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New species of Thylacocephala, Eodollocaris keithflinti n. gen., n. sp., from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte, Illinois, United States (c. 307 Ma) and redescription of other Mazon Creek thylacocephalans

Geodiversitas 43 (10)

Thylacocephala is an enigmatic ingroup of Euarthropoda. Thylacocephalans, only known from Palaeozoic and Mesozoic fossils, are characterized by a particular anatomy: a prominent folded shield enveloping most of the body, large compound eyes, three pairs of large, presumably raptorial appendages and a trunk with 8-22 stout segments bearing swimming appendages. However, lifestyle(s) and phylogenetic relationships of Thylacocephala are still largely unknown. This study is focused on thylacocephalans from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (c. 307 Ma, Middle Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous). A new species is described from a siderite concretion of Mazon Creek: Eodollocaris keithflinti n. gen., n. sp.

Turtle remains from the Early Cretaceous of Kut Island, Gulf of Thailand

Comptes Rendus Palevol 20 (19)

An isolated first costal turtle plate from the Early Cretaceous of Kut Island, Gulf of Thailand, is reported and assigned to Trionychoidae gen. et sp. indet. The morphology of the plate and comparison with turtle assemblages of the Khorat Group support the correlation of the vertebrates-bearing beds of Kut Island with the Sao Khua Formation, as already suggested by the studies on sharks and dinosaurs.

A new species of the genus Potentilla L. (Rosaceae) from the Tehran province (Iran)

Adansonia 43 (9)

Potentilla alborzensis Faghir & Attar, sp. nov. (Rosaceae) is collected from steppe Mountains of Tang-e Washi, in the middle of Alborz Mountains for the first time. The new species is related to section Aureae (Rydb.) Juz. for its palmate radical leaves, having straight hairs and glandular trichomes; corymbiform inflorescence; hairy and glandular sepals; clavate and papillose style, shorter than or as long as matured ovary. Detailed micro- and macromorphological descriptions of the newly collected species, as well as photographs and distribution map are provided. In addition, comparison of diagnostic traits with allied species especially P. crantzii (Crantz) Beck ex Fritsch, P. adenophylla Boiss. & Hohenack., P. gelida C. A.

A chrono-cultural reassessment of levels III-V from El Cuco rock-shelter: a new sequence for the late Middle Palaeolithic – early Upper Palaeolithic boundary in the Cantabrian region (northern Iberia)

Comptes Rendus Palevol 20 (18)

The Iberian Peninsula is one of the key areas for studying the last populations of Neanderthals and the arrival in Europe of the first anatomically modern humans. In the Cantabrian region, this process can be traced in just a few sites with levels dating to the final stages of the Middle Palaeolithic and the earliest phases of the Upper Palaeolithic. One of these singular enclaves is El Cuco rock-shelter, where the sequence was initially dated by ¹⁴C only to the early Upper Palaeolithic sensu lato. However, new studies and datings now place this archaeological sequence in the late Mousterian and the Aurignacian. In this article we present a chrono-cultural reassessment of the upper levels of El Cuco (III-V), including a study of the large mammals.

Stratégie d’acquisition de connaissance pour l’inventaire des ZNIEFF : exemple des Mollusques continentaux déterminants en région Pays de la Loire

Naturae 2021 (10)

The inventory of natural areas of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest (abbreviated by the acronym ZNIEFF) aims to identify and describe areas with high ecological value, based on the presence of trigger species (named “determinant species”) listed at the regional level. The mixed unit UMS PatriNat (OFB-CNRS-MNHN) mobilized the occurrence data of trigger species from the National Inventory of Natural Heritage (INPN) and the ZNIEFF inventory in order to evaluate the level of knowledge in existing ZNIEFF. This makes it possible to assess the level of consistency and completeness of the ZNIEFF inventory and identify, by their assembly in trigger species, the sectors with high biological value which are not yet taken into account by the current ZNIEFF network.

The canopy-forming alga Ericaria brachycarpa (J.Agardh) Molinari-Novoa & Guiry (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) shows seasonal and depth adaptation to the incoming light levels

Cryptogamie, Algologie 42 (6)

The shallow water canopy-forming alga Ericaria brachycarpa (J.Agardh) Molinari-Novoa & Guiry shows higher photosynthetic efficiency (α), maximum photosynthetic rates (Pmax), light at compensation (Ic) and dark respiration (Rd) in individuals collected at the lower depth limit of distribution of the species (20 m) than at shallower depths (2 and 10 m). Photosynthesis at saturation light levels (Psat) does not change in crossed transplants from 3 to 20 and from 20 to 3 m neither after 11 or 90 days. However, production at low light levels (Pb) increased in transplants from 3 to 20 m and decreased in transplants from 20 to 3 m after 90 days. Photosynthesis, both at high and low light levels increased from June to September.

Neotype designation and redescription of Sicus indicus Kröber, 1940 (Diptera: Conopidae)

Zoosystema 43 (11)

A neotype is designated for Sicus indicus Kröber, 1940, the original type material of which is lost. This species is accepted as valid (rev. stat.) and is redescribed and illustrated from material collected in the Kashmir Valley of the Western Himalayas of India. Sicus indicus is distinguished from other Sicus Scopoli, 1763 species primarily by the shape and configuration of the female theca, and also by the long ventral setulae on the hind femur which are otherwise only shared with the very dissimilar S. ferrugineus (Linnaeus, 1761). Two other species with very similar-looking thecae in the female, i.e. S. abdominalis Kröber, 1915 and S.

A new species of dog from the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Orce, Baza Basin, Spain)

Comptes Rendus Palevol 20 (17)

The site of Venta Micena (Orce, Spain), c. 1.6 Ma, preserves one the best paleontological records of the early Pleistocene large mammals fauna in Europe. Here we describe the specimens of the genus Canis Linnaeus, 1758 in the context of the late Villafranchian and Epivillafranchian fossil dogs from Eurasia. Anatomical and metric data suggest that the Venta Micena Canis form differs from the classical records of Canis etruscus Forsyth Major, 1877 and Canis arnensis Del Campana, 1913, and that it forms part of the younger Canis mosbachensis Soergel (1925) lineage, also recorded in two slightly younger sites of the Orce site complex, Barranco León and Fuente Nueva-3, dated to c. 1.4 Ma.

Doing the “dirty work”: how hunters were enlisted in sanitary rituals and wild boars destruction to fight Belgium’s ASF (African Swine Fever) outbreak

Anthropozoologica 56 (6)

In the early autumn of 2018, a virus as contagious as it is deadly, carried by wild boars (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) with the probable involvement of humans, crossed the Belgian border. African swine fever, which only affects suidae, is rapidly spreading in the forests of Gauma. The boar, whose status has gradually shifted from a regional emblem to a symbol of hunting abuses, finds itself abruptly transformed into a sanitary threat needing to be eliminated. The wild swine can contaminate its domestic cousin, the farmed pig (Sus domesticus Erxleben, 1777). Therefore, the spread of the virus would jeopardise the fragile Belgian pig farming sector concentrated in the north of the country.

Osteological atlas of new lizards from the Phosphorites du Quercy (France), based on historical, forgotten, fossil material

Geodiversitas 43 (9)

A long-forgotten, old collection of lizards from the Phosphorites du Quercy in southern France, housed in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna (NHMW), is described in detail in this paper. The material, consisting of several almost complete cranial and postcranial disarticulated elements, originates from different, imprecisely known localities. Nevertheless, the completeness and exceptional preservation of many of these specimens permitted the identification of new taxa, as well as the recognition and better understanding of novel anatomical features of previously described forms. Among the specimens, the material described herein and referred to Cadurcogekko cf. piveteaui ranks among the most complete cranial remains of Paleogene gekkotans.

A taxonomic review of the mygalomorph spider genus Linothele Karsch, 1879 (Araneae, Dipluridae)

Zoosystema 43 (10)

The neotropical diplurid spider genus Linothele Karsch, 1879 is reviewed. Three species of Linothele are newly described: Linothele septentrionalis n. sp. based on the absence of maxillary cuspules and presence of a sternal pattern; Linothele spinosa n. sp. based on the presence of preening-combs and its genital morphology; Linothele uniformis n. sp. based on its scopula, clypeus and genital morphology. Eight species names are newly synonymized: Linothele soricina (Simon, 1889) n. syn. is recognized a junior synonym of Linothele curvitarsis Karsch, 1879; Linothele bitaeniata (Mello-Leitão, 1941) n. syn. and Linothele nigerrima (Mello-Leitão, 1941) n. syn.