Microdictyon plates from the lower Cambrian Ajax Limestone of South Australia: Implications for species taxonomy and diversity

A small assemblage of isolated Microdictyon plates is described from the lower Cambrian Ajax Limestone, Mt Scott Range (Flinders Ranges), South Australia. Microdictyon plates are primarily known from single, isolated, perforated phosphatic sclerites; only one species (M. sinicum) from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte is known from soft-bodied preservation of the complete organism. The isolated plates from South Australia display a wide range of morphologies potentially reflecting: 1, considerable diversification within the group at this time; 2, extensive intraspecific morphological variation; 3, different plate morphotypes along the trunk of the animal; or 4, significant ontogenetic variation in successive growth stages. The South Australian specimens are similar to several individual sclerites described from other Cambrian palaeocontinents, but appear closest to faunas described from South China. Problems associated with the taxonomy of isolated Microdictyon plates are discussed, including the lack of knowledge associated with intraspecific and/or ontogenetic variability and how individual plate morphology may relate to size or relative position along the length of the complete organism.     

Plumulites and the machaeridian problem

Plumulites richorum sp. nov. is represented by two complete sclerite assemblages from Early Devonian strata of the Humevale Formation in a small quarry northeast of Kinglake West, Victoria. The completeness of these sclerite assemblages necessitates a revision of terminology applied to machaeridians. Moreover, the sclerite assemblages make it necessary to erect a new Family Plumulitidae and allow several deductions about the animal itself, namely: 1, there was a discrete head possibly with soft anterior projections; 2, there was considerable modification of sclerites and their arrangement near the head, indicating possible sexual dimorphism; 3, sclerites were almost certainly not rigidly attached to the soft parts of the animal. The material shows that Plumulites was neither an arthropod nor an echinoderm, but rather a vagile benthic animal probably belonging to the Annelida.     

Approaches in Post-Experimental Science. The Case of Precision Medicine**

In the introduction to his Spalt und Fuge, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger points to the possibility that we are currently experiencing a new turning point regarding forms of experimentation, which is characterized by the growing importance of high-throughput methods and big data analytics. This essay will explore the thesis that data-intensive research indeed constitutes a form of post-experimental research by interrogating research practices in precision medicine. Section 1 will introduce this thesis and highlight salient features of precision medicine as an example of post-experimental research. Section 2 suggests approach as a category that is broader than experimental system, as discussed by Rheinberger, and can serve to analyze and compare diverse forms of research, including experimental and post-experimental practices. The essay concludes with a reflection on how categories developed for the historiography of recent science might require an update when the science or its context changes (section 3).     

The beads of Indian Knoll

ABSTRACT

Busycon discs, barrels, rings, and columellas, Leptoxis and Prunum shell beads, and stone and coal beads from Webb and Moore excavations at Indian Knoll (15OH2) are discussed in this paper as the author seeks to determine how beads were deployed to convey social information during the Archaic period. After wrestling with the count of beads (ca. 27,337) and the number of burials (ca. 260) with beads, the types of beads are tallied and measurements given based on the author’s examination of beads. The presence and distribution of beads in the shell-bearing stratum and the hardpan, and their distribution among women, men, and subadults, are explored. The beads appear to have been assembled rather than manufactured as sets. An argument is made that shell beads were used at Indian Knoll as regalia for members of and victims of a hunt god/spirit cult. Leptoxis sashes are identified in 36 burials and discussed as regalia. Bead co-occurrence with atlatls, faunal species, and violent death is examined as part of the hypothesized cult rituals.     

Microflora of the H.Y.C. Pyritic Shale Member of the Barney Creek Formation (McArthur Group), middle Proterozoic of northern Australia

The H.Y.C. Pyritic Shale Member of the Barney Creek Formation (ca 1 500 my old; northern Australia) contains several stratiform base metal sulfide deposits of economic significance. Black cherts within these mineral deposits preserve a diverse assemblage of bacterial and algal microfossils. The assemblage differs from most other Precambrian biotas so far described in that it was deposited in deep water, it is not associated with stromatolites or algal mats, and it is dominated by filamentous bacteria, most of which are pyritized. Analysis of the assemblage suggests that the depth of the depositional basin exceeded that of the photic zone, that the bacteria inhabited the basin floor where they maintained anoxic conditions through heterotrophic degradation of detrital organic matter, and that the algae inhabited overlying near surface waters. Most of the algal fossils have been assigned to the Cyanophyta, although two of the described species are potentially referable to the eukaryotic green or red algae. Differences between this assemblage and other biotas described from the McArthur Group suggest that a workable system of biostratigraphic zonation for the Group is feasible.

Fossils in the H.Y.C. assemblage are here referred to 21 species and 16 genera, of which 14 species and 6 genera are new. The new taxa are: Bacteria, Biocatenoides incrustata sp. nov., B. pertenuis sp. nov., Ramacia carpentariana gen. et sp. nov., Coleobacter primus gen. et sp. nov., Ferrimonilis variabile gen. et sp. nov.; Chroococcales (Cyanophyta), Nanococcus vulgaris gen. et sp. nov., Bisacculoides tabeoviscus gen. et sp. nov., B. vacua gen. et sp. nov., B. grandis gen. et sp. nov.; Nostocales (Cyanophyta), Oscillatoriopsis schopfii sp. nov., Cyanonema inflatum sp. nov., C. minor sp. nov.; Incertae sedis, Clonophycus elegans gen. et sp. nov., Globophycus minor sp. nov. In addition, the new combination Gunflintia septata (Schopf) is proposed.     

Children's perceptions of the natural environment: a South African perspective

This qualitative study explored the ways in which adolescents perceive the natural environment. Focus group interviews were conducted with 32 participants between the ages of 13 and 14 attending a school in a low-income area in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The findings revealed five key meanings which emerged from the themes the participants discussed, i.e. nature as a threatened place, ‘culture of inconsideration’ towards nature, nature as external to the self, nature as the dangerous other, and intrinsic care for nature. Nature as the dangerous other persisted as an overarching meaning which emerged from the participants' responses. Thus, the participants perceived the natural environment through the lens of safety as natural areas in their community are characterised by crime, violence, and pollution.     

Pleistocene foraminifera from Botany Bay,New South Wales

Unconsolidated sediments from a borehole in Botany Bay have been analyzed for their foraminiferal content. Faunas from between 41 and 54 m below sea level are interpreted as Pleistocene in age. The foraminiferal assemblage from 54 m indicates marine conditions of moderately deep water (25–30 m), and a climate warmer than at present. The higher assemblages indicate a more brackish environment

The foraminifera, belonging to 123 species in 67 genera, are tabulated and 24 are discussed and illustrated. Three species, Oolina bifidocostata, Fissurina alatoquadrata and Elphidium botaniensis and one subpecies, Quinqueloculina affinis atrata, are described as new.     

A Note on Medieval Peasant Demography

Abstract

The deed and mortgage registries of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries provide a revealing glimpse into the property and power relations of a community. Who owned what? Who was in a position to broker land deals or liens against property? Who accumulated land, and from whom did they acquire it? Consequently, property records are essential elements for understanding the spatial and relational aspects of property holding, especially in rural areas where other sources, such as city directories or fire insurance maps, are not available. Drawing upon her research of African American landowners in Georgia, the author discusses the basics of deeds and mortgages. She describes likely findings in land records and defines common terms and practices. She argucs that the practice of identifying the race of a grantor or grantee, using (col) or less frequently C. P. to denote skin color, varied over time and by locality. Reasons for this practice are discussed and some interpretive rules are offered that may help identify the deeds and mortgages of African Americans when skin color is not noted.     

Vertebrate microremains from the presumed earliest Carboniferous of the Mansfield Basin,Victoria

The Agnostida are the most important part of the fauna of the Abbey Shales, which is the best-known middle St David's (Middle Cambrian) sequence in Britain. Revision of Illing's (1916) collections allows a correlation of the Paradoxides hicksii fauna with Westergaard's (1946) Ptychagnostus atavus-Tomagnostus fissus Zone, and the Paradoxides davidis fauna with Westergaard's Hypagnostus parvifrons Zone and Ptychagnostus punctuosus Zone (based on the Swedish sequence). A Metadiscus sp. is described. Six species of Condylopygidae are discussed, of which three show a pygidial ‘fringe’. Eleven species of Quadragnostinae, three of Ptychagnostinae (one showing a hypostome), and four of Tomagnostinae (including young growth-stages) are illustrated or discussed. Two species of Diplagnostidae, one species of Phalacroma and two of Phalagnostus are illustrated.     

Early astogeny in the Catenicellidae (Bryozoa,Cheilostomata)

Examples of early astogeny in the species Carinatocella harmeri (Stach), Costaticella hastata (Busk) and Claviporella aurita (Busk) are discussed. The primary zoid differs in each species and if found fossil, only in C. hastata could this zoid be recognised as a bryozoan fragment. Analogous development in other Bryozoa is discussed.     

Singultus foetalis and Dr. Alfons Mermann

During intrauterine life, hiccups are universally present, their incidence peaking in the third trimester. Alfons Mermann (1852–1908), a gynecologist from Mannheim, Germany, best known for having established the Luisenheim Woechnerinnenasyl [lying-in asylum] there in 1887, is viewed as the first physician to name and describe singultus foetalis [fetal hiccups] in a modern peer-reviewed scientific publication. This short report attempts to shed some light on the work of Dr. Mermann and to explore whether or not he was indeed the first to recognize this phenomenon.     

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.     

Metaceratodus kaopen comb. nov. and M. wichmanni comb. nov., two Late Cretaceous South American species of an austral lungfish genus (Dipnoi)

Cione, A.L. & Gouiric-Cavalli, S., June 2012. Metaceratodus kaopen comb. nov. and M. wichmanni comb. nov., two Late Cretaceous South American species of an austral lungfish genus (Dipnoi). Alcheringa 36, 203–216. ISSN 0311-5518.

Metaceratodus wollastoni, an Australian species, was reported from Upper Cretaceous beds of Patagonia in 1997. Later, three new species (Ceratodus wichmanni, Ptychoceratodus kaopen and Ptychoceratodus cionei), based on scarce material, were described from the same region. Two of these species were later referred to Ferganoceratodus. After examining much more abundant and better-preserved material, we conclude that neither the occurrence of Metaceratodus wollastoni nor those of Ptychoceratodus and Ferganoceratodus in the Cretaceous of South America are supported. We consider that C. wichmanni and P. cionei are synonyms and we reassign the three putative species to Metaceratodus under two new combinations: M. kaopen comb. nov. and M. wichmanni comb. nov. Both differ from the other species of the genus in having pits over most of the occlusal surface and a different occlusal profile of the tooth plate, and most have four ridges in the lower and upper tooth plates. Metaceratodus wichmanni differs from M. kaopen in oclussal profile, inner angle, and symphysis development among other features. Metaceratodus kaopen is known from the upper Santonian–lower Campanian Anacleto Formation of Río Negro province and M. wichmanni from upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian units of Chubut, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza provinces, Argentina. The occurrence of Metaceratodus in southern South America corroborates a close biogeographical relationship with Australia in the latest Cretaceous.

Alberto Luis Cione [acione@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar] and Soledad Gouiric-Cavalli [sgouiric@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, W1900FWA La Plata, Argentina. Received 23.11.2010, revised 11.7.2011, accepted 7.8.2011.

     

Significance of Claraia from the Late Permian of South Guizhou,China

Recently collectée material of two Claraia taxa, Claraia zhiyunica Yang et al, 2001 and Claraia sp. nov. from the Late Permian of South China, are described. Late Permian Claraia species are compared with those from the Early Triassic, and the survival of Claraia across the mass extinction period across the Permian- Triassic boundary (PTB) is discussed.     

Australian Cenozoic Bryozoa, 2: Free-living Cheilostomata of the Eocene St. Vincent Basin,S.A., including Bonellina gen. nov

Schmidt, R., March 2007. Australian Cenozoic Bryozoa, 2: Free-living Cheilostomata of the Eocene St. Vincent Basin, S.A., including Bonellina gen. nov. Alcheringa 31, 67-84. ISSN 0311-5518.

Free-living bryozoans are diverse in the Eocene sediments of the St. Vincent Basin, South Australia. They include Bonellina pentagonalis gen. et sp. nov., Otionellina sp. cf. O. exigua (Tenison Woods), Otionellina sp. cf. O. cupola (Tenison Woods), Tubiporella magna (Tenison Woods), Celleporaria nummularia (Tenison Woods), and an indeterminate species only found as moulds. This diversity and abundance is highest in the sediments representing the initial transgressive marine facies, where they occur in ‘sand fauna’ bryozoan assemblages (e.g. with Melicerita and Siphonicytara). Free-living bryozoans decrease up-section and are absent from latest Eocene sediments, indicating a significant environmental shift.

Rolf Schmidt [rschmid@museum.vic.gov.au], Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia; received 18.3.2005, revised 14.12.2005.     

First occurrence of Janospira from the Early Ordovician of Australia

Cavanosteus, a new genus of homostiid arthrodire, with C. australis (McCoy) as type species, is erected for new material from the Early Devonian (Emsian) of the Burrinjuck area, NSW. This new material compares closely with the holotype from Buchan, Victoria, identified as the central plates from the skull; it includes lower jawbones (infragnathals) lacking denticulation also closely similar to those of Homostius from the Middle Devonian of the Baltic Province and Scotland. The only bone from the dermal trunk armour referred to the new genus is an anterior dorsolateral plate. Relationships of other large Early Devonian arthrodires assigned to the family Homostiidae are discussed. Cavanosteus gen. nov. is probably the closest relative to the type genus known from the Early Devonian.     

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia and Age‐at‐Death at Medieval (11th–16th Centuries) St. Gregory's Priory and Cemetery,Canterbury, UK

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a macroscopically detectable band‐like dental defect, which represents localized decrease in enamel thickness caused by some form of disruption to a child's health. Such dental deformations are utilized in osteoarchaeological research as permanent markers of childhood physiological stress and have been extensively studied in numerous ancient human populations. However, currently there is no such data for medieval populations from Canterbury, UK. Here, LEH is examined in the context of age‐at‐death in human burials from the medieval St. Gregory's Priory and adjacent cemetery (11^th–16^th centuries), Canterbury, UK. The cemetery and Priory burials represented lower (n = 30) and higher status (n = 19) social groups, respectively. Linear enamel hypoplastic defects were counted on mandibular and maxillary anterior permanent teeth (n = 374). The age and sex of each skeleton were estimated using standard methods. Differences in LEH counts, age‐at‐death, and LEH formation ages were sought between the two social groups. Results indicate significantly greater frequencies of LEH in the Cemetery (mean = 17.6) compared to the Priory (mean = 7.9; t = −3.03, df = 46, p = 0.002). Adult age‐at‐death was also significantly lower in the Cemetery (mean = 39.8 years) compared to the Priory burials (mean = 44.1 years; t = 2.275, df = 47, p = 0.013). Hypoplasia formation ages differed significantly between the Priory (mean = 2.49 years) and Cemetery (mean = 3.22 years; t = 2.076; df = 47; p = 0.034) individuals. Results indicate that childhood stress may reflect adult mortality in this sample, and that the wellbeing of individuals from diverse social backgrounds can be successfully assessed using LEH analyses. Results are discussed in terms of the multifactorial etiology of LEH, as well as weaning‐related LEH formation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.