Paleontology

Blogs about paleontology

The areas where the fossils object of the study on the inner ear were found with the one called Almud 1 enlarged and a reconstruction of the inner ear's semicircular canals

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An article published in the journal “Nature Communications” reports the results of the study of the inner ear of Neanderthals that suggests that at a certain point in their history there was a genetic bottleneck that may have contributed to their extinction. A team of researchers examined the semicircular canals, structures whose development is strongly determined by genes, to assess the history of Neanderthals. According to the conclusions, the morphological diversity of these anatomical structures shows a decline about 110,000 years ago.

This is not the only recent research that suggests a genetic stagnation of Neanderthals because a few weeks ago, an article was published in the journal “Scientific Reports” that focuses on the blood groups of Homo sapiens, Denisovans, and Neanderthals. Genetic analysis shows that Neanderthals had a blood type that’s very rare in Homo sapiens with very limited variability over about 80,000 years. This may have made them vulnerable to various health problems.

A scheme of the organization of the fossils of Asian hominins from the Late Quaternary

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An article published in the journal “Nature Communications” reports comments on the variability of hominins that inhabited East Asia between 300,000 and 50,000 years ago and the proposal of a new species named Homo juluensis that includes fossils discovered in various parts of Asia, including those attributed to the Denisovans. Professor Christopher J. Bae of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and Xiujie Wu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences attempted to bring order to the organization of Asian hominin fossils from the Late Quaternary with the aim of creating a clearer system for understanding the human species that lived in Asia.

Navaornis hestiae skeleton (Photo courtesy Stephanie Abramowicz)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the identification of a species of primitive birds that lived about 80 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period, in today’s Brazil. A team of researchers examined a very well-preserved fossil skeleton and named the species Navaornis hestiae, attributing it to the group of Enantiornithes. A thorough examination was possible by subjecting the skeleton to a CT scan that allowed them to create a 3D reconstruction. The characteristics of the brain of this primitive bird offer new information on the evolution of bird brain.

A 3D reconstruction of the specimen catalogued as MNHN.F.SOT002123 of Arthropleura in a dorsal (A) and ventral (B) view along with views of the fossil (C, D). The bar is 5 millimeters long in A and B and 1 centimeter in A and B.

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the results of the reconstruction of the body and in particular of the head of an Arthropleura, a genus of millipedes that lived between 350 and 290 million years ago. A team of researchers subjected some of the fossils discovered in France in the 1980s to a CT scan that allowed them to obtain details that were previously hidden in the rock and 3D reconstructions. These are small Arthropleura and it’s not certain that they would have reached the over 2.5 meters estimated for their maximum length but they still offer information on these giant myriapods. In another article published in the same journal, paleobiologist James Lamsdell of West Virginia University describes the history of studies of these millipedes.

Views of a partial humerus (a-f), including one obtained with a micro-CT scan (g), of Homo floresiensis found at the site of Mata Menge compared with some views of a humerus (h-i) found at the site of Liang Bua

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An article published in the journal “Nature Communications” reports a study on new fossils belonging to the hominins called Homo floresiensis and nicknamed hobbits found at the site of Mata Menge, on the island of Flores. A team of researchers examined these new fossils dated to about 700,000 years ago and concluded that the species Homo floresiensis could descend from Asian Homo erectus.

The discovery of hominins just over a meter tall in a cave at Liang Bua, on the island of Flores, aroused much curiosity and not only among professionals in the field. Nicknamed hobbits because of their small height, they stimulated discussions since the beginning about their origin and relationships with other hominins, especially with Homo sapiens.