Dendroid multicellular thallophytes preserved in a Neoproterozoic black phosphorite in southern China

Du, W., Wang, X.L., Komiya, T., Zhao, R. & Wang, Y., April 2016. Dendroid multicellular thallophytes preserved in a Neoproterozoic black phosphorite in southern China. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new form of dendroid multicellular thallophyte is documented in the Ediacaran Doushantuo phosphorite at Weng’an, Guizhou Province, southern China. The dendroid thallophytes have variable forms, possibly owing to heteromorphic variation. Many lateral branches extend from the upper portions of the main axes; the lateral branches bear terminal vegetative vesicles, reproductive vesicles, monosporangium-like discoidal vesicles and urn-shaped pseudoparenchymatous structures. The vegetative vesicles give rise to clavate pseudoparenchymatous structures, characterized by differentiation of the thallus medulla/cortex, which might represent an early stage of thallus development. An oogamous conceptacle arising from one carpogonial vesicle forms a highly specialized goblet-shaped conceptacle. The discovery of the new dendroid multicellular thallophytes provides not only the first fossil-based evidence of the morphological complexity and tissue differentiation in the Precambrian organisms but also insights into the life cycle of the Precambrian red algae.

Wei Du* [duwei@ea.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp], School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, PR China; Xun Lian Wang [wxl@cugb.edu.cn], School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, PR China; Tsuyoshi Komiya [komiya@ea.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp], Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan. Ran Zhao [zhao_ran13@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp], Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. Yue Wang [gzyuewang@126.com], School of Resources and Environments, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, PR China. *Also affiliated with Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.     

Late Islamic water collection systems on Failaka Island: Preliminary results of the Kuwait–Georgian Archaeological Mission in 2018–2019

Archaeological investigations on Failaka Island, conducted by the Kuwait–Georgian Archeological Mission, have recorded a variety of sites dating from different time periods, from the Bronze Age to the late Islamic/modern period. The largest proportion of recorded sites consist of late Islamic seasonal settlement structures found in the north-eastern part of the island. It is possible that they were connected to fishing and associated activities such as stock-farming and agriculture, which is confirmed by the results of palynological analysis. These sites are divided into two chronological phases: one from the seventeenth to eighteenth century and the second from the nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century. In 2018, excavations at the water collection systems within these settlements began. The results gathered so far indicate that there were two kinds of well structures. The first are interpreted as shallow filtration well pits; the second are deep wells used for collecting water from deep underground. Both systems were used to collect rainwater, which was then filtered and stored. Marine and freshwater forms of algae were found in the basal sediments of the pits, which offers evidence for the accumulation and filtration of water.