Preferencje help
Widoczny [Schowaj] Abstrakt
Liczba wyników

Znaleziono wyników: 31

Liczba wyników na stronie
Pierwsza strona wyników Pięć stron wyników wstecz Poprzednia strona wyników Strona / 2 Następna strona wyników Pięć stron wyników wprzód Ostatnia strona wyników

Wyniki wyszukiwania

Wyszukiwano:
w słowach kluczowych:  fossil mammal
help Sortuj według:

help Ogranicz wyniki do:
Pierwsza strona wyników Pięć stron wyników wstecz Poprzednia strona wyników Strona / 2 Następna strona wyników Pięć stron wyników wprzód Ostatnia strona wyników
The rich and well-preserved bone material of six shrew species extracted from the filling of a karstic cavity near the town of Varshets (Prebalkan region, North Bulgaria) is described. The samples of Beremendia fissidens, Asoriculus gibberodon, Sorex cf. minutus and S. runtonensis represent relatively large forms of these species, while Petenyia hungarica does not grately differ from the other European populations. The Varshets record of S. runtonensis extends the stratigraphical range of the species into the Late Pliocene. The skull fragments determined as Mafia aff. csarnotensis show that this species has four upper antemolars; this number has not so far been known and the studied material contributes to the characteristic of this poorly known genus. The position of the Varshets assemblage within the context of the temporal and spatial variation of the species composition and structure of 23 Pliocene and Early Pleistocene shrew associations from Europe is assessed by correspondence analysis. The results point to a mosaic environment under a relatively warm and dry climate. On the basis of this analysis the ecological interpretation of Asoriculus gibberodon as a strict dweller in wet forests is questioned. The comparisons indicate that it tends to occur in shrew associations related to mosaic landscapes dominated by shrubby and open habitat patches.
10
Artykuł dostępny w postaci pełnego tekstu - kliknij by otworzyć plik
Content available

Counting premolars in early eutherian mammals

84%
The primitive number of premolars for most eutherian groups is four. A growing number of Cretaceous taxa, however, had five. Regardless of the hypothesis used to explain the discrepancy, or what the primitive condition was, it is generally agreed that the middle (third) tooth of five-premolared taxa is the one not represented in mammals that have only four premolars. Hence the current practice of labeling the teeth as the first through fifth and the first through fourth, depending on how many teeth are observed in the jaw, results in incorrect implied homologies for the last two premolars of the series. Given the long-standing tradition of referring to the premolars as the first through fourth, for most eutherian groups, together with the uncertainties involved in interpreting the difference, the most practical solution is to refer to the disputed tooth by a neutral term, 'Px', as advocated several decades ago.
Miocene fauna of land mammals is known from numerous fossil localities in western Europe but its remains are rare in the north-eastern part of this continent. The open brown coal mine at Bełchatów in central Poland revealed numerous remains of small and large mammals representing three Miocene biozones from MN4 to MN8/9. They indicate the presence of relatively stable subtropical conditions during all the time of the Miocene deposition in the Bełchatów basin with only slight cooling before the end of the sedimentation.
13
Artykuł dostępny w postaci pełnego tekstu - kliknij by otworzyć plik
Content available

Were mammals originally venomous?

84%
The extratarsal spur in extant monotremes consists of an os calcaris and a cornu calcaris. A poisonous extratarsal spur occurs only in the platypus (Ornithorhynchus); a possibly secondarily non−poisonous spur is present in echidnas (Tachyglossus and Zaglossus). Some therian mammals (e.g., bats), reptiles (Chamaeleo), and amphibians have a spur−like structure in the ankle, but this is not homologous to the extratarsal spur of monotremes. Among fossil mammals, the co−ossified os calcaris and ossified cornu calcaris have been found in the eutriconodontan Gobiconodon and in the spalacotheroid “symmetrodontan” Zhangheotherium. Here we describe the os calcaris in several multituberculate mammals from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. The multituberculate os calcaris is a large, flat bone, generally similar to that in males of the extant monotreme species, but the cornu calcaris is not ossified. In Gobiconodon and Zhangheotherium the ossified cornu calcaris is fused to the os calcaris probably to provide the bony support for the keratinous spur. We hypothesize that the os calcaris in these Mesozoic mammal groups is homologous to that of monotremes. However, the extratarsal spur has not been found in non−mammalian cynodonts nor in other synapsids. A platypus−like os calcaris might be an apomorphic characteristic of basal Mesozoic mammals and is secondarily lost in crown therians; the os calcaris is confirmed to be absent in well−preserved tarsal structures of the earliest known crown therian mammals. We speculate that the os calcaris, the cornu calcaris, and its associated venom gland might have served the function of a defensive structure during the “dark ages” of mammalian history, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. This structure is a plesiomorphic character retained in extant monotremes and cannot be used as an autapomorphy of Monotremata.
16
67%
The limb posture in early mammals is a matter of controversy. Kielan−Jaworowska and Gambaryan presented arguments for a sprawling posture in multituberculates, based mainly on three characters of the hind limbs (deep pelvis, mediolateral diameter of the tibia larger than the craniocaudal, and position of MtV, which fits the peroneal groove on the calcaneus and is not aligned with the axis of tuber calcanei). Here we present two more arguments for sprawling hind limbs in early mammals. One is the presence of an os calcaris, supporting the probably venomous spur in hind legs of docodontans, multituberculates, eutriconodontans, and “symmetrodontans”, similar to those of extant monotremes. We argue that early mammals (except for boreosphenidans) had sprawling limb posture and venomous spur; acquisition of the parasagittal stance was apparently characteristic only of boreosphenidans, in which the spur has not been found. The second argument is based on taphonomic evidence from lacustrine conditions (e.g., Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota), in which the mammalian skeletons, except for boreosphenidans (Sinodelphys and Eomaia), have been preserved compressed dorso−ventrally, suggesting sprawling stance. In similar conditions of the Eocene Messel Biota the skeletons of boreosphenidan mammals (except for bats and pangolins) are preserved lying on flanks, suggesting parasagittal stance. Sereno argued that forelimbs in multituberculates were parasagittal, based on the stated presence of a ventrally facing glenoid, a mobile shoulder joint, and an elbow joint with enhanced flexion−extension capability. However, these characters are not unequivocally indicative of parasagittalism. We demonstrate that the structure of the distal end of the multituberculate humerus is condylar, with no tendency for developing a trochlea. We reconstruct multituberculates and other early mammals with sprawling stance in resting position as plantigrade.
14 species of shrews and at least three of moles, five of water-moles, and one of hedgehogs are described from ten Pliocene and one Early Pleistocene localities of Romania. The systematic position of the above-mentioned taxa, their measurements, illustrations, and history of Lipotyphla in Romania are given.
Pierwsza strona wyników Pięć stron wyników wstecz Poprzednia strona wyników Strona / 2 Następna strona wyników Pięć stron wyników wprzód Ostatnia strona wyników
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.