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Nilüfer Yanya has ridden the hype wave all the way to her debut album; as it prepares to drop, the real journey starts here
"It's not really about me anymore," she says.
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Published: 9:59 am, March 19, 2019Words: Abigail Firth.
If we told you Nilüfer Yanya, the 23-year-old Londoner known for her minimal, plucky guitar tunes, had made her debut album a sort of post-apocalyptic sci-fi record, would you be shocked?
Well, that's what it is. 'Miss Universe' centres around a fictional health company 'WWAY HEALTH" (think Black Mirror meets Flat Tummy Tea Co), with their phone service, narrated by 'Miss Universe', greeting the listener when they hit play.
"I had the WWAY Health idea for it to be this fictional health company within the album, while I was writing, and I approached that like you would writing a story," she says. "I wasn't sure if it was going to be a phone line at first, but it ended up being the phone line. It's like you're the person on the phone, so it kind of automatically puts you in the album, which I guess sort of makes it attack."
'Miss Universe' wasn't meant to be a concept album (and Nilüfer still might not think it is), but it's definitely a different direction for her. If you got to know her as a minimalistic singer-songwriter type, there's far more to her first full-length than just a girl and her guitar.
Experimenting with different instrumentation was on the album checklist – and it gets pretty diverse. There's a classic emo vibe on 'Heavyweight Champion Of The Year', pop punk-ish guitar on 'Angels', Florence-sized drama on 'Baby Blu', as well as some sparkly, psychy pop on 'Safety Net' and 'Heat Rises'.
"The songs are just songs, right? But the production kind of really makes the songs sound like something. So some of them are very much in the pop direction, we were listening to a lot of pop music. I think a lot of it is like an amalgamation of my music tastes; I think that comes through.
"I always knew I was gonna be more expressive and I was gonna try and push myself a bit more with the sound. Otherwise, you can get stuck in a particular sound world, and not let yourself out of that, and you'll be like 'nooo that's not my sound, I don't want that'. I was tryna be less precious about that kind of thing, and be more like 'well what if that was part of this'."
But the WWAY HEALTH narrative (now complete with its own website) came more naturally. She says that, originally, it was just supposed to be a load of songs together (like a normal album, duh), but stringing it together with a storyline helps her understand her own work.
"I think I put the songs in that order so they make sense, but also the interludes are in place so you pick up on different themes within the album. So hopefully it helps people understand what I was trying to get at in each section. I mean I didn't write them knowing that that was going to be the case, I just kind of put them in context afterwards."
"It'd be hard to write a song with my mum, but that's because she's not a musician"
Nilüfer Yanya
Whether intentional or not, the idea is genius, and the interludes in question are fantastically witty. Splitting an album up with tracks titled 'Warning', 'Experience?', 'Give Up Function' and '"Sparkle" GOD HELP ME'? So brilliant.
"I guess I'm like opening up my ideas, putting more of my mind into the whole thing. In a way, it's less personal though, because it's not really about me anymore. It could be you or anyone, but I'm trying to be more open about the way I think."
On her debut single 'Small Crimes', Nilüfer plays the part of a thief, so she's no stranger to adopting another persona in her lyrics. And don't just expect to hear from Miss Universe on the album, or Nilüfer for that matter. She's a great storyteller (again, she doesn't think she is, though).
"I never thought of myself as a storyteller. I dunno, I don't think it's what I'm doing, but it is I guess. I always liked the idea of characters being involved – I don't really know what I meant by character, but I definitely like having people in the songs who aren't me. Some of them are, but some of them aren't, or just like [writing about] things you haven't done, or things you could've done; it's kind of made up. It's not just facts; it's like 'what if this happened'."
Nilüfer grew up in a pretty artistic household and was initially encouraged to 'do' music by her uncle, who she still writes and records with. "I hope we get to keep writing together." Is it weird though? "Not really. I guess you quickly forget that they're your family. It just ends up being two people working together, and I guess if they're not your family you're more aware of their presence, you're more aware you're working with someone.
"When you know someone, you're not really aware you're working, you're just making music. It guess it's unusual but not as weird as you might think it'd be. I mean it'd be hard to write a song with my mum, but that's because she's not a musician, y'know. I dunno she'd probably be pretty helpful really, with lyrics or something."
And her sister makes the music videos! "She directs all my videos, and we work pretty closely together on all those things. I mean she's heard the songs from when they were demos, so there's a whole process. It's like a project." An endlessly talented bunch.
Keeping it familiar in every way, most of the album was recorded in London – and a little bit in her uncle's studio in Cornwall – and she'll be returning to London for her biggest show yet later this year, bringing the Miss Universe idea to life.
"I think for the London show, we could do something cool. It's gonna be like the longest tour I've done, but it's gonna be interesting. It'll be good because last year everything felt less complete, I feel like now I've got more of a plan and a load of songs to recreate live and that's gonna be some task."
Taken from the April issue of Dork, out now. Nilüfer Yanya's debut album 'Miss Universe' is out 22nd March.
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My Chemical Romance just announced a US Tour in the most My Chemical Romance way possible
A thirteen-and-a-bit minute long career retrospective epic? Yeah, that'll do.
Marsicans on their new single, upcoming debut, and mediating in the face of disaster
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The 1975 have announced another UK show for this summer
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Michael Kiwanuka, Caribou, Mac DeMarco and Little Dragon are all set for Green Man 2020
The festival runs from Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales.
What's going on, right now, 'FYI'.
Kendal Calling is back for 2020 with Foals, Supergrass, Blossoms, Easy Life, Pale Waves, Marika Hackman and loads more
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package com.cyrillrx.android.toolbox;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.List;

import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import androidx.annotation.Nullable;

/**
 * @author Cyril Leroux
 *         Created on 30/08/2015.
 */
public class NamedList<Data> {

    protected String id;
    protected String title;
    protected List<Data> items;

    public NamedList(String title) {
        this.title = title;
        items = new ArrayList<>();
    }

    public NamedList(String title, List<Data> items) {
        this.title = title;
        this.items = items;
    }

    public String getId() { return id; }

    public void setId(String id) { this.id = id; }

    public String getTitle() { return title; }

    public void setTitle(String title) { this.title = title; }

    @NonNull
    public List<Data> getItems() { return items == null ? new ArrayList<Data>() : items; }

    public Data getItem(int index) { return items.get(index); }

    public void add(Data data) { items.add(data); }

    public void addAll(@Nullable Collection<? extends Data> data) {
        if (data != null) { items.addAll(data); }
    }

    public void addAll(@Nullable Data[] data) {
        if (data != null) { items.addAll(Arrays.asList(data)); }
    }

    public boolean isEmpty() { return items == null || items.isEmpty(); }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Caesar Borgia, Son Of Pope Alexander The Sixth is a 1679 tragedy by the English writer Nathaniel Lee. It was first staged at the Dorset Garden Theatre by the Duke's Company. The prologue was provided by John Dryden.

The original cast included Thomas Betterton as Cesar Borgia, Joseph Williams as  Palante, William Smith as Machiavel, Thomas Gillow as  Paul Orsino, Anthony Leigh as Ascanio Sforza, Thomas Percival as  Vitellozzo, Mary Lee as  Bellamira and Emily Price as Adorna. The published version was dedicated to the Earl of Pembroke.

References

Bibliography
 Van Lennep, W. The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960.

1679 plays
West End plays
Tragedy plays
Cultural depictions of Cesare Borgia
Plays by Nathaniel Lee
Plays set in Italy
Plays set in the 15th century

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
K12 DIGITAL COURSES
Instruction for the Next Generation
VGD2
Lesson 1.6
The ARPANET
About 10 years after Sputnik was launched, NASA had grown very popular because of missions like Apollo 11 in 1969 (when we put a man on the moon) and Apollo 13 in 1970 (when our astronauts got stuck in space for a few days). But if you remember anything about that little research group called ARPA, it wasn't just NASA who had something up their sleeve. NASA was a big deal, but ARPA quietly worked on something else that was about to change the world forever.
As you know, ARPA spent a lot of time thinking about and studying communication. In the beginning, they thought about how human beings communicate naturally, but then they had to figure out how to apply that type of communication to computers. Over time, they built a network of connected computers known as the ARPANET.
During this lesson, you will learn about the history of the ARPANET project, which colleges and universities were the first to connect, and how ARPANET eventually led to what we now know as the Internet.
LEARNING GOAL #1: The Basics of Web History
Students will understand how the Internet evolved from a classified government research project into a world wide resource with the help of highly educated teachers and students.
PART 1: CLASS DISCUSSION
Topic #1 – What Ever Happened to ARPA?
For nearly 10 years after the Sputnik Launch, ARPA had almost been forgotten. When it came to technology, everyone thought about NASA and our race to put a man on the moon. But in 1967, after a decade of looking at ideas, ARPA received $500,000 to start their first major classified project. That's a LOT less money than they had before, but at least it was something. They called their classified project the ARPA Network, or ARPANET for short. Remember that a network is the connection of two or more computers and ARPA was practically the only group on the planet who saw this as being important enough to invest time and money.
Since this was a classified project, only four kinds of people were allowed to know about it:
Specific teachers/professors from the best schools in the country
A handful of engineering students from those best schools
Certain government employees who needed to know
Certain military officials who were allowed to know
Aside from that, ARPANET was classified and the rest of the world had no idea that ARPA even existed, let alone knowing that it was working on improving communication with technology. ARPA was trying to make it so that people could communicate through computers. But this had NEVER been done before.
Topic #2 – The First ARPANET Connection
After two years of working on their network project, there were only four schools connected to ARPANET. Three schools in California and one in Utah.
Stanford University near San Francisco (SRI)
University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB)
University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of Utah (Utah)
…The ARPANET in 1968…
Topic #3 – The First ARPANET Communication
Today, when you think of going online, you barely have to try. You're practically online 24/7. But you're about to see what it looked like the very first time someone went online.
One of the teachers at Stanford SRI went "online" for the first time in 1968 to share an invention that he had built with part of his research team. He wanted other teachers and other students to see this great new device called a computer mouse. Prepare yourself for one of the very first "online" videos here (Clip #2 and #3 to start).
Topic #4 – The ARPANET Spreads
Two years later, ARPANET had 15 schools connected and the map looked like this…
Six years later, ARPANET was reaching most of the major colleges and universities in the United States. It was even reaching some of the military bases around the country. So in 1976, it looked more like this…
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why would schools and military bases be connecting to ARPANET and not everyone on their personal computers?
Topic #5 – The Guy In Charge
Connecting to ARPANET wasn't as easy as just plugging a computer in and turning it on. The network had to have rules or it wouldn't work. These rules, if you remember, were known as protocols. And during the years that ARPA was building their network, every time they noticed glitches and problems, they kept setting up more new protocols. To solve some of these problems and find new solutions, ARPA hired a teacher from Stanford by the name of Vinton Cerf. He was the one in charge of all the new protocols for ARPANET. He had been a student at UCLA when ARPANET first came alive in 1968, so he knew it very well and he also knew its flaws.
So let's pretend that you and your team are inside the mind of Vinton Cerf. You were in the room at UCLA when that display video came through from Stanford SRI. You are excited about the potential that this technology has for changing the world and making it easier to communicate, but you're concerned. ARPA has been talking about adding more schools and more computers to the ARPANET, but you believe that adding more computers to the network will create some serious problems unless ARPA sets up a few rules, or protocols. They just hired you to be in charge. What kinds of protocols would you come up with to make it easier for a lot more computers to successfully connect and communicate with each other?
Topic #6 – The Two Most Important Protocols: TCP/IP
Any file with any information in it takes up space. If you have an iPhone, then you probably run into this all the time because Apple insists that you make more room for other files. But back in the 1970s, Vinton Cerf had to figure out the best way to deal with these files, especially the ones that were really big, so that they could make it from one location, or computer, to another. So he set up two rules, or protocols for the ARPANET to work.
Protocol #1 – Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
Vinton Cerf realized that if a bunch of files were going to be shared across multiple computers, then the bigger files would need to be broken up or they would never make it. Imagine if we had a day to switch all the tables and chairs and computers between two classrooms. All of the items in each classroom would have to be taken apart and then eventually put back together.
When you break up a big file, the pieces are referred to as packets. And all those packets have to be put back together in a process that still exists today known as the Transmission Control Protocol. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) was a rule that instructed the network to break up large amounts of information into smaller packets of information, send them to a single destination, and put them back together in the correct order or sequence.
Protocol #2 – Internetwork Protocol (IP)
In order for the TCP or Transmission Control Protocol to work, all of the packets in a file need a clear destination. Sort of like an address. If you try to send information across a network, but that information doesn't know where to go, then it will never get anywhere. The Internetwork Protocol (IP) was a rule that said every computer, or server, needed an address, or a location number. That's why sometimes you hear people talk about a computer having an IP Address.
Topic #7 – From ARPANET to the Internet
Around the time that Vinton Cerf was meeting with his researchers to come up with rules and protocols for ARPANET, the Department of Defense was put in charge of ARPA, which meant that the organization had to change its name from ARPA to DARPA (Defense). But no one was going to suddenly change ARPANET to DARPANET because, well, that just sounded silly.
After the Internetwork Protocol was set up a few years later, it was common to hear people say that they were "connected to the Internet" because of an IP Address. And by 1980, even the engineers who had built ARPANET were telling other researchers to just call this big network of computers the Internet. With that, ARPANET was dead and the Internet was alive. Below is a really fast review of what we just talked about with a few extra pieces of information.
Topic #8 – About NET Neutrality
PART 2: CLASS ACTIVITIES
Activity #1 – Breaking Down Files
The goal of this activity is for all students to understand how small a file can actually be. Open up a new Notepad document and save it as "filesize.txt" in your "msc" folder, then follow the teacher's instructions.
Activity #2 – A Sequence of Events
Imagine that you texted your friend a message that said, "Meet Me at 3 by the Front Office," but when it arrived on your friend's phone, it said, "Me 3 Front at the Office by Meet." Do you think your friend might get a little bit confused? Everything would be out of order. Just think about how frustrating auto-correct can be from time to time. If your text says the wrong thing, your friend on the other end might think you mean something different than what you actually wanted to say.
The reason the Internet is successful is because it can take information from one location (even if that information is really big, like images, videos, or large text files) and move that information to another location. The way it does this is to break down large information files into smaller file packets, and then put it all back together in the correct order by the time it arrives at its destination on another computer or device.
The Internet has rules, or protocols, that guarantee information packets will be put into the correct sequence and arrive at the correct destination. Follow Steps 1-4 below to show that you can also put information in the correct order, or sequence.
STEP #1 – GETTING READY
Go up to the front table, pick up an index card and a pencil, then number your card 1-10 on left. Every student must have an index card and the cards will be turned in for DDP credit. Winning teams will be allowed to dig in the candy jar.
STEP #2 – REVIEWING HISTORY
Look at the 10 events listed below. These events have not been listed in the correct order. Try to remember the order that they happened in history. You may look back at old lessons or even Google the information if that will help.
Scientists work on the Manhattan Project
World War II Ends
The Soviet Union Builds an Atomic Bomb
Beyonce is Born
NASA is Created for Space Research
ARPA is Created for Government Research
U.S. Drops Two Atomic Bombs on Japan
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
World War II Begins
Sputnik is Launched
STEP #3 – CORRECTING THE SEQUENCE
When you think you know the correct order of the events above, go ahead and write them down in the correct order on your index card (1-10).
STEP #4 – TEAM MATCHING
When you have them all written down, check with your team to see if your cards match. If they do not match, see if you can figure out which of you have the correct order and which of you need to make some changes.
STEP #5 – READING AHEAD
If you and your team have agreed on the same sequence of events, go back and read through some of the topics we discussed in class. The teacher will put the correct order on the screen after every team has reached an agreement.
Posted in WD1
Rules of Communication
Web Design I
18 Weeks of Web History, HTML, CSS, and Applied Web Design
Web Design II
18 Weeks of HTML, CSS, and Design Essentials Mastery
Video Game Design II
18 Weeks of Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced JavaScript
W3Schools
Codecademy
UCertify

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


75% Hearing Returns, and Ministry to Baptist Pastor, Methodist Pastor, Mormon, Strangers, Prisoners, and….
so I decided to send it in part now.
I had a great and easy 12 hour drive to southwest Kansas and then ministered four separate times there, plus on the way home at a Maximum Security Prison in Tecumseh Nebraska on Monday. I also wrote a brand new article in my blog at the hotel the first night. It is called, "Don't Quit" and can be found here at www.anointed2go.com if you have not read it or want to share it with someone else. The fountain picture below is a vivid reminder of how God will flow through us if we Don't Quit.
My host home was way out in the country, seven miles out a dirt road where each evening I encountered skunks and coyotes on my journey there.


text:
FC Database
Koeberg Early Pliocene Cetacea
Fossil cetaceans from Duinefontein (Koeberg) an early Pliocene site on the southwestern Cape, South Africa
Romala Govender
Article number: 22.1.6
https://doi.org/10.26879/673
Copyright Palaeontological Association, February 2019
Plain-language and multi-lingual abstracts
Submission: 17 April 2016. Acceptance: 24 December 2018
{flike id=2398}
Koeberg is a Zanclean, subsurface locality on the west coast of South Africa, which was unearthed during the excavations of the Koeberg Power Station foundations. Mysticetes and odontocetes have been identified from this locality ca. 12 m below the surface. The preservational nature prevents species level identification in some instances. The balaenopterids are represented by specimens assigned to 'Balaenoptera' borealina, Diunatans sp. 1 and Fragilicetus sp. while other specimens are only identified as balaenopterids. The odontocetes have been referred to Odontoceti indet. (possibly delphinids), a beaked whale (cf. Izikoziphius) and a single phocoenid, cf. Australithax. There is undescribed odontocetes most likely physeterids. The balaenopterids and odontocetes suggest a connection of the west coast of South Africa to north Atlantic of Europe and North America, and eastern South Pacific.
Romala Govender. Research and Exhibitions, Iziko Museums of South Africa, P. O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rhodes Gift, 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
Keywords: cetaceans; balaenopterid; odontocete; Koeberg; Neogene; Pliocene
Final citation: Govender, Romala. 2019. Fossil cetaceans from Duinefontein (Koeberg) an early Pliocene site on the southwestern Cape, South Africa. Palaeontologia Electronica 22.1.6A 1-21. https://doi.org/10.26879/673
palaeo-electronica.org/content/2019/2398-koeberg-early-pliocene-cetacea
Copyright: February 2019 Palaeontological Association. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Onshore Cenozoic deposits are rare along South Africa's west coast, as a result of erosion from the interior during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic (Dingle et al., 1983; Pether et al., 2000; Roberts et al., 2006) as Africa moved northward to collide with Eurasia (Hendey, 1983). Africa was later separated from Eurasia when the Strait of Gibraltar was flooded during the late Miocene transgression (Hendey and Dingle, 1989; Potter and Szatmari, 2009) and was subsequently followed by the early Pliocene transgression (Hendey, 1981).
Thirty-five kilometres north of Cape Town and ca. 90 km south of Langebaanweg (a Mio-Pliocene site) is the early Pliocene site of Duinefontein (Koeberg). This subsurface locality, discovered in the 1970s when foundations for the Koeberg Power Station were being dug, extends to about 10-12 m below sea level and contained a rich fossil marine fauna (e.g., sharks, cetaceans, seals and teleost fish [vertebrae, teeth, scales and spines]) (Rogers, 2006; Table 1). It also produced other fossil taxa including ungulate, lagomorph, snake, turtle and penguins (Rogers, 1979; Table 1). The pinnipeds are represented by a single femur that has been assigned to Arctocephalus sp. (Avery and Klein, 2011) and other fragmentary remains (personal observations).
This study focuses on the cetaceans from Duinefontein (Koeberg) consisting of mysticetes and odontocetes. A comparison with Langebaanweg to the north will give further insight into the cetacean community along the South African west coast during the late Miocene to early Pliocene.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
Just inland of the west coast of South Africa is the Zanclean (early Pliocene) locality of Duinefontein (Koeberg) (below the Koeberg Power Station) on the farm Duynefontyne 34 (Rogers, 1979, 1980, 2006) (Figure 1.1). Rogers (1980, 1982) recognised marginal deposits that were non-calcareous and had phosphatised shell fragments at Melkbosstrand. He named it the Duynefontyn Member of the Varswater Formation (Rogers, 1979). He also suggested that it was equivalent to the Muishond Fontein Peletal Phosphorite member (MPPM) from Langebaanweg (Rogers, 1982). Roberts (2006) found similarities to the MPPM type area in thickness, size grade, presence of phosphatised shell fragments (black rather than amber) and palaeontology therefore he included it in Muishond Fontein Peletal Phosphorite member giving the Koeberg deposit a Zanclean age (early Pliocene). A relatively large marine avifauna exists at Duinefontein, 16 or 17 species, (Olson, 1985a; Table 1). Of these, 10 or 12 species are shared with Langebaanweg from the Langeberg Quartz Sand (LQSM) and MPPM (Table 1; Olson, 1983, 1985a, b) thus confirming its Zanclean (early Pliocene) age. During the transgressive phases of the late Miocene and early Pliocene, this deposit was most likely off shore (Rogers, 1979; Olson, 1985a).
This part of the MPPM is a prograding sequence that was initiated by the Zanclean (early Pliocene) transgression as it moved across the Malmesbury bedrock leaving no evidence of a transgression complex (Rogers, 1979, 1980). The fossils preserved in this member are ca 8.5 m below sea level, and the member is divided into five beds (Rogers, 1979, 1980, 1982) (Figure 1.2). The basal gravel bed is located above the bedrock (Rogers, 2006) and is interpreted as a high-energy shingle beach (Rogers, 2006 and references therein).
At the base of the MPPM at Koeberg there is a fine sand bed (1.8 m), that is slightly bioturbated, with horizontal laminae and phosphate, deposited by fast flowing water in upper flow regime conditions (Rogers, 2006; references therein). It contains sand prawn burrows (Callianassa) and was interpreted as a lower intertidal sandflat (references in Rogers, 2006). The most important bed is the 0.1m shark tooth bed interpreted as a tsunamite deposit (Rogers, 2006) with a rich fossil shark, teleost fish, marine mammal and bird fauna preserved (Table 1). The thickest bed of the MPPM at Koeberg is the upper completely bioturbated sand bed (9.2 m) (Rogers, 1979, 2006). It is interpreted as an upper-intertidal sandflat similar to those found in the Holocene Langebaan lagoon while the channel is interpreted as a meandering subtidal channel (Rogers, 2006, references therein). The rich fossil material includes terrestrial mammals and reptiles (Table 1; Rogers, 1979, 1980) while the terrestrial pollen is too sparse to identify (Rogers, 1979, 1980).
PALAEONENVIRONMENT RECONSTRUCTION
With each successive regression, a barrier spit developed parallel to the coast which absorbed the energy from the wave action characteristic of the west coast open ocean (Rogers, 1979, 1980). Its basal gravel bed formed on the horns of the beach cusps similar to the beach near Milnerton while the slightly bioturbated sand bed formed on the sheltered side of the barrier in a lagoon beach (Rogers, 1979). The adjacent intertidal mixed flats were dominated by burrowing infauna indicative of a slow sedimentation rate (Rogers, 1979, 1980). After the barrier spit was overtopped by storms and the retreating water scoured the intertidal flats, the shark tooth bed was concentrated into a lag deposit (Rogers, 1979, 1980). The intertidal mixed flats were drained by the subtidal channel (Rogers, 1979). The fossil seabirds suggest that the marine palaeoenvironment was sub-Antarctic (Olson, 1983). The presence of entirely pelagic, migrating and non-breeding birds indicates that the area was open to the ocean at times (Olson, 1985a). This would suggest that the depositional environment switched between open beach and lagoon setting during regressive phases (Rogers, 1979).
Eleven cetacean fossil specimens (Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7) have been included in this study; all specimens are housed at the Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town. The cetacean fossils were recovered during three excavations of the Koeberg Power station foundations, about 35 km north of Cape Town. They are fragmentary but there are specimens that retain taxonomic information. Vertebrae, teeth, cranial fragments and petrotympanic bones represent both mysticetes and odontocetes. The fossil remains from Duinefontein (Koeberg) are abraded, and some have a polished surface (stage 2; Boessenecker et al., 2014) (Figure 1.3-5). The rich fossil material was recovered from the shark tooth bed (Rogers, 1979, 1982, 2006). The anatomical terms for the odontocetes follows Mead and Fordyce (2009) while the terminology for the mysticete descriptions follows that Boessenecker (2013). The comparative analysis is based on the following references; extant balaenopterids (Ekdale et al., 2011), cf. Plesiobalaenoptera (Govender et al., 2016), Plesiobalaenoptera (Bisconti, 2010), Incakujira (Marx and Kohno, 2016), Fragilicetus (Bisconti and Bosselaers, 2016), Parietobalaena (Kellogg, 1969a), Pelocetus (Kellogg, 1969a) Uranocetus (Steeman, 2009), 'Balaenoptera' borealina (Van Beneden, 1882; Whitmore and Kaltenbach, 2008), Diunatans (Bosselaers and Post, 2010), Diorocetus (Kellogg, 1969a), Thinocetus (Kellogg, 1969b), Piscolithax tedford and Piscolithax boreios (Barnes, 1984), Globicephalinae (Boessenecker et al., 2015), Australithax (Muizon, 1988a), Lomacetus (Muizon, 1988b), Pterophocaena (Murakami et al., 2012), Haborophocoena (Ichishima and Kimura, 2005), Numataphocoena (Ichishima and Kimura, 2000), Phocoena (Gutstein et al., 2014), Semirostrum (Racicot et al., 2014) and Tursiops (Mead and Fordyce, 2009).
als = anterolateral shelf, ap = anterior process, CN VII = endocranial opening of the facial canal, cp = conical process, dpp = dorsal posterior prominence, elf = endolymphatic foramen, eo, Eustachian opening, fc = fenestra cochleae (Round Window), fv = fenestra vestibuli (Oval Window), IAM (CNVIII) = internal acoustic meatus, ir = involucral ridge, iv = involucrum, lp = projection of the lateral tuberosity, max = maxilla, mf = median furrow; mr = main ridge, pcc = posterior cochlear crest, plf = perilymphatic foramen, pc = pars cochlearis, premax = premaxilla, pp = posterior process, sm f= suprameatal fossa, tc = tympanic cavity, teg tymp = tegmen tympani, v= vomer.
Institutional abbreviation. SAM-PQMBD-South African Museum Melkbos Duinefontein; SAM-PQL-South African Museum Quaternary Palaeontology Langebaanweg. SAM-MBK-ZM-South African Museum Marine Biology, Zoology Mammals. IRSNB-Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique.
DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED FOSSIL CETACEANS FROM DUINEFONTEIN
The descriptions are based on relatively well-preserved specimens, which allow taxonomic identification. Taphonomic damage to some of the bones identified as shark tooth marks is discussed elsewhere (Govender, 2015). To date no terrestrial carnivore damage has been identified (see Cione et al., 2010). To identify these specimens, they have been compared with other similar aged assemblages and specimens in the literature, at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and at Iziko South African Museum.
BALAENOPTERIDAE Gray, 1864
BALAENOPTERA Lacepede, 1804
'Balaenoptera' borealina Van Beneden, 1880
Figure 2.1-6; Figure 3.9-12
Referred material. SAM-PQMBD-81 - laterally incomplete left tympanic bulla and the sigmoid process is missing (Figure 2.1-6; Table 2). SAM-PQMBD-526 - right periotic. The posterior process is missing (Figure 3.9-12; Table 3).
Locality and horizon. SAM-PQMBD-81 - Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Power station, pickups - reactor site. SAM-PQMBD-526 - Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Reactor site dumps.
Age. Zanclean (early Pliocene).
Diagnosis. Synapomorphies shared with balaenopterids: reniform shape, rounded anterolateral border. Synapomorphies shared with 'Balaenoptera' borealina: the conical process is tall and triangular; the lateral surface is sinusoidal; the anteroventral corner is angular; ovoid Eustachian opening; the main ridge is parallel to the involucral ridge and ventral keel present. It differs from 'B.' borealina in that it falls outside the size range of 100-123 mm for the Lee Creek specimens and 111 mm and 114 mm for the European specimens (Whitmore and Kaltenbach, 2008).
A comparison with the 'B.' borealina from Belgium, showed that SAM-PQMBD-81 most closely resembles IRSNB M 777. They share the following synapomorphies: wide, triangular conical process; dorsoventrally narrow; longer anterior lobe; posterior lobe less expanded; ventral keel; similarly, convex lateral surface and slightly concave involucrum surface. Autapomorphies of SAM-PQMBD-81 Eustachian opening is wider and the antero-lateral shelf is better developed. SAM-PQMBD-81 has a rounded posterior end whereas IRSNB M 777 is pointed.
SAM-PQMBD-526 shares the following synapomorphies with 'Balaenoptera' borealina: pars cochlearis is short and wide; broad, trianglular anterior process; large, circular CNVIII; promontorial groove present.
Description. SAM-PQMBD-81 (Figure 2.1) is a relatively large tympanic bulla (94.79 mm) has a reniform shape and rounded anterodorsal corner typical of extinct and extant balaenopterids. The width of the tympanic bulla is 66.93% smaller than the length, it must be noted that the bone incomplete laterally. The tall and triangular conical process (Figure 2.1) is like 'Balaenoptera'. borealina, 'Balaenoptera' musculoides, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Incakujira and Plesiobalaenoptera and is taller than Parietobalaena, Pelocetus and Uranocetus. The involucral ridge is retracted from the ventral margin as seen in 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides, Incakujira, Parietobalaena, Diorocetus, Pelocetus, Thinocetus, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera and extant balaenopterids (Figure 2.2). The main ridge forms a ventral keel (Figure 2.2) as seen in 'B.' borealina. The anteroventral corner is angular like Balaenoptera mysticetes, Balaenoptera omurai, Balaenoptera musculus and Balaenoptera physalus, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Parietobalaena, 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides and Pelocetus. It differs from other extant balaenopterids and Incakujira, which have a rounded anteroventral corner. The Eustachian opening is wide and ovoid which as in 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides, B. musculus, B. omurai, B. physalus, Incakujira, and Parietobalaena (more basal for this character, Bosselaers, personal commun., 2017). The posterior end is wider than the anterior end and is angled to the rest of the bone similar to 'B.' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Incakujira, Pelocetus, Parietobalaena, Uranocetus and Megaptera. The involucrum surface is slightly concave like 'B.' borealina, Balaenoptera borealis, B. musculus, Megaptera, SAM-PQL-21230, Parietobalaena and Incakujira. In dorsal view, the anterolateral shelf is moderately well developed.
The periotic of SAM-PQMBD-526 is similar to extant balaenopterids, 'Balaenoptera' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera in that the pars cochlearis (promontorium) is expanded (Figure 3.9-12; Table 3). The anterior process is a broad triangle (Figure 3.9) like 'B.' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera and the extant balaenopterids but differs from Diunatans, Fragilicetus, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Balaenoptera edeni, Balaenoptera musculus, Balaenoptera omurai and Balaenoptera physalus where the anterior process is narrower. The pars cochlearis is similar to Balaenoptera acutorostrata, 'B.' borealina (IRSNB M 775B), B. edeni but is shorter, wider and flatter than cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera and differs from Diunatans, B. musculus, B. physalus, B. borealis and Megaptera novaeangliae which have a globular pars cochlearis, and Fragilicetus which has a flatter pars cochlearis. A promontorial groove present in SAM-PQMBD-526 same as 'B.' borealina, Diunatans and Fragilicetus.
The very small flange of the lateral tuberosity is dorsventrally thick (Figure 3.9) similar to Diunatans, Fragilicetus, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, Balaenoptera edeni and Balaenoptera acutorostrata but differs from 'B.' borealina, B. borealis, B. musculus, B. physalus and Megaptera novaeangliae which have a larger, better developed flange. Fenestra cochleae is separated from the perilymphatic foramen, which is similar to extant adult balaenopterids but differs from Eschrichtius robustus, some juvenile/foetal balaenopterids (Bisconti, 2001), B. borealis and in fossil balaenopterid taxa such as 'B.' borealina, Fragilicetus, Diunatans, 'B.' sibbaldina and 'B.' musculoides, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera where they are confluent. There is a large, circular opening for CNVIII (IAM) and a small elliptical opening for CNVII (Figure 3.12) similar to 'B.' borealina, Diunatans. The IAM is separated from the CN VII opening by a relatively thick crista transversa as in 'B.' borealina, Diunatans, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera.
FRAGILICETUS Bisconti and Bosselaers, 2016
Fragilicetus sp.
Figure 3.1-4
Referred material. SAM-PQMBD-49 - a weathered and incomplete right periotic lacking the posterior process (Figure 3.1-4; Table 3).
Locality and horizon. SAM-PQMBD-49 – Koeberg (Duinefontein), Duinefontein A, Power station, pump station, -8.5m (bsl).
Diagnosis. Synapomorphies shared with Fragilicetus: well-developed embayment between the anterior process; promontorial groove, opening for CN VIII (IAM) is circular; crista transversa is broad and slightly recessed. Autapomorphies: elongated, inflated pars cochlearis; narrow triangular anterior process directed anteriorly.
Description. The narrow triangular anterior process (SAM-PQMBD-49) (Figure 3.1-4; Table 3) differs from Diunatans and Fragilicetus, which have an isosceles triangle anterior process, and cf. Plesiobalaenoptera (SAM-PQL-20482, SAM-PQL-55001 and SAM-PQL-21230) and Plesiobalaenoptera and 'Balaenoptera' borealina where it is wider and shorter. Balaenoptera borealis has a wider and more angled anterior process. Pars cochlearis is inflated towards the distal end (cochlear foramen) and is longer anteroposteriorly (37.11 mm) than transversely (23.37 mm) giving it an elongated appearance (Figure 3.1-4), which differs from the broadly expanded one seen in Fragilicetus, 'Balaenoptera' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Diunatans and the extant balaenopterids. A promontorial groove is present similar to 'B.' borealina, Diunatans and Fragilicetus. Well-developed embayment between the pars cochlearis and anterior process (Figure 3.1) like Fragilicetus, Balaenoptera musculus and Balaenoptera physalus. Differs from the 'B.' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Diunatans and the remaining extant balaenopterids where the pars cochlearis is continuous with the anterior process (age (ontogeny) related, Bosselaers, personal commun., 2017). The small flange on the lateral tuberosity (Figure 3.1) is similar to Fragilicetus but smaller than Diunatans, 'B.' borealina, Balaenoptera borealis, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Balaenoptera omurai and Balaenoptera physalis.
No suprameatal fossa (Figure 3.2) as in Balaenoptera borealis, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, Balaenoptera physalis, Balaenoptera omurai, Balaenoptera musculus, Balaenoptera edeni and Megaptera, while cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Balaenoptera acutorostrata have a distinct suprameatal fossa. The opening for CN VIII (IAM) is circular, similar to Diunatans, 'B.' borealina, Fragilicetus, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera and that of CN VII is damaged (possible boring damage). The cochlear fenenstra is confluent with the perilymphatic foramen, similar to Eschrichtius robustus, some juvenile/foetal balaenopterids (Bisconti 2001), B. borealis and in fossil balaenopterid taxa such as 'B.' sibbaldina and 'B.' musculoides, Diunatans, Fragilicetus, 'B.' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera, but differs from extant adult balaenopterids.
DIUNATANS Bosselaers and Post 2010
Diunatans sp. 1
Referred specimen. SAM-PQMBD-95 - right periotic that is abraded with a damaged surface (Figure 3.5-8; Table 3).
Locality and horizon. SAM-PQMBD-95 - Duinefontein construction site.
Diagnosis. Synapomorphies shared with Diunatans: an isosceles triangular anterior process; pars cochlearis has a short contact with the anterior process; a bulbous pars cochlearis; a small flange on the lateral tuberosity; a large circular CNVIII; the CNVIII separated from CN VII by a thick crista transversa.
Autapomorphies: SAM-PQMBD-95 is smaller (5 cm vs 10 cm); the bulbous pars cochlearis is higher and narrower (20.95 mm vs 47 mm [holotype] and 39 mm [paratype]); L/W ratio 1.39 vs 1.23-1.26; fenestra cochleae is separate from the perilymphatic foramen.
Description. The anterior process of SAM-PQMBD-95 (Figure 3.5; Table 3) forms an isosceles triangle like that of Diunatans, Balaenoptera acutorostrata and Balaenoptera borealis. It has a bulbous pars cochlearis (Figure 3.5) similar to Diunatans, Parietobalaena, Balaenoptera musculus, Balaenoptera phsalus Balaenoptera borealis and Megaptera novaeangliae and differs from the broadly expanded one seen in cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Pelocetus, Uranocetus, Megaptera miocaena and the remaining extant balaenopterids. The L/W ratio of the pars cochlearis is 1.39 which greater than Diunatans luctoretemergo which ranges from 1.23-1.26. The pars cochlearis has a short contact with the anterior process as seen in cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Diunatans, Uranocetus and the remaining extant balaenopterids. The small flange on the lateral tuberosity (Figure 3.5) is similar to Diunatans and B. acutorostrata but smaller than B. borealis, B.omurai and B. physalis.
Fenestra cochleae is separated from the perilymphatic foramen similar to adult balaenopterids and M. miocaena but differs from Eschrichtius robustus, some juvenile/foetal balaenopterids (Bisconti, 2001), B. borealis and in fossil balaenopterid taxa such as Diunatans, 'B.' borealina, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, 'B.' sibbaldina and 'B.' musculoides where the perilymphatic foramen is confluent with the fenestra cochleae. The CNVIII (IAM) opening is circular, similar to Diunatans, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera and Plesiobalaenoptera.
BALAENOPTERIDAE indet.
Figure 4.1-12
Referred specimens. SAM-PQMBD-80 - right tympanic bulla is incomplete laterally with the conical and sigmoid processes missing (Figure 4.1-4; Table 2). SAM-PQMBD-50 - an incomplete right tympanic bulla (Figure 4.5-8; Table 2). SAM-PQMBD-48 - a right tympanic bulla that is incomplete posteriorly and laterally (Figure 4.9-12; Table 2). It is broken posteriorly and the lateral surface is incomplete.
Locality and horizon. SAM-PQMBD-80 is from Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Power station, pickups - reactor site, -8.2 m ̶ -8.5 m below sea level (bsl). SAM-PQMBD-50 and SAM-PQMBD-48 are from Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Power station, pump station, -8.5 m below sea level (bsl).
Diagnosis. SAM-PQMBD-50 and SAM-PQ-MBD-48 synapomorphies shared with extant and extinct balaenopterids: tympanic bulla is reniform shaped; longitudinal furrow towards the ventral border of the lateral surface; and planar involucrum surface. The involucral ridge of SAM-PQMBD-50 is retracted from the posterior end similar to the balaenids, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, Balaenoptera borealis, Balaenoptera musculus, Balaenoptera physalus, Eschrichtius robustus and Megaptera novaeangliae. The anteroventral corner of SAM-PQMBD-48 is angular similar to that of Balaenoptera omurai and Balaenoptera musculus.
SAM-PQMBD-80 synapomorphies shared with extinct and extant balaenopterids: reniform tympanic bulla; planar involucrum surface; involucrum is retracted from the ventral margin. SAM-PQMBD-80 is similar to 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, B. omurai and B. musculus as it has angular anteroventral corner. There is a weakly developed longitudinal furrow along the ventral margin of the lateral surface similar to B. musculus, B. physalus and B. omurai.
Description. SAM-PQMBD-80 (Figure 4.1-4), SAM-PQMBD-50 (Figure 4.5-8) and SAM-PQMBD-48 (Figure 4.9-12) tympanic bullae like fossil and extant balaenopterids are reniform shaped. Longitudinal furrow along the medial margin of the ventral surface of SAM-PQMBD-80 (Figure 4.2) and SAM-PQMBD-48 (Figure 4.9) similar to B. musculus, B. physalus and B. omurai. Longitudinal furrow midway on SAM-PQMBD-50 (Figure 4.5) similar to Eubalaena, B. musculus, B. physalus, B. oumrai and B. edeni.
Involucral ridge is retracted from the ventral margin in SAM-PQMBD-80, SAM-PQMBD-50 and SAM-PQMBD-48 as seen 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides, Incakujira, Parietobalaena, Diorocetus, Pelocetus, Thinocetus, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera and extant balaenopterids. The ventral margin of SAM-PQMBD-50 is thickened similar to Incakujira. SAM-PQMBD-80 and SAM-PQMBD-48 have angular anterodorsal corner similar to 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides, Diunatans, B. mysticetes, B. omurai, B. musculus and B. physalus, cf. Plesiobalaenoptera, Plesiobalaenoptera, Pareitobalaena and Pelocetus. SAM-PQMBD-50, other extant balaenopterids, Incakujira have a rounded anteroventral corner.
The main ridge is parallel to the involucral ridge in SAM-PQMBD-80 and SAM-PQMBD-50 (Figure 4.3, 4.7) similar to 'B.' borealina, 'B.' musculoides, B. borealis and cf. Plesiobalaenoptera. In SAM-PQMBD-80 both ridges are narrow, prominent and have a curved appearance while in SAM-PQMBD-50 the prominent main ridge is narrow becoming broad and flat posteriorly (Figure 4.7). The main ridge of SAM-PQMBD-48 (Figure 4.11) is relatively wide and slightly mediolaterally flattened and extends to the anterior end while the involucral ridge narrows in an anterior direction. In all three specimens, they merge at the anterior end while they are retracted from the posterior end, as in the balaenids, B. bonaerensis, B. borealis, B. musculus, B. physalus, Eschrichtius robustus and Megaptera novaeangliae. Differs from in 'B.' borealina, 'Balaenoptera' musculoides and cf. Plesiobalaenoptera where the involucral ridge reaches the distal end. Involucrum surface of SAM-PQMBD-81, SAM-PQMBD-50 and SAM-PQMBD-48 are planar as seen in B. omurai, B. physalus, B. edeni and SAM-PQL-55001 (cf. Plesiobalaenoptera taxon from Langebaanweg).
PHOCOENIDAE Gray, 1825
cf. Australithax Muizon 1988a
Referred specimen. SAM-PQMBD-363 - left periotic is very small with the anterior and posterior processes preserved (Figure 5; Table 3).
Locality and horizon. Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Reactor site dumps.
Diagnosis. Synapomorphies shared with Australithax: sinusoidal outline; anteriorly directed pars cochlearis; similar posterior process with three-sided concave articulating surface that is directed posterolaterally; fossa capitis mallei similar shape but is larger in Australithax; ventral opening of the Fallopian aqueduct is similarly recessed. Autapomorphies: anterior process is larger, antero-medially directed and bifid dorsoventral tip, Australithax - groove between the cochlear fenestra and groove for the stapedial muscle.
Description. SAM-PQMBD-363 has a sinusoidal outline similar to Piscolithax tedfordi, Piscolithax boreios, Piscolithax longirostris, Australithax, Globicephalinae and kentriodontids. It has a large anterior and posterior processes like Piscolithax tedfordi and Piscolithax boreios but is larger than Piscolithax longirostris. It has a large posterior process like Australithax but Australithax has a smaller and short anterior process. It is more sinusoidal than Lomacetus but has a similarly large anterior process. The anterior process of SAM-PQMBD-363 is (Figure 5.1) similar to Piscolithax tedfordi and Piscolithax boreios but differs from Lomacetus which does not have a bifid tip. The anterior process of Piscolithax longirostris is wider and shorter while the anterior process of Australithax is shorter and narrower. Pterophocaena and Phocoena also have a square and flat anterior process whereas Numataphocoena is semi-circular with a concave surface and Haborophocoena is a wide oval. The anterior process of Australithax is smaller than SAM-PQMBD-363 and is not bifid. The groove for CNVII (stapedial muscle) is similarly wide in Pterophocaena and Phocoena, Piscolithax tedfordi, Piscolithax boreios and Australithax but is wider than Numataphocoena, Semirostrum, Haborophocoena and Phocoena. It is narrower than Piscolithax longirostris.
The pars cochlearis (promontorium) is globular and angled towards the anterior process similar to Piscolithax tedfordi and Australithax, and more than Lomacetus but less than Piscolithax boreios and Piscolithax longirostris. It differs from Globicephalinae, which has a globular pars cochlearis and not angled. Although it is directed anteriorly it is more globular in Pterophocaena, Phocoena, Numataphocoena, Haborophocoena and Semirostrum. The anterior incisure is narrow in SAM-PQMBD-363, Piscolithax tedfordi, Piscolithax longirostris, Piscolithax boreios, Haborophocoena, Semirostrum and Phocoena while it is wider in Australithax, Numataphocoena and Pterophocaena. Fenestra rotunda is positioned higher up on pars cochlearis of Australithax and faces more ventrally than SAM-PQMBD-363. Australithax has an uneven pars cochlearis surface. Distance between the ventral opening of the Fallopian aqueduct and posterior process is smaller in SAM-PQMBD-363.
The internal acoustic meatus (IAM) is large in SAM-PQMBD-363, Lomacetus, Australithax, Piscolithax longirostris, Piscolithax tedfordi and Piscolithax boreios but it is circular in Lomacetus and SAM-PQMBD-363 and takes up more of the cerebral surface (Figure 4.2) while it is elliptical in Pterophocaena, Phocoena, Numataphocoena, Haborophocoena and Semirostrum. Aqaeductus vestibuli is found in a depression in SAM-PQMBD-363, Australithax, Lomacetus, Piscolithax tedfordi and Piscolithax boreios. The posterior process of SAM-PQMBD-363 is directed ventrally and has a concave three-sided articulating facet that is directed posterolaterally similar to Australithax, Piscolithax longirostris, Piscolithax tedfordi, Piscolithax boreios and Lomacetus. The mallear fossa is oval and shallow compared with Piscolithax tedfordi and Piscolithax boreios but similar to Lomacetus.
ODONTOCETI indet.
Referred specimen. SAM-PQMBD-53A - complete tooth with an incomplete root and damaged enamel (Figure 6.1). SAM-PQMBD-175 - single complete tooth (Figure 6.2). SAM-PQMBD-1200 - is part of the right tympanic bulla (Figure 6.3-4).
Locality and horizon. Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Power station, pump station -8.5 m. SAM-PQMBD-175 - Duinefontein, Koeberg A, Reactor site dumps. SAM-PQMBD-1200 - Duinefontein, Koeberg.
Diagnosis. SAM-PQMBD-53A synapomorphies shared with delphinids with short conical crown that is slightly recurved. Below the crown there is a shallow groove just about the proximal root typical of the Delphinoidea. SAM-PQMBD-175 has peg-like appearance like delphinids. The crown is short and has the same width along its length. SAM-PQMBD-1200 has a total length of 30.43 mm, which is within the range of delphininae (Kasuya, 1973); presence of median furrow considered plesiomorphic character (Kasuya, 1973). These specimens are therefore referred to Odontoceti indet.
Description. The crown of SAM-PQMBD-53A is short, conical and slightly recurved with a worn tip (Figure 6.1). Below the crown there is a shallow groove just about the proximal root. The root is thick near the crown and tapers distally where it is damaged. SAM-PQMBD-53A has an anteroposteriorly compressed root and crown. The crown of SAM-PQMBD-53A has a conical shape, curves slightly lingually and has no accessory cusps.
This single complete delphinid tooth (SAM-PQMBD-175) has a slight chip on the enamel (Figure 6.2). The complete root is wide proximally and tapers to a point distally. The slightly curved crown is short and broad with a rounded tip. It is positioned at an angle to the root. The labial surface is convex, and the lingual surface is concave. It has a peg-like appearance.
SAM-PQMBD-1200 is a small tympanic bulla (30.43 mm). The involucrum is flat (Figure 6.3-4). The facet for the posterior process is narrower and small. SAM-PQMBD-1200 has a narrow inner posterior prominence (Figure 6.4).
ODONTOCETI Flower, 1867
ZIPHIIDAE Gray, 1850
cf. IZIKOZIPHIUS Bianucci, Lambert, Post 2007
Referred specimen. SAM-PQMBD-91 - is the rostral part of the skull of a beaked whale skull (Figure 7).
Locality and horizon. Duinefontein construction site.
Diagnosis. The maxilla flares laterally in a similar position in Izikoziphius; vomer fills the mesorostral groove and is flanked by shallow lateral grooves; vomer decreases in height rostrally; alveolar groove is present but is deeper in SAM-PQMBD-91; mesolateral groove is filled with the vomer; wide rostrum; higher than wide towards the posterior end (identification confirmed by O. Lambert, personal commun., 2017).
Description. The rostral end of a beaked whale skull shows damage due to weathering and is broken posteriorly. The fragmentary rostrum is elongated and narrows rostrally (Figure 7.1). On the dorsal surface below the ridge there is a groove that becomes deeper rostrally (Figure 7.1). There are diagonal sulci in the groove. Posteriorly the groove becomes narrow until it forms a ledge of laterally projecting bone. The premaxilla is formed by two unfused parts rostrally (Figure 7.1). They are flanked by the alveolar sulcus on either side that become deeper posteriorly and end as foramina on each side. At the posterior end there is a triangular, rugose slightly raised vomer.
Premaxillae and vomer are the best preserved (Figure 7.2). The skull narrows in the rostral direction with the tip broken off. Ventrally the vomer extends to the rostral end with a sulcus on either side. There is evidence of fusing of the vomer rostrally (Figure 7.2). The premaxilla forms a thin ridge in dorsal view and the steep sides reach a ridge in the middle. The surface of the ridge is rugose. Laterally, there is a thin ridge formed by the premaxillae which extend further laterally in a posterior direction to the level of the posterior end of the foramina. Above this there are grooves. The lateral surface of the bone is flattened towards the rostral end.
Comparison with Other Early Pliocene Cetacean Assemblages
The marine mammal fossils from South Africa's west coast are being studied to reconstruct the Mio-Pliocene marine palaeoenvironment along the west coast and to understand the faunal changes that have occurred over the past 5 Ma. Three balaenopterids (cf. Plesiobalaenoptera) have been described from Langebaanweg, and an unidentified odontocete is present while three balaeonpterids ('Balaenoptera 'borealina, Diunatans sp. 1, Fragilicetus sp.), one porpoise (cf. Autralithax), one beaked whale cranial fragment (cf. Izikoziphius), unidentified balaenopterids and possible delphinids have been described from Koeberg. These belong to extinct taxa. There were 10 new Langhian-Messinian (mid-late Miocene) beaked whale species described from trawled material off the west coast of South Africa (Bianucci et al., 2007, 2008). During the late Miocene - early Pliocene (Messinian - Zanclean) along the southwestern Cape coast there were six mysticete taxa compared with seven present in the region today while there are 28 odontocetes living on the coast (Findlay et al., 1992; Best, 2007) while in the past there were potentially only five odontocetes living along the coast. Only one phocoenid has lived off the coast at 5 Ma and at present (Best, 2007).
When compared with Pliocene marine mammal localities the cetaceans along the southwestern coast of South Africa all belong to extinct taxa unlike those in the Yorktown Formation (odontocetes - modern in their makeup, eight delphinids, three ziphiids and no porpoises), Australia and New Zealand (have balaenids, six balaenopterids, three delphinids and a sperm whale) including extant taxa (Boessenecker, 2013; Fitzgerald, 2004, 2005). The eastern North Pacific cetacean fauna is mostly extinct (12 mysticetes including a gray whale and balaenids, two to three sperm whales and a number of porpoises) but there are also some extant taxa (Boessenecker, 2013). The south-western Cape shares the following cetaceans with North Atlantic localities of a similar age; cf. Plesiobalaenoptera with Italy (three balaenids, few porpoises, four balaenopterids and delphinds and early gray whale Eschrichtioides) (Boessenecker, 2013; Bisconti, 2008), Diunatans, Fragilicetus and 'B.' borealina with Belgium and the Netherlands (a number of balaenopterids, three balaenids, one porpoise, two delphinids and three ziphiids) as well as 'B.' borealina with the Yorktown Formation (Whitmore and Kaltenbach, 2008; Boesselaer and Post, 2010; Boessenecker, 2013; Bisconti and Bosselaer, 2016). The southwestern Cape has remains of a porpoise (cf. Australithax) similar to the Pisco Formation, eastern South Pacific, (diverse fauna - odontocete, one sperm whale, two phocoenids, one ziphiid, several mysticetes, one cetothere, two sperm whales, two delphinine delphinids, globicephaline delphinids, one pontoporiid and indeterminate monodontid). They were collected as isolated elements in the Pisco Formation (Lambert, personal commun., 2017). The Yorktown Formation (North Atlantic), Australia and New Zealand (South Pacific) differ from South Africa's south-western coast in that no porpoises have been described (Boessenecker, 2013). Herpetocetus has also not been described from Italy (Boessenecker, 2013) or South Africa. The beaked whale fauna off South Africa's south and south-western coasts was very diverse during the Mio-Pliocene and included at least 10 species (Bianucci et al., 2007, 2008) similar to today with at least nine ziphiid species that are resident or visit South African waters (Bianucci et al., 2008). South Africa has a higher beaked whale diversity during the Mio-Pliocene compared with other similar aged sites. No cetotheriid, balaenids or gray whale have been described from the South African west coast to date.
South Africa is only the second occurrence of the Diunatans, represented by a smaller species, and Fragilicetus which link the fauna of the southwestern Cape with the North Sea while the presence of 'B.' borealina links with the eastern and western North Atlantic. Australithax (porpoise) suggests a link to the eastern South Pacific.
Palaeoenvironment and Biogeography
Although upwelling is indicated from about 15 Ma, establishment of the Benguela Upwelling System (BUS) was marked by the change to cold water dominant nanoplankton in the late Miocene (7.2 Ma)-early Pliocene on the northern Namibian coast (Siesser, 1980). Decrease in the sea surface temperature and ambient temperature in the early Pliocene on the southern African coast and increased nutrient production of the BUS were key factors influencing biotas of the period (Tankard and Rogers, 1978; Siesser, 1980; Siesser and Dingle, 1981). Large phytoplankton populations are produced by the cold nutrient-rich water that results from the surface water being removed offshore by the Coriolis effect on the prevailing summer south east wind, making this the world's richest fishing ground (Ansorge and Lutjeharms, 2007; Rommerskirchen et al., 2011). Increased productivity in the Cape Basin from 6.7-6.5 Ma matched similar documented changes in equatorial and northeast Pacific and equatorial Indian Oceans between 6.9 Ma and 6.5 Ma (Diester-Haass et al., 2002).
Higher sea levels created islands off South Africa's west coast during the Zanclean (5 Ma) (Hendey, 1981; Erasmus, 2005; Roberts et al., 2006); areas of high relief, particularly in the vicinity of Langebaanweg, formed an archipelago of granite islands in a shallow sea channel that separated St. Helena Bay and Saldanha Bay, while other islands are indicated by the presence of aluminium phosphate (leached from bird guano) in the Saldanha and Posberg Peninsula (Hendey, 1981; Hendey and Dingle, 1989; Erasmus, 2005; Roberts et al., 2011). The Cape Flats was also inundated at this time, linking False and Table Bays and forming islands off Table Mountain and other peaks off the Cape peninsula (Olson, 1983). Duinefontein (Koeberg) was open to the ocean from time to time but during deposition a barrier spit formed a lagoon in the area (Rogers, 1979).
A number of small oceanic islands make up the sub-Antarctic region (Briggs, 2003). Kespka et al. (2006) identified Australia/New Zealand (outside the Antarctic convergence) as ancestral habitats for the penguin clade, followed by South America and the Antarctic peninsula. During the Miocene and Pliocene four species of penguins are known from South Africa like the Falkland Islands today where there are five breeding penguin species (Thomas and Ksepka, 2013). A high sympatric penguin diversity in the South Atlantic is implied by the large number of penguin species in the Mio-Pliocene of South Africa and the Falkland Island today (Thomas and Ksepka, 2013).
During the transgressive phases in the late Miocene and early Pliocene the Strait of Gibraltar was flooded (Hendey and Dingle, 1989; Potter and Szatmari, 2009). The Strait of Gibraltar is considered an important link that allowed marine mammals access to the Atlantic Ocean and later after the Messinian Salinity Crisis allowed marine mammals to recolonise the Mediterranean (Peredo and Uhen, 2016). This would have provided an ideal passageway to allow the cf. Plesiobalaenoptera taxa to move into the southern Atlantic. The North Sea basin was also linked to the Atlantic Ocean in the Pliocene (Lambert and Gigase, 2007). This connection between the oceans would have allowed cetaceans to move between basins and oceans. This could have seen Diunatans, Fragilicetus and 'B. ' borealina being able to migrate between the north and south Atlantic basins and oceans. The Diunatans specimen from the west coast of South Africa may represent a new species, which can only be confirmed once more material is found.
The dispersal of "southern otariids" into the Southern Hemisphere from the North Pacific was related to the decrease in subtropical sea surface temperatures and an increase in equatorial productivity (Churchill et al., 2014). This dispersal took place between 6 and 7 Ma when there were unusually cool sea surface temperatures and high productivity in the eastern equatorial Pacific (Churchill et al., 2014). Inguza and/or Nucleornis penguin lineages dispersed from South America or Austro-New Zealand to intermediate oceanic islands and arrived in southern Africa in the early Pliocene (Ksepka and Thomas, 2011). The Antarctic Circumpolar current (ACC), which flows to the south of Africa, and the South Atlantic current (SAC) continue along the west coast of Africa as the Benguela Current, probably played a role in the dispersal of penguins to Africa (Ksepka and Thomas, 2011). The cetaceans from the Pacific could have followed a similar route during the early Pliocene to reach the west coast of South Africa. An alternate route during this time could have been through the Central American Seaway which still linked the Pacific with the Atlantic Oceans (Lambert and Gigase, 2007; Peredo and Uhen, 2016).
The increased nutrient production in the Benguela Upwelling System would have been able to support a varied cetacean population that most likely exploited different niches as suggested by the fossil cetaceans described from Langebaanweg and now Koeberg. The fossil cetacean taxa identified from Langebaanweg and Koeberg include at least six mysticetes with most of the odontocetes only identified to the family level and others remaining unidentified due to poor preservation; a single porpoise has been identified. The trawled fossil beaked whales suggest a very rich beaked whale community on the west and south coasts during the middle to late Miocene (Bianucci et al., 2007, 2008). The fossil and extant South African beaked whale faunas have a wide range of body sizes that may relate to different dietary niches and a wide use of the water column (Bianucci et al., 2007, 2008).
Extant right whale and humpback whales migrate between feeding areas and breeding grounds and have temporary residential groups that live off the west coast (Barendse et al., 2010, 2011). The area around Saldanha Bay/St Helena Bay is a summer feeding ground for humpback and southern right whales on the southwestern Cape coast (Barendse et al., 2010, 2011). With large lagoons or embayments present during the early Pliocene it is possible that cetaceans also exploited these feeding grounds year-round.
Pimiento et al. (2017) suggest that extinction and erosion of functional diversity was driven by sea level changes that resulted in habitat loss as well as oceanographic changes, changes in productivity and changes in circulation. The penguins experienced a reduction in diversity from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene (Thomas and Ksepka, 2013). This was most likely a result of the changes in sea level and restructuring of the marine community around the western Cape (Thomas and Ksepka, 2013). There is also a turnover in the marine avifauna, which are now present in the sub-Antarctic (Olson, 1983). Arctocephalus pusillus replaced Homiphoca capensis as the dominant seal on the South African coast. The Pleistocene regression led to the reduction in the number of islands, which would have provided haul-out sites by the phocid seals (Curtis et al., 2009). Fur seals replaced the phocid seals on the South Africa's west coast due to their ability to exploit shallow water (David, 1987). Presence of rocky and steeper beaches are more easily exploited by fur seals. This was contemporaneous with the replacement of phocids in South America (Valenzuela-Toro, 2013).
There was a varied cetacean community off the South African west coast five million years ago similar to the one seen today. Duinefontein (Koeberg) was open to the ocean and its wave action but a lagoon or large embayment formed once the barrier spit had developed, and this was when the fossils were deposited (Rogers, 1979). The balaenopterids present are 'B.' borealina, Diunatans sp. 1 and Fragilicetus sp. while other remaining specimens are considered indeterminate balaenopterids. Diunatans sp. 1 most likely represents a new species but it can only be confirmed once more material is found. This second occurrence of the Diunatans, a smaller species and Fragilicetus link the fauna of the southwestern Cape with the North Sea while the presence of 'B.' borealina shows a link with the eastern and western North Atlantic. The presence of the porpoise Australithax suggests a link to the eastern South Pacific. These porpoises would have used the West Wind Drift or Central American seaway to gain access to the south Atlantic. The remaining odontocetes were only identified as Odontoceti indet. The cetaceans at Koeberg indicate connections to northeastern and north-western Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the southeastern north Pacific and southeastern southern Pacific, during the early Pliocene.
RG thanks the Cenozoic Palaeontology staff from Iziko South African Museum for their assistance. GA (as Curator Quaternary Palaeontology, Iziko Museums of South Africa) for organising the first visit to Koeberg and for assistance with arranging future visits to the site. EB (Iziko Museums of South Africa) for his assistance with compiling the stratigraphic section and RB (College of Charleston, Charleston) for helpful comments on the manuscript. DPO and NF (Iziko Museums of South Africa, Iziko South African Museum) for assistance with the extant marine mammal collections. This work is funded by NRF/AOP grant (grant no. 98834). The two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments, which have greatly enhanced this paper. RG thanks MB (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and Koninklijk Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen, Middelburg, The Netherlands) for his discussions about the Koeberg material and comments on the latest revision and OL (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences) for his discussions about the odontocetes. RG thanks AF Curator Paleontology Collections for access to the cetacean fossils at Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. RG also thanks GA (Iziko Museums of South Africa) for comments on the latest revision and DH (Iziko Museums of South Africa) for comments on the initial draft.
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Citronelle flora climate
Haasgat HGD Assemblage
Fossil herpetofauna Maramena
Miocene Vegetation of Poland
Revision of Talpidae
Neogene freshwater gastropods
Shrew from Spain
Bering benthic forams
Foraminifera of Miyakojima
Pliocene birds from Myanmar
Cenozoic catfishes of Europe
Rebuttal to Furió and Pons-Monjo
Trischizolagus of Tepe Alagöz
Identification of fossil eggs
Eulipotyphla from Ukraine
Pliocene whale from Panama
Palaeontologia Electronica
23 years of electronic palaeontology
PE is archived by CLOCKSS and LOCKSS programs.


text:
By Carolyn McDowall June 5, 2014
Old Master Paintings, New York – The Met, European Galleries
Portrait of a Young Man, 1530s Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano) (Italian, Florentine, 1503–1572) Oil on wood H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.16) courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A Portrait of a Young Man dating from the 1530's painted by Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano) was a gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York from a generous patron Mrs H.O. Havemeyer in 1929.
He is now found to be hanging in the heart of their stunning European Painting Galleries, the hallowed halls where its world-renowned collection of European Old Master paintings dating from the 13th to the early 19th century have been on display since 1880, when the galleries were first constructed.
This is the place where the history of Italian painting is divided between the Renaissance, from Giotto and Duccio to Raphael and Titian, and the 17th and 18th centuries, from the Carracci and Caravaggio to Canaletto and Tiepolo.
Believed to have belonged to Bronzino's close circle of literary friends, the subject has never been identified. The work considered one of the artists greatest portraits, was painted in the 1530's.
The young man reflects the confidence and arrogance of youth; he has a haughty I am better than you demeanor and his lips are set in an almost abstract expression, his penetrating gaze revealing that he would definitely take no prisoners in the perilous game of life.
Sky lit, the galleries at The Met in NY were first refitted between 1951-1954 to accommodate the expanding collection at that time. It was reinstalled again in 1972 and in 1980, when there was also a renovation of nine of this suite of rooms most beautifully proportioned galleries, which were then designated for special exhibitions.
The recent upgrade this century (2013) means the collection has also been re-installed, an arrangement that has amazingly allowed for the display of 33% more works. Now they accommodate more than 700 paintings in 45 galleries, which includes a rotating exhibition space.
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, ca. 1662 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889 (89.15.21) courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
It is now possible to follow the history of painting in the lowlands of Europe from the development of landscape in the 17th century through to works by Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640) and Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641).
Vermeer, the subject of a convincing new portrait of him by English author Anthony Bailey, remained obscure to most scholars for a very long time.
Connoisseurs in the city of Delft where he lived, and those in the neighbouring city of The Hague, knew his works well. He idealized the domestic world, providing us with appealing images of the domestic goddess.
One wore a pearl earring, another a pearl necklace while his Young Woman with a Water Pitcher's pearls were casually placed, spilling out of her jewellery box onto the carpet-covered table.
The linen draped over her head and around her neck was usually worn during the morning toilette.
She is an ideal lady in an ideal house, one in which cleanliness is definitely next to godliness. It is also the place where beauty, luxury and serenity all co-exist.
The European Galleries have been organized both chronologically and geographically to provide an overview of painting in Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain.
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836) Jacques-Louis David (French, Paris 1748–1825 Brussels) Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The gallery dedicated to landscape painting in Rome, where the outstanding figure was not an Italian but the French painter Claude Lorrain, leads into French painting of the 17th and 18th centuries, with one gallery given over to cabinet painting and another to the Metropolitan's outstanding collection of Neoclassical painting – the finest outside France.
Neoclassicism was the culture of an age when educated and enlightened men and women deliberately set out to rediscover classical art and architecture. Why certain countries at certain times should be centres of genius and influence remains a mystery.
It is undeniable that the quality of French painting from the Revolution until 1930 is far superior to the work done elsewhere, through a series of masters like Jacques Louis David whose painting of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and his wife is a work of immense power
On his trip to Paris Thomas Jefferson met Charles Lavoisier and he became a friend and fellow member of the American Philosophical Society.
He was one of the founders of modern chemistry and his beautiful wife, Anne Piettette actively collaborated with him for all his revolutionary experiments.
He became one of Jefferson's 'martyrs' of liberty. Lavoisier was among the last victims of the guillotine and just as sharply as it cut off the heads of many of his famous patrons, Jacques Louis David managed to survive the turmoil, which severed the tradition of portrait painting in Europe.
The installation captures historical crosscurrents between countries and contacts as well as between artists by placing their works in adjoining rooms.
This results in presenting the Museum's collection in a more coherent and natural progression than ever before, helping the viewer to understand how the past can inform the present.
Venus and Cupid Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto) Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Marietta Tree, 1986 courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The subject of Venus and Cupid was enormously popular at Venice and no other painting from the Renaissance period in Italy's history develops the theme with the rich allusiveness this one achieves, making it of singular importance in our understanding works from that time.
Venus and her son Cupid are depicted in a bower, a subject inspired by ancient marriage poems known as ;epithalamia', meaning they were composed to celebrate a marraige.
It is the work of Lorenzo Lotto, whose unusual genius makes him one of the most fascinating of all Venetian painters.
The painting was probably completed by the mid-1520s for a cultivated couple in either Bergamo or Venice and Venus's features may be taken for that of the bride's. Only acquired by the museum in 1986, it has since inspired countless essays on the subject and its symbolism.
Lotto was fascinated with emblematic devices. The shell above Venus's head and the rose petals on her lap are her attributes, while the ivy is symbolic of fidelity the myrtle wreath was most likely worn by the bride.
They relate both to the goddess and to marriage and Cupid's action confers a mood of light-hearted wit and refers to the goddess's fertility.
Sculpture, medals, ceramics, and other decorative arts are mpw judiciously incorporated into the new scheme, especially where their presence adds a layer of meaning to the display of paintings.
This is very commendable because it places the paintings within the context of their social and cultural history, so important for us all in learning how to appreciate them in the context of the culture of their time.
If you are planning a trip to New York spending time with the collection of old master paintings in the European Painting Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will be a rewarding experience.
Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle, 2014
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Mauritshuis, A Pearl of a House – Royal Cabinet of Paintings
Ennion: Master of Roman Glass – Miracle of Created Things
Bernard van Orley's The Beheading of Saint John the BaptistBotticelli's Portrait of a Young ManEuropean Painting GalleriesEuropean Painting Galleries The MetGiovanni da Milano's ResurrectionJan Gossart's Christ Carrying the CrossLoan Exhibition The MetManfredi's Midas Washing at the Source of the PactolusMetropolitan Museum of ArtOld Master PaintingsOld MastersOld Mastes CollectionOrazio Gentileschi's spectacular DanaëPaulus Potter's Cattle in a Field with Travelers in a WagonPoussin's The Agony in the GardenPseudo-Dalmasio's The Descent from the CrossRibera's Portrait of the Count of MonterreySocial and Cultural HistoryThe Met NY
Carolyn McDowall
Carolyn McDowall FRSA has gained considerable experience and business acumen in her professional career. An independent cultural and social historian, Carolyn is an interior designer by trade. She has been involved in the creative sector for over thirty years in Australia; completing interior design projects, creating and producing innovative corporate and not-for profit (social profit) community events. She has over that time continuously conducted independent research , while designing, developing, and producing educational art and design history programs in conjunction with renowned specialist colleagues.
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Nedjemankh and His Gilded Coffin – Egyptian Art at The Met
The gilded coffin of Nedjemankh, a priest of ancient Egypt, will be displayed with seventy-other works at The Met Fifth Avenue New York, 20 July – 21 April 2019


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