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The dispersal of early humans from Africa by 1.75 Myr ago led to a marked expansion of their range, from the island of Flores in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west (1-5). This range encompassed tropical forest, savannah and Mediterranean habitats, but has hitherto not been demonstrated beyond 45° N. Until recently, early colonization in Europe was thought to be confined to the area south of the Pyrenees and Alps. However, evidence from Pakefield (Suffolk, UK) at ~0.7 Myr indicated that humans occupied northern European latitudes when a Mediterranean-type climate prevailed (6). This provided the basis for an 'ebb and flow' model, where human populations were thought to survive in southern refugia during cold stages, only expanding northwards during fully temperate climates (5). Here we present new evidence from Happisburgh (Norfolk, UK) demonstrating that Early Pleistocene hominins were present in northern Europe >0.78 Myr ago when they were able to survive at the southern edge of the boreal zone. This has significant implications for our understanding of early human behaviour, adaptation and survival, as well as the tempo and mode of colonization after their first dispersal out of Africa., At Happisburgh Site 3 (Fig. 1) an assemblage of 78 flint artefacts has been excavated from fluvial gravels and laminated estuarine sands and silts that fill a series of stacked, [...]

Numerous specimens of Ichthyosaurus are known, but only very few small examples (total length of <1 m) have been assigned beyond Ichthyosaurus sp. Here, we report on a very small specimen (preflexural length of 560 mm) that can be unequivocally assigned to Ichthyosaurus communis due to possessing a unique combination of diagnostic skull and postcranial characters that are found in larger examples of the species. Furthermore, the specimen is identified as a neonate because of the small size, large sclerotic ring relative to the orbital region, and poorly ossified (highly cancellous) bones of the skull and postcranium. It is not an embryo as it is not preserved within an adult specimen and stomach contents are clearly evident. This is therefore the first neonate Ichthyosaurus communis skeleton to be described. The specimen, in the Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham, has no provenance data associated with it. A microfossil analysis of the matrix in which the ichthyosaur skeleton is preserved strongly suggests a stratigraphic range of uppermost Hettangian to lowermost Sinemurian age (Lower Jurassic), but does not provide any geographical information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ichthyosaur fossils are abundant in Lower Jurassic sediments with nine genera found in the UK. In this paper, we describe the partial skeleton of a large ichthyosaur from the Lower Jurassic (lower Sinemurian) of Warwickshire, England, which was conserved and rearticulated to form the centrepiece of a new permanent gallery at the Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum in 2015. The unusual three-dimensional preservation of the specimen permitted computed tomography (CT) scanning of individual braincase elements as well as the entire reassembled skull. This represents one of the first times that medical imaging and three-dimensional reconstruction methods have been applied to a large skull of a marine reptile. Data from these scans provide new anatomical information, such as the presence of branching vascular canals within the premaxilla and dentary, and an undescribed dorsal (quadrate) wing of the pterygoid hidden within matrix. Scanning also revealed areas of the skull that had been modelled in wood, clay and other materials after the specimen's initial discovery, highlighting the utility of applying advanced imaging techniques to historical specimens. Additionally, the CT data served as the basis for a new three-dimensional reconstruction of the skull, in which minor damage was repaired and the preserved bones digitally rearticulated. Thus, for the first time a digital reconstruction of the skull and mandible of a large marine reptile skull is available. Museum records show the specimen was originally identified as an example of Ichthyosaurus communis but we identify this specimen as Protoichthyosaurus prostaxalis. The specimen features a skull nearly twice as long as any previously described specimen of P. prostaxalis, representing an individual with an estimated total body length between 3.2 and 4 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new fossil-bearing, Upper Carboniferous (lower Westphalian) locality in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK, is reported and an account of the fossils is presented. The diverse flora and fauna consists of plants, bivalves, arthropods (primarily xiphosurans), tentaculitids (microconchids), fish scales, shark egg capsules and coprolites. Fossils are preserved in siderite nodules and shales, and display excellent preservation and detail. Previous collecting of Carboniferous fossils in the Doncaster area has been minimal. The discovery of this locality addresses this deficit and is of further importance as such localities in the UK are diminishing in number with the cessation of coal-mining and the reclamation of mine dumps, further demonstrating the importance and recognition of the Edlington site. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]