from outside the range of the living species, which occur only on islands off Southeast Asia. Here, we describe a new fossil tarsier from Pakistan, a significant range extension. This record consists of two lower molars, an upper molar, and a lower premolar found in the Miocene Manchar Formation (~18-16Ma [millions of years ago]) of Sindh Province, southern Pakistan. The Pakistani tarsier is morphologically distinct from all living and fossil tarsiers, but most similar to the middle Miocene Thai species Tarsius thailandicus. Though living tarsiers have traditionally been classified in a single genus, a recent revision proposed a division into three genera, which is strongly supported by molecular data. The Pakistani species is not referable to any of these genera, and we create for it and T.thailandicus a new tarsiid genus. This discovery broadens our understanding of the geographic range and morphological diversity of Miocene tarsiers and helps to put the living tarsiers into their evolutionary context. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

The westernmost tarsier: A new genus and species from the Miocene of Pakistan

As the closest living sister group of anthropoids, tarsiers (Family Tarsiidae) are an important group in primate evolution. However, their fossil record is poor: only four species have been described, two from the Eocene of China and two from the Miocene of Thailand. All are from outside the range of the living species, which occur only on islands off Southeast Asia. Here, we describe a new fossil tarsier from Pakistan, a significant range extension. This record consists of two lower molars, an upper molar, and a lower premolar found in the Miocene Manchar Formation (~18-16Ma [millions of years ago]) of Sindh Province, southern Pakistan. The Pakistani tarsier is morphologically distinct from all living and fossil tarsiers, but most similar to the middle Miocene Thai species Tarsius thailandicus. Though living tarsiers have traditionally been classified in a single genus, a recent revision proposed a division into three genera, which is strongly supported by molecular data. The Pakistani species is not referable to any of these genera, and we create for it and T.thailandicus a new tarsiid genus. This discovery broadens our understanding of the geographic range and morphological diversity of Miocene tarsiers and helps to put the living tarsiers into their evolutionary context. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd