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The known Plio-Pleistocene mammalian record, mainly represented by small mammals, and its biotic and geological context in the vast region of Eastern Turkey and Transcaucasus provides a sound base for regional biochronology. Recently obtained faunal associations and the main evolutionary lineages found in the region support direct correlations to the European (ELMA/MN/MQ) and the Eastern European (faunal complexes/MQR-MNR) biochronological systems. Important data on palynology, aquatic and terrestrial mollusks, and magnetostratigraphy integrate the reviewed material into a robust local biochronology. The range of standard biochrons of Early Pliocene through late Early Pleistocene and the regional Anatolian zones M-P are reliably detected. The Early Pleistocene time range (zone P) is refined based on rhizodont lagurines Borsodia and Euro-Asian larger voles Mimomys ex gr. pliocaenicus. The successive zone R for Early Pleistocene faunas with early rootless Microtini is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (iNHG) at 2.73 Ma is associated with a reorganization of the subarctic Pacific Ocean and abrupt drop in opal mass accumulation rates. Uncertainty, however, remains around the extent to which these changes altered carbon dynamics and contributed to a reduction in atmospheric pCO2 and global temperatures. These issues are addressed here using the boron isotope (δ11B) proxy in diatom frustules to reconstruct past changes in the pH and pCO2 of ambient seawater. Diatom δ11B and [B] indicate a subarctic Pacific surface water increase of 0.3–0.5 pH units over the iNHG. This confirms that delivery of carbon and nutrients into surface waters was reduced at this time, explaining the drop in opal productivity and limiting CO2 outgassing from the ocean interior. We consider two hypotheses to explain this based on potential changes in circulation from the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene: "ventilation to stratification" or "stratification to ventilation." The ventilation to stratification hypothesis, which posits a switch from vigorous Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation in the Pliocene to stratification over iNHG, has received more attention in the literature. The stratification to ventilation hypothesis, which posits a modest increase in ventilation, is more consistent with modern and late Pleistocene analogs, the majority of models and δ13C data. These late Pliocene changes in the subarctic Pacific, in conjunction with other external and internal processes including those in the Southern Ocean, would have contributed to a lowering of atmospheric pCO2 and the long‐term expansion of ice‐sheets across the Northern Hemisphere. Key Points: δ11B and [B] in diatom frustules reveal a surface water increase of 0.3–0.5 pH units in the subarctic Pacific Ocean over the iNHGThese changes would have lowered atmospheric pCO2 and contributed to the long‐term expansion of Northern Hemisphere ice‐sheets [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molasses of foredeeps are important indicators of the newest orogenic uplifts, as well as the source of data on climate and landscape changes. One of the fullest sections of Neogene–Quaternary deposits is studied in valleys of the Belaya, Pshekha, and Psekups rivers at the junction of the Western and Northwestern Caucasus with the Eastern Kuban and Western Kuban foredeeps. The formation of the deposits corresponds to the main evolution stages of the Great Caucasus orogen, as well as the foredeeps. A summary of extensive published and original tectonostratigraphic materials has shown that the lowland and then hilly relief in an axial zone of Western Caucasus existed at least from the Middle Miocene. At the same time, the northern flank of the present-day orogen and the foredeeps were located at sea level and were repeatedly flooded by the seas up to the Kuyalnikian (Piacenzian–Gelasian) time, and the Western Kuban Foredeep was flooded even later. The main data on stratigraphy of the upper molasses and Pliocene–Quaternary tectonic movements of the region are based on facies analysis and bio- and magnetostratigraphic studies of the Upper Pliocene–Lower Pleistocene Belorechensk Formation. Its sedimentation started at the beginning of the Kuyalnikian as a result of an increase in the energy of mountain rivers due to the uplift of the riverheads. It is stated that the minimum average rate of uplift of the Western Caucasus in the basin of the Belaya River is 0.8 mm/year over last 4 mln years with acceleration up to 1.7 mm/year from the beginning of the Calabrian. The Belorechensk Formation includes three subformations, which successively become coarser clastic and correspond to the main stages of the accumulation of upper molasses in the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene during the intensification of uplifts and landscape-climate changes of Western Caucasus and Ciscaucasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 sailed to the Ross Sea in 2018 to reconstruct paleoenvironments, track the history of key water masses, and assess model simulations that show warm-water incursions from the Southern Ocean led to the loss of marine-based Antarctic ice sheets during past interglacials. IODP Site U1523 (water depth 828 m) is located at the continental shelf break, northeast of Pennell Bank on the southeastern flank of Iselin Bank, where it lies beneath the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC). This site is sensitive to warm-water incursions from the Ross Sea Gyre and modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW) today and during times of past warming climate. Multiple incursions of subpolar or temperate planktic foraminifera taxa occurred at Site U1523 after 3.8 Ma and prior to ∼ 1.82 Ma. Many of these warm-water taxa incursions likely represent interglacials of the latest Early Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, including Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) Gi7 to Gi3 (∼ 3.72–3.65 Ma), and Early Pleistocene MIS 91 or 90 (∼ 2.34–2.32 Ma) and MIS 77–67 (∼ 2.03–1.83 Ma) and suggest warmer-than-present conditions and less ice cover in the Ross Sea. However, a moderately resolved age model based on four key events prohibits us from precisely correlating with Marine Isotope Stages established by the LR04 Stack; therefore, these correlations are best estimates. Diatom-rich intervals during the latest Pliocene at Site U1523 include evidence of anomalously warm conditions based on the presence of subtropical and temperate planktic foraminiferal species in what likely correlates with interglacial MIS G17 (∼ 2.95 Ma), and a second interval that likely correlates with MIS KM3 (∼ 3.16 Ma) of the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period. Collectively, these multiple incursions of warmer-water planktic foraminifera provide evidence for polar amplification during super-interglacials of the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Higher abundances of planktic and benthic foraminifera during the Mid- to Late Pleistocene associated with interglacials of the MIS 37–31 interval (∼ 1.23–1.07 Ma), MIS 25 (∼ 0.95 Ma), MIS 15 (∼ 0.60 Ma), and MIS 6–5e transition (∼ 0.133–0.126 Ma) also indicate a reduced ice shelf and relatively warm conditions, including multiple warmer interglacials during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT). A decrease in sedimentation rate after ∼ 1.78 Ma is followed by a major change in benthic foraminiferal biofacies marked by a decrease in Globocassidulina subglobosa and a decrease in mud (< 63 µ m) after ∼ 1.5 Ma. Subsequent dominance of Trifarina earlandi biofacies beginning during MIS 15 (∼ 600 ka) indicate progressive strengthening of the Antarctic Slope Current along the shelf edge of the Ross Sea during the mid to Late Pleistocene. A sharp increase in foraminiferal fragmentation after the MPT (∼ 900 ka) and variable abundances of T. earlandi indicate higher productivity, a stronger but variable ASC during interglacials, and/or corrosive waters, suggesting changes in water masses entering (mCDW) and exiting (High Salinity Shelf Water or Dense Shelf Water) the Ross Sea since the MPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review and partial revision of the diversity of freshwater stygobiotic crustaceans in the territory of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, in the North Caucasus, is presented here. Previously, two species of the genus Proasellus Dudich, 1925 (Isopoda, Asellidae), P. uallagirus Palatov & Sokolova, 2020 and P. irystonicus Palatov & Sokolova, 2020, and one species of the genus Niphargus Schiödte, 1849 (Amphipoda, Niphargidae), N. alanicus Marin & Palatov, 2021, were described from the hyporhean/underground habitats (hyporhea) in the area. However, further research using an integrative approach has revealed that only a single species of the genus Proasellus (P. uallagirus) is actually widely distributed in the hyporhean riverbed habitats in the area, while the diversity of the genus Niphargus is higher than previously known. Six more new Niphargus species— namely, N. ardonicus sp. nov., N. sadonicus sp. nov., N. fiagdonicus sp. nov., N. tschertschesovae sp. nov., N. osseticus sp. nov. and N. zeyensis sp. nov., were discovered from the various hypogean underground water sources (i.e., springs and seeps) and are described in this article. Their phylogenetic relationships with their congeners, as well as their ecology and known distribution, are discussed. Furthermore, molecular genetic analysis, with an interpretation of the estimated divergence time, suggests that the studied hyporheic/stygobiotic crustaceans started to diverge from related European and Balkan sister species during the Late Miocene, approximately 8–5.8 Mya, with the reduction in the Paratethys and the uplifting of the Caucasus Mountains. Local speciation was led by local geological processes and karst fragmentation during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene periods, starting around 5.3 Mya. The obtained data suggest that the mountainous area of the North Ossetia–Alania could be considered as a post-Pliocene glacial refugium for subterranean and stygobiotic fauna—the first known for the North Caucasus region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensification of northern hemisphere glaciation (iNHG), ~2.7 million years ago (Ma), led to establishment of the Pleistocene to present-day bipolar icehouse state. Here we document evolution of orbital- and millennial-scale Asian winter monsoon (AWM) variability across the iNHG using a palaeomagnetically dated centennial-resolution grain size record between 3.6 and 1.9 Ma from a previously undescribed loess-palaeosol/red clay section on the central Chinese Loess Plateau. We find that the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene AWM was characterized by combined 41-kyr and ~100-kyr cycles, in response to ice volume and atmospheric CO2 forcing. Northern hemisphere ice sheet expansion, which was accompanied by an atmospheric CO2 concentration decline, substantially increased glacial AWM intensity and its orbitally oscillating amplitudes across the iNHG. Superposed on orbital variability, we find that millennial AWM intensity fluctuations persisted during both the warmer (higher-CO2) late Pliocene and colder (lower-CO2) early Pleistocene, in response to both external astronomical forcing and internal climate dynamics. Persistent millennial Asian winter monsoon variability is shown to be superposed on orbital 41-kyr and 100-kyr cycles across the Pliocene–Pleistocene glacial intensification using a paleomagnetically dated high-resolution Chinese Loess Plateau grain size record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss geological and biotic aspects of the extensive Akchagylian transgression that occurred in the Caspian region of Eurasia near the Plio-Pleistocene transition, in Piacenzian and Gelasian. It is shown that the onset of the Akchagylian marine sedimentation in Western Turkmenistan (ca. 3.2 Ma) preceded that in the Kura Basin (ca. 3.0 Ma). The position of the upper boundary of the Akchagylian remains uncertain (ca. 2.1 or 1.8 Ma). The analyzed biotic content of the Akchagylian includes molluscs, microfossils (pollen, dinocysts, foraminifers), and mammals. It is noted that specific forms of the Akchagylian aquatic biota co-occur with microfossils that clearly indicate a connection with the World Ocean or related seas. The palynology of the Akchagylian time signals a directed cooling in the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene with several warm and humid epochs. The Akchagylian transgression was preceded by a change of a structural-sedimentary pattern of the region. In the latest Miocene and Early Pliocene, a pre-existed longitudinal tectonic zonation of the Caucasian-Caspian segment of the Paratethys gradually changed into clearly transverse tectonic zonation. The latter was manifested in the tectonic uplift of the Greater Caucasus, its northern piedmonts and the Lesser Caucasus, and in the subsidence of the western parts of the South and Middle Caspian basins. The interplay of longitudinal and transverse tectonic features shaped the configuration of the Akchagylian brackish-water basin and controlled thickness of its deposits. It was the transverse zonation that dominated in the thickness pattern. The increasing role of the transverse zonation in the post-Akchagylian time is manifested in the magnitudes and rates of the Quaternary tectonic uplift. These parameters were calculated based on current heights of the top of the Akchagylian marine deposits in different parts of the basin. The highest magnitudes of uplift are found in the Eastern Caucasus (up to 1980 m on the NE slope and about 2500 m in the axial part) and in the west of the Lesser Caucasus in eastern Turkey (up to 1750 m). The maximum level of the Akchagylian transgression is estimated at 40–50 m above the present level of the World Ocean. We show a low probability of connection of the Akchagylian basin with the Mediterranean Sea or the Persian Gulf, and a high probability of its connection with the Arctic Ocean through the northern tributaries of the Kama River and the Pechora Basin in the NE of East European Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Italian geographic region is characterized by complex and diversified biogeographic patterns and is represented by a high number of endemic species. Endemic species characterized by a limited distribution range should be a primary concern in conservation. This article aimed to investigate the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of 2 Italian endemic species of the wingless blister beetle genus Meloe Linnaeus, 1758: Meloe (Eurymeloe) apenninicus and Meloe (E.) baudii. Our inferences, based on morphological characters, 2 mitochondrial (16S and COI) and 2 nuclear (CAD and 28S) markers and the use of 3 species delimitation analyses approaches, pointed out the presence of a new Italian endemic species (M. (E.) digiuliorum sp. n.), here described, and 3 different patterns of phylogenetic and biogeographic affinities. M. digiuliorum is close to the Spanish endemic M. orobates comb. n. , revealing a possible fragmentation of the ancestor range in the Pleistocene (ca. 0.84 Mya) followed by isolation in Italy and Spain. M. apenninicus is the sister species of the European-Anatolian M. rugous and M. cfr. rugosus , and this pattern originated around the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (ca. 2.83 Mya) likely influenced by the climatic fluctuations and the presence of the Alpine barrier. Finally, 2 subspecies were referred to M. baudii : the nominal one, endemic to Italy, and the Turanian-E European M. b. glazunovi stat. n. , disclosing a third more recent (ca. 0.64 Mya) pattern of biogeographic disjunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rattus (sensu stricto) is one of the groups of rodents and is most closely related to human activities. The diversity of extant Rattus species is the highest among rodents, but fossil species are rare, mainly found in Asia during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Here, we described a Late Pliocene new species of Rattus based on material from the upper Yangyi Formation in Baoshan county, Yunnan Province, China. The primitive morphological characteristics of fewer molar roots, t12 preserved on M1–2, t9 preserved on M3, and buccal stylids well developed on lower molars indicate that the new Rattus is by far the most primitive form in the Rattus genus. In dental morphology of Rattus, the molars have an evolutionary trend of gradually increasing the number of roots and fusing cusps into an arched ridge, reduction to disappearance of the t7 and t12 on upper molars, and reduction to disappearance of the mesiocentral cusp on m1, the anterior buccal stylid on m1–3 and hypoconid on m3. Discovery of the new Rattus from Baoshan confirms that Rattus probably originated in southern Asia before the Late Pliocene, and also provides new fossil evidence to calibrate the molecular clock of the divergence of Rattus from other murines. In addition, we also reported five associated small mammals: Neotetracus sp. nov., Anourosorex qianensis, Soricidae gen. et sp. indet., Ia io, and Kowalskia sp. Most of them inhabit warm and humid tropical or subtropical montane forests or shrubland environments. The composition of this mammalian assemblage indicates that the paleoelevation and paleoclimate of Baoshan area in the Pliocene are very similar to those of the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reinvestigated the composition and stratigraphical position of a plant macrofossil assemblage including Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Davidia involucrata, which has been reported from the upper part of the Sayama Formation, Kazusa Group in the Sayama Hills, west Kanto region. This fossil assemblage is composed of 24 taxa, including warm temperate plants such as Paliurus sp., Triadica sebifera var. pleistoceaca, and Vernicia sp., which indicate their deposition during an interglacial stage. Cool temperate taxa in the assemblage such as Picea sp. (sect. Picea) and Styrax obassia were possibly transported from mountains surrounding the sedimentary basin. We determined petrographic properties of tephra at the horizon immediately above the plant fossil layer. This shows that this tephra can be correlated to the Zoshiki tephra (ZSK) deposited in ca. 1.3 Ma. Stratigraphic occurrence of exotic taxa between the late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene in southwest Kanto region is similar with that in central Kinki region, which was influenced by warm and oceanic climate in this region facing the Pacific Ocean. Whereas, the ages of appearance of cold-loving plants as Picea maximowiczii in southwest Kanto region were earlier than those in Kinki region, which is possibly caused by distribution of mountains with high altitude areas where cold-loving plants have invaded much earlier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new pennate diatom taxa, Fragilariopsis clava sp. nov. Duke; Fragilariopsis armandae sp. nov. Frazer, Duke et Riesselman; and Rouxia raggattensis sp. nov. Duke et Riesselman, are described and named from Pliocene-Pleistocene sediments collected from the continental rise adjacent to the Wilkes Land coast of East Antarctica. The stratigraphic occurrence of F. clava and F. armandae at IODP Site U1361 are well-constrained to Marine Isotope Stages G9-G7 (2.76–2.74 Ma) and 101–97 (2.58–2.47 Ma), respectively. The short stratigraphic ranges of F. clava and F. armandae are potentially useful biostratigraphic markers for constraining the age of late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Antarctic sediments. Rouxia raggattensis is observed in the oldest sample examined at Site U1361 from ∼4.05 Ma and is more common between 3.0–2.15 Ma. The rise in abundance of R. raggattensis corresponds to a large turnover in diatom species between 3 and 2 Ma associated with Antarctic cooling, suggesting that sea surface conditions were favorable for R. raggattensis during this dynamic time. Clavate Fragilariopsis species diversified between 2.9–2.7 Ma, but some species quickly went extinct between 2.7–2.5 Ma, possibly because they were marginalized by the cooler climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The researched area is located in Rembang Zone, North East Java Basin. The Rembang Zone is one of the largest basins in Indonesia. In this area, there are many oil wells that today are still actively producing. The research concerning the content of microfossils in marine sedimentary outcrops is needed to determine the rate of sedimentation in a basin. The method is basically based on the result of stratigraphic measurements of two sections with a distance of 2,743.7 m. Sedimentation rate is the average thickness ratio to the average time interval. The sections have a good outcrop and a continuous stratigraphic sequence from Miocene (Wonocolo, Ledok, and Mundu Formations) to Pleistocene (Lidah Formation). Samples taken in the section consisted of fourty-one samples of marls and shales. The results of the analysis show eighteen genera with fifty-seven species of nannoplankton. While the resulting biostratigraphic zone can be arranged into eleven zones consisted of two partial, one range and eight interval zones. The development of sedimentation rate (RoS) of studied area consists of ten periods, those are (1) CNM15 Zone/Late Miocene of Ledok Formation at a depth of 427.8 - 322.4 m, and has a sedimentation rate (RoS) of 11.46 cm/ky, (2) CNM16-CNM20 Zone/Late Miocene to Early Pliocene, Ledok Formation at a depth of 322.4 - 279.3 m and has a RoS of 1.54 cm/ky, (3) Mundu Formation is CNPL2 Zone/Early Pliocene at a depth of 279.3 - 223 m and has a RoS of 5.41 cm/ky, (4) CNPL3 (Early Pliocene) Zone at a depth of 223 - 148.4 m and has a RoS of 33.91 cm/ky, (5) CNPL4 Zone (Middle Pliocene) at a depth of 148.4 - 82.7 m and has a RoS of 5.09 cm/ky. (6) Zone of CNPL5 (Middle-Late Pliocene) at a depth of 82.70 - 53.1 m and has a RoS of 21.14 cm/ky, (7) CNPL6 Zone/Late Pliocene at a depth of 53.1 - 52.0 m and has a RoS of 0.24 cm/ky, 8). CNPL7 Zone/Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene at a depth of 52.0 - 33.8 m and has a RoS 8.27 cm/ky, (9). CNPL8 Zone (Early Pleistocene) at a depth of 33.8 - 26.4 m and has a RoS of 1.14 cm/ky, (10) CNPL9 Zone? (Early Pleistocene) at a depth of 26.4 - 12.5 m and has a RoS of 1.7 cm/ky. The relatively faster sedimentation rate of the CNPL3 is due to the faster subsidence and maximum sediment supply. During the development of sedimentation rate, there are two unconformities, namely (1) after the CNM20 Zone resulting in a sedimentation interval during CNPL1 and (2) after CNPL6 (Late Pliocene). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant shift in Earth's climate characterizes the Neogene, transitioning from a single‐ice‐sheet planet to the current bipolar configuration. This climate evolution is closely linked to changing ocean currents, but globally‐distributed continuous high‐resolution sedimentary records are needed to fully capture this interaction. The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 752, located on Broken Ridge in the Indian Ocean, provides such a Miocene‐to‐recent archive. We use X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning to build an eccentricity‐tuned age‐depth model and reconstruct paleoceanographic changes since 23 Ma. We find two intervals of enhanced productivity, during the early and middle Miocene (18.5–13.7 Ma) and late Pliocene/early Pleistocene (3–1 Ma). We also report a mixed eccentricity‐obliquity imprint in the XRF‐derived paleoproductivity proxy. In terms of grain size, three coarsening steps occur between 19.2–16 Ma, 10.8–8 Ma, and since 2.6 Ma. The steps respectively indicate stronger current winnowing in response to vigorous Antarctic Intermediate Water flow over Broken Ridge in the early Miocene, the first transient onset of Tasman Leakage in the Late Miocene, and the intensification of global oceanic circulation at the Plio‐Pleistocene transition. High‐resolution iron and manganese series provide a detailed Neogene dust record. This study utilized a single hole from an ODP legacy‐site. Nevertheless, we managed to provide novel perspectives on past Indian Ocean responses to astronomical forcing. We conclude that Neogene sediments from Broken Ridge harbor the potential for even more comprehensive reconstructions. Realizing this potential necessitates re‐drilling of these sedimentary archives utilizing modern drilling strategies. Plain Language Summary: This study looks into how the Indian Ocean changed since the start of the Neogene (last 23 million years). We use X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses to measure the chemical composition of a marine sediment core (ODP Site 752), drilled on Broken Ridge at 1,086 m water depth. Our results show that the central Indian Ocean had overall higher productivity levels between 18.5–13.7 million years ago, but productivity levels varied significantly on timescales from ten thousand to hundred thousand years. These changes were influenced by variations in the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The grain size of the sediment became coarser at three intervals during the last 23 million years, which is thought to be caused by stronger ocean currents over Broken Ridge at those times. Overall, the study suggests that the Indian Ocean has gone through significant changes in the past and that the sediment from this site could be useful for further paleoceanographic research. Key Points: Ocean Drilling Program Site 752 is marked by a 405 and 100‐kyr eccentricity and obliquity imprint in X‐ray fluorescence (XRF)‐derived recordsLate Miocene Biogenic Bloom is absent at Broken Ridge according to the XRF‐derived paleoproductivity proxyShift in inter‐ocean connectivity to the middle latitudes modified current intensity over Broken Ridge throughout the Miocene [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrestrial‐marine dust fluxes, pedogenic carbonate δ13C values, and various paleovegetation proxies suggest that Africa experienced gradual cooling and drying across the Pliocene‐Pleistocene (Plio‐Pleistocene) boundary (2.58 million years ago [Ma]). However, the timing, magnitude, resolution, and relative influences of orbitally‐driven changes in high latitude glaciations and low latitude insolation differ by region and proxy. To disentangle these forcings and investigate equatorial eastern African climate across the Plio‐Pleistocene boundary, we generated a high‐resolution (∼3,000‐year) data set of compound‐specific n‐alkane leaf wax δ2H values—a robust proxy for atmospheric circulation and precipitation amount—from the HSPDP‐BTB13‐1A core, which spans a ∼3.3–2.6 Ma sequence in the Baringo‐Tugen Hills‐Barsemoi Basin of central Kenya. In combination with the physical sedimentology, our data indicate that precipitation varied strongly with orbital obliquity, not precession, during the late Pliocene, perhaps imparted by variations in the cross‐equatorial insolation gradient. We also observe a marked shift toward wetter conditions beginning ∼3 Ma that corresponds with global cooling, drying in western Australia, and a steepening of the west‐east zonal Indian Ocean (IO) sea surface temperature (SST) gradient. We propose that northward migration of the Subtropical Front reduced Agulhas current leakage, warming the western IO and causing changes in the IO zonal SST gradient at 3 Ma, a process that has been observed in the latest Pleistocene‐Holocene but not over longer timescales. Thus, the late Cenozoic moisture history of eastern Africa is driven by a complex mixture of low‐latitude insolation, the IO SST gradient, and teleconnections to distal high‐latitude cooling. Key Points: We present new high resolution (3,000‐year) leaf wax δ2H data from central Kenya spanning 3.3–2.6 million years before present (Ma)Pronounced 41,000‐year variability throughout is potentially attributable to the cross‐equatorial insolation gradientLong‐term (>200,000‐year) variability in eastern African hydroclimate tracks the zonal Indian Ocean surface temperature gradient [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of the Jinsha River drainage is a significant subject of concern in the geological and geomorphological fields. Among them, one key question is whether there was a regional paleo lake into which Lower Jinsha River drainage drained during the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene, due to massive fluvio-lacustrine sediments widely distributed in the Lower Jinsha River. Nevertheless, there has yet to be a consensus on the genesis of those fluvio-lacustrine sediments due to poor sedimentological and chronological data. In this study, to unravel the origin of those fluvio-lacustrine sediments and the formation model of the Lower Jinsha River, sedimentary characteristics, including spatial distribution, lithological composition, and stratigraphic contact relationship of those fluvio-lacustrine sediments were analyzed, and chronological determination of the fluvio-lacustrine sediments using Electron Spin Resonance and Optically stimulated luminescence method was conducted. The results show that in the Lower Jinsha River, the lacustrine sediments are mainly composed of silt and clay, with apparent horizontal bedding, stacked with fluvial cobble-gravel and sand, and are in unconformable contact with the underlying bedrock strata or paleo soil. The lacustrine sediments are spatially discontinuous and mainly distributed in the Shigu, Taoyuan, Panzhihua, and Longjie reaches. Downstream of these reaches are deeply incised gorges with an average slope >30°, and many landslide landforms and deposits can be identified here. In each reach, the lacustrine sediments were closely distributed along the trunk and tributary channels in the plane and were distributed at different altitudes, forming a sequence of lacustrine terraces. Chronological analysis shows that in different reaches, the deposition ages of lacustrine sediments are significantly different. In each reach, the deposition age of the lacustrine terraces of high altitude is older than that of low altitude. The above characteristics collectively indicate that the lacustrine sediments in the Lower Jinsha River were locally deposited by individual dammed lakes, probably induced by landslide rather than a regional paleo lake by tectonic activities. During the incision process of the river valley, landslides continuously block the river channel, forming dammed lakes, and then deposited lacustrine sediments at different elevations, forming lacustrine terraces. The lacustrine sediment of the topmost lacustrine terrace in Panzhihua reach was dated to be 1.78 Ma, combined with previous studies on the fluvial terraces, indicating the Lower Jinsha River existed and started to incise its valley before the early Pleistocene. The widespread dammed lake sediment indicates that the formation of the Jinsha River valley follows the pattern of "incision-landslide-damming-aggradation-incision". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic methods based on the study of the variability of mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (microsatellites) DNA were used to study the processes of morphogenesis in the genus Eleginus. The revealed level of genetic difference characterizes the Pacific saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) and navaga (Eleginus nawaga) as independent species that diverged in a relatively recent period at the boundary of the Pliocene and Pleistocene. The White Sea populations of navaga by microsatellite markers differed from the Navaga inhabiting the basins of the Kara and the Barents seas. At the same time, it is assumed that the Kara-Barents Sea region could have acted as a "glacial refugium," which ensured the postglacial settlement of navaga, including in the "watered" White Sea depression. Phylogenetic analysis based on diversity of COI haplotypes reveals demand of possible reorganization in the order Gadiformes, including Eleginus in an independent subfamily—sister in relation to the subfamilies Gadinae, Lotinae, and Merlucciinae. The prospects of improving genetic methodological approaches in the framework of the development of research on Saffron cod are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pliocene Epoch (∼5.3–2.6 million years ago, Ma) was characterized by a warmer than present climate with smaller Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, and offers an example of a climate system in long‐term equilibrium with current or predicted near‐future atmospheric CO2 concentrations (pCO2). A long‐term trend of ice‐sheet expansion led to more pronounced glacial (cold) stages by the end of the Pliocene (∼2.6 Ma), known as the "intensification of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation" (iNHG). We assessed the spatial and temporal variability of ocean temperatures and ice‐volume indicators through the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene (from 3.3 to 2.4 Ma) to determine the character of this climate transition. We identified asynchronous shifts in long‐term means and the pacing and amplitude of shorter‐term climate variability, between regions and between climate proxies. Early changes in Antarctic glaciation and Southern Hemisphere ocean properties occurred even during the mid‐Piacenzian warm period (∼3.264–3.025 Ma) which has been used as an analog for future warming. Increased climate variability subsequently developed alongside signatures of larger Northern Hemisphere ice sheets (iNHG). Yet, some regions of the ocean felt no impact of iNHG, particularly in lower latitudes. Our analysis has demonstrated the complex, non‐uniform and globally asynchronous nature of climate changes associated with the iNHG. Shifting ocean gateways and ocean circulation changes may have pre‐conditioned the later evolution of ice sheets with falling atmospheric pCO2. Further development of high‐resolution, multi‐proxy reconstructions of climate is required so that the full potential of the rich and detailed geological records can be realized. Plain Language Summary: Warm climates of the geological past provide windows into future environmental responses to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and past climate transitions identify important or sensitive regions and processes. We assessed the patterns of average ocean temperatures and indicators of ice sheet size over hundreds of thousands of years, and compared to shorter‐term variability (tens of thousands of years) during a recent transition from late Pliocene warmth (when CO2 was similar to present) to the onset of the large and repeated advances of northern hemisphere ice sheets referred to as the "ice ages." We show that different regions of the climate system changed at different times, with some changing before the ice sheets expanded. The development of larger ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere then impacted ocean temperatures and circulation, but there were many regions where no impacts were felt. Our analysis highlights regional differences in the timing and amplitudes of change within a globally‐significant climate transition as well as in response to the current atmospheric CO2 concentrations in our climate system. Key Points: The "stable" warm late Pliocene ∼3.3–3.1 million years ago was a time of climate transition, especially in the southern hemisphereOcean temperatures and ice sheets evolved asynchronously 3.3–2.4 Ma during the onset and intensification of Northern Hemisphere GlaciationClimate variability evolved in complex, non‐uniform ways, most strongly expressed in northern mid‐latitude sea‐surface temperature records [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying variability in, and identifying the mechanisms behind, East Asian dust production and transport across the last several million years is essential for constraining future dust emissions and deposition. Our current understanding of East Asian dust dynamics through the Quaternary is primarily limited to low‐resolution records from the North Pacific Ocean, those from the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), and paleoenvironmental reconstructions from arid basins. All are susceptible to sediment winnowing and focusing as well as input of poorly constrained or unidentified non‐dust detrital material. To avoid these limitations, we examine high‐resolution, constant flux proxy‐derived dust fluxes from the North Pacific and find evidence for higher glacial dust fluxes in the late Pliocene‐early Pleistocene compared to the late Pleistocene‐Holocene. Our results suggest decreasing dust transported to the mid‐latitude North Pacific Ocean from eastern Asia across the Quaternary. This observation is ostensibly at odds with previous dust records from marine sediments and the CLP, and with the perception of higher East Asian dust production and transport during the late Pleistocene associated with the amplification of glaciations. We provide three possible scenarios to describe the ∼2,700‐ky evolution of eastern Asia glacial dust dynamics, and discuss them in the context of sediment production, availability, and atmospheric circulation. Our data and proposed driving mechanisms not only raise questions about the framework typically used to interpret dust archives from East Asia and the North Pacific Ocean, but also provide a roadmap for hypothesis testing and future work necessary to produce better‐constrained records of paleo‐dust fluxes. Key Points: Constant flux proxy‐derived glacial dust fluxes to the North Pacific decrease between the early and late QuaternaryReduced glacial dust fluxes may be a result of shifting dust production dynamics and/or atmospheric circulationChinese Loess Plateau accumulation rates may need to be reevaluated when considered for paleoclimate reconstructions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents new data obtained as a result of field research in 2022 on the Sevan intermountain depression in Armenia. The emergence of the Sevan intermountain depression in the Miocene was associated with the development of the Sevan almond-shaped structure, which is bounded by the right-lateral Pambak‒Sevan‒Syunik fault zone in the northeast, the Garni zone in the southwest, and the Arpa‒Zangezur zone in the south. Within the Sevan almond-shaped structure, the strike-slip structures of Lesser Sevan (the western part of Lake Sevan) and the Gavar almond-shaped structure, the Gavar horst, a number of faults, as well as extension zones were formed, including the southern part of Greater Sevan (the eastern part of Lake Sevan) and the axial zone of the Geghama Range. The development of the Sevan intermountain depression continued in the Pliocene under the influence of the uplift of the Lesser Caucasus and the Armenian Highlands. We have summarized the available data on the geological structure and geodynamics of the Sevan intermountain depression; we present the obtained data on the stratigraphy of the Pliocene–Quaternary deposits and their position, and show that during the Akchagyl transgression at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary, marine sedimentary accumulations did not occur in the Sevan intermountain depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal lineages of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are recognized as important components of intra and interspecific biodiversity and help us to disclose the phylogeny and divergence times of many taxa. Species of the genus Capra are canonical mountain dwellers. Among these is the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), which is regarded as a relic species whose intraspecific classification has been controversial so far. We collected 58 samples in Xinjiang, China, and analyzed the mtDNA genes to shed light on the intraspecific relationships of the C. sibirica populations and estimate the divergence time. Intriguingly, we found that the mtDNA sequences of C. sibirica split into two main lineages in both phylogenetic and network analyses: the Southern lineage, sister to Capra falconeri, consisting of samples from Ulugqat, Kagilik (both in Xinjiang), India, and Tajikistan; and the Northern lineage further divided into four monophyletic clades A–D corresponding to their geographic origins. Samples from Urumqi, Sawan, and Arturk formed a distinct monophyletic clade C within the Northern lineage. The genetic distance between the C. sibirica clades ranges from 3.0 to 8.6%, with values of FST between 0.839 and 0.960, indicating notable genetic differentiation. The split of the genus Capra occurred approximately 6.75 Mya during the late Miocene. The Northern lineage diverged around 5.88 Mya, followed by the divergence of Clades A–D from 3.30 to 1.92 Mya during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. The radiation between the Southern lineage and C. falconeri occurred at 2.29 Mya during the early Pleistocene. Our results highlight the importance of extensive sampling when relating to genetic studies of alpine mammals and call for further genomic studies to draw definitive conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chronology of the Cenozoic "Namib Group" of the Namib Desert is rather poorly understood and lacks direct radiometric dating. Thus, the paleoclimate and landscape evolution of the central Namib Desert remains imprecise, complicating the detailed search for global and/or local forcing factors for the aridification of the Namib. The widespread occurrence of calcretes and silcretes in the Namib Desert allows us to apply the novel application of the U–Pb laser ablation dating technique on silcretes and calcretes to date important phases of landscape stability and to retrieve critical paleoclimatic and environmental information on desertification and its paleoclimatic variability. Microscale silcrete formation (maximum of 8 mm) due to pressure solution by expanding calcrete cementation provides the opportunity to date multiple phases (multiple generations of silcrete as growing layers or shells) of silcrete formation. Groundwater silcrete and calcrete formation occurred at our study site during the Pliocene, a period of relatively stable climate and landscape conditions under semi-arid to arid conditions. Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure ages from flat canyon rim surfaces indicate the cessation of groundwater calcrete formation due to incision during the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene and mark a large-scale landscape rejuvenation due to climate shifts towards more arid conditions in the Pleistocene, which can be connected to global climate patterns. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying U–Pb laser ablation to groundwater silcrete and calcretes, discusses several important issues associated with this technique, and opens up the possibility of dating numerous sedimentary sequences containing silcretes and calcretes in arid environments. In particular, the use of silcretes (as described above) reduces potential effects of detrital components and bulk signal measurements by using massive calcretes. Our study redefines and improves the generally accepted Late Cenozoic chronostratigraphy of the Namib Desert (Miller, 2008). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taiwan Western Foreland Basin is thought traditionally to have received sediment mainly from Eurasia until the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene, after which time, the Taiwan orogen became the dominant source. However, a combination of clay mineralogy, δ13Corg and C/N of organic matter, and mass‐specific magnetic susceptibility of late Miocene to early Pliocene strata of the Kueichulin Formation indicate that onset of major sediment contributions from Taiwan occurred much earlier, and correlates closely to the uplift and initial emergence of the Taiwan orogen. Clay mineralogy shows an upsection increase in illite and illite crystallinity, and a decrease in chlorite and kaolinite after the late Miocene, and this is attributed to rapid erosion of the Taiwan orogen. Results from δ13Corg and C/N analyses show that organic material in the Kueichulin Formation changed from dominantly marine to dominantly terrestrial in the early Pliocene, and this is linked to the delivery of large quantities of terrestrial organic material from the Taiwan orogen to the adjacent Taiwan Strait. Magnetic susceptibility also decreases significantly during the early Pliocene, resulting from dilution of magnetic minerals through the influx of non‐magnetic minerals delivered from the Taiwan orogenic belt. The establishment of the growing Taiwan orogen as a major sediment source to the Western Foreland Basin occurred at the Miocene–Pliocene transition, about two million years earlier than previously recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The New Zealand species of a genus of black fungus gnats show clear phylogeographic patterns, at the species level and above. North Island harbours more species than South Island, and according to our phylogeographic analyses, was more often the starting point of dispersal events to South Island than vice versa. We therefore deduce that North Island is a radiation centre. Initial colonisations of New Zealand took place three times, most likely starting from Australia, with the earliest in the late Miocene. Sciaridae (Diptera) is a widespread insect family of which some species can reach high abundances in arboreal habitats. This trait, together with their (passive) mobility, enables them to quickly colonise suitable habitats. To reveal the biogeographic history of the New Zealand members of the sciarid genus Pseudolycoriella, we analysed three molecular markers of selected species and populations in a Bayesian approach. At the intra- and interspecific levels, we detected a pattern of northern richness vs. southern purity, which has probably developed as a result of Pleistocene glacial cycles. Since the late Miocene, we identified 13 dispersal events across the sea strait separating New Zealand's main islands. As nine of these dispersal events were south-directed, North Island can be considered the centre of radiation for this genus. An unequivocal re-colonisation of North Island was only observed once. Based on the inclusion of three undescribed species from Tasmania and on previously published data, three colonisations of New Zealand are likely, all of them assumed to be of Australian origin. One of these most probably took place during the late Miocene, and the other two during the late Pliocene or at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paeonia decomposita, Paeonia rotundiloba, and Paeonia rockii are three closely related species of Sect. Moutan is distributed in the montane area of the Eastern Hengduan Mountain region. Understanding the population history of these three tree peony species could contribute to unraveling the evolutionary patterns of undergrowth species in this hotspot area. We used one nuclear DNA marker (internal transcribed spacer region, ITS) and two chloroplast DNA markers (matK, ycf1) to reconstruct the phylogeographic pattern of the populations. In total, 228 individuals from 17 populations of the three species were analyzed in this study. Three nuclear clades (Clade I – Clade III) and four maternal clades (Clade A – Clade D) were reconstructed. Molecular dating suggested that young lineages diverged during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene, younger than the uplift of the Hengduan Mountains but older than the last glacial maximum (LGM). Significant population and phylogeographic structures were detected at both markers. Furthermore, the populations of these tree peonies were overall at equilibrium during the climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene. The simulated palaeoranges of the three species during the LGM period mostly overlapped, which could have led to cross‐breeding events. We propose an evolutionary scenario in which mountain orogenesis around the Hengduan Mountain area triggered parapatric isolation between maternal lineages of tree peonies. Subsequent climatic fluctuations drove migration and range recontact of these populations along the valleys. This detailed evolutionary history provides new insights into the phylogeographic pattern of species from mountain‐valley systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within xenarthrans, two large groups are recognized, Pilosa (anteaters and sloths) and Cingulata (armoured xenarthrans). The latter contains Glyptodontidae, one of the most bizarre and enigmatic groups of animals that ever lived. Recent phylogenetic proposals show an early Miocene divergence into two clades, one of northern origin (Glyptodontinae) and the other with its oldest records in the early–middle Miocene of southern South America, which groups most of the recognized diversity. Although knowledge of the 'austral clade' has increased recently, several taxa need urgent taxonomic and phylogenetic studies to understand their evolutionary history. One case is represented by the 'Plohophorini', a tribe that traditionally included several genera (Plohophorus, Pseudoplohophorus, Phlyctaenopyga, Stromaphorus and Stromaphoropsis), from the late Miocene–Pliocene of the Pampean and North-Western regions of Argentina, and Uruguay. A new and terminal species of Plohophorus, P. avellaneda sp. nov., coming from the El Polvorín Formation (Pampean region of Argentina) is here reported and described, and represents the first case of a Neogene genus of glyptodont crossing the Plio–Pleistocene boundary (c. 2.53 Ma). In addition, the palaeohistological analysis on the osteoderms (the first for 'Plohophorini') reveals some characters not observed in other glyptodonts, highlighting its potential phylogenetic importance. The phylogenetic analysis corroborates that the well-characterized species of 'Plohophorini' of Uruguay and the Pampean region of Argentina ('eastern Plohophorini') constitute a natural group within the austral clade, since both species of Plohophorus (P. avellaneda + P. figuratus) cluster together, and are the sister taxa of Ps. absolutus + Ps. benvenutti. Along the evolutionary history of Plohophorini an increase in body mass is observed, reaching its maximum with P. avellaneda sp. nov. (c. 471 ka). Despite the high frequency of late Pliocene records, Plohophorini disappear completely from the fossil record during the Pleistocene, suggesting that this character was negatively selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently limited to cold climates near the Arctic circle, living walruses are the sole survivors of a previously much more diverse clade that occupied coastal waters throughout the northern hemisphere during the Mio–Pliocene. Though pinniped faunas have the highest diversity of walruses in the Miocene, the Purisima Formation of California records a moderately diverse assemblage of four walrus species. We report new specimens of tusked walruses (Odobeninae) including the oldest known members of Odobeninae, and Odobenini, and fossils of the specialized toothless odobenine walrus ValenictusMitchell, 1961. Among these is the new species Valenictus sheperdi sp. nov., represented by a complete skull and referred post-crania from lower Pliocene strata within the Purisima Formation (5.33–4.89 Ma). Additionally, we report a geochronologically younger skull of Valenictus chulavistensis Deméré, 1994 from further up section (4.89–3.59 Ma). Expanded phylogenetic analysis recovers Odobeninae including OntocetusLeidy, 1859 as the earliest diverging lineage in the Odobenini, and places a monophyletic Valenictus as the sister taxon to Pliopedia, Kellogg, 1921 which is included in a phylogeny for the first time; Odobenus is sister to the Valenictus + Pliopedia clade. Discovery of an isolated metacarpal near the base of the formation provides the oldest known well-dated evidence of odobenines. A diverse assemblage of molluskivores characterized the Neogene eastern North Pacific and their extinction around the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary coincided with tectonically driven paleogeographic changes on the Pacific coast. The loss of temperate walruses may have provided opportunities for both new molluskivores and the otariid and phocid pinnipeds that make up present North Pacific pinniped communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Understanding how past geological and climatic events could have generated intraspecific genetic variation at different temporal and spatial scales in the Neotropics requires a model encompassing distinct ecoregions. Because Anura species have their evolutionary history affected by climate and environmental changing, it is a suitable model to investigate the signatures of Neotropical historical events in species populations. Here we used a treefrog species to test hypotheses associated with tectonic, eustatic and climatic events along with isolation‐by‐environment and isolation‐by‐distance spatial patterns in genetic diversity. Taxon: Scinax squalirostris (Lutz, 1925), Anura: Hylidae. Location: Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Chaco, Uruguayan Savanna and Pampas ecoregions in South America. Methods: We sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial data from 219 individuals of S. squalirostris sampled at 26 locations in South America. We performed statistical phylogeographic analyses and reconstruction of spatiotemporal dispersal dynamics. Ecological niche modelling was conducted to predict spatial changes in environmental suitability from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene and present day. Results: We recovered a significant phylogeographic break roughly dated back to the Miocene (~7.6 Ma), coinciding with the retraction of marine incursions in the Paraná basin. Most dispersal events occurred in cooler periods of the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition. The spatial pattern in genetic diversity was not correlated with geographical distance or environmental variables. Main Conclusions Scinax squalirostris had a quasi‐stable distribution through time. Neogene–Quaternary tectonic, eustatic and climatic events drove the demographic history and dispersal dynamics of species, with a phylogeographical break dated to the Miocene coinciding with retractions of marine incursions in the Paraná basin. Lineage dispersal spread from the southern Atlantic Forest and retrieved gene flow signals congruent with the cold periods of the Pliocene and Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate chronology of climatic shifts is critical to understand the controls on landscape and species evolution. Unfortunately, direct dating of continental climate change is hindered by the scarcity of dateable terrestrial products evidencing climatic shifts. Here we use ferruginous indurations from the arid landscapes of the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia to constrain the timing of Plio‐Pleistocene aridification in the continental realm. We present (U‐Th)/He goethite data implying active induration processes between c. 2.7 and 2.4 Ma. Chemical‐mineralogical and petrographic examination suggests that formation of ferruginous indurations was linked with a decline of the groundwater table, driven by the rapid climatic shift from humid late Pliocene to arid early Pleistocene conditions. Combined with local to global climatic proxies, we conclude that ferruginous indurations are promising targets to obtain absolute ages on landscape evolution to refine continental climatic chronology and improve understanding of the environmental drivers of species diversification and extinction. Plain Language Summary: The reconstruction of Earth's climate record is typically founded on the physicochemical properties of marine sediments. Continental sediments that yield time‐constrained climate information are rare, but important to interpret wider Earth system responses and the co‐evolution of regional climate, landscape, and biota. This study presents direct dating of continental climate change on the Nullarbor Plain to constrain its development as an important biogeographic barrier driving species diversification between SW‐ and SE‐Australia. Age dating of iron‐oxide cements constrains the waning availability of mobile water (e.g., groundwater) and the onset of drier conditions related to global Plio‐Pleistocene climate change. These findings demonstrate that iron‐oxides may provide an excellent continental archive to anchor major climate shifts and help understand associated terrestrial ecosystem change. Key Points: (U‐Th)/He data from ferruginous indurations capture the onset of Plio‐Pleistocene aridification in southern AustraliaCorrelation of induration age with other climatic proxies indicates that ferruginous indurations track terrestrial water table evolutionTiming of aridification constrains evolution of important biogeographic barrier [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: Pilosocereus (Cactaceae) is an important dry forest element in all subregions and transitional zones of the neotropics, with the highest diversity in eastern Brazil. The genus is subdivided into informal taxonomic groups; however, most of these are not supported by recent molecular phylogenetic inferences. This lack of confidence is probably due to the use of an insufficient number of loci and the complexity of cactus diversification. Here, we explored the species relationships in Pilosocereus in more detail, integrating multilocus phylogenetic approaches with the assessment of the ancestral range and the effect of geography on diversification shifts. Methods: We used 28 nuclear, plastid, and mitochondrial loci from 54 plant samples of 31 Pilosocereus species for phylogenetic analyses. We used concatenated and coalescent phylogenetic trees and Bayesian models to estimate the most likely ancestral range and diversification shifts. Results: All Pilosocereus species were clustered in the same branch, except P. bohlei. The phylogenetic relationships were more associated with the geographic distribution than taxonomic affinities among taxa. The genus began diversifying during the Plio‐Pleistocene transition in the Caatinga domain and experienced an increased diversification rate during the Calabrian age. Conclusions: We recovered a well‐supported multispecies coalescent phylogeny. Our results refine the pattern of rapid diversification of Pilosocereus species across neotropical drylands during the Pleistocene and highlight the need for taxonomic rearrangements in the genus. We recovered a pulse of diversification during the Pleistocene that was likely driven by multiple dispersal and vicariance events within and among the Caatinga, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dispersal of primitive elephantines and monodactyl equids in Eurasia has long been regarded as representative of a substantial turnover in mammal faunas, denoting the spread of open environments linked to the onset of cold and dry conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. During the 1980s, this event was named the "Elephant-Equus event" and it was correlated with the Gauss-Matuyama reversal, today corresponding to the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition and the beginning of the Quaternary, dated at ~2.6 Ma. Therefore, the Elephant-Equus event became a concept of prominent biochronological and paleoecological significance, especially in western Europe. Yet, uncertainties surrounding the taxonomy and chronology of early "elephant" and "Equus", as well as conceptual differences in adopting (or understanding) the Elephant-Equus event as an intercontinental dispersal event or as a stratigraphic datum, engendered ambiguity and debate. Here, we provide a succinct review of the Elephant-Equus event, considering separately the available evidence on the "elephant" and the "Equus". Elephantines dispersed out of Africa during the Pliocene (Piacenzian). Their earliest calibrated occurrences from eastern Europe date at ~3.2 Ma and they are usually referred to Mammuthus rumanus, although the allocation of several samples to this species is tentative. Available dating constraints for other localities do not resolve whether the dispersal of Mammuthus was synchronous across Eurasia, but this possibility cannot be ruled out. The spread of Mammuthus was part of an intercontinental faunal exchange between Africa and Eurasia that occurred during the Piacenzian, but in this scenario, Mammuthus is quite unique in being the only genus of African origin dispersing to western Eurasia. The arrival of monodactyl equids from North America coincides with the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition, with several occurrences dated or calibrated at ~2.6 Ma and no compelling evidence prior to this age. In Europe, early monodactyl equids are often aligned to Equus livenzovensis, but the material from the type locality of this species is chronologically time-averaged and taxonomically heterogeneous, and western European samples are seldom abundant or informative. Regardless, this does not diminish the biochronological significance of the "Equus event". Indeed, while the term "Elephant-Equus event" should no longer be used, as the appearance of elephantines in the European fossil record markedly precedes that of monodactyl equids, we endorse the use of the "Equus event" as a valid alternative to refer to the intercontinental dispersal event that characterizes the middle Villafranchian faunal turnover, epitomized by but not limited to monodactyl equids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New land vertebrate fossils discovered at the El Abra outcrop in Matanzas, Western Cuba, provide valuable insights into the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene Greater Antillean land mammal fossil record. • Previously undocumented capromyine rodent dental remains significantly enrich the insular Caribbean's terrestrial vertebrate fossil record. • Partially closed roots observed in the reported El Abra capromyine specimen, a feature not previously reported in Cuban taxa, suggest possible affinities with Hexolobodon from Hispaniola. • Strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) and foraminiferal biostratigraphy indicate a depositional age between the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, but the reworking of fossils suggests that the vertebrate remains could be older. • The findings suggest complex biogeographic patterns of vertebrate dispersal and diversification in the Caribbean, emphasizing the importance of addressing gaps in the fossil record and the impacts of recent extinctions on the region's biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pliocene and Pleistocene sedimentary successions in the Pampean region of Argentina contain abundant and diverse fossil mammalian burrows. In this paper, we report fossil burrows from eight localities from near Miramar to the northern area of Mar del Plata, spanning the Early Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, and analyze burrow size patterns. The minimum width of each fossil burrow was measured as an indicator of its diameter. Available allometric equations for extant burrowing vertebrates were used to estimate the body size of potential producers based on burrow diameter. Size distribution patterns indicate that, in the Early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene levels, small burrows (attributed to rodents, typotheres, and small armadillos) were abundant, while medium- to large-sized burrows (attributed to large cingulates) were less common. In the Middle to Late Pleistocene levels, small burrows are very scarce, and medium-sized burrows are most abundant, together with giant burrows (attributed to ground sloths). Our findings indicate a significant size diversity for Pliocene–Pleistocene burrowing mammals in the studied area, from small rodents to giant ground sloths. Although present in Pliocene to Early Pleistocene times, the largest ground sloths began to build subterranean galleries only later in the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Small burrowers were comparatively less active during that time. These patterns are discussed in the light of paleoclimate and paleoecology of the putative guild of extinct burrowers, to develop working hypotheses for future studies. A paleoclimatic shift from Pliocene Climate Optimum to more arid and colder conditions from the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene, and the incursion of large predators to the region, are proposed as major factors promoting large ground sloths to adopt a fossorial lifestyle. • 145 Pliocene-Pleistocene fossil burrows sampled in Pampean area of Argentina. • Remarkable diversity of burrowing mammals is inferred by burrow sizes variation. • Producers' diversity ranged from small rodents to giant ground sloths. • Giant fossil burrows (up to 2 m diameter) were exclusive to Middle-Late Pleistocene. • Paleoclimate shift and onset of predators could promote fossorial lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 90% of fungal diversity, one of the most speciose branches in the tree of life, remains undescribed. Lichenized fungi as symbiotic associations are still a challenge for species delimitation, and current species diversity is vastly underestimated. The ongoing democratization of Next-Generation Sequencing is turning the tables. Particularly, reference-based RADseq allows for metagenomic filtering of the symbiont sequence and yields robust phylogenomic trees of closely related species. We implemented reference-based RADseq to disentangle the evolution of neuropogonoid lichens, which inhabit harsh environments and belong to Usnea (Parmeliaceae, Ascomycota), one of the most taxonomically intriguing genera within lichenized fungi. Full taxon coverage of neuropogonoid lichens was sampled for the first time, coupled with phenotype characterizations. More than 20,000 loci of 126 specimens were analyzed through concatenated and coalescent-based methods, including time calibrations. Our analysis addressed the major taxonomic discussions over recent decades. Subsequently, two species are newly described, namely U. aymondiana and U. fibriloides, and three species names are resurrected. The late Miocene and Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary is inferred as the timeframe for neuropogonoid lichen diversification. Ultimately, this study helped fill the gap of fungal diversity by setting a solid backbone phylogeny which raises new questions about which factors may trigger complex evolutionary scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In the hyperdiverse fungi, the process of speciation is virtually unknown, including for the > 20 000 species of ectomycorrhizal mutualists. To understand this process, we investigated patterns of genome‐wide differentiation in the ectomycorrhizal porcini mushroom, Boletus edulis, a globally distributed species complex with broad ecological amplitude.By whole‐genome sequencing 160 individuals from across the Northern Hemisphere, we genotyped 792 923 single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize patterns of genome‐wide differentiation and to identify the adaptive processes shaping global population structure.We show that B. edulis exhibits contrasting patterns of genomic divergence between continents, with multiple lineages present across North America, while a single lineage dominates Europe. These geographical lineages are inferred to have diverged 1.62–2.66 million years ago, during a period of climatic upheaval and the onset of glaciation in the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. High levels of genomic differentiation were observed among lineages despite evidence of substantial and ongoing introgression. Genome scans, demographic inference, and ecological niche models suggest that genomic differentiation is maintained by environmental adaptation, not physical isolation.Our study uncovers striking patterns of genome‐wide differentiation on a global scale and emphasizes the importance of local adaptation and ecologically mediated divergence, rather than prezygotic barriers such as allopatry or genomic incompatibility, in fungal population differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Wang retired in 1986, but he continued his research on Ranunculaceae, Boraginaceae, Urticaceae, and Gesneriaceae. He contributed several treatments to I Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae i , treating part of the Ranunculaceae ( I Aconitum i , I Delphinium i , I Anemone i , and several small genera) (Wang, [21], [22]), Gesneriaceae (Wang, [24]), Boraginaceae (Kung & Wang, [7]; Wang, [26]), and Urticaceae (Wang & Chen, [39]; Wang, [33], [34]). Collections-based systematics in the new age of discovery: Celebrating the legacy and life of Professor Wen-Tsai Wang Professor Wen-Tsai Wang ( , June 5, 1926-November 16, 2022) was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a legendary plant taxonomist at the Institute of Botany of CAS (Fig. [Extracted from the article]

Cross-border correlations of the Pliocene-Pleistocene successions in the southern Netherlands and northernmost Belgium are problematic, because biostratigraphic markers are often lacking. Correlation is further hampered by the poor age constraints of the Belgian Merksplas Formation. To address these issues, sedimentary, mollusc and dinoflagellate cyst analyses are combined to characterise the lithostratigraphic units in the Huijbergen borehole (The Netherlands) and to provide age estimates. Subsequently, the Huijbergen borehole was correlated with nearby boreholes in Essen and Kalmthout (Belgium). The Piacenzian intervals of the Dutch Oosterhout Formation can be correlated with the Belgian Lillo Formation, with the latter's threefold borehole log signature appearing virtually continuous across the border between both countries. The Dutch Maassluis and Waalre formations are correlated with the shell-bearing lower part and the unfossiliferous higher part of the Merksplas Formation respectively. Although dinocysts are not age-diagnostic for the Maassluis and Waalre formations in borehole Huijbergen, characteristic interglacial marine shells provide a Gelasian age assessment for the Maassluis Formation. By correlation, this age estimate can also be applied to the lower part of the Merksplas Formation, thereby elucidating the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition near the Dutch-Belgian border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a detailed geomorphological map of the western piedmont of Cumbres Calchaquíes (Tucumán Province, NW Argentina) bounded by the Amaicha River to the south and the administrative border with Salta Province to the north. It contains information about geomorphological units, their relative ages, and morphogenetic processes. The main map shows the presence of seven aggradation stages separated by incision phases. The first three stages (St1, St2, and St3) were modeled on a thick accumulation located in the upper piedmont from the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Intermediate stages (St4 and St5) are alluvial fans and pediments with less thickness and gradient. They cover the Early Pleistocene (St4) and the Late Pleistocene-Middle Holocene (St5). Finally, stages St6 and St7 are from the Upper Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Amazonian mammal diversity is exceptionally high, yet new taxonomic discoveries continue to be made and many questions remain for understanding its diversification through time and space. Here we investigate the diversification of spiny rats in the genus Makalata, whose species are strongly associated with seasonally flooded forests, watercourses and flooded islands. We use a biogeographical approach based on a mitochondrial cytochrome b gene through divergence time estimation and reconstruction of ancestral areas and events. Our findings indicate an ancient origin of Makalata for the Guiana Shield and Eastern Amazonia as ancestral area. A first cladogenetic event led to a phylogeographic break into two broader clades of Makalata through dispersal, implying a pattern of western/Eastern Amazonian clades coinciding with the Purus Arch (middle Miocene). Most of subclades we infer originated between the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene, with few recent exceptions in the early Pliocene through dispersal and vicariant events. The hypothesis of rivers as dispersal barriers is not corroborated for Makalata, as expected for mammalian species associated with seasonally flooded environments. We identify two key events for the expansion and diversification of Makalata species: the presence of geologically stable areas in the Guiana and Brazilian shields and the transition from lacustrine conditions in western Amazonia (Acre system) to a river system, with the establishment of the Amazon River transcontinental system and its tributaries. Our results are congruent with older geological scenarios for the Amazon basin formation (Miocene), but we do not discard the influence of recent dynamics on some speciation events and, mainly, on phylogeographic structuring processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mio‐Pliocene sedimentary archives of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) in NE Tibet record a monotonic response to orbital forcing, dominated by eccentricity. By contrast, Pleistocene archives display a more stochastic response that varies regionally and temporally. When and why this response changed is poorly understood. Here, we present a new high‐resolution Rb/Sr ratio data set of EASM intensity from the Sanmenxia Basin, North China, that spans the Plio‐Pleistocene transition. Our results indicate decreased monsoonal rainfall in the late Pliocene, dated at 2.75–2.6 Ma, associated with an intensified response to obliquity and enhanced climate stochasticity. This transition is attributed to the increase of Northern Hemisphere ice volume. Quaternary monsoons display a sensitivity unique to the modern icehouse with large bipolar ice sheets, while pre‐Quaternary monsoons were solely impacted by Antarctic ice sheet dynamics on orbital time‐scales. Plain Language Summary: The late Pliocene‐early Pleistocene transition (LP/EP) is a period of global cooling and the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Yet, the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) during this time remains a topic of ongoing discussion and debate. Here we present high‐resolution paleoclimate data from a record of lake sediments across the Pliocene‐Pleistocene transition period. We show that there was a reorganization of the East Asian monsoon system 2.75–2.6 million years ago, associated with an increase in climate forcing caused by cyclic changes in Earth's tilt and in climate stochasticity. This transition is attributed to the appearance of new high‐latitude forcing mechanisms on monsoon intensity caused by the growth of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Key Points: Cyclic patterns in East Asian summer monsoonal intensity during the Pliocene were mainly driven by Antarctic ice sheet variationsA major reorganization of the East Asian climate system occurred at 2.75–2.6 Ma in response to Northern Hemisphere glaciationQuaternary East Asian summer monsoon on orbital scales displays a sensitivity that is unique to the modern icehouse with bipolar ice sheets [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersal is a fundamental mechanism for maintaining biodiversity, and long‐distance dispersal (LDD) has attracted the interest of many researchers owing to its unusual characteristics. Conventionally, LDD has been defined based on absolute and proportional distances; however, it has recently been redefined based on geographic and genetic limits. Based on this redefinition, short‐distance dispersal can have the same characteristics as LDD, depending upon the dispersal dynamics of an organism. However, the effects of LDD at a local scale on the genetic structure and diversification of organisms are poorly understood, since many studies have focused on definitive LDD, such as oversea dispersal.We focused on the freshwater snail Gyraulus sp. on an oceanic island, Chichijima Island, attempting to clarify the dynamics and effects of LDD on its genetic structure. We conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses, including divergence‐time estimation, using mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA markers to reveal the origin of the snail. In addition, we clarified the genetic structure, gene flow, and evolutionary history of snails on the island using mitochondrial DNA and genome‐wide single‐nucleotide polymorphisms. Finally, we followed a landscape ecology approach to identify barriers to dispersal.Our phylogenies suggested that the snail has a single origin. Based on our divergence–time estimation, colonisation was estimated to have occurred around the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene. Our population genetic analyses documented genetic differentiation even within this small oceanic island. Based on the divergence time estimation and approximate Bayesian computation using single‐nucleotide polymorphisms, the differentiation was estimated to have begun around the late Pleistocene. Little gene flow occurred between the geographically structured snail genetic groups. Landscape analysis suggested that catchment boundaries were a major barrier to dispersal.Considering the geography of the island, these results suggested that low‐frequency dispersal over barriers is an important factor in genetic differentiation within the island. Furthermore, dispersal over barrier may be considered LDD, even though the dispersal distance is only several kilometres.Genetic evidence also suggested that resistance to gene flow over the barrier, rather than distance, is more important in determining whether dispersal should be considered LDD. This suggests that a definition of LDD that depends only on the distance may mislead an understanding of dispersal mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grusonia is an opuntioid genus in the Cylindropuntieae, Cactaceae, endemic to the North American deserts in Mexico and the United States. The monophyletic status of the genus and the degrees of endemicity of its species make Grusonia a suitable study group in order to test biogeographic hypotheses such as vicariant or dispersal events, biogeographic barriers and time‐calibrated phylogenies in order to propose speciation events in the group. The statistical dispersal‐vicariance analysis (S‐DIVA) and a statistical dispersal‐local extinction‐cladogenesis (S‐DEC) analyses show general congruence postulating ancestral ranges for the species of Grusonia. They disagree, however, in a clade with four species from the Sonoran Desert, the Baja California Peninsula and one species endemic to the central portion of the Chihuahuan Desert Region. The time‐calibrated phylogeny here proposed shows an average age of 3.7 Ma for the genus. Grusonia has two internal clades comprising species most likely generated by allopatric speciation under a vicariant scenario. The results of this study support a young age for the North American deserts and identify the end of the Pliocene and mainly the Plio‐Pleistocene boundary as the starting point of the cladogenetic events that gave rise to the two main clades of Grusonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Felids are the top predators in the environments they inhabit. They entered South America at the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, but their fossil record in Uruguay, although informative, is scarce. In the present contribution, three new materials (two hemimandibles and an isolated first lower molar) assigned to Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) are described. This material came from Quaternary sediments (Sopas, Dolores, and Libertad Formations) from several localities in Uruguay. Based on this material, different aspects of the paleobiology and paleoecology of jaguars are discussed. Remains of these felids were previously listed but never described; thus, the material analyzed here is the first fossil records reliably determined for P. onca in Uruguay. These felids would have shared an ecological niche with other large carnivores during the late Pleistocene in Uruguay, such as saber-toothed cats (Smilodon populator Lund, 1842; S. fatalis Leidy, 1868), Puma concolor Linnaeus, 1771, and short face bears Arctotherium Burmeister, 1879; and they would have fed upon medium-sized herbivores, principally in vegetated environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe otter remains (Lutrinae Bonaparte, 1838) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Lower Omo Valley of southwestern Ethiopia. We report isolated lower and upper teeth of Torolutra sp. dated to c. 3.3 Ma, dental specimens and a femur of Enhydriodon Falconer, 1868, attributed to a new species, dated between c. 3.4 Ma and 2.5 Ma, as well as a humerus of Lutrinae indet. dated between c. 1.9 Ma and 1.8 Ma. The new species Enhydriodon omoensis n. sp. is the largest species of the genus discovered so far. It is even larger than its close relative E. dikikae Geraads, Alemseged, Bobe & Reed, 2011, a Pliocene lion-sized otter from the Afar region and potentially from eastern Turkana. Based on stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses, we found that Enhydriodon from the Lower Omo Valley could have been terrestrial and fed on both aquatic and terrestrial prey, acquired by either hunting or scavenging. It filled a unique ecological niche in the past communities co-existing with australopithecines. Enhydriodon and Torolutra Petter, Pickford & Howell, 1991 went extinct in Africa around the Plio-Pleistocene transition, along with many large-sized and ecologically specialized carnivorans. This extinction event could be linked to the many geological, climate, and biotic changes occurring in the eastern African rift during this period, notably the incursion of early hominins into the carnivore guild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 116 km-long and 1560 m-deep Hirlatzhöhle is one of the major cave systems in the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA; Austria). It is located in the NW part of the Dachstein, an extensive karst massif encompassing 576 km2 with its highest point at 2995 m a.s.l. In contrast to most other caves in the NCA, Hirlatzhöhle comprises old (epi)phreatic passages located up to 1 km above the base level as well as two modern major drainage systems. The aim of this study is to define the palaeo- and the active flow conditions in combination with speleogenesis, and the age of the cave levels of Hirlatzhöhle. We use morphological as well as sedimentological studies and correlations with other caves. Another difference from cave systems in the NCA is that the majority of passages in Hirlatzhöhle are not developed within the so-called Giant Cave Level between 1200 and 1800 m a.s.l., but deeper between 800 and 1300 m. Most parts of Hirlatzhöhle developed under epiphreatic conditions as indicated by rills and condensation corrosion cupolas, which is the case for many other cave systems in the NCA. In contrast, paragenetic features like canyons and ceiling channels are relatively rare as are insoluble sediments. Elongated scallops indicate that flow velocities were high and abrasive sediments were abundant. Opposite to the nearby Dachstein-Mammuthöhle and other caves east of it that show a west-directed palaeo-flow, scallops in Hirlatzhöhle indicate a NE-directed palaeo-flow and an autogenic recharge. Modern drainage is autogenic and N- to NE-directed as well. Even though burial age dating did not give reasonable results for Hirlatzhöhle yet, the correlation with other adjacent caves suggests a Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene age of the main palaeo-phreatic level. This is supported by an infinite U-Th age (>0.6 Ma) of a flowstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology‐based species delimitation of the land snail genus Formosana (Clausiliidae) was questioned, due to the high intraspecific variability and interspecific similarity of morphological characters. The systematics of Formosana from Taiwan are revised using molecular, morphological, and anatomical data. Phylogenies were constructed based on four mitochondrial and nuclear markers, by means of maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses. Twelve valid and endemic species and subspecies were recognised from Taiwan, six of which are newly described herein: Formosana nanaoensis sp. n., Formosana hsuehshanensis sp. n., Formosana lilongshanensis sp. n., Formosana katipulensis sp. n., Formosana kaluluanensis sp. n., and Formosana tianchihensis sp. n. In addition, three nominal species are maintained as synonyms of earlier described species. A congener from China is transferred to the genus Formosanella as a new combination, Formosanella friniana com. n. The variability in morphological characteristics, and resulting difficulties for their taxonomic implication are critically discussed. Divergence time estimation and ancestral range reconstructions indicate that the Taiwanese Formosana most likely colonised in eastern Taiwan, approximately 4.7 million years ago in the Early Pliocene, and then differentiated into four major clades. The speciation events mainly occurred during the Late Pliocene and the Early Pleistocene. The biogeography and diversification of Formosana in Taiwan are discussed, in light of the concept of palaeoislands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A palynological analysis was carried out for the first time on sediments from Hupo Basin, East Sea, offshore Korea, to locate the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary and thus determine the depositional age of this stratigraphic unit. Core 19ESDP-101, taken from Hupo Basin, yielded diverse, abundant to common pollen and dinocysts. Age-diagnostic palynomorphs were present in certain core intervals (Zone I, depths 120–63.96 mbsf). However, those age indicators were dark brown, heavily broken representatives that appeared together with poorly sorted, opaque, dark phytoclasts in the lower part of Zone II (63.96–38.76 mbsf), and they were considered to have been recycled from reworked late Pliocene strata due to contour currents during the transgression. Biostratigraphically meaningful taxa were the pollen Carya, Liquidambar, and Fagus and the dinocysts Filisphaera filifera subsp. pilosa and Spiniferites pachyderma. The latest stratigraphic occurrence of these pollen taxa in northeast Asia is the Late Pliocene, and that of the dinocysts is the Late Pliocene across a wide range of aquatic areas, especially in the Pacific. The last appearance datum of the age indicators in this study suggested 63.96 mbsf (top boundary of Zone I) as the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary in core 19ESDP-101. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]