The biometric and morphologie variability of the cheek teeth in the end-of-the-phylum species Lophiodon lautricense Noulet studied in this note, reposes on the observation of about 800 teeth. These were revealed to be little variable in absolute dimensions. The considerable morphologie variability in the upper premolars permitted the problem of the molarization process to be taken up. An hypothesis concerning the order of eruption of the cheek teeth is formulated based on an examination of a large number of milk dentitions. In conclusion, it is suggested that reservations be held on the value of dental characters classically used in systematics for the group under consideration. 

Two new finds of pantodont materials from southern China, assigned to Archaeolambda, are described in this paper. One, a new species from the Nanxiong Basin, Guangdong Province, is similar to Alcidedorbignya inopinata from the early Paleocene of Tiupampa, Bolivia in size. It provides reliable evidence of the occurrence of Archaeolambda in the early-middle Paleocene of southern China. The second find includes specimens of Archaeolambda sp. cf. A. planicanina from the ?late Paleocene of Hengyang Basin, Hunan Province, which are the first record of a fossil mammal from the area near Hengyang city. The only vertebrate fossils previously found here were two genera of crocodiles discovered in 1938. This find sheds new light on the local biostratigraphy. 

The study of that locality allowed the description of a new Muridae : Paraethomys athmeniae n. sp. It reveals the existence of new rodent for Algeria : first, a Sciuridae, Atlantoxerus cf. rhodius, and second, a Gliridae, Eliomys truci. So, that work shows the presence of the genus Eliomys in North Africa before the middle of Pleistocene. Lastly, Paraethomys cf. anomalus gives an exact datation of that bed. 

The discovery of eggshells of ornithoid type is signaled for the first time in the continental Campanian and Maastrichtían of Provence. The taxonomie relationship of these eggshells and their interest in the biostratigraphical study of Upper Cretaceous of Provence are discussed. 

Previous chronological arrangements of South American Quaternary land mammal faunas are appraised on the basis of current geological and paleontological data. Three South American late Pliocene-Pleistocene land mammal ages are conventionally recognized, from oldest to youngest, the Uquian, Ensenadan, and Lujanian ; all are defined on Argentine faunas.

     The Uquian is based fundamentally and historically on the fauna from the Uquía Formation in Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina. Important known formations in Argentina yielding Uquian Age faunas include the sub-surface Puelche Formation (or Puelchense) near the city of Buenos Aires, and the Barranca de Los Lobos and Vorohué Formations between Mar del Plata and Miramar, Buenos Aires Province. A tentative subdivision is propos-ed for the Uquian into three subages based on knowledge of the Mar del Plata-Miramar sequence, from oldest to youngest, the Barrancalobian, Vorohuean, and Sanandresian. In Argentina the Uquian is presently marked by the first known record of Scelidodon, Hydrochoeropsis, Ctenomys, Canidae, Ursidae, Gomphotheriidae, Equidae, Tapiridae, Camelidae, Cervidae, and the last known record of Thylatheridium, Thylophorops, Dankomys, Eumysops, Pithanotomys, Eucoelophorus, Hegetotheriidae, Sparassocynidae, and Microtragulidae.

The Ensenadan Age is based on the fauna from the Ensenada Formation near the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province. In Argentina the Ensenadan is marked by the first known record of Lomaphorus, Neothoracophorus, Plaxhaplous, Cavia, Lyncodon, Lutra, Galera, Smilodon, Dicotyles, Lama, Vicugna, the last known record of Orthomyctera, and the only known record of Brachynasua.

     Typícal beds of late Lujanian Age in Argentina consist of fluvial deposits occupying stream channels, and shallow basins, often incised into beds of early Lujanian (i.e. Bonaerian of early workers) and Ensenadan Age. The Lujanian Age is based on a fauna from beds along the Rio Luján, about 65 km west of the city of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province. The Lujanian in Argentina is marked by the first record of Equus, Chlamyphorus, and Holochilus, and the last record of Megatherioidea, Glyptodontoidea, Arctodus (=Arctotherium), Smilodon, Litopterna, Notoungulata, Proboscidea, Equidae, Morenelaphus, and Palaeolama.

   These land mammal ages are often difficult to recognize in other South American countries. The compositions of South American Pleistocene faunas vary with the environment. Some taxa were widely distributed in fossil deposits throughout the continent, but their occurrences need not reflect synchroneity. This is a result of changing climates and habitats in time. Consequently, proposed intracontinental correlations need confirmation based on magnetostratigraphy and a radioisotope time scale. Paleontologic characterizations of these land mammal ages (i.e. first and last record, and guide fossils) are useful for much of Argentina, but extensions to most of the other parts of South America are at best tenuous.

The majority of known non-Argentine Pleistocene faunas are believed to be Lujanian in age. Possible non Argentine early Pleistocene (Uquian) faunas include Ayo Ayo and Anzaldo in Bolivia, and Cocha Verde in southern Columbia. A possible middle Pleistocene (Ensenadan or early Lujanian) fauna is the Chichense of Ecuador. Paleomagnetic and radioisotopic date (MacFadden et al., 1983) clearly indicate that the greater part of the Tarija fauna (Bolivia) is Ensenadan in age.

  The end of the Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene in South America is marked by extinction of nearly all large mammalian herbivores and their specialized large predators. Radiocarbon age determinations suggest that large scale extinctions of megafauna occurred between 15,000 and 8,000 yrs. B.P. (years before present). 

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. 

The fauna from three new rodent localities (Castelmaurou, Grépiac-carrière et Grépiac-rive gauche) from Oligo-Miocene molasses of the Toulouse area is described. The one from Colomiers is completed. 11 species belonging to 4 families (Cricetidae, Eomyidae, Gliridae, Sciuridae) are present. The Miocene localities of Grépiac-carrière and Colomiers are correlated with Balizac, La Brète, Lambert and Lespignan. Grépiac-rive gauche is just a little older than these sites. Castelmaurou is somewhat younger than La Milloque and belongs to Oligocene. 

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. 

The mammalian fauna (represented only by isolated teeth) from the early Cretaceous of Morocco includes a number of non-'therian' specimens, characterized by the antero-posterior alignement of the main molar cusps. This assemblage is very heterogenous, including forms (among them Gobiconodon palaios sp. nov.) that can be related to Laurasian triconodonts and several forms so far known only in this part of Gondwana (among them Kryptotherium polysphenos gen. et sp. nov.). The latter, in particular, exemplifies the diversity of the mammalian dental morphology in the Mesozoic, often largely underestimated. In the last part of this paper, the 'therian' affinity of the 'amphilestids' is discussed, on the basis of the arrangement of molar cusps, the interlocking mechanism and the occlusal pattem. 

L’article analyse les poches à phosphorite d’Aubrelong (Quercy), comparant les fouilles de 1937 (Éocène supérieur) et celles des années 1967-1970 (Oligocène inférieur), révélant une stratification contrastée : argiles brunes pauvres en fossiles en surface, et argiles rouges riches en phosphates et faune en profondeur. Les analyses géochimiques confirment une origine latéritique sous climat tropical humide, avec des remplissages tantôt stratifiés, tantôt chaotiques, remettant en cause l’hypothèse d’une progression chronologique uniforme des dépôts 

Voici un résumé concis en trois phrases :
Cet article décrit des restes importants de Diplobune minor Filhol, une espèce d’Anoplothériidé, issus du gisement d’Itardies (Quercy), découvert lors de la campagne de fouille de 1972. Le matériel comprend deux crânes, plusieurs mandibules et des éléments du squelette, notamment des pattes postérieures complètes, permettant une étude anatomique détaillée. L’espèce, auparavant mal connue, est caractérisée par une denture distinctive, avec des incisives puissantes, des prémolaires carénées, et des molaires à structure archaïque, ainsi que par des particularités squelettiques comme des métapodes allongés et des phalanges planes.
L’étude de ces restes permet de préciser la morphologie et la systématique de cette espèce, tout en soulignant la nécessité d’une analyse plus approfondie des éléments anatomiques. La faune d’Itardies, corrélée avec celle de Montalban, suggère que Diplobune minor est soit plus récente que le Sannoisien supérieur classique, soit moins localisée chronologiquement qu’on ne le pensait. 

La faune de Rongeurs d'Escamps (Lot) bien que relativement pauvre en espèces (dix) s'avère riche d'enseignement pour les Rongeurs de l'Oligocène inférieur d'Europe Occidentale. Cette periode semble caracterisée par une cladogenèse des Théridomyines. A Escamps, un nouveau genre (Patriotheridomys) est décrit ainsi qu'une nouvelle espèce de Theridomys. Avec Oltmamys platyceps, décrit ici plus complètement et désormais bien situé stratigraphiquement, les deux espèces précédentes constituent un ensemble original du Sud de la France. A la même époque, en Angleterre, Allemagne et Espagne, des espèces «régionales» de Théridomyinés se dersifient.  A côté de ces formes qui ne semblent pas franchir la «Grande Coupure» sont représentées deux lignées d'Issiodoromyinés (Elfomys sp et Pseudoltmomys cuvieri), une de Théridomyiné (T. (Blainvillimys) rotundidens) ainsi qu'un Gliridé, Gliravus priscus (que l'on différencie nettement de la deuxième lignée des Gliravus oligocènes : G.  meridionalis -> G. majori). On retrouve ces formes dans les gisements plus récents du niveau de Hoogbutsel où elles sont à peine plus évoluées. Le fait que les degrés évolutifs de ces lignées soient très proches laisse supposer que le laps de temps séparant les niveaux d'Ecamps et Hoogbutsel fut relativement court. 

Pour la première fois un spécimen de lagomorphe a été récolté en Quercy. L'intérêt de ce fossile tient surtout à son âge géologique inattendu, qui recule considérablement la date de première apparition en Europe de cet ordre de mammifère, Ceci nous paraît justifier une nouvelle réflexion sur la « grande coupure» oligocène, 

A short review of the genera and species of snakes from the Quercy's phosphorites described by former authors is followed by the study of specimens recently collected. Most of these latter specimens belong to the Aniliidae, Boidae, Colubridae and to the Scolecophidia; the precise systematic position of some of them is not defined yet. The following genera and species are described: Eonilius europae nov. gen. and nov. sp., Platyspondylia lepta nov. gen. and nov. sp., Coluber cadurci nov. sp. and Dunnophis cadurcensis nov.  sp.; a species described by de Rochebrune (Palaeopython filholi) is revised. One of the most important conclusions of this study is that the Colubridae appear as early as the Upper Eocene. The stratigraphic repartition of these snakes shows that the rich Upper Eocene fauna is followed by the very reduced fauna of the Lower Oligocene; then the oligocene «Grande Coupure» corresponds to a very important faunistic renewal. The fauna remains poor and little diversified during the beginning of the Middle Oligocene after which there is a new faunistic explosion. 

The object of this work is the study of the artiodactyls of the karstic locality of Lissieu near Lyon. Among the sixteen species counted, five (Hyperdichobune nobilis, Hyperdichobune sp., Haplabunodon mulleri, Tapirulus depereti and Pseudamphimeryx schlosseri) are cited for the first time in this fauna. The description of part of the anterior dentition of «Dichobune» langi permits the referal of this species to the genus Hyperdichobune. The new selenodont species Dichodon lugdunensis  described in this work belongs, with its ancestor Dichodon simplex, to a lineage distinct from that of Dichodan cartieri and Dichodon ruetimeyeri. Finally, the taxonomic reality of the Lissieu species, Lophiobunodon rhodanicum Deperet, is justified. All the other species have been compared with those of Egerkingen. Even though with most of them no difference in age can be shown between the two deposits, some however indicate clearly by their degree of evolution that Lissieu is slightly more recent than Egerkingen. ln the history of Eocene mammals, the Lissieu fauna, because of its homogeneity, can be considered as a sure reference fauna of the Auversian period. 

This study examines the microfauna from Djebel Qafze Cave, focusing on mammalian remains, with Microtus guentheri as the dominant species and a notable absence of Cricetinae (hamsters). The richest layers (XVIa, XVII, XVIII) suggest accumulation by raptors, particularly owls, given the high presence of nocturnal species like voles and shrews. Two significant species, Arvicanthis cf. ectos and the newly described Rattus (? Mastomys) nazarensis, are highlighted. Reptiles (gekkos, Ophisaurus) and birds are also present, while hedgehogs and lagomorphs are absent. The findings underscore the role of avian predators in fossil deposition and refine the chronology of regional Pleistocene fauna. 

Le premier Symposium International sur les ceufs de dinosaures et leurs petits a connu un francs succès, à Isona, en Catalogne (Espagne) en 1999. I1 faisait suite à la publication en 1994 d'un premier ouvrage "Dinosaurs eggs and babies" édité par K. Carpenter, K. Hirsch et J. Homer. Entre 1994 et 1999, les nouvelles découvertes ont augmenté significativement, notamment celles d'ceufs embryonnés, et le nombre de chercheurs impliqués dans ce domaine a accompagné cet accroissement. Jusque là, l'étude de ces objets, les coquilles d'ceufs, est restée longtemps marginale, faute d'une méthodologie scientifique appropriée. 

New populations of the genus Megacricetodon have recently been discovered in Southern France.Two new species are defined: M. lemartineli n. sp. and M. fournasi n. sp., their stages of evolution are intermediate between those of M. gersii and M. roussillonensis. Morphological and biometrical analysis indicate the presence of only one lineage: M. collongensis--M. collongensis-gersii--M. gersii--M.lemartineli nov. sp.--M. fournasi nov. sp. and M. roussillonensis. This observation allows to refine the chronology based on rodents, for the Late Early Miocene and the Middle Miocene in the Southern France.
Comparisons with some iberian species are done. The validity of the French species M. bezianensis and M. bourgeoisi is discussed. 

A new Tertiary megadermatid is described from Rackham's Roost Site, a Pliocene limestone cave deposit on Riversleigh Station, northwestern Queensland, Australia. It appears to represent the first Australian record of Megaderma GEOFFROY, 1810, a genus otherwise known from Tertiary African and European taxa and the living Asian species M. spasma (LINNAEUS, 1758) and M. (Lyroderma) lyra PETERS, 1872. Megademza richardsi n. sp. is one of the smallest megademiatids known. It exhibits a mixture of plesiomorphic and autapomorphic features, the latter appearing to exclude it from being ancestral to any living megadermatid. The new species is one of eight megadermatids identified from the Australian fossil record, most of which are referable to Macroderma MILLER, 1906. 

A new European rodent from the middle Eocene of Spain, Zamoramys extraneus n. gen., n. sp., appears to be closely related to the middle Eocene chapattimyid rodents of Indo-Pakistan. This contradicts the generally accepted paleobiogeographic hypothesis of a Tethyian barrier between Europe and Asia isolating Europe during the middle Eocene. Because of this barrier, some authors have proposed that European and Asian rodents were not closely related, their similarity being the result of morphological convergence. Here monophyly has been tested, using the parsimony criterion, based on an analysis of dental characters (including discussing of homology and the validity of some characteristics). Our results indicate a phylogenetic relationship among the Asiatic Ctenodactyloidea, Zamoramys from Spain, and the European endemic Theridomyoidea. We also conclude from our analysis that theridomyoids and European ischyromyoids are probably not closely related phylogenetically.