Evidence of earliest human occurrence in Europe: the site of Pirro Nord (Southern Italy)

Some flint lithic artifacts were discovered in the fissure fillings of the well-known Pirro Nord site (Apulia, Southern Italy). The lithic industry, composed by three cores and some flakes, has been found to be associated to an Early Pleistocene vertebrate fossil assemblage. The fossil association contains a wide range of micromammals, including Allophaiomys ruffoi and Episoriculus gibberodon and large mammals including Bison degiulii and Equus altidens together with African elements as the gelada baboon Theropithecus and the saber-toothed cat Megantereon whitei. It defines the latest Villafranchian chronological unit (Pirro Nord Faunal Unit) in the Western European mammal biochronology. The lithic industry of Pirro Nord represents the oldest occurrence of the genus Homo in Europe as it is attributable to a chronological interval between 1.3 and 1.7 Ma. This supports the hypothesis that the genus Homo, with Oldowaian technology, extended its range in Europe, probably from western Asia, during the first half of the Early Pleistocene. The new discovery from Pirro Nord changes the chronology of the first arrival of hominids in Europe and offers new perspectives in the debate about the human dispersal in the Early Pleistocene.     

The narrow-skulled vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus gregalis</Emphasis> Pall.) in the dynamics of zonal rodent communities of northern Eurasia

On the basis of abundant fossil and subfossil bone remains, the ecological and faunal role of the narrow-skulled vole in zonal rodent communities of northern Eurasia is analyzed over the period from the Late Pleistocene to the present time. Special attention is given to the correlated dynamics of relative abundance of Microtus gregalis and other rodent species in the course of transition from one zonal type to another and to specific features of this correlation in the southern, middle, and northern parts of the species range. It is shown that distinctive dimensional and morphotypic features of the two currently existing subspecies, Microtus gregalis major Ogn. and M. g. gregalis Pall., are the product of concordant development of the species and environmental conditions in the past 3000–4000 years (transition from the Holocene optimum to the present-day climate and state of the natural environment). Published in Russian in Ekologiya, 2007, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 117–123. The article was translated by the authors.     

Virtual cranial endocast of the oldest giant panda (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ailuropoda microta</Emphasis>) reveals great similarity to that of its extant relative

Recent development of computed tomography and three-dimensional visualization techniques has enabled the non-destructive inspection of the endocast morphology of fossil neurocranium, the basic material for paleoneurological study. A virtual cranial endocast was reconstructed based on the first skull of the oldest giant panda, Ailuropoda microta, discovered recently and dated at more than 2 Myr (million years) ago. It was compared with that of the extant giant panda (A. melanoleuca) and that of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), as well as CT slices of the late Pleistocene A. baconi. The overall endocast morphology of A. microta is more similar to that of A. baconi and A. melanoleuca than to that of U. maritimus. The absolute endocast size is the smallest in A. microta, largest in A. baconi, and intermediate in A. melanoleuca. However, the proportion of cerebral volume to total endocast size is very close to each other between the oldest and extant giant panda, as well as the sulcal length per unit area of cerebral endocast surface. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

南京仙林地区中更新统红色粘土的磁性地层学特征

南京地区第四纪地层广泛发育,主要为上更新统下蜀组及以上地层,其下中更新统地层未见成型剖面。在南京地区三维地质调查中,钻探发现在典型的上更新统下蜀组黄土之下有一套红色含砾粘土层,经对该孔磁性组构、磁化率等测试及研究,认为该红色粘土与长江中下游普遍发育的网纹红土时代相当。其顶底界线清楚,地层完整,岩性独特,为全面认识南京地区中更新统地层提供了重要证据。     

苏北盆地晚更新世晚期湖泊沉积记录的气候环境变化

通过对苏北盆地周奋剖面沉积物进行粒度、地球化学元素比值、磁化率等指标的分析,结合年代数据,重建了苏北盆地晚更新世晚期的古气候环境演化序列.结果表明,晚更新世晚期苏北盆地的古气候环境演变经历了2个阶段:阶段Ⅰ:39.6～30.3 cal ka BP期间,气候整体相对湿润,同时也存在冷干波动;阶段Ⅱ:30.3～18.6 c...     

Mitochondrial DNA variation pattern and postglacial history of the Siberian larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix sibirica</Emphasis> Ledeb.)

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation has been studied in populations of the Siberian larch with the use of five PCR-based markers characterizing 29 haplotypes. The studied populations from the main parts of the Siberian larch range belong to several geographically isolated groups with their specific sets of haplotypes, which have probably originated from separate refugia for forest vegetation of the last glacial maximum. Conclusions concerning the possible location of these refugia and the ways and pattern of the postglacial recolonization of the recent Siberian larch range are drawn. The spatial distribution of haplotypes within individual populations is nonrandom. The typical size of the area occupied by a group of plants with the same haplotype is 50–100 m across.     

吐鲁番盆地更新世古气候变化研究

目前,对吐鲁番盆地更新世气候变化的研究几乎是空白。本文通过对吐鲁番盆地早、中、晚更新世典型剖面的孢粉进行分析研究,得出了其在更新世的古气候变化概况。研究结果表明：（1）吐鲁番盆地在早更新世的温度较低。（2）吐鲁番盆地在中更新世出现过干冷气候,直到中更新世后期才有所缓和。（3）吐鲁番盆地在晚更新世有较大的气候波动。此外,文中还将所得结果与天山的冰期进行了对比分析。