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L'Atlas Saharien occidental ne cesse de livrer ses secrets paléontologiques. Les récentes prospections effectuées dans la partie supérieure de la Formation de Rhoundjaia ont permis de découvrir plusieurs niveaux fossilifères riches en faunes d'ammonites inédites d'âge Turonien inférieur. Sept espèces sont décrites et illustrées dans le cadre du présent travail : Neoptychites cephalotus (Courtiller, 1860), Fagesia peroni (Pervinquière, 1907), Fagesia tevesthensis (Peron, 1896), Pseudotissotia nigeriensis (Woods, 1911), Thomasites rollandi (Thomas et Peron, 1889), Choffaticeras (C.) sinaiticum (Douvillé, 1912), Hoplitoides sp. Ces espèces couvrent les Zones à Watinoceras coloradoense et Mammites nodosoides et documentent une affinité paléobiogéographique sud-téthysienne. The Western Saharan Atlas continues to reveal its paleontological secrets. Recent prospecting carried out in the upper part of the Rhoundjaia Formation allows to discover several fossiliferous levels rich in new, unpublished ammonites (lower Turonian). Seven Species are described and illustrated in the context of this study: Neoptychites cephalotus (Courtiller, 1860), Fagesia peroni (Pervinquière, 1907), Fagesia tevesthensis (Peron, 1896), Pseudotissotia nigeriensis (Woods, 1911), Thomasites rollandi (Thomas and Peron, 1889), Choffaticeras (C.) sinaiticum (Douvillé, 1912), Hoplitoides sp. These species cover Watinoceras coloradoense and Mammites nodosoides Zones (lower Turonian) and document a south tethysian paleobiogeographic affinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article relates the long scientific life of the French catholic missionary, Father/Doctor Henri Fontaine. He is also a geologist, a palaeontologist, an expert on Paleozoic corals and an archeologist. The year 2018 marked his 94th birthday, 70th sacerdotal year and 64 years of his scientific career. He has devoted most of his life to scientific activities in East and Southeast Asia: from 1954 to late 1975 in Viet Nam as geologist-expert, from 1978 to 2013 in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, within the framework of the Coordinating Committee for Coastal and Offshore Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) and afterwards as a volunteer once he had retired. Until 2018, he published nearly 300 articles about geology, palaeontology and prehistory, mostly as sole author or main author. Although he initially intended to be priest living among villagers somewhere in Asia, his life evolved, in spite of himself, following spiritual, political and scientific events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rocks from the Phu Bo Bit section consist of shale and limestone along with an abundant and diverse invertebrate fauna consisting of brachiopods, corals, bryozoans and crinoids, interpreted as having been deposited in shallow marine or shelf environments. At Phu Bo Bit, thick limestone lenses in shale contain microfossils. Based on the foraminiferan and algae assemblage, the stratigraphic sequence of Phu Bo Bit extends from the late Bashkirian to the early Moscovian. According to lithofacies and palaeontology, the Phu Bo Bit section represents the change from carbonate to siliciclastic sedimentation, which provides new evidence on the marine regression during the mid-Carboniferous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Le present travail consiste à montrer les résultats préliminaires des fouilles de sauvetage de Kostenki 21 (Gmélinskaia) réalisées entre les années 2013 et 2016 par le chantier archéologique de Kostenki au sein de l'Institut d'Histoire de la Culture Matérielle de l'Académie des Sciences de Russie (Saint-Pétersbourg). À la suite de l'examen visuel de la pente raide de la falaise dominant la rive, trois accumulations de matériel archéologique associé à la couche culturelle principale (III) ont été trouvées et étudiées. Chacune d'entre elles diffère par sa structure et sa composition, ce qui permet de les interpréter comme des zones fonctionnellement différentes : 1) vestiges d'un « ensemble d'habitat » (?) ; 2) zone de fabrication, de ravivage des burins, et d'obtention des chute de burin comme le support ; 3) partie périphérique (intermédiaire) du site. Les résultats obtenus permettent de retourner à la problématique posée dans les années 1980 concernant la séparation du matériel archéologique de la couche III du site de Kostenki 21 en deux groupes distincts. Malgré le fait que les zones en question varient à la fois par la composition lithique et par l'assortiment de matières premières, les preuves disponibles restent insuffisantes pour décider si la couche culturelle III doit être subdivisée en deux complexes indépendants. This paper presents the preliminary results of the archeological rescue works, carried out on the Kostenki 21 (Gmelinskaya) site in 2013–2016, directed by the Kostenki archaeological expedition, organized by the Institute of History of the Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint-Petersburg). During visual observation of the river bank, three areas of cultural remains of the main cultural layer (III) were discovered and studied. Each of them differs in its structure and composition of inds, which makes it possible to interpret them as functionally different areas: 1) remains of a "dwelling complex" (?); 2) area devoted to the production and re-shaping of burins (including detachment of burin spalls); peripheral (intermediate) part of the site. Despite the fact that the areas in question vary in both the composition of stone inventory and the assortment of raw materials, the available evidence remains insufficient to decide whether the III cultural layer should be subdivided into two independent complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les figurines découvertes dans des grottes du Jura souabe ont été datées de l'Aurignacien depuis près d'un demi siècle à la suite des travaux de J. Hahn, mais ce n'était pas l'avis des découvreurs dans les sites Vogelherd et d'Hohlenstien Stadel. La datation de ces sculptures soulève des questions au sujet des premiers développements de l'art figuratif. Cet article examine la validité des arguments présentés sur les âges radiométriques au regard des situations stratigraphiques. Une chronologie plus variée de cet art mobilier devient claire : selon nous, de nombreuses pièces de Vogelherd et de Hohle Fels datent du Gravettien, alors que d'autres de Vogelherd et Hohlenstein Stadel datent du Magdalénien. Les arguments en faveur de l'Aurignacien ne résistent pas à l'examen critique. The portable art discovered in the caves of the Swabian Jura has been dated to the Aurignacian for almost half a century, following work by J. Hahn, but that was not the opinion of the discoverers at the sites of Vogelherd and Hohlenstein Stadel. The dating of these figurines poses questions about the first development of figurative art. This paper examines the validity of the arguments presented about radiometric ages of the finds comparing to their stratigraphic locations. A varied chronology for these artworks becomes clear: in our view, some pieces from Vogelherd and Hohle Fels date to the Gravettian, while others from Vogelherd and Hohlenstein Stadel date to the Magdalenian. The arguments in favour of the Aurignacian do not hold up to critical examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé L'étude stratigraphique, lithologique et sédimentologique de la Grotte du Bison a été examinée en partant des descriptions réalisées par A. Roblin-Jouve (micromorphologue de l'équipe) et des analyses sédimentologiques réalisées par J. C. Miskowsky. Cet article s'appuie donc sur une trentaine d'années d'observations méticuleusement notées dans les rapports de fouille. Les niveaux conservés dans cette cavité se situent entre un niveau post-Gravettien et un Moustérien à débitage Levallois et allure charentienne. Daté de moins 55 000 à moins 24 000 ans, nous suivons l'évolution de la Grotte du Bison, de sa naissance à son effondrement. Abstract The stratigraphic, lithological and sedimentological study of the Bison Cave was examined starting from the descriptions made by A. Roblin-Jouve (micromorphologist of the team) and sedimentological analyzes carried out by J. C. Miskowsky. This article is based on thirty years of observations meticulously noted in the search reports. The levels preserved in this cavity are located between a post-Gravettian level and a Levallois Moustérien à coupage and Charentienne look. Dated from minus 55,000 to minus 24,000, we follow the evolution of the Bison Cave from birth to collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé L’industrie paléolithique de Bose, dans le bassin de Bose, dans le Guangxi, en Chine méridionale, est bien connue dans la communauté scientifique internationale pour ses niveaux à bifaces datant de 803 ka. Sept terrasses ont été identifiées dans le bassin. La terrasse 4 est la plus importante parce que des bifaces et des tectites y ont été retrouvés. Depuis la découverte du premier site en 1973, d’autres sites du Paléolithique de Bose, dont la plupart sont situés sur la terrasse 4, ont été étudiés et fouillés. Les études précédentes ont conclu qu’il n’y a eu qu’une seule phase d’occupation avec cette industrie et que son âge est de 803 ka. Cependant, avant 2013, aucune tentative n’a été faite pour atteindre les graviers basaux du haut de la terrasse 4 par des fouilles archéologiques. Par conséquent, la stratigraphie et les couches à partir desquelles les artefacts lithiques proviennent de la terrasse 4 ne sont pas claires. En 2013–2014, nous avons réalisé une fouille de 200 m 2 sur le site de Gaolingpo qui est l’un des sites paléolithiques les plus importants du bassin de Bose. Nous avons fouillé les dépôts de gravier basal du haut de cette terrasse, exposant une coupe de plus de 7 mètres d’épaisseur qui montre clairement la stratigraphie des dépôts du Pléistocène et de l’Holocène. En outre, plus de 800 artefacts en pierre incluant des choppers, des pics, des racloirs, etc. ont été exhumés de plusieurs couches stratigraphiques différentes en termes d’âge et d’autres aspects. Basé sur la stratigraphie et les artefacts lithiques, trois étapes culturelles d’objets paléolithiques du site de Gaolingpo peuvent être établies. La première étape est d’un âge d’au moins 803 ka. La deuxième étape peut être datée à 15 ka et la troisième étape à environ 10 ka. The Bose Paleolithic industry in the Bose Basin, Guangxi, South China is well known in the international scientific community for its bearing handaxes dated back to 803 ka. Seven terraces were developed in the basin and terrace 4 is the most important because handaxes and tektites were recovered from this terrace. Since the first site was discovered in 1973, additional sites of the Bose Paleolithic industry have been investigated and excavated, most of which are located on terrace 4. The previous studies concluded that there is only one phase within this industry and its age is 803 ka. However, before 2013, no attempt had been made to dig down to the basal gravels from the top of terrace 4 in archaeological excavations. Therefore, the stratigraphy and the layers from which the stone artifacts derive of terrace 4 are not clear. In 2013–2014, we conducted an excavation of 200 m 2 at the Gaolingpo site, which is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in the Bose Basin. We excavated to the basal gravel deposits from the top of this terrace, and a section of more than 7 meters thick deposit was exposed and clearly shows the stratigraphic layers of Pleistocene and Holocene deposits. Furthermore, features and about 800 stone artifacts including choppers, picks, scrapers, etc. were excavated from several stratigraphic layers, which are different in age and other aspects. Based on stratigraphy and the stone artifacts, three stages of Paleolithic cultural remains from the Gaolingpo site can be established. The first stage is in the age of at leat 803 ka. The second stage can be dated to 15 ka and the third stage to about 10 ka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Résumé Le gisement paléolithique inférieur de Menez-Dregan1 fait l’objet d’une fouille importante et d’un programme interdisciplinaire depuis 1991. Il s’agit d’une ancienne grotte marine dont le toit s’est progressivement effondré. Le remplissage témoigne d’un bilan sédimentaire assez faible, dominé par les dépôts littoraux anciens avec de nombreux hiatus d’érosion. Trois unités stratigraphiques principales séparées par des dépôts littoraux correspondant à des phases d’interruption majeure de la présence humaine, renferment des niveaux d’occupation. Les datations par résonance paramagnétique électronique (RPE) placeraient la première occupation humaine vers le stade 12 ou la fin du 13 (vers 465 000 ans). Les datations RPE obtenues sur la base de la couche 5 situeraient les occupations vers la fin du stade 11 (vers 380 000 ans). Les études géologiques (sédimentologie, corrélations stratigraphiques à courte distance) tendent à confirmer ces datations. Notre connaissance des groupes humains qui se sont succédés à Menez-Dregan repose essentiellement sur les outils lithiques qu’ils y ont abandonnés. L’industrie des niveaux supérieurs (couche 5) correspond à la définition du Colombanien. À côté de nombreux éclats et nucléus, existent des galets aménagés (choppers essentiellement), des galets fracturés et des galets à enlèvements isolés sur des roches variées, quelques hachereaux et de rares bifaces. S’y ajoute un outillage léger dominé par les denticulés et les encoches, et comprenant également des racloirs peu variés typologiquement. Cet outillage « léger » est surtout en silex, mais on y trouve aussi un peu de quartz et de grès lustré. La dernière couche d’occupation (couche 4) pourrait marquer la transition entre le Paléolithique inférieur et le Paléolithique moyen. Si l’on peut parler de faciès régional pour les industries à galets aménagés du littoral sud-armoricain, il est difficile de le distinguer totalement de l’Acheuléen du nord de la France. Ces industries armoricaines pourraient en effet correspondre à des aires d’activités spécialisées, comme cela a été démontré pour certains groupes à galets aménagés attribués au Paléolithique moyen. La notion de cultures, qui pourrait également être mise en avant pour expliquer cette variabilité, doit être abordée avec une extrême prudence, car elle ne serait guère fondée que sur la présence (ou l’absence) d’un seul type d’outil (le biface). The Lower Palaeolithic site of Menez-Dregan I is currently the subject of an important excavation and has been part of a multidisciplinary project since 1991. It is an ancient marine cave whose roof has gradually collapsed and thus partly protected the site from erosion. In Menez-Dregan 1, the sedimentological evidence has been significantly reduced due to multiple episodes of marine erosion in the cave (low sedimentary preservation in terms of sedimentation and erosion process). However, the proximity of a section with a longer sedimentary record (Gwendrez cliff) has allowed for an attempt at correlation between the different deposits by way of a sedimentologic study applied to sandy marker beds (dunes). The resulting new data permitted a more precise chronostratigraphy of this site to be drawn up and contributed to further validation of dating. Three main stratigraphic units show distinct levels of human occupation at the site, separated by coastal deposits. The ESR dates tend to place the first human occupation in MIS 12 or at the end of MIS 13 (around 465,000 years). The ESR dating obtained at the base of layer 5 gave an age of 380,000 years. The geological analysis (sedimentology, stratigraphical correlations at short distance) tends to confirm these dates. The fauna has not preserved due to the acidic environment, leaving only the lithic industry to show how the human groups who settled at the site lived and, it is worth noting, mastered fire lighting, and or control, at a very early date (late MIS 13 or early MIS 12). The lithic industry from the upper levels (layer 5) is likely Colombanian and is composed of numerous flakes and cores alongside a great quantity of cobble tools (mostly choppers), fractured cobbles, and cobbles with isolated removals on various types of rocks, some cleavers and very rare bifaces. Additionally denticulates and notches form the main part of the light duty tools, together with scrapers. These retouched light duty tools are mainly made on flint, but quartz and glossy sandstone were also used. The last level of occupation (layer 4) probably shows the transition between Lower and Middle Palaeolithic. This may represent a regional cobble tool industry of the south armorican shoreline, however, it is still difficult to separate it totally from the classic European Acheulean from Northern France. These armorican lithic industries could indeed correspond with areas of specialised activities, as demonstrated for some Middle Palaeolithic groups with a cobble tools lithic industry. The notion of culture that could be chosen to explain this variability must be treated with caution, because it would only be based on the presence or absence of only one type of tool (the handaxe). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Solenopleurid trilobites comprise a very common family in East and West Gondwana. The type genus of this family, Solenopleura , has however suffered several taxonomic changes due to misunderstandings throughout the 20th century. In order to clarify and resolve all these problems, a revision is presented here that deals with both species involved in such misunderstandings, Calymene holometopa Angelin, 1851 and Calymene canaliculata Angelin, 1851. Both species are reassigned to the genus Solenopleura . The new descriptions and illustrations demonstrate that morphological features in Solenopleura holometopa are shared by other Scandinavian trilobites such as Solenopleura conifrons Westergård, 1952, which is closely related. Furthermore, the genus Gonzaloia Geyer, 1998 has been erected to include two species, G. canaliculata and G. conifrons . New descriptions herein suggest this genus is not supported by evidences and that included species should be provisionally considered, though with reservations, within the genus Solenopleura until a morphological and cladistic study of the whole genus will be able to provide significant evidence to separate both genera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: In a recent publication, C. Guernet picks up again the accusations of fraud against J. Deprat, who, in the early 20th century, had suffered such attacks to the point to be removed from the Geological Society of France. At the end of the same century, one among us (M D.D.) reexamined this affair, and drew the conclusion that J. Deprat was innocent, after which the Geological Society of France reinstated him posthumously. The new accusations issued by Guernet are about Deprat''s work in Euboea, as well as Corsica and Sardinia. Our own work rather disagrees and shows that, here again, Deprat is innocent. At this occasion, we present or remind new elements about those regions’ geology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The site of Trou Al’Wesse has been interpreted as a site of possible contact between Mesolithic and Neolithic populations, given the discovery of Neolithic ceramics and Mesolithic tools in stratum 4. However, recent excavations have also revealed the presence of three Early Mesolithic facies overlain by a Neolithic layer, while a Late Mesolithic presence is suggested for a fourth facies at the base of the terrace slope. Lithic and faunal analyses, as well as spatial analysis of the stratigraphic position of material recovered, indicate a clear separation of Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations. We present a new interpretation of the sequence of Holocene human occupations at Trou Al’Wesse in light of these data, arguing that the site was regularly occupied during the Early Mesolithic, forming a palimpsest of these visits, followed by an occupational hiatus and then reoccupation during the Late Mesolithic. The Early Neolithic is a separate occupation clearly unrelated to the Early Mesolithic underlying it, but ongoing fieldwork may recover data concerning the Final Mesolithic and its relation to the Early Neolithic at the site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As one of the oldest known Eurasian fossil vertebrate localities, Samos late Miocene fauna attracted the interest of specialists by its richness and overall importance. Nevertheless, crucial taxonomical questions and chronological problems obscured its value. The detailed study of the local stratigraphy, the collection of new fossil material and its study, the revision of the old collections and the updated magneto-chronology of the fossiliferous deposits permited to re-discuss most of the problems in a special volume edited in 2009 by Koufos and Nagel and to provide a clearer and more precise idea about the Samos fauna and its age. A synopsis of this work is given here. The systematic study of the new collection (∼1200 identified specimens) allows the determination of 42 species from three fossil horizons, ranging from the upper part of early Turolian (MN11) to the end of middle Turolian (MN12). Taxonomic novelties are the presence of the carnivore genus Protictitherium found for the first time in Samos, the establishment of the new name Skoufotragus for Pachytragus Schlosser with the new species Skoufotragus zemalisorum, and the amended morphology of Pseudomeriones and Urmiatherium. Additionally six Hipparion and four Gazella species were recognized and a better morphometric distinction between Samotherium boissieri and Samotherium major was performed. This study also improved the correlation of the old fossiliferous sites with the new ones and with the local stratigraphy of the Mytilinii Basin, while precise ages have been obtained for the mammal localities. The new data together with the old collections indicate the presence in Samos of four chronologically successive mammal assemblages reflecting a “four stages-of-evolution” scheme. The Turolian palaeoenvironment of Samos is determined as an open bushland with thick grassy-floor of C3 graminoids with possible increase of the open and dry character from the beginning to the end of Middle Turolian. The Samos mammal faunas are palaeobiogeographically closer to the Asian ones than to those from the Greek mainland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The site of Longgupo is located north of the subtropical zone and is part of the domain of eastern fauna. The large number of mammal species identified at this site enables clarification of the broad pattern of paleoenvironmental change for the three assemblages from the first stratigraphic sequence (HuangW.-B. excavations). The different species have been classified in four biogeographic groups: subtropical (moderate monsoon), tropical forest (hot and humid climate), montane (cold climate) and prairie (cold and dry climate). Variation in the representation rate of each of these groups enables general reconstruction of the paleoenvironments for the three assemblages identified at Longgupo: a lower assemblage in a hot and humid climate with cold and dry episodes, an intermediate assemblage in a rather cold and dry climate in the lower part, becoming progressively warmer and humid toward the top of the sequence with a monsoon influence more marked than the present day, and an upper assemblage in a rather cold and dry climate. This biochronology and general paleoenvironmental reconstruction are clearly important, but as mentioned above, the stratum by stratum correspondence between the old and new stratigraphic sequences has been quite difficult because the position of material recovered during the early excavations was not recorded. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In several synclines of the central High Atlas, the “Redbeds” following the closure of the marine Tethyan Atlasic trough during the Middle Jurassic are constituted by three successive formations or units of continental deposits dated recently with biostratigraphical elements. Some micropaleontological markers, mainly charophytes and ostracods, allow to precise the stratigraphy in agreement with a Bathonian-?Callovian assignment for the lower unit (Guettioua Formation), and in dating the middle and upper units. The Upper Jurassic, mainly the Kimmeridgian, is developed in the lower part of the middle unit (Iouaridene Formation). The Barremian has been recognized in this middle unit and in the upper unit (Jbel Sidal Formation). The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary is thus delimited for the first time with micropaleontological data. These new data are very significant for the Atlasic history during the Mesozoic. The basaltic flows inserted in the continental Jurassic-Cretaceous deposits of the central High Atlas result from two separate events in the Middle Jurassic and in the Barremian. The tectogenesis in the basins is characterized by a polyphase process including notably a synsedimentary tectonic activity conspicuous in the Barremian. The evidence of marine to brackish intercalations allows moreover to date the first Cretaceous transgressive event on the NW boundary of the High Atlas during the Lower Barremian and to consider an Atlantic paleogeographical interaction. SW margin of the Tethyan trough in the Lower and Middle Jurassic, the central High Atlas is merged with the margin of the central Atlantic Ocean during the Lower Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The blastozoan echinoderm genus Gogia is reported for the first time in the Early and the Middle Cambrian of Mexico. Reports in different members of the section of San José de Gracia (Sonora State, northwestern Mexico) extend the palaeogeographical range of the genus to the South Laurentia, and the stratigraphic range of Gogia granulosa to the whole first half of middle Middle Cambrian. Isolated plates occur in rocks deposited in detrital inner platform and complete specimens, in carbonate outer platform, confirming their ability to live in diverse environments. Their presence in these different environments through the Early-Middle Cambrian on Laurentia agrees with the onshore-offshore expansion of echinoderms during Cambrian. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: After some deontological considerations, we confirm that evidence of Mediterranean reflooding by Atlantic waters occurs significantly below the formally defined base of the Zanclean Stage at 5.332Ma, as shown by the lowest occurrence of the calcareous nannofossil Ceratolithus acutus (illustrated) in the lower part of the p-ev2 Formation in the Maccarone section. This species can be detected only after prolonged investigations of the smear slides. Hence, the cyclostratigraphy of the Marche late Messinian requires revision. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: In the Crete Island, late Messinian Lago-Mare facies are not well known. At present, the occurrence in Crete of the uppermost Messinian post evaporitic deposits is a matter of debate. According to several authors, the well-known late Messinian Lago-Mare facies does not occur in Crete. In this paper the preliminary results obtained from the biostratigraphical analysis of some sections sampled in the Messarà Plain will be shown. Nearby Faneromeni and Ano Akria villages, the Miocene/Pliocene boundary is well exposed. There, gypsum-bearing clay, laminated microcrystalline gypsum and gypsum-rudites characterize the evaporitic deposits of the Messinian stage. In these areas, above the Messinian evaporite, post-evaporitic fine-laminated polychrome clays, with intercalations of sandstones and conglomerates, have been found. In both the Faneromeni and Ano Akria area, the Pliocene grey clays and conglomerates rest unconformably on the uppermost Messinian post-evaporitic deposits. A 20cm-spaced sampling has been performed in both the sections, for more than 100 samples collected. The results of the micropaleontological analysis performed on the Faneromeni and Ano Akria sections point to the occurrence of ostracod assemblages containing: Loxocauda limata (Schneider in Agalarova et al.), Loxocauda sp., Cytherura pyrama Schneider, Cyprideis anlavauxensis Carbonnel, Cyprideis agrigentina Decima, Amnicythere palimpsesta (Livental), Amnicythere propinqua (Livental), Amnicythere accicularia (Olteanu), Amnicythere costata (Olteanu), Amnicythere multituberculata (Livental), Amnicythere sp. D (Miculan in Bassetti et al.), Amnicythere sp. 2 Gliozzi and Grossi, Amnicythere sp., Euxinocythere (Maeotocythere) praebaquana (Livental in Agalarova et al.), Mediocytherideini indet., Pontoniella pontica (Agalarova), Camptocypria sp. 1 Gliozzi and Grossi, Caspiocypris sp., Zalanyiella venusta (Zalanyi), Tyrrhenocythere sp., Loxoconcha rhombovalis Pokorny, Loxoconcha eichwaldi Livental, Loxoconcha sp. A (Miculan in Bassetti et al.), Loxocorniculina djafarovi (Schneider in Suzin). In the analysed samples, reworked planktonic foraminifers and well-preserved charophyte gyrogonites have been also found. The ostracod assemblages found in the Messarà Plain belong to the Loxocorniculina djafarovi Zone (sensu Carbonnel, 1978), which characterizes the uppermost Messinian deposits of the whole Mediterranean Basin. At that time, the well-known Lago-Mare biofacies was also widespread on the Crete Island. The presence of Paratethyan ostracods in the post-evaporitic Messinian deposits of both Faneromeni and Ano Akria sections suggests that in the Crete Island the latest Messinian sedimentation took place in brackish water palaeoenvironments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Copyright of Revue de Micropaleontologie is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: During its thirty first years, from 1906 to 1937, the Annales de Paléontologie included, at the instigation of Marcellin Boule, many articles apparently anonymous, devolved to the d''Orbigny''s types of the Prodrome. In these articles, not easy to cite because the most part not signed and for some even not titled, are rediscribed and illustrated the species established by d''Orbigny in 1850 and 1852 in his Prodrome de Paléontologie stratigraphique universelle, but then briefly characterized and not figured. It is in fact a collective work, widely remained unfinished but which however totalizes 510 text pages and 139 photographic plates, in the course of which the authors, Armand Thévenin, Ferdinand Canu and Jean Cottreau, redefined more than one thousand species (molluscs, brachiopods, echinoderms, bryozoans, madreporaria and porifers) disposed from the Lower Silurian to the Neocomian, according to the stratigraphic levels then established by d''Orbigny. This redefinition of the d''Orbigny''s types of the Prodrome makes up a comprehensive work, the interest of which being possibly evaluated by the numerous quotations referring to it in the former and also recent publications on invertebrate paleontology, this in spite of the questionable choice of some of the type specimens then proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The discovery of the Lowermost Tithonian Hybonotum–Lithographicum Zone allows for the first time to define the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian boundary in the pelagic and transitional facies (Béni Kleb Fm) of the Tunisian Dorsale and to divide within the formation the Kimmeridgian-lower Tithonian grey and/or pseudonodular mudstone and the massive Tithonian limestones. The Hybonotum–Lithographicum Zone was not identified in the reefal facies (Ressas Fm) and the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian are not divided. The Ressas Fm starts earlier, with the Upper Oxfordian, Bimammatum Zone. The Kimmeridgian-Tithonian of the Tunisian Dorsale is compared with the corresponding beds in Algeria and Sicily. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Marls with pillow lavas of Late Eocene age from Castelnuovo in the Euganean Hills (Padua, NE Italy) have yielded three new verrucid cirripede species, Verruca veneta nov. sp., Costatoverruca? seguenzai nov. sp., and Metaverruca euganea nov. sp. The stratigraphic distribution of these taxa is discussed in light of previous verrucid records and their geologic context is established. They represent the oldest known verrucids from Italy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Abstract: Northern Aquitaine exhibits highly fossiliferous type deposits of the Lower Burdigalian. They mainly consist of shallow crags of the Léognan and Saucats area. The levels of the earliest basis of the stage, little studied till now, are described in a new section, situated in the vicinity of the stratotype at Martillac (Gironde). They are fine blue-grey carbonated sands with rather abundant Bivalves, called “sables à Mactres”. Foraminifera are well represented (more than a hundred species) and generally in a good state of preservation. The whitish silty and sandy upper level yields a somewhat impoverished foraminiferal fauna. All taxa indicate a shallow infralittoral to near-shore environment, rather a quiet one with a normal salinity; porcelaneous and smaller hyaline foraminifera living in a silty and muddy substrate are common. Many taxa are thermophil; the existence of a tropical climate is confirmed by the associated macrofauna. The malacofauna evokes a sheltered bay submitted to tides (cf. Lesport and Cahuzac, 2005). From the biostratigraphic point of view, only the species Miogypsina globulina is present amongst the Miogypsinidae, it shows an early evolutionary stage and only sometimes exhibits a rudimentary second nepionic spiral. Therefore, the attribution to the Earliest Burdigalian is strengthened. The distribution of a few other species is precised; for example, Bolivina pseudoplicata (fide Hasegawa et al., 1990), already present in the Upper Burdigalian and in the Langhian of Aquitaine, is so observed in the lowermost Burdigalian stage, Elphidiella subnodosa is still existing in this level and the abundance of Neorotalia with supplementary equatorial chambers can be noticed, usually more frequent in the Chattian. So, these deposits corresponding to the beginning of the transgression in the type area are better characterized. These new data will allow to make comparisons with other, neighbouring formations of the same age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The thick red mudstone unit that crops out at Laguna Umayo (Puno department, southern Peru), here referred as LURMU, has yielded in different levels a fossil assemblage with plants and vertebrates (including mammals). On the basis of charophytes, the unit was initially assigned to the Vilquechico Formation (Maastrichtian-Danian), of regional extension, and the dinosaurian structure of egg fragments was interpreted as consistent with that age. Revision of the regional stratigraphy leads to reassignment of this unit to the Lower Muñani Formation (Early Tertiary). Mammals from the LU-3 and Chulpas levels present affinities with forms from the Upper Paleocene of South America (Patagonia, Brazil). A bunodont marsupial, Chulpasia, is evidence for chronologic proximity to a transantarctic interchange with Australia at the end of the Paleocene. Furthermore, magnetostratigraphy of the LURMU reveals a single reverse polarity zone of 300 m thickness. Because of the new stratigraphic and paleomammalogic data, this long reverse polarity zone is likely correlative to Chron 26r (early Late Paleocene) or Chron 24r (latest Paleocene–earliest Eocene), or, less likely, to Chron 29r (latest Cretaceous–earliest Paleocene). The arguments previously invoked in favor of a Cretaceous age (charophytes, dinosaurian eggs) are critically evaluated, and correlation to Chron 24r is favored. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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In the Sandıklı region of the Taurus Range of Turkey, greater than 3000 m in thickness metamorphosed siliciclastics and volcanics (Kocayayla Group) underlies the trilobite-and conodont-bearing Middle-Late Cambrian Hudai Quartzite and Çaltepe Formation.The Kocayayla Group, previously regarded as Infracambrian or Precambrian, is dated for the first time as Early Cambrian on the basis of trace fossils. Cruziana ?fasciculata, C. ?salomonis, ?Cruziana isp., ?Diplichnites isp., Monomorphichnus isp., Petalichnus isp., Rusophycus ?avalonensis, R. ?latus, Arenicolites isp., cf. Altichnus foeyni, Planolites isp., Skolithos isp., and ?Treptichnus isp. have been recognised. These trace fossils are considered Tommotian or younger in age but older than the overlying, trilobite and conodont bearing Middle Cambrian limestones of the Çaltepe Formation. The trace fossils were likely produced by trilobites, suspension feeding annelids and deposit feeding “worms”, probably polychaetes. Sections bearing abundant Skolithos represent the Skolithos ichnofacies, which is typical of high energy environments with loose sandy, well sorted to slightly muddy substrates in intertidal to shallow subtidal zones. The other trace fossils represent the Cruziana ichnofacies, which is typical of subtidal, poorly sorted and soft substrates, from moderate energy to low energy environments between the fairweather and storm wave base.The Kocayayla Group was deposited at an early stage in a shallow marine stable shelf condition. The shelf subsided in a later stage and was affected by normal faults along which mafic and felsic volcanic rocks erupted. The volcanic activity had ceased and a shallow marine clastic sedimentation took place in the final stage of the shelf development. The Kocayayla Group was deformed and metamorphosed before the deposition of the trilobite-bearing Middle-Upper Cambrian succession. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Carbon and oxygen isotopes were studied in fossiliferous Cambrian carbonates in northwestern Hunan Province (South China) and in northern Anhui and southern Shandong provinces (North China). Two major C isotope excursions related to biological events occur in the Wangcun section (Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan), which consists of a slope carbonate sequence (510 m thick) containing abundant trilobites. The first C isotope excursion (δ13C value shifts from –2.3‰ to 2‰) occurs near the boundary between the Qingxudong and Aoxi formations, close to the traditional Lower-Middle Cambrian boundary. The second excursion (δ13C value shifts from 0‰ to 3‰) occurs in the interval between the Linguagnostus reconditus Zone and the Glyptagnostus reticulatus Zone. The base of the G. reticulatus Zone define the base of the Paibi Stage and Furongian Series. Similar C isotope excursions also occur in shallow – water carbonate sections in North China. In Jiagou section near Huainan (Anhui Province), recently considered an important interval for defining the lower-middle Cambrian boundary because of dramatic changes in the trilobite fauna (extinction of redlichiids and appearances of ptychopariids), a negative C isotope excursion (δ13C value shifts from +1.21‰ to –1.93‰) occurs at the top of the lower member of the Mantou Formation. In the Gushan section (Changqing County, Shandong Province), a C isotope excursion (δ13C value shifts from –0.04‰ to 2.23‰) occurs at the base of the Changshan Formation and is coincident with the base of the Chuangia Zone. This excursion can be correlated with the excursion in the lower part of Glyptagnostus reticulatus Zone in the Wangcun section. The above two distinct C isotope excursions, which occur both in slope carbonates in South China and in shallow – water carbonates in North China, have also been recognized in Cambrian sections on other continents, and they coincide with global mass extinctions of trilobites. The two excursions evidently reflect global changes of Cambrian sea level, and they have utility for Cambrian subdivisions and for both regional and global stratigraphic correlation. In addition, a negative carbon excursion below the base of the Ptychagnostus atavus Zone in the Wangcun section supports previous suggestions that the FAD of P. atavus can be considered as a global correlatable horizon within the middle Cambrian. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Drillholes to several kilometres depth on Kolguev Island in the southern Barents Sea have sampled early Palaeozoic successions, known elsewhere in the Pechora Basin to overlie Neoproterozoic basement complexes. New studies on acritarch microfossils from the lowermost part of the Palaeozoic succession (c. 4500 m depth), reached by the Bugrino 1 and North-Western 202 boreholes, revealed diverse and biostratigraphically significant assemblages, which indicate the position of the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary in a sedimentologically continuous offshore marine succession. Upper Cambrian strata equivalent to the Peltura and Acerocare zones are distinguished on the basis of common taxa known from the neighbouring East European Platform and other areas in Baltica, Avalonia, and Gondwana. Invertebrate faunas, including brachiopods, problematic mollusc and phyllocarid arthropods, are revised taxonomically; they are indicative for the Tremadocian and Arenigian stages in the upper part of the succession. The Cambrian strata are insofar documented by fossil record only on the Kolguev Island, although their extension (of various series) in other areas of the Pechora Basin is claimed on the grounds of geophysical data and/or is inferred from geological successions. This new biostratigraphic evidence and facies development suggest that the Upper Cambrian-Tremadocian platformal deposits were likely widely distributed over the northeastern Baltica, as they were in the East European Platform and Baltoscandia. They were accumulated on a stable and passive margin of the craton with steady subsidence and a high rate of sedimentation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Remarkable Invertebrates from the Lower Callovian of la Voulte-sur-Rhoˆne (Arde`che, France). The four-excavating field expeditions from 1983 to 1986 led to collect a considerable amount of new data from this exceptional paleontological site, which was neglected, and unexplored for the essential, until now. This paper presents a synthesis of the main available results. For the first time, the succession of the lithofacies is precised from all preserved deposits thick about 12 m. These observations reveal, on the whole, a great homogeneity of lithologic, paleobiologic or taphonomic characteristics, which denote a rather great constancy of the global environmental conditions. The lithofacies are schistous marls revealing former uncemented paleosubstrates, with clay very dominating (montmorillonite for 60–70%, calcium carbonate, siderite and limonite for less than 30% or 40%). The faunas are nearly exclusively composed of pelagic, nectopelagic or mesopelagic organisms (swimming in full water or dependent on free algal environments); they include very few benthic organisms. The marine water depth in this area would be estimated to have reached roughly 200 m. The surface and middle water strata, where lived the major part of organisms, must have been usually agitated, well oxygenated and illuminated. At the opposite side, the bottom water must have been very quiet and anoxic, in aphotic zona, which is responsible for the soft tissue mineralisation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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The Marcel Clouet Cave in Cognac (Charente) is a small cavity, more a shelter than a true cave, in the Cretaceous limestone cliffs along the Antenne, a tributary of the Charente River. The site suffered from a number of clandestine excavations before the work of C. Burnez, who was then followed by one of us (A.D.). The material recovered in stratigraphic context represents both Middle and Upper Paleolithic. The former is an example of Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition (MTA), while the latter includes Aurignacian (probably early) and Perigordian (probably Chaˆtelperronian Gravettian), as well as some Solutrean objects recovered outside of stratigraphic context. It is important to note that this is one of only a few Charentian rockshelter sites, which has yielded an example of MTA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Following our fieldwork in Paleogene deposits of Togo, we herein report cranial as well as postcranial elements belonging to the family Dyrosauridae. This assemblage is dated to the Late Paleocene (Thanetian) from two quarries in southern Togo. The specimens include a partial skull presenting two large supratemporal fossae and a massive occipital condyle; long and slender isolated teeth; amphicoelous vertebrae including several articulated ones; and two osteoderms devoid of carina. The morphology of the partial skull reveals similarities with some African longirostrine forms such as Rhabdognathus spp., although this attribution cannot be confirmed. Longirostrine forms, known in the late Paleocene and early Eocene of the Iullemmeden basin (Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Algeria) and in the phosphates of Morocco and Tunisia, is only represented in Thanetian levels in Togo. Different palaeoenvironmental settings seem to have characterized the various African basins during the lower Eocene, with consequences for the geographic distribution of dyrosaurids. These dyrosaurid remains confirm the presence of the family in Togo during the Paleocene and underline the fossiliferous potential of the coastal sedimentary basin in Togo and in the bay of Benin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La découverte des gisements préhistoriques de Brazzaville est la conséquence des travaux d'aménagement urbains dits « Grands Travaux » dans les années 1930 : la construction du chemin de fer C.F.C.O., de la Gare, du Port fluvial, de la Poste et de la Cathédrale. Lors du terrassement relatif à la construction du port fluvial, M. Babet, géologue du Service des Mines du Gouvernement de l'A.E.F., découvre des traces d'une importante industrie lithique dans le cailloutis contenu dans une assise géologique. Des recherches ultérieures faites par Droux et Bergeaud en 1936 et 1937, ont mis en évidence dans le même périmètre l'existence de deux autres couches archéologiques. En fonction de l'évolution du terrassement et des recherches, les gisements suivants ont été mis au jour : Mpila 1, Mpila 2, Mpila 3, la Plaine et la Pointe Hollandaise. Tous ces gisements sont sur un même alignement long de trois kilomètres environ et regroupés sous la dénomination de gisements de Mpila. Ils sont caractérisés par une même stratigraphie et par des industries identiques et superposées. On y distingue de bas en haut la couche A avec deux niveaux, l'un supérieur et l'autre inférieur. Celui–ci correspond au Paléolithique inférieur. Vient ensuite la couche B qui constitue la couche quatre c.4, chère à Bergeaud. Elle contient du matériel frais attribué au Sangoen. Enfin la couche C que nous avons baptisé « le Vrac » de Mpila 1, qui comprend des pièces de facture très évoluée. C'est du Lupembien/Tchitolien. Toutes les pièces issues de ces niveaux sont en place, in situ. Elles n'ont pas subi de charriage, tant horizontal que vertical. Nous nous posons la question de savoir si les pièces issues de Mpila 1 en général et de la couche IV en particulier appartiennent au Sangoen ? The discovery of the prehistoric deposits of Brazzaville is the result of urban development works known as "Major Works" during the years 1930: The construction of the railway (C.F.C.O.), the railway station, the river port, the post office and the cathedral. During the earthworks related to the construction of the river port, Babet, geologist of the Mining Service of the A.E.F. Government, discovers traces of an important lithic in the gravels of a geological layer. Further research by Droux and Bergeaud in 1936 and 1937 revealed the existence of two more archaeological layers in the same area. Depending on the evolution of the works and research, the following sites have been discovered: Mpila 1, Mpila 2, Mpila 3, Plaine and Pointe Hollandaise. All these sites are grouped under the name of Mpila sites. They are characterized by the same stratigraphy and by identical and successive industries. From bottom to top, one can observe the A layer with two levels, upper and lower, corresponding to the lower Paleolithic. Then we have the B layer which constitutes the fourth layer c.4 favorite of Bergeaud. It contains fresh material attributed to Sangoen. Finally, there is the c layer that we have named "The Bulk" of Mpila, which includes artefacts of very advanced workmanship. It's Lupembien/Tshitolian. All the artefacts from these levels are in situ. They were not been transported or reworked, neither horizontally or vertically. The Sangoen question has long been the subject of much discussion and contradiction. We are trying to clarify this controversy by asking ourselves whether the Mpila 1 in general and the c.4 in particular have any Sangoen characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La collection de tortues mésozoïques du Muséum du Havre est révisée, enrichie après les destructions subies pendant la 2e guerre mondiale. Les nouvelles acquisitions, représentées par deux nouveaux taxons de Plesiochelyidae respectivement du Cap de la Hève et de Bléville, du Jurassique (Kimméridgien inférieur), sont comparées aux restes précédemment décrits de la région havraise et détruits. D'une part, Globochelus lennieri n. g., n. sp., du Kimméridgien basal, biozone à Baylei, la plus ancienne espèce de Plesiochelyidae nommée dans le Jurassique supérieur, que nous dédions à Lennier en hommage à ses travaux sur la géologie et les fossiles du Havre. D'autre part, Tropidemys langii , biozone à Cymodoce, forme du Kimméridgien européen, la présence du genre dans la région étant douteuse auparavant. La série stratigraphique du Havre, d'après Lennier et les travaux récents, et la gangue calcaire des tortues sont examinées et indiquent un environnement de plateforme. L'ensemble havrais comportait d'autres tortues, détruites, qui sont reconsidérées, dont le plésiochélyidé Plesiochelys dollfusii (Lennier) du Kimméridgien inférieur, qui appartient à une espèce bien distincte dans le genre, et « Palaeochelys » novemcostatus Valenciennes, du Crétacé, d'un genre préemployé, qui se confirme comme étant un Chelonioidea, de même peut-être que « Pelobatochelys sp. ? ». La morphologie de la carapace de chaque genre de Plesiochelyidae est révisée. Des espèces précédemment classées dans le genre Thalassemys sont rapportées aux Plesiochelyidae. The collection of Mesozoïc turtles conserved in the Museum of Le Havre is revised, being enhanced after the destruction which occurred during the World War II. The new purchases, including two new Jurassic (Lower Kimmeridgian) taxa of the family Plesiochelyidae, from the Cap de la Hève and Bléville respectively, are compared to the previously described turtle and now destroyed remains of the Le Havre area. On the one hand, Globochelus lennieri n. g., n. sp., from the basal Kimmeridgian Baylei biozone is the oldest plesiochelyid species named from the Upper Jurassic, that we dedicate to Lennier, in tribute to his works about geology and fossils from Le Havre. On the other hand, Tropidemys langii , from the Cymodoce biozone, is a form from the European Kimmeridgian whose presence in the Normandy region was doubted. The stratigraphic series of Le Havre, from Lennier and recent works, the sedimentology of the fossiliferous layers and the petrography of the calcareous matrix are examined, showing a littoral platform environment. The Le Havre fossil turtle record including destroyed species is reconsidered: notably the Lower Kimmeridgian plesiochelyid Plesiochelys dollfusii (Lennier), this species being clearly distinctive in the genus, and the early Cretaceous « Palaeochelys » novemcostatus Valenciennes, attibuted to a pre-employed genus but which is here confirmed as a Chelonioidea as, perhaps, " Pelobatochelys sp?". The morphology of the shell of each plesiochelyid genus is compared. Some species previously attributed to Thalassemys are integrated in plesiochelyid genera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]