The first European representative of the South American family Xenopteraidae (Insecta: Megasecoptera) discovered in the Guadalupian of Lodève (France)

NEL, A., LAPEYRIE, J. & GARROUSTE, R. May 6 2019. The first European representative of the South American family Xenopteraidae (Insecta: Megasecoptera) discovered in the Guadalupian of Lodève (France). Alcheringa 43, 436–440. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new genus, Sinitshenkovae gen. nov., is described, comprising the Carboniferous species Sinitshenkovae hueneckeni (Pinto & Pinto de Ornellas, 1978 Pinto, I.D. & Pinto de Ornellas, L., 1978. Upper Carboniferous insects from Argentina. 1. Familia Diaphanopteridae (Megasecopteroidea). Pesquisas (Zoologiat) 10, 87–95. [Google Scholar]) comb. nov. from South America and new Guadalupian species S. gallica sp. nov. from France. These two species are attributed to the Paleozoic South American family Xenopteraidae, a previously monospecific family only containing Xenoptera riojaensis Pinto, 1986 Pinto, I.D., 1986. Carboniferous insects from Argentina. 3. Family Xenopteridae Pinto nov. fam. (Megasecoptera). Pesquisas (Zoologia) 18, 23–29. [Google Scholar]. Sinitshenkovae gallica sp. nov. is therefore the youngest representative of this family and the only record outside South America, which suggests that our current knowledge of the palaeobiogeography of Permian and Carboniferous insects remains incomplete.

André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr] and Romain Garrouste [garroust@mnhn.fr], Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, 75005 Paris, France; Jean Lapeyrie [jean.lapeyrie@orange.fr], Corniche de Fontbonne, F-34700 Lodève, France.     

Wing venation and relationships of the order Glosselytrodea (Insecta)

Herrera, Y., Fernández, M.S. &; Gasparini, Z., 2013. Postcranial skeleton of Cricosaurus araucanensis (Crocodyliformes: Thalattosuchia): morphology and palaeobiological insights. Alcheringa 37, 1–14. ISSN 0311-5518.

The metriorhynchid crocodyliform Cricosaurus araucanensis (Gasparini &; Dellapé) has been documented from Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) strata of the Vaca Muerta Formation exposed in the Neuquén Basin, northwest Patagonia, Argentina. Postcranial components of this species were mentioned but not described in the original analysis. Subsequently, other authors described the forelimbs. The postcranial elements of metriorhynchids are poorly documented in comparison with their skulls, but new data from C. araucanensis reveal delayed ossification of the caudal neurocentral sutures indicating skeletal paedomorphosis affecting not only the appendicular skeleton but also the posterior region of the vertebral column. The morphology of the caudal region (transverse processes of the first caudal vertebrae ventrally deflected) and the reduction in the femur of the fourth trochanter suggest a reduction of the hypaxial musculature allowing increased epaxial musculature. This pattern of musculoskeletal arrangement is consistent with the swimming style and propulsion by lateral undulation of the tail, as proposed by previous authors.

Yanina Herrera [yaninah@fcnym. unlp.edu.ar], Marta S. Fernández [martafer@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar] and Zulma Gasparini [zgaspari@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, W1900FWA La Plata, Argentina, CONICET. Received 23.7.2012; revised 16.10.2012; accepted 22.10.2012.     

A new Middle Jurassic Chinese fossil clarifies the systematic composition of the Heterophlebioptera (Odonata: Trigonoptera)

Juraheterophlebia sinica, a new species of damsel-dragonfly, is described from the Middle Jurassic of China. Its fore- and hind wings in connection to the body allows comparison of the type genera of the families Erichschmidtiidae and Juraheterophlebiidae, respectively based on a forewing and a hind wing. Juraheterophlebiidae is a junior synonym of the Erichschmidtiidae. The new fossil confirms the previous attributions of Erichschmidtia and Juraheterophlebia to the clade Heterophlebioptera.     

Preservation assessment of Miocene–Pliocene tooth enamel from Tugen Hills (Kenyan Rift Valley) through FTIR,chemical and stable-isotope analyses

We investigated fossil tooth enamel of mammals and crocodiles from two Mio-Pliocene East-African formations (Lukeino and Mabaget Fms) using infrared spectroscopy and chemical and stable-isotope analyses. Infrared spectra indicate that the fossil enamel contains biological apatite (bioapatite), without significant secondary carbonate contaminations. Several empirical infrared indexes were used to analyze the crystal–chemical characteristics of enamel. Fossil enamel has less organic matter, water and structural carbonate of apatite than modern enamel with which it was compared. Fossil apatite has a better crystallinity than bioapatite. The calcium/phosphorus mass ratio and the fluorine content of fossil apatite show intermediate values between bioapatite and geological fluorapatite. The samples also display significant crystal-chemical variations, depending on the vertebrate group (mammals vs. reptiles) and the taphonomic context (Lukeino Fm vs. Mabaget Fm). In spite of these changes, no relationship was observed between the chemical contents (carbonate and fluorine) and the stable-isotope ratios of carbonate (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) in fossil enamel. Preservation of the palaeoenvironmental signals is strongly supported by the fact that the stable-isotope composition of the three investigated fossil mammalian taxa (deinotheres, equids and hippos) is consistent with their ecological features. For instance, typical C₃- and C₄-plant isotope compositions are reflected in the deinotheres and equids, respectively, and amphibious hippos display lower δ¹⁸O values than terrestrial herbivores, as expected.     

The State,the Rebel and the Chief: Public Authority and Land Disputes in Assam,India

Based upon an ethnographic study of two land disputes in the rural Assamese district of Karbi Anglong (India), this article challenges the idea that the entry of new institutional players, with their multiple sets of rules, inevitably leads to open institutional conflict. Although a wide range of political actors are involved in the regulation of land tenure in Karbi Anglong, they cannot be regarded as institutional structures ready to undercut one another. As in other parts of Northeast India, none of the claimants of public power involved —‘the state’, ‘the rebel’ or ‘the chief’— attain full sovereignty, which forces them to exercise authority predominantly through practices of negotiation and accommodation, and only selective contestation. If open institutional conflict does occur, as in the Dhansiri forest and the Singhason plateau cases studied here, this is due to the fact that one of the institutional players has overstretched and attempted to exercise authority beyond its realm of power. This article thus argues for a more agency‐oriented method of analysis in the study of land relations. The focus on everyday interactions between ‘the state’, ‘the rebel’ and ‘the chief’ in Karbi Anglong is a first attempt in that regard.     

L'Européen (1929-1940): A Cultural Review at the Heart of the Debate on European Identity

The notion of a United States of Europe, linked fairly closely as it was to the activities of the League of Nations, met with remarkable success in the early 1930s. This was due to several factors: the wave of pacifist opinion, which strove to render any new conflict impossible, to the search for a lasting solution to Franco-German antagonism, and to a growing perception of Europe's decline on the international economic and political stage. L'Européen, a review published in Paris between 1929 and 1940, participated fully in this intellectual movement, nourished also by an emerging consciousness of a European identity, by situating the European debate on a cultural level. Financed and led by Étienne Fougère, a Lyonnais parliamentarian and industrialist who was at the very crossroads of influences, milieux and networks, this periodical expressly targeted the international élites and actively campaigned for the economic organisation of Europe, for the defence of commercial interests by means of throwing open markets, and for the defence of a European model of society that was quite distinct from the American and Soviet blueprints.     

A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the Talbragar Fish Bed,New South Wales,Australia

Nel, A., Frese, M., McLean, G. & Beattie R., May 2017. A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica from the Talbragar Fish Bed, New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 41, 532–535. ISSN 0311-5518.

The discovery of a well-preserved dragonfly forewing in the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed near Gulgong and attributed to Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel allows this taxon to be placed in Protolindeniidae. It extends the palaeogeographical distribution of this family, previously known only from the Jurassic of Europe, to Australia.

André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], CNRS UMR 7205, CP 50, Entomologie, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005, Paris, France; Michael Frese [michael.frese@canberra.edu.au], University of Canberra, Institute for Applied Ecology and Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Mathematics, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia; Graham McLean [mcleangg@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Robert Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.     

A new Early Jurassic damselfly from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Odonata: Campterophlebiidae)

Nel, A. & Weis, R. March 2017. A new Early Jurassic damselfly from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Odonata: Campterophlebiidae). Alcheringa 00, 000–000. ISSN 0311-5518.

André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB-UMR 7205—CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, Entomologie, F-75,005, Paris, France; Robert Weis [rweis@mnhn.lu], Musée national d’histoire naturelle, Luxembourg, Section Paléontologie, 25, rue Münster L-2160 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.

Gallodorsettia kronzi gen. et sp. nov., the first representative of the damselfly family Campterophlebiidae from the Toarcian of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is described herein. Its closest relative is the genus Dorsettia, known from the early Lower Jurassic of UK and China. The Campterophlebiidae seem to be rare in the Early Jurassic of Western Europe, despite being one of the most diverse odonatan families at that time, especially in Asia.     

Un « Artiste Connaisseur» ? L’Expertise du Restaurateur Dans L’Institution Muséale à la Fin du XVIIIe Siècle

The conservator's expertise is defined in Paris in the museum at the end of the 18(th) century. On the one hand, this article analyses the competences claimed by the conservator in order to give proof of his expertise and to create a professional identity distinct from other implicated actors. On the other hand, this text shows how this expertise is constructed through the collaboration between the curator and the conservator, and underlines the negotiation and porosity of their respective fields of competence.