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1.
Vertical or inclined planar fissures that may for the most part be classified as joints are commonly seen in exposures of both the Coralline and Red Crag in East Anglia. Measurements of fissure orientation reveal orthogonal patterns of alignment in both formations. The field relations of the fissures to the host Crag sediment suggest a tectonic rather than periglacial origin. It is proposed that the fissure system is the product of early Pleistocene tectonic flexuring in the area, on the western margin of the subsiding southern North Sea basin.  相似文献   

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3.
Sand-rich Holocene to modern clastic deposits in the eastern English Channel and the southern North Sea coasts of France and Belgium occur extensively as nearshore-sand bank, estuarine-tidal flat, aeolian dune and beach sub-environments. Sand samples (n = 665) collected from these deposits suggest the presence of three different populations: a largely dominant (83%) medium to fine quartz sand population (“b”), and finer- (14%) and coarser-grained (4%) populations (respectively “c” and “a”). The distribution of these populations among the four sub-environments reflects tide- and storm-dominated sorting and transport processes and a variable degree of mixing. These populations are derived from a mixture of very fine- to very coarse-grained fluvial, outwash and paraglacial sediments deposited on the beds of the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea during the late Pleistocene lowstand. The nearshore-sand bank environment, which also corresponds to the main offshore source area of the coastal deposits, exhibits population heterogeneity reflecting the variability of hydrodynamic conditions and sediment sorting in this zone. The nearshore topography of tidal ridges, banks and troughs in these tidal seas leads to variable bed and tide- and storm-induced shear stress conditions. These conditions only allow for the mobilisation and onshore transport of some of the finer fractions (populations “b” and “c”), leaving an offshore mixture of these finer populations with coarser, less mobilisable sediments (population “a”). Once in the coastal zone, these two finer populations undergo further hydrodynamic sorting and segregation. Variably sorted very fine sands to silts (population “c”) are trapped in the low-energy estuarine-tidal flat sub-environment, while the highly homogeneous population “b” is further sorted in aeolian dune and beach sub-environments. This sorting occurs via a coastal sand transport pathway linking the Somme estuary mouth to the southern North Sea bight where tidal range and wave energy decrease relative to the English Channel. Since this sand transport pathway enables longshore transport of hydrodynamically sorted medium to fine sand derived directly from the immediate nearshore zone, it has further contributed to a net flux of this sand population from the eastern English Channel sea bed to the southern North Sea.  相似文献   

4.
Although five genera of procyonids are currently present in South America, only two of the extant genera, Procyon and Nasua are represented in the South American fossil record. A recent discovery of a procyonid lower second molar in Late Pleistocene deposits of Aurora do Tocantins, northern Brazil, offers potential to further our understanding of the stratigraphic and temporal range of South American fossil procyonids. We use geometric morphometric analysis of two-dimensional landmarks and semilandmarks to explore morphological variation in the lower second molars of extant Procyon lotor and Procyon cancrivorus and multivariate methods to support the identification of the Pleistocene specimen as P. cancrivorus. This material represents the second fossil record of P. cancrivorus in South America Procyonids entered South America in two phases: the first comprising by Cyonasua and Chapadmalania during the Late Miocene, and the other recent genera, beginning in the Late Pleistocene. These Late Miocene procyonids were more carnivorous than Late Pleistocene-Recent omnivorous taxa and possible went extinct due to competition with other placental carnivorans that entered South America and diversified during the latest Pliocene-Early Pleistocene.  相似文献   

5.
The Plio-Pleistocene Crag deposits of East Anglia include a wealth of shelly remains, including barnacles, preserved variously as complete shells, their disarticulated plates and trace fossils. Herein, we present a field guide to these distinctive fossils, with diagnoses of all known taxa recorded from the Crags of East Anglia, supported by both line drawings and photographs. The known stratigraphic and geographic distribution within the study area are tabulated. Recognised species include the sessile barnacles Armatobalanus bisulcatus (Darwin), A. dolossus (Darwin), Balanus balanus (Linné), B. crenatus Bruguière, B. inclusus Darwin, Concavus concavus (Bronn), Chirona hameri (Ascanius), Megabalanus tintinnabulum (Linné), Conopea calceola (Ellis), Co. spongicola (Brown), Acasta undulata Darwin, Coronula barbara Darwin, Megatrema anglicum (G.B. Sowerby) and Verruca stroemia (Müller) (=14 species); two pedunculate forms, Scalpellum magnum Darwin and Lepas delicatula Withers; and the boring Rogerella isp. The greatest diversity of species is found in the Coralline Crag and Red Crag formations, both yielding 11 species, although only four are common to both. Barnacles are poorly represented in other Crag deposits.  相似文献   

6.
The presence of decapod crustaceans in the Pliocene and Pleistocene (MIS 5e) fossil record of Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago) is herein reviewed. Our study raises the number of fossil decapods from this island from one species to 10 taxa (three for the Pliocene and seven for the Last Interglacial). Four of these 10 taxa are reported for the first time in the fossil record, worldwide. A new species of a mud shrimp is also described (Upogebia azorensis n. sp.). Our study suggests that the Plio–Pleistocene decapod assemblages of the Azores did not differ significantly from modern ones, being dominated by species that are today widespread across the Webbnesia ecoregion, the Mediterranean Sea, and the eastern Atlantic shores, including the Azores. As far as can be judged from the limited fossil record, apparently no tropical crab species with a Cabo Verdean/Senegalese provenance reached the Azores during windows of opportunity associated with Glacial Termination 2 or with the initial setting of the Last Interglacial period. This contribution increases the total number of marine taxa reported for the Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops of Santa Maria Island to 218 and 155, respectively, highlighting the scientific relevance of its palaeontological heritage.  相似文献   

7.
A long sequence of open-coast tidal flat deposits with a restricted, mainly boreal fauna, comprises the Tapes and Mactra Zones. Characteristic species are Venerupis aurea, Spisula arcuata, Arctic islandica and Lentidium complanatum . This stage is provisionally correlated with the Upper Pliocene of the North Sea Basin. During the time of deposition of the Serripes Zone the basin apparently deepened and the fauna greatly diversified with immigration of arctic elements. It went back finally to beach-deposit conditions. The characteristic species — Serripes groenlandicus, Macoma praetenius , and Beta borealis — are also characteristic of the Early Pleistocene of the North Sea Basin with which the Serripes Zone is provisionally correlated. The climate is interpreted as having been colder than that of the Tapes and Mactra zones. A preliminary list of the Mollusca is given.  相似文献   

8.
A series of discontinuous sediment sequences, of Plio/Pleistocene age, occur onshore around the southern North Sea margins, notably in the East Anglian region of Britain. Intensive lithological and palaeontological analyses of these sediments have shown that they record both major and minor oscillations in climate, sea level and environmental conditions. However, significant uncertainties exist regarding the absolute and relative chronostratigraphies of many of these sequences, hindering understanding of the relative impacts of climatic, eustatic and tectonic changes on the palaeogeographic development of the southern North Sea basin. Here, a number of key East Anglian Plio/Pleistocene sites are subjected to robust palaeomagnetic and mineralogical examination, in order to determine those sediments which display reliable, syn‐depositional magnetic polarities, which are thus of use in ascribing a palaeomagnetically determined age from comparison with the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale (GPTS). Based on a range of palaeomagnetic and complementary mineralogical methods, reliable palaeomagnetic directions were obtained from eight sites, with reversed polarities displayed by sediments from three sites. These polarity determinations can be used to infer absolute ages and test published, between‐site correlations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
Deer species provide a valuable biostratigraphical tool through Cromer Forest-bed times, due particularly to species turnover between the Early and early Middle Pleistocene. This study is based on the reidentification of 348 fossil antlers. The provenance of most large mammal fossils from the CF-bF, collected over 150 years, was recorded only by the nearest coastal village. None the less, analysis of the cervid taxa by these ‘localities’ reveals interesting patterns. The fauna of the West Runton Freshwater Bed is of early Middle Pleistocene complexion, and that from the foreshore at East Runton is of Early Pleistocene. Pure or nearly pure early Middle Pleistocene assemblages also occur at Kessingland-Pakefield and at Trimingham. At Overstrand, Sidestrand, Mundesley, Bacton and Happisburgh, there is a mixture of Early and early Middle Pleistocene elements. Analysis of Savin's data shows that fossils of earlier species were generally found further down the beach than those of later ones. Late nineteenth century geological surveys, made when bone collecting was at its peak, give additional information about fossil horizons, which in several cases can be related to modern stratigraphical units. Most Early Pleistocene large-mammal bones came from Pastonian conglomerates, in contrast to small-mammal and molluscan assemblages mostly extracted from Pre-Pastonian Crag. However, the diversity of Early Pleistocene CF-bF cervid species in comparison with continental faunas, and their pattern of distribution between sites, suggests they may span more than one chronostratigraphic stage. Early Middle Pleistocene assemblages came from strata now referred to the Cromerian, and the differing proportions of taxa between sites provide limited evidence of time-transgression.  相似文献   

10.
湖南杨二洞更新世晚期动物群研究   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1       下载免费PDF全文
武仙竹  邓晓  郑利平 《第四纪研究》2008,28(6):1114-1128
湖南花垣县杨二洞化石点位于沅江上游,动物群种类包括有6目26种,动物群时代为晚更新世末期。杨二洞小型哺乳动物化石材料较多。有些小型哺乳动物在我国更新世时期首次发现,如大爪长尾鼩、大黑伏翼、大齿鼠等。杨二洞动物群在我国西南地区更新世末期的材料之中,具有较为突出的森林性特征,反映出湘西北更新世末期具有南亚热带森林古环境。动物群综合研究发现,小家鼠、褐家鼠在中更新世晚期分别产生于中国东北和长江下游,其中小家鼠在更新世晚期经华北向长江流域及其以南扩散,褐家鼠在更新世较晚时期分别向华北和岭南扩散。晚更新世以来,有较多小哺乳动物出现了从低海拔向高海拔山区进行生境转移的现象,这种生境转移对认识大熊猫生态演变有重要参考。杨二洞堆积物特征反映,沅江上游晚更新世末期时河床侵蚀性下切明显,地貌变化显著。  相似文献   

11.
The evolution of Pleistocene mammals is characterized by giantism and in the ungulates by the appearance of huge and often bizarre horns, antlers, ossicones, and tusks. An earlier study of sheep (Ovis) led to a theory explaining these phenomena. This theory, termed the “dispersal theory,” is described briefly and then applied to the evolution of Old World deer (Cervinea, Baird, 1857). It is shown that the zoogeography and physical characteristics of Old World deer follow the predictions of this theory. Attention is drawn to the parallels in zoogeography and convergent evolutionary changes between Old World deer and other ungulates such as New World deer, the goats and sheep and the genus Bison. The application of the “dispersal theory” to the evolution of the genus Bison shows that it is compatible with known facts and that it explains aspects of Bison morphology not usually considered. It also suggested a new and testable hypothesis of the origin of present-day Bison. In general the “dispersal theory” applied to Pleistocene conditions predicts that a specialization of social behavior and social organs leading to giantism, altered body proportions and bizarre hornlike organs occurs during postglacial dispersal into new habitat. It also describes the characteristics of these early, pioneering populations. In so doing it links the disciplines of animal behavior, ecology, animal science, population dynamics, and zoogeography into a functional whole. In particular it shows the relationship between ecology and social behavior. Finally, the “dispersal theory” is shown to be a general theory, applicable to Pleistocene and pre-Pleistocene conditions. In the tropics or pre-Pleistocene conditions social evolution follows ecological specialization, while in the periglacial zones social evolution only reflects the colonization history of the species. It is shown that the “dispersal theory” unites the apparently contradictory views on evolution and zoogeography of Matthews and Darlington. Matthews' views apply largely to Pleistocene conditions and Darlington's to pre-Pleistocene conditions. A preliminary application of the “dispersal theory” to pre-Pleistocene mammals suggests that it predicts correctly.  相似文献   

12.
The biostratigraphic revision of the benthic foraminifera present in the coastal Cenozoic quartzose and shelly sands (crags) at Fécamp and Valmont (Seine-Maritime) reveals Early Pliocene (Fécamp) and Early Pleistocene (Valmont) ages. The Tortonian-Messinian thanatocœnosis contained in the Fécamp Crag shows the presence of a former bryozoan-rich platform on the floor of the Channel that was reworked during the Lower Pliocene transgression. Tortonian-Messinian and Lower Pliocene deposits have been found in Belgium, England, Brittany, and at Fécamp, but are absent in Cotentin (North-West Normandy), which was uplifted at this period. The Lower Pleistocene tidal sands and crags described in Cotentin, Upper Normandy and the southern North Sea Basin indicate a marine passage between the Channel and the North Sea.  相似文献   

13.
Phylogeographic patterns of the SW Atlantic estuarine crab Neohelice granulata were examined using mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I sequences and analyzed together with morphometric data. Specimens were sampled during a 4-year period (2001?C2004) from 11 localities encompassing the full distributional range of this species along the SW Atlantic (22°57?? S to 42°25?? S). DNA sequences were obtained from 69 individuals belonging to seven localities, and morphometric variation in 12 continuous characters was analyzed for 646 crabs from ten localities. Strong genetic differentiation, consistent with a pattern of isolation-by-distance, was detected among all localities indicating that gene flow occurs mainly between neighboring populations. Analyses of molecular variance showed genetic subdivision between the southern (Argentina) and the northern (Brazil) sites, suggesting restricted gene flow at a regional scale. The genetic structure of this species could be divided into two distinct groups due to a limited gene flow between southern and northern regions as a consequence of larval dispersal patterns. Coastal currents in the vicinity of the Rio de la Plata likely act as a barrier to dispersal within the species range. Moreover, genetic data indicate that populations of N. granulata might have undergone a northward demographic expansion since the late Pleistocene. The morphometric analysis showed no geographical pattern of morphological differentiation, although there were differences among sampling sites.  相似文献   

14.
Erratic clasts with a mass of up to 15 kg are described from preglacial shallow marine and coastal deposits (Wroxham Crag Formation) in northeast Norfolk. Detailed examination of their petrology has enabled them to be provenanced to northern Britain and southern Norway. Their clustered occurrence in coastal sediments in Norfolk is believed to be the product of ice-rafting from glacier incursions into the North Sea from eastern Scotland and southern Norway, and their subsequent grounding and melting within coastal areas of what is now north Norfolk. The precise timing of these restricted glaciations is difficult to determine. However, the relationship of the erratics to the biostratigraphic record and the first major expansion of ice into the North Sea suggest these events occurred during at least one glaciation between the late Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene (c. 1.1–0.6 Ma). In contrast to the late Middle (Anglian) and Late Pleistocene (Last Glacial Maximum) glaciations, where the North Sea was largely devoid of extensive marine conditions, the presence of far-travelled ice-rafted materials implies that earlier cold stage sea-levels were considerably higher.  相似文献   

15.
Studies of invertebrates from steppe patches in the tundra and taiga zones of Beringia provide additional evidence that these areas could be relict steppes. A number of insect species common to both modern relict steppes and fossil Beringian insect faunal assemblages have been found. These provide important information on the moisture and temperature preferences of some of the surviving members of Pleistocene steppe-tundra insect communities. The most significant species of West Beringian insects are weevils in the genus Stephanocleonus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), indicators of thermophytic steppe, and the pill beetle Morychus viridis (Coleoptera, Byrrhidae), the indicator of hemicryophytic steppe. The East Beringian invertebrate population of relict steppe is substantially different. Fossil evidence suggests that biotic exchange between the two parts of Beringia was limited during the Pleistocene; populations of steppe insects did not move across the Bering Land Bridge (BLB), while tundra species had more flexibility. The tundra environment reconstructed for the Pleistocene BLB should have facilitated amphi-beringian distributions for most tundra invertebrate species, but apparently only a few species achieved this.  相似文献   

16.
《Gondwana Research》2014,25(3):1186-1201
The modern Koala Phascolarctos cinereus is the last surviving member of a once diverse family Phascolarctidae (Marsupialia, Phascolarctomorphia). Nine genera and at least 16 species of koala are known. Late Oligocene sediments of central Australia record the oldest fossils and highest species diversity. Five species are known from the early to middle Miocene rainforest assemblages of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, Queensland. With the onset of dryer conditions after the middle Miocene climatic optimum (~ 16 Ma), rainforest habitats contracted resulting in the apparent extinction of three koala lineages (Litokoala, Nimiokoala, Priscakoala). Phascolarctos first appears in the fossil record during the Pliocene and the modern species around 350 ka. Despite a dramatic decline in taxonomic diversity to a single extant species, the fossil record indicates that at most only three koala species coexisted in any given faunal assemblage throughout their 24 million year history. Within these assemblages, the vast majority of extinct koalas are extremely rare (some known from only a single specimen) which may reflect a general rarity within their palaeohabitats compared with the modern species which is represented by an estimated 400,000 individuals spread over most of eastern mainland Australia. Be that as it may, P. cinereus, although once geographically more widespread, occurring for example in Western Australia in the Pleistocene, underwent significant range contractions and localized population extinctions during the stressful climatic conditions of the late Pleistocene and more recently through human-induced habitat destruction. Combined with threats of disease, reduced genetic diversity and climate change, the survival of this iconic Australian marsupial is arguably a cause for concern.  相似文献   

17.
The shoreline of the Taganrog Gulf of the Azov Sea at the mouth of Don River provides a series of extended Upper Pliocene and Quaternary sections that have been actively studied in the last century. This extraglacial region had a complex sedimentary history combining subaerial aggradation with marine, fluvial, and deltaic sedimentation. The well-exposed stratigraphical sequence and abundant palaeontological record continuously attract geologists and highlight the region as one of international importance for the addressing of numerous problems of Late Pliocene and Quaternary stratigraphy and palaeogeography. Fossil mammalian faunas of the region include important Eurasian biostratigraphical markers such as Stenocranius ex gr. hintoni-gregaloides, Lagurini spp., and Mimomys savini. For many years, fossil remains of mammals provide decisive clues to the geological history of the region. Recent geological studies of reference sections have provided data on small mammals, palaeomagnetism and palaeogeographical reconstructions in the northeastern part of the Azovian Region. Mammalian assemblages indicate the presence of the Late Pliocene, late Early Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene levels and, in addition, provide a clear biostratigraphical context for the Early Middle Pleistocene transition.  相似文献   

18.
The most important food item of the cownose ray,Rhinoptera bonasus, in the Virginian tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay is the soft shell clam,Mya arenaria. The Baltic macoma,Macoma balthica, ranks a distant second. Adult rays feed on deep burrowing mollusks, juveniles on shallow- or non-burrowing bivalves. Foraging schools of rays invade tidal flats during the flood tide. Stirring motions of the pectoral fins combined with suction from the expansive orobranchial chamber are probably used to excavate deep burrowing bivalves.  相似文献   

19.
An inclusion in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar is described as a new fossil species in the extant liverwort genus Frullania. The name Frullania pinnata is proposed for the taxon that is characterized by entire underleaves paired with a conspicuous pinnate branching pattern, two distinctive and stable morphological features. Entire underleaves are known in several extant Frullania species but had not previously been documented in Frullania in amber. The combination of morphological characters in this new fossil species is unknown in any crown group lineage of Frullania, and may very well represent a stem lineage element of the genus. This discovery is important because it expands our understanding of the diversity of Frullaniaceae in the Burmese amber forest as well as important ramifications for the phylogenetic reconstruction of extant Frullania lineages.  相似文献   

20.
The interdisciplinary North Sea Project aims at investigating the biotic history of the Pleistocene in the Southern Bight of the North Sea. Humans were part of these biotopes too as Palaeolithic flint artefacts prove. Based on a large fossil record and radiocarbon dating, it becomes clear that reindeer was part of the Late Pleistocene Mammoth-fauna.Upper Palaeolithic hunters often are described as reindeer-hunters. Despite a large fossil reindeer record and collection of Palaeolithic flint artefacts, no evidence was found for co-existence of humans and reindeer or for reindeer-hunting.  相似文献   

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