The Triassic Mesophlebiidae,a little closer to the crown of the Odonata (Insecta) than other ‘triassolestids’

Abstract

Two new, subcomplete forewings belonging to the ‘triassolestid assemblage’, a group of Triassic stem-relatives of dragon- and damselflies (Odonata), are described. One, recovered from Australia (Aranbanga Volcanic Group), belongs to Mesophlebia antinodalis Tillyard, 1916, previously documented on the basis of two very incomplete wings. The other, recovered from South Africa (Molteno Formation), is assigned to a new species, Mesophlebia elegans sp. nov. The new data allow a reconsideration of the diagnosis of the genus Mesophlebia Tillyard, 1916 and a re-instatement of the family Mesophlebiidae Tillyard, 1916. Notably, the new specimens possess, near the wing base, a posterior lobe absent in most ‘triassolestid’ genera, but present in crown-Odonata and a number of their stem-relatives. Lobodonata tax. nov. is erected to accommodate odonates possessing this lobe. The nature of the ‘vein-like’ element anteriorly delimiting this lobe is discussed. We submit that it might have been initially composed of an invagination of the posterior wing-margin (‘fibula’), which was later captured by AA, imposing its course on CuP.

Ayla Tierney [ayla.tierney@qm.qld.gov.au], Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane BC, Queensland 4101, Australia; Isabelle Deregnaucourt [isabelle.deregnaucourt@edu.mnhn.fr], Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de recherche sur la paléontologie – Paris (CR2P), 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France; John M. Anderson [jmanderson.gondwana@gmail.com], Evolutionary Studies Institute, Witwatersrand University, 1 Jan Smuts Ave., Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa; Paul Tierney [paul.tierney@qm.qld.gov.au], Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane BC, Queensland 4101, Australia; Torsten Wappler [torsten.wappler@hlmd.de], Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany; Olivier Béthoux [obethoux@mnhn.fr], Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de recherche sur la paléontologie – Paris (CR2P), 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France.     

Permian (Kungurian) Foraminifera from Western Australia described by Walter Parr in 1942: reassessment and additions

Haig, D.W., October 2017. Permian (Kungurian) Foraminifera from Western Australia described by Walter Parr in 1942: reassessment and additions. Alcheringa 42, 37–66. ISSN 0311-5518.

Exceptionally well-preserved siliceous agglutinated Foraminifera originally recorded by Walter Parr in 1942 are redescribed and illustrated by rendered multifocal reflected-light images. Significant new observations are made on wall texture and apertural morphology. The specimens are from the Quinnanie Shale and lower Wandagee Formation in the Merlinleigh Sub-basin of the Southern Carnarvon Basin, a marginal rift that splayed from the East Gondwana interior rift. During the Early Permian, a restricted shallow sea inundated the rift. The formations are part of sequence III of the Byro Group and belong within the Kungurian Stage (Cisuralian, Lower Permian). Of the 14 agglutinated species described by Parr, six are retained under their original names, viz., Hyperammina coleyi Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar], H. rudis Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar], Ammodiscus nitidus Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar], A. wandageeensis Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar], Tolypammina undulata Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar] and Reophax tricameratus Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]; one is transferred to a different species, viz., Thurammina texana Cushman &; Waters, 1928a Cushman, J.A. &; Waters, J.A., 1928a. Some Foraminifera from the Pennsylvanian and Permian of Texas. Contributions from the Cushman Laboratory for Foraminiferal Research 4, 31–55. [Google Scholar]; six are placed with other genera, viz., Thuramminoides pusilla (Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]), Teichertina teicherti (Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]), Sansabaina acicula (Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]), Tolypammina? adhaerens (Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]), Kunklerina subasper (Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]), Trochamminopsis subobtusa (Parr, 1942 Parr, W.J., 1942. Foraminifera and a tubicolous worm from the Permian of the North-West Division of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 27, 97–115. [Google Scholar]); and a species of Ammobaculites Cushman, 1910 Cushman, J.A., 1910. A monograph of the Foraminifera of the North Pacific Ocean. Part 1. Astrorhizidae and Lituolidae. United States National Museum, Bulletin 71(1), 134 pp. [Google Scholar] identified by Parr is now left in open nomenclature. From Parr's material, eight additional species are described: two new species, viz., Hyperammina parri sp. nov. and Gaudryinopsis raggatti sp. nov.; rare representatives of Aaptotoichus quinnaniensis Haig, 2003 Haig, D.W., 2003. Palaeobathymetric zonation of foraminifera from lower Permian shale deposits of a high-latitude southern interior sea. 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Voprosy Mikropaleontologii 11, 157–170. [Google Scholar], and Reophax Denys de Montfort, 1808 Denys de Montfort, P., 1808. Conchyliologie Systématique et Classification Méthodique des Coquilles, Volume 1. F. Schoell, Paris, 409. 10.5962/bhl.title.10571[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], all of which are left in open nomenclature. Hyperammina rudis is the type species of Hyperamminita Crespin, 1958 Crespin, I., 1958. Permian foraminifera of Australia. Bureau Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Bulletin 48, 1–207. [Google Scholar], a genus now considered a junior subjective synonym of Hyperammina Brady, 1878 Brady, H.B., 1878. On the reticularian and radiolarian Rhizopoda (Foraminifera and Polycystina) of the North Polar Expedition of 1875–76. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, ser. 1(6), 425–440. 10.1080/00222937808682361[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]. 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United States National Museum, Bulletin 71(1), 134 pp. [Google Scholar], type species of Oryctoderma Loeblich &; Tappan, 1961 Loeblich, A.R. &; Tappan, H., 1961. Remarks on the systematics of the Sarkodina (Protozoa), renamed homonyms and new and validated genera. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 74, 213–234. [Google Scholar]. The collection contains some of the earliest representatives of the revised family Verneuilinoididae Suleymanov, 1973 Suleymanov, I.S., 1973. Nekotorye voprosy sistematiki semeystva Verneuilinidae Cushman 1927 v svyazi s usloviyami obitaniya. Dokladari Uzbekiston SSR. Fanlar Akademiyasining, Tashkent 1973, 35–36. [Google Scholar], herein elevated from subfamily rank, and considered to include Pennsylvanian–Cisuralian representatives of Mooreinella Cushman &; Waters, 1928a Cushman, J.A. &; Waters, J.A., 1928a. Some Foraminifera from the Pennsylvanian and Permian of Texas. Contributions from the Cushman Laboratory for Foraminiferal Research 4, 31–55. [Google Scholar], Aaptotoichus Loeblich &; Tappan, 1982 Loeblich, A.R. &; Tappan, H., 1982. A revision of mid-Cretaceous textularian foraminifers from Texas. Journal of Micropalaeontology 1, 55–69. 10.1144/jm.1.1.55[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Digitina Crespin &; Parr, 1941 Crespin, I. &; Parr, W.J., 1941. Arenaceous Foraminifera from the Permian rocks of New South Wales. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 74, 300–311. [Google Scholar], Gaudryinopsis Podobina, 1975 Podobina, V.M., 1975. Foraminifery Verkhnego Mela i Paleogena zapadno-Sibirskoy nizmennosti, ikh znachenie dlya stratigrafii. Tomsk University Press, Tomsk, 264. [Google Scholar], Caronia Brönnimann, Whittaker &; Zaninetti, 1992 Brönnimann, P., Whittaker, J.E. &; Zaninetti, L., 1992. Brackish water foraminifera from mangrove sediments of southwestern Viti Levu, Fiji Island, Southwest Pacific. 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David W. Haig [david.haig@uwa.edu.au] Centre for Energy Geoscience, School of Earth Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia.     

A short-snouted trematosauroid (Tetrapoda,Temnospondyli) from the Early Triassic of Australia: the oldest known trematosaurine

The trematosauroid temnospondyl Tirraturhinus smisseni gen. et sp. nov. from the Arcadia Formation of central Queensland, Australia, is described on the basis of its rostrum. This is the first trematosaurine (short-snouted) trematosauroid from Australia, and is considered to be most closely related to Tertrema acuta from Spitzbergen. Tirraturhinus smisseni occurs alongside lonchorhynchine (long-snouted) trematosauroids in the Arcadia Formation; the co-occurrence of both trematosauroid morphotypes in that fauna is repeated in a number of non-marine Early Triassic faunas elsewhere in Pangaea. The Arcadia Formation is probably Griesbachian (earliest Triassic), so that T. smisseni is the oldest known trematosaurine.     

Cultural relativism and indigenous rights: Rethinking some dilemmas in applied anthropology (part 1)

The basis on which peoples should understand and relate to each other is a key dilemma for applied anthropology and a human rights organization such as the Forest Peoples Programme. Cultural relativism rejects universalism, critiques the individualist emphasis of human rights as Western imperialism and teaches that every society must be understood in its own terms. While it is true that some countries have resisted the impositions of the human rights regime, most have also ratified the key human rights treaties. It is clear that the notion of ‘human rights’ is a cultural construct of Western civilization, with a long gestation dating back to the ancient Greeks. Human rights have three foundational principles: individual rights, non-discrimination and self-determination. The tension between the three creates space for cultural specificity, decolonization and the assertion of collective rights. Indigenous peoples have effectively used the human rights system of the United Nations to reclaim their collective rights and, in so doing, accept that these universal norms also apply to their own societies, which they reform through their self-determined efforts. Ultimately, all human rights trace back to various conceptions of freedom – free will, freedom of belief, autonomy and self-determination – and even in societies where personhood is more relational and communal, notions of collective freedom are readily discernible. We need an ‘anthropology of freedom’ that builds on the insights of cultural relativism but is open to supporting self-determined movements for reform.     

Triassic palynostratigraphy and palynofloral provinces: evidence from southern Xizang (Tibet), China

Peng, J., Li, J., Slater, S.M., Li, W., Zhu, H. & Vajda, V. October 2017. Triassic palynostratigraphy and palynofloral provinces: evidence from southern Xizang (Tibet), China. Alcheringa 42, 67–86. ISSN 0311-5518.

Palynological analysis was carried out on Middle to Upper Triassic strata from Tulong, Nyalam County, southern Xizang (Tibet), China. Well-preserved miospore (pollen and spore) assemblages and sparse acritarch occurrences were identified. We recognized four formal and one informal biozones based on stratigraphically important taxa and compositional changes through the succession, in ascending order: the Triplexisporites Interval Zone (Anisian), the Staurosaccites quadrifidus Taxon-range Zone (upper Anisian to lower Norian), the Striatella Interval Zone (lower Norian), the Craterisporites rotundus Taxon-range Zone (middle to upper Norian) and the informal ‘Dictyophyllidites harrisii zone’ (Rhaetian). The zonation was supported by marine fossils (e.g., ammonoids and conodonts), and compositional similarity between the zones was examined using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Correlation with other representative palynological sequences across Gondwana was also conducted. The presence of miospore taxa not previously recovered from the Late Triassic North and South China palynofloral provinces (e.g., Ashmoripollis reducta, Craterisporites rotundus, Enzonalasporites vigens, Minutosaccus crenulatus, Samaropollenites speciosus and Staurosaccites quadrifidus) calls for a new province in southwestern China, i.e., the Southern Xizang Province. It is proposed here that the modern expression of the northern boundary runs along the Yarlung Zangbo Suture, the remnant of the Tethys that separated the Indian Plate (southern Xizang) and the Lhasa Block during the Late Triassic. This new palynofloral province comprises typical elements of the Onslow Microflora, indicating the need for an extension of this microflora in southern Xizang, China.

Jungang Peng [jgpeng@nigpas.ac.cn], Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China, Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm 104 05, Sweden; Jianguo Li* [jgli@nigpas.ac.cn], Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Wenben Li [wenbenli@126.com], Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Sam M. Slater [sam.slater@nrm.se], Vivi Vajda [vivi.vajda@nrm.se], Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm 104 05, Sweden; Huaicheng Zhu [hczhu@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.     

Pitted stone cobbles in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (Southeastern Pre-Pyrenees,Spain): some experimental remarks around a controversial tool type

The presence of cobbles with activity-related marks in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (Berga, Spain), and in particular one group of artefacts – pitted stones – raises problematic issues associated with the characterization of percussion activities. Although these artefacts have generated an extensive bibliography on ethological, ethnographic, ethnoarchaeological and archaeological levels, various questions persist in relation to their possible contextual function. In this paper we present the results of an experimental programme in which three types of activities that could create pitted stones are reproduced: bipolar knapping of vein quartz, hazelnut cracking, and hazelnut grinding. The aim of this experimental programme is to describe marks and use-wear traces related to such activities.     

Application of magnetic susceptibility on polished stone tools from Western Hungary and the Eastern part of the Czech Republic (Central Europe)

A non-destructive method – magnetic susceptibility (MS, κ) measurement – was used to characterize about 360 Neolithic, Copper and Bronze age polished stone tools of the Miháldy collection (Laczkó Dezső Museum, Veszprém, Hungary), composed of artefacts from three Neolithic (Moravian Painted Ware) workshops around a source of greenschist at Želešice near Brno (Moravia, Czech Republic) and semifinished artefacts from workshops at Neolithic mines in the Jizerské hory Mts. (Bohemia, Czech Republic); in addition, rock reference samples collected from the possible provenance areas and rock outcrops in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary were analysed as comparative material with the same method. We elaborated a model experience to control the thickness correction factor (TCF) following Williams-Thorpe et al. (2000).Among various stone raw materials of polished artefacts we found basaltic rocks and greenschists-metabasites as the most common.     

Paleoenvironment and anthracology: determination of variations in humidity based on anatomical characters in archealogical plant charcoal (Ambato Valley,Catamarca, Argentina)

Anatomical features related to water deficiency were analyzed in archaeological plant charcoal as a paleoenvironmental indicator. The end of the Aguada settlements in the Valley of Ambato (Catamarca, Argentina), which took place towards the end of the first millennium of this era, was used as the case study. Tools from Ecological Anatomy were applied to recreate paleoenvironmental scenery for the studied processes. The results of the analyses showed that this area must have been undergoing a period of arid conditions during the studied period.     

Readers and responses to George Sandys' A Relation of a Iourney begun An: Dom: 1610 (1615): Early English Books Online (EEBO) and the history of reading

This paper will discuss Early English Books Online (EEBO) as a tool for locating and researching contemporary references and responses to historical texts and authors, specifically George Sandys' A Relation of a Iourney begun An: Dom: 1610 (1615). It will focus upon two main themes. The first is methodological and will discuss the nature of EEBO and the possibilities and limitations it presents for this kind of historical research. The second turns to a case study of seventeenth-century responses to, and readings of, the Relation and shows how references found through EEBO can both broaden the context within which we view this work and alter our interpretation and understanding of it.     

The Temple of Venus (Pompeii): a study of the pigments and painting techniques

We report here on a study of 57 fragments of wall painting excavated from the Temple of Venus (Pompeii). These samples were characterised by a wide range of analytical methods. Data showed that the palette is varied, although not so broad as that found in other buildings in Pompeii, and is consistent with pigments used elsewhere in Pompeii and in the Roman Empire. It is composed of: natural earths, minerals and rare artificial pigments. Paintings are made up of thin paint layers (0.01–0.10 mm thick) strongly adhering to the underlying preparation layer. Nonetheless, in some cases thicker layers (up to 0.40 mm) were recognised, often spread on other previous painting layers. Samples were also compared with the microstratigraphic criteria developed in Piovesan (2009) to distinguish wall painting techniques. This comparison demonstrated that both fresco and lime painting techniques were adopted.     

Reconstruction of palaeo-burial history and pore fluid pressure in foothill areas: a sensitivity test in the Hammam Zriba (Tunisia) and Koh-i-Maran (Pakistan) ore deposits

The burial and pore fluid pressure history of fluorite ore deposits is reconstructed: (i) at Hammam Zriba–Djebel Guebli along the eastern margin of the Tunisian Atlas; and (ii) at Koh‐i‐Maran within the northern part of the Kirthar Range in Pakistan. Both the deposits are hosted by Late Jurassic carbonate reservoirs, unconformably overlain by Late Cretaceous seals. Microthermometric analyses on aqueous and petroleum fluid inclusions with pressure–volume–temperature–composition (PVTX) modeling of hydrocarbon fluid isochores are integrated with kinematics and thermal 2D basin modeling in order to determine the age of mineralization. The results suggest a Cenozoic age for the fluorite mineralization and a dual fluid migration model for both ore deposits. The PVTX modeling indicates that the initial stage of fluorite cementation at Hammam Zriba occurred under fluid pressures of 115 ± 5 bars and at a temperature close to 130°C. At Koh‐i‐Maran, the F3 geodic fluorite mineralization developed under hydrostatic pressures of 200 ± 10 bars, and at temperatures of 125–130°C. The late increase in temperature recorded in the F3 fluorites can be accounted for by rapid rise of hotter fluids (up to 190°C) along open fractures, resulting from hydraulic fracturing of overpressured sedimentary layers.     

歌唱与家屋的建构——广西西部德靖一带壮族民间"吟诗"((n)am2 θei1)暖屋的观念与实践

被精英阶层视为文学艺术的东西,对于生活在乡土社会的人们而言,往往首先作为一种生活方式在社会生活中发生着实际的作用.因此,在探寻这类作品形式和内涵的意义时,需要将其置于广阔的背景中,注意其与总体的文化系统的整合和关联.     

Obsidian from Pulo di Molfetta (Bari,Southern Italy): provenance from Lipari and first recognition of a Neolithic sample from Monte Arci (Sardinia)

Twenty-four obsidian artefacts of the Neolithic Age were found at the large karstic doline of Molfetta (near Bari) along the Southern Italian Adriatic coast. Non-destructive chemical analyses of the glass, by SEM-EDS, allowed their source rock regions to be determined. Twenty-three of the studied artefacts had been traded from the island of Lipari. Only one sample had a glass composition and microphenocrysts (biotite, pyroxene and feldspar) that indicate provenance from the Monte Arci area of Sardinia, in particular from the Perdas Urias (SC) outcrops. The attribution of this artefact to Sardinia enlarges the geographical pattern of Monte Arci obsidian exploitation and distribution from island to Southern Italy during the Middle to Late Neolithic.     

Archaeological wells in southern France: Late Neolithic to Roman plant remains from Mas de Vignoles IX (Gard) and their implications for the study of settlement,economy and environment

Abstract

A study of plant remains from seven archaeological wells at Mas de Vignoles IX, near Nîmes, southern France, was used to shed light on a current gap in the archaeological record caused by erosion and modern agriculture. The analysis also explored the reliability of these sources for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoeconomical information. Significant results on the spatial organization of human habitation, economic activities, and on the environment and its exploitation were obtained for the Middle Neolithic to Roman periods. Furthermore, the Neolithic wells also provided the first early finds of fig seeds in France. The abundance of weed and ruderal plants up to the Iron Age is consistent with data from other studies and their dramatic decrease during the Roman period may have resulted from radical changes in land management. The study marks the first time, in southern France, that a group of wells from a single site have provided a complete record throughout the later prehistoric and Roman periods.     

The Construction of the Khufu I Vessel (c.2566 BC): a Re-Evaluation

A re-evaluation of the published reports on the Khufu I vessel suggests: first, Egyptian boatwrights used as much of a plank's original width and length as possible to minimize waste, resulting in unpredictable stealer and scarf placement; second, crafting tenons to be narrower than corresponding mortises may have been one of many standardized techniques of Egyptian boatbuilding; third, temporary and permanent edge-to-edge transverse lashing was an important structural feature. Finally, woven straps instead of ropes were probably used to lash this vessel, and seams were probably sealed with wadding and battens, while the frames appear to have been recycled.
© 2009 The Author     

Digital imaging technology and experimental archeology: a methodological framework for the identification and interpretation of fire modified rock (FMR)

This paper presents the results of a series of experiments for the identification and analysis of fire modified rock (FMR). FMR is a common but frequently overlooked artifact type. Experiments were conducted simulating the effects of different hypothetical burning scenarios on rocks similar to those found in a South African Middle Stone Age site. A digital imaging method was then used to quantify FMR color values, designed to limit intra-analyst bias. Statistical tests and a blind test suggest that unburned rocks and experimental FMR can be separated statistically based on physical appearance. Two burning scenario models, based on measured experimental data were applied to archaeological FMR from a South African Middle Stone Age site named Pinnacle Point 5-6 (PP5-6) and show that the archaeological samples are not statistically different from a simulated campfire and possibly a lithic raw material heat-treatment fire.