More New-ish Papers...

["Jerry D. Harris" <jharris@dixie.edu>]

It appears 2006 isn't done with us yet...!

First, from Spain:

Pérez-Lorente, F., Hadri, M., and Boutakiout, M. 2006. Primeras icnitas de 
dinosaurio en sur del Alto Atlas Central. Carixiense (Formación de Arhbalou. 
Goulmima. Marruecos). Geogaceta 40:159-162.

ABSTRACT: The first found tracks of dinosaur in the North of the 
Goulmima-Tinerhir line (Inner Haut Atlas Central, Morocco) are described. 
They are located in the Arhbalou Formation and come from isolated and 
grouped prints mainly of theropod dinosaur. They have importance by the 
enlargement of the geographical area with dinosaur paleoichnological sites 
and by they constitute the first dated Carixian dinosaur footprints founds 
in Morocco.


Pérez-Lorente, F., Guillén-Mondéjar, F., and del Ramo, A. 2006. Primeras 
icnitas de dinosaurio en Murcia (Albiense de Yecla). Geogaceta 39:147-150.

ABSTRACT: The first found tracks of dinosaur in Murcia are described. They 
are in the formation Utrillas of Yecla and come from herds of sauropod 
dinosaur. In spite of the bad conservation, they have importance by the 
shortage of tracks in Spain of Albian and because they open the possibility 
for future campaigns of surface survey.


Then, from Brazil:

Medeiros, M.A. 2006. Large theropod teeth from the Eocenomanian of 
northeastern Brazil and the occurrence of Spinosauridae. Revista Brasileira 
de Paleontologia 9(3):333-338.

ABSTRACT: Theropoda teeth can show sufficiently distinct features to be, in 
some cases, considered as confident diagnostic material. In this work, 275 
complete or fragmentary teeth, collected at the Laje do Coringa site 
(Alcântara Formation), have been analyzed. In some of them, the typical 
spinosaurine morphology is present while in others an intriguing morphology 
was observed: teeth combining typical features of spinosaurines (smooth 
carinae with wrinkles on its base) with other characters as absolutely 
smooth enamel and basal cross section gently compressed labio-lingually. 
These different forms typify two morphotypes; a number of other teeth 
present variation that links them by a morphologic gradient. Morphotype 1 
records the presence of spinosaurine dinosaurs in the Eocenomanian of 
northeastern Brazil and morphotype 2 may represent a new species of 
Theropoda, unknown by skeletal remains, and perhaps closely related to the 
spinosaurine form recorded.


Gallo de França, M.A., and Langer, M.C. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships of 
the Bauru Group turtles (Late Cretaceous of south-central Brazil). Revista 
Brasileira de Paleontologia 9(3):365-373.

ABSTRACT: No chelonian of the Bauru Group (Late Cretaceous of south-central 
Brazil) has so far been included in a numerical cladistic analysis with an 
explicit taxon-character data matrix. Out of the five taxa formally 
described from that stratigraphic unit, those based on more complete 
specimens - Bauruemys elegans, Cambaremys langertoni, and Roxochelys 
wanderleyi - were considered in a cladistic study of the pro-Podocnemidae 
Pelomedusoides. The resulting hypothesis of relationships places the 
specimen known as FR-4922 and Brasilemys josai among Pelomedusoides basal to 
Podocnemoidea. Within that clade, the Bauru Group taxa lie basal to 
Podocnemidae. Roxochelys is revealed to be a monophyletic genus, closer to 
Podocnemidae than the other analyzed Cretaceous forms. Among these, 
Bauruemys elegans is more derived than Portezueloemys patagonica, while the 
position of Cambaremys langertoni is ambiguous. Within extant Podocnemidae, 
a sister group relationship between Peltocephalus dumerilianus and 
Erymnochelys madagascariensis is proposed.


Brandalise de Andrade, M., Bertini, R.J., and Piacentini Pinheiro, A.E. 
2006. Observations on the palate and choanae structures in Mesoeucrocodylia 
(Archosauria, Crocodylomorpha): phylogenetic implications. Revista 
Brasileira de Paleontologia 9(3):323-332.

ABSTRACT: The palate and choanae structures are important to the study of 
the evolution in Crocodylomorpha. Notosuchians, sebecosuchians and other 
Mesoeucrocodylia show a considerable diversity of patterns. Some 
notosuchians (Mariliasuchus, Notosuchus, Sphagesaurus) possess important 
similarities with at least one sebecosuchian (Stratiotosuchus), especially 
the triangular-subtriangular choanae, and the exclusion of the pterygoid 
from the posterior border of the suborbital fenestra. The use of these 
characteristics may represent useful information in phylogenetic analysis 
and should always be described in detail.


Bertini, R.J. 2006. Taphonomy and depositional history of an Upper 
Cretaceous turtle-bearing outcrop from the Adamantina Formation, 
southwestern São Paulo State. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 
9(2):181-186.

ABSTRACT: The Adamantina Formation deposits (Upper Cretaceous) from the 
Bauru Basin, in southwestern São Paulo State, have revealed an extraordinary 
and well preserved assemblage of fossil turtles. In this contribution some 
new unique findings from these deposits and the Bauru Basin, are reported 
and discussed. Additionally, some peculiar sedimentary structures, as a bone 
fragment crossing two sedimentary layers, associated with the fossils, are 
described and biostratinomic considerations regarding these materials are 
made. The turtle remains from the studied outcrop have undergone short 
subaerial exposure and transport, being quickly buried. It was also verified 
that the time elapsed between these sedimentary episodes, in one of the 
samples, was almost instantaneous.


Lastly, two brand-new papers I don't have yet:

Averianov, A.O. 2007. Mid-Cretaceous ornithocheirids (Pterosauria, 
Ornithocheiridae) from Russia and Uzbekistan. Paleontological Journal 41(1): 
79-86.

Christian, A. and Dzemski, G. 2007. Reconstruction of the cervical skeleton 
posture of Brachiosaurus brancai Janensch, 1914 by an analysis of the 
intervertebral stress along the neck and a comparison with the results of 
different approaches. Fossil Record 10(1): 38-49.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
Director of Paleontology
Dixie State College
Science Building
225 South 700 East
St. George, UT  84770   USA
Phone: (435) 652-7758
Fax: (435) 656-4022
E-mail: jharris@dixie.edu
and     dinogami@gmail.com
http://cactus.dixie.edu/jharris/

"Trying to estimate the divergence times
of fungal, algal or prokaryotic groups on
the basis of a partial reptilian fossil and
protein sequences from mice and humans
is like trying to decipher Demotic Egyptian with
the help of an odometer and the Oxford
English Dictionary."
              -- D. Graur & W. Martin (_Trends
                  in Genetics_ 20[2], 2004)