Preliminary U-series and Thermoluminescence dating of excavated deposits in Liang Bua sub-chamber,Flores, Indonesia

We report the results of a test excavation of deposits in a limestone cave sub-chamber located beneath the main chamber of Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia; the discovery site of the small hominin species, Homo floresiensis. Well-preserved remains of extinct Pleistocene fauna and stone artefacts have previously been identified on the surface of a sediment cone within the sub-chamber. Our excavation of the deposits, at the base of the sediment cone in the sub-chamber (to 130 cm depth) yielded only a few fragmentary bones of extant fauna. Uranium/Thorium (U-series or U/Th) dating of soda straw stalactites excavated from 20 to 130 cm in depth demonstrates that the excavated sediments were deposited during the Holocene. Red Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of the sediments at the base of the excavation (130 cm depth) indicates these sediments were last exposed to sunlight at 84 ± 15 ka (thousand years), similar to red TL ages of cave sediments from the main chamber. Together, these results indicate that the surface faunal remains, which are morphologically analogous to Pleistocene finds from the main chamber excavations, were transported to the sub-chamber relatively recently from the main chamber of Liang Bua and probably originated from conglomerate deposits at the rear of the cave and from deposits around the front entrance. There is no evidence for hominin occupation of the sub-chamber, instead it seems to have acted as a sink for cultural materials and fossil remains transported from the surface via sinkholes. Despite the small number of finds from the test excavation, it is possible that more extensive excavations may yield additional transported cultural and faunal evidence at greater depths.     

Middle–Upper Jurassic marine gastropods from central Saudi Arabia

Ferrari, M., El-Hedeny, M., Zakhera, M., El-Sabbagh, A. & Al Farraj, S., May 2018. Middle?Upper Jurassic marine gastropods from central Saudi Arabia. Alcheringa.

A total of 68 gastropod specimens are reported from the Middle?Upper Jurassic sedimentary successions exposed at central Saudi Arabia. The studied material comes from the Tuwaiq Mountain and Hanifa formations at the Khashm al Qaddiyah, Dirab, Jabal al Abakkayn and Maáshabah sections. Thirteen species are identified, described and illustrated. Among them, a new Aporrhais species (A. sauditica sp. nov.) is introduced. In addition, two further possible new Pseudomelania species from the same strata are mentioned. Other members of the assemblage include Kosmomphalus? sp. aff. K. reticulatus Fischer, Bourguetia? sp. aff. B. saemanni (Oppel), Bourguetia? sp., Ampullospira sp., Globularia? sp. cf. G. bajociana Fischer, Purpuroidea sp. aff. P. glabra Morris and Lycett, Purpuroidea sp., Cossmannea sp. aff. C. desvoidyi (d’Orbigny), Cryptoplocus sp. aff. C. depressus (Voltz) and Actaeonina? sp. Stratigraphically, seven species of this gastropod assemblage were only reported from the Middle Jurassic, whereas the other six ones are extending from the Middle to the Upper Jurassic of the studied succession. As compared with their gastropod content, the Khashm al Qaddiyah represents the richest section (33 out of 68 specimens, 48.5%), whereas the Maáshabah section showed an impoverished gastropod assemblage (only three specimens, 4.4%). The species reported here show paleobiogeographical affinities with coeval gastropod assemblages from India, east Africa, Middle East (Israel, the Sinai of Egypt) and western Tethys. The identified species confirm three depositional settings: open shelf lagoon, shoal/fore-shoal and open marine environments. The lower degree of fragmentation, poor sorting and scarcity of abrasion indicate a parautochthonous faunal assemblage.

Mariel Ferrari [mferrari@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar] Instituto Patagónico de Geología y Paleontología (IPGP-CCT CONICET-CENPAT), Bvd. Brown 2915, U9120CD, Puerto Madryn?Chubut, Argentina; Magdy El-Hedeny* [mmelhedeny@gmail.com] Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21568, Egypt; Mohamed Zakhera? [zakhera40@yahoo.com] Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt; Ahmed El-Sabbagh [ah.elsabbagh@gmail.com] Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21568, Egypt; Saleh Al Farraj [salfarraj@hotmail.com] College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 12371, Saudi Arabia. *Also affiliated with Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. ?Also affiliated with Vice Rectorate for Development and Quality, Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia.     

A Portuguese East Indiaman from the 1502–1503 Fleet of Vasco da Gama off Al Hallaniyah Island,Oman: an interim report

Two Portuguese naus from Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India, left behind to disrupt maritime trade between India and the Red Sea, were wrecked in May 1503 off the north‐eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The ships, Esmeralda and São Pedro, had been commanded by da Gama's maternal uncles, Vicente and Brás Sodré, respectively. A detailed study and scientific analysis of an artefact assemblage recovered during archaeological excavations conducted in Al Hallaniyah in 2013 and 2014 confirms the location of an early 16th‐century Portuguese wreck‐site, initially discovered in 1998. Esmeralda is proposed as the probable source of the remaining, un‐salved wreckage.     

Permian brachiopods from the Tupe Formation,San Juan Province,Precordillera, Argentina

The brachiopod fauna from the Tupe Formation at La Herradura Creek, located on the west flank of Perico Hill, San Juan Province, Argentina, palaeogeographically belongs to the western sector of the Paganzo basin (‘Guandacol embayment’). The stratigraphical section of the Tupe Formation at La Herradura Creek is the stratotype of the Tivertonia jachalensis-Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus biozone, was previously regarded as being of Late Carboniferous age but here is assigned to the earliest Permian (Asselian). We describe and review the biozone assemblage, which consists of Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus, Tivertonia jachalensis, Kochiproductus sp., Costatumulus sp., Coronalosia argentinensis, Tupelosia paganzoensis, Trigonotreta pericoensis, Septosyringothyris sp. aff. Septosyringothyris jaguelensis and Crurithyris? sp. This brachiopod assemblage is related to Indian and Australian Early Permian faunas and its presence in the La Herradura Creek section provides new evidence in support of an Asselian (Early Permian) age for the Tivertonia jachalensis-Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus biozone. This assemblage is also important for intra- and inter-basinal correlation because several of its characteristic species have been identified from other sections of the Paganzo basin and the Río Blanco basin. The proposed age for this biozone is consistent with the age of palynological data from slightly above the marine faunas from the stratotype locality.     

Phosphatic fauna of the Early Cambrian Todd River Dolomite,Amadeus Basin,central Australia

Ten species of phosphatic or phosphatised fossils are described from the Early Cambrian Todd River Dolomite of the Amadeus Basin in central Australia. The tannuolinid genus Micrina nov. is erected to include Platyceras etheridgei Tate 1892. The family Kennardiidae nov. is erected to include phosphatic organisms having three distinct forms of mitral sclerite. Assigned to this family are Kennardia reticulata gen. et sp. nov. and tentatively Dailyatia ajaxBischoff. Other phosphatic problematica are Paterimitra pyramidalis gen. et sp. nov., Eccentrotheca cf. kanesia Landing, Nowlan & Fletcher. Also described are phosphatised Chancelloria sp., Lenastella sp. and Pelagiella sp. and the phosphatic inarticulate brachiopods Askepasma toddensegen. et sp. nov., Edreja aff. distincta Koneva and ?Lingulella sp. Two species of tubular problematica are illustrated but not discussed in detail.     

Conodonts and tabulate corals from the Upper Ordovician Angullong Formation of central New South Wales,Australia

Zhen, Y.Y., Wang, G.X. &; Percival, I.G., August 2016. Conodonts and tabulate corals from the Upper Ordovician Angullong Formation of central New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Angullong Formation is the youngest Ordovician unit exposed in the Cliefden Caves area of central New South Wales. Its maximum age is constrained by a Styracograptus uncinatus graptolite Biozone fauna at the very top of the underlying Malongulli Formation, but the few fossils previously reported from higher in the Angullong Formation are either long-ranging or poorly known. From allochthonous limestone clasts in the middle part of the formation, we document a conodont fauna comprising Aphelognathus grandis, A. solidum, Aphelognathus sp., Aphelognathus? sp., Belodina confluens, Drepanoistodus suberectus, Panderodus gracilis, Panderodus sp., Phragmodus undatus, Pseudobelodina inclinata and Pseudobelodina? sp. aff. P. obtusa, which supports correlation with the Aphelognathus grandis Biozone (late Katian) of the North American Midcontinent succession. The species concepts of Aphelognathus and Pseudobelodina are reviewed in detail. Associated corals are exclusively tabulates, dominated by agetolitids, including Agetolites angullongensis sp. nov., Heliolites orientalis, Hemiagetolites breviseptatus, Hemiagetolites sp. cf. H. spinimarginatus, Navoites sp. cf. N. circumflexa, Plasmoporella bacilliforma, P. marginata, Quepora sp. cf. Q. calamus and Sarcinula sp. Affinities of the coral fauna from the Angullong Formation are closer to faunas from northern NSW and northern Queensland than to the locally recognized Fauna III of late Eastonian age in central NSW. We propose a subdivision of Fauna III to account for this difference, with the late Katian Fauna IIIB characterized by the incoming of agetolitid corals. The currently known distribution of representatives of this group with adequate age constraints suggests that agetolitids possibly originated in North China, subsequently migrating to Tarim, South China and adjacent peri-Gondwanan terranes while also spreading eastward to northern Gondwana, where they progressively moved through eastern Australia to reach the central NSW region by the early Bolindian.

Yong Yi Zhen* (yong-yi.zhen@industry.nsw.gov.au) and Ian G. Percival (ian.percival@industry.nsw.gov.au), Geological Survey of New South Wales, W.B. Clarke Geoscience Centre, 947–953 Londonderry Road, Londonderry, NSW 2753, Australia; Guangxu Wang (gxwang@nigpas.ac.cn), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, 39 East Beijing Road Nanjing 210008 PR China.     

Archaeocyaths from Yorke Peninsula,South Australia and archaeocyathan Early Cambrian zonation

Zhuravlev, A. Yu., & Gravestock, D. I., 1994:03:28. Archaeayaths from Yorke Peninsula, South Australia and archaeocyathan Early Cambrian zonation. Alcheringa 18, 1–54. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two assemblages of archaeocyaths are documented from Lower Cambrian outcrops and drillholes on Yorke Peninsula. South Australia. The older assemblage (11 species) occurs in the uppermost Kulpara Formation and conformably overlying basal Parara Limestone, and is equivalent to Lower Faunal Assemblage II in the Flinders Ranges. The younger assemblage (28 species plus Acanthhcyathus and Rodiocyathus) occurs in the Koolywurtie Member near the top of the Parara Limestone. Equivalent taxa are widespread in the Flinders Ranges, western New South Wales and Antarctica. Archaeocyathan distribution is now sufficiently well known to propose three assemblage zones and two informal assemblages for regional correlation. No new taxa have been added, but Erugatocyathus scutatus (Hill) and Pycnoidocyathus latiloculatus (Hill), hitherto known only from Antarctica, are found in the upper assemblage on Yorke Peninsula. Irregular archaeocyathan systematics are discussed, the ontogeny of Archaeopharetra irregularis (Tylor) clarified, and Kruseicnema Debrenne. Gravestock & Zhuravlev, represented by K. gracilis (Gordon), is fully described.     

Two new Middle Jurassic species of orthophlebiids (Insecta: Mecoptera) from Inner Mongolia,China

QIAO, X., SHIH, C.K. & REN, D., December 2012. Two new Middle Jurassic species of orthophlebiids (Insecta: Mecoptera) from Inner Mongolia, China. Alcheringa 36, 467–472. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two new species of the extinct family Orthophlebiidae, Orthophlebia nervulosa sp. nov. and Orthophlebia stigmosa sp. nov., are described and illustrated. These well-preserved specimens were collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation near Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China. Morphological characters shown in these well-preserved specimens highlight the diversity of orthophlebiids during the Middle Jurassic and provide data for future phylogenetic studies of orthophlebiids.     

Carnivores and their prey in the Wezmeh Cave (Kermanshah,Iran): a Late Pleistocene refuge in the Zagros

Wezmeh Cave is located on the northeastern edge of the Islamabad plain, a high intermontane valley in the western‐central Zagros. In 1999 a disturbed but large faunal assemblage was recovered from this site. The abundant and extremely diverse faunal spectra present at Wezmeh Cave has highlighted the importance of this assemblage. Carnivore remains constitute the bulk of the assemblage; red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has the highest number of identified specimens followed by spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), brown bear (Ursus arctos), wolf (Canis lupus), felids (lion, leopard, lynx/caracal and wildcat), mustelids (badger, polecat, marten) and viverrids (mongoose). Artiodactyls (bovid, cervid, suid), equids, rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sp.) and small animals (Cape hare, porcupine, tortoise, snake, birds) are also present. According to U‐series dating, the site was occupied from around 70 ka BP through to sub‐recent periods by carnivores. Amongst this rich assemblage, a human fossil tooth was also found and dated by non‐invasive spectrometry gamma dating to 20–25 ka BP. A preliminary zooarchaeological and taphonomic study shows that Wezmeh Cave was used by multiple carnivore species, a unique phenomenon in the Zagros Mountains in particular and southwest Asia in general. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two new species of Mesosciophilidae (Insecta: Diptera: Nematocera) from the Yanliao biota of Inner Mongolia,China

Wang, Q., Zhao, Y.Y. & Ren, D., December 2012. Two new species of Mesosciophilidae (Insecta: Diptera: Nematocera) from the Yanliao biota of Inner Mongolia, China. Alcheringa 36, 509–514. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two new species assigned to Mesosciophila Rohdendorf and Paramesosciophilodes Zhang in the Mesosciophilidae are described and illustrated: Mesosciophila sigmoidea sp. nov. and Paramesosciophilodes aequus sp. nov. They are established based on fossil specimens with bodies and complete wings. Both were collected from the Middle Jurassic, Jiulongshan Formation at Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China.     

New Early Triassic Lingulidae (Brachiopoda) genera and species from South China

Peng, Y. & Shi, G.R., June, 2008. New Early Triassic Lingulidae (Brachiopoda) genera and species from South China. Alcheringa 32, 149–170. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two new genera, Sinolingularia gen. nov. and Sinoglottidia gen. nov., together with three new species, Sinolingularia huananensis gen. et sp. nov., Sinolingularia yini gen. et sp. nov. and Sinoglottidia archboldi gen. et sp. nov., are described on the basis of a large collection of well-preserved specimens from several sections straddling the Permian – Triassic boundary in South China.     

Stone technology at the Middle Pleistocene site of Mata Menge,Flores, Indonesia

The stone technology from Mata Menge on Flores, Indonesia, is described, providing the first detailed analysis of the largest stone artefact assemblage from a stratified and securely dated Middle Pleistocene site in Southeast Asia. Technological analysis indicates a reduction sequence based on the centripetal, or “radial”, reduction of transported blanks. The implications for early hominin behaviour on Flores are considered.     

Account of an Informed Bat Exclusion at the Temple of Deir el-Shelwit,Luxor, Egypt

Abstract

The conservation of the painted Roman-era reliefs in the temple of Deir el Shelwit in Luxor, Egypt, was recently initiated by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE). As a critical step in a series of preliminary preventive conservation measures undertaken at the temple, a resident bat colony was excluded to control further deterioration of the painted reliefs and stone fabric (Figure 1). In consultation with a bat biologist, a comprehensive humane, low-tech emergency exclusion programme was designed and implemented, which included roost location, behavioural surveys, species identification, sealing of building openings, bat exclusion and the design of an alternate roost site. This programme may serve as a useful example for other conservation projects in Luxor, since it provides much-needed information on the behaviour of local bats, as well as relevant insights gained from the exclusion procedure.     

First record of Homoctenus (Tentaculitoidea,Homoctenida) from the Late Devonian of northwest Peninsular Malaysia

Meor, H.A.H., Yong, A.M., Zakaria, M.Z.Z. & Ghani, A.A., 2.6.2015. First record of Homoctenus (Tentaculitoidea, Homoctenida) from the Late Devonian of northwest Peninsular Malaysia. Alcheringa 39, 550–558. ISSN 0311-5518.

The homoctenid tentaculitoid genus Homoctenus is reported for the first time from Peninsular Malaysia. The fossils derive from the Upper Devonian Sanai Limestone, exposed in the state of Perlis, northwest Peninsular Malaysia. The fossils are closely related to Homoctenus tenuicinctus tenuicinctus and are described as Homoctenus sp. cf. H. tenuicinctus. The homoctenids were recovered from an interval containing a rich conodont assemblage, indicating a Frasnian age (Palmatolepis linguiformis Zone).

Meor Hakif Amir Hassan [meorhakif@um.edu.my], Yong Adilah Mustafa [yongadilah@gmail.com], Mohamad Z.Z. Zakaria [zulhafiszariq@siswa.um.edu.my], Azman A. Ghani [azmangeo@um.edu.my], Geology Department, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Received 12.4.2015; revised 27.5.2015; accepted 2.6.2015.     

Algae from Early and Middle Devonian limestones,tamworth belt,New South Wales,Australia

Eighteen genera of cosmopolitan marine algae are reported from Emsian and Eifelian limestones of New South Wales. Couvinianella, Paralitanaia, Perrierella, Pseudopalaeoporella and Renalcis are the most abundant taxa. Three distinctive floras are recognized: a prolific dasycladale-coccoid assemblage; a diverse udoteacean assemblage; and an undiversified udoteacean assemblage. None of these floras has a precise stratigraphic significance, although they indicate a latest Silurian-Middle Devonian age. Maslovina australense sp. nov. is described.     

An Assemblage of Collegiate Ceramics: Mid-Nineteenth Century Dining at Trinity Hall,Cambridge

A large assemblage of ceramics related to dining at Trinity Hall, in which many of the vessels were marked with the name and/or the crest of the college, was recovered during recent excavations undertaken at Newmarket Road, Cambridge. The material, which was produced c. 1845–77 and deposited c. 1877–80, indicates that three distinct dining services were employed by Trinity Hall at this time. In addition to shedding considerable light into dining at this mid- nineteenth century college, the assemblage also indicates how ceramics were employed to visually denote status differences within the college. Other material within the assemblage, allied with the location of its disposal, provides significant information on how the material moved between its contexts of use and deposition. This also allows insights into how such large assemblages may be categorized and interpreted.     

Conodont fauna and biostratigraphy of the Honghuayuan Formation (Early Ordovician) of Guizhou,South China

Serratognathus diversus An, Cornuodus longibasis (Lindström), Drepanodus arcuatus Pander, and eleven other less common conodonts, including Cornuodus? sp., Oistodus lanceolatus, Protopanderodus gradatus, Protoprioniodus simplicissimus, Juanognathus variabilis, Nasusgnathus dolonus, Paltodus? sp., Scolopodus houlianzhaiensis, Semiacontiodus apterus, Semiacontiodus sp. cf. S. cornuformis and Serratognathoides? sp., are described and illustrated from the Honghuayuan Formation in Guizhou, South China, concluding revision of the conodont fauna from this unit, which comprises 24 species in total. The most distinctive species in the fauna, S. diversus, consists of a trimembrate apparatus, including symmetrical Sa, asymmetrical Sb and strongly asymmetrical Sc elements. This species concept is supported by the absence of any other element types in a large collection represented by nearly 500 specimens of this species. The fauna indicates a late Tremadocian to mid-Floian age (Early Ordovician) for the Honghuayuan Formation, which was widely distributed on the Yangtze Platform in shallow water environments. Previously published biostratigraphic zonations for the Honghuayuan Formation are reviewed, and revised on the basis of our knowledge of the entire conodont fauna, supporting the establishment of three biozones, Triangulodus bifidus, Serratognathus diversus, and Prioniodus honghuayanensis biozones in ascending order. Species of Serratognathus enable correlation between Ordovician successions of South China, North China (North China Platform and Ordos Basin), Tarim Basin, and further afield into Malaysia and northwestern Australia.     

Miocene algae and spores from Tierra del Fuego,Argentina

Continental deposits of the Cullen Formation (early or middle Miocene) exposed on the northeast coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (southernmost Patagonia) are analyzed. Twenty-four taxa of algae, and bryophyte and pteridophyte spores are identified, including three new species, which are Anthocerisporis gandolfii sp. nov., Coptospora archangelskyi sp. nov. and Ophioglossisporites cullensis sp. nov. Sedimentologic and palynological data suggest a system of meandering water channels. The diverse and abundant spore assemblage reinforces the proposed paleoenvironment indicated by pollen assemblage and stratigraphy, consisting of humid temperate forests and local occurrences of bog, freshwater and near-shore lake communities.