Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society, The
Résumé : International audience
Since its original description as a chordate, the Late Devonian Scaumenella mesacanthi has been interpreted alternately as a prochordate, a larval ostracoderm and an immature acanthodian. For the past 30 years, these minute specimens were generally considered as decayed acanthodians, most of them belonging to Triazeugacanthus affinis. Among the abundant material of `Scaumenella', we identified a size series of 188 specimens of Triazeugacanthus based on otolith characteristics. Despite taphonomic alteration, we describe proportional growth and progressive appearance of skeletal elements through size increase. Three ontogenetic stages are identified based on squamation extent, ossification completion and allometric growth. We demonstrate that what has been interpreted previously as various degrees of decomposition corresponds to ontogenetic changes.
ISSN: 1744-9561

hal-01545474
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01545474
DOI : 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0950

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Fire-history reconstructions inferred from sedimentary charcoal records are based on measuring sieved charcoal fragment area, estimating fragment volume, or counting fragments. Similar fire histories are reconstructed from these three approaches for boreal lake sediment cores, using locally defined thresholds. Here, we test the same approach for a montane Mediterranean lake in which taphonomical processes might differ from boreal lakes through fragmentation of charcoal particles. The Mediterranean charcoal series are characterized by highly variable charcoal accumulation rates. Results there indicate that the three proxies do not provide comparable fire histories. The differences are attributable to charcoal fragmentation. This could be linked to fire type (crown or surface fires) or taphonomical processes, including charcoal transportation in the catchment area or in the sediment. The lack of correlation between the concentration of charcoal and of mineral matter suggests that fragmentation is not linked to erosion. Reconstructions based on charcoal area are more robust and stable than those based on fragment counts. Area-based reconstructions should therefore be used instead of the particle-counting method when fragmentation may influence the fragment abundance.
ISSN: 0033-5894

hal-00903607
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00903607
DOI : 10.1016/j.yqres.2013.01.003

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : Ten international laboratories participated in an inter-laboratory comparison of a fossil bone composite with the objective of producing a matrix and structure-matched reference material for studies of the bio-mineralization of ancient fossil bone. We report the major and trace element compositions of the fossil bone composite, using in-situ method as well as various wet chemical digestion techniques. For major element concentrations, the intra-laboratory analytical precision (%RSDr) ranges from 7 to 18%, with higher percentages for Ti and K. The %RSDr are smaller than the inter-laboratory analytical precision (%RSDR; <15-30%). Trace element concentrations vary by similar to 5 orders of magnitude (0.1 mg kg(-1) for Th to 10,000 mg kg(-1) for Ba). The intra-laboratory analytical precision %RSDr varies between 8 and 45%. The reproducibility values (%RSDR) range from 13 to <50%, although extreme value >100% was found for the high field strength elements (Hf, Th, Zr, Nb). The rare earth element (REE) concentrations, which vary over 3 orders of magnitude, have %RSDr and %RSDR values at 8-15% and 20-32%, respectively. However, the REE patterns (which are very important for paleo-environmental, taphonomic and paleo-oceanographic analyses) are much more consistent. These data suggest that the complex and unpredictable nature of the mineralogical and chemical composition of fossil bone makes it difficult to set-up and calibrate analytical instruments using conventional standards, and may result in non-spectral matrix effects. We propose an analytical protocol that can be employed in future inter-laboratory studies to produce a certified fossil bone geochemical standard. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0003-2670

hal-00407629
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407629
DOI : 10.1016/j.aca.2007.08.015