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In this paper, we describe palynological assemblages in the Middle Miocene (Serravallian) Kenslow Member of the Brassington Formation at Bees Nest Pit, near Brassington, Derbyshire, U.K., and infer vegetation types and their palaeoclimate implications. The limited lateral extent of the 1.33 m-thick succession of clay and lignite, and its position surrounding fragments of a large tree trunk, suggests that the succession may have accumulated within a tree throw hole or possibly within a shallow stagnant pond, although aquatic lacustrine palynomorphs have not been identified to confirm this latter hypothesis. The stratigraphical distribution of palynological assemblages, based on 58 samples allows reconstruction of a wetland succession. Two pollen zones were identified using CONISS cluster analysis, and a predominantly warm-temperate and mixed mesophytic forest biome was recognised with Tsuga conifer pollen-types being dominant (<42%) in both pollen zones. Changes in the make-up of this forested wetland were in response to local environmental changes rather than major climatic shifts. Wetland development culminated in the formation of a relatively open shrub and reed-dominated mire which produced the lignite-precursor peat. Applying the Co-existence Approach, Mean Annual Temperature was 15.6–21.7 °C and Mean Annual Precipitation was 703–1682 mm indicating a warm-temperate to subtropical palaeoclimate, and both parameters show no significant change through the section. Findings suggest that, following the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, the Serravallian climate of the northwestern margin of Europe remained much wetter than Central Europe, where more arid climates have been reconstructed, and this difference may have been due to the influence of the proto-North Atlantic Current. • We present a fossil record using a lignite and clay unit from the Kenslow Member. • We present the first reconstruction of a wetlands in the UK Miocene reconstruction record. • Transition from a Tsuga -dominant mixed mesophytic forest to a wetland occurred. • Palaeoclimate variables varied little and suggested frost-free conditions. • High precipitation reconstructions were caused by the proto-North Atlantic Current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper we report the most complete fossil avifauna from the southern cone of South America. The specimens here described were collected in the Paso Otero locality, at the middle stream of the Quequén Grande River, Pampean Region (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). The fossiliferous levels belong to the La Chumbiada Member of Luján Formation (37,800 ± 2300 yr BP, late Pleistocene). The assemblage is represented by 60 specimens belonging to at least 22 taxa. The radiocarbon age indicates that Paso Otero birds represent the oldest late Pleistocene avifauna known from the South American continent and the first coming from a clear interstadial event (MIS3). Available evidence indicates similar environmental conditions during the MIS3 interstadial in the Pampean Region of Argentina and the post-Last Glacial Maximum stadials in southeastern Brazil. The absence of significant extinction events in the latest Pleistocene–early Holocene avifaunas of Brazil and Argentina suggests that the main avifaunal composition along southeastern continental lowlands may not be affected by the cyclic retraction and extension of open environments. On the contrary, the fossil record of Peru and Ecuador demonstrates that a large number of taxa, including aquatic and predatory-scavenger birds, have gone extinct along Andean environments at the Pacific coast, and late Pleistocene climatic oscillations may have played a more dramatic impact in these avian communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient plant–insect herbivore associations can be studied directly through observation of feeding damage scars on well-preserved leaf adpression fossils. Early work on insect herbivory was largely qualitative and descriptive. The establishment of the insect damage census protocol by Wilf and Labandeira in 1999 modernized the study of ancient insect herbivory, formalized the functional feeding group–damage type (DT) system, and allowed rigorous quantitative analyses. In this review, we first discuss how to recognize insect herbivore damage and conduct insect damage censuses, as well as the importance of collecting these data. We then present a compilation of all published insect damage census data from angiosperm-dominated ecosystems that included at least 300 fossil dicot leaves. These 66 datasets range from Late Cretaceous to Pleistocene in age and include the majority of continents. Damage richness, damage frequency, relative abundance distributions of functional feeding groups, and ecological network metrics were computed for each site. We investigated spatio-temporal variations and tested potential drivers using various statistical analyses. Reassuringly, herbivory metrics do not appear to be influenced by publication date or depositional setting. There is no linear correlation between herbivory and geologic age, and the few significant differences that occur among time bins document the importance of the K-Pg extinction event on insect herbivory. When sites are partitioned into latitudinal bins, the mid southern hemisphere (60°S to 23°27′S) stands out as having frequent and diverse damage. High latitudes tend to have low damage richness and frequency, although not all differences are significant. Mean annual temperature influences herbivory more than any potential abiotic or biotic driver explored in our analyses and has significant positive relationships with total, specialized, and galling DT richness at 300 leaves, as well as specialized damage frequency. We close our paper by discussing best practices and promising avenues for future insect herbivory research. • Recent studies of fossil insect herbivory have utilized increasingly diverse deposits. • Spatio-temporal analysis of published insect damage census data from 66 angiosperm-dominated sites. • Network analyses reveal new insights about ancient plant-insect herbivore interactions. • Mean annual temperature is the most important predictor of DT richness on fossil dicots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]