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Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins5–7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes8. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade.

Three main creationist claims that deny the scientific nature of evolutionary theory are refuted: that it is not falsifiable, predictive, or observable. It demonstrates that evolution is falsifiable since improbable findings could challenge it, and discrepancies in data drive further research. The evolutionary theory is also predictive and retrodictive, as evidenced by Darwin's confirmed predictions about pollinators and the discovery of marsupial fossils in Antarctica. Moreover, evolution is observable and testable, with numerous documented cases of adaptation and natural selection. In conclusion, evolution meets scientific criteria and has been consistently validated, thus refuting creationist assertions., Se refutan tres principales alegatos creacionistas que niegan la cientificidad de la teoría evolutiva: que no es falsable, predictiva ni observable. Se demuestra que la evolución es falsable, ya que hallazgos improbables podrían desafiarla y discrepancias en datos motivan nuevas investigaciones. La teoría evolutiva también es predictiva y retrodictiva, como lo evidencian las predicciones confirmadas de Darwin sobre polinizadores y los fósiles de marsupiales en la Antártida. Además, la evolución es observable y experimentable, con numerosos casos documentados de especiación. En conclusión, la evolución cumple con los criterios científicos y ha sido consistentemente validada, refutando así las afirmaciones creacionistas.

Neanderthal genomes have been recovered from sites across Eurasia, painting an increasingly complex picture of their populations’ structure that mostly indicates that late European Neanderthals belonged to a single metapopulation with no significant evidence of population structure. Here, we report the discovery of a late Neanderthal individual, nicknamed “Thorin,” from Grotte Mandrin in Mediterranean France, and his genome. These dentognathic fossils, including a rare example of distomolars, are associated with a rich archeological record of Neanderthal final technological traditions in this region ∼50–42 thousand years ago. Thorin's genome reveals a relatively early divergence of ∼105 ka with other late Neanderthals. Thorin belonged to a population with a small group size that showed no genetic introgression with other known late European Neanderthals, revealing some 50 ka of genetic isolation of his lineage despite them living in neighboring regions. These results have important implications for resolving competing hypotheses about causes of the disappearance of the Neanderthals.

Neanderthal genomes have been recovered from sites across Eurasia, painting an increasingly complex picture of their populations’ structure that mostly indicates that late European Neanderthals belonged to a single metapopulation with no significant evidence of population structure. Here, we report the discovery of a late Neanderthal individual, nicknamed “Thorin,” from Grotte Mandrin in Mediterranean France, and his genome. These dentognathic fossils, including a rare example of distomolars, are associated with a rich archeological record of Neanderthal final technological traditions in this region ∼50–42 thousand years ago. Thorin's genome reveals a relatively early divergence of ∼105 ka with other late Neanderthals. Thorin belonged to a population with a small group size that showed no genetic introgression with other known late European Neanderthals, revealing some 50 ka of genetic isolation of his lineage despite them living in neighboring regions. These results have important implications for resolving competing hypotheses about causes of the disappearance of the Neanderthals.

Ontocetus is one of the most notable extinct odobenines owing to its global distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Originating in the Late Miocene of the western North Pacific, this lineage quickly spread to the Atlantic Ocean during the Pliocene, with notable occurrences in England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Morocco and the eastern seaboard of the United States. Reassessment of a pair of mandibles from the Lower Pleistocene of Norwich (United Kingdom) and a mandible from the Upper Pliocene of Antwerp (Belgium) that were referred to as Ontocetus emmonsi reveals existences of features of both Ontocetus and Odobenus. The presence of four post-canine teeth, a lower canine larger than the cheek-teeth and a lower incisor confirms the assignment to Ontocetus; simultaneously, characteristics such as a fused and short mandibular symphysis, a well-curved mandibular arch and thin septa between teeth align with traits usually found in Odobenus. Based on a combination of these characters, we describe Ontocetus posti, sp. nov. Its mandibular anatomy suggests, a better adaptation to suction-feeding than what was previously described in the genus suggesting that Ontocetus posti sp. nov. likely occupied a similar ecological niche to the extant walrus Odobenus rosmarus. Originating from the North Pacific Ocean, Ontocetus most likely dispersed via the Central American Seaway. Although initially discovered in the Lower Pliocene deposits of the western North Atlantic, Ontocetus also left its imprint in the North Sea basin and Moroccan Plio-Pleistocene deposits. The closure of the Isthmus of Panama during the Mio-Pliocene boundary significantly impacted the contemporary climate, inducing global cooling. This event constrained Ontocetus posti in the North Sea basin leaving the taxon unable to endure the abrupt climate changes of the Early Pleistocene, ultimately going extinct before the arrival of the extant counterpart, Odobenus rosmarus.

Historical and ethnographic sources depict use of portable braced shaft weapons, or pikes, in megafauna hunting and defense during Late Holocene millennia in North and South America, Africa, Eurasia and Southeast Asia. Given the predominance of megafauna in Late Pleistocene North America during the centuries when Clovis points appeared and spread across much of the continent (13,050-12,650 cal BP), braced weapons may have been used in hunting of megaherbivores and defense against megacarnivores. Drawing from historical examples of pike use against lions, jaguars, boars, grizzlies, carabao and warhorses we consider the possibility of a fluted lithic pike. Associated osseous rods have been problematic as Clovis foreshafts due to the bevel angle and the apparent weakness of the splint haft when great strength is needed for deep penetration in megafauna hunting. However our review of Late Holocene pike use in megafauna encounters indicates the sharp tip becomes less important after hide or armor has been pierced because compression is sustained. Thus, foreshaft collapse after hide entry may not limit but rather increase the efficacy of the braced weapon. We conduct preliminary static experiments to model a fluted pike that adjusts during compression such that haft collapse and point detachment (when point jams on impact with bone) preserve the fluted biface, beveled rod and wooden mainshaft tip. In addition to Clovis point attributes and association with osseous rods, potential archaeological correlates of Clovis pike use include the high frequency of Clovis point isolates and concentrations of complete points with unbutchered mammoth remains at sites such as Naco in Arizona.

The Rhynie Chert (Lower Devonian, Scotland) hosts a remarkably well-preserved early terrestrial ecosystem. Organisms including plants, fungi, arthropods, and bacteria were rapidly silicified due to inundation by silica-rich hot spring fluids. Exceptional molecular preservation has been noted by many authors, including some of the oldest evidence of lignin in the fossil record. The evolution of lignin was a critical factor in the diversification of land plants, providing structural support and defense against herbivores and microbes. However, the timing of the evolution of lignin decay processes remains unclear. Studies placing this event near the end of the Carboniferous are contradicted by evidence for fungal pathogenesis in Devonian plant fossils, including from the Rhynie Chert. We conducted organic geochemical analyses on a Rhynie Chert sample, including hydropyrolysis (HyPy) of kerogen and high-resolution mass spectrometric mapping of a thin section, to elucidate the relationship between lignin and the potential fungal marker perylene. HyPy of kerogen showed an increase in relative abundance of perylene supporting its entrapment within the silicate matrix of the chert. Lignin monomers were isolated through an alkaline oxidation process, showing a distribution dominated by H-type monomers. G- and S-type monomers were also detected, preserved by rapid silicification. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons including perylene, a known marker for lignin-degrading fungi, were also concentrated in the kerogen and found to be localized within silicified plant fragments. Our results strongly link perylene in the Rhynie Chert to the activity of phytopathogenic fungi, demonstrating the importance of fungal degradation processes as far back as the Early Devonian.

Placerias hesternus, a Late Triassic dicynodont, is one of the last megafaunal synapsids of the Mesozoic. The species has a tusk-like projection on its maxillary bone, known as the caniniform process. This process has been hypothesized to be sexually dimorphic since the 1950s, however this claim has not been thoroughly investigated quantitatively. Here, we examined maxillae, premaxillae, quadrates, and fibulae from a single population from the Placerias Quarry in the Blue Mesa Member of the Chinle Formation, near St. Johns, Arizona, USA to determine if the caniniform process is dimorphic. We made a total of 25 measurements from the four bones and used a maximum likelihood framework to compare the fit of unimodal versus bimodal distributions for each set of measurements. Our results from complete maxillae reveal that the caniniform process has two distinct morphs, with a shorter and longer form. This interpretation is substantiated both by strong statistical support for bimodal distribution of caniniform lengths, and by clustering analysis that clearly distinguishes two morphs for the maxillae. Clustering analysis also shows support for potential dimorphism in the shape of the quadrate. However, no measurements from elements other than the maxilla have a strong likelihood of bimodal distribution. These results support the long-standing hypothesis that the caniniform in Placerias was dimorphic. Alternative explanations to sexual dimorphism that could account for the dimorphism among these fossils include the presence of juveniles in the sample or time-averaged sampling of a chronospecies, but both have been previously rejected for the Placerias Quarry population. The lack of strong dimorphism in non-maxilla elements and increased variation in caniniform length of the large-caniniform morph suggest that the caniniform is a secondary sexual trait, possibly used in intraspecific competition.

There is a strong relationship between metazoan body size and extinction risk. However, the size selectivity and underlying mechanisms in foraminifera, a common marine protozoa, remain controversial. Here, we found that foraminifera exhibit size-dependent extinction selectivity, favoring larger groups (>7.4 log10 cubic micrometer) over smaller ones. Foraminifera showed significant size selectivity in the Guadalupian-Lopingian, Permian-Triassic, and Cretaceous-Paleogene extinctions where the proportion of large genera exceeded 50%. Conversely, in extinctions where the proportion of large genera was <45%, foraminifera displayed no selectivity. As most of these extinctions coincided with oceanic anoxic events, we conducted simulations to assess the effects of ocean deoxygenation on foraminifera. Our results indicate that under suboxic conditions, oxygen fails to diffuse into the cell center of large foraminifera. Consequently, we propose a hypothesis to explain size distribution-related selectivity and Lilliput effect in animals relying on diffusion for oxygen during past and future ocean deoxygenation, i.e., oxygen diffusion distance in body.

The phenomenon of lithic miniaturization during the Late Pleistocene at times coincided with increased artifact standardization and cutting edge efficiency-likely reflecting the use of small, sharp artifacts as interchangeable inserts for composite cutting tools and hunting weapons. During Marine Isotope Stage 2, Upper Paleolithic toolmakers in northern East Asia specifically used pressure techniques to make small, highly standardized lithic artifacts called microblades. However, little is currently known about how microblades affected the cutting edge efficiency of the toolkits they were a part of. We applied three methods of analyzing cutting edge efficiency to two Upper Paleolithic assemblages recently excavated from Tolbor-17, Mongolia, that document the periods before and after the introduction of microblade technology to the Tolbor Valley. A model incorporating allometric relationships between blank cutting edge length and mass suggests no difference in efficiency between the two periods, while two more conventional approaches both indicate a significant increase. The potential for improved cutting edge efficiency is only observed when the microblade sample is artificially inflated via simulation. Our results highlight challenges related to detecting and interpreting archaeological differences in cutting edge efficiency at the assemblage level.

Fossils of large animals have long influenced social practices and ideologies in human societies, including the fantastic myths of giants, heroes, and gods in ancient Greece. It has been estimated that purposeful fossil collecting in Greece began in the Late Bronze Age. However, previous archaeological finds of fossils from mainland Greece were not well documented in secure contexts that dated this far back in time. Herein, we present a newly recognized fossilized astragalus bone recently found in the legacy collections of the archaeological site of Mycenae. It was originally recovered by excavations in the 1970s and recently reanalyzed at the Mycenae Museum. Our analysis explored the available evidence of the find location, the state of fossil preservation, and the species represented. The results suggest that a fossilized rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus) astragalus was collected in the past, possibly from afar. Evidence indicates it was brought to Mycenae, where it was deposited near an interesting array of artifacts in a basement storage area of the Southwest Quarter, sometime in the thirteenth century BCE. This find represents the earliest secure evidence of large animal fossil use by people in mainland Greece, dating to the Late Bronze Age.

Durante el Neógeno ocurren intensos eventos, oceanográficos y climáticos, que influyeron sobre la fauna marina de Chile desde el pasado hasta la actualidad. Estudios enfocados en la evaluación del efecto de estos eventos sobre la diversidad de mamíferos, aves y tiburones han sido previamente abordados. Sin embargo, las interacciones de estos eventos con los peces óseos como grupo de estudio no han sido analizados en detalle. Este trabajo compara la diversidad de peces óseos del Neógeno con la actualidad y da a conocer lo que sabemos de su diversidad. Se procesaron los datos disponibles de la presencia de peces óseos marinos en formaciones neógenas de Chile y la actualidad. Se comparó la composición del registro fósil de peces neógenos con el registro de peces actuales a 3 niveles taxonómicos distintos (familia, género y especie). Finalmente, se analizaron los rangos de distribución de los taxa fósiles que sobrevivieron con el objetivo de realizar aproximaciones de las dinámicas paleobiogeográficas. Nuestros resultados muestran que la diversidad actual de peces óseos marinos en Chile es de 624 géneros (1.196 especies), mientras que para el Neógeno se han reportado 65 géneros (46 especies). Comparado con la diversidad actual, el registro fósil de peces es representado por un 3,9% a nivel de especie, 10,4% a nivel de género y 23,4% a nivel de familias, lo que puede ser relacionado con la baja cantidad de estudios enfocados en fósiles de este grupo. Del total de 46 especies fósiles reportadas, sólo una se encuentra actualmente presente en las costas de Chile. A nivel genérico, un 38,5% se encuentra actualmente ausente en la región y un 61,5% sobrevive. En relación a los géneros ausentes actualmente, un 20% corresponde a extinción global y un 80% a extinción regional. Estos cambios en las dinámicas biogeográficas de peces óseos del pasado al reciente, podrían estar relacionadas con los intensos eventos climáticos y oceanográficos que han ocurrido en los últimos 23 millon, Durant el Neogen ocorren intensos esdeveniments, oceanogràfics, i climàtics, que van influir sobre la fauna marina de Xile des del passat fins a l’actualitat. Estudis enfocats en l’avaluació de l’efecte d’aquests esdeveniments sobre la diversitat de mamífers, ocells i taurons han sigut prèviament abordats. No obstant això, les interaccions d’aquests esdeveniments amb els peixos ossis com a grup d’estudi no han sigut analitzats detalladament. Aquest treball analitza la diversitat de peixos ossis del Neogen comparat amb l’actualitat i dona a conéixer que sabem de la seua diversitat. Es van analizar les dades disponibles de la presència de peixos ossis marins en formacions neógenas de Xile i l’actualitat. Es va comparar la composició del registre fòssil de peixos neògens amb el registre de peixos actuals a 3 nivells taxonòmics diferents (família, gènere i espècie). Finalment, es van analizar els rangs de distribució dels taxa fòssils que van sobreviure amb la finalitat de realitzar aproximacions de les dinàmiques paleobiogeográficas. Els nostres resultats mostren que la diversitat actual de peixos ossis marins a Xile és de 624 gèneres (1.196 espècies), mentre que per al Neogen s’han reportat 65 gèneres (46 espècies). Comparat amb la diversitat actual, el registre fòssil de peixos és representat per un 3,9% a nivell d’espècie, 10,4% a nivell de gènere i 23,4% a nivell de famílies, la qual cosa pot ser relacionat amb la baixa quantitat d’estudis enfocats en fòssils d’aquest grup. Del total de 46 espècies fòssils reportades, només un 4% es troba actualment present en les costes de Xile. A nivell genèric, un 38.5% es troba actualment absent a la regió i un 61.5% sobreviu. En relació als gèneres absents actualment, un 20% correspon a extinció global i un 80% a extinció regional. Aquests canvis en les dinàmiques biogeogràfiques de peixos ossis del passat al recent, podrien estar relacionades amb els intensos esdeveniments climàtics i oceanogràfics que han ocorregut en els úl, During the Neogene occurred intense oceanographic and climatic events which had an effect on the marine fauna from the past to the present. Studies focused on the evaluation of the effect of these events on the diversity of mammals, birds and sharks have been previously addressed. However, the interactions of these events with bony fishes as a study group have not been analyzed in detail. This work analyzes the diversity of bony fishes from the Neogene compared to today and reveals what we know about their diversity. We analyzed the available data on the presence of marine bony fishes from Neogene formations in Chile and today. The composition of the fossil record of Neogene fishes was compared to the current fish record at 3 different taxonomic levels (family, genus, and species). Lastly, the distribution ranges of the surviving fossil taxa were analyzed in order to make approximations of the paleobiogeographic dynamics. Our results show that the current diversity of marine bony fish in Chile is composed of 624 genera (1,196 species), whereas from the Neogene 65 genera (46 species) have been reported. Compared to the current diversity, the fossil record of fishes is represented by 3.9% at the species level, 10.4% at the genus level and 23.4% at the family level, which can be related to the low number of studies focused on fossils of this group. Of the total of 46 fossil species reported, only 4% is currently present along the coast of Chile. At a generic level, 38.5% are currently absent in the region whereas 61.5% survived. In relation to the genera currently absent in the region, 20% are globally extinct and 80% regional extinct. These changes in the biogeographic dynamics of bony fishes from the past to the recent could be related to the intense climatic and oceanographic events that have occurred in the last 23 million years. The rarefaction and extrapolation analyses confirm that although the studies focused on the group have increased in the last years, a hig

The late Quaternary history of Sumatra has experienced relatively little attention compared to that of the other large islands in the Indonesian archipelago. The first reports of fossils from the island date to the 1880s; they were discovered largely through the efforts of Dubois in the caves of the Padang Highlands. Following these efforts, focus shifted in the 1920s and 1930s to the archaeological records of the midden deposits of northern Sumatra and the Hoabinhian cultures preserved therein. There was little new fieldwork between 1940 and 1970, but by the mid-1970s several new campaigns seemed to herald a renewed interest in the history and prehistory of the island. This enthusiasm does not appear to have been sustained, however, and work was intermittent again in the 1980s and 1990s. Beginning in the mid-1990s and extending into the first two decades of the twenty-first century, more work at existing sites and new investigations have both taken place, extending our knowledge of both the deep-time and more recent history of the island. The application of new techniques on existing sites and the exploration and excavation of new sites are making an increasingly significant contribution to understanding the role of Sumatra in human biological and cultural evolution.

Proteins are the most stable of the macromolecules that carry genetic information over long periods of time. Closed systems are more likely to retain endogenous proteins or their degradation products. Amino acid racemisation data in experimental and subfossil material suggests that mollusc shell and avian eggshell calcite crystals can demonstrate closed system behaviour, retaining endogenous amino acids. Here, Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) Argentine titanosaurian sauropod eggshells show dark, organic stains under light microscopy/photography and fluorescence imaging. Raman spectroscopy can yield bands consistent with various organic molecules, possibly including N-bearing molecules or geopolymers. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry reveals pyrolysates consistent with amino acids as well as aliphatic hydrocarbon homologues that are not present in modern eggshell, consistent with kerogen formation deriving from eggshell lipids. High-performance liquid chromatography reveals that their intra-crystalline fraction can be enriched in some of the most stable amino acids (Glx, Gly, Ala, and possibly Val) and are fully racemic (despite being some of the slowest racemising amino acids), indicating ancient origin. This preservation varies across localities, but similar ancient amino acid profiles were also observed in Late Cretaceous Spanish titanosaurians from several localities and Chinese putative hadrosaurid eggshell. These amino acid results are consistent with previous studies on degradation trends deduced from modern, thermally matured, sub-fossil, and ∼3.8–6.5 Ma avian eggshell, as well as ∼30 Ma calcitic mollusc opercula. Selective preservation of certain fully racemic amino acids, which do not racemise in-chain, and the concentration of free amino acids suggests likely complete hydrolysis of original peptides. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry supports this hypothesis by failing to detect any non-contamination peptide sequences

Proteins are the most stable of the macromolecules that carry genetic information over long periods of time. Closed systems are more likely to retain endogenous proteins or their degradation products. Amino acid racemisation data in experimental and subfossil material suggests that mollusc shell and avian eggshell calcite crystals can demonstrate closed system behaviour, retaining endogenous amino acids. Here, Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) Argentine titanosaurian sauropod eggshells show dark, organic stains under light microscopy/photography and fluorescence imaging. Raman spectroscopy can yield bands consistent with various organic molecules, possibly including N-bearing molecules or geopolymers. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry reveals pyrolysates consistent with amino acids as well as aliphatic hydrocarbon homologues that are not present in modern eggshell, consistent with kerogen formation deriving from eggshell lipids. High-performance liquid chromatography reveals that their intra-crystalline fraction can be enriched in some of the most stable amino acids (Glx, Gly, Ala, and possibly Val) and are fully racemic (despite being some of the slowest racemising amino acids), indicating ancient origin. This preservation varies across localities, but similar ancient amino acid profiles were also observed in Late Cretaceous Spanish titanosaurians from several localities and Chinese putative hadrosaurid eggshell. These amino acid results are consistent with previous studies on degradation trends deduced from modern, thermally matured, sub-fossil, and ∼3.8–6.5 Ma avian eggshell, as well as ∼30 Ma calcitic mollusc opercula. Selective preservation of certain fully racemic amino acids, which do not racemise in-chain, and the concentration of free amino acids suggests likely complete hydrolysis of original peptides. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry supports this hypothesis by failing to detect any non-contamination peptide sequences

From the discovery of the Utah raptor, the largest raptor on record, to a 94 million-year-old mazaris skull, the oldest on record, paleontology has had a long and storied history in the state with unexpected origins in downtown Salt Lake City. In 1871, 25 years before statehood, one of Utah's first documented Ice Age fossils was unearthed in the basement of, then, future mayor of Salt Lake City Robert N. Baskin's basement, just north of Temple Square. The fossilized skull fragment originally reported by local papers as a petrified buffalo head was later determined by educator and naturalist Paul A. Chadbourne to be that of a long extinct species of musk ox, the bootherium bombifrons. Along with saber-toothed cats, woolly mammoths, and flat-faced bears, this ancient musk ox inhabited the vast shorelines of Lake Bonneville during the planet's last ice age. At a time when theories of our planets history were rapidly evolving the discovery of Baskin's musk ox skull provided an invaluable window into the conditions and climate of the area over 10,000 years ago. While several hundred Ice Age mammal fossils have been discovered in the Salt Lake Metro Area helping piece together the natural history of this place, it was Baskin's musk ox skull that started it all. The fossil now rests at the Natural History Museum of Utah where it was transferred in 1978.

La divulgación de la paleontología es una necesidad para que esta sea valorada como una ciencia relevante en nuestra sociedad. Los proyectos didácticos encaminados a dar a conocer las diferentes metodologías de la disciplina paleontológica, a informar sobre la vital aportación de sus investigaciones en el avance del conocimiento científico, a subrayar el impacto que estas tienen en la sociedad, y a resaltar la necesidad de la conservación de los fósiles, resultan necesarios para transferir de una manera amena la importancia de la paleontología. También son clave para despertar el interés y las vocaciones entre los y las más jóvenes. La didáctica en paleontología, como también de la geología, se ha considerado como un objetivo prioritario desde el Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). El primer paso fue la constitución de una colección didáctica de fósiles en el museo, y de su uso surgió la necesidad de ampliar el proyecto en el ámbito de la Xarxa de Museus de Ciències Naturals de Catalunya. Las acciones ahora se encaminan hacia la elaboración de una guía didáctica completa de paleontología dirigida a de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Esta guía pretende ser un nexo entre la ciencia y la educación, a la vez que tiene como objetivo el acercamiento de los centros museísticos a los centros educativos en Catalunya. El proyecto, que se encuentra en las primeras etapas de desarrollo, se ha dividido en fases para su correcta elaboración y seguimiento, desde su redacción hasta su implementación y evaluación. En su conjunto, el proyecto didáctico del MCNB tiene como principal misión anclar la percepción de la importancia de la geología y de la paleontología en el imaginario colectivo, y a la vez ser un referente complementario en las revisiones de los planes de estudio presentes y futuros que afecten a dichas disciplinas científicas., La divulgación de la paleontología es una necesidad para que esta sea valorada como una ciencia relevante en nuestra sociedad. Los proyectos didácticos encaminados a dar a conocer las diferentes metodologías de la disciplina paleontológica, a informar sobre la vital aportación de sus investigaciones en el avance del conocimiento científico, a subrayar el impacto que estas tienen en la sociedad, y a resaltar la necesidad de la conservación de los fósiles, resultan necesarios para transferir de una manera amena la importancia de la paleontología. También son clave para despertar el interés y las vocaciones entre los y las más jóvenes. La didáctica en paleontología, como también de la geología, se ha considerado como un objetivo prioritario desde el Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). El primer paso fue la constitución de una colección didáctica de fósiles en el museo, y de su uso surgió la necesidad de ampliar el proyecto en el ámbito de la Xarxa de Museus de Ciències Naturals de Catalunya. Las acciones ahora se encaminan hacia la elaboración de una guía didáctica completa de paleontología dirigida a de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Esta guía pretende ser un nexo entre la ciencia y la educación, a la vez que tiene como objetivo el acercamiento de los centros museísticos a los centros educativos en Catalunya. El proyecto, que se encuentra en las primeras etapas de desarrollo, se ha dividido en fases para su correcta elaboración y seguimiento, desde su redacción hasta su implementación y evaluación. En su conjunto, el proyecto didáctico del MCNB tiene como principal misión anclar la percepción de la importancia de la geología y de la paleontología en el imaginario colectivo, y a la vez ser un referente complementario en las revisiones de los planes de estudio presentes y futuros que afecten a dichas disciplinas científicas., La divulgación de la paleontología es una necesidad para que esta sea valorada como una ciencia relevante en nuestra sociedad. Los proyectos didácticos encaminados a dar a conocer las diferentes metodologías de la disciplina paleontológica, a informar sobre la vital aportación de sus investigaciones en el avance del conocimiento científico, a subrayar el impacto que estas tienen en la sociedad, y a resaltar la necesidad de la conservación de los fósiles, resultan necesarios para transferir de una manera amena la importancia de la paleontología. También son clave para despertar el interés y las vocaciones entre los y las más jóvenes. La didáctica en paleontología, como también de la geología, se ha considerado como un objetivo prioritario desde el Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). El primer paso fue la constitución de una colección didáctica de fósiles en el museo, y de su uso surgió la necesidad de ampliar el proyecto en el ámbito de la Xarxa de Museus de Ciències Naturals de Catalunya. Las acciones ahora se encaminan hacia la elaboración de una guía didáctica completa de paleontología dirigida a de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Esta guía pretende ser un nexo entre la ciencia y la educación, a la vez que tiene como objetivo el acercamiento de los centros museísticos a los centros educativos en Catalunya. El proyecto, que se encuentra en las primeras etapas de desarrollo, se ha dividido en fases para su correcta elaboración y seguimiento, desde su redacción hasta su implementación y evaluación. En su conjunto, el proyecto didáctico del MCNB tiene como principal misión anclar la percepción de la importancia de la geología y de la paleontología en el imaginario colectivo, y a la vez ser un referente complementario en las revisiones de los planes de estudio presentes y futuros que afecten a dichas disciplinas científicas.

Fossilised true ferns (Pecopteris sp.) preserved in siderite concretions from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (Illinois) presented a unique opportunity to characterise the organic signatures of these late Carboniferous plants. Localised analyses of true fern fossils showed several highly abundant phytohopanoids and fernane/arborane derived aromatic products, which were present only negligibly within their siderite matrix, as well as from other types of fossilised plants. These terpenoids had been recognised in some extant ferns, but scarcely in sedimentary organic matter and their exact source remained ambiguous. The present fossil biomarker data confirms an ancient true fern origin. Furthermore, the excellent concretion preservation of a series of related terpenoid products provided a rare insight into their diagenetic formation. The benign properties of carbonate concretions could be exploited further for biomarker evidence of other fossilised organisms, with one important caveat being that biomarker signals attributed to isolated fossils be significantly distinct from background organic matter pervading the concretion matrix. For instance, hydrocarbon profiles of seed ferns (pteridosperms) and articulates (horsetails) also preserved in Mazon Creek concretions were indistinguishable from separate analysis of their concretion matrix, preventing biomarker recognition.

BACKGROUND: Climate change scenarios illustrate various pathways in terms of global warming ranging from "sustainable development" (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP1-1.9), the best-case scenario, to 'fossil-fueled development' (SSP5-8.5), the worst-case scenario. OBJECTIVES: We examined the extent to which increase in daily average urban summer temperature is associated with future cause-specific mortality and projected heat-related mortality burden for the current warming trend and these two scenarios. METHODS: We did an observational cohort study of 363,754 participants living in six cities in Finland. Using residential addresses, participants were linked to daily temperature records and electronic death records from national registries during summers (1 May to 30 September) 2000 to 2018. For each day of observation, heat index (average daily air temperature weighted by humidity) for the preceding 7 d was calculated for participants' residential area using a geographic grid at a spatial resolution of formula presented . We examined associations of the summer heat index with risk of death by cause for all participants adjusting for a wide range of individual-level covariates and in subsidiary analyses using case-crossover design, computed the related period population attributable fraction (PAF), and projected change in PAF from summers 2000-2018 compared with those in 2030-2050. RESULTS: During a cohort total exposure period of 582,111,979 summer days (3,880,746 person-summers), we recorded 4,094 deaths, including 949 from cardiovascular disease. The multivariable-adjusted rate ratio (RR) for high (formula presented ) vs. reference (formula presented ) heat index was 1.70 (95% CI: 1.28, 2.27) for cardiovascular mortality, but it did not reach statistical significance for noncardiovascular deaths, formula presented (95% CI: 0.96, 1.36), a finding replicated in case-crossover analysis. According to projections for 2030-2050, PAF of summertime cardiovascular mortalit, Public domainAddress correspondence to Jussi Vahtera, Department of Public Health,University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Email:jussi.vahtera@utu.fiThis study was supported by the Academy of Finland (329240; 329241; 329235). M.K. was supported by the Wellcome Trust (221854/Z/20/Z), the UK Medical Research Council (MR/S011676/1), the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIH; R01AG056477), and the Academy of Finland (329202, 350426). G.D.B. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/P023444/1) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (1R56AG052519-01; 1R01AG052519-01A1). J.P. and S.T.N. were supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (190424) and the Academy of Finland (329202). J.K. and J.S. are grateful for the support by the University of Turku Geography Division and the City of Turku for maintaining the TURCLIM network. S.S. was supported by the Academy of Finland (332030). J.V. was supported by the Academy of Finland (321409). The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

The Late Oligocene to Early Miocene flora of the Ban Pa Kha Subbasin (Li Basin, northern Thailand) provides a record of montane dry tropical oak-pine forests. The rich ensemble of Fagaceae typical of these forests might have existed in the wider region of Southeast Asia since Eocene times and various fossil plant assemblages represented both lowland (Fagaceae, Dipterocarpaceae) and upland (Fagaceae, Pinaceae) tropical forests. These findings are in conflict with previous interpretations of vegetation development in northern Thailand, which stressed that stratigraphically older (possibly Late Oligocene) spore and pollen assemblages in northern Thailand were markedly different from the modern tropical flora and had a distinct northern temperate character. A major change in climate would have caused a dramatic shift to tropical conditions since the Mid-Miocene. Considering palaeobotanical data from adjacent regions in Southeast Asia, we suggest that differences in spore and pollen assemblages in intermontane basins in northern Thailand are more likely to represent different facies and lowland/upland settings. Assembly of these forest ecosystems, typically comprising Quercus sections Cyclobalanopsis, Ilex and Quercus, pollen of Castaneoideae with affinities to Castanopsis and Lithocarpus, and extinct fagaceous genera such as Eotrigonobalanus, most probably dates back to the Eocene. The absence of oaks of Quercus section Cerris in the spore and pollen assemblage of the Ban Pa Kha Subbasin, despite this group being part of the modern vegetation, might reflect the late arrival (secondary radiation) of this chiefly temperate group in tropical Southeast Asia., This project was funded by the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand (project number SCI 6402006S), the Swedish Research Council (VR, grant number 2021-05849) and ASEA-UNINET Staff Exchange, One Month Scholarship 2017

BACKGROUND: Climate change scenarios illustrate various pathways in terms of global warming ranging from "sustainable development" (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP1-1.9), the best-case scenario, to 'fossil-fueled development' (SSP5-8.5), the worst-case scenario. OBJECTIVES: We examined the extent to which increase in daily average urban summer temperature is associated with future cause-specific mortality and projected heat-related mortality burden for the current warming trend and these two scenarios. METHODS: We did an observational cohort study of 363,754 participants living in six cities in Finland. Using residential addresses, participants were linked to daily temperature records and electronic death records from national registries during summers (1 May to 30 September) 2000 to 2018. For each day of observation, heat index (average daily air temperature weighted by humidity) for the preceding 7 d was calculated for participants' residential area using a geographic grid at a spatial resolution of formula presented . We examined associations of the summer heat index with risk of death by cause for all participants adjusting for a wide range of individual-level covariates and in subsidiary analyses using case-crossover design, computed the related period population attributable fraction (PAF), and projected change in PAF from summers 2000-2018 compared with those in 2030-2050. RESULTS: During a cohort total exposure period of 582,111,979 summer days (3,880,746 person-summers), we recorded 4,094 deaths, including 949 from cardiovascular disease. The multivariable-adjusted rate ratio (RR) for high (formula presented ) vs. reference (formula presented ) heat index was 1.70 (95% CI: 1.28, 2.27) for cardiovascular mortality, but it did not reach statistical significance for noncardiovascular deaths, formula presented (95% CI: 0.96, 1.36), a finding replicated in case-crossover analysis. According to projections for 2030-2050, PAF of summertime cardiovascular mortalit, Public domainAddress correspondence to Jussi Vahtera, Department of Public Health,University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Email:jussi.vahtera@utu.fiThis study was supported by the Academy of Finland (329240; 329241; 329235). M.K. was supported by the Wellcome Trust (221854/Z/20/Z), the UK Medical Research Council (MR/S011676/1), the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIH; R01AG056477), and the Academy of Finland (329202, 350426). G.D.B. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/P023444/1) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (1R56AG052519-01; 1R01AG052519-01A1). J.P. and S.T.N. were supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (190424) and the Academy of Finland (329202). J.K. and J.S. are grateful for the support by the University of Turku Geography Division and the City of Turku for maintaining the TURCLIM network. S.S. was supported by the Academy of Finland (332030). J.V. was supported by the Academy of Finland (321409). The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

The Late Oligocene to Early Miocene flora of the Ban Pa Kha Subbasin (Li Basin, northern Thailand) provides a record of montane dry tropical oak-pine forests. The rich ensemble of Fagaceae typical of these forests might have existed in the wider region of Southeast Asia since Eocene times and various fossil plant assemblages represented both lowland (Fagaceae, Dipterocarpaceae) and upland (Fagaceae, Pinaceae) tropical forests. These findings are in conflict with previous interpretations of vegetation development in northern Thailand, which stressed that stratigraphically older (possibly Late Oligocene) spore and pollen assemblages in northern Thailand were markedly different from the modern tropical flora and had a distinct northern temperate character. A major change in climate would have caused a dramatic shift to tropical conditions since the Mid-Miocene. Considering palaeobotanical data from adjacent regions in Southeast Asia, we suggest that differences in spore and pollen assemblages in intermontane basins in northern Thailand are more likely to represent different facies and lowland/upland settings. Assembly of these forest ecosystems, typically comprising Quercus sections Cyclobalanopsis, Ilex and Quercus, pollen of Castaneoideae with affinities to Castanopsis and Lithocarpus, and extinct fagaceous genera such as Eotrigonobalanus, most probably dates back to the Eocene. The absence of oaks of Quercus section Cerris in the spore and pollen assemblage of the Ban Pa Kha Subbasin, despite this group being part of the modern vegetation, might reflect the late arrival (secondary radiation) of this chiefly temperate group in tropical Southeast Asia., This project was funded by the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand (project number SCI 6402006S), the Swedish Research Council (VR, grant number 2021-05849) and ASEA-UNINET Staff Exchange, One Month Scholarship 2017

Mosasaurs (Squamata, Mosasauridae) were large aquatic reptiles from the Late Cretaceous that filled a range of ecological niches within marine ecosystems. The type-Maastrichtian strata (68–66 Ma) of the Netherlands and Belgium preserve remains of five species that seemed to have performed different ecological roles (carnivores, piscivores, durophages). However, many interpretations of mosasaur diet and niche partitioning are based on qualitative types of evidence that are difficult to test explicitly. Here, we apply three-dimensional dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to provide quantitative dietary constraints for type-Maastrichtian mosasaurs, and to assess levels of niche partitioning between taxa. DMTA indicates that these mosasaurs did not exhibit neatly defined diets or strict dietary partitioning. Instead, we identify three broad groups: (i) mosasaurs Carinodens belgicus and Plioplatecarpus marshi plotting in the space of modern reptiles that are predominantly piscivorous and/or consume harder invertebrate prey, (ii) Prognathodon saturator and Prognathodon sectorius overlapping with extant reptiles that consume larger amounts of softer invertebrate prey items, and (iii) Mosasaurus hoffmanni spanning a larger plot area in terms of dietary constraints. The clear divide between the aforementioned first two groups in texture-dietary space indicates that, despite our small sample sizes, this method shows the potential of DMTA to test hypotheses and provide quantitative constraints on mosasaur diets and ecological roles.

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest living cat species native to the Americas and one of few large American carnivorans to have survived into the Holocene. However, the extent to which jaguar diversity declined during the end-Pleistocene extinction event remains unclear. For example, Pleistocene jaguar fossils from North America are notably larger than the average extant jaguar, leading to hypotheses that jaguars from this continent represent a now-extinct subspecies (Panthera onca augusta) or species (Panthera augusta). Here, we used a hybridization capture approach to recover an ancient mitochondrial genome from a large, late Pleistocene jaguar from Kingston Saltpeter Cave, Georgia, United States, which we sequenced to 26-fold coverage. We then estimated the evolutionary relationship between the ancient jaguar mitogenome and those from other extinct and living large felids, including multiple jaguars sampled across the species' current range. The ancient mitogenome falls within the diversity of living jaguars. All sampled jaguar mitogenomes share a common mitochondrial ancestor ~400 thousand years ago, indicating that the lineage represented by the ancient specimen dispersed into North America from the south at least once during the late Pleistocene. While genomic data from additional and older specimens will continue to improve understanding of Pleistocene jaguar diversity in the Americas, our results suggest that this specimen falls within the variation of extant jaguars despite the relatively larger size and geographic location and does not represent a distinct taxon.

Survey Notes is an informative, non-technical magazine on noteworthy and interesting geologic topics in Utah. It is the official Utah Geological Survey newsletter and is produced three times a year. Regular columns include the Director's Perspective, Glad You Asked, GeoSights, Teacher's Corner, Energy News, Survey News, Core Center News, and New Publications. Published as Quarterly Review (1967-1975) and Survey Notes (1976- ). Articles in this issue include: 1) Director's Perspective, by Bill Keach; 2) The Utah Geological Survey and the National Park Service: A 20-year partnership to inventory and monitor fossil resources in Utah's National Parks, by Donald DeBlieux, James Kirkland, and Vincent Santucci; 3) Great Salt Lake's Gunnison and Cub Islands Come into Focus, by Donald L. Clark and Bonnie K. Baxter; 4) Energy News: Potential Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on Carbon Capture and Storage in Utah, by Julia Mulhern; 5) Glad You Asked: What is a Dropstone?, by Jim Davis; and 6) GeoSights: Fossil Mountain, Millard County, Utah, by Mackenzie Cope.

Body mass is arguably the most important characteristic of an organism, yet it is often not available in biological samples that have been skeletonized, liquid-preserved, or fossilized. The lack of information is especially problematic for fossil species, for which individuals with body mass information are not available anywhere. Multiple methods are available for estimating the body mass of fossil terrestrial vertebrates but those for their marine counterparts are limited. Paleomass is a software tool for estimating the body mass of marine vertebrates from their orthogonal silhouettes through bracketing. It generates a set of two 3D models from these silhouettes, assuming superelliptical body cross-sections with different exponent values. By setting the exponents appropriately, it is possible to bracket the true volume of the animal between those of the two models. The original version phased out together with the language platform it used. A new version is reported here as an open-source package based on the R scripting language. It inherits the underlying principles of the original version but has been completely rewritten with a new architecture. For example, it first produces 3D mesh models of the animal and then measures their volumes and areas with the VCG library, unlike the original version that did not produce a 3D model but instead computed the volume and area segment by segment using parametric equations. The new version also exports 3D models in polygon meshes, allowing later tests by other software. Other improvements include the use of NACA foil sections for hydrofoils such as flippers, and optional interpolation with local regression. The software has a high accuracy, with the mean absolute errors of 1.33% when the silhouettes of the animals are known.

The precise pattern and timing of speciation events that gave rise to all living placental mammals remain controversial. We provide a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of genetic variation across an alignment of 241 placental mammal genome assemblies, addressing prior concerns regarding limited genomic sampling across species. We compared neutral genome-wide phylogenomic signals using concatenation and coalescent-based approaches, interrogated phylogenetic variation across chromosomes, and analyzed extensive catalogs of structural variants. Interordinal relationships exhibit relatively low rates of phylogenomic conflict across diverse datasets and analytical methods. Conversely, X-chromosome versus autosome conflicts characterize multiple independent clades that radiated during the Cenozoic. Genomic time trees reveal an accumulation of cladogenic events before and immediately after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary, implying important roles for Cretaceous continental vicariance and the K-Pg extinction in the placental radiation.

Despite broad agreement that Homo sapiens originated in Africa, considerable uncertainty surrounds specific models of divergence and migration across the continent1. Progress is hampered by a shortage of fossil and genomic data, as well as variability in previous estimates of divergence times1. Here we seek to discriminate among such models by considering linkage disequilibrium and diversity-based statistics, optimized for rapid, complex demographic inference2. We infer detailed demographic models for populations across Africa, including eastern and western representatives, and newly sequenced whole genomes from 44 Nama (Khoe-San) individuals from southern Africa. We infer a reticulated African population history in which present-day population structure dates back to Marine Isotope Stage 5. The earliest population divergence among contemporary populations occurred 120,000 to 135,000 years ago and was preceded by links between two or more weakly differentiated ancestral Homo populations connected by gene flow over hundreds of thousands of years. Such weakly structured stem models explain patterns of polymorphism that had previously been attributed to contributions from archaic hominins in Africa2-7. In contrast to models with archaic introgression, we predict that fossil remains from coexisting ancestral populations should be genetically and morphologically similar, and that only an inferred 1-4% of genetic differentiation among contemporary human populations can be attributed to genetic drift between stem populations. We show that model misspecification explains the variation in previous estimates of divergence times, and argue that studying a range of models is key to making robust inferences about deep history.

Sengis (order Macroscelidea) are small mammals endemic to Africa. The taxonomy and phylogeny of sengis has been difficult to resolve due to a lack of clear morphological apomorphies. Molecular phylogenies have already significantly revised sengi systematics, but until now no molecular phylogeny has included all 20 extant species. In addition, the age of origin of the sengi crown clade and the divergence age of its two extant families remain unclear. Two recently published studies based on different datasets and age-calibration parameters (DNA type, outgroup selection, fossil calibration points) proposed highly different divergent age estimates and evolutionary scenarios. We obtained nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from mainly museum specimens using target enrichment of single-stranded DNA libraries to generate the first phylogeny of all extant macroscelidean species. We then explored the effects of different parameters (type of DNA, ratio of ingroup to outgroup sampling, number and type of fossil calibration points) and their resulting impacts on age estimates for the origin and initial diversification of Macroscelidea. We show that, even after correcting for substitution saturation, both using mitochondrial DNA in conjunction with nuclear DNA or alone results in much older ages and different branch lengths than when using nuclear DNA alone. We further show that the former effect can be attributed to insufficient amounts of nuclear data. If multiple calibration points are included, the age of the sengi crown group fossil prior has minimal impact on the estimated time frame of sengi evolution. In contrast, the inclusion or exclusion of outgroup fossil priors has a major effect on the resulting node ages. We also find that a reduced sampling of ingroup species does not significantly affect overall age estimates and that terminal specific substitution rates can serve as a means to evaluate the biological likeliness of the produced temporal estimates. Our study demonstrat

Hayashi S., Kubo M.O., Sánchez-Villagra M.R., et al. Variation and process of life history evolution in insular dwarfism as revealed by a natural experiment. Frontiers in Earth Science 11, 1095903 (2023); https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1095903., Islands are a classic focus for evolutionary studies. One topic of great interest has been the evolution of “dwarfs,” significantly smaller island mammals relative to their continental counterparts. Although a consensus has been achieved regarding the multivariate ecological causes behind changes in body size, the processes involved remain largely unexplored. Life history variables, including age at first reproduction, growth rate, and longevity, are likely to be key to understanding the process of insular dwarfism. The Japanese archipelago, with its numerous islands, offers a unique natural experiment for the evolution of different sizes within the same group of organisms; namely, deer. Thus, we investigated eight deer populations with a total number of 52 individuals exhibiting body size variation, both extant and fossil, to clarify the effect of insularity on life history traits. We applied several methods to both extant and extinct populations to resolve life history changes among these deer populations. Skeletochronology, using lines of arrested growth formed in long bones (femur and tibia), successfully reconstructed body growth curves and revealed a gradual change in growth trajectories reflecting the degree of insularity. Slower growth rates with prolonged growth periods in more isolated deer populations were revealed. An extensive examination of bone microstructure further corroborated this finding, with much slower growth and later somatic maturity evident in fossil insular deer isolated for more than 1.5 Myr. Finally, mortality patterns assessed by demographic analysis revealed variation among deer populations, with a life history of insular populations shifting toward the “slow life.”

Shoulder shape directly impacts forelimb function by contributing to glenohumeral (GH) range-of-motion (ROM). However, identifying traits that contribute most to ROM and visualizing how they do so remains challenging, ultimately limiting our ability to reconstruct function and behaviour in fossil species. To address these limitations, we developed an in silico proximity-driven model to simulate and visualize three-dimensional (3D) GH rotations in living primate species with diverse locomotor profiles, identify those shapes that are most predictive of ROM using geometric morphometrics, and apply subsequent insights to interpret function and behaviour in the fossil hominin Australopithecus sediba. We found that ROM metrics that incorporated 3D rotations best discriminated locomotor groups, and the magnitude of ROM (mobility) was decoupled from the anatomical location of ROM (e.g. high abduction versus low abduction). Morphological traits that enhanced mobility were decoupled from those that enabled overhead positions, and all non-human apes possessed the latter but not necessarily the former. Model simulation in A. sediba predicted high mobility and a ROM centred at lower abduction levels than in living apes but higher than in modern humans. Together these results identify novel form-to-function relationships in the shoulder and enhance visualization tools to reconstruct past function and behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Climate change scenarios illustrate various pathways in terms of global warming ranging from "sustainable development" (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP1-1.9), the best-case scenario, to 'fossil-fueled development' (SSP5-8.5), the worst-case scenario. OBJECTIVES: We examined the extent to which increase in daily average urban summer temperature is associated with future cause-specific mortality and projected heat-related mortality burden for the current warming trend and these two scenarios. METHODS: We did an observational cohort study of 363,754 participants living in six cities in Finland. Using residential addresses, participants were linked to daily temperature records and electronic death records from national registries during summers (1 May to 30 September) 2000 to 2018. For each day of observation, heat index (average daily air temperature weighted by humidity) for the preceding 7 d was calculated for participants' residential area using a geographic grid at a spatial resolution of formula presented . We examined associations of the summer heat index with risk of death by cause for all participants adjusting for a wide range of individual-level covariates and in subsidiary analyses using case-crossover design, computed the related period population attributable fraction (PAF), and projected change in PAF from summers 2000-2018 compared with those in 2030-2050. RESULTS: During a cohort total exposure period of 582,111,979 summer days (3,880,746 person-summers), we recorded 4,094 deaths, including 949 from cardiovascular disease. The multivariable-adjusted rate ratio (RR) for high (formula presented ) vs. reference (formula presented ) heat index was 1.70 (95% CI: 1.28, 2.27) for cardiovascular mortality, but it did not reach statistical significance for noncardiovascular deaths, formula presented (95% CI: 0.96, 1.36), a finding replicated in case-crossover analysis. According to projections for 2030-2050, PAF of summertime cardiovascular mortalit, Public domainAddress correspondence to Jussi Vahtera, Department of Public Health,University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Email:jussi.vahtera@utu.fiThis study was supported by the Academy of Finland (329240; 329241; 329235). M.K. was supported by the Wellcome Trust (221854/Z/20/Z), the UK Medical Research Council (MR/S011676/1), the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIH; R01AG056477), and the Academy of Finland (329202, 350426). G.D.B. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/P023444/1) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (1R56AG052519-01; 1R01AG052519-01A1). J.P. and S.T.N. were supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (190424) and the Academy of Finland (329202). J.K. and J.S. are grateful for the support by the University of Turku Geography Division and the City of Turku for maintaining the TURCLIM network. S.S. was supported by the Academy of Finland (332030). J.V. was supported by the Academy of Finland (321409). The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

BACKGROUND: Climate change scenarios illustrate various pathways in terms of global warming ranging from "sustainable development" (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP1-1.9), the best-case scenario, to 'fossil-fueled development' (SSP5-8.5), the worst-case scenario. OBJECTIVES: We examined the extent to which increase in daily average urban summer temperature is associated with future cause-specific mortality and projected heat-related mortality burden for the current warming trend and these two scenarios. METHODS: We did an observational cohort study of 363,754 participants living in six cities in Finland. Using residential addresses, participants were linked to daily temperature records and electronic death records from national registries during summers (1 May to 30 September) 2000 to 2018. For each day of observation, heat index (average daily air temperature weighted by humidity) for the preceding 7 d was calculated for participants' residential area using a geographic grid at a spatial resolution of formula presented . We examined associations of the summer heat index with risk of death by cause for all participants adjusting for a wide range of individual-level covariates and in subsidiary analyses using case-crossover design, computed the related period population attributable fraction (PAF), and projected change in PAF from summers 2000-2018 compared with those in 2030-2050. RESULTS: During a cohort total exposure period of 582,111,979 summer days (3,880,746 person-summers), we recorded 4,094 deaths, including 949 from cardiovascular disease. The multivariable-adjusted rate ratio (RR) for high (formula presented ) vs. reference (formula presented ) heat index was 1.70 (95% CI: 1.28, 2.27) for cardiovascular mortality, but it did not reach statistical significance for noncardiovascular deaths, formula presented (95% CI: 0.96, 1.36), a finding replicated in case-crossover analysis. According to projections for 2030-2050, PAF of summertime cardiovascular mortalit, Public domainAddress correspondence to Jussi Vahtera, Department of Public Health,University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Email:jussi.vahtera@utu.fiThis study was supported by the Academy of Finland (329240; 329241; 329235). M.K. was supported by the Wellcome Trust (221854/Z/20/Z), the UK Medical Research Council (MR/S011676/1), the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIH; R01AG056477), and the Academy of Finland (329202, 350426). G.D.B. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/P023444/1) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (1R56AG052519-01; 1R01AG052519-01A1). J.P. and S.T.N. were supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (190424) and the Academy of Finland (329202). J.K. and J.S. are grateful for the support by the University of Turku Geography Division and the City of Turku for maintaining the TURCLIM network. S.S. was supported by the Academy of Finland (332030). J.V. was supported by the Academy of Finland (321409). The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

Survey Notes is an informative, non-technical magazine on noteworthy and interesting geologic topics in Utah. It is the official Utah Geological Survey newsletter and is produced three times a year. Regular columns include the Director's Perspective, Glad You Asked, GeoSights, Teacher's Corner, Energy News, Survey News, Core Center News, and New Publications. Published as Quarterly Review (1967-1975) and Survey Notes (1976- ). Articles in this issue include: 1) Director's Perspective, by Bill Keach; 2) The Utah Geological Survey and the National Park Service: A 20-year partnership to inventory and monitor fossil resources in Utah's National Parks, by Donald DeBlieux, James Kirkland, and Vincent Santucci; 3) Great Salt Lake's Gunnison and Cub Islands Come into Focus, by Donald L. Clark and Bonnie K. Baxter; 4) Energy News: Potential Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on Carbon Capture and Storage in Utah, by Julia Mulhern; 5) Glad You Asked: What is a Dropstone?, by Jim Davis; and 6) GeoSights: Fossil Mountain, Millard County, Utah, by Mackenzie Cope.

BACKGROUND: Climate change scenarios illustrate various pathways in terms of global warming ranging from "sustainable development" (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP1-1.9), the best-case scenario, to 'fossil-fueled development' (SSP5-8.5), the worst-case scenario. OBJECTIVES: We examined the extent to which increase in daily average urban summer temperature is associated with future cause-specific mortality and projected heat-related mortality burden for the current warming trend and these two scenarios. METHODS: We did an observational cohort study of 363,754 participants living in six cities in Finland. Using residential addresses, participants were linked to daily temperature records and electronic death records from national registries during summers (1 May to 30 September) 2000 to 2018. For each day of observation, heat index (average daily air temperature weighted by humidity) for the preceding 7 d was calculated for participants' residential area using a geographic grid at a spatial resolution of formula presented . We examined associations of the summer heat index with risk of death by cause for all participants adjusting for a wide range of individual-level covariates and in subsidiary analyses using case-crossover design, computed the related period population attributable fraction (PAF), and projected change in PAF from summers 2000-2018 compared with those in 2030-2050. RESULTS: During a cohort total exposure period of 582,111,979 summer days (3,880,746 person-summers), we recorded 4,094 deaths, including 949 from cardiovascular disease. The multivariable-adjusted rate ratio (RR) for high (formula presented ) vs. reference (formula presented ) heat index was 1.70 (95% CI: 1.28, 2.27) for cardiovascular mortality, but it did not reach statistical significance for noncardiovascular deaths, formula presented (95% CI: 0.96, 1.36), a finding replicated in case-crossover analysis. According to projections for 2030-2050, PAF of summertime cardiovascular mortalit, Public domainAddress correspondence to Jussi Vahtera, Department of Public Health,University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Email:jussi.vahtera@utu.fiThis study was supported by the Academy of Finland (329240; 329241; 329235). M.K. was supported by the Wellcome Trust (221854/Z/20/Z), the UK Medical Research Council (MR/S011676/1), the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIH; R01AG056477), and the Academy of Finland (329202, 350426). G.D.B. was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/P023444/1) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (1R56AG052519-01; 1R01AG052519-01A1). J.P. and S.T.N. were supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (190424) and the Academy of Finland (329202). J.K. and J.S. are grateful for the support by the University of Turku Geography Division and the City of Turku for maintaining the TURCLIM network. S.S. was supported by the Academy of Finland (332030). J.V. was supported by the Academy of Finland (321409). The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.

Determining when animals evolved is a fundamental challenge of palaeontology. The fossil record is incomplete; most of the history of life on Earth is not represented in the fossil record, and less still has been discovered and researched. In particular, the fossil record of early animals is sparse and difficult to interpret. In this thesis, I use fossil and molecular data to estimate when metazoans originated. First, I investigate the Cambrian species Saccorhytus coronarius, originally described as the earliest deuterostome. Through tomographic analysis and detailed phylogenetic tests, I determine that it is a total-group ecdysozoan, increasing the known diversity of ecdysozoans in the earliest Cambrian. Building on this, I use the metazoan fossil record to develop new calibrations for a molecular clock analysis. Recent re-dating of key lagerstätten and increased understanding of early metazoan fossils allows for more precise calibrations and the molecular clock analysis estimates a younger, Ediacaran age for Metazoa. Next, I use a new model, the Bayesian Brownian Bridge (BBB) model, to investigate how the fossil record can be used to estimate clade ages without phylogenetic hypotheses or molecular data. To assess the efficacy of this model, I apply it to placental mammals, estimating a Late Cretaceous origin. This is in agreement with molecular clock studies and despite a lack of unequivocal Cretaceous placental mammal fossils, demonstrating that the model is accurately interpreting the fossil record. I then apply the BBB model to the animal fossil record, estimating metazoans originated in the Ediacaran. These analyses demonstrate that diverse modelling methods can be used to estimate divergence ages, resulting in congruent evolutionary histories. The results of my thesis suggest that through the analysis of all relevant data, it may be possible to resolve the many controversies arising from competing palaeontological and molecular approaches to establishing evol

Macrofossils with unambiguous biogenic origin and predating the one-billion-year-old multicellular fossils Bangiomorpha and Proterocladus interpreted as crown-group eukaryotes are quite rare. Horodyskia is one of these few macrofossils, and it extends from the early Mesoproterozoic Era to the terminal Ediacaran Period. The biological interpretation of this enigmatic fossil, however, has been a matter of controversy since its discovery in 1982, largely because there was no evidence for the preservation of organic walls. Here we report new carbonaceous compressions of Horodyskia from the Tonian successions (similar to 950-720 Ma) in North China. The macrofossils herein with bona fide organic walls reinforce the biogenicity of Horodyskia. Aided by the new material, we reconstruct Horodyskia as a colonial organism composed of a chain of organic-walled vesicles that likely represent multinucleated (coenocytic) cells of early eukaryotes. Two species of Horodyskia are differentiated on the basis of vesicle sizes, and their co-existence in the Tonian assemblage provides a link between the Mesoproterozoic (H. moniliformis) and the Ediacaran (H. minor) species. Our study thus provides evidence that eukaryotes have acquired macroscopic size through the combination of coenocytism and colonial multicellularity at least similar to 1.48 Ga, and highlights an exceptionally long range and morphological stasis of this Proterozoic macrofossils.

[EN] Flint was the most widely used lithic raw material in Europe in Prehistory and, more specifically, was a fundamental resource in the economic and social networks of hunter-gatherer groups in the Cantabrian Spain during the Upper Palaeolithic. The undeniable preference for it compared with other resources was due to a series of factors, such as its easy availability because of its abundance and wide distribution of outcrops, and its excellent qualities for knapping. This summary of the available information about flint and other raw materials used by hunter-gatherers is framed in the context of Upper Palaeolithic occupations in Cantabrian Spain. First, it presents the studies focusing on the provenance of the different types of flint that are found in those occupations; their quantitative representation at each of the sites; their preference, if that is the case, over other raw materials; and the model of their diffusion across the territory. Then other resources are considered, such as quartzite, ochre and different metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks, as well as some materials of biological origin, such as amber, jet/lignite and fossils of animal origin. However, the information available about the use of the latter raw materials in Cantabrian Spain during the Upper Palaeolithic is quite limited and studies of their characterisation are very recent., [FR] Le silex est la principale matière première lithique utilisée dans la Préhistoire du continent européen et c’est une ressource fondamentale dans les circuits économiques et sociaux des groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs pendant le Paléolithique supérieur de la région cantabrique (nord de l’Espagne). Sa préférence incontestable par rapport aux autres ressources repose sur une série de qualités telles qu’une disponibilité facile du fait de sa grande abondance, de la grande dispersion des affleurements, ainsi que les excellentes qualités pour sa taille. Dans cet article, nous présentons une synthèse des informations disponibles à partir des études sur le silex et d’autres matières premières utilisées par les groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs. Cette révision a été abordée dans le cadre des occupations archéologiques de la région cantabrique datées du Paléolithique supérieur. D’une part, il s’agit des études relatives à la provenance des différents types de silex trouvés, leur représentation quantitative dans chacun des gisements révisées, préférence, si c’est le cas, par rapport aux autres matières premières documentées, ainsi que leur modèle de diffusion sur le territoire. D’autre part, d’autres ressources sont traitées, comme le quartzite, l’ocre et différentes roches métamorphiques, sédimentaires et ignées, ainsi que quelques matériaux d’origine biologique, comme l’ambre, le jais/lignite et les fossiles d’origine animale. Les informations disponibles concernant l’utilisation de ces matières premières dans le contexte du Paléolithique supérieur cantabrique sont assez rares et leurs études de caractérisation sont récentes.

[EN] The Commission for the Geological Map of Spain planned a monumental work in the 19th century, the “Synopsis of the fossil species found in Spain”, in which descriptions of the characteristic fossils of geological periods had to be combined with their illustrations in a paleontographical atlas. The objective was to constitute an auxiliary tool for those people who, without reference books at their reach, could determine in a practical way the Spanish geological formations. This work, which was to be published over several years, was entrusted to the mining engineer Lucas Mallada y Pueyo. The fossil drawings were handled by three artists: Teresa Madasú, José Cebrián and Fernando de los Villares Amor. The work was never completed, but between 1875 and 1892 250 plates of Cambrian to Paleogene fossils were published, most of them (206) drawn by Teresa Madasú, who therefore stands as the pioneer of paleontological illustration in Spain., [ES] La Comisión del Mapa Geológico de España proyectó en el siglo XIX una obra monumental, la Sinopsis de las especies fósiles que se han encontrado en España, en la que debían combinarse las descripciones de los fósiles característicos de los periodos geológicos con sus ilustraciones en forma de atlas paleontográfico. El objetivo era constituir una herramienta auxiliar para aquellas personas que, sin libros de referencia a su alcance, pudieran determinar de una forma práctica las formaciones geológicas españolas. Esta obra, que debía publicarse a lo largo de varios años, fue encomendada al ingeniero de minas Lucas Mallada y Pueyo, y para realizar los dibujos de los fósiles la Comisión contrató a tres ilustradores: Teresa Madasú, José Cebrián y Fernando de los Villares Amor. El trabajo no llegó a completarse, pero entre 1875 y 1892 se publicaron 250 láminas de fósiles cámbricos a paleógenos, la mayoría de ellas (206) dibujadas por Teresa Madasú, que se erige por tanto en la pionera de la ilustración paleontológica en España.

This short piece reflects on the book Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Conflict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian's Fossil Halls as it is released in paperback. It argues that ethnography offers an important perspective on the power dynamics of institutions, as well as how museums maintain trust via the negotiation process of creating exhibitions.

A large fossil anserine-like anatid (Aves, Anatidae, Notochen bannockburnensis gen. et sp. nov.) is described based on a distal humerus from the lower Bannockburn Formation, early Miocene (19-16 Ma), St Bathans Fauna from New Zealand. Its morphology and size suggest that this taxon represents an early swan rather than a goose. Extant anserines are split into Northern and Southern Hemisphere clades. The St Bathans Fauna is known to have the oldest anserines in the Southern Hemisphere, unnamed cereopsines perhaps ancestral to species of Cnemiornis (New Zealand geese). The elongate and flat morphology of the tuberculum supracondylare ventrale of the new species, however, preclude affinities with cereopsines. It is a rare taxon and the eighth anatid represented in the fauna and is the largest known anseriform from the Oligo-Miocene of Australasia. We also reassess other large anatid specimens from the St Bathans Fauna and identify Miotadorna catrionae Tennyson, Greer, Lubbe, Marx, Richards, Giovanardi & Rawlence, 2022 as a junior synonym of Miotadorna sanctibathansi Worthy, Tennyson, Jones, McNamara & Douglas, 2007.

Survey Notes is an informative, non-technical magazine on noteworthy and interesting geologic topics in Utah. It is the official Utah Geological Survey newsletter and is produced three times a year. Regular columns include the Director's Perspective, Glad You Asked, GeoSights, Teacher's Corner, Energy News, Survey News, Core Center News, and New Publications. Published as Quarterly Review (1967-1975) and Survey Notes (1976- ). Articles in this issue include: 1) Director's Perspective, by Bill Keach; 2) Assessing Geologic Carbon Sequestration Opportunities in Utah, by Eugene Szymanski, Ph.D.; 3) Coal for High Technology, by Ryan Gall; 4) Paleo News: New Discoveries of Morrison Formation Plant Fossils Expand Our Knowledge of Jurassic Ecosystems, by James Kirkland, John Foster, Don DeBlieux, and ReBecca Hunt-Foster; 5) Glad You Asked: What is Utah's Largest Meteorite?, by Jim Davis; and 6) GeoSights: Big and Little Brush Creek "Ice: Caves, Uintah County, Utah, by Mark Milligan.

Mammalian paleoecology: using the past to study the present, by Felisa A. Smith, 2021, Johns Hopkins University Press, 260 pp., ISBN 9781421441405 (hardcover).

The fossil record of marine invertebrates has long fuelled the debate as to whether or not there are limits to global diversity in the sea1-5. Ecological theory states that, as diversity grows and ecological niches are filled, the strengthening of biological interactions imposes limits on diversity6,7. However, the extent to which biological interactions have constrained the growth of diversity over evolutionary time remains an open question1-5,8-11. Here we present a regional diversification model that reproduces the main Phanerozoic eon trends in the global diversity of marine invertebrates after imposing mass extinctions. We find that the dynamics of global diversity are best described by a diversification model that operates widely within the exponential growth regime of a logistic function. A spatially resolved analysis of the ratio of diversity to carrying capacity reveals that less than 2% of the global flooded continental area throughout the Phanerozoic exhibits diversity levels approaching ecological saturation. We attribute the overall increase in global diversity during the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras to the development of diversity hotspots under prolonged conditions of Earth system stability and maximum continental fragmentation. We call this the 'diversity hotspots hypothesis', which we propose as a non-mutually exclusive alternative to the hypothesis that the Mesozoic marine revolution led this macroevolutionary trend12,13.

Paleomagnetism can elucidate the origin of inner core structure by establishing when crystallization started. The salient signal is an ultralow field strength, associated with waning thermal energy to power the geodynamo from core-mantle heat flux, followed by a sharp intensity increase as new thermal and compositional sources of buoyancy become available once inner core nucleation (ICN) commences. Ultralow fields have been reported from Ediacaran (~565 Ma) rocks, but the transition to stronger strengths has been unclear. Herein, we present single crystal paleointensity results from early Cambrian (~532 Ma) anorthosites of Oklahoma. These yield a time-averaged dipole moment 5 times greater than that of the Ediacaran Period. This rapid renewal of the field, together with data defining ultralow strengths, constrains ICN to ~550 Ma. Thermal modeling using this onset age suggests the inner core had grown to 50% of its current radius, where seismic anisotropy changes, by ~450 Ma. We propose the seismic anisotropy of the outermost inner core reflects development of a global spherical harmonic degree-2 deep mantle structure at this time that has persisted to the present day. The imprint of an older degree-1 pattern is preserved in the innermost inner core.

We use global airborne observations of propane (C3H8) and ethane (C2H6) from the Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) and HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO), as well as U.S.-based aircraft and tower observations by NOAA and from the NCAR FRAPPE campaign as tracers for emissions from oil and gas operations. To simulate global mole fraction fields for these gases, we update the default emissions' configuration of C3H8 used by the global chemical transport model, GEOS-Chem v13.0.0, using a scaled C2H6 spatial proxy. With the updated emissions, simulations of both C3H8 and C2H6 using GEOS-Chem are in reasonable agreement with ATom and HIPPO observations, though the updated emission fields underestimate C3H8 accumulation in the arctic wintertime, pointing to additional sources of this gas in the high latitudes (e.g., Europe). Using a Bayesian hierarchical model, we estimate global emissions of C2H6 and C3H8 from fossil fuel production in 2016-2018 to be 13.3 ± 0.7 (95% CI) and 14.7 ± 0.8 (95% CI) Tg/year, respectively. We calculate bottom-up hydrocarbon emission ratios using basin composition measurements weighted by gas production and find their magnitude is higher than expected and is similar to ratios informed by our revised alkane emissions. This suggests that emissions are dominated by pre-processing activities in oil-producing basins.

The rise of eukaryotic macroalgae in the late Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic was a critical development in Earth's history that triggered dramatic changes in biogeochemical cycles and benthic habitats, ultimately resulting in ecosystems habitable to animals. However, evidence of the diversification and expansion of macroalgae is limited by a biased fossil record. Non-mineralizing organisms are rarely preserved, occurring only in exceptional environments that favor fossilization. Investigating the taphonomy of well-preserved macroalgae will aid in identifying these target environments, allowing ecological trends to be disentangled from taphonomic overprints. Here we describe the taphonomy of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Dolores Creek Formation (ca. 950 Ma) of northwestern Canada (Yukon Territory) that preserves cm-scale macroalgae. Analytical microscopy, including scanning electron microscopy and tomographic x-ray microscopy, was used to investigate fossil preservation, which was the result of a combination of pyritization and aluminosilicification, similar to accessory mineralization observed in Paleozoic Burgess Shale-type fossils. These new Neoproterozoic fossils help to bridge a gap in the fossil record of early algae, offer a link between the fossil and molecular record, and provide new insights into evolution during the Tonian Period, when many eukaryotic lineages are predicted to have diversified.

Mammalian paleoecology: using the past to study the present, by Felisa A. Smith, 2021, Johns Hopkins University Press, 260 pp., ISBN 9781421441405 (hardcover).

Climate change particularly affects ectothermic reptiles that cannot regulate their internal temperature metabolically. But it is difficult to anticipate how the unprecedented pace of current climate change will affect these animals based only on recent data. We need a larger temporal context based on historical data spanning deeper time scales and past episodes of rapid climate change. Body size is a suitable response variable to test in such investigations because data from extant taxa can predict body size for fossil specimens from the same lineages. We can also reconstruct past climate parameters from terrestrial and marine proxies. Metabolic theory for ectothermic vertebrates predicts that maximum body size should correlate with environmental temperature over ecological time scales. Here, I test this theory on an evolutionary time scale, using both paleotemperature and paleoprecipitation, for two different higher order reptile groups occupying different habitats. I hypothesize that maximum snout-vent length (SVL) in terrestrial lizards and semiaquatic crocodyliforms tracks temperature and precipitation over geologic time intervals, and that these patterns emerge across both regional and local geographic scales. I measured 283 lizard and 280 crocodyliform fossil specimens from intermontane basins across the Western Interior of North America through the Paleogene (66-23 million years ago), which spans several warming and cooling events. Most of the fossil record of these animals consists of individual cranial or limb bones. I therefore collected an additional extensive dataset of measurements from extant specimens to develop regression equations for estimating SVL from isolated anatomical elements. I applied these methods to reconstruct lizard body sizes through the Paleogene using the available fossil record (Chapter 1). I then used similar methods to investigate whether deep time body size evolution patterns in terrestrial lizards compared to those of contempor