[1] Satellite gravity inversion incorporating a lithosphere thermal gravity correction has been used to map crustal thickness and lithosphere thinning factor for the NE Atlantic. Predicted oceanic crustal thicknesses in the Norwegian Basin are between 4 and 7 km on the extinct Aegir Ridge, increasing to 9 – 14 km at the margins, consistent with volcanic margin continental breakup at the end of ...

A new fossil leaf impression of Alphonsea Hk. f. & T. of the family Annonaceae is described from the Late Oligocene sediments of Makum Coalfield, Assam, India. This is the first authentic record of the fossil of Alphonsea from the Tertiary rocks of South Asia. The Late Oligocene was the time of the last significant globally warm climate and the fossil locality was at 10°-15°N palaeolatitude. Th...

The Valley of Lakes is approximately a 500-km elongate depression in Central Mongolia, where Eocene to Miocene continental sediments are long known for their outstanding fossil richness. The palaeontological record of this region is an exceptional witness for the evolution of mammalian communities during the Cenozoic global cooling and regional aridification. In order to precisely elucidate the...

In SW Piemonte the Western Alps arc ends off in a narrow, E-W trending zone, where some geological domains of converged. Based on critical review available data, integrated with new field it is concluded that southern termination recorded Oligocene-Miocene activity regional transfer zone (southwestern Transfer, SWAT) already postulated literature, which should have allowed, since early Oligocen...

This research aims to distinguish the reef environment from non-reef environment. The Oligocene-Miocene-succussion in western Iraq was selected as a case study, represented by reefal limestone facies of Anah Formation (Late Oligocene) deposited reef-back environments, dolomitic Euphrates (Early Miocene) open sea and gypsiferous marly Fatha (Middle lagoonal content rare earth elements (REEs) (La...

—Despite a global fossil record, Metatheria are now largely restricted to Australasia and South America. Most metatherian paleodiversity studies to date are limited to particular subclades, time intervals, and/or regions, and few consider uneven sampling. Here, we present a comprehensive new data set on metatherian fossil occurrences (Barremian to end Pliocene). These data are analyzed using st...

We hypothesize the phylogenetic relationships of the agamid genus Phrynocephalus to assess how past environmental changes shaped the evolutionary and biogeographic history of these lizards and especially the impact of paleogeography and climatic factors. Phrynocephalus is one of the most diverse and taxonomically confusing lizard genera. As a key element of Palearctic deserts, it serves as a pr...