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Language Spanish journal of palaeontology. 2017. Vol. 32, no. 2
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- Geological context and micromammal fauna characterisation from the karstic infilling of La Pedrera (Albaida, Valencia, E Spain)(2020) Fagoaga, Ana; Molina, Francisco Javier; Crespo, Vicente D; Laplana, César; Marquina, Rafael; Ruiz Sánchez, Francisco JavierLa Pedrera is a new palaeontological site located south of the province of Valencia, between the Betic and Iberian Ranges, in a cavity filled with sediments inside a tufa formation. Roughly 260 fossil remains, corresponding to 14 taxa, have been recovered and studied from Unit III. Six rodents (Microtus sp., M. sp. gr. M. (Terricola) duodecimcostatus-lusitanicus, Microtus sp. gr. M. brecciensis-cabrerae, Arvicola sapidus, Eliomys quercinus, and Apodemus sp. gr. sylvaticusfl avicollis), one lagomorph (Oryctolagus cf. cuniculus), three insectivores (Soricinae indet., Crocidura sp., and Talpa cf. europaea) and four bats (Myotis blythii, Rhinolophus cf. ferrumequinum, Myotis bechsteinii, and Rhinolophus euryale) have been identified. The relative chronology obtained by means of the identified species and geological information suggests that this part of the cavity was filled with sediments during the Late Pleistocene or the beginnings of the Holocene. Furthermore, Mutual Ecogeographic Range method and Habitat Weighting method show colder and wetter conditions than in Albaida (Valencia, Spain) nowadays
- Revisión taxonómica de “Testudo” gymnesica Bate, 1914 (Testudines, Testudinidae) a partir de la descripción del material tipo de Menorca (Islas Baleares)(2020) Luján, Ángel H; Alcover, Josep Antoni; Ivanov, Martin; Torres, Enric; Alba, David MEl conocimiento sobre las tortugas gigantes fósiles de Europa se ha incrementado considerablemente en los últimos años y ha comportado la descripción del género Titanochelon para incluir a las especies del Neógeno europeo. Sin embargo, la inclusión de la tortuga gigante de las Islas Baleares, “Testudo” gymnesica, en este género se ha llevado a cabo solo de forma tentativa. Con el objetivo de aclarar el estatus taxonómico y la posición filogenética de esta especie, en este artículo describimos y figuramos en detalle su material tipo (lectotipo y paralectotipos), procedente de Menorca, junto con algunos restos inéditos no incluidos en la descripción original. Las notables diferencias postcraneales que presenta esta especie con respecto a Titanochelon spp. arrojan aún mayores dudas sobre su inclusión en este género. Un análisis cladístico no resuelve sus relaciones filogenéticas. Algunos de los rasgos particulares observados en el espaldar y en los huesos del esqueleto postcraneal de la tortuga fósil de Menorca son atribuibles a su evolución en condiciones de insularidad, lo que dificulta la determinación de sus relaciones filogenéticas con respecto a las especies continentales. Provisionalmente nos referimos a la especie de manera tentativa como aff. Titanochelon gymnesica. En el futuro, un estudio detallado del material inédito de Menorca, con énfasis en el caparazón, debería permitir una diagnosis enmendada de la especie, así como determinar de manera más definitiva su correcta adscripción genérica.
- New metric products, movies, and 3D models from old stereopairs and their application to the in situ palaeontological site of Ambrona(2020) Valle, José M; Rodríguez, Álvaro; Martínez, Rosa; Pérez, Pablo; Uceda, Sendra; Lopetegi, Ane3D modelling tools from photographic pictures have experienced significant improvements in the last years. One of the most outstanding changes is the spread of the photogrammetric systems based on algorithms referred to as Structure from Motion (SfM) in contrast with the traditional stereoscopic pairs. Nevertheless, the availability of important collections of stereoscopic registers collected during past decades invites us to explore the possibilities for re-using these photographs in order to generate new multimedia products, especially due to the fact that many of the documented elements have been largely altered or even disappeared. This article analyses an example of application to the re-use of a collection of photographs from the palaeontological site of Ambrona (Soria, Spain). More specifically, different pieces of software based on Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms for the generation of 3D models with photographic textures are tested and some derived products such as orthoimages, video or applications of Augmented Reality (AR) are presented.
- Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the stratigraphic unit Xb of El Salt (Middle Palaeolithic; Alcoy, Spain): palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic implications(2020) Marquina, Rafael; Fagoaga, Ana; Crespo, Vicente D; Ruiz Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Bailon, Salvador; Hernández, Cristo M; Galván, BertilaThe locality of El Salt (Middle Paleolithic, Alcoy, Spain) is mainly known by having one of the youngest Neanderthals records of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. In this work, we have analysed the herpetofaunal fossils from the upper part of stratigraphic unit Xb, dated at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka (MIS 3). The faunal list is composed by three taxa of anurans (Alyte obstetricans, Bufo bufo s.l., and Epidalea calamita), one taxon of blanid (Blanus cinereus s.l.), two taxa of lizards (Chalcides bedriagai and cf. Acanthodactylus erythrurus), and one taxon of snakes (cf. Rhinechis scalaris). All of them have a broad distribution range in the Mediterranean, with wide ecological preferences range. This association of amphibians and reptiles from the Unit Xb suggests a slightly warmer and more humid climate than the current one; with an annual temperature range less accused and a similar seasonality of the rainfall than it is recorded nowadays in Alcoy. These results may correspond to a warm period (Daansgard-Oeschger event) during the MIS 3. A landscape composed by bushland and forest patched in which some open areas were present, with presence of permanent water bodies in the nearby areas, would characterize the surroundings areas of El Salt.
- Study of the morphological affinity between two species of benthic foraminifera from restricted environments: Rosalina douvillei (Cushman, 1928) and Trichohyalus aguayoi (Bermúdez, 1935)(2020) Giner-Baixauli, Alicia; Usera, Juan; Guillem, JordiA biometric comparison is carried out on selected tests of the foraminiferal species Rosalina douvillei (Cushman, 1928) and Trichohyalus aguayoi (Bermúdez, 1935). The Rosalina douvillei specimens were recovered from the marginal marine Oligocene/Miocene site of Rüssingen (Mainz Basin, Germany), the lacustrine beds of the lower Miocene site of Buñol (Valencian Community, Spain) and the middle/ upper Miocene site of Fuendetodos (Aragón, Spain). The Trichohyalus aguayoi tests were collected in the current coastal lagoon of Torreblanca and recovered from Holocene cores sampled in the Peñíscola marsh and in the coastal lagoon of l’Albufera de València, all them in the Valencian Community (Spain). In addition, the chronostratigraphic and geographical distribution of both species is also summarized. Trichohyalus aguayoi and Rosalina douvillei share many morphological characteristics but the measured specimens of Trichohyalus aguayoi are characterized by generally larger sizes, narrower and more elongate chambers and a higher number of chambers in the outer whorl. The Rosalina douvillei specimens from Fuendetodos are as large as Trichohyalus aguayoi and show particularly high chamber size increase rates but also few and less elongate chambers in the last whorl. The number and shape of chambers in the last whorl seem thus to be controlled at least in part by hereditary factors. The morphological affinity between the two species probably constitute an example of convergence derived from similar environmental conditions but further research is required to discard phylogenetic proximity.
- Characterization of coelacanth scales from the Early Cretaceous freshwater locality of Las Hoyas, upper Barremian (Cuenca, Spain)(2020) Martín-Abad, Hugo; Newbrey, Michael G; Woolfolk, Frances; Blanco-Moreno, CandelaCoelacanths are rare, mostly marine fishes, but the species from the Lower Cretaceous Spanish locality of Las Hoyas (Barremian) is a freshwater form and we know almost nothing about it. The Las Hoyas specimens are very rare and relatively incomplete, but there are still many things we can learn from the isolated skeletons and scales. First, the coelacanth scales were distinguished from other superficially similar scales (i.e., other “amioid” scales). Coelacanth scales are distinguished by the presence of a smooth central surface, a particular pattern of arrangement of concentric growth cessation marks, and mainly a relatively short posterior field with thick elongated ridges. Only a few articulated coelacanth specimens have been recovered from Las Hoyas to date, and only 7.3% (n = 11) of the total isolated scales are coelacanth. The Las Hoyas coelacanth scales represent relatively large individuals. This suggests that a natural population of the coelacanth may have not inhabited permanently the freshwater pool represented by the excavated area of Las Hoyas because small juveniles should be the most common sizes.
- El anélido Rotularia spirulaea (Lamarck, 1818) (Polychaeta, Serpulidae) de las margas del Eoceno de la Cuenca de Pamplona (Navarra): microestructura, tafonomía y paleoecología(2020) Elorza, Javier; Astibia, HumbertoEn este trabajo se reconoce la presencia de numerosos fósilesdel anélido serpúlido Rotularia spirulaea (Lamarck, 1818) en las formaciones Areniscas de Ardanatz y Margas de Ilundain del Eoceno (Bartoniense y (?) Priaboniense) de la Cuenca de Pamplona (Navarra). Se estudian las diferentes capas de la microestructura prismática calcítica de su tubo. El tubo está constituido por una capa externa (1) gruesa, compuesta por tres zonas en continuidad entre ellas y otra capa interna (2), de una extrema delgadez y siempre delimitando el lumen. R. spirulaea muestra una notable plasticidad ecofenotípica. La morfología trocoespiral, trocoespiralplaniespiral o planiespiral de los ejemplares podría estar relacionada con las características del sustrato –sin cohesión, medianamente cohesionado o cohesionado, respectivamente–, que condicionarían la capacidad de soportar al organismo durante su ontogenia. La disposición del tubo de R. spirulaea durante el estadio trocoespiral sería recostada. Superada esta etapa, podía pasar a una forma planiespiral, con la formación de una carena o quilla estabilizadora hasta adquirir, de forma gradual, una posición vertical dentro del sustrato fangoso. Es a partir de este estadio, cuando se formaría la parte desenrollada del tubo que, a modo de chimenea, sobresaldría parcialmente del sedimento. La cavidad del tubo (lumen) habitualmente está rellenada por sedimento y/o cementada por cristales de calcita con tres etapas reconocibles y con ejemplos de texturas geopetales, que vendrían a apoyar la idea de una posición de vida vertical en la madurez de los individuos
- Estudio paleontológico de los bivalvos (Mollusca) del Tortoniense superior de Arroyo Trujillo, Cantillana (Sevilla)(2020) Cárdenas, Joaquín; Bajo, Idelfonso; Maestre, M VicenteEn este trabajo se actualiza la estratigrafía y se estudia la comunidad de bivalvos fósil del yacimiento Arroyo Trujillo (Cantillana, Sevilla) en la zona central de la Cuenca del Guadalquivir. Se ha realizado una nueva columna estratigráfica, y en ella se diferencian cuatro tramos correspondientes al Complejo Basal Transgresivo del Tortoniense superior. Han sido identificados 132 taxones de bivalvos, diez de los cuales se citan por primera vez en la península Ibérica. Se analiza la distribución de estas especies en los diferentes tramos estratigráficos del yacimiento. Esta comunidad de bivalvos se ha comparado con las de otros yacimientos, corroborando la similitud con el yacimiento de Cacela, Portugal. El estudio de las especies fósiles nos permite conocer condiciones de salinidad normal y clima subtropical-tropical
