Metrical discrimination between mandibular first and second molars in domestic cattle

The difficulty of distinguishing between loose first and second mandibular molars of domestic cattle (BOS taurus) from archaeological sites is well known. This paper proposes cervical length as a discriminatory measurement. The possibility that cervical measurements of first and second mandibular molars may be sexually dimorphic is also explored.     

Taphonomic observations on eastern Australian Cretaceous sauropods

Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) sauropod body fossils are known from the Eromanga Basin of central Queensland and Surat Basin of northern New South Wales/southeastern Queensland. Most bones are uncrushed and undistorted. Associated components of the caudal and forelimb skeleton are dominant in current collections and probably derived from more complete skeletons now lost to erosion, or yet to be exposed. Dorsal and cervical vertebrae have rarely been reported and no cranial material has yet been found. None of the Australian sauropod remains shows evidence of predation or scavenging, but at least two specimens of Wintonotitan wattsi were intimately associated with plant macrofossils allowing limited inference of their postmortem environments.     

Two cases of atlar anomalies

We present two cases with first cervical (atlas) vertebral anomalies. The individuals exhibiting these anomalies were recovered as part of the United States Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii's global mission to recover missing United States service personnel. Both of these anomalies were potentially clinically significant to the individuals in vivo but it appears that both managed to survive the hardships of military life until the incidents associated with their loss. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reassessment of the Styxosaurus snowii (Williston, 1890) holotype specimen and its implications for elasmosaurid plesiosaurian interrelationships

The holotype (KUVP 1301) of Styxosaurus snowii—one of the earliest described elasmosaurid plesiosaurians—consists of a well-preserved cranium, mandible and articulated sequence of anterior–mid-series cervical vertebrae found in the lowermost Campanian strata of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member in the Niobrara Formation of Kansas, USA. This particular specimen has proven important for recent phylogenies of Elasmosauridae, and is integral to resulting definitions of the subfamily-level clade, Styxosaurinae. Despite this, KUVP 1301 has not been redescribed or figured in detail since its original taxonomic establishment. We, therefore, re-evaluated KUVP 1301 and assessed its phylogenetic implications. Several notable character states are pertinent for diagnosing S. snowii at genus and species level: (1) an anisodont functional dentition comprising enlarged premaxillary and dentary teeth with a pair of maxillary ‘fangs’, and elongate posterior-most dentary teeth that overlap the upper tooth row; (2) a prominent dorsomedian crest extending from the tip of the premaxillary rostrum, and expanding into a low ‘mound-like’ boss between the external bony nasal openings and orbits; (3) a pronounced convex projection on the posterolateral edge of the squamosals; and (4) platycoelous post-axial cervical vertebral centra that are substantially longer than high, and bear both lateral longitudinal ridges and ventral notches. Character state comparisons with the congeneric subfamily specifier Styxosaurus browni suggest that taxonomic distinction is possible, but equivocal. We, therefore, restrict our definition of Styxosaurus to morphologies observable in KUVP 1301. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of our first-hand data returns inconsistent elasmosaurid intra-clade relationships, especially with regard to Styxosaurinae. Consequently, we posit that a more targeted reassessment of Elasmosauridae is necessary to resolve both species-level topologies and higher taxonomy within the group.

Sven Sachs* [sachs.pal@gmail.com] Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany; Johan Lindgren [johan.lindgren@geol.lu.se], Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden; Benjamin P. Kear [benjamin.kear@em.uu.se] Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, Uppsala SE-752 36, Sweden. *Also affiliated with: Im Hof 9, 51766 Engelskirchen, Germany. Received 26.5.2016; revised 13.7.2018; accepted 24.7.2018.     

Tortuosity or aneurysm? The palaeopathology of some abnormalities of the vertebral artery

The anatomy of the vertebral artery (VA) and two pathological conditions which affect it—tortuosity and aneurysm—are described. The changes which these lesions produce in the cervical vertebrae are also described and we present two cases in which these changes have been found. One case is of a female aged at least 45 years at the time of death from a 15th century medieval cemetery site in Britain with what we consider to be tortuosity of the VA. The second case is of a male aged between 25 and 35 years at the time of death from a Coffin period site in Japan, dating to ca 1600 years BP. The changes in this skeleton are considered to be more in keeping with a diagnosis of aneurysm of the VA. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Legalized trauma

In the past, criminals were executed by a variety of means, including beheading or hanging, and both these methods may leave signs on the skeleton. It is not difficult to recognize individuals who have been beheaded because one or other of the cervical vertebrae will show evidence of the fatal blow, and there may also be cut marks on the base of the skull or the back of the mandible. Death from hanging, however, often leaves no marks on the skeleton, especially when carried out with a running noose and no drop. With a drop, dislocation of the sutures at the base of the skull may be noted and the classic ‘hangman's fracture’, which is a fracture dislocation of the second cervical vertebra, may be present. When there is no evidence of trauma, death from hanging may have to be inferred in skeletons which are found with the hands tied or with other signs that are discussed here.     

First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae,Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy,palaeogeography and chronological range

Vezzosi, R.I., June 2012. First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae, Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy, palaeogeography and chronological range. Alcheringa, 157–169. ISSN 0311-5518.

New records of Procariama simplex in central and northwestern Argentina are reported. The fossil material includes mandibular bones, cervical vertebrae and several elements of the fore and hindlimbs. After an exhaustive comparison of anatomical characters and morphometric analysis, the fossil specimens are assigned to the psilopterine Procariama simplex. The specimen from La Pampa Province represents the first record of a psilopterine in this central region of Argentina and derives from upper Miocene sediments of the Cerro Azul Formation. Lithological features and biostratigraphical data allow the host bed to be assigned to the Huayquerian faunal stage (late Miocene). The La Pampa record broadens the geographical distribution of Procariama simplex, which was previously restricted to northwestern Argentina.

Raúl Ignacio Vezzosi [vezzosiraul@gmail.com], Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción CICYTTP-CONICET, Materi y España s/n (3105), Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina. Received 1.4.2011, revised 28.5.2011, accepted 14.6.2011.     

Systematic status of the Miocene darter ‘Liptornis’ hesternus Ameghino, 1895 (Aves,Suliformes, Anhingidae) from Patagonia,Argentina

Diederle, J.M., 1.8.2015. Systematic status of the Miocene darter ‘Liptornis’ hesternus Ameghino, 1895 (Aves, Suliformes, Anhingidae) from Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa 39, 589–594. ISSN 0311-5518.

Liptornis hesternus was established by Ameghino in the late 1800s on the basis of a cervical vertebra (NHMUK-A599) from the Santa Cruz Formation (Santacrucian, South American Land Mammal Age, early Miocene, Burdigalian Stage) of Patagonia, Argentina. Although taxonomic attributions were controversial, the specimen is now confidently assigned to Anhingidae. Recently, however, L. hesternus was designated a nomen dubium because of its uninformative diagnostic characters and apparent loss of the holotype. Nevertheless, NHMUK-A599 has been relocated and is redescribed here prompting referral to Anhinga. A combination of traits are shared with the extant Anhinga anhinga and A. melanogaster, and the material is dimensionally compatible with A. anhinga. The estimated body size of NHMUK-A599 would have been larger than A. minuta but less than A. grandis, A. subvolans, A. fraileyi and A. walterbolesi. Finally, Anhinga hesterna is considered valid and represents the stratigraphically oldest occurrence of the genus in South America and the southernmost yet recorded.

Juan M. Diederle [juandiederle@cicyttp.org.ar], Laboratorio de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción (CICYTTP-CONICET), Materi y España, E3105BWA Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina.     

Spinal degenerative lesions and spinal ligamentous ossifications in ancient Chinese populations of the Yellow River Civilization

Rheumatological diseases, whether inflammatory or degenerative, are ubiquitous among modern Asian people but very few palaeopathological studies have been performed in Asia on this subject. Since 1996, we have been carrying out a palaeoepidemiological survey of rheumatic diseases in ancient Chinese and Japanese skeletal populations. Findings on the spinal column in ancient Chinese populations (ca. 5000 bc –ad 1644) in Henan Province (centre of the Yellow River Civilization) are reported in this study. The examined number of the people over 20 years old was 365 (185 males, 169 females and 11 unsexed). Of these, 248 were young adults, 98 were middle adults and 19 were old adults. Crude prevalence (number/100) in total population of vertebral osteophytosis/facet osteoarthritis was 17.5/7.7, 17/3.7 and 44.6/21.1 at the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, respectively. That of ossified anterior longitudinal ligament (OALL) or Forestier's disease was around 3 at each of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the cervical spine was observed in five out of 114 skeletons with cervical spine preserved, while it did not exist in any thoracic and lumbar segment. Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) was predominantly observed in the thoracic spine, the crude prevalence of which was 36.7. Overall spinal degenerative lesions seemed to have been more prevalent and spinal ligament ossifications less prevalent in ancient Chinese populations than in modern people. None of the inflammatory lesions like rheumatoid spondylitis, as well as seronegative spondyloarthropathies, were detected. This is the first palaeopathological study in which the prevalence of OPLL and OLF, the two clinically important spinal ligamentous ossifications causing myelopathy in modern mankind, was surveyed in ancient skeletons. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Problems and pitfalls in the diagnosis of linear enamel hypoplasia in cheek teeth of cattle

Prevalence and intensity of enamel hypoplasia have been used as markers of generalized physiological stress during dental development in a wide range of mammalian taxa. We studied cattle (Bos taurus) cheek teeth exhibiting morphological characteristics that are of relevance to the diagnosis of enamel hypoplasia in this and other bovid species. These characteristics were multiple, more or less horizontally arranged (waveform) lines or grooves in the cementum of the tooth crown and the adjacent root area, leading to an imbricated appearance of the cementum. On macroscopic examination of tooth surfaces, these lines resembled linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH). Microscopic analysis of tooth sections, however, revealed that the lines occurred in the cementum only, and that the underlying enamel did not exhibit morphological irregularities. In cheek teeth of older cattle, a thick cementum layer is regularly found in the cervical crown portion and the adjacent root area. Apposition of this cementum is related to the uplifting of the teeth from their alveoli, a process that compensates for the shortening of the tooth crowns due to occlusal wear. In the studied specimens, a pronounced periodic nature of tooth uplifting and the related deposition of cementum is the likely cause for the observed imbricated appearance of the cementum. While this phenomenon may be misinterpreted as representing a case of LEH, presence of enamel hypoplasia in bovid teeth may be overlooked when the defects become filled with coronal cementum and are therefore not apparent on external inspection. This was the case in one of the cattle teeth analyzed by us, in which the hypoplastic enamel defects were, however, clearly discernible in ground sections. Microscopic analysis of tooth sections is recommended for recording of LEH in bovid teeth in cases where macroscopic examination of tooth surfaces alone does not produce unequivocal results.     

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations in tooth dentine serial sections from Wharram Percy

Here we report δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N measurements of serial sections of human deciduous and permanent tooth dentine from archaeological samples taken from the medieval village site of Wharram Percy, Yorkshire, UK. We found a pattern of enrichment, for both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, where the tooth crown was greater than the cervical part of the root, which in turn was greater than the apical portion of the root and the associated rib collagen values. This pattern reflects a decrease in the consumption of isotopically enriched breast milk and the introduction of less enriched weaning foods in the diet. The (mean±SD) difference between the deciduous second molar crowns and corresponding rib samples from the same individuals after 2 years of age was 1.2±0.4‰ for δ¹³C and 3.2±0.8‰ for δ¹⁵N. The δ¹⁵N values are as predicted, but as there were no C₄plants at Wharram Percy, this 1.2‰ enrichment in δ¹³C represents clear evidence of a carbon trophic level effect in collagen from breastfeeding infants. Carbon and nitrogen results also show that the infant diet among those who died in infancy did not differ from those who survived into childhood. This study demonstrates the promise of using dentine serial sections to study the temporal relationships of breastfeeding, weaning, and dietary patterns of single individuals.     

A Case of the Execution of Swedish Soldiers at the Market Square in Cracow (17th c.)

Creating a more complete image of our past requires cooperation among many branches of science. A joint effort by archaeologists, anthropologists and historians allowed us to establish the origin and cause of death of four individuals found in a layer dating to the early modern period ina medieval burial ground in the Market Square in Cracow. In the course of interdisciplinary analyses, it was found that the skeletons were the remains of four males aged between 30 and 50, who probably were soldiers of a Swedish garrison occupying Cracow in the mid‐17th century. The finding was confirmed by archaeological evidence parts of protective codpieces (Lat.suspensus) and burial stratigraphy typical of this period) and specific changes in the skeletons attributable to warfare. At the same time, characteristic traumatic lesions of the cervical vertebrae and traces of binding of the upper and lower limbs indicate that the soldiers had been condemned to death by beheading. Historical sources confirm that Swedish soldiers were executed in Cracow's Market Square in 1657. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two new skeletons of the enigmatic,rail-like avian taxon Songzia Hou, 1990 (Songziidae) from the early Eocene of China

Sachs, S. &; Kear, B.P. November 2018. A rare new Pliensbachian plesiosaurian from the Amaltheenton Formation of Bielefeld in northwestern Germany. Alcheringa 42, 487-500. ISSN 0311-5518.

We describe a new plesiosaurian from the upper Pliensbachian Amaltheenton Formation of Bielefeld in northwestern Germany. The taxon is based upon an incomplete associated skeleton comprising part of the right mandibular ramus, several teeth, a series of cervical, pectoral, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, as well as ribs, limb girdle elements including a nearly complete right scapula, and various distal limb bones. A unique character state combination serves to distinguish the Amaltheenton Formation remains from other previously documented Early Jurassic plesiosaurians. The most important features are the presence of a longitudinal notch incising the posterior rim of the glenoid fossa and retroarticular process, and a pronounced ventrolateral shelf on the scapula, both of which constitute derived states otherwise shared with Early Cretaceous leptocleidians. However, phylogenetic analysis using a ‘total group’ Plesiosauria data-set that specifically accommodates for Pliensbachian taxa unanimously placed the Amaltheenton Formation plesiosaurian among Early–Middle Jurassic pliosaurids. This discovery is significant because it reveals unexpected homoplasy, but also because it establishes what is only the third formally named plesiosaurian taxon thus far documented from Pliensbachian strata worldwide.

Sven Sachs^* [sachs.pal@gmail.com], Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany and Im Hof 9, 51766 Engelskirchen, Germany; Benjamin P. Kear [benjamin.kear@em.uu.se] Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, Uppsala SE-752 36, Sweden.     

INVESTIGATING SEASONALITY AND SEASON OF BIRTH IN PAST HERDS: A REFERENCE SET OF SHEEP ENAMEL STABLE OXYGEN ISOTOPE RATIOS

Intra‐tooth sequential analysis of enamel δ¹⁸O is currently used to investigate birth seasonality in past animal populations, offering new insights into seasonal availability of animal resources, herd management and seasonality of site occupation. Reference data sets are still required to address two major difficulties: (1) that inter‐individual variability in the record of the seasonal cycle is affected by tooth size; and (2) that the season of birth cannot be directly estimated from the timing of tooth growth, because of a delay in enamel mineralization. We present a data set acquired on the lower second molar of 10 modern sheep from Rousay (Orkney) born within a few weeks of each other in April/May and submitted to the same environmental conditions until death. All sheep have recorded a sinusoidal pattern of δ¹⁸O variation spanning approximately a year. From the difference between the expected and the measured time sequence, the delay of enamel mineralization is estimated to be 5–6 months. The data set is then described using a model mainly based on a cosine function. The period, corresponding to the length of the M2 crown formed over a year, averaged 35.8 mm. A very slight variation of tooth growth rate with time and no attenuation of the isotopic signal towards the cervical margin of the crown could be detected in this data set. The lowest δ¹⁸O values, corresponding to the sheep's first winter, were tracked at a distance from the enamel/root junction that varied between 23.0 and 30.3 mm (x_min mean = 27.6 mm); the highest δ¹⁸O values, corresponding to the sheep's second summer, were between 6.3 and 11.6 mm (x_max mean = 9.9 mm). Most of the variability can be attributed to tooth size. When normalized on the period, x_min and x_max are 0.28 (± 0.05) and 0.78 (± 0.05) on average, meaning that the Rousay sheep have recorded the minimum and maximum δ¹⁸O values on average at 78% and 28%, respectively, of the end of the periodic cycle recorded in the second molar.     

Rates of dentine mineralization in permanent human teeth

Previous experimental studies have estimated linear rates of dentine formation in modern humans to be close to 4μm day⁻¹. In this study a method similar to that first adopted by Kawasaki, Tanaka and Ishikawa⁵ was used to estimate linear rates of dentine mineralization over a period of 1200 days in both the cusps and cervical regions of several permanent tooth types. All teeth were from the same individual. Rates in the cusps of teeth with the tallest crowns were estimated to be between 5 μm day⁻¹ and 6 μm day⁻¹. This is higher than previous estimates in permanent tooth crowns, although rates in the cusp of a first permanent molar, where cusps were less tall and cuspal dentine therefore less thick, were close to previous estimates of 4 μm day⁻¹. Despite this variation in cuspal rates, mineralization rates were linear in all cusps studied over a long period of time. Rates in the cervical region, either close to the enamel dentine junction or to the cement dentine junction, were estimated to be between 1.3 μm day⁻¹ and 1.5 μm day¹¹, much slower than reported previously. Rates in the mid-portion of the dentine, in both the lateral part of the crown and in the cervical one-third of the root, rose steadily to match rates in the cuspal region, but then slowed towards the pulp chamber. These data extend the findings of previous studies on permanent human dentine. They demonstrate a wide range of mineralization rates in permanent dentine and provide a more secure basis for judging different rates in different locations of different human tooth types.     

Clay‐shoveler's fracture: an uncommon diagnosis in palaeopathology

An archaeological case of clay‐shoveler's fracture was observed in an adult male exhumed from a Roman necropolis dated to the 1st–3rd century AD and located in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Clay‐shoveler's fracture is a breakage of a lower cervical or upper thoracic spinous process as a result of mechanical stress. Different mechanisms have been related to this injury, generally in labour‐related contexts. This paper reviews the literature concerning this uncommon finding, focusing especially on its mechanism and on activity‐related lesions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Successful cervical disc surgery by Professor Angelo Chiasserini Sr of Rome in 1937: a historical case report

Although resection of cervical "chondromas" had been reported since the late twenties, the true nature of this condition was not recognized at that time. This paper reports a case of "inferior cervical radiculitis by herniation of nucleus pulposus" operated by Prof. Angelo Chiasserini Sr, one of the founders of Italian neurosurgery, in January 1937. To our knowledge this represents one of the first examples of correct etiopathogenetic interpretation of cervical disc disease. Surgery was followed by excellent recovery, a quite remarkable result in those times. The case history is reported in detail, and a short historical sketch of cervical disc disease is depicted.     

Varia

No modern edition of the couplet Venena magnum fas nefasque non valent/ convertere humanam vicem is satisfactory, either in text or in interpretation. Editors print either the magnum of the codices or the miscent proposed by Garnsey and Giangrande; neither is adequate. The author recommends Haupt's conjecture maga non (Venena maga non fas nefasque, non valent/ convertere humanam vicem).     

Successful Cervical Disc Surgery by Professor Angelo Chiasserini Sr of Rome in 1937: A Historical Case Report

Although resection of cervical “chondromas” had been reported since the late twenties, the true nature of this condition was not recognized at that time. This paper reports a case of “inferior cervical radiculitis by herniation of nucleus pulposus” operated by Prof. Angelo Chiasserini Sr, one of the founders of Italian neurosurgery, in January 1937. To our knowledge this represents one of the first examples of correct etiopathogenetic interpretation of cervical disc disease. Surgery was followed by excellent recovery, a quite remarkable result in those times. The case history is reported in detail, and a short historical sketch of cervical disc disease is depicted.     

Growth,decay and burial compaction of Dickinsonia,an iconic Ediacaran fossil

Retallack, G.J., September, 2007. Growth, decay and burial compaction of Dickinsonia, an iconic Ediacaran fossil. Alcheringa 31, 215-240. ISSN 0311-5518.

Dickinsonia is a Neoproterozoic, Ediacaran fossil, variously considered a polychaete, turbellarian or annelid worm, jellyfish, polyp, xenophyophoran protist, lichen or mushroom. Its preservation as unskeletonized impressions in quartz sandstones has been attributed to a Neoproterozoic regime of aerobic decay less effective than today, microbial pyritization much nearer the surface than today, or agglutinate-mineralization as in xenophyophorans. However, the great variation in thickness independent of width or length of South Australian Dickinsonia is evidence of decay like the wilting of a fossil leaf, lichen or mushroom, but unlike clotting and distortion during decay, wilting or osmotic shrinkage of modern and fossil worms and jellyfish. Decayed specimens of Dickinsonia arrayed in arcs have been interpreted as slime trails or tumble tracks, but can also be interpreted as rhizinous bases of decayed crustose lichens or mushrooms arranged in fairy rings. Dickinsonia is interpreted to be sessile because adjacent specimens show reaction rims indicative of competitive interaction, and because no overlapping well-preserved specimens have ever been found. Folded and bent Dickinsonia reveal firm attachment and limited flexibility, but no brittle deformation indicative of pyritic, sideritic or calcitic ‘death masks’ or xenophyophoran agglutinate skeletons. Dickinsonia was resistant to compaction by overburden, like fossil lichens such as Spongiophyton and Thucomyces, and more compaction-resistant than fossil logs, jellyfish or worms. Dickinsonia also shows indeterminate growth like lichens, fungi, plants, xenophyophorans and colonial animals. Growth, decay and burial compaction of Dickinsonia were more like those of plants, lichens and fungi, than of worms, jellyfishes or anemones.

G.J. Retallack [gregr@uoregon.edu], Department of Geological Sciences, University of Oregon. Eugene, OR 97403-1272, USA; received 18.11.05, revised 23.3.06.