The first record in Eastern Europe of a putative non-biomineralised macroalga of the genus Plumalina is described from the upper Famennian (Upper Devonian) deposits of the southern Donets Basin (eastern Ukraine). The only studied specimen originates from limestones in the upper part of the Maf-Khaia Formation. The specimen exhibits a morphology that is not entirely typical for Plumalina, namely the presence of fine longitudinal ribs on the stem of the thallus. This feature distinguishes the studied specimen from other species of the genus; it is therefore quite possible that it represents a new species, but the limited amount and poor preservation of the material do not allow its formal establishment. The main part of the range of Plumalina during the Devonian Period was located in North America, with the only European occurrence of the genus previously recorded from the Middle Devonian of Germany. The occurrence of Plumalina in marine basins on opposite sides of Laurussia suggests at least intermittent connectivity between these regions, probably within the Rheic Ocean corridor.
Ornithomimosauria is a striking theropod dinosaur group whose unusual traits have generated debate about several behaviours related to diet and lifestyle. Although the palaeoneuroanatomy might provide valuable information to palaeobiological studies of this group, these studies are scarce. Only the endocast of Struthiomimus is known, despite several complete skulls having been recovered in this group. In other non-avian maniraptoriforms, palaeoneuroanatomical studies are not overly plentiful either, restricting themselves to well-characterised endocasts within Therizinosauria and Oviraptorosauria. Here, we present the palaeoneuroanatomy of the endocranial cavity of Pelecanimimus polyodon, an ornithomimosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Cuenca (Spain). The occipital region of its braincase is studied using CT scans, providing information about the inner ear, the hindbrain, cranial nerves, and vascular tracts. Its endocranial morphology is similar to Struthiomimus and follows the evolutionary trends of Coelurosauria. Pelecanimimus shows a reduced and posterior dural peak, and elongated semicircular canals; thus, good gaze stabilisation is inferred and strongly agrees with the non-avian to avian brain evolution. The lagena of Pelecanimimus is short, so high-frequency values of hearing are inferred for the taxon compared with other non-avian theropods. Those results are expected for an early-branching maniraptoriform, and positively contribute to our knowledge of the evolution of Coelurosauria and Theropoda.
El Profesor Miquel De Renzi de la Fuente, paleontólogo catalán, ha sido una figura central en la paleontología española, especialmente desde la Universitat de València, en donde ha desarrollado gran parte de su carrera académica. Con la presente recopilación de contribuciones queremos rendir homenaje a su figura.
The site of Quibas (Early Pleistocene, Murcia, Spain) represents the only European continuous succession preserving a record of continental vertebrates from pre-Jaramillo to post-Jaramillo age. The Quibas sequence immediately postdates the oldest known hominin records in the Early Pleistocene of Europe, represented at Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (southern Spain), and Sima del Elefante (northern Spain). This study presents new evidence on the taphonomic processes that facilitated the accumulation of small vertebrates at the unit QS-2/3 of the Quibas-Sima section. We analysed alterations caused by predators (digestion and chewing), root marks, mineral precipitation, bone breakage, abrasion, corrosion, and the count of long bones. The results indicate that the accumulation of small mammals occurred in situ, primarily due to the activity of nocturnal birds of prey such as Strix aluco. The hydrodynamic influence is minimal. The paleoecological analysis supports the development of a forest-mosaic environment with a significant presence of open spaces in the surroundings of the Quibas site at the onset of the Jaramillo subchron.
Research into the Quaternary period is fundamental to understand the modern distribution of biomes and ecosystem assemblages around the world. The climatic cyclicity of the Pleistocene coupled with the adaptive evolution of its ecosystems throughout the Cenozoic resulted in the composition and extent we observe today. To obtain a higher resolution picture of past ecological changes it is necessary to approach from different and complementary methodological perspectives. In this paper, we focus on the analysis of stable carbon isotopes in hippo tooth enamel. The data obtained come both from new analyses carried out at the Vallparadís Estació site (Terrassa, NE Iberia) and from the compilation of all previously published data. The ultimate aim of this approach is to obtain information on the distribution of different grassland types and their associated ecosystems during the Quaternary in Europe, Africa and Asia. The results of this study highlight the effectiveness of stable isotope analysis of hippo enamel as a valuable tool for monitoring changes in grassland vegetation structure. This approach facilitates climatic inferences and, in particular, clarifies interactions between biomes and faunal responses at a global scale.
