New insights into chasmosaurine (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) skulls from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Alberta, and an update on the distribution of accessory frill fenestrae in Chasmosaurinae

Chasmosaurine ceratopsids are well documented from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Dinosaur Park Formation (DPF) of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, and include Chasmosaurus belli, Chasmosaurus russelli, Mercuriceratops gemini, Vagaceratops irvinensis, and material possibly referable to Spiclypeus shipporum. In this study, we describe three recently prepared chasmosaurine skulls (CMN 8802, CMN 34829, and TMP 2011.053.0046) from the DPF, and age-equivalent sediments, of Alberta. CMN 8802 and CMN 34829 are both referred to Chasmosaurus sp. based on the size and shape of the preserved parietal fenestrae. TMP 2011.053.0046 is referred to Vagaceratops sp. based on the position and orientation of its preserved epiparietals. Each skull is characterized by the presence of an accessory fenestra in either the squamosal (CMN 8802 and TMP 2011.053.0046) or parietal (CMN 34829). Such fenestrae are common occurrences in chasmosaurine squamosals, but are rare in the parietal portion of the frill. The origin of the fenestrae in these three specimens is unknown, but they do not appear to exhibit evidence of pathology, as has been previously interpreted for the accessory fenestrae in most other chasmosaurine frills. These three skulls contribute to a better understanding of the morphological variation, a

First records of a plesiosaurian (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) and an ichthyosaur (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from Yukon, Canada

An isolated centrum collected ex situ from marine shales of the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Arctic Red Formation along the Road River represents the first documented occurrence of a plesiosaurian from Yukon. This centrum represents the northernmost occurrence of plesiosaurians in the Western Interior Sea of North America prior to the establishment of the first continuous seaway (Western Interior Seaway) connecting the Boreal and Tethyan seas. Additionally, this centrum is potentially the secondoldest elasmosaurid specimen known from North America. A second centrum, collected along the Beaver River, is likely derived from the Lower Cretaceous (Lower Albian) Garbutt Formation exposed farther upstream. It represents the first report of an ichthyosaur from Yukon. Additionally, six associated ribs collected from the Arctic Re

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

The cretaceous polar and western interior seas: Paleoenvironmental history and paleoceanographic linkages

This study reviews the Cretaceous histories of the Polar and Western Interior seas as recorded in the Canadian High Arctic Sverdrup Basin, Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin of northwest Canada and Western Canadian Foreland Basin. Newly emerging stratigraphic, paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental interpretations from the polar realm allow for a fresh look at the r

Middle Eocene to Holocene benthic foraminifer assemblages from the Kerguelen Plateau (Southern Indian Ocean)

Middle Eocene to Holocene benthic foraminifers were studied in sediments from Sites 736, 738, and 744 (Kerguelen Plateau). Significant faunal changes took place in the middle Eocene, late Eocene/early Oligocene, middle Miocene, and late Miocene. The benthic assemblages are characterized by gradual species replacements. Assemblage boundaries are defined where first appearance datums (FAD's) and last appearance datums (LAD's) concentrate. -from Autho

Changes in benthic foraminifer assemblages across the Holocene/Pleistocene boundary, Sites 619, 620, 621, 622, and 624, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 96 ( Gulf of Mexico).

Benthic foraminifers from the upper core sections at five selected sites were studied. The diverse Holocene assemblages on the surface of the fan is dominated by Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi, Hoeglundina elegans, and Globobulimina spp. Below 20cm sub-bottom, the assemblage is replaced by typical outer shelf and upper slope species indicating downslope transport of shelf sediments onto the fan. This transition is represented by a lithologic change from a foraminiferal ooze above to a clay-mud facies below. In Pigmy Basin, the top 5m represent a diverse foraminiferal assemblage. The dominant species (ie Osangularia culter, Eponides turgidus, H. elegans, C. wuellerstorfi, Brizalina, spp, and Epistominella exigua) fluctuate throughout the Holocene and decrease drastically below the Holocene/Pleistocene boundary.-from Autho

Paleoenvironments and regional stratigraphic framework of the Middle-Upper Albian Lepine Formation in the Liard Basin, Northern Canada

The thick Middle to Late Albian Lepine Formation in the Liard Basin of northeastern British Columbia, southern Yukon and Northwest Territories preserves a continuous record of sedimentation during a time of multiple sea-level fluctuations that produced pronounced unconformities elsewhere in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. Although sediment supply was high, the rapidly subsiding sub-basin produced sufficient accommodation to maintain offshore and shelf conditions throughout the interval. Using lithology, micropaleontology, well log correlations and Rock Eval pyrolysis, the 1000 m thick Lepine Formation is divided into five units in upper/lower offshore and shelf facies. The foraminiferal fauna differs substantially from that described from the Peace River Foothills and documents a continuous marine record during flooding of the Joli Fou Sea and the transition to the Mowry Sea. Regional well log correlations show significant thinning of the Lepine Formation southwards to the equivalent upper Buckinghorse and Hasler formations. Markers at transgressive surfaces can be traced for greater than 400 km along the foredeep. The thick, lower to middle part of the Lepine Formation (Units 1-3) contains foraminifera of the Ammobaculites wenonahae Zone and Ammomarginulina Assemblage Zone that record stressed oceanographic conditions related to periods of uplift west and northwest of the Liard Basin during the Joli Fou and lower Viking intervals. The transition between the two major inundations (Joli Fou and Mowry) is represented by a thick continuous interval in the Liard Basin. The Viking marker (lowermost Unit 3), traced in well logs and projected onto the outcrop section, has no obvious biostratigraphic definition. A major increase in foraminiferal diversity occurs near the base of the Bougie member (Unit 4), indicating more normal marine conditions within the Mowry Sea. A major flooding surface above the Bougie member is correlated with the 'Viking grits' (base of Unit 5) transgressive lag in the Peace River region of the Rocky Mountain Foothills

Foraminiferal response to Albian relative sea-level changes in northwestern and central Alberta, Canada

Albian foraminiferal assemblages from three wells in northwestern (Imperial Spirit River No. 1, 12-20-78-6W6), central (AngloHome C and E Fort Augustus No. 1, 7-29-55-21W4), and southern Alberta (Amoco B1 Youngstown, 6-34-30-8W4) provide the basis to track a fluctuating sea-level history in western Canada. Two global second-order marine cycles (Kiowa-Skull Creek and Greenhorn) were punctuated by higher frequency relative sea-level cycles expressed during the time of the Moosebar-Clearwater, Hulcross, Joli Fou, and Mowry seas. A total of 34 genera and 93 subgeneric taxa are recognized in these Albian-age strata. Foraminiferal abundance and species diversity of the latest Albian Mowry Sea were higher than in the early to middle Albian Moosebar-Clearwater and Hulcross seas. The two earliest paleo-seas were shallow embayments of the Boreal Sea, and relative sea-level fluctuations caused variable marine to brackish conditions expressed in a variety of faunal assemblages. Towards the late Albian, relative sea level rose, deepening the basin and establishing increased marine conditions and more favourable habitats for foraminifera. In the deeper Joli Fou Seaway and Mowry Sea, however, reduced bottom water oxygen through stratification or stagnant circulation caused times of diminished benthic faunas. The Bluesky Formation in northwestern Alberta contains the initial transgression of the early Albian Moosebar-Clearwater Sea and is marked by a sudden faunal increase. In contrast, transgression by the late Albian Mowry Sea was associated with a gradual increase of foraminiferal faunas. Numerous agglutinated species range throughout the entire Albian, absent only at times of basin shallowing. However, each major marine incursion throughout the Albian introduced new taxa

Holocene thecamoebians in freshwater Lakes on Bylot Island, northwest territories, Canada

Thecamoebian assemblages were studied in two short cores from kettle lakes on Bylot Island, Canadian high arctic, within an area bounded by 72° and 74°N and 75° and 82°W. Cores did not provide suitable material for absolute age dating. Based on known sedimentation rates of other arctic lakes, however, the time interval covered by lake cores reflect sedimentation during the Holocene of approximately the last 5000 years. On the Bylot Island lowlands, a low species diversity with eleven thecamoebian species was identified whereas five lakes sampled on the Salmon River lowlands around Pond Inlet were barren of thecamoebians. Thecamoebian tests typically have a coarse texture. The shallower of the two lakes on Bylot Island is dominated by Difflugia globulus. The assemblage found in the deep lake contains nine taxa with a distinct transition from Difflugia globulus dominance in the lower half of the core to a Difflugia oblonga dominated assemblage in the upper half. D. oblonga prefers organic-rich substrates and its dominance coincides with an increase of organic material in the core. Late Holocene thecamoebian abundance fluctuates in the shallow lake whereas the deep lake is characterized by more constant numbers. Faunal results in both lakes show that local environmental factors have to be considered to explain paleolimnological changes