Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Sea cows (manatees, dugongs) are the only living marine mammals to feed solely on aquatic plants. Unlike whales or dolphins (Cetacea), the earliest evolutionary history of sirenians is poorly documented, and limited to a few fossils including skulls and skeletons of two genera composing the stem family of Prorastomidae (Prorastomus and Pezosiren). Surprisingly, these fossils come from the Eocene of Jamaica, while stem Hyracoidea and Proboscidea - the putative sister-groups to Sirenia - are recorded in Africa as early as the Late Paleocene. So far, the historical biogeography of early Sirenia has remained obscure given this paradox between phylogeny and fossil record. Here we use X-ray microtomography to investigate a newly discovered sirenian petrosal from the Eocene of Tunisia. This fossil represents the oldest occurrence of sirenians in Africa. The morphology of this petrosal is more primitive than the Jamaican prorastomids' one, which emphasizes the basal position of this new African taxon within the Sirenia clade. This discovery testifies to the great antiquity of Sirenia in Africa, and therefore supports their African origin. While isotopic analyses previously suggested sirenians had adapted directly to the marine environment, new paleoenvironmental evidence suggests that basal-most sea cows were likely restricted to fresh waters.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-00807308
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00807308
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0054307

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Geological Society
Résumé : Gem opals from Wegel Tena, Wollo Province, Ethiopia, occur in Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites. They display a unique geochemistry, with some samples yielding the highest Ba concentrations ever recorded. They are generally much richer in chemical impurities than opals from other localities. For example, the sum Al+Fe or the sum Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba are often higher. These geochemical features make them easy to distinguish from other opals worldwide. We observed strong geochemical variations and some good positive correlations in our samples, such as Al+Fe vs. Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba, Al vs Ca, or Ba vs Ca. This shows that the crystallography of opal has controlled, at least in part, the incorporation of chemical impurities, although opal is not well-crystallized. In addition, the multimodal distributions of several chemical impurities (e.g. U vs Sr, Al vs Ca, Ba vs Ca, etc.) suggest at least two origins of silica: weathering of feldspars and weathering of volcanic glass. In addition, opals from Wegel Tena contain numerous well-preserved microscopic plant fossils. Moreover, their host rock exhibits features typical of pedogenesis (abundant clays, desiccation cracks, and grain size sorting). We propose that the opals at Wegel Tena formed during the Oligocene period when volcanic emissions stopped for a time long enough to allow weathering of ingimbrites and therefore liberation of silica. This accompanied the formation of soil and development of plant life, and some plants were trapped in opal.
ISSN: 1467-7873

hal-00767555
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00767555
DOI : 10.1144/1467-7873/10-MINDEP-058

Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars
Résumé : Samples of recent sediments and marine organisms from seven coastal lagoons along the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico were analyzed by gas chromatography and GC-MS coupled system to determine the present levels of fossil hydrocarbons. Results show that the highest concentrations of fossil hydrocarbons are present in organisms and sediments located near petrochemical plants and oil refineries, indicating that petroleum hydrocarbons are being released into the coastal lagoons. Stable carbon isotope ratios (12C/13C) of sedimentary organic carbon in sediment and organism samples were also determined. For most of the lagoons, the delta 13C ratios for sediments ranged from -19.0 to -23.9%, anomalous ratios ranging from -26.8 to -29.3% were shown for sediments and organisms (oysters) of two of the studied areas, probably because of the presence of organic carbon from anthropogenic terrestrial sources.
Oceanologica Acta, Special issue (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1982

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00246/35713/34222.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00246/35713/