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Journal article
Kiaeropterus (Eurypterida; Stylonurina) recognized from the Silurian of the Pentland Hills
Eurypterus cyclophthalmus Laurie, 1892 from the Llandovery of the Pentland Hills, Scotland, is redescribed and assigned to the stylonurid eurypterid genus Kiaeropterus Waterston. 1979, previously only known from Kiaeropterus ruedemanni (Størmer, 1934) from the Wenlock of Norway. Another species previously assigned to Kiaeropterus, K. otisius Clarke 1907, is reassigned to...Tetlie, O Erik ; Anderson, Lyall I ; Poschmann, Markus
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Journal article
Inspiration from the latest Scottish fossil finds
Panciroli, Elsa
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Book chapter
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age flint from the Area 10 watching brief
Between 2006 and 2009 Worcestershire Archaeology completed a series of investigations in advance of quarrying at Clifton Quarry, Worcestershire revealing one of the most important sequences of prehistoric to early medieval activity discovered to date from the Central Severn Valley. Well-preserved palaeoenvironmental deposits were recovered from features and associated abandoned...Anderson-Whymark, Hugo
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Journal article
The Janitor and his museum: John Wilson (1775–1832) and the teaching of ‘practical zoology’ in early nineteenth-century Edinburgh
A description by William Jardine of Applegirth of the state of taxidermy in early nineteenth-century Edinburgh draws attention to the agency of the University of Edinburgh’s Janitor, John Wilson, in contributing to the University’s Natural History Museum, in the building of his own private museum collection, and in the teaching...Swinney, Geoffrey N ; McGowan, R Y
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Journal article
Testing hypotheses for the function of the carnivoran baculum using finite-element analysis
The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi's fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land...Brassey, Charlotte A ; Gardiner, James G ; Kitchener, Andrew C
biomechanics, copulation, baculum, finite-element analysis, genitalia, and intromission
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Journal article
Juvenile snail with preserved soft tissue in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar suggests a cyclophoroidean (Gastropoda) ancestry
Gastropods are generally rare in amber. In this paper we describe an example of exceptional soft-bodied preservation in a fossil terrestrial mollusk-a snail shell with some tissue, including part of the cephalic region (head) with a tentacle and inferred eye stalk, and potentially part of the foot and operculum. The...Xing, Lida ; Ross, Andrew ; Stilwell, Jeffrey D ; Fang, Jun ; McKellar, Ryan C
Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cretaceous, Burmite, Soft-part preservation, Gastropoda, and Cyclophoroidea
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Journal article
A basal thunnosaurian from Iraq reveals disparate phylogenetic origins for Cretaceous ichthyosaurs
Cretaceous ichthyosaurs have typically been considered a small, homogeneous assemblage sharing a common Late Jurassic ancestor. Their low diversity and disparity have been interpreted as indicative of a decline leading to their Cenomanian extinction. We describe the first post-Triassic ichthyosaur from the Middle East, Malawania anachronus gen. et sp. nov....Fischer, Valentin ; Appleby, Robert M ; Naish, Darren ; Liston, Jeff ; Riding, James B …
Malawania anachronus, Early Cretaceous, Parvipelvia, and Baracromia
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Journal article
Alfred Nicholson Leeds and the first fossil egg attributed to a ‘saurian’
Discovered by the nineteenth century collector Alfred Nicholson Leeds, the first object to be described (1898) as a fossil reptile egg is a unique find from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough. It also comes from one of a very small number of Jurassic localities worldwide that can claim to have...Liston, Jeff
Oxford Clay, Callovian, Alfred Nicholson Leeds, and dinosaur egg
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Book chapter
Miller's most important geological discovery’: Archibald Geikie (1835–1924) as pupil and memorialist of Hugh Miller (1802–56)
Hugh Miller, stonemason turned writer, newspaper editor and geologist, became the young Archibald Geikie’s friend and geological mentor, encouraged his first research and presentation to a learned society, and recommended him to the Geological Survey, thus laying the foundations for a career that reached the top of British science. Geikie...Taylor, Michael A
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Journal article
Staminate flower of Prunus s. l. (Rosaceae) from Eocene Rovno amber (Ukraine)
The late Eocene ambers provide plethora of animal and plant fossils including well-preserved angiosperm flowers from the Baltic amber. The Rovno amber from NW Ukraine resembles in many aspects the Baltic amber; however, only fossilized animals and some bryophytes have yet been studied from the Rovno amber. We provide the...Sokoloff, Dmitry D ; Ignatov, Michael S ; Remizowa, Margarita V ; Nuraliev, Maxim S ; Blagoderov, Vladimir …
Eocene, Flower, Fossil, Prunus hirsutipetala, Europe, Rosaceae, and Amber
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Journal article
An unusual small-bodied crocodyliform from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland, UK, and potential evidence for an early diversification of advanced neosuchians
The Middle Jurassic is a poorly sampled time interval for non-pelagic neosuchian crocodyliforms, which obscures our understanding of the origin and early evolution of major clades. Here we report a lower jaw from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Duntulm Formation of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK, which consists of an...Yi, Hongyu ; Tennant, Johnathan P ; Young, Mark T ; Challands, Thomas James ; Foffa, Davide …
Duntulm Formation, Neosuchia, Crocodyliformes, and Isle of Skye
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Journal article
Tooth serration morphologies in the genus Machimosaurus (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia) from the Late Jurassic of Europe
Machimosaurus was a large-bodied durophagous/chelonivorous genus of teleosaurid crocodylomorph that lived in shallow marine and brackish ecosystems during the Late Jurassic. Among teleosaurids, Machimosaurus and its sister taxon ‘Steneosaurus’ obtusidens are characterized by having foreshortened rostra, proportionally enlarged supratemporal fenestrae and blunt teeth with numerous apicobasal ridges and a shorter...Young, Mark T ; Steel, Lorna ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Foffa, Davide ; Lepage, Yves
Machimosaurus, Teleosauridae, ‘pseudo-denticles’, dental morphology, Europe, and enamel ridges
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Journal article
Revision of the Late Jurassic teleosaurid genus Machimosaurus (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia)
Machimosaurus was a large-bodied genus of teleosaurid crocodylomorph, considered to have been durophagous/chelonivorous, and which frequented coastal marine/estuarine ecosystems during the Late Jurassic. Here, we revise the genus based on previously described specimens and revise the species within this genus. We conclude that there were three European Machimosaurus species and...Young, Mark T ; Hua, Stéphane ; Steel, Lorna ; Foffa, Davide ; Brusatte, Stephen L …
Machimosaurus, Teleosauridae, Tithonian, Africa, Kimmeridgian, and Europe
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Journal article
A review of Necrotauliids from the Triassic/Jurassic of England (Trichoptera: Necrotauliidae)
Species previously attributed to Necrotauliidae are revised from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of England based on examination of type specimens and non-type material. The necrotauliids have been considered as a basal family of caddisflies (Trichoptera) or as a paraphyletic assemblage of stem-amphiesmenopterans. Herein a new genus, Austaulius, is...Kelly, Richard S ; Ross, Andrew ; Coram, Robert A
palaeoentomology, taxonomy/systematics, Polyneoptera, palaeobiogeography, and Archidermaptera
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Journal article
A new metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic) of England, with implications for the origin and diversification of Geosaurini
Metriorhynchids are an extinct group of Jurassic–Cretaceous crocodylomorphs secondarily adapted to a marine lifestyle. A new metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Oxford Clay Formation (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of England is described. The specimen is a large, fragmentary skull and associated single ramus of a lower jaw uniquely preserved in a septarian...Foffa, Davide ; Young, Mark T ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Graham, Mark R ; Steel, L
Geosaurus, Jurassic, macrophagy, Ieldraan, Melksham monster, and Geosaurini
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Journal article
Squeezing river catchments through tectonics: shortening and erosion across the Indus Valley, NW Himalaya
Tectonic displacement of drainage divides and the consequent deformation of river networks during crustal shortening have been proposed for a number of mountain ranges, but never tested. In order to preserve crustal strain in surface topography, surface displacements across thrust faults must be retained without being recovered by consequent erosion....Sinclair, H D ; Mudd, S M ; Dingle, E ; Hobley, D E J ; Robinson, R …
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Journal article
Sauropod dinosaur trackways in a Middle Jurassic lagoon on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
The Middle Jurassic was a dynamic interval in dinosaur evolution, but the dinosaur fossil record from this time is extremely poor throughout the world. The Isle of Skye (Scotland) preserves marginal marine and terrestrial deposits of Middle Jurassic age, which have yielded sparse bones, teeth, footprints and small segments of...Brusatte, Stephen L ; Challands, Thomas James ; Ross, Dugald A ; Young, Mark T ; Wilkinson, Mark
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Journal article
Theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian-Bathonian) of Skye, Scotland
The Isle of Skye, Scotland, has yielded a diverse Middle Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate fauna, but little is known about the predatory dinosaurs (theropods) occupying the top and secondary carnivore roles in these ecosystems, as their fossils have been limited to rare footprints of small- to mid-sized taxa. We describe two...Brusatte, Stephen L ; Clark, Neil D L
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Journal article
Rensching cats and dogs: feeding ecology and fecundity trends explain variation in the allometry of sexual size dimorphism
The tendency for sexual size dimorphism (SSD) to increase with body mass in taxa where males are larger, and to decrease when females are larger, is known as Rensch's rule. In mammals, where the trend occurs, it is believed to be the result of a competitive advantage for larger males,...Johnson, P J ; Noonan, M J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harrington, L A ; Newman, C …
dimorphism, Canidae, allometry, diet, resource dispersion, and Felidae
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Journal article
Postglacial recolonization and Holocene diversification of Crocidura suaveolens (Mammalia, Soricidae) on the north-western fringe of the European continent
Phenotypic variation was characterized in 187 modern and archaeological specimens of the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens), obtained from both insular and continental European locations. Geometric morphometric methods were used to quantify variation in size and shape of the mandible. The phenotypic distance between populations, and the influence of several... -
Journal article
A Triassic stem turtle with an edentulous beak
The early evolution of turtles continues to be a contentious issue in vertebrate palaeontology. Recent reports have suggested that they are diapsids1,2,3,4,5,6, but the position of turtles within Diapsida is controversial 7,8,9,10,11,12 and the sequence of acquisition of turtle synapomorphies remains unclear1,2,3. Here we describe a Triassic turtle from China...Li, Chun ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Wu, Xiao-Chun
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Journal article
A new terrestrial millipede fauna of earliest Carboniferous (Tournaisian) age from southeastern Scotland helps fill ‘Romer's Gap'
A diverse millipede (diplopod) fauna has been recovered from the earliest Carboniferous (Tournaisian) Ballagan Formation of the Scottish Borders, discovered by the late Stan Wood. The material is generally fragmentary; however, six different taxa are present based on seven specimens. Only one displays enough characters for formal description and is...Ross, Andrew ; Edgecombe, Gregory D ; Clark, Neil D L ; Bennett, Carys E ; Carrió, Vicen …
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Book chapter
Autobiography and documentable fact in the family background and religious affiliation of Archibald Geikie (1835–1924)
In his autobiography of 1924, Archibald Geikie (1835–1924) suppressed basic information about his family and religious beliefs. Investigation reveals a more complete picture of those aspects of Geikie’s life. He was brought up in a strongly religious family, of Congregational affiliation, which he himself followed as a young man. His...Taylor, Michael A
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Journal article
A legacy in fossils: a tribute to Stan(ley) Wood – Preface
Stan Wood had a gift for finding exceptional Early Carboniferous fossils. Among them are 32 type specimens. His discoveries significantly changed our understanding of the history of life on Earth. Many of the fossils he collected are on display in museums across the UK and the localities he discovered continue...Fraser, Nicholas C ; Smithson, Timothy R ; Clack, Jennifer A
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Journal article
Synchronous diversification of Sulawesi's iconic artiodactyls driven by recent geological events
The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi's fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land...Frantz, Laurent A F ; Rudzinski, Anna ; Nugraha, Abang Mansyursyah Surya ; Evin, Allowen ; Burton, James …
geology, Wallacea, evolution, and biogeography
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Conference paper (published)
The remarkable palaeodiversity in Burmese amber
Ross, Andrew
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Journal article
Broken bead or pendant roughout of jet-like material from Swandro
In June 2015, excavations in Area E at Swandro uncovered an intriguing fragment of jet-like material that had broken across a hole that had been drilled through it. (The item is Small Find No. 2344, from context 3153.) The item was passed to the author for study and identification of...Sheridan, J A
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Book chapter
The evolution of avian intelligence and sensory capabilities: the fossil evidence
Crocodiles and birds are the only living representatives of Archosauria, a once diverse clade of vertebrates that mastered terrestrial, aerial and aquatic environments during the Mesozoic. Because the braincases of archosaurs are largely ossified, the group has particularly benefited from advances in non-destructive visualisation of endocranial structures over the past...Walsh, Stig A ; Knoll, F
Neurosensory evolution, Wulst, Dinosaur, Flocculus, and Bird
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Journal article
New palaeodictyopterans from the Late Carboniferous of the UK (Insecta: Palaeodictyopteroida)
New palaeodictyopterans, Vernooijia sassoonae gen. et sp. nov. (Breyeriidae) and Mazonopterum cooperi sp. nov. (Homoiopteridae) are described from the Middle Pennsylvanian (Westphalian D/Late Asturian) of Writhlington, near Radstock (UK). Based on the re-examination of venation in Breyeria harlemensis, we propose the transfer of this species to the genus Vernooijia as...Prokop, J ; Pecharová, Martina ; Jarzembowski, Edmund A ; Ross, Andrew
Homoiopteridae, Breyeriidae, Spilapteridae wing venation, nymph, and Lycocercidae
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Journal article
Charles W. Peach, palaeobotany and Scotland
The move south from Wick to the city of Edinburgh in 1865, some four years after retirement from the Customs service, provided Charles W. Peach with new opportunities for fossil-collecting and scientific networking. Here he renewed and maintained his interest in natural history and made significant palaeobotanical collections from the...Anderson, Lyall I ; Taylor, Michael A
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Journal article
Earwigs (Dermaptera) from the Mesozoic of England and Australia, described from isolated tegmina, including the first species to be named from the Triassic
Dermaptera (earwigs) are described from the Triassic of Australia and England, and from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of England. Phanerogramma heeri (Giebel) is transferred from Coleoptera and it and Brevicula gradus Whalley are re-described. Seven new taxa are named based on tegmina: Phanerogramma australis sp. nov. and P. dunstani sp....Ross, Andrew ; Kelly, Richard S ; Jarzembowski, Edmund A
palaeoentomology, Polyneoptera taxonomy/systematics, palaeobiogeography, and Archidermaptera
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Book chapter
The shale
Cults Loch, at Castle Kennedy in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, loch lies within a landscape rich in prehistoric cropmark sites and within the loch itself are two crannogs, one of which has been the focus of this study. A palisaded enclosure and a promontory fort on the shores of the...Hunter, Fraser
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Journal article
Amberground pholadid bivalve borings and inclusions in Burmese amber: implications for proximity of resin-producing forests to brackish-marine waters, and the age of the amber
Clavate (club-shaped) structures rimming mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from Myanmar, previously misdiagnosed as fungal sporocarps, are shown to be domichnia (crypts) of martesiine bivalves (Pholadidae: Martesiinae). They are similar in form to Teredolites clavatus Leymerie, 1842 and Gastrochaenolites lapidicus Kelly & Bromley, 1984; however, the former identification is preferable, given that...Ross, Andrew ; Smith, Ru D A
Palaeoclavaria Pholadidae Teredolites, Cretaceous, Burmite, Martesiinae, and Gastrochaenolites
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Journal article
On the systematic position of a highly derived amphiesmenopteran insect from Burmese amber (Insecta, Amphiesmenoptera)
A small fossil insect with scales on the wings and body was identified as a representative of Aphiesmenoptera from Burmese amber. The species is introduced here as Tarachocelis microlepidopterella (†). The insect is described in detail, and photos and line drawings are provided for wing venation, head, mouthparts, scales, legs...Mey, W ; Wichard, Wilfried ; Ross, Emma ; Ross, Andrew
microlepidopterella, Lepidoptera, Cretaceous, stem-group Tarachocelidae Tarachocelis taxonomy Trichoptera Pholadidae Teredolites, and phylogeny
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Journal article
The distribution of Schramocaris (Eumalacostraca, Crustacea) along the northwestern coast of the Rheic Ocean during the Lower Carboniferous
Two new species of Schramocaris from the Viséan, Lower Carboniferous of Scotland and eastern Canada extend the range and distribution of this crustacean along the northwestern coast of the Rheic Ocean. New species from Glencartholm, southern Scotland and Upperton, New Brunswick, Canada represents the first recognised occurrence of this genus...Ross, Andrew ; Clark, Neil D L ; Miller, Randall F
marine, Scotland, Viséan, Tealliocaris, Canada, and crustacean
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Journal article
Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber: Preface
This volume comprises 28 papers resulting from the 7th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Anthropods and Amber which took place at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, from 26 April to 1 May 2016.Ross, Andrew
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Journal article
A new Mississippian tetrapod from Fife, Scotland, and its environmental context
The Visean stage of the Mississippian was a time of rapid tetrapod diversification which marks the earliest appearance of temnospondyls, microsaurs and the limbless aïstopods. Tetrapod finds from this stage are very rare and only a dozen sites are known worldwide. Here we announce the discovery of a new Visean...Smithson, Timothy R ; Browne, Michael A E ; Davies, Sarah J ; Marshall, John E A ; Millward, David …
Mississippian, tetrapod, Spathi- cephalidae., Visean, and Asbian
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Journal article
Scotland's Early Silver: the most precious metal for 1,000 years
Alice Blackwell takes a look at some of the valuable and beautiful items which form part of National Museum of Scotland's winter exhibition of 1,000 years of silver in ScotlandBlackwell, Alice
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Book chapter
Towards a methodology for the study of prehistoric jet and jet-like jewellery
Prehistoric Britain has generated an enormous number and wide variety of stone objects, but few books deal specifically with stone tools that are not flint. This book brings together papers from 22 of the UK’s archaeologists investigating the stone objects that were fundamental to the daily lives of prehistoric people....Sheridan, J A
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Book chapter
Extraordinary Lagerstätten in Amber, with particular reference to the Cretaceous of Burma
Evolutionary biologists have long been concerned by the incompleteness of the fossil record. Although our knowledge of the diversity of life in ‘deep time’ has improved, many lineages of extant animals and plants still have only sparse fossil documentation. Even groups with ‘hard parts’ that render them suitable for fossilization...Ross, Andrew
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Book chapter
“Zadziwiający bursztyn” (“Amazing Amber”). Wyzwania związane z przygotowaniem wystawy o burstztynie i możliwości rozwiązań
Used for centuries as a decorative artefact, amber was treasured, too, for its perceived magical powers, crafted into charms and amulets to heal and ward off evil spirits. Amber also has the unique capacity to preserve fragile life that is millions of years old, opening a special window into the...Ross, Andrew ; Sheridan, J A
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Journal article
A reassessment of the postcanine dentition and systematics of the tritylodontid Stereognathus (Cynodontia, Triltylodontidae, Mammaliamorpha) from the Middle Jurassic of the United Kingdom
Tritylodontidae was a successful advanced cynodont clade with a close relationship to mammals, but falling outside the clade Mammaliaformes. Stereognathus ooliticus was the first tritylodontid to be named and described in 1854, but since then no comprehensive description for this species has been produced. A second species, S. hebridicus, was...Panciroli, Elsa ; Walsh, Stig A ; Fraser, Nicholas C ; Brusatte, Stephen L ; Corfe, Ian
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Journal article
Country Reports. United Kingdom. INHIGEO.
Taylor, Michael A
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Journal article
The Victorian Sunday, daylight and naturalists
Taylor, Michael A
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Book chapter
The Europe of jade: from the Alps to the Black Sea
As it appears in diverse guises – and notably as a founding narrative – the past is at the core of every functioning human society. The idea that the past can be known through scientific research has long been a fundamental challenge for western societies and for European researchers, from...Pétrequin, P ; Cassen, S ; Errera, M ; Sheridan, J A ; Tsonev, T …
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Journal article
J.G. Goodchild's Guide to the Geological Collections in the Hugh Miller cottage, Cromarty of 1902
This reproduces, in facsimile, the Guide to the Geological Collections in the Hugh Miller cottage, Cromarty of 1902 by J.G. Goodchild.Taylor, Michael A ; Anderson, Lyall I ; Goodchild, J G