Description of the first fossil species of Bathynectes (Brachyura, Polybiidae) in the Badenian (middle Miocene) of the Medobory Hills (Ukraine, Central Parathetys), with remarks on its habitat ecology

The genus Ardea includes all living species of large herons. Brodkorb (1963) listed five fossil species of Ardea, and only one fossil species has since been described. Of these six, only two are unquestionably members of the genus Ardea. Ardea brunhuberi von Ammon, 1918, from the Upper Miocene Brown Coal Formation, Württemburg, Germany, was moved by Brodkorb (1980) to the Phalacrocoracidae as Phalacrocorax brunhuberi. Brodkorb (1980) considered A. lignitum Giebel, 1860, from the Sarmatian Brown Coal of Rippersroda, Thuringia, Germany, to be a large owl in the genus Bubo. Olson (1985) similarly regards A. perplexa from the Astaracian of Sansan, France, to be a large owl, possibly in the genus Bubo. The type of Ardea aureliensis Milne-Edwards, 1871, from the Oreleanian of Suevres, France, has never been illustrated or restudied and its affinities need to be confirmed (Olson, 1985). The valid fossil species are Ardea polkensis Brodkorb, 1955, from the late Hemphillian Bone Valley Mining District, Florida, and A. howardae Brodkorb, 1980, from the Plio/Pleistocene Shungura Formation, Omo Basin, Ethiopia. A large species of Ardea is also known from the late Clarendonian Love Bone Bed local fauna, Florida, but is based on material too fragmentary for specific identification (Becker, 1985). This note reports the earliest certain occurrence of Ardea now known.

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Middle Miocene fossil grasses from Fort Ternan, Kenya

Journal of Paleontology ◽

10.1017/s0022336000021223 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 113-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Daniel P. Dugas ◽

Gregory J. Retallack

Keyword(s):

Middle Miocene ◽

New South ◽

Single Species ◽

The United States ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Southeastern Australia ◽

South Wales ◽

Fourth Species ◽

Dry Woodland

At the well-known fossil mammal locality of Fort Ternan in southwestern Kenya, radiometrically dated at about 14 million years old (middle Miocene), fossil grasses have been preserved by nephelinitic sandstone in place of growth above a brown paleosol (type Onuria clay). Large portions of grass plants as well as fragments of leaves have revealed details of silica bodies, stomates, and other taxonomically important features under the scanning electron microscope. The computer database for grass identification compiled by Leslie Watson and colleagues was used to determine the most similar living grass genera to the five distinct kinds of fossil found. Two of the fossil species are assigned to Cleistochloa kabuyis sp. nov. and C. shipmanae sp. nov. This genus includes one species from low fertility dry woodland soils of New South Wales and Queensland and a second species from “raw clay soils” in western New Guinea. A third fossil species, represented by a large portion of a branching culm, is assigned to Stereochlaena miocenica sp. nov. This genus includes five species of low-fertility woodland soils in southeastern Africa. Both Cleistochloa and Stereochlaena are in the supertribe Panicanae of the subfamily Panicoideae. A fourth species is assigned to Distichlis africana sp. nov. and provides a biogeographic link between the single species of this genus now living in coastal grasslands in southeastern Australia and the 12 species of dunes and deserts found throughout the Americas from Patagonia and the West Indies to the United States and Canada. A fifth species is, like D. africana, in the subfamily Chloridoideae, but its stomata were not seen and it could belong to Cyclostachya, Pogoneura, or Polevansia. This earliest known wooded grassland flora in Africa is taxonomically unlike the modern grass flora of fertile volcanic African landscapes, and may have been recruited from an archaic grass flora of Gondwanan desert and lateritic soils.

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The Inachoididae spider crabs (Crustacea, Brachyura) from the Neogene of the tropical Americas

Journal of Paleontology ◽

10.1017/jpa.2021.91 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Daniel Lima ◽

Orangel Aguilera ◽

Marcos Tavares

Keyword(s):

Late Miocene ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Late Eocene ◽

Central American ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Fossil Species ◽

North Brazil ◽

Tropical America

Abstract The spider crabs Willinachoides santanai n. gen. n. sp. from the early-middle Miocene of north Brazil and Paradasygyius rodriguezi n. sp. from the late Miocene of Venezuela are described and illustrated. Additionally, Eoinachoides senni Van Straelen, 1933, from the late Oligocene–early Miocene of Venezuela, is redescribed based on photographs of the holotype, and the diagnosis of Eoinachoides latispinosus Carriol, Muizon, and Secretan, 1987, from the late Miocene of Peru, is emended also on the basis of photographs of the holotype. The past distribution points to a Tethyan background for the current amphi-American Inachoididae, with the oldest fossil species known from the early Eocene Tethyan regions (Pakistan and Italy), and from the late Eocene–late Pliocene of the Americas. The high number of monotypic genera in Inachoididae could be the result of rapid dispersion followed by diversification during the Neogene of the tropical America, facilitated by global and regional events (e.g., eustatic sea level changes, the Mi-1 Oligocene-Miocene boundary global cooling, the global warming period of the Middle Miocene Climate maximum, closure of the Panama Isthmus, and marine incursions into the Amazon Basin). The shoaling and final closure of the Central American Seaway are thought to have critically affected the evolution of the inachoidids and shaped their current distribution patterns. UUID: http://zoobank.org/6275fdc4-4bfa-4873-9320-3143d4915172.

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Functional and morphometric analysis of a middle Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia, Peramelemorphia) skeleton from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia

10.7287/peerj.preprints.3393 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Karen H Black ◽

Kenny J Travouillon ◽

Troy J Myers ◽

Michael Archer ◽

Suzanne J Hand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Middle Miocene ◽

World Heritage ◽

Axial Skeleton ◽

Appendicular Skeleton ◽

Regression Equations ◽

Crown Group ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Fossil Taxon ◽

World Heritage Area ◽

Heritage Area

Peramelemorphia comprises four families: the extant Peramelidae (bandicoots), and Thylacomyidae (bilbies); the recently extinct Chaeropodidae (pig-footed bandicoot); and the extinct Yaralidae; with at least ten fossil species of uncertain familial affinity designated as Perameloidea incertae sedis. Extant taxa (18 species) are characteristically omnivorous, small to medium sized (0.1-4.9 kg) semi-fossorial/fossorial marsupials with a quadrupedal bounding gait. They occupy varied habitats from desert to rainforest in Australia and New Guinea. Fourteen pre-Pliocene taxa are currently described on the basis of cranial and/or dental material, yet none is known from its postcranial skeleton. Here we use qualitative morphological and morphometric data to analyse a partial skeleton of a new species of bandicoot from a middle Miocene cave deposit, AL90 Site, in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. AL90 has been radiometrically dated at 14.7-15.1 Ma, however the species is abundant in numerous early to middle Miocene deposits at Riversleigh The AL90 specimen preserves the skull and dentaries, the fore-and hindlimbs, and elements of the manus, pes and axial skeleton. The species is estimated to have weighed approximately 300g (based on predictive marsupial craniodental regression equations) which is comparable among extant bandicoots to Perameles bougainville (Western barred bandicoot). Unlike modern species, the appendicular skeleton of the fossil taxon is less well-adapted for scratch-digging and fossorial behaviours. A striking contrast is the relatively elongate, gracile bones of the antebrachium of the fossil taxon compared with the generally short, robust forearm of modern bandicoots. Collectively, our data indicate a more generalized niche for this species than crown group peramelemorphians and may support suggestions that archaic bandicoots filled an ecological niche later dominated by small dasyurids during the late Cainozoic.

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Three new fossil records of Equisetum (Equisetaceae) from the Neogene of south-western China and northern Vietnam

PhytoKeys ◽

10.3897/phytokeys.138.38674 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 138 ◽

pp. 3-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aye Thida Aung ◽

Jian Huang ◽

Truong Van Do ◽

Ai Song ◽

Jia Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Late Miocene ◽

Yunnan Province ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

Western China ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Late Pliocene ◽

Northern Vietnam ◽

Fossil Records ◽

Fibrous Roots

Three fossil species of Equisetum (Equisetaceae) were reported from the Neogene of south-western China and northern Vietnam, based on well-preserved rhizomes with tubers. Equisetum cf. pratense Ehrhart from the middle Miocene of Zhenyuan County, Yunnan Province, China is characterised by a bunch of three ovate tubers with longitudinal ridges on the surface. Equisetum yenbaiense A.T. Aung, T. Su, T.V. Do & Z.K. Zhou, sp. nov. from the late Miocene of Yenbai Province, Vietnam is characterised by four bunches of elongate tubers arranged in a whorl on a node. Equisetum yongpingense A.T. Aung, T. Su & Z.K. Zhou, sp. nov. from the late Pliocene of Yunnan is characterised by fibrous roots on most nodes and two to four bunches of large cylindrical tubers arranged in a whorl on a node. Floristic assemblages suggest that these species might have grown near a riverside or lakeshore. These new fossil records improve our understanding of species richness of Equisetum and their distribution range during the Neogene in Asia.

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Functional and morphometric analysis of a middle Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia, Peramelemorphia) skeleton from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Australia

10.7287/peerj.preprints.3393v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Karen H Black ◽

Kenny J Travouillon ◽

Troy J Myers ◽

Michael Archer ◽

Suzanne J Hand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Middle Miocene ◽

World Heritage ◽

Axial Skeleton ◽

Appendicular Skeleton ◽

Regression Equations ◽

Crown Group ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Fossil Taxon ◽

World Heritage Area ◽

Heritage Area

Peramelemorphia comprises four families: the extant Peramelidae (bandicoots), and Thylacomyidae (bilbies); the recently extinct Chaeropodidae (pig-footed bandicoot); and the extinct Yaralidae; with at least ten fossil species of uncertain familial affinity designated as Perameloidea incertae sedis. Extant taxa (18 species) are characteristically omnivorous, small to medium sized (0.1-4.9 kg) semi-fossorial/fossorial marsupials with a quadrupedal bounding gait. They occupy varied habitats from desert to rainforest in Australia and New Guinea. Fourteen pre-Pliocene taxa are currently described on the basis of cranial and/or dental material, yet none is known from its postcranial skeleton. Here we use qualitative morphological and morphometric data to analyse a partial skeleton of a new species of bandicoot from a middle Miocene cave deposit, AL90 Site, in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. AL90 has been radiometrically dated at 14.7-15.1 Ma, however the species is abundant in numerous early to middle Miocene deposits at Riversleigh The AL90 specimen preserves the skull and dentaries, the fore-and hindlimbs, and elements of the manus, pes and axial skeleton. The species is estimated to have weighed approximately 300g (based on predictive marsupial craniodental regression equations) which is comparable among extant bandicoots to Perameles bougainville (Western barred bandicoot). Unlike modern species, the appendicular skeleton of the fossil taxon is less well-adapted for scratch-digging and fossorial behaviours. A striking contrast is the relatively elongate, gracile bones of the antebrachium of the fossil taxon compared with the generally short, robust forearm of modern bandicoots. Collectively, our data indicate a more generalized niche for this species than crown group peramelemorphians and may support suggestions that archaic bandicoots filled an ecological niche later dominated by small dasyurids during the late Cainozoic.

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A re-examination of the angiosperm wood record from the early and middle Miocene of Turkey, and new species descriptions

10.35535/acpa-2021-0004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 42-94

Author(s):

Ünal Akkemik

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

Riparian Areas ◽

Warm Climate ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Thin Sections ◽

New Information ◽

Species Descriptions ◽

Warm Temperate ◽

Forest Engineering

The early and middle Miocene in Turkey was characterised by a warm climate and a diversified and rich vegetation. Many fossil angiosperm genera have been identified from this period. The present study re-examined previously identified genera and identifed new samples of angiosperm wood remains. The studied material included thin sections housed at the Department of Forest Botany, Division of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, and also new ones. Twelve new species are described: Liquidambaroxylon efeae Akkemik sp. nov., Eucarpinoxylon kayacikii Akkemik sp. nov., Ostryoxylon gokceadaense Akkemik sp. nov., Quercoxylon yaltirikii Akkemik sp. nov., Cryptocaryoxylon grandoleaceum Akkemik sp. nov., Fraxinoxylon beypazariense Akkemik sp. nov., Prunoidoxylon prunoides Akkemik sp. nov., Populoxylon sebenense Akkemik sp. nov., Salicoxylon galatianum Akkemik sp. nov. Aceroxylon aceroides Akkemik sp. nov., Ulmoxylon kasapligilii Akkemik sp. nov. and Zelkovoxylon crystalliferum Akkemik sp. nov. In addition, four previously described species are documented for the early and middle Miocene: Pistacioxylon ufukii Akkemik and I. Poole, Fagoxylon radiatum Süss, Laurinoxylon litseoides Süss and Platanoxylon catenatum Süss and Müller-Stoll. In addition to the species descriptions, identification keys are given for all the genera recognised in this study, including all currently known fossil species of the respective fossil genera. These keys hold important new information, as they place the fossil species from Turkey in a wider taxonomic and biogeographic context. The results show that in the early and early-middle Miocene of Turkey a rich woody flora existed in well-drained upland or lowland and riparian areas. This flora comprised subtropical taxa along with warm-temperate taxa indicative of seasonality of rainfall as well as transitions to xeric conditions in the early Miocene.

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Critical review of fossil record of Ranina Lamarck, 1801 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Raninidae), with description of Tethyranina n. gen.

Natural History Sciences ◽

10.4081/nhs.2018.359 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giovanni Pasini ◽

Alessandro Garassino

Keyword(s):

Critical Review ◽

Fossil Record ◽

Type Species ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

Valid Species ◽

Middle Pleistocene ◽

Ryukyu Islands ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Doubtful Species ◽

Definition Of

Pasini and Garassino (2017a) revised the fossil record referred to Ranina Lamarck, 1801 by Karasawa et al. (2014). As result only four species were considered as possible valid species within Ranina: R. palmea E. Sismonda, 1846, R. pellattieroi De Angeli and Beschin, 2011, R. propinqua Ristori, 1891, and R. ranina (Linnaeus, 1758). These species are herein revised and discussed, based on updated observations and critical review of the fossil materials and on a re-definition of the main diagnostic proxy characters sensu Schweitzer (2003) of the type species R. ranina (Linnaeus, 1758). This review allows us to establish that R. ranina from the middle Pleistocene of Ryukyu Islands (Japan) and R. palmea from the middle Miocene of Italy have consistent proxy characters with the extant Ranina to be considered as valid species within the genus. Moreover, Tethyranina n. gen., with T. propinqua (Ristori, 1891) n. comb., is herein proposed to accommodate this questionable fossil species previously assigned to Ranina. Finally R. pellattieroi De Angeli and Beschin, 2011, lacking the typical characters of Ranina, is considered as a doubtful species within Ranininae.

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A new species of Parasycorax and new records of Sycorax (Diptera: Psychodidae, Sycoracinae) from southern Brazil

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4691.1.10 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4691 (1) ◽

pp. 89-92

Author(s):

LUCAS ROSSITO ◽

LUIZ CARLOS PINHO

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

New Records ◽

Neotropical Region ◽

The Philippines ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Fossil Species ◽

Burmese Amber ◽

Extant Species ◽

A New Species

Sycoracinae is a subfamily of Psychodidae, currently with 45 extant species (Curler & Jacobson 2012; Santos et al. 2013) classified in three genera: Sycorax Haliday in Curtis; Parasycorax Duckhouse and Aposycorax Duckhouse (Duckhouse 1972; Young 1979). Sycorax comprises a majority of this diversity with 40 extant species, 15 of which are recorded from the Neotropical region (Curler & Jacobson 2012; Santos et al. 2013). Four fossil species of Sycorax have also been described (Curler & Jacobson 2012), including one from middle Miocene Amazonian amber (Petrulevičius et al. 2011). In contrast, Parasycorax includes only four extant species; three from South America and one from the Philippines (Santos et al. 2009) and a fossil species from Cretaceous Burmese amber (Stebner et al. 2015). Here we describe a new species of Parasycorax and provide an updated key to males of all extant and fossil species of the genus. In addition, Sycorax bravoi Santos, Ferreira & Falqueto and Sycorax espiritosantensis Santos & Bravo are recorded for Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil.

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