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Fossil Genera (fossil + genus)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Earth and Environmental Science75%

Selected Abstracts

Evolution of the second orangutan: phylogeny and biogeography of hominid origins

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10 2009
John R. Grehan
Abstract Aim, To resolve the phylogeny of humans and their fossil relatives (collectively, hominids), orangutans (Pongo) and various Miocene great apes and to present a biogeographical model for their differentiation in space and time. Location, Africa, northern Mediterranean, Asia. Methods, Maximum parsimony analysis was used to assess phylogenetic relationships among living large-bodied hominoids (= humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans), and various related African, Asian and European ape fossils. Biogeographical characteristics were analysed for vicariant replacement, main massings and nodes. A geomorphological correlation was identified for a clade we refer to as the ,dental hominoids', and this correlation was used to reconstruct their historical geography. Results, Our analyses support the following hypotheses: (1) the living large-bodied hominoids represent a monophyletic group comprising two sister clades: humans + orangutans, and chimpanzees (including bonobos) + gorillas (collectively, the African apes); and (2) the human,orangutan clade (dental hominoids) includes fossil hominids (Homo, australopiths, Orrorin) and the Miocene-age apes Hispanopithecus, Ouranopithecus, Ankarapithecus, Sivapithecus, Lufengpithecus, Khoratpithecus and Gigantopithecus (also Plio-Pleistocene of eastern Asia). We also demonstrate that the distributions of living and fossil genera are largely vicariant, with nodes of geographical overlap or proximity between Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus in Central Asia, and between Pongo, Gigantopithecus, Lufengpithecus and Khoratpithecus in East Asia. The main massing is represented by five genera and eight species in East Asia. The dental hominoid track is spatially correlated with the East African Rift System (EARS) and the Tethys Orogenic Collage (TOC). Main conclusions, Humans and orangutans share a common ancestor that excludes the extant African apes. Molecular analyses are compromised by phenetic procedures such as alignment and are probably based on primitive retentions. We infer that the human,orangutan common ancestor had established a widespread distribution by at least 13 Ma. Vicariant differentiation resulted in the ancestors of hominids in East Africa and various primarily Miocene apes distributed between Spain and Southeast Asia (and possibly also parts of East Africa). The geographical disjunction between early hominids and Asian Pongo is attributed to local extinctions between Europe and Central Asia. The EARS and TOC correlations suggest that these geomorphological features mediated establishment of the ancestral range. [source]

Multicellular-like compartmentalization of cytoplast in fossil larger foraminifera

LETHAIA, Issue 2 2002
CARLES FERRĀNDEZ-CAŅADELL
Foraminifera are usually between 0.1 and 1 mm in size, thus falling within the range of the largest eukaryotic cells. However, some fossil and extant foraminiferal species reach diameters of more than 100 mm. One hypothesis of how these gigantic sizes could have been attained by these unicellular organisms is the temporary compartmentalization of cytoplasm into smaller volumes of effective metabolism, as reported for several recent species. Evidence of this phenomenon is shown in fossil genera of larger foraminifera belonging to five families of Cretaceous to Oligocene age. Alternative interpretations are discussed. [source]

New Jurassic Fossil True Bugs of the Pachymeridiidae (Hemiptera: Pentatomomorpha) from Northeast China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 1 2008
YAO Yunzhi
Abstract: Four new fossil genera and species of true bugs from the family Pachymeridiidae, Beipiaocoris multifurcus, Bellicoris mirabilis, Nitoculus regillus, and Viriosinervis stolidus, are described. New specimens were collected from the Middle and Upper Jurassic non-marine sedimentary strata from the Jiulongshan and Yixian Formations of northeast China. The species Karatavocoris asiatica Becker-Migdisova, 1963, which was considered to be a member of the family Coreidae is transferred to the Pachymeridiidae. A new map of all known and newly discovered fossil pachymeridiid localities is given. The diagnosis of the family is modified. [source]

A New Mantispid-Like Species of Rhachiberothinae (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from Baltic Amber, with a Critical Review of the Fossil Record of the Subfamily

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 4 2010
Vladiir N. MAKARKIN
Abstract: Whalfera wiszniewskii sp. nov. is described from the Late Eocene Baltic amber. The genus Whalfera is considered as the only fossil genus confidently assigned to the Rhachiberothinae. Others previously placed in this subfamily belong to Paraberothinae (except perhaps for Oisea). The Late Eocene/present Rhachiberothinae and the Cretaceous Paraberothinae are considered to be the subfamilies of Berothidae. [source]