L’emploi des me´thodes de la the´orie des ensembles flous a` l’e´tude biome´trique de l’espe`ce Nummulites millecaput dans la partie occidentale de la Te´thys

Application of the fuzzy set theory to the biometric evaluation of the species Nummulites millecaput in the western part of the Tethys. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the ability of the fuzzy-set theory to contribute to the evaluation of paleontological problems. As an example, the species Nummulites millecaput, Boube´e has been chosen. One hundred specimens of this species, collected from four localities (Arrimblar, Adelholzen, Dudar, and Mount-Kotuc) have been prepared (equatorial sections) for the biometric measurement of the external and internal characteristics. First a traditional statistical evaluation was performed, followed by the construction of membership functions, the latter ones expressing in the best way the transitions from one locality to the other. The results of this evaluation confirmed that from Aquitaine (France) to Armenia, the same species – Nummulites millecaput – was distributed during the Eocene. To cite this article: G. Ba´rdossy et al., C. R. Palevol 2 (2003). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]