Nabotherium: a new Anthracothere From Oligocene Paleogene Egypt With Interesting Dental Adaptations

A new anthracothere (Artiodactyla) from the early Oligocene, Fayum, Egypt, and the mystery of African ‘Rhagatherium’ solved

Authors:

Sileem et al

Abstract:

Recent work on new anthracothere (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) specimens from the Jebel Qatrani Formation, early Oligocene, Fayum, Egypt, has revealed the presence of a new genus. Nabotherium new genus is described on the basis of a partial skull, several mandibular and maxillary specimens, and isolated teeth. The new genus exhibits a distinctive combination of features not seen in other Paleogene anthracotheres. The most noticeable characteristics of the new genus include the presence of large and well-developed upper and lower canines, caniniform third incisors, the presence of only a short diastema between the canine and first premolar, and broad, bunodont cheek teeth. This is in contrast to other contemporary anthracotheres, including other forms from the Fayum, which show a spatulate third incisor, a reduced canine, a much longer canine-premolar diastema, and more narrow, bunoselenodont cheek teeth. The presence of a relatively short rostrum with closely packed incisors, low-crowned and simple premolars, and low-crowned, bunodont molars indicates that members of the new genus would have been more efficient at crushing foods than slicing vegetation, and suggests a more varied herbivorous and frugivorous diet than was favored by other, more bunoselenodont Fayum anthracotheres.

Russia's Most Syrian Adventure #79

Russia claims its pull out will be finished in two to three days.

Putin also warns the forces pulled out could be placed 'back in within hours.'

Even as the fixed wing assets are being pulled back, the most advanced helicopters the Russians have are being deployed to Syria.

Russia will be honoring a fallen soldier from the Syria adventure.

Russia claims the ceasefire was violated 9 times in the last 24 hours. You can probably multiply that by some factor, but idk what. 

The MetroJet bombing has been referred to the Egyptian Attorney General now.

Ancient Egyptians Observed Eclipsing Binary Algol ~3,000 Years ago

The Ancient Egyptian papyrus Cairo 86637 calendar is the oldest preserved historical document of naked eye observations of a variable star, the eclipsing binary Algol - a manifestation of Horus, a god and a king. This calendar contains lucky or unlucky prognoses for each day of one year. Lauri Jetsu and Sebastian Porceddu from the University of Helsinki have performed a statistical analysis of the Cairo Calendar mythological texts.

Their analysis revealed that the periods of Algol (2.85 days) and the Moon (29.6 days) strongly regulate the actions of deities in this calendar.

- Until now, there were only conjectures that many of the mythological texts of the Cairo Calendar describe astronomical phenomena. We can now unambiguously ascertain that throughout the whole year the actions of many deities in the Cairo Calendar are connected to the regular changes of Algol and the Moon, says Master of Science Sebastian Porceddu.

This research confirms that the first variable star, as well as its period, were discovered much earlier than was previously thought. These two "classical" milestones in the history of natural sciences need to be shifted three millennia backwards in time to 1244 - 1163 BC.

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Saudi Arabia Forms 34 Nation Coalition to Fight Terrorism.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, according to a joint statement published on state news agency SPA.

"The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations," the statement said.

A long list of Arab countries such as Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states were mentioned.

The announcement cited "a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organizations whatever their sect and name which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorize the innocent."

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Could this become a military alliance?

Egypt Interested in Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Fighter

Egyptian Ambassador to Pakistan, Sherif Shaheen called on Federal Minister for Defence Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain here on Friday and showed his country’s interest in buying JF-17 Thunder.

During the meeting, the minister said that Pakistan is presently selling its traditional weapons to USA, United Kingdom (UK), Germany and Far-East.

He offered sale of JF-17 and Super Mashak to Egypt and said Iraq has already signed an agreement for purchase of 20 Super Mashak with Pakistan while deal with Turkey to buy 52 Super Mashak is almost finalized.

Rana Tanvir also emphasized on joint venture in defence Production between the two countries.

Admiring Egypt’s strong and close ties with Pakistan, he said Egypt is keen for cooperation in the field of defence production.

“A close cooperation between the two countries will also help other Muslim countries over the world,” he added.

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Russia's Most Syrian Adventure #30

Russia has flown over 1600 sorties since the start of their intervention in Syria.  No word on the exact number of aistrikes in the last 24 hours.

Russia has come out and stated it will continue to conduct airstrikes until the Syrian - Assadite - is successful. 

Russia wants the talks in Vienna to define what sides are 'terrorists' and, therefore, acceptable to bomb. 

Flights between Russia and Egypt are likely to be suspended for months.

Little update: the Russians are supposedly going to propose an 18 month period of reform for the Syrian government.

What Happens now that Egypt Bought the two exRussian Mistrals Amphibious Ships?

The protracted “What happens to France’s two unwanted Mistrals” saga has seemingly drawn to a close with the agreement by Egypt late last month to acquire the highly capable amphibious assault ships (LHDs) for a total of €950 million. A number of commentators have argued that the rationale behind this eyebrow-raising decision is for Egypt to attain a maritime power-projection capability so as to hedge against rising Islamist violence in the region and a resurgent Iran. Indeed, one prominent defense journalist wrote of Egypt using the French-made Mistrals to quell trouble in neighboring hot-spots. In the same vein, another commentator spoke of the vessels giving their owners the ability to conduct expeditionary missions with significant ground and aerial assets.

That being said, the aforementioned statements are based on the assumption that Cairo would be able to effectively deploy the two ships in the first place. This is highly contentious, at least in the near term, for a number of reasons. They include Egypt’s dearth of experience in large amphibious-vessel and naval aviation operations, among others.

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Russian Pop Press Claim: Egypt Buying 50 Ka-52k Naval Attack Helicopters for use on Mistrals

TASS says Egypt has agreed to buy over 50 Ka-52 naval helicopters that Russia had produce to deploy on the Mistral helicopter carriers.

Alert 5 link.

TASS link (in Russian).

Egypt Buys Ex-Russian French Built Mistral Amhibious Warfare Ships

France has agreed to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt after their sale to Russia was cancelled in August and will not incur a financial loss in the transaction, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said.

Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the conflict in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt's allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil.

"They agreed on the principle and the terms of the acquisition by Egypt" of the two Mistral warships, President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement after he spoke to his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

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Wait! What?! Saudi King Wants to buy French Mistrals...FOR EGYPT?!

Saudi Arabia keen to buy completed Mistral carriers for Egypt

French daily Le Monde reported that Saudi Arabia is keen to buy the two Mistral carriers ordered by Russia and transfer them to Egypt.

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Because Egypt: Return of the Grandiose MegaProjects

Architecture projects don't come much bigger or more challenging than building an entire new capital city from scratch, but that's what the Egyptian Government, Skidmore, Owings & Merril (SOM), and international group of investors Capital City Partners Limited intend with the Capital Cairo project. The recently-proposed city, seven times the size of Paris, and twelve times bigger than Manhattan, would measure approximately 700 sq km (270 sq miles) and be home to 7 million residents.

Planning of the as-yet unnamed city is being led by SOM, and if it goes ahead, it would be located to the east of the current city of Cairo and serve as something of a pressure valve for the existing capital's ever-growing population. The new city would house 7 million people and create an estimated 1.5 million new jobs.

"While we are at the earliest stages of design, the new city will be built on core principles that include places of education, economic opportunity, and quality of life for Egypt’s youthful population," says SOM's Philip Enquist, who is Partner in Charge of Urban Design and Planning at the firm. "The new city will be designed and built in harmony with nature as a showcase of environmentally sensitive development."

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Egypt Buys 24 Rafale Fighters From France

France announced Thursday it will sell 24 Rafale fighters plus a frigate to Egypt in a 5 billion euro ($5.7 billion) deal that is the first foreign contract for the multi-role combat jet.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will travel to Cairo on Monday to sign the contact with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a ministry source told AFP.

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This is as the deal with India seems to be flaming out over Dassault being unwilling to provide a warranty on the Rafale produced in India.

Egypt may Procure Rafale Fighters

It seems Egypt and France signed an MOU for the procurement of 20 Rafale and two FREMM frigates.

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Sixth Mass Extinction Academic Bun Fight: Tracking Ecological Change in Egypt Over 6k Years

Collapse of an ecological network in Ancient Egypt

Authors:

Yeakel et al

Abstract:

The dynamics of ecosystem collapse are fundamental to determining how and why biological communities change through time, as well as the potential effects of extinctions on ecosystems. Here, we integrate depictions of mammals from Egyptian antiquity with direct lines of paleontological and archeological evidence to infer local extinctions and community dynamics over a 6,000-y span. The unprecedented temporal resolution of this dataset enables examination of how the tandem effects of human population growth and climate change can disrupt mammalian communities. We show that the extinctions of mammals in Egypt were nonrandom and that destabilizing changes in community composition coincided with abrupt aridification events and the attendant collapses of some complex societies. We also show that the roles of species in a community can change over time and that persistence is predicted by measures of species sensitivity, a function of local dynamic stability. To our knowledge, our study is the first high-resolution analysis of the ecological impacts of environmental change on predator–prey networks over millennial timescales and sheds light on the historical events that have shaped modern animal communities.

Retort:

Mammalian extinction in ancient Egypt, similarities with the southern Levant

Authors:

Bar-Oz et al

Exert:

Yeakel et al. (1) find that wild mammal extinction in ancient Egypt during the Holocene was nonrandom and coincided with abrupt climatic changes and a local cultural collapse. The authors provide compelling evidence that the deterioration of the natural Egyptian ecosystem gradually progressed during the Holocene. The extinction patterns provided vividly show that decreasing predator and prey (ungulates) diversity mirror increased desertification, human population growth, and political instability. We see strong ecological logic in Yeakel et al.’s (1) scenario and point to the advantages of conducting detailed comparisons of local extinction data to illuminate particularities and to better fine-tune broader hypotheses concerning Holocene extinctions

Second Retort:

Ancient Egypt’s fluctuating fauna: Ecological events or cultural constructs?

Author:

Evans

Exert:

Yeakel et al. present an innovative examination of Egypt’s ecological history (1), in which they rely upon paleontological evidence and artistic representations of animals to reconstruct patterns of species extinctions over six millennia. Focusing on ungulates and their mammalian predators, and drawing upon mammalogist Dale Osborn’s 1998 volume, The Mammals of Ancient Egypt (2), Yeakel et al. (1) report dramatic changes in predator–prey ratios corresponding to periods in which Egypt may have experienced extreme aridification.

Yeakel et al.’s (1) efforts to link science and the humanities are valuable; indeed, the abundant depictions of animals found in ancient Egyptian cultural remains, especially in detailed tomb paintings, offer a ready source of material that can be approached in this way (3). However, scientific evaluation must be balanced with a clear understanding of Egyptian art, which was heavily constrained by both graphic and cultural rules (4).

Response:

Reply to Evans and Bar-Oz et al.: Recovering ecological pattern and process in Ancient Egypt

Authors:

Yeakel et al

Exert:

Our recent paper used artistic depictions of animals and fossil evidence to examine the community-level effects of local extinction events over 6,000 y of Egyptian history (1). We found that local extinctions were nonrandom, that changes to community structure (quantified by the species predator/prey ratio) seemed to correspond to local aridification pulses, and that the decline in species richness throughout Egyptian history resulted in a drop in dynamic stability because of the elimination of smaller-bodied herbivores.

Palaeobiogeography of the Bajocian/Oxfordian Jurassic Sinai

Palaeobiogeography of the Bajocian–Oxfordian macrofauna of Gebel Maghara (North Sinai, Egypt): Implications for eustacy and basin topography

Authors:

Abdelhady et al

Abstract:

Based on newly collected material from the Bajocian–Oxfordian rocks of Gebel Maghara (North Sinai, Egypt) and available published information, the palaeobiogeographic pattern and the dispersal potential of the macrofauna including bivalves, ammonites, corals, and brachiopods are investigated. Both clustering methods and ordination techniques were applied and evaluated. During Bajocian times, G. Maghara occupied an intracratonic setting and was isolated from the main ocean by islands and shallows. These barriers may have limited the dispersal potential of the macrofauna and impeded the faunal exchange with even nearby areas. Although these barriers had disappeared by rejuvenation of faults during an active rift stage in Bathonian times, the same biogeographic patterns continued, which may be related to the global sea level lowstand. By Callovian times, a time of global sea level highstand, in contrast, the fauna of the study area became very similar to that of northeastern Africa. Similarly, diversity and extinction rates increased from the middle Bathonian onward, which may reflect intrusion of cosmopolitan taxa due to the newly established open marine setting and the global sea level highstand. Towards the Oxfordian, lowering of temperature may have limited the dispersal ranges of the macrofauna within the Ethiopian Province. As a result, a southeastern subprovince (Indo–Malagasy) including Tanzania, Madagascar, and India became established. Although the geographic patterns of the different faunal groups exhibit some similarities resulting from abiotic factors such as sea level, climate, and basin topography, biotic characteristics such as life habits and larval development played the dominant role in shaping the distribution pattern. The dispersal potential was highest for ammonites, followed by that of corals and then bivalves. Brachiopods had the lowest dispersal potential.

Rapid Faunal Change Across the Cenomanian/Turonian Cretaceous Boundary in Egypt

Stratigraphic significance of rapid faunal change across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary in the Eastern Desert, Egypt

Author:

Nagm

Abstract:

A significant and rapid faunal change across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary in the Eastern Desert of Egypt has been recognized by reconstructing the stratigraphic ranges of macroinvertebrates within the upper Cenomanian–lower Turonian Galala and Abu Qada formations. The faunal change initiated with a considerable loss of taxa during the late Cenomanian at the top of the Neolobites vibrayeanus ammonite zone, coinciding with sequence boundary SB Ce 5, ∼400 ka before the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary (93.9 Ma). Only 10% of the taxa that existed during the late Cenomanian have been recorded from lower Turonian strata. The changes in the macroinvertebrate faunas continued across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary and new faunal associations evolved after the earliest Turonian Vascoceras proprium ammonite zone of (∼200 ka after the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary). Therefore, the crisis that caused this faunal change around the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary over approximately 600 ka. The timing of the macrofaunal change recognized in the study area completely overlaps with the well-known Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 2 and most probably it is one of the effects of the major environmental perturbations (critical warming, high atmospheric CO2 concentration, and ocean water acidification) associated with this event. In addition, the sequence-stratigraphic analysis shows strong correlation exists between pattern of first and last occurrences of macroinvertebrate faunas and sea-level changes. Therefore, the oceanographic changes (rapid sea-level rise) may have also contributed to the Cenomanian–Turonian faunal change in the study area.

Jaggermeryx naida: a new Miocene Neogene Anthracothere From Egypt

Anthracotheres from Wadi Moghra, early Miocene, Egypt

Authors:

Miller et al

Abstract:

The early Miocene site of Wadi Moghra, Qattara Depression, Egypt, is important for interpreting anthracothere (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) evolution, because the Moghra sediments preserve a higher diversity of anthracotheres than any other pene-contemporaneous site. New specimens from Moghra are described and form the basis for the systematic revision of Moghra anthracotheres provided here. Among the important discoveries recently made at Moghra is the first complete skull of Sivameryx moneyi. Other new specimens described here include two new species of Afromeryx, and a new genus and species, all of which are unique to Moghra. A review of biogeographic information supports the conclusion that three of the Moghra anthracotheres (Brachyodus depereti, B. mogharensis, and Jaggermeryx naida, n. gen. n. sp.) are members of late surviving lineages with a long history in Africa, while three other species (Afromeryx grex, n. sp., A. palustris, n. sp., and Sivameryx moneyi) represent more recent immigrants from Eurasia.

Did the Arab Emitrates & Egypt Conduct Air Strikes in Libya?

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates were responsible for carrying out two series of air strikes in the past week on armed Islamist factions in Tripoli, Libya, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The officials said the two Arab countries used aircraft based in Egypt.

Earlier the New York Times reported that the two U.S. allies acted without consulting Washington, and that Egyptian officials told U.S. diplomats that Cairo was not involved. Egypt has denied conducting air strikes or other military operations in Libya.

Over the weekend, Tripoli residents said unidentified war planes attacked targets in the capital, as Libya is riven by the worst fighting since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. There were also strikes on Islamist-held positions last Monday.

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Remains of the 3rd Century Cyprian Plague Found in Egypt

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an epidemic in Egypt so terrible that one ancient writer believed the world was coming to an end.

Working at the Funerary Complex of Harwa and Akhimenru in the west bank of the ancient city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor) in Egypt, the team of the Italian Archaeological Mission to Luxor (MAIL) found bodies covered with a thick layer of lime (historically used as a disinfectant). The researchers also found three kilns where the lime was produced, as well as a giant bonfire containing human remains, where many of the plague victims were incinerated.

Pottery remains found in the kilns allowed researchers to date the grisly operation to the third century A.D., a time when a series of epidemics now dubbed the "Plague of Cyprian" ravaged the Roman Empire, which included Egypt. Saint Cyprian was a bishop of Carthage (a city in Tunisia) who described the plague as signaling the end of the world.

Occurring between roughly A.D. 250-271, the plague "according to some sources killed more than 5,000 people a day in Rome alone," wrote Francesco Tiradritti, director of the MAIL, in the latest issue of Egyptian Archaeology, a magazine published by the Egypt Exploration Society.

Tiradritti's team uncovered the remains of this body-disposal operation between 1997 and 2012. The monument his team is excavating was originally built in the seventh century B.C. for a grand steward named Harwa. After Harwa's death, the Egyptians continuously used the monument for burial (Akhimenru was a successor who built his own tomb there). However, after its use for body disposal during the plague, the monument was abandoned and never used again.

The use of the complex "for the disposal of infected corpses gave the monument a lasting bad reputation and doomed it to centuries of oblivion until tomb robbers entered the complex in the early 19th century," Tiradritti writes.

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Maastrichtian Cretaceous Carbon Cycle Changes in Egypt

Maastrichtian carbon cycle changes and planktonic foraminiferal bioevents at Gebel Matulla, west-central Sinai, Egypt

Author:

Farouk

Abstract:

Comparison between the planktonic foraminiferal bioevents from different palaeolatitudes suggests that the biostratigraphic criteria used to identify the Maastrichtian stage boundaries are problematic. A new high-resolution calibration of planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphic, carbon-isotope, and sequence-stratigraphic criteria has been recorded for the first time from the Maastrichtian Sudr Formation at Gebel Matulla, west-central Sinai. The sedimentary successions allow the identification of prominent long-term carbon isotope events in the Maastrichtian, namely the negative excursion of the Campanian–Maastrichtian Boundary Event (CMBE), the positive excursion of the mid-Maastrichtian Event (MME), and the decline towards the Cretaceous-Palaeogene transition (KPgE). Termination of these well known δ13C events is associated with unconformities, created by eustatic sea-level changes, although the long duration argues for superimposed local tectonic control.