Revision of the hipparion material from Montredon, including newly excavated and other unpublished specimens brings evidence of specific heterogeneity.
A fragmentary very small MC III seems very close to H. macedonicum from the upper Vallesian of Ravin de la Pluie, Greece. In that same site was also found a large hipparion.
Most of the Montredon material is referred to H. depereti. This species associates characters usually found in Vallesian hipparions (highly plicated upper cheek teeth, deep vestíbular grooves on the lower cheek teeth, robust metapodials) with characters more frequent in Turolian forms (middle size, lack of confluence in the upper premolar fossettes, lack of ectostylids on the adult lower cheek teeth, well developped keel on the MC III, facette for the 2nd cuneiform present on all MT III). H. depereti shares some of these characters with the Spanish and Portuguese hipparions transítional between the Vallesian and the Turolian (Masia del Barbo, Azambujeira) but is not identícal to any of them. The upper Vallesian hipparion material from Diavata, Greece, probably belongs to H. depereti but not the large hipparion rests from Ravin de la Pluie.
Thus, Montredon and Ravin de la Pluie may well share the same small species, H. macedonicum, but they differ in the associated one: middle-sized H. depereti at Montredon, large-sized H. primigenium at Ravin de la Pluie. Both sites, however, give evidence of small hipparions during the Vallesian, coexisting with other larger species.
The present paper also proposes an adaptation of the Kiesewalter's indices that calculates the height at the withers using the metapodial length, and discusses indices proposed by Gromova and by Sen et al. to express the relative development of the metapodial keel. 

L’Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology, Part 17A : Pelycosauria de Robert R. Reisz (1986) offre une synthèse complète des synapsides les plus primitifs et les plus anciens, essentiels pour comprendre l’évolution précoce de ce groupe majeur de vertébrés. L’ouvrage commence par un historique, suivi d’une analyse ostéologique détaillée du crâne, du squelette axial et appendiculaire. 

The Middle Eocene Fossillägerstätte of the Geiseltal lignite beds near Halle/S. (German Democratic Republic) is the reference locality of the European land mammal age Geiseltalian and of the Mammalian Paleogene reference levels MP 11 - MP 13. Due to this importance a reinvestigation is given of the lithostratigraphical development of the Geiseltal beds and of their vertebrate sites. The last are genetically related to the southwest border of the Geiseltal depression and the influx of carbonate-rich waters. The geographical distribution and stratigraphical position of the fossiliferous sites depends on subrosive and tectonically controlled distribution of coal seams. The geological factors and the known stratigraphical guide of some mammalian species suggest corrections of the age of some sites. Four of the alltogether five coal bearing phases contain the 35 sites with mammalian remains. By the distribution of the around 69 mammal species are characterized, with 5 faunal steps ranging from MP 11 to MP 14 or over the Geiseltalian up to the Lower Robiacian. Well distant are the faunas of MP 11 and MP 12. Beginning with MP 12 up to MP 13/14, the fossil record is very frequent by 27 sites. This evidence coincides somewhat more with the concept of land mammal ages compared to that of the punctual mammalian reference levels. 

The Late Triassic locality of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port (Meurthe-et-Moselle, France) has yielded numerous isolated teeth belonging to archosauriform reptiles. The following tooth groups can be identified: heterodont phytosaurs, the pterosaur Eudimorphodon, the prosauropod dinosaur Plateosaurus, three types of putative ornithischian teeth and 13 types of carnivorous Archosauriformes indet. Apparent venom-conducting teeth belonging to a new taxon of ?Archosauriformes (Graoullyodon hacheti nov. gen. nov. sp.) are also described. From a palaeogeographical point of view, the ornithischian teeth from Saint-Nicolas-de-Port (if their attribution is confirmed) are the oldest fossils of this group in Europe. The biostratigraphic distribution of the tooth forms mostly suggests a Late Norian or Early Rhaetian (depending on current interpretations) age of the deposits, but do not provide more precisions than fossils previously described from the area. The dietary habits and, consequently, the palaeoecological relationships of the different vertebrate groups discovered at Saint-Nicolas-de-Port are tentatively established: the ornithischian and prosauropod teeth reflect a herbivorous diet, whereas the other archosauriform teeth are probably from camivores or omnivores.

  

The Zanclian marls from Papiol provided otoliths belonging to 53 teleost taxa; nine of those are new for the Mediterranean Pliocene. The association reflects a bathymetry between 150 and 350 m, but it is likely that such depths only existed at the initial stage of flooding of the Llobregat bay. A compilation of the available data for the whole Mediterranean realm at Zanclian time provided a list of 163 taxa, of which 105 could be identified at species level. This last group provides the most useful data for evaluating the composition and affinities of the Mediterranean Zanclian fauna, which appears to be significantly different from the Recent Mediterranean fauna. The Zanclian fauna counts 68 % of Recent species: 12,5 % were already represented in the Mediterranean Miocene, 37 % appeared there at the Zanclian, and 18 % are extra-Mediterranean today. This last group is essentially composed by oceanic fishes, living in the warm parts of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans. It is evident that a non neglectable number of Recent species only penetrated very recently in the Mediterranean, which stresses the differences between the more oceanic Zanclian Mediterranean fauna and the present one.


  

A classification should be both usable and useful,not too complex either in the amount of splitting or in the number of hierarchies involved, and not so simple as to give a false assurance of knowledge of relationships. Classifications are only possible because we do not have complete knowledge of the evolution of the organisms concerned because gaps in the record are necessary to allow the separation of the various taxa. Rodent classification is complicated by the large number of organisms involved and by the geat amount of parallelism that has taken place in the evolution of any and all features. If several independent features are characteristic of a certain taxon, should an effort be made to define the group on the basis of all the features, or should only one be selected as the determinant ? Unless the evolution of the several features was closely linked, the former solution will sooner or later lead to insurmountable problems. 

Suite à la récente publication d'une révision systématique des Chiroptera Vespertilioninae, conduite sur la base des morphologies dentaires comparées (Menu 1987), une remarque bienveillante du Dr. V. Aellen (Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève) a attiré l'attention de l'auteur sur un point précis du Code International de Nomenclature Zoologique. 

The tooth morphology of the Thalattosuchia (marine crocodilians from the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous) is analysed. The Callovian from Poitou and the Kimmeridgian from Quercy have yielded many remains of Metriorhynchus, Steneosaurus and Machimosaurus. These remains allow us to study the variations of tooth morphology during ontogenic growth, tooth replacement and the location of the teeth. We have defined different tooth types for these genera. In Metriorhynchus, the two tooth types defined do not coincide with the two groups recognized in the Callovian (broad-skulled and narrow-skulled metriorhynchids) but reflect the prey preferences of these forms. In Steneosaurus and Machimosaurus the five tooth types deñned are in agreement with the main taxa known from the Bathonian to the Early Cretaceous. This study allows to precise the function and the prey preference of the Thalattosuchia during the Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous.

  

The complex taxonomic history of the paramyid rodent genus Ailuravus is reviewed. It has been described as Hyracotherium, as a creodont carnivore and as a lemuroid primate - errors at the ordínal level that are most unusual for a rodent. The genus is a member of the poorly known subfamily Ailuravinae, probably derived from some European Early Eocene species of Paramys. Aíluravus was a large arboreal paramyid with highly rugose cheek teeth, very well developed hypocone, and a remarkably weak lower incisor. It was tropical to subtropical. Three named species are recognized, A. macrurus from the Lutetian of Messel; the genotype, A. picteti, from Egerkingen, Buchsweiler and the Geiseltal, slightly later in the Lutetian; and A. stehlinschaubi, new name, from the Bartonian of Mormont-Eclépens and Robiac. One or more unnamed species are present in the Ypresian of Cuis. The species are close to a phyletic sequence. No later representatives of the genus are known. The late Eocene to earliest Oligocene North American paramyid Mytonomys, whose relationships have been obscure, is tentatively referred to the Ailuravinae. 

ATLAS OF MESOZOIC AND CENOZOIC COASTLINES, par Alan G. SMITH, David G. SMITH & Brian M. FUNNELL, 1995. Cambridge University Press, 99 p., 31 cartes, 3 tab!., 2 fig. ISBN 0-521-45155-8.

L' "Atlas of Mesozoic and Cenozoic coastlines" succède avec bonheur aux "Mesozoic and Cenozoic paleocontinental maps" de Smith & Briden, publié en 1977. 

An interpretation of the marine reptile fossil record, based on the existing litterature and complemented by the review of ancient collections and the study of new material, permits a better understanding of Mesozoic marine ecosystems. An inventory of the marine reptiles known from the Lower Triassic to the Paleocene is presented: 46 families, about 200 genera and 400 species have been recorded. This data base includes commentaries about systematics, stratigraphical ranges and geographical distribution of taxa. Marine reptiles include a mosaic of not necessarily closely related groups: ichthyosaurs, thalattosaurs, hupehsuchians, pachypleurosaurs, placodonts, nothosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs but also crocodiles, lizards, snakes, turtles. The diversity studies reveal that the fossil record of marine reptiles has been punctuated by two mass extinctions, during the Middle-Upper Triassic transition and at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. The Jurassic-Cretaceous and Cenomanian-Turonian boundaries (the latter marked by the disappearance of ichthyosaurs) are potential crisis periods, but current data are not sufficient to reach conclusions. The Ladinian-Carnian transition is characterized by the disappearance of 64 % of families and affects essentially coastal forms. This extinction coincides with an important regressive phase. During the Upper Triassic, a faunal reorganisation within marine reptiles leads to the progressive disappearance of near-shore forms and to the development of pelagic groups. During the Maastrichtian-Danian crisis, 36% of families died out. Large-sized pelagic forms such as mosasaurs and elasmosaurs were the most affected and their extinction seems to have been rather sudden. On the other hand, pliosaurs and protostegid turtles became extinct, but were already declining. The survivors were near-shore forms such as crocodiles, snakes and some turtles and they may have taken refuge in freshwater environments. A break in the food chain based on phytoplankton is proposed as an extinction scenario for pelagic forms.

  

Carolocoutoia ferigoloi gen. et sp. nov. is the largest of protodidelphid marsupials, known from Middle Paleocene levels at Itaboraí Formation, southeastern Brazil. It differs from other members of this family in having molars with low cusps which are basally inflated, rounded crests without cutting edges, and a thick enamel layer which is wrinkled, specially at the labial half. A comparative analysis among representatives of this family led us to recognize only three genera undoubtely assignable to it:  Protodidelphis PAULA COUTO, 1952, Robertbutleria MARSHALL, 1987, and Carolocoutoia gen. nov. Protodidelphids lack the basic derived features diagnostic of Polydolopimorphian marsupials, while most of its derived features agree with its belonging to the Didelphimorphia. Protodidelphids comprise a specialized clade of opossum-like marsupials adapted to frugivorous or frugivore-omnivorous feeding habits. They differ from other didelphimorphians in having very large, spire-like entoconids, reduced and antero-posteriorly compressed paraconids, absence of stylar cusp C and of para- and metaconules, large stylar cusps B and D which are proximate to each other, short postmetacristae, eccentric protocones, and molars that increase rapidly in size from M/ml to M/m3.
  

Palaeotis weigelti, from the Middle Eocene of central Europe, is a flightless, paleognathous bird. It appears to be a member of the ostrich lineage on the basis of trivial derived characters. It is a very primitive ratite, however, and does not possess any of the highly specialized cursorial adaptations that characterize the modern steppe -and savanna- dwelling ostriches. 

Le Quercy est aujourd'hui un vaste plateau calcaire, parcouru par un réseau karstique actif, pro· fondément entaillé par des vallées aux falaises abruptes, comme celles du Lot ou du Célé. Sur un sol peu épais domine la forêt de chênes, accompagnés de cornouillers, érables, genévriers. La faune est pauvre, peu diverse, et les nombreux chasseurs se satisfont de gibier d'élevage ...
Il y a trente-cinq millions d'années environ, le paysage était bien différent. La période de l'Eocène supérieur, qui s'achevait, avait été chaude et humide, si l'on se réfère à la fois aux paléotempératures (calculées à partir de sédiments marins extra-européens) et aux restes fossilisés de végétaux typiquement tropicaux.
Le Causse du Quercy devait être un plateau très disséqué par la karstification, à surface lapiazée creusée de gouffres en rapide évolution interne, et couvert d'un sol assez épais. Une forêt tropicale humide, avec notamment des Myricacées et des gymnospermes, recouvrait l'ensemble du pays, à peine interrompue au niveau des rares points d'eaux situés dans les bas-fonds. Dans ce cadre vivait une faune considérablement différente de la maigre faune actuelle. Si nous pouvons l'imaginer, c'est grâce aux cadavres des animaux entraînés dans les cavités par les eaux courantes ou les prédateurs, ou bien logeant et mourant dans les milieux souterrains. Nombre de ces restes, fossilisés, sont parvenus jusqu'à nous et sont aujourd'hui l'objet d'étude. 

Simpson (1937a) reconstructed the brain of the Paleocene multituberculate Ptilodus as having the olfactory bulbs widest anteriorly, an unusual condition among mammals. Slight preparation and reexamination of the endocast specimens of Ptilodus reveals that the olfactory bulbs in fact taper anteriorly, as in the recently-described endocranial casts of three multituberculate species from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, and as in those of other mammals. The brain of Ptilodus was therefore essentially of the same general pattem as in other multituberculates. Ptilodus differs, however, in having the vermis more deeply inserted between the cerebral hemispheres. Other details concerning the endocast morphology of Ptilodus are clarified.

The encephalization quotient (EQ) of Ptilodus is recalculated from revised estimates of both endocranial volume and body mass to fall somewhere within a broad range of values; from 0.41 to 0.62 if the olfactory bulbs are included and from 0.37 to 0.55 if they are not. In any case, the relative brain size of Ptilodus is roughly equivalent to that of Chulsanbaatar, the only other multituberculate for which EQ has been calculated, but considerably smaller than that of an average extant mammnal. 

Avec ce volume se clôture l'étude géologique et paléontologique des sites à hominidés de Koobi Fora. Il fait suite aux deux précédents ouvrages, parus respectivement en 1978 et 1983, consacrés également à l'étude des faunes recueillies sur ces gisements dans le cadre du Koobi Fora Research Project. 

L'exploitation des phosphates s'est produite surtout de 1890 à 1914 de Saint-Antonin à Cajarc, sur le Causse de Limogne, dont l'histoire géologique et morphologique peut expliquer les conditions de gisement du minerai, et aussi la découverte des nombreux, variés et beaux fossiles qu'on a extrait des poches en même temps que la phosphorite. Le Causse de Limogne est le nom donné par les géographes au plateau calcaire, faisant partie des Causses du Quercy, et compris entre la vallée du Lot au Nord et celle de "Aveyron au Sud". En fait, le nom de "causse" désigne localement un terroir, un paysage, à sous-sol de calcaire, à sol peu épais, qui s'oppose aux sols argileux des « terreforts » et aux sols légers et profonds des "boulbènes". Chaque communauté agricole distinguait ainsi son causse, par exemple le causse de Caylus, le causse de Limogne ou le causse de Cajarc. C'est par extension que l'appellation Causse de Limogne désigne tout un petit pays. La présence des poches à phosphate déborde un peu vers le Nord la vallée du Lot, et vers l'Est le Causse de Limogne proprement dit (Causse de Villeneuve).   

An increasing fossil record of dinosaur eggs and eggshells allows putting ootaxa within a chronostratigraphic framework, in order to study their distribution pattern leading eventually to their use as biochronological markers. For these purposes, high-quality data exists in four major regions; North America, South America, Europe and Asia (Central Asia and India). Most of the highly diverse dinosaur egg record has been dated as Latest Cretaceous in age (Campanian-Maastrichtian), reaching the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary closer than the dinosaur bone record. However, dating continental sections is problematic and need to be carefully verified, as it appears when comparing the European dinosaur eggshell record from two well-studied areas. Ootaxa distribution in both sides of the Pyrenees (Tremp and Aix basins) shows comparable oospecies successions, but different chronology. This disagreement probably indicates that one or both successions have a wrong chronostratigraphic calibration.  

Tarsals that can be confidently attributed to Paschatheríum dolloi from Dormaal (Belgium) are described. The astragalus is short; its broad neck is set at an angle of 30 degrees to the trochlea. The trochlea is pulley-shaped and proximally extended. There is no astragalar foramen. The medial tibial facet extends distally in a cup deeply excavated in the neck and buttressed. The sustentacular facet extends toward the navicular facet but is not fully confluent with it. The calcaneum bears a proximo-distally extended proximal facet for the astragalus. A relatively large peroneal tubercle projects from the body, and is situated distally. Functionally, the trochlea indicates extensive flexion-extension movements of the foot. Calcaneo-astragalar facets indicate sliding and rotation between the two tarsals. The inclination of the navicular facet suggests frequent foot inversion. The peroneal tubercle reflects good muscular capacities for foot rotation. Overall morphology is interpreted as a scansorial adaptation similar to that of sciurids.Comparisons are made with the tarsals of Macrocranion vandebroeki from Dormaal and Hyopsodus paulus from the Bridgerian of Wyoming. Some similarities between the astragali of Paschatherium and Macrocraníon (trochlea) are interpreted as convergences for rapid locomotion. However absence of mobility at the lower ankle and midtarsal joints in M. vandebroekzi suggests that this species was cursorial, as is known for M. tenerum from Messel. Similarities in the calcanea of Paschatherium and Hyopsodus are probably the result of close phylogenetic relations, and confirm the placement of Paschatherium in the hyopsodontids. The differences in the calcanea of Paschatherium and Macrocranion underline that Paschatherium is distinct from erinaceomorph insectivores. The differences in astragalar morphology between Paschatherium and Hyopsodus show that a marked adaptive divergence separates the two genera. We speculate about the common occurrence of a deep tibial cup (“cotylar fossa”) and a pulley-shaped trochlea in Paschatherium and hyracoids, suggesting that an adaptive scenario similar to that having led to Paschatherium (scansoriality) might explain the acquisition of the peculiar hyracoid tarsal characters; such a scenario contradicts the concept of Pantomesaxonia. Other peculiar characters of Hyopsodus suggest that hyopsodontids might be given more consideration in the search for hyracoid (and tethythere) origins. 

Afin d'étudier la magnétostratigraphie de la colline de Montredon, j'ai prélevé en Avril 1982, 93 carottes orientées réparties sur 29 sites. J.-P. Aguilar et I. Loridant m'ont aidé durant cette opération. Pour la stratigraphie de la coupe échantillonnée et pour le contenu faunique des deux gisements de mammifères de cette colline, voir J.-P. Aguilar & J.-Y. Crochet (1982).
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