Spain Begins Talks with Catalonian Secessionists

Acting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will hold his first official meeting with Catalonia's pro-independence regional president, Carles Puigdemont, with talks likely to center on the region's finances although the secession issue is certain to surface.

Puigdemont took office in January, promising to push ahead with his coalition government's secession plans. Rajoy, who heads Spain's caretaker government since a Dec. 30 inconclusive election, is likely to reiterate his steadfast opposition to Catalonia's independence in Wednesday's meeting.

The independence drive has gathered force in recent years after Catalonia failed to win more financing concessions from Madrid.

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What Color was That Spanish Miocene Neogene Snake? Green and Black

Ten million years ago, a green and black snake lay coiled in the Spanish undergrowth. Once, paleontologists would have been limited to the knowledge they could glean from its colorless fossil remains, but now they know what the snake looked like and can guess how it acted. Researchers reporting on March 31 in Current Biology have discovered that some fossils can retain evidence of skin color from multiple pigments and structural colors, aiding research into the evolution and function of color.

So far, scientists filling the ancient-Earth coloring book with pigment have been limited to browns, blacks, and muddy reds when melanin lasts as organic material. No other pigments have been shown to survive fossilization. But this snake's skin was fossilized in calcium phosphate, a mineral that preserves details on a subcellular level.

The fossilized snakeskin maintained the unique shapes of different types of pigment cells, which would have created yellows, greens, blacks, browns, and iridescence while the animal was alive. The pigments themselves are now decayed, but with the cell shapes—specific to each kind of pigment—mineralized, there's enough information to reconstruct their colors.

"When you get fossil tissues preserved with this kind of detail, you're just gobsmacked when you're looking at it under the microscope," says first author Maria McNamara, a paleobiologist at University College Cork. "I was astounded. You almost can't believe what you're seeing."

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I Smell a Coming Academic Bun Fight: Sima de los Huesos Hominins Really Were Early Neandertals

Previous analyses of the hominins from Sima de los Huesos in 2013 showed that their maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA was distantly related to Denisovans, extinct relatives of Neandertals in Asia. This was unexpected since their skeletal remains carry Neandertal-derived features. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have since worked on sequencing nuclear DNA from fossils from the cave, a challenging task as the extremely old DNA is degraded to very short fragments. The results now show that the Sima de los Huesos hominins were indeed early Neandertals. Neandertals may have acquired different mitochondrial genomes later, perhaps as the result of gene flow from Africa.

Until now it has been unclear how the 28 400,000-year-old individuals found at the Sima de los Huesos ("pit of bones") site in Northern Spain were related to Neandertals and Denisovans who lived until about 40,000 years ago. A previous report based on analyses of mitochondrial DNA from one of the specimens suggested a distant relationship to Denisovans, which is in contrast to other archaeological evidence, including morphological features that the Sima de los Huesos hominins shared with Neandertals.

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Catalonian Separatists Form Government

Catalonia's separatists on Saturday struck a last-minute agreement to form a new regional government that will work towards independence from Spain, with controversial secessionist leader Artur Mas stepping aside to seal the deal.

His decision brings an end to more than three months of deadlock between Mas' "Together for Yes" secessionist alliance and the more radical, far-left separatist CUP party that together hold a majority in the Catalan parliament.

"This is not an easy decision, but it is a coherent decision," Mas told a press conference, saying he did what was necessary to save the independence drive in the wealthy northeast region of 7.5 million.

"I am stepping aside and will not be standing as a Together for Yes candidate for the re-election of president of the regional government," Mas said, naming Girona mayor Carles Puigdemont as his replacement.

Together for Yes won 62 seats in the 135-seat parliament in regional elections in September -- but were unable to form a government with the CUP, which held a crucial extra 10 seats, due to bitter disagreement over Mas.

The leftist party refused to give Mas its backing, resenting the austerity measures he implemented and corruption scandals linked to his party.

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The Paleoenvironments of the Catalan Pyrenees From the Middle Permian Through the Olenekian Triassic

Constraining the Permian/Triassic transition in continental environments: Stratigraphic and paleontological record from the Catalan Pyrenees (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Authors:

Mujal et al

Abstract:

The continental Permian-Triassic transition in southern Europe presents little paleontological evidence of the Permian mass extinction and the subsequent faunal recovery during the early stages of the Triassic. New stratigraphic, sedimentological and paleontological analyses from Middle-Upper Permian to Lower-Middle Triassic deposits of the Catalan Pyrenees (NE Iberian Peninsula) allow to better constrain the Permian-Triassic succession in the Western Tethys basins, and provide new (bio-) chronologic data. For the first time, a large vertebra attributed to a caseid synapsid from the ?Middle Permian is reported from the Iberian Peninsula - one of the few reported from western Europe. Osteological and ichnological records from the Triassic Buntsandstein facies reveal a great tetrapod ichnodiversity, dominated by small to medium archosauromorphs and lepidosauromorphs (Rhynchosauroides cf. schochardti, R. isp. 1 and 2, Prorotodactylus-Rotodactylus, an undetermined Morphotype A and to a lesser degree large archosaurians (chirotheriids), overall suggesting a late Early Triassic-early Middle Triassic age. This is in agreement with recent palynological analyses in the Buntsandstein basal beds that identify different lycopod spores and other bisaccate and taeniate pollen types of late Olenekian age (Early Triassic). The Permian caseid vertebra was found in a playa-lake setting with a low influence of fluvial water channels and related to the distal parts of alluvial fans. In contrast, the Triassic Buntsandstein facies correspond to complex alluvial fan systems, dominated by high-energy channels and crevasse splay deposits, hence a faunal and environmental turnover is observed. The Pyrenean biostratigraphical data show similarities with those of the nearby Western Tethys basins, and can be tentatively correlated with North African and European basins. The Triassic Pyrenean fossil remains might rank among the continental oldest records of the Western Tethys, providing new keys to decipher the Triassic faunal biogeography and recovery.

Xenokeryx amidalae: an Extinction Palaeomerycid Ruminant Related to Giraffes From Miocene Neogene Spain

The extinct three-horned palaeomerycid ruminant, Xenokeryx amidalae, found in Spain, may be from the same clade as giraffes, according to a study published December 2, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Israel M. Sánchez from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, Madrid, Spain, and colleagues.

Palaeomerycids, now extinct, were strange three-horned Eurasian Miocene ruminants known through fossils from Spain to China. In this article, the authors classify the palaeomerycid to their clade based on shared characteristics with the best-known species of the group and reassess their phylogenetic position among ruminants, which is currently disputed. The authors use well-preserved remains of a new palaeomerycid, Xenokeryx amidalae, which included a complete sample of cranial--including both frontal and supra-occipital 't-shaped' cranial appendages--dental, and postcranial remains, from middle Miocene deposits of Spain.

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Leftists Blocked Independence Seeking Party From Forming Government in Catalonia

Efforts by the acting president of Spain's powerful northeastern Catalonia region to form a pro-independence regional government have been dealt another blow as the radical pro-secession CUP party reaffirmed its opposition to his candidacy.

Artur Mas heads the "Together for Yes" alliance that won 62 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament in September elections but, lacking a majority, he is seeking support from CUP, which has 10 seats.

CUP has voted against him twice and on Sunday its members decided to maintain the stance. They agreed to continue talks with Mas' alliance but called on it to present another candidate.

However, CUP leader Antonio Banos said Monday the party members' decision was not binding and that all options were still open.

The Catalan parliament has until Jan. 10 to form a government or call a new election. The pro-independence parties fear the independence drive would lose momentum if fresh regional elections were held.

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Amphibians and Squamates From Maastrichtian Cretaceous Iberia

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) amphibians and squamates from northeastern Iberia

Authors:

Blanco et al

Abstract:

Maastrichtian biodiversity of medium- and large-sized terrestrial vertebrates is well known in Europe and, specifically, in the Iberian Peninsula. Regarding small-sized herpetofaunas (lissamphibians and squamates), only a few European sites have yielded a significant amount of fossils, and they are still poorly known from the Iberian Peninsula. Recent fieldwork carried out at several sites exposing the Tremp Formation (Southern Pyrenees) has revealed four new localities yielding microvertebrates. Two of them (L'Espinau and Serrat del Rostiar-1) are relatively diverse in herpetofauna, containing albanerpetontids, four different anurans (two different alytids, a pelobatid or gobiatid and a palaeobatrachid), as well as six types of squamates (including scincomorphs, iguanids, anguids and probably gekkotans). Most of these groups are shared with other Campanian-Maastrichtian localities from eastern Iberia although, in some cases, morphological differences might suggest the presence of new lower-level taxa (i.e., genera or species). Also remarkable is the presence of alytines and likely gekkotans that would represent the oldest records of these taxa in Europe and in the Iberian Peninsula, respectively. Taxa of Laurasian origin are common at the Serrat del Rostiar-1 and L'Espinau localities, while Gondwanan taxa are lacking in all cases. Evidence for Asian immigrants (i.e., alytines) is found amongst anurans. Some differences regarding the faunal composition could be explained by environmental factors (i.e., coastal wetlands vs. fluvial settings), although the possibility of taphonomic biases cannot be ruled out.

Catalonia Pressing Ahead With Secession

The acting president of Spain's powerful northeastern Catalonia region says he will press ahead with efforts to form a pro-independence government despite having failed to garner sufficient support in two parliamentary votes so far.

Speaking almost two months after regional elections, Artur Mas said Tuesday it would be easy to give up now but it would be "irresponsible."

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Spain Planning on Arming its Reaper UAVs

Spain has confirmed that it will eventually try to weaponise its future fleet of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper unmanned air vehicles, although the immediate priority is to bring the surveillance-only variant into operation.

Madrid's programme to acquire a class III UAV for its air force began in September last year, with the Reaper eventually selected in mid-2015 over the competing Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP.

“The LOA [letter of agreement] from the US government is about to be signed, and this could be done before the end of the year,” Col Enrique Martinez Vallas, former chief of acquisitions programmes for the Spanish Air Staff, told a London conference on 19 November.

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Spanish Navy Embarks US Marine Corps V-22 Squadron

The Spanish Navy (Armada Española) has claimed to be the first non-US naval service to embark a squadron of the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft on board one of its ships. The embarkation took place during Exercise 'Trident Juncture 2015' that started in early October 2015 and jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Italy.

The four Osprey transports, which combine the vertical lift-off capability of a helicopter with the higher speed and payload flight of a turbo-prop aircraft, are stationed at the Morón de la Frontera Air Base in southern Spain.

For 'Trident Juncture 2015' the aircraft were embarked with six of the Armada's AV-8B Harrier and an AB-212 helicopter from the 27,000-tonne landing helicopter dock (LHD) Juan Carlos I .

"This event is a historic achievement both for the Marines and the Armada Española," said the Spanish Navy. "Never before has an American [Osprey] squadron formed part of an air unit embarked on a ship that does not belong to the US Navy."

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Northeast Catalonian Regional Parliament has Voted for Secession by 2017

The regional parliament of northeastern Catalonia has approved a plan to set up road map for independence from Spain by 2017, in defiance of the central government.

All 72 separatist lawmakers -- the majority in the northeastern region's parliament -- voted for a resolution aimed at creating an independent republic by 2017.

The proposal was tabled by pro-secession lawmakers from the "Together for Yes" alliance and the extreme left-wing Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP). The groups together obtained a parliamentary majority in regional elections in September.

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Pliobates cataloniae: new Gibbon-like Hominoid From Miocene Neogene Spain

Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution

Authors:

Alba et al

Abstract:

INTRODUCTION

Reconstructing the ancestral morphotype from which extant hominoids (apes and humans) evolved is complicated by the mosaic nature of ape evolution, the confounding effects of independently evolved features (homoplasy), and the virtual lack of hylobatids (gibbons and siamangs) in the Miocene fossil record. For several decades, small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia have not played an important role in this debate, because they generally lack the shared derived features of extant catarrhines (hominoids and Old World monkeys) and are thus considered to precede their divergence. Even some small-bodied catarrhines from Africa (dendropithecids), considered to be stem hominoids by some authors, are viewed as more primitive than the larger-bodied stem ape Proconsul. This has led to the assumption that hylobatids are a dwarfed lineage that evolved from a larger-bodied and more great ape–like common ancestor with hominids (great apes and humans).

RATIONALE

Here we describe a new genus of small-bodied (4 to 5 kg) ape from the Miocene (11.6 Ma), discovered in the Abocador de Can Mata stratigraphic series (Vallès-Penedès Basin, northeast Iberian Peninsula), that challenges current views on the last common ancestor of extant hominoids. This genus is based on a partial skeleton that enables a reliable reconstruction of cranial morphology and a detailed assessment of elbow and wrist anatomy. It exhibits a mosaic of primitive (stem catarrhine–like) and derived (extant hominoid–like) features that forces us to reevaluate the role played by small-bodied catarrhines in ape evolution.

RESULTS

The new genus retains some features that are suggestive of generalized above-branch quadrupedalism, but it possesses more extensive hominoid-like postcranial features (mostly related to enhanced forearm rotation and ulnar deviation capabilities) than those convergently displayed by atelids. Its overall body plan is more compatible with an emphasis on cautious and eclectic climbing, combined with some degree of below-branch forelimb-dominated suspension (although less acrobatic than in extant gibbons). Its relative brain size implies a monkey-like degree of encephalization (similar to that of hylobatids but below that of great apes), and dental microwear indicates a frugivorous diet. From a phylogenetic viewpoint, the new genus combines craniodental and postcranial primitive features (similar to those of dendropithecids) with multiple derived cranial and postcranial features shared with extant hominoids. Some cranial similarities with gibbons would support a closer phylogenetic link between the new genus and hylobatids. However, this possibility is not supported by the total evidence. A cladistic analysis based on more than 300 craniodental and postcranial features reveals that the new genus is a stem hominoid (preceding the divergence between hylobatids and hominids), although more derived than previously known small catarrhines and Proconsul.

CONCLUSION

As the first known Miocene small-bodied catarrhine to share abundant derived features with extant hominoids, the new genus indicates a greater morphological diversity than previously recognized among this heterogeneous group, and it provides key insight into the last common ancestor of hylobatids and hominids. Our cladistic results, coupled with the chronology and location of the new genus, suggest that it represents a late-surviving offshoot of a small African stem hominoid that is more closely related to crown hominoids than Proconsul is. These results suggest that, at least in size and cranial morphology, the last common ancestor of extant hominoids might have been more gibbon-like (less great ape–like) than generally assumed.

Trackway Compositions Appear to Indicate PaleoEnvironment, Biome in Early Permian Spain

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and early Permian ichnoassemblage from the NE Iberian Peninsula (Pyrenean Basin)

Authors:

Mujal et al

Abstract:

Recent finds of tetrapod ichnites in the red-bed and volcaniclastic succession of the Iberian Pyrenean Basin permits an assessment of the faunal diversity and palaeoenvironment of a late early Permian setting. The tetrapod ichnoassemblage is inferred with the aid of photogrammetry and constituted by Batrachichnus salamandroides, Limnopus isp., cf. Amphisauropus (these three ichnotaxa present associated swimming traces, assigned to Characichnos), cf. Ichniotherium, Dromopus isp., cf. Varanopus, Hyloidichnus isp. and Dimetropus leisnerianus. These ichnotaxa suggest the presence of temnospondyls, seymouriamorphs, diadectomorphs, araeoscelids, captorhinids and synapsid pelycosaurs as potential trackmakers. These faunas correlate to the late early Permian. Two ichnoassociations correspond to two different palaeoenvironments that were permanently or occasionally aquatic (meandering fluvial systems and unconfined runoff surfaces, respectively). Ichnotaxa in the fluvial system is more diverse and abundant than in the runoff surfaces system. The Iberian Pyrenean ichnoassemblage reveals the faunistic connection and similarities among nearing basins (Spain, southern France and Morocco) differing from the Central European basins (i.e. German Tambach Formation). Based on the palaeogeography and the climate models of the early Permian, we suggest the correlation of ichnofaunal composition with different palaeoclimate biomes. This results in a diffuse boundary of Gondwana–Laurasia land masses, indicating no geographic barriers but a possible climate control on the faunal distribution. Further studies, integrating data from distant tracksites, should refine these biome boundaries.

What's in a Wing? Aptian Cretaceous Enantiornithine Bird Shows Perfect Flight Adaptation

Birds have an enormously long evolutionary history: The earliest of them, the famed Archaeopteryx, lived 150 million years ago in what is today southern Germany. However, whether these early birds were capable of flying -- and if so, how well -- has remained shrouded in scientific controversy. A new discovery published in the journal Scientific Reports documents the intricate arrangement of the muscles and ligaments that controlled the main feathers of the wing of an ancient bird, supporting the notion that at least some of the most ancient birds performed aerodynamic feats in a fashion similar to those of many living birds.

An international team of Spanish paleontologists and NHM's Director of the Dinosaur Institute, Dr. Luis M. Chiappe, studied the exceptionally preserved wing of a 125-million-year-old bird from central Spain. Beyond the bones preserved in the fossil, the tiny wing of this ancient bird reveals details of a complex network of muscles that in modern birds controls the fine adjustments of the wing's main feathers, allowing birds to master the sky.

"The anatomical match between the muscle network preserved in the fossil and those that characterize the wings of living birds strongly indicates that some of the earliest birds were capable of aerodynamic prowess like many present-day birds," said Chiappe, the investigation's senior scientist.

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Fossils of a 'Lost City' Hydrothermal Ecology From Cretaceous Spain

Fluid mixing and the deep biosphere of a fossil Lost City-type hydrothermal system at the Iberia Margin

Authors:

Klein et al

Abstract:

Subseafloor mixing of reduced hydrothermal fluids with seawater is believed to provide the energy and substrates needed to support deep chemolithoautotrophic life in the hydrated oceanic mantle (i.e., serpentinite). However, geosphere-biosphere interactions in serpentinite-hosted subseafloor mixing zones remain poorly constrained. Here we examine fossil microbial communities and fluid mixing processes in the subseafloor of a Cretaceous Lost City-type hydrothermal system at the magma-poor passive Iberia Margin (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 149, Hole 897D). Brucite−calcite mineral assemblages precipitated from mixed fluids ca. 65 m below the Cretaceous paleo-seafloor at temperatures of 31.7 ± 4.3 °C within steep chemical gradients between weathered, carbonate-rich serpentinite breccia and serpentinite. Mixing of oxidized seawater and strongly reducing hydrothermal fluid at moderate temperatures created conditions capable of supporting microbial activity. Dense microbial colonies are fossilized in brucite−calcite veins that are strongly enriched in organic carbon (up to 0.5 wt.% of the total carbon) but depleted in 13C (δ13CTOC = −19.4‰). We detected a combination of bacterial diether lipid biomarkers, archaeol, and archaeal tetraethers analogous to those found in carbonate chimneys at the active Lost City hydrothermal field. The exposure of mantle rocks to seawater during the breakup of Pangaea fueled chemolithoautotrophic microbial communities at the Iberia Margin, possibly before the onset of seafloor spreading. Lost City-type serpentinization systems have been discovered at midocean ridges, in forearc settings of subduction zones, and at continental margins. It appears that, wherever they occur, they can support microbial life, even in deep subseafloor environments.

Catalonian Separatists win Majority in Election, but Lack Unequivocal Secession Mandate

Parties pushing for independence from Spain won a majority of seats in Catalonia's regional Parliament in a ballot Sunday, but failed to secure more than 50 percent of the popular vote in an election they had hoped would give them a clear, unequivocal mandate for secession.

With 90 percent of the votes counted, the "Together for Yes" group of secessionist parties had 63 seats in the 135-member parliament, meaning they would need to join forces with the radical Popular Unity Candidacy party — that secured 10 seats — to be able to push regional legislation through.

However, together they only won 47.6 percent of the popular vote, meaning opponents to independence were in a majority.

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The Uncertainties of the Catalonian Secession Success and Implications

BENIGNO ROMERO, a Catalan taxi driver, reached coyly into his pocket and produced a key-ring bearing the horizontal gold-and-red striped flag of Spain. “I respect everyone else’s opinion. But if we get independence our pensions will go and this will be like Venezuela,” he said. Mr Romero’s worries reflect an increasingly bitter debate in this wealthy corner of north-east Spain as it prepares for elections that could bring a unilateral declaration of independence within 18 months.

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The vote is tomorrow.  yikes.

Wait! What?! Neandertals in Spain had a HEATED WATER? (????) Basin?!?!

The Neanderthals of the Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona) site excavated a concave hole on the ground of 40x30x10 cm. It could be a container excavated with a digger stick with a finality of heat water. This hole is located near the wall of the rockshelter and is enclosed of a high quantity of hearths, limestones and speleothemes with thermical fractures. The discovery took place during this month’s excavation managed by the IPHES (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social); it started on August 7th and finished on August 28th. This fieldwork supplied new 10 000 archaeological remains whose provide very important information about the domestic activities of Neanderthals.

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Montsechia vidalii: Earliest Known Flowering Planet Discovered in Hautervian Cretaceous Spain

Indiana University paleobotanist David Dilcher and colleagues in Europe have identified a 125 million- to 130 million-year-old freshwater plant as one of earliest flowering plants on Earth.

The finding, reported Aug. 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, represents a major change in the presumed form of one of the planet's earliest flowers, known as angiosperms.

"This discovery raises significant questions about the early evolutionary history of flowering plants, as well as the role of these plants in the evolution of other plant and animal life," said Dilcher, an emeritus professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Geological Sciences.

The aquatic plant, Montsechia vidalii, once grew abundantly in freshwater lakes in what are now mountainous regions in Spain. Fossils of the plant were first discovered more than 100 years ago in the limestone deposits of the Iberian Range in central Spain and in the Montsec Range of the Pyrenees, near the country's border with France.

Also previously proposed as one of the earliest flowers is Archaefructus sinensis, an aquatic plant found in China.

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