Late Silurian pentameride brachiopods from Yass and Molong,New South Wales

The five known species of pentameride brachiopods from the Yass Syncline Ludlow (LateSilurian) succession, belonging to the superfamilies Pentameroidea, Gypiduloidea and Clorindoidea, are fully revised; no new species are recognised. The pentameroids Conchidium sp. cf. hospes and Aliconchidium yassi are confined to the Bowspring Limestone Member (Silverdale Formation). The gypiduloid Ascanigypa glabra and externally homeomorphic clorindoids Barrandina wilkinsoni and Clorinda minor replace them in the overlying Barrandella Shale Member, the last two extending into the Yarwood Siltstone Member (Black Bog Shale). Clorinda minor is also possibly present in the Rainbow Hill Member (Rosebank Shale). All except C. minor are uncommon to rare components of the Yass brachiopod fauna. Clorinda molongensis, a species of uncertain mid- to late Silurian age from the Molong Limestone, is also revised. Aliconchidium and Barrandina are known only from Yass, whereas Clorinda is cosmopolitan. Conchidium alsois widespread, but C. hospes is a species from the Prague Basin probably also known from the Urals and the Tien Shan. Ascanigypa is another Prague Basin taxon, recently recognised in Arctic Canada.     

THE PRIORITY OF LARGE CITIES IN ZIPF RANK-SIZE RULE SYSTEMS

The author seeks to establish possible reasons for differences in the rates of growth of towns within urban systems with rank-size regularities. It is shown that a system follows Zipf s law if the growth of population N _i of the towns of the system follows the regularity M(ΔN _i )/N _i ～ (In N _i - c) where M is the mathematical expectation, ΔN _i is an increment of Ni over a short period of time, ～ stands for “directly proportional,” and c is a constant.     

The Late Cambrian trilobite Hamashania from Korea

The Late Cambrian trilobite genus Hamashania Kobayashi, 1942a has hitherto been poorly understood and is herein revised based on well-preserved specimens from Korea. Platysaukia Kobayashi, 1960 and Goumenzia Guo & Duan, 1978 are treated as junior synonyms of Hamashania. Hamashania comprises only two species, H. pulchera Kobayashi, 1942a and Pterocephalus busiris Walcott, 1905, and is restricted to North Chinaand Korea. The new genus Pacootasaukia is proposed to accommodate the Australian species Platysaukia jokliki Shergold, 1991 as type species, and Platysaukia tomichi Shergold, 1991, which are so distinct that they cannot be included within Hamashania. The generic concept of Mareda Kobayashi, 1942b, which was often confused with Hamashania, is confined to the type material.     

Early Carboniferous Siphonodella (Conodonta) faunas from eastern Australia

Early to Middle Tournaisian conodont faunas with Siphonodella from ten sections in eastern Australia, between Gloucester in New South Wales and Rockhampton in Queensland, may be referred to the following ‘standard’ zones; 1 sulcata, 2 upper duplicata, 3 sandbergi, 4 lower crenulata and 5 isosticha-upper crenulata, in ascending order. In eastern Australia the first occurrences of Gnathodus cuneiformis, G. delicatus, G. typicus and Protognathodus cordiformis, near the base of the lower crenulata zone, are significantly earlier than in Europe and North America. Consequently the base of the isosticha-upper crenulata zone in eastern Australia is defined by the first appearance of G. punctatus rather than that of G. delicatus. On the present evidence it is difficult to reconcile some brachiopod and conodont occurrences in the Early-Middle Tournaisian of eastern Australia.

Seventeen discrete conodont species are discussed, four of which are described informally: Dinodus sp. nov. A, Dinodus sp. nov. B, Pinacognathus sp. nov. A, and a species of Siphonodella transitional between S. cooperi and S. crenulata.     

Graptolite fauna of the Hungshihyen Formation (Early Ordovician), eastern Yunnan,China

Ordovician graptolite-bearing strata in eastern Yunnan were deposited in nearshore, shallow-water environments. Graptolites are systematically described from three sections through the Hungshihyen Formation in eastern Yunnan Province, China: (1) Hongshiya section near Ercun village, Kunming; (2) Liujiang section, Luquan; and (3) Guihuaqing Reservoir section, Luquan. The graptolite fauna, characterized by the predominance of deflexed forms, includes ten species in two genera: Baltograptus turgidus (Lee), B. varicosus (Wang), B. yunnanensis (Li), B. calidus (Ni), B. enshiensis (Ni), Baltograptus sp. cf. B. deflexus (Elles & Wood), Baltograptus sp. cf. B. bolivianus (Finney & Branisa), Baltograptus sp. A, Baltograptus sp. B and Corymbograptus v-fractus minor (Li). A detailed morphological study of these southern Chinese graptolite faunas suggests that Baltograptus wudingensis (Li) is a junior synonym of B. turgidus (Lee); Baltograptus kunmingensis (Ni) is a junior synonym of B. varicosus (Wang); and Baltograptus triangulatus (Ni) is a junior synonym of B. yunnanensis (Li). The B. varicosus Biozone is newly recognized within the middle part of the Hungshihyen Formation, replacing the former Didymograptus deflexus Biozone. This interval is well correlated to the Baltograptus jacksoni Biozone in Britain, the Tetragraptus akzharensis, ‘Baltograptus cf. deflexus’ and Didymograptus bifidus (lower part) biozones in NW Argentina (eastern Cordillera), and the Acrograptus filiformis and Didymograptellus eobifidus biozones in northern Guizhou, South China. Accordingly, the interval is of mid-Floian age, rather than late Floian as previously proposed.     

Late Precambrian algal megafossils Chuaria and Tawuia in some areas of eastern China

Chuaria is widespread in Late Precambrian deposits throughout the world. In China it has been found in the Jingeryu Formation of Jixian County, Tianjin, and in its equivalents in eastern China including the Nanfen Formation of Liaoning and Jilin Provinces, and the Liulaobei Formation of Anhui Province. In the latter, Chuaria is associated with the genus Tawuia which Hofmann (in Hofmann & Aitken, 1979) described as algae of undertermined affinity and which is based on material from Canada. The glauconitic sandstone directly resting upon Chuaria-bearing greyish-green shale of the Jingeryu Formation in Jixian County has a K-Ar age of 0.899 Ga. This paper describes C. circularis Walcott, T. dalensis Hofmann and T. sinensis n. sp., and discusses the morphology, biological and taxonomic affinities, and age and geographic distribution of Chuaria. Because of the association of Chuaria and Tawuia in the Mackenzie Mountains, Canada, and also in the area of Shouxian County, Anhui Province, China, it is considered that Chuaria and Tawuia probably have close affinities. According to their general morphology and occurrence, both may be marine planktonic multicellular algae.     

Transient fluid flow in and around a fault

We present the results of simple numerical experiments in which we study the evolution with time of fluid flow around and within a permeable fault embedded in a less permeable porous medium. Fluid movement is driven by an imposed vertical pressure gradient. The results show that fluid flow is controlled by two timescales: τ_f = Sl²/κ_F and τ_F = Sl²/κ_M, where S is the specific storage of the porous material, l the length of the fault, and κ_M and κ_F are the hydraulic conductivities of the porous material and the fault, respectively. Fluid flow and the associated fluid pressure field evolve through three temporal stages: an early phase [t < τ_f] during which the initial fluid pressure gradient within the fault is relaxed; a second transient stage [τ_f < t < τ_F] when fluid is rapidly expelled at one end of the fault and extracted from the surrounding rocks at the other end leading to a reduction in the pressure gradient in the intact rock; a third phase [t < τ_F] characterized by a steady‐state flow. From the numerical experiments we derive an expression for the steady‐state maximum fluid velocity in the fault and the values of the two timescales, τ_f and τ_F. A comparison indicates excellent agreement of our results with existing asymptotic solutions. For km‐scale faults, the model results suggest that steady‐state is unlikely to be reached over geological timescales. Thus, the current use of parameters such as the focusing ratio defined under the assumption of steady‐state conditions should be reconsidered.     

Umkomasia (megasporophyll): part 1 of a reassessment of Gondwana Triassic plant genera and a reclassification of some previously attributed

The genus Umkomasia, a megasporophyll, belonging to the pteridosperms (seed ferns) in the family Umkomasiaceae (Corystospermaceae), is reassessed comprehensively worldwide. All previous records are analysed. Certain fertile structures previously attributed are reclassified. Umkomasia is shown to be restricted to the Triassic of Gondwana where it is associated with the genus Pteruchus, a microsporophyll, and the genus Dicroidium, a vegetative leaf. It is well represented from Argentina, Australia and southern Africa where the Molteno Formation is by far the most comprehensively sampled with eight species described. Two specimens from the upper Permian of India attributed to Umkomasia are reclassified as cf. Arberiopsis sp. A whorled fertile structure from Antarctica, previously assigned to Umkomasia, is reclassified in a new genus as Axsmithia uniramia. Another compression fossil and the permineralized Umkomasia resinosa remain as valid records from Antarctica. The material described as Umkomasia from the Triassic of China is reclassified as Stenorachis asiatica. The Lower Jurassic record from Germany is placed in a new genus as Kirchmuellia franconica. The records of Umkomasia sp. from the Rhaetic of Germany are reclassified as cf. Kirchmuellia sp. and the single specimen from the Jurassic of Libya as genus et sp. indet. The Lower Cretaceous record from Mongolia has been reclassified by other researchers as Doylea mongolica. A pictorial key to Umkomasia species is provided, geographic and stratigraphic distributions are tabulated.     

Ordovician stromatoporoids from Tasmania

The Hunter Siltstone near Grenfell, New South Wales, contains a rich Upper Devonian fish fauna including the sinolepid Grenfellaspis and the new antiarchs Bothriolepis grenfellensis sp. nov. and Remigolepis redcliffensis sp. nov. Bothriolepis grenfellensis sp. nov. is the first bothriolepid species described from N.S.W., and R. redcliffensis sp. nov. is the first species of Remigolepis described from Australia. Traditionally, the Hunter Siltstone was considered to be uppermost Famennian or earliest Carboniferous in age based on the presence of Grenfellaspis, and the related taxon Sinolepis, which is known from the Wutung and Sanmentan formations of southeastern China. However, available data indicates the Hunter Siltstone may be early Famennian in age. Ongoing work suggests that all Famennian Bothriolepis from N.S.W., including B. grenfellensis, possess a trifid preorbital recess, but differ in other aspects of headshield morphology. In North China, the Famennian Zhongning Formation contains six species of Remigolepis and a species of Sinolepis. However, R. redcliffensis does not show any similarity to these species beyond those of Remigolepis as a whole.     

Microflora of the middle Proterozoic Balbirini Dolomite (McArthur Group) of Australia

New genera of the Spiriferidae are described from the Permian sequences of the Carnarvon, Canning and Bonaparte Gulf Basins of Western and northwestern Australia. New taxa described are Latispirifer gen. nov. with type species Latispirifer callytharrensis sp. nov. and Latispirifer amplissimus sp. nov.; Costatispirifer gen. nov. with type species Costatispirifer gracilis sp. nov.; Cratispirifer gen. nov. with type species Cratispirifer nuraensis sp. nov. and Crassispirifer gen. nov. with type species Spirifer rostalinus Hosking (1931) and Crassispirifer pinguis sp. nov. The holotype and only extant specimen of Spirifer kimberleyensis Foord (1890) is re-examined and is assigned to Crassispirifer gen. nov. with a query.     

Petroleum type determination through homogenization temperature and vapour volume fraction measurements in fluid inclusions

Physical parameters of petroleum‐bearing fluid inclusions such as bulk density (ρ), molar volume (V_m), vapour volume fraction (?_vap) and homogenization temperature (T_h) are essential information to model petroleum composition (x) in inclusions and to reconstruct palaeotemperature and palaeopressure of trapping. For the main petroleum types contained in a fluid inclusion, we can follow how ?_vap and T_h are simultaneously influenced by a change of bulk density in a ?_vap versus T_h projection. We have correlated T_h and ?_vap for different petroleum compositions for a large range of bulk density values. However, postentrapment events under new pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions can greatly modify the initial fingerprints of physical conditions and chemical composition of fluid inclusions. Re‐equilibration is frequent, especially in the case of fragile minerals. Stretching and leakage phenomenon have been simulated using the Petroleum Inclusion Thermodynamics (pit ) software, from virtual petroleum inclusions with known hydrocarbon composition. The aim of these simulations is to understand how ?_vap and T_h evolve with these re‐equilibration phenomena, with respect to the oil composition. Results of stretching simulations show a characteristic increase of T_h and ?_vap along correlation curves, with the curve shape dependent on petroleum composition. Leakage simulations show an increase of T_h and a smaller increase or even a decrease in ?_vap. Consequently, the better preserved inclusions in a given population can be presumed to be those that have the lowest T_h. Applications of T_h and ?_vap measurements of natural inclusions in calcite and in quartz showed that the fragility of the host mineral is a key factor allowing the recording of post‐entrapment events. Inclusions that have stretched or leaked are identified and the best preserved inclusions selected for evaluation of P–T–x trapping conditions. Moreover, petroleum types trapped in inclusions can be identified from ?_vap and T_h measurements without compositional modelling.     

Some New Vergilian Loci and Second Thoughts on Old Ones*

I. The text of Ecl. 3.100–102 is discussed and evaluated: quam is defended against quom and Cartault’s proposal [1897. Étude sur les Bucoliques de Virgile. Paris: Armand Colin] Hisce cutes – not adopted by editors and hardly visible in later apparatus critici, but recommended as worthy of attention by Heyworth [2015. “Notes on the Text and Interpretation of Vergil’s Eclogues and Georgics.” In Virgilian Studies. A Miscellany Dedicated to the Memory of Mario Geymonat [Studia Classica et Mediaevalia 10], edited by H.-C. Günther, 195–249. Nordhausen: Traugott Bautz] – is both brilliant and necessary. II. Based on grammar and context the abl. risu at Ecl. 4.60 is taken as modal: “Begin, little boy, to recognize (get to know) your mother with your smile”; then the final lines (62–63) must be restored to comply with Quintilian’s figura in numero (9.3.8) as qui risere (plural) followed by hunc “such a one” (singular); this change in number is shown to be in accordance with the use of a generalizing hic to denote quality. – III. At G. 2.22 I propose quos … vias construing reperire with two accusatives. – IV. At G. 2.266–268 I furnish parallels for similem … et as “like to” supporting Heyworth’s mutata … semina. – V. Rejecting my earlier position on A. 9.462–464 I now give a repentant vote in favour of Conte’s punctuation [2009. P. Vergilius Maro. Aeneis [Bibliotheca Teubneriana]. Berlin: De Gruyter] while at the same time adding an argument in its favour.     

Trying to Make Sense of Catullus 67

This reading is based on the assumption that the first five lines deal with the following three members of a Veronese family: (I) the younger Balbus (nato 5 identified by viro 1 and Caecilius 9), (II) his father, the older Balbus (parenti at 1 and senex at 4), and (III) the wife of Balbus the younger seen as the main target of the poem (the marita of 6 and, paradoxically, the virgo of 19); the assumption is that virgo is a reference to the sexual incapacity of a former husband from her time in Brixia. Badian's conjecture pacta (6) is defended, and two conjectures are proposed: incestus for illius (23) and quaerendu’ vir unde (27).     

AGA,AMIO AND LOTO: PERSPECTIVES ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE SELF IN SAMOA

The article concerns the Shore/Freeman controversy about the terms aga and amio. Shore sees aga as the Samoan category for ‘culture’ and amio as the category for ‘nature’ in the Hobbesian sense. Freeman says that Shore has his terms backwards. I argue that Freeman is correct in his assertion that aga cannot be equated with ‘culture‘. However, Freeman wrongly defines aga as innate essence. In fact aga is the term for identity, which in Samoa is external and social. Amio is best understood as a derivative of that part of the self which Samoans call the loto and which we call subjectivity.     

White and Coloured Marbles of the Roman Town of Urbs Salvia (Urbisaglia,Macerata, Marche,Italy)

The results of an archaeometric study concerning the coloured stones and 14 white marble sculptures found in the ancient city of Urbs Salvia (Urbisaglia, Macerata) – one of the main Roman archaeological sites of the Marche region (east central Italy) – are presented here. Data show the presence of the most important decorative stones used by the Romans, originating in all of the Mediterranean provinces, from Egypt and North Africa to Asia Minor, Greece, Gallia, Iberia and Italy. Thirty‐one different coloured lithotypes have been identified, including red and green porphyries as well as marmor phrygium and numidicum, namely the four most expensive stones cited in Diocletian's edict. Crustae of marmor chium, taenarium, chalcidicum, scyreticum, lucullaeum and sagarium also feature. Another significant presence is that of coloured stones that are generally rare, even in Rome and Ostia, such as cipollino mandolato (which is very abundant at Urbs Salvia, more than anywhere outside Gallia), broccatello di Spagna, alabastro a pecorella, lapis ophytes, brecciated facies of marmor iassene and cottanello antico. Worthy of mention, too, is the abundant presence of so‐called Roman breccia from Lez (Upper Garonne valley, French Pyrenees), a stone never reported outside Gallia. The 14 marble sculptures analysed come from public and private buildings of the Roman city and are now exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Urbisaglia. Our petrographic and isotopic analyses show that they are made of Lunense (five), Pentelic (three), Parian lychnites (three), Thasian (three) and Proconnesian (one Corinthian capital) marbles. The quality of the coloured stones identified, together with the presence of sculptures made of precious imported white marble varieties, reveals an opulent town and a local patronage wishing to decorate public buildings and rich houses with the most sought‐after marbles of Rome.     

Entropy vs. human ontogeny: the Shannon information measure; a reliable general indicator of human health?

ABSTRACT

A measure of health based on exact sciences is not considered by social sciences to evaluate human development. We propose the H measure of information of Shannon ([1948]. “A Mathematical Theory of Communication.” The Bell Systems Technical Journal 27 (3): 379–423, 623–656), renamed as H _cto , as a general indicator of human health which can be subsequently aggregated at any statistical level. Several advantages of H _cto are explained: (i) connections with thermodynamics and information theory; (ii) combination of physical and statistical elements; (iii) measurements of entropy and/or information depending on the reference point, and (iv) a collection of examples based on the scientific literature that supports the application of H _cto . Simplified graphical models of the ontogeny of health condition are also shown. The empirical feasibility of using H _cto is also analysed, by concluding that it could be a tangible reality in the near future.     

A review of the Quaternary Tayassuidae (Mammalia,Artiodactyla) from the Tarija Valley,Bolivia

Five successive events can be widely recognized in the Tremadoc to early Arenig graptolite sequences of the world: 1, appearance of Dictyonema flabelliforme s.l. at the base; 2, appearance of Anisograptus; 3, appearance of Clonograptus and/or Adelograptus; 4, appearance of Temnograptus, Kiaerograptus, large Clonograptus and Tetragraptus; and 5, appearance of Tetragraptus approximatus at the base of the Arenig. The five events are used as a basis for distinguishing 5 successive graptolite assemblages and for correlating Tremadoc sequences. The most precisely and confidently correlated horizon is that of event 5, the appearance of T. approximatus; the next best is that based on event 4. Derivation of the biradiate Anisograptids, Clonograptus, and Adelograptus, from their presumed ancestor, Dictyonema flabelliforme, now appears to have passed through a stratigraphically, if not phyletically, intermediate stage represented by the triradiate Anisograptus, Triograptus and Bryograptus.     

Bat cave and Hobbit hole,microbats of Liang Bua (Flores,Indonesia)

Liang Bua is a limestone cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia. Palaeontological and archaeological excavations at this site have unearthed one of the best insular records of fossil bats to date. The assemblage is numerically dominated by the horseshoe bat species Rhinolophus euryotis, followed by the leafnosed bat Hipposideros diadema. In addition to these species, remains of Rhinolophus simplex, Hipposideros sp. cf. H. sumbae, Murina sp. aff. M. florium, Taphozous sp., Kerivoula sp. and Miniopterus sp. have also been recovered. Two taxa found in Liang Bua, Rhinolophus euryotis and Miniopterus sp., are not apparent in the modern bat fauna of Flores. Some specimens, found during the more recent excavations, are known from specific depths. Two age-groups are represented. The stratigraphically oldest is 74–61 ka and includes Murina sp. aff. M. florium and Rhinolophus euryotis. Conversely, the younger, Holocene, assemblage is much more diverse. Despite the relatively small amount of microbat material collected thus far, it displays a higher diversity than the rodents from the site. This is presumably related to the better dispersal ability of bats relative to other, non-volant mammals.