MIDDLE MIOCENE DIATOMITE- BEARING FORMATIONS FROM WESTERN ROMANIA

Amber from western Amazonia reveals Neotropical diversity during the middle Miocene.

Tertiary insects and arachnids have been virtually unknown from the vast western Amazonian basin. We report here the discovery of amber from this region containing a diverse fossil arthropod fauna (13 hexapod families and 3 arachnid species) and abundant microfossil inclusions (pollen, spores, algae, and cyanophyceae). This unique fossil assemblage, recovered from middle Miocene deposits of nor...

Middle Miocene hominoid origins.

Ward et al. (1) ably show that samples of thickly enameled Middle Miocene hominoids that they attribute to a new genus, Equatorius, are distinct from Kenyapithecus. They fail to show, however, how Equatorius differs from Griphopithecus. In so doing, they may have missed the hominoid connection between Eurasia and Africa by 2 to 3 million years. The authors note the presence of a welldeveloped b...

First mammal fossil locality from the late Miocene of Zagros, western Iran

A new and the first mammal fossil locality from the Zagros Basin of Iran is reported here. The fossil locality, known as Dimeh, is located in the Lorestan province, west of Iran. The fauna includes abundant bovid cranial remains, mostly representing boselaphines and palaeoryxoids, as well as gazelles and spiral horned antelopes. Hipparionine horses similar to Hippotherium group are also represe...

Insectivora (Mammilia) from the Miocene (Hemingfordian) of Western Nebraska

Middle–late Miocene benthic foraminifera in a western equatorial Indian Ocean depth transect: Paleoceanographic implications

Middle through upper Miocene (17–5 Ma) benthic foraminiferal faunas (N63 μm) from a depth transect in the western equatorial Indian Ocean (DSDP Site 237, ODP Sites 707, 709 and 710; water depth 1500–3800 m) underwent significant faunal changes at ∼14–13 Ma and 11–8 Ma. These faunal changes are not easily interpreted, because of the complex factors controlling benthic foraminiferal distribution ...