Rachel Thern
Kenneth De BaetsTo place these findings in a broader context, the newly reported assemblages were analyzed together with other Pleistocene assemblages across the IWP region (Indo-West #Pacific). Only weak geographic and temporal separation was detected, suggesting a relatively #cosmopolitan #community composition in #subtropical waters during the #Pleistocene, likely reflecting low temperature variability despite glacial–interglacial cycles.
Osipova & Lin describe a newly discovered Late #Pleistocene assemblage of pelagic gastropods from southern Taiwan. The assemblage comprises 14 #pteropod and eight #heteropod taxa, most representing the first fossil records of #holoplanktonic #gastropods from #Taiwan.
🌊 Late #Pleistocene pelagic #gastropods of southern #taiwan paleobiodiversity, first #fossil records, and regional affinity: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21046
@PeerJ
#Biodiversity #Biogeography #Paleontology #Taxonomy, #Zoology
@PeerJ
#Biodiversity #Biogeography #Paleontology #Taxonomy, #Zoology
Late Pleistocene pelagic gastropods of southern Taiwan: paleobiodiversity, first fossil records, and regional affinity
Holoplanktonic gastropods (pteropods and heteropods) are major components of modern Indo–West Pacific (IWP) plankton, yet their fossil record in this region remains sparse. Expanding the spatial and temporal coverage of fossil data is essential for reconstructing dispersal pathways of pelagic fauna within the IWP and understanding the origins of present-day diversity. Here, we describe a newly discovered Late Pleistocene assemblage of pelagic gastropods from southern Taiwan. The assemblage comprises 14 pteropod and eight heteropod taxa, most representing the first fossil records of holoplanktonic gastropods from Taiwan. We also evaluate variation in paleobiodiversity between depositional environments of the Szekou Formation. Species richness and density do not differ significantly between restricted and open lagoon settings, contrasting with patterns reported for benthic bivalves. To place these findings in a broader context, the newly reported assemblages were analyzed together with other Pleistocene assemblages across the IWP region. Only weak geographic and temporal separation was detected, suggesting a relatively cosmopolitan community composition in subtropical waters during the Pleistocene, likely reflecting low temperature variability despite glacial–interglacial cycles. Indicator species analysis further suggests a later arrival at higher latitudes for the pteropods Telodiacria quadridentata and Heliconoides inflata, which show associations with late Pleistocene sites, whereas Styliola subula displays a distribution resembling its modern range, being most closely associated with assemblages from Taiwan and southern Japan.
Hacker NewsInsights into firewood use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379126001824
#HackerNews #firewood #use #hominins #Middle #Pleistocene #archaeology #ancient #technology
Lukas VFN 🇪🇺African #frogs haven’t forgotten the ice ages. Scientists can tell by where they live https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/african-frogs-havent-forgotten-the-ice-ages-scientists-can-tell-by-where-they-live/ paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.73207
"the #CongoRainforest remained stable throughout the #Pleistocene ice ages. But as Earth’s #climate cooled and dried, the #Congo’s forest borders receded in some places, creating pockets of more or less stable forested areas called #refugia... they aligned with the modern diversity of frogs... & with the small distributions of #endemic species."
Marcus Brandel🦥🐴🐘🐪 #FossilFriday — A lower horse molar (SMM P2025.8.7) from Olmsted County is specimen 9 of 12 headed for radiocarbon dating.
Olmsted County has produced multiple Ice Age finds over the years, including several mammoth tusks and both mammoth and mastodon teeth from county gravel deposits—many of which I’ve posted about previously.
On Substack:
https://open.substack.com/pub/marcusbrandel/p/lost-bones-4-update-part-2
👇 What will the dates show—Ice Age or more recent?
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#Pleistocene #Equus #Paleontology #CitizenScience #RadiocarbonDating
SPAAM-communityWhat did #ancient #viral #ecosystems look like? 🦠🧬 Sedimentary #aDNA from lakes and oceans reveals 2,000+ viral taxa and shows how #virus–host interactions changed from the #Pleistocene to today.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrag025
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #sedaDNA
https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrag025
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #sedaDNA
#FossilFriday #MnMuseum highlight: Carver County Historical Society. Carver County’s past is on display, anchored by a mammoth molar amid exhibits on Indigenous history, agriculture, and military service.
The molar was found in 2000 at the W. Mueller & Sons gravel pit in Chaska, when Mori Willemsen’s clamshell dredge—dropping through 100 feet of water—hauled up a proboscidean tooth.
https://www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org/
#pleistocene #palaeontology #CitizenScience
Source: Chaska Herald, April 5, 2001, p. 1.
Radical AnthropologyReview of the European Middle #Pleistocene hominin record 'characterized by pronounced morphological variability and persistent taxonomic uncertainty'. Authors argue 'trait-by-trait approaches inflate phylogenetic fragmentation of the fossil record.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379126001605