167 research outputs found
The strophomenide brachiopod Ahtiella Ăpik in the Ordovician of Gondwana and the early history of the plectambonitoids
The Precordilleran species Ahtiella Argentina Benedetto and Herrera, 1986 is redescribed and illustrated and Monorthis coloradoensis Benedetto, 1998b from northwestern Argentina is reassigned to the genus Ahtiella Ăpik, 1932. Ahtiella famatiniana new species from volcaniclastic rocks of the Famatina range (western Argentina) and Ahtiella tunaensis new species from the Precordillera basin (Cuyania terrane) are proposed. Paleogeographic and stratigraphic evidence strongly suggests that Ahtiella originated in the Andean region of Gondwana to further migrate to Avalonia, Baltica, and Cuyania. Contrary to previous assumptions, the fossil record from the Famatina volcaniclastic succession suggests that the plectambonitoid Ahtiella famatiniana n. sp. evolved from the hesperonomiid orthoid Monorthis transversa Benedetto, 2003 that always occurs in the underlying strata. Phylogenetic analysis of Ahtiella species shows that A. famatiniana n. sp. and the Peruvian A. zarelae Villas in GutiĂ©rrez-Marco and Villas, 2007 are not only the earliest species of the genus but also are morphologically intermediate between Monorthis Bates, 1968 and the later and more derived species of Ahtiella from Baltica and Cuyania. If, as empirical evidence presented here shows, Ahtiella originated from Monorthis through a series of minor transformations, then the impressive morphological gap between orthides and strophomenides was bridged through short-time cladogenesis events, suggesting that it might not have a definite discontinuity between the species level evolution and the origin of higher taxa (macroevolution).Fil: Benedetto, Juan Luis Arnaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - CĂłrdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra. Universidad Nacional de CĂłrdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas FĂsicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra; Argentin
3D Printing: Applications in Evolution and Ecology
In the commercial and medical sectors, 3D printing is delivering on its promise to enâ able a revolution. However, in the fields of Ecology and Evolution we are only on the brink of embracing the advantages that 3D printing can offer. Here we discuss examâ ples where the process has enabled researchers to develop new techniques, work with novel species, and to enhance the impact of outreach activities. Our aim is to showcase the potential that 3D printing offers in terms of improved experimental techniques, greater flexibility, reduced costs and promoting open science, while also discussing its limitations. By taking a general overview of studies using the technique from fields across the broad range of Ecology and Evolution, we show the flexibility of 3D printing technology and aim to inspire the next generation of discoveries
Palaeobiology of latest Ediacaran phosphorites from the upper Khesen Formation, Khuvsgul Group, northern Mongolia
Microfossil assemblages that include large acritarchs with complex processes, known as Doushantuo-Pertatataka-type acritarchs, are recovered from early Ediacaran successions globally. They are commonly found in shale and chert lithologies, but their diversity and palaeobiological significance is greatest when they are phosphatized. The best-known examples are from the Doushantuo Formation, South China, which preserves over 60 taxa including possible embryonic forms which may represent the oldest fossil animals. Fossils have only been recorded in four Ediacaran phosphorite deposits. Here we report the fifth such occurrence, from phosphorites of the upper Khesen Formation, Khuvsgul Group, northern Mongolia, where preservation rivals that in the Doushantuo Formation. The assemblage includes the likely cyanobacteria Obruchevella delicata, O. magna, O. parvissima and O. valdaica, as well as various Siphonophycus filaments, the possible alga Archaeophycus yunnanensis, and the Doushantuo-Pertatataka-type acritarchs Appendisphaera grandis, A. fragilis, A. tenuis, Cavaspina basiconica, Variomargosphaeridium gracile and V. aculeiparvum, sp. nov. The phosphorites also preserve the multicellular embryo-like taxon Megasphaera, which is represented by M. minuscula sp. nov. and potentially by M. puncticulosa. Geological and chemostratigraphical data suggest a latest Ediacaran age for the Khesen assemblage, immediately prior to the ProterozoicâPhanerozoic boundary. Thus, this is the youngest Doushantuo-Pertatataka-type microfossil assemblage yet described. It extends the range of Appendisphaera, Cavaspina, Megasphaera and Variomargosphaeridium upward by tens of millions of years. The assemblage adds to a growing database of Ediacaran fossils and emphasizes the importance of Mongolian strata to understanding the transition from a broadly microbial Proterozoic Eon to a Phanerozoic Eon where macroscopic animals acted as geobiological agents
Plio-Pleistocene deep-water bryozoans from Rhodes, Greece
Volume: 38Start Page: 771End Page: 79
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Continuity and change in reproductive attitudes of teenage women, their mothers, and maternal grandmothers in South Africa
During the past couple of decades, as South Africa has undergone a political and social transformation, conditions for reproduction and reproductive health have changed. Against the backdrop of these societal changes, the objectives of this cross-sectional study were to trace continuity and change in reproductive attitudes on an individual level, through three generations of women linked to each other by kin in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study is defined within the psychological theoretical framework called Values of Children, and the specific aims for this study were to explore the three generations of women's preferred timing of their first childbirth, their desired number of children and sex of the offspring, and the women's deeper motivations behind the wish for children. Participants (n = 516) were chosen using a multi-stage cluster sampling procedure, and face-to-face structured interviews were conducted. Factor analysis indicated that the women have two main motivations to have children, namely Social/Emotional values of children and Traditional/Utilitarian values of children. However, the motivations to bear children seemed to be less emphasised by the teenage women as compared to their mothers and maternal grandmothers. Likewise, the data revealed a change in reproductive attitudes in that teenage women wished to have fewer children later in their lives than the older generations. Stronger daughter preferences than son preferences were presented in one-child scenarios in all generations, yet the strongest emphasis on a daughter was found in the young generation. In the light of the huge social changes in the country, such as the explosion of HIV infections and the abolishment of the apartheid regime including its racial family planning programmes, we expected more dramatic changes in reproductive attitudes in three generations of women than those which we found.
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