Download or read book Stratigraphy and Paleobiology of the Upper Cretaceous Lower Paleogene Sediments from the Trans Saharan Seaway in Mali written by Maureen A. O'Leary and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epicontinental sea bisected West Africa periodically from the Late Cretaceous to the early Eocene, in dramatic contrast to the current Sahara Desert that dominates the same region today. Known as the Trans-Saharan Seaway, this warm and shallow ocean was a manifestation of globally elevated sea level associated with the rapid break-up of the supercontinent Gondwana in the late Mesozoic. Although it varied in size through time, the Trans-Saharan Seaway is estimated to have covered as much as 3000 km2 of the African continent and was approximately 50 m deep. The edges of the sea were defined in part by the high topography of the Precambrian cratons and mobile belts of West Africa. Over its approximately 50 million year episodic existence, through six major periods of transgression and regression, the Trans-Saharan Seaway left behind extensive nearshore marine sedimentary strata with abundant fossils. The waters that yielded these deposits supported and preserved the remains of numerous vertebrate, invertebrate, plant, and microbial species that are now extinct. These species document a regional picture of ancient tropical life that spanned two major Earth events: the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Whereas extensive epeiric seas flooded the interior portions of most continents during these intervals, the emerging multicontinental narrative has often overlooked the Trans-Saharan Seaway, in part because fundamental research, including the naming of geological formations and the primary description and analysis of fossil species, remained to be done. We provide such synthesis here based on two decades of fieldwork and analyses of sedimentary deposits in the Republic of Mali. Northern parts of the Republic of Mali today include some of the farthest inland reaches of the ancient sea. We bring together and expand on our prior geological and paleontological publications and provide new information on ancient sedimentary rocks and fossils that document paleoequatorial life of the past. Ours is the first formal description of and nomenclature for the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Paleogene geological formations of this region and we tie these names to regional correlations over multiple modern territorial boundaries. The ancient seaway left intriguing and previously unclassified phosphate deposits that, quite possibly, represent the most extensive vertebrate macrofossil bone beds known from anywhere on Earth. These bone beds, and the paper shales and carbonates associated with them, have preserved a diverse assemblage of fossils, including a variety of new species of invertebrates and vertebrates, rare mammals, and trace fossils. The shallow marine waters included a wide range of paleoenvironments from delta systems, to hypersaline embayments, protected lagoons, and carbonate shoals. Our overarching goal has been to collect vertebrate fossils tied to a K-Pg stratigraphic section in Africa. We provide such a section and, consistent with prior ideas, indicate that there is a gap in sedimentation in Malian rocks in the earliest Paleocene, an unconformity also proposed elsewhere in West Africa. Our phylogenetic analyses of several vertebrate clades across the K-Pg boundary have clarified clade-by-clade species-level survivorship and range extensions for multiple taxa. Few macrofossil species from the Trans-Saharan Seaway show conspicuous change at either the K-Pg boundary or the PETM based on current evidence, although results are very preliminary. Building on our earlier report of the first record of rock-boring bivalves from the Paleocene of West Africa, we further describe here a Cretaceous and Paleogene mollusk fauna dominated by taxa characteristic of the modern tropics. Among the newly discovered fossil osteichthyans, large body size characterizes both the pycnodonts and a new freshwater Eocene catfish species, one of the largest fossil catfishes found in Africa. Our new paleoecological and faunal reconstructions show an evergreen, broadleaf forest that included some of the oldest mangroves known. The ancient Malian ecosystem had numerous apex predators including Crocodyliformes, Serpentes, and Amiidae, some of which were among the largest species in their clades. The Trans-Saharan Seaway exhibited intermittent isolation from major seas. This environmental variable may have created aquatic centers of endemism, stimulating selection for gigantism as previously observed for species on terrestrial islands.

Download or read book Stratigraphy and Paleobiology of the Upper Cretaceous Lower Paleogene Sediments from the Trans Saharan Seaway in Mali written by and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Stratigraphy and paleobiology of the Upper Cretaceous Lower Paleogene sediments from the Trans Sahara Seaway in Mali written by Maureen A. O'Leary and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Songbird Behavior and Conservation in the Anthropocene written by Darren S. Proppe and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-01-27 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Songbirds are often used as indicators of environmental health. From the canary in the coalmine, to shifts in demographics and population patterns, birds tell us when things are not well. More often than not, these observable trends are a result of adaptive behavior that has evolved over many generations. Understanding foundation concepts of songbird behavior, including the rate at which behavioral changes occur and the limits of plasticity, is a requirement for anyone interested in sustaining healthy songbird populations in the Anthropocene. Yet, our world is changing rapidly. Can songbirds adapt quickly enough to keep up? Observed declines in many species worldwide suggest that the answer is no. To avoid extinction for many species, our conservation strategies must be broader and more intentional. For example, are there ways to actively manage habitats so that vital cue-response systems are kept intact? Anthropogenic factors are also altering how birds select mates and habitats, sometimes in ways that decrease fitness. Can biologists actively manipulate behavior to mitigate these mismatches? The first goal of this book is to educate academics and managers alike about the foundational behaviors that drive songbird activity and demographic patterns. Topics such as migration, habitat selection, communication, etc., are explored by renown songbird biologist to bring the reader up to speed on the latest advancements in the field. However, each author is also versed in the principles of conservation. The second goal of this book is to explore the current issues that songbirds face in an increasingly anthropic world – and to discuss the role of behavior in the development of management solutions. By broadening our conservation toolkit, we can be more prepared to manage songbird populations and communities within the environmental challenges of the Anthropocene.

Download or read book The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes written by David J. Gower and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-08-11 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latest developments in understanding how, when and where the extraordinary body plan and ecology of snakes evolved from lizard ancestors.

Download or read book Evolution and Fossil Record of African Proboscidea written by William J. Sanders and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2023-09-15 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book details the long, diverse, and complex phylogenetic history of elephants and their fossil relatives (the Proboscidea), whose origin is deeply embedded some 60 million years ago in Africa. Most of the major evolutionary events of proboscideans occurred in Africa, and these are examined in their geological, paleoecological, geographic, and faunal contexts. Updated information about feeding adaptations, taxonomy and systematics, genetics, and site occurrences is included and summarized in tables, figures, and charts. This is the first comprehensive review of African proboscideans and illustrates the need to more actively protect elephants and ensure their survival in modern ecosystems. Key Features: Provides a comprehensive systematic review of the African proboscidean fossil record Includes a summary of taxonomy, geochronology, biogeography and morphology Documents major faunal events including those associated with hominin origins Synthesizes new data from genomic, isotopic, and microware analyses Emphasizes the role of elephants in ecosystems and the importance of conservation

Download or read book Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History written by Joel Asaph Allen and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprises articles on geology, paleontology, mammalogy, ornithology, entomology and anthropology.

Download or read book Snakes of the World written by Jeff Boundy and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-08-27 with total page 797 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species, published in 2014, was the first catalogue of its kind and covered all living and fossil snakes described between 1758 and 2012. This new volume will be a supplement to this important herpetological reference and will include new published data on snakes named and recognized since 2012. Key Features Supplements and updates Wallach et al. – Snakes of the World – the only work to cover all living snakes in the world. Includes updates for fossil snakes named since the publication of Wallach et al. Summarizes the systematic snake literature published since the appearance of Wallach et al. Genera and species are listed alphabetically for ease of reference. Related Titles Wallach, V., K. L. Williams, and J. Boundy. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species (ISBN 978-1-138-03400-6) Aldridge, R. D. and D. M. Sever, eds. Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Snakes (ISBN 978-1-57808-701-3) Caldwell, M. W. The Origin of Snakes: Morphology and the Fossil Record (ISBN 978-1-4822-5134-0)

Download or read book Stratigraphy of Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene Marine and Estuarine Deposits of Northeastern North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia written by Blake W. Blackwelder and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Mesozoic and Cenozoic Sequence Stratigraphy of European Basins written by Pierre Charles de Graciansky and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 818 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This project was designed to build a documented chronostratigraphic and outcrop record of depositional sequences calibrated across European basins. Data on standard stages, magnetostratigraphy, and geochronology integrated with high resolution biostratigraphy calibrate the stratigraphic position of depositional sequence boundaries. Higher order eustatic sequences show a significant increase in the number identified. A good portion of the European Mesozoic and Cenozoic succession is set in the sequence stratigraphic context with a stratigraphic record of its bonding surfaces.

Download or read book Stratigraphy and Micropaleontology of the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary of the North West Basin Australia written by Henry Stewart Edgell and published by . This book was released on 1954 with total page 1020 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Stratigraphy and Micropaleontology of Some Late Cretaceous Paleocene Continental Formations Western Interior North America written by Robert Kenneth Germundson and published by . This book was released on 1965 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Southern Lesser Antilles Arc Platform Pre Late Miocene Stratigraphy Structure and Tectonic Evolution written by R. C. Speed and published by Geological Society of America. This book was released on 1993 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the upper Pakawau and lower Westhaven Groups Upper Cretaceous Oligocene Northwest Nelson written by D. G. Titheridge and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Stratigraphic Revision of the Middle Eocene Oligocene and Lower Miocene Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina written by Lauck W. Ward and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: See journals under US Geological survey. Bulletin, no. 1457-F.

Download or read book Sequence Stratigraphy of the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation in the Qattara Depression North Western Desert Egypt written by Safiya M. Hassan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-06-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Qattara Depression is part of the Northwestern Desert in Egypt and is home to the second lowest point in Africa at -133 meters below sea level. Therefore, before any projects can be carried out in this area, we must first understand the geology of the land. The present study deals with the high-resolution sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation outcrops in the Qattara Depression Region. The literature on the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the Moghra Formation has been sparse to date, despite some excellent work over the years by academic and petroleum workers. Moreover, the area studied is within what was once a front-line of World War II, where mine fields and war relics are scattered and cover wide reaches. This has resulted in limited geologic mapping in the past. Thus, great attention is paid in this study to establishing a robust sedimentology and high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework for the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation. Included are works based on outcrops and, most importantly, new sedimentological and chronostratigraphic information not previously available.

Download or read book Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the Silurian Rocks of the Port Daniel Black Cape Region Gasp written by Stuart Alvord Northrop and published by Geological Society of America. This book was released on 1939 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: