Fossil material in amber from Myanmar can provide important insights into mid-Cretaceous forest ecosystems. However, Myanmar amber has been receiving increased international attention due to reported links between amber mining and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in northern Myanmar, as well as the legal issues associated with its exportation. Here, we conduct a bibliometric analysis of Myanmar amber publications (1990-2021) and demonstrate how research interest in Myanmar amber is explicitly linked to major political, legal, and economic changes. An analysis of the authorship networks for publications on amber inclusions reveals how current research practices have excluded Myanmar researchers from the field. In addition, the international trade of Myanmar amber with fossil inclusions falls into a legal \'grey-zone\' which continues to be exploited. This case study vividly demonstrates that systemic changes, alongside an increased awareness of inequitable research practices amongst the broader scientific and allied communities, are urgently needed to curb illegal practices in palaeontology.

The methods used to study human growth and development (auxology) have not previously been applied within the setting of hominin maturation (ontogeny). Ontogeny is defined here as the pattern of biological change into an adult form, both at the individual and species level. The hominin fossil record has a lack of recovered immature materials, due to such factors as taphonomic processes that destroy pre-adults; the fragility of immature compared to adult bone; and the lower mortality rates of juveniles compared to adults. The recent discovery of pre-adult hominin skeletal material from a single, homogeneous Homo naledi species from the Rising Star cave system in South Africa provides the opportunity for a broader application of auxology methods and thus the need to understand their use in a modern context. Human auxology studies benefit from a robust database, across multiple populations, and with longitudinal studies in order to assess the patterns and variations in typical growth, development and life history stages. Here, we review the approach, vocabulary, and methods of these human studies, investigate commonalities in data with the fossil record, and then advance the reconstruction of ontogeny for the extinct hominin species H. naledi. To this end, we apply an auxology model into the paleontological context to broadly predict H. naledi birthweight of the offspring at 2.06 kg with a range (±1 SD) of 1.89 to 2.24 kg, with a length at birth 45.5 cm. We estimate a H. naledi juvenile partial skeleton DH7 to be a height of 111-125 cm at death.

OBJECTIVE: A skeleton named Iuzu has been unearthed from an exceptional middle Holocene burial in Toca dos Coqueiros site, in Serra da Capivara National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Piauí State, Brazil). During a bioarchaeological analysis of its remains, we discovered that Iuzu was suffering from rare vertebral malformations. A double foramen transversaria, the agenesis of a foramen on the atlas and the hypoplasia of the transverse process of the axis have been highlighted. We aimed to deduce the clinical consequences of the malformation on the patient\'s health.
METHODS: We proceeded to macroscopic observation and radiography of the bones, then we search for other examples of such a pathology in archaeological litterature.
RESULTS: The malformation caused vascular insufficiency that may have led to neurological lesions leading to various pains and troubles. The very rare malformations Iuzu presented have not been found on a paleoindian skeleton from South America so far.
CONCLUSIONS: This case allowed us to examine the conditions of selection of individuals buried in southern Piauí during the Middle Holocene, during which time this rite does not seem to predominate.

Although Guillain-Barré syndrome was officially described in 1916, other cases had been reported earlier, such as some cases of Landry\'s paralysis. This year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), one of the fathers of comparative anatomy and palaeontology: he died at age 63 from an unknown disease. By reading medical reports about his last days and hours, we conclude Cuvier died from a severe form of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Moreover, we think this observation could be the first complete report of acute polyradiculoneuropathy with pharyngeal-cervical-brachial onset.

A paleosurface with a concentration of wooden-, bone-, and stone-tools interspersed among an accumulation of fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, was found at the bottom of a pool, fed by hot springs, that was excavated at Poggetti Vecchi, near Grosseto (Tuscany, Italy). The site is radiometrically dated to the late Middle Pleistocene, around 171,000 years BP. Notable is the association of the artifacts with the elephant bones, and in particular the presence of digging sticks made from boxwood (Buxus sp.). Although stone tools show evidence of use mainly on animal tissues, indicating some form of interaction between hominins and animals, the precise use of the sticks is unclear. Here we discuss about the role played by the hominins at the site: paleobiological and taphonomic evidence indicates that the elephants died by a natural cause and were butchered soon after their death. The associated paleontological and archeological evidence from this site provides fresh insights into the behavior of early Neanderthals in Central Italy. The discovery of Poggetti Vecchi shows how opportunistically flexible Neanderthals were in response to environmental contingencies.

Palaeontologists increasingly use large datasets of observations collected from museum specimens to address broad-scale questions about evolution and ecology on geological timescales. One such question is whether information from fossil organisms can be used as a robust proxy for atmospheric carbon dioxide through time. Here, we present the citizen science branch of \'Fossil Atmospheres\', a project designed to refine stomatal index of Ginkgo leaves as a palaeo-CO2 proxy by involving citizen scientists in data collection through the Zooniverse website. Citizen science helped to overcome a barrier presented by the time taken to count cells in Ginkgo samples; however, a new set of challenges arose as a result. A beta-testing phase with Zooniverse volunteers provided an opportunity to improve instructions to ensure high fidelity data. Exploration of citizen scientists\' estimates shows that volunteer counts of stomata are accurate with respect to counts made by the project\'s lead scientist. However, counts of epidermal cells have a wide range, and mean values tend to underestimate expert counts. We demonstrate a variety of approaches to reducing the inaccuracy in the calculated stomatal index that this variation causes. Zooniverse serves as an ideal tool for collection of palaeontological data where the distribution of fossils would be impossible, but where specimens can be easily imaged. Such an approach facilitates the collection of a large palaeontological dataset, as well as providing an opportunity for citizens to engage with climate research.This article is part of the theme issue \'Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene\'.

Metacryphaeus is a calmoniid trilobite genus from the Devonian Malvinokaffric Realm, exclusive to the Gondwanan regions. It includes eleven species, which are for the first time included here in a single phylogenetic analysis. The resulting hypotheses establish relations among the Metacryphaeus species with few ambiguities, also suggesting the inclusion of both Plesiomalvinella pujravii and P. boulei within the genus, as originally considered. The results of palaeobiogeographic analyses employing the Dispersal-Extinction-Cladogenesis (DEC) model reinforce the hypothesis that Bolivia and Peru form the ancestral home of Metacryphaeus. The radiation of the genus to other Gondwanan areas took place during transgressive eustatic episodes during the Lochkovian-Pragian. The Lochkovian dispersal occurred from Bolivia and Peru to Brazil (Paraná and Parnaíba basins) and the Falklands, and Pragian dispersal occurred towards South Africa. Dispersal events from Bolivia and Peru to the Parnaíba Basin (Brazil) were identified during the Lochkovian-Pragian, suggesting the presence of marine connections between those areas earlier than previously thought.

This work tackles a multidisciplinary study on the recent sedimentary record of the Bilbao estuary (northern Spain), which is the backbone of a city that was primarily industrial and now is widely recognized as a successful example of urban transformation. Although hotspots of heavily polluted materials still remain at the mouth of the two main tributaries (Galindo and Gobelas), the data obtained confirm the ongoing formation of a new layer of sediments (here called \"postindustrial zone\") covering historically polluted and azoic deposits. It is characterized by largely variable levels of metals and magnetic susceptibility and moderate-to-high abundances of benthic foraminifera. Monitoring of the evolution of this layer appears a key factor to assess environmental improvement and decision-making in polluted estuaries.

Twenty-Seven Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites from Europe and the Middle East are reported in the literature to have yielded incised stones. At eleven of these sites incisions are present on flint cortexes. Even when it is possible to demonstrate that the engravings are ancient and human made, it is often difficult to distinguish incisions resulting from functional activities such as butchery or use as a cutting board, from those produced deliberately, and even more difficult to identify the scope of the latter. In this paper we present results of the analysis of an engraved cortical flint flake found at Kiik-Koba, a key Mousterian site from Crimea, and create an interpretative framework to guide the interpretation of incised cortexes. The frame of inference that we propose allows for a reasoned evaluation of the actions playing a role in the marking process and aims at narrowing down the interpretation of the evidence. The object comes from layer IV, the same layer in which a Neanderthal child burial was unearthed, which contains a para-Micoquian industry of Kiik-Koba type dated to between c.35 and 37 cal kyr BP. The microscopic analysis and 3D reconstruction of the grooves on the cortex of this small flint flake, demonstrate that the incisions represent a deliberate engraving made by a skilled craftsman, probably with two different points. The lines are nearly perfectly framed into the cortex, testifying of well controlled motions. This is especially the case considering the small size of the object, which makes this a difficult task. The production of the engraving required excellent neuromotor and volitional control, which implies focused attention. Evaluation of the Kiik-Koba evidence in the light of the proposed interpretative framework supports the view that the engraving was made with a representational intent.

We report possibly the oldest evidence of gynecomastia in mummified human remains. Computed tomography was performed on the mummified remains of an early 17th century Northern Finnish vicar. The examination of the scans revealed large bilateral subareolar irregular masses resembling female mammary glands. The nearly septuagenarian vicar appears to have had gynecomastia, as it is a common condition in elderly men, and is sometimes associated with obesity. Gynecomastia is the most likely explanation for these findings. Clin. Anat. 31:641-644, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.