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African Natural History
On-line version ISSN 2305-7963
Print version ISSN 1816-8396
Afr. nat. history (Online) vol.8 Cape Town Jan. 2012
Cretaceous faunas from Zululand and Natal, South Africa. The desmoceratoid ammonite genera Moretella Collignon, 1963, Beudanticeras Hitzel, 1902, and Aioloceras Whitehouse, 1926
William James KennedyI; Herbert Christian KlingerII
IOxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PR, U.K., and Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, U.K. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
IINatural History Collections Department, Iziko South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Three taxa of desmoceratoid ammonites are recognized in the Lower Albian of northern KwaZulu-Natal, all of them previously known only from Madagascar: Moretella sp., Beudanticeras komihevitraense Collignon, 1950, and Aioloceras besairiei (Collignon, 1949). Madagascan type and figured material, much of it difficult to interpret from the original figures is re-illustrated, and the intraspecific variation and dimorphism in Moretella and Aioloceras are documented.
Keywords: ammonites, Desmoceratoidea, Albian, Cretaceous, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar.
Desmoceratoid ammonites from the Lower Albian part of the Mzinene Formation of northern KwaZulu-Natal were recorded as species of 'Beudanticeras' and 'Cleoniceras' from division Albian II in our preliminary account of the ammonite faunas of the region (Kennedy & Klinger, 1975, p. 276)). We subsequently recognized Aioloceras as a key element of a Tegoceras mosense/Aioloceras fauna (Kennedy & Klinger, 2008, p. 79). Study of the classic Lower Albian faunas of Madagascar (Collignon, 1949, 1950, 1963) has enabled us to recognize three taxa in KwaZulu-Natal, Moretella sp., Beudanticeras komihevitraense Collignon, 1950, and Aioloceras besairiei (Collignon, 1949). The quality of reproduction of the plates in the Albian volume (1963) of Collignon's Atlas des fossiles caractéristiques de Madagascar (Ammonites) did not do justice to the specimens, or the original photographs, and many taxa are difficult if not impossible to interpret without an examination of the actual specimens, housed in the collections of the Université de Bourgogne, Dijon. Accordingly, we re-illustrate here key type and figured specimens relevant to the interpretation of the KwaZulu material.
EMP: École National Supérieur des Mines, Paris, now housed in the Université de Lyon-Villeurbanne.
OUM: Geological Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford.
SAM: Natural History Collections Department, Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town.
UB: Département des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon.
Details of field localities are given by Kennedy & Klinger (1975); further descriptions of these localities are deposited in the Geological Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, The Natural History Museum, London, and the Natural History Collections Department, Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town. Specimens with prefixes EM or LJE were presumably collected from the Albian localities on the western side of the Pongola River, north of the Mfongozi Spruit, described by Haughton (1936, pp. 290-292, fig. 3), (see Kennedy & Klinger 2011, fig. 24)
Dimensions are given in millimetres: D = diameter; Wb = whorl breadth; Wh = whorl height; U = umbilicus; c = costal dimension; ic = intercostal dimension. Figures in brackets are dimensions as a percentage of the diameter. The suture terminology is that of Korn et al. (2003): E = external lobe; A = adventive lobe (= lateral lobe, L, of Kullmann & Wiedmann 1970); U = umbilical lobe; I = internal lobe.
Superfamily DESMOCERATOIDEA Zittel, 1895
Family CLEONICERATIDAE Whitehouse, 1926
(= Vnigriceratinae Saveliev, 1973; Lemuroceratinae Owen, 1988)
Genus Moretella Collignon, 1963
Type species
Pseudosonneratia madagascariensis Collignon, 1949, p. 81, pl. 16, figs 13, 14, by the original designation of Collignon, 1963, p. 101.
Small, mature adults, presumed to be microconchs, are as little as 40 mm in diameter. Coiling moderately evolute, with around 50% of the previous whorl covered. Whorl section rounded, oval or subquadrate. Coarse primary ribs, bullate or not, arise at the umbilical seam and strengthen across the umbilical wall and shoulder. On the flanks ribs arise in pairs at the shoulder or on the innermost flank, and are prorsiradiate and feebly flexuous; additional short ribs intercalate. All ribs strengthen on the ventrolateral shoulders and venter, which they cross in a shallow convexity. Suture moderately incised, with bifid E/A and A/U2
Collignon (1963) referred the following species to his new genus Moretella:
Moretella ambigua (Collignon, 1949): p. 79, pl. 16, figs 1-4; 1963, p. 102, pl. 281, fig. 1216 (Figs 1A',B', 2C,D).
Moretella balmensiformis (Collignon, 1949): Collignon, 1949, p. 80, pl. 16, figs 5-8; 1963, p. 102, pl. 281, fig. 1215 (Fig. 1G-I, P, Z).
Moretella dubia (Collignon, 1949): Collignon, 1949, p. 74, pl. 15, fig. 2; 1963, p. 102, pl. 281, fig. 1213 (Fig. 1M-O).
Moretella madagascariensis (Collignon, 1949): Collignon, 1949, p. 81, pl. 16, figs 13,14; 1963, p. 102, pl. 281, fig. 1217 (Fig. 1A-F).
Moretella moreti (Collignon, 1949): Collignon, 1949, p. 75, pl. 15, fig. 4; 1963, p. 102, pl. 281, fig. 1214 (Fig. 1Q-S).
Moretella subquadrata Collignon, 1963, p. 103, pl. 281, figs 1218, 1219 (Fig. 2H-J, M-O).
Moretella transiens (Collignon, 1949): Collignon, 1949, p. 74, pl. 13, fig. 10; 1963, p. 101, pl. 281, fig. 1212 (Fig. 1J-L).
Moretella undata Collignon, 1963, p. 103, pl. 281, fig. 1220 (Fig. 2E-G).
The co-occurrence of seven species of Moretella within the Zone of Lemuroceras spathi and Brancoceras besairiei in Madagascar is unlikely. Where Collignon saw differences, we see dimorphism and intraspecific variation: the morphological differences between his species are trivial. Already in 1949 Collignon regarded moreti (Figs 1Q-S, 2K-L) as a passage form between ambigua (Figs 1A',B', 2C,D) and madagascariensis (Fig. 1A-F) and we regard them as synonyms. It is likely that further analysis of the assemblage will lead to the conclusion that most of his species are synonyms.
We are unable to see any significant differences between several of the 'Pseudosonneratia' not included in Moretella by Collignon, in particular dondeyi Collignon, 1963, p. 105, pl. 282, fig. 1230, and ihopensis Collignon, 1963, p. 106, pl. 282, fig. 1231 (Fig. 2PQ), which we include in Moretella here.
Collignon suggested that the origin of Moretella lay in Lemuroceras Spath, 1942. The resemblance between a specimen referred to Moretella dubia by Collignon (Fig. 1Y), and the much larger (47 mm diameter), but still septate holotype of Lemuroceras saintoursi Collignon, 1963 (Fig. 1W,X) is striking; they may even be dimorphs. A full revision of the numerous co-occuring Lemuroceras, Moretella aud 'Pseudosonneratia' from the Lower Albian of Madagascar is required to resolve their actual relationships.
Lower Albian of Madagascar and northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Moretella sp.
SAM-PCZ22239, from the Lower Albian Mzinene Formation in the environs of locality 153 of Kennedy & Klinger (1975) on the side of the road leading up to Mantuma Rest Camp in the Mkuze Game Reserve, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The specimen is wholly septate, and retains recrystallized shell. Coiling is moderately evolute, with 50% of the previous whorl covered. The umbilicus comprises 31% of the diameter, and is of moderate depth, with a convex wall and broadly rounded umbilical shoulder that merges imperceptibly with the feebly convex, subparallel flanks. The ventrolateral shoulders are broadly rounded, the venter relatively broad, and feebly convex. There are 25-26 ribs on the outer whorl.
Twelve primaries arise at the umbilical seam, and strengthen into strong bullae, perched on the umbilical shoulder. These give rise to pairs of strong, feebly flexuous coarse ribs, feebly convex on the inner to middle flank and feebly concave on the outer flank, sweeping forwards, coarsening on the ventrolateral shoulders and venter, which they cross in a feeble convexity. Occasional intercalated ribs arise around mid-flank, and strengthen to match the primaries on the outer flank, ventrolateral shoulders and venter.
The present specimen shows similarities to the holotype of Moretella ihopensis Collignon, 1963 (p. 106, pl. 282, fig. 1231: Fig. 2PQ herein). This is smaller, more compressed than the present specimen, with a whorl breadth to height ratio of 0.28, and weaker ornament of similar style. It shows weakening and modification of the last few ribs, and may be an adult. The ornament is closer to that of Moretella subquadrata Collignon, 1963 (p. 103, pl. 281, figs 1218, 1219: Fig. 2H-J, M-O), which differs chiefly in its smaller size and more compressed whorl section.
Occurrence As for material.
Family DESMOCERATIDAE Zittel, 1895
Subfamily BEUDANTICERATINAE Breistroffer 1953
Genus Beudanticeras Hitzel, 1905
(= Boliteceras Whitehouse, 1928; Rapidoplacenticeras Alabushev, 1988)
Beaudanticeras is comprehensively reviewed by Riccardi & Medina (2002). These authors referred 12 species to the genus with confidence, and listed many more referred to that genus by previous authors. They referred many of these to other genera but there remained a number of 'Beudanticeras', of uncertain generic position. Among these is Beudanticeras komihevitraense Collignon, 1950, to which a number of specimens from northern KwaZulu-Natal are referred.
Beudanticeras komihevitraense Collignon, 1950
Figs 3A-I, L-O, 4B-D, G, 8D-F, K-N, 10E
1950 Beudanticeras komihevitraense Collignon, p. 41, pl. 6, fig. 3.
1963 Beudanticeras komihevitraense Collignon; Collignon, p. 80, pl. 271, fig. 1172.
The holotype is EMP 1481, the original of Collignon, 1950, p . 41, pl. 6, fig. 3, from the Lower Albian of Komihevitra, Madagascar, re-illustrated here as Fig. 4E,F.
11034, 11036, 11037a-g, from the Lower Albian Mzinene Formation at locality 35 of Kennedy & Klinger (1975), cliff and stream sections 1200 m NE of the farm Amatis, north of Hluhluwe, 27°58'03"S, 32°18'31"E, northern KwaZulu-
Natal. OUM KX 11070-11072, 11074-11076, are from the Lower Albian Mzinene Formation at locality 36 of Kennedy & Klinger (1975), degraded cliffs on the eastern bank of the Mzinene close to the boundary between lots H 84 14107 and H 85 14108, 27°57'14"S, 32°18'34"E, northern KwaZulu-Natal. SAM-PCZ22240, from the Lower Albian Mzinene
Formation at locality H45, from Klinger's field notes and not referred to in Kennedy & Klinger (1975), a small weir on the upper reaches of the Nyalazi River, on the farm Ballygamble, north of Mtubatuba, approximately 28°16'S, 32°15'E.
OUM KX11029 (Fig. 3M-O), 11030 (Fig. 3G-I), and 11037a (Fig. 3D-F) and 11075 (Fig. 3B,C) are part of a series of nuclei, 13-35 mm in diameter. Coiling is involute, the umbilicus small, comprising17-19% of the diameter, shallow with a flattened, outward-inclined umbilical wall and narrowly rounded umbilical shoulder. The whorl section is compressed, the greatest breadth just outside the umbilical shoulder, the inner flanks very feebly convex, the middle and outer flanks flattened, converging to broadly rounded ventrolateral shoulders, the venter very feebly convex. Ornament is of closely spaced, crowded ribs. Primaries arise singly or in pairs at the umbilical shoulder, sometimes as mere lirae, and are straight and prorsiradiate on the inner flank. They bifurcate around mid-flank and on the outer flank, while additional ribs intercalate, the ribs convex at mid-flank, then flexing forwards and concave on the outer flank, strengthening progressively before weakening over the venter, which they cross in a very shallow convexity. There are thus many more ribs at the ventrolateral shoulder than at the umbilical shoulder. SAM-PCZ22240 (Fig. 3A) with an estimated original diameter of 40 mm shows the same pattern of branching and intercalating ribs, now well developed across the whole of the flanks. This specimen links to individuals such as OUM KX11033 (Fig. 4B-D, G), OUM KX11018 (Fig. 8D,E), OUM 11028 (Fig. 8F,K) and OUM 11070 (Fig. 8L-N) these specimens range up to 70 mm in diameter, and show variable inner flank ornament, from near-effaced (Fig. 8L-N) to well developed prorsiradiate falcoid primaries, straight on the inner flank, feebly convex at mid-flank, and concave on the outer flank. They bifurcate around mid-flank and on the outer flank, where they are at their maximum strength, declining and effacing over the venter. These specimens overlap in size with the phragmocone fragment preserved on the holotype (Fig. 4E,F). This is interpreted as an adult microconch. It is 106.4 mm in diameter, with a 240° sector of body chamber preserved. Coiling is very involute, the small umbilicus comprising 21.6% of the diameter, the umbilical wall of the body chamber concave, the umbilical shoulder very narrowly rounded. The whorl section is very compressed, with a whorl breadth to height ratio of 0.51, the greatest breadth below mid-flank. The inner to middle flanks are very feebly convex, the outer flanks flattened, and converging to the narrowly rounded ventrolateral shoulders, the venter very feebly convex. There are 11-12 primary ribs on the adapertural half whorl of body chamber. They arise at the umbilical seam, strengthen across the umbilical wall, and are fully differentiated on the umbilical shoulder, low, straight and prorsiradiate to mid-flank, where they increase by branching and intercalation, then sweeping back and concave on the outer flank, where they strengthening progressively. There are 32 ribs at the ventrolateral shoulder of the adapertural half whorl. Larger specimens have phragmocone whorl heights of up to 37 mm (OUM KX11072: Fig. 10E). They show the same pattern of falcoid ribs that increase in strength on the outer flanks and increase in number by branching and intercalation. The 163 mm diameter phragmocone figured by Collignon in 1963 (pl. 271, fig. 1172) is interpreted as part of a macroconch of the species. The suture of the holotype is deeply incised, with an asymmetrically trifid E/A, large trifid A, and bifid A/U2.
Riccardi & Medina (2002, p. 301) suggested this species might not belong to Beudanticeras, as they did Beudanticeras caseyi Collignon, 1963 (p. 72, pl. pl. 267, fig. 1165), and other Madagascan species with well developed ribs. B. caseyi is uninterpretable from the original figures, and is illustrated here as Fig. 3J,K. It has much more delicate ornament than B. komihevitraense of the same size (compare Figs 3J and 3G) but the style is identical. The holotype of caseyi is barely distinguishable from a specimen referred to Beudanticeras revoli (Pervinquière, 1907) figured by Riccardi & Medina (2002, pl. 1, fig. 1), and the affinities of the Madagascan material with Beudanticeras is clear.
Lower Albian of Madagascar and northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Genus Aioloceras Whitehouse, 1926
(= Paracleoniceras Collignon, 1963)
Type species
Cleoniceras argentinum Bonarelli in Bonarelli & Nagera, 1921, p. 24, pl. 4, figs 3, 6, from the Lower Albian of Lago San Martin, Santa Cruz, Argentina, by the original designation of Whitehouse, 1926, p. 206.
Coiling involute, umbilicus small, shallow, umbilical wall flattened and outward-inclined, umbilical shoulder narrowly rounded. Whorl section compressed, with feebly convex inner flanks, outer flanks converging to narrow rounded venter. Primary ribs feebly bullate or not, arise singly or in pairs from umbilical shoulder and strengthen across the flank; falcoid, straight on inner flank, concave on outer flank, increasing by branching and intercalation; effaced on venter. Ornament weakens progressively and effaces on body chamber of macroconchs. Constrictions develop on late phragmocone and body chamber of both dimorphs. Suture with deeply incised bifid E/A and trifid L.
See Riccardi & Medina (2002, pp. 312, 340) for a comprehensive review of the genus and its constituent species. Their conclusions are followed here, and four species referred to the genus with confidence: Aioloceras argentinum (Bonarelli, 1921), A. besairiei (Collignon, 1949), A. ptychitiforme (Collignon, 1949), and A. rollieri (Leanza, 1970).
Upper Lower Albian, Argentina, Antarctica, Madagascar, and northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Aioloceras besairiei (Collignon, 1949)
Figs 5-7, 8A-C, G-J, O,P, 9, 10A-D, F-G, 11-14
1949 Cleoniceras (Aioloceras) Besairiei Collignon, p. 86, pl. 18, figs 1-3; pl. 21, fig. 7; text-fig. 24.
1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) besairiei Collignon, p. 88, pl. 275, figs 1186, 1187; pl. 276, figs 1188, 1189.
1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) inaequale Collignon, p. 86, pl. 274, fig. 1185.
1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) cleoniforme Collignon, p. 89, pl. 276, figs 1190-1191.
1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) morganiforme Collignon, p. 89, pl. 276, fig. 1192.
1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) tenuicostatum Collignon, p. 92, pl. 277, figs 1193-1194.
1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) crassefalcatumCollignon, p. 94, pl. 278, fig. 1195.
?1963 Cleoniceras (Paracleoniceras) ambiguum Collignon, p. 94, pl. 278, fig. 1196.
The holotype, by original designation, is EMP 1455, the original of Collignon, 1949, pl. 18, fig. 2, from the A. besairiei Zone of Ambarimaninga, Madagascar, re-illustrated here as Fig. 5B-D.
All our specimens are from the upper Lower Albian Mzinene Formation.
OUM KX 10990, 10992, 10993, 11026, 11031, 11032, 11035, 10990, are from locality 35 of Kennedy & Klinger (1975), cliff and stream sections 1200 m NE of the farm Amatis, north of Hluhluwe, 27°58'03"S, 32°18'31"E, northern KwaZulu-Natal. OUM KX 11068, 11069 and 11073, are from locality 36 of Kennedy & Klinger (1975), degraded cliffs on the eastern bank of the Mzinene close to the boundary between lots H 84 14107 and H 85 14108, 27°57'14"S, 32°18'34"E, northern KwaZulu-Natal. OUM KX4791, 4796, 4800, 4802, 4804, and 4806 are from locality 53 of Kennedy & Klinger (1975), derelict dam site on Indabana 13162, 2.2 km south of the farm Izwehelia, north of Hluhluwe, 27°52'24"S, 32°19'02". SAM-PCZ 022403 (ex LJE191), PCZ022402 (ex EM115) presumably from Haughton's (1936) locality, or in the vicinity of, Z18 on the Pongola River.
Collignon based this species on a suite of 12 specimens. The holotype, EMP 1455 (Collignon, 1949, pl. 18, fig. 2; Fig. 5B-D herein) is an internal mould just over 71 mm in diameter that retains half a whorl of body chamber; it is interpreted as a microconch. Coiling is involute, the umbilicus comprising 18.7% of the diameter, shallow, the umbilical wall flattened and outward-inclined, with a narrowly rounded umbilical shoulder. The whorl section is compressed, with a whorl breadth to height ratio of 0.58, the greatest breadth low on the flanks. The inner and middle flanks are feebly convex, the outer flanks convergent, the ventrolateral shoulders broadly rounded, the venter flattened and feebly convex. A total of 35 ribs are present on the well-preserved 300° adapertural sector of the outer whorl. Primary ribs arise at the umbilical shoulder, numerous long intercalated ribs arise low on the flanks, and shorter intercalated ribs arise around mid-flank. Some ribs bifurcate on the inner flank. The ribs are weak, straight and prorsiradiate on the innermost flank, strengthening across the middle of the flanks, as do the long intercalatories. Primary and long intercalatories flex back and are convex across the mid-flank region, strengthen, flex forwards and are markedly concave on the outer flank, broaden, and cross the venter in a broad convex curve. Periodic interspaces on the adapertural part of the body chamber are deepened into incipient constrictions on the outer flank. The specimen appears to retain the adult aperture, preceded by a constriction on the inner flank. The suture (Collignon, 1949, text-fig. 24) is deeply and intricately incised, with asymmetrically bifid E/A, and deep asymmetrically bifid to subtrifid A and four auxiliary lobes. Collignon also figured (1949, pl. 18, fig. 1, re-illustrated here as Fig. 5A) a juvenile, dissected out from a larger individual. It is an internal mould 29.3 mm in diameter. Coiling is very involute with a small umbilicus that comprises 20% of the diameter. The umbilical wall is convex and outward-inclined, the umbilical shoulder narrowly rounded. The inner flanks are feebly convex, the outer flanks convergent, the ventrolateral shoulders broadly rounded, the venter feebly convex. Ornament consists of falcoid ribs, 17 on the adapertural half whorl. Primary ribs arise either singly or in pairs, and are weak, straight and prorsiradiate on the inner flank. They strengthen around mid-flank, flex back, and are concave on the outer flank, strengthening progressively on the ventrolateral shoulder, weakening somewhat over the venter, which they cross in a broad convexity. Intercalated ribs arise both low and high on the flank, and have an outer flank and ventral development like that of the primary ribs. The third figured specimen (Collignon, 1949, pl. 18, fig. 3; pl. 21, fig. 7; illustrated here as Fig. 6) is interpreted as an incomplete macroconch. It is just over 127 mm in diameter, wholly septate, and retains extensive areas of partly altered shell material. Coiling is involute, with a small shallow umbilicus that comprises 19.3% of the diameter, the umbilical wall flattened, the umbilical shoulder narrowly rounded. The whorl section is very compressed, with a whorl breadth to height ratio of 0.59, the greatest breadth low on the flanks, the inner to mid-flank region broadly convex, the outer flanks convergent, the ventrolateral shoulders broadly rounded, the venter feebly convex. Where shell material is preserved, ornament consists of crowded falcoid ribs: primaries, long and short intercalatories that may reduce to mere lirae on the inner flank, where they are straight and prorsiradiate. The ribs strengthen progressively across the flanks, are feebly convex at mid flank, and feebly concave on the outer flank, where they broaden and crowd, weakening and crossing the venter in a broad convexity. Periodic very broad, shallow constrictions first appear on the internal mould at the beginning of the outer half whorl and become increasingly prominent as size increases, although largely concealed where shell is present. Collignon subsequently illustrated additional juvenile specimens that he referred to A. besairiei (1963, p. 88, pl. 275, figs 1186, 1187; pl. 276, figs 1188, 1189), and introduced six further species of 'Paracleoniceras' (= Aioloceras herein). Riccardi & Medina (2002, p. 340) suggested these might be synonyms of A. besairiei, a view supported here; they illustrate well the variability of the species, from weakly to more strongly ornamented. The holotype of Aioloceras cleoniforme (Collignon, 1963) (p. 89, pl. 276, figs 1190-1191; Fig. 7A herein) is the form with the weakest ornament, which is reduced to mere lirae, striae and growth lines on the inner part of the flanks, but retains the basic style of ribbing of the largest of Collignon's original specimens of besairiei (1949, pl. 18, fig. 3; pl. 21, fig. 7; Fig. 6 herein). It appears to retain part of the aperture close to the umbilical margin. The second specimen referred to cleoniforme by Collignon (1963, pl. 276, fig. 1191; Fig. 7C herein) has, in contrast, slightly stronger ribs than the holotype of A. besairiei at the same diameter, although the style is the same. Aioloceras tenuicostatum Collignon, 1963) (p. 92, pl. 277, figs 1193-1194; Fig. 7B herein) has well-differentiated crowded slightly stronger ribs than the holotype of cleoniforme. The ribs are weaker and more numerous than in the holotype of A. besairiei at the same diameter, but the ornament of the adapical 90° of the outer whorl is identical in style to that of a specimen referred to besairiei by Collignon (1963, pl. 276, fig. 1188) at the same diameter, while the adapertural 120° of the outer whorl differs in no significant respects from the same sector of Collignon's larger original specimen (compare Fig. 6 and Fig. 7B). Aioloceras morganiforme (Collignon, 1963) (p. 89, pl. 276, fig. 1192; Fig. 7D herein) has slightly stronger ribs than the holotype of A. besairiei at the same diameter; the style is the same. Stronger again at the same size is the ornament of the adapical 240° sector of the outer whorl of Aioloceras inaequale (Collignon, 1963) (p. 86, pl. 274, fig. 1185; Fig. 7E herein), whereas the adapertural 120° sector shows an abrupt change to narrower, crowded ribs. The holotype of Aioloceras crassefalcatum (Collignon, 1963) (p. 94, pl. 278, fig. 1195; Fig. 7F herein) is an incomplete macroconch, complete to 130mm in diameter, with indications of a further 120° sector of outer whorl. There are 20 ribs on the ventrolateral shoulder of the adapertural half of the outer whorl compared with 30 in the comparably sized specimen referred to Aioloceras besairiei by Collignon (1963, pl. 275, fig. 1186), the greater density reflecting the presence of fewer bifurcations of ribs on the outermost flanks of crassefalcatum. We have not seen the holotype and only specimen referred to Aioloceras ambiguum (Collignon, 1963) (p. 94, pl. 278, fig. 1196). According to its author, the ornament on the adapical half of the outer whorl is as in Aioloceras besairiei, but on the adapertural half the ribs are arranged in groups of 4-6, separated by prominent constrictions that form grooves in the umbilical wall, and E/A is distinctly asymmetric. So poor is the quality of reproduction of the figures of this species that the distinctive features of the ornament are unrecognizable. In conclusion, the differences between the various Madagascan specimens are to us those of individuals, of a variable population, rather than species.
Within the KwaZulu-Natal material, microconchs are represented by individuals that are complete at diameters of between 52 and 62 mm. Strongly ornamented body chambers such as OUM KX 11031 (Fig. 8A-C) have around 22 ribs on the adapertural half whorl: primaries, long and short intercalatories. The ribs are weak, straight, and prorsiradiate on the inner flank, strengthening, flexingback and convex at mid-flank, then flexing forwards, strengthening further, and concave on the outermost flank and ventrolateral shoulder. Occasional interspaces are accentuated into constrictions on the outermost flank, ventrolateral shoulders and venter, with a strengthened collar rib or ribs. The venter broadens markedly towards the adult aperture, which is marked by a weakening of the final rib and a prominent constriction. The apertural margin is slightly flared, most obviously on the ventrolateral shoulders and venter. OUM KX 11035 (Fig. 8O,P) is a 90° fragment of body chamber with much weaker ornament, and well-developed constrictions, that immediately preceding the adult aperture is particularly prominent. SAM-PCZ 22238 (Fig. 8G-J) is a well-preserved microconch lacking only the final part of the middle and outer flank and ventral region, and complete to 59 mm diameter. The body chamber extends to 240° of the outer whorl. Ornament is feeble, but there are four well-developed constrictions on the body chamber.
OUM KX 4800 (Fig. 10F,G) and KX 4796 retain recrystallized shell material; the well-preserved ornament matches that of cleoniforme of Collignon (Fig. 7A). SAM-PCZ022402 (ex. EM 115) (Fig. 5E) is a more robustly ornamented and inflated individual.
Also referred to Aioloceras besairiei are much larger individuals than those known from Madagascar. These are interpreted as macroconchs. OUM KX4796 (Fig. 11), a fragment of phragmocone 130 mm in diameter, retains low falcoid ribs like those of cleonifome, and links to OUM KX 4791 (Fig. 12), a phragmocone fragment 180 mm in diameter. The fractured section shows the penultimate whorl to have been coarsely ornamented. OUM KX11068 (Fig. 13) is complete to 180 mm diameter with a 240° sector of body chamber. OUM KX10990 (Fig. 14) is still septate to an estimated diameter of 190 mm and a maximum preserved whorl height of 95 mm. These large specimens are involute, with around 79% of the previous whorl covered, the umbilicus small (14.9-16.8% of the diameter), shallow, with a flattened, outward-inclined wall and very narrowly rounded umbilical shoulder. The whorl section is compressed, with a whorl breadth to height ratio of 0.47-0.57, the greatest breadth below mid-flank. The inner to mid-flank region is feebly convex, the outer flanks flattened and convergent, the ventrolateral shoulders broadly rounded, the venter very feebly convex (Fig. 12A). Ornament is reduced to low, broad, feeble flexuous ribs detectable on the inner and middle flank of phragmocones. On body chambers there are growth lines and striae only, straight and prorsiradiate on the inner flank, feebly convex at mid-flank, flexing forwards and feebly concave on the outer flank (Fig. 14).
Aioloceras ptychitiforme (Collignon, 1949) (p. 88, pl. 18, fig. 4; pl. 21, fig. 6) is based on a single specimen, which comes from the same locality as the type material of A. besairiei, of which it may be no more than an aberrant individual. The original figures make interpretation difficult, and it is re-illustrated here as Fig. 4A. It differs in its whorl section, which is like that of the Triassic Ptychites, with the greatest whorl breadth just outside the umbilical shoulder, flattened, convergent flanks, and a broad feebly convex venter. The ornament is of 36-38 concave ribs on the outer whorl, confined to the outer part of the flanks, and effaced on the venter on the adapertural half of the outer whorl. Aioloceras argentinum (Bonarelli, 1921) (in Bonarelli & Nagera, 1921, p. 24, pl. 4, figs 3, 6, ; see revision in Riccardi & Medina, 2002, p. 315, pl. 4, figs 1-7; pl. 5, figs 1-6; text-figs 1-4, 8a-n, 9a-i; 10, 11) shows striking dimorphism, with macroconch phragmocones 58-74 mm in diameter and adults 80-110 mm in diameter. Microconch phragmocones are 35-55 mm in diameter, and adults 55-73 mm in diameter. As noted by Riccardi & Medina (2002, p. 319), Aioloceras besairiei has flatter and more convergent flanks, a broader and more rounded venter, coarser ornament, and reaches a larger size. Macroconchs of Aioloceras rollieri (Leanza, 1970) (p. 221, text-fig. 18.1-2) (see revision in Riccardi & Medina, 2002, p. 320, pl. 6, fig. 5; pl. 7, figs 1-4; pl. 8, figs 1-3; pl. 9, figs 1-3; pl. 10, figs 1,2; text-figs 11, 12a-c) are 192-320 mm in diameter, microconchs 70-109 mm in diameter. The variation in ornament is narrower than in Aioloceras besairiei, and that of the most robustly ornamented rollieri is weaker than that of the most robustly ornamented besairiei. The body chamber of both macro- and microconch rollieri lose the ribbing, and develop numerous strong falcoid constrictions.
Lower Albian. In Madagascar, the Aioloceras besairiei Zone lies between that of 'Pseudosonneratia' sakalava below, and Douvilleiceras inaequinodum above. In northern KwaZulu-Natal, it co-occurs with Tegoceras mosense (d'Orbigny, 1841) (Kennedy & Klinger, 2008, p. 79) indicating a horizon in the mid-upper, but not uppermost Lower Albian (Cleoniceras floridum Subzone of the Sonneratia chalensis Zone to Protohoplites (Hemisonneratia) puzosianus Subzone of the Otohoplites auritiformis Zone of the northwest European sequence).
Kennedy acknowledges the support of the staff of the Geological Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and the Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford, and the financial assistance ofthe Oppenheimer Fund (Oxford). Klinger acknowledges the support of the staff of the Iziko South African Museum Natural History Collections Department and financial support of the NRF, South Africa. We thank Drs J.-L. Latil (Lazer) and F. Amedro (Calais) for their reviews of the manuscript.
ALABUSHEV, A.I. 1988. [Rapidolacenticeras-novyi rod melovykh ammonoidei.] Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 1988: 110-113. [in Russian. [ Links ]]
BONARELLI, G. 1921. In: BONARELLI, G. & NAGERA, J.J. Observaciones geologicas en las immediaciones del Lago San Martin (Territorio de Santa Cruz). Boletín, Ministereo de Agricultura, Buenos Aires, Series B (Geologia) 27: 1-39. [ Links ]
BREISTROFFER, M. 1953. Commentaires taxonomiques. In: BREISTROFFER, M. & VILLOUTREYS, O. de. Les ammonites albiennes de Peille (Alpes-Maritimes). Travaux du Laboratoire de Géologie de l' Université de Grenoble 30 (for 1952): 69-74. [ Links ]
COLLIGNON, M. 1949. Recherches sur les faunes albiennes de Madagascar. I. L'Albien d'Ambarimaninga. Annales Géologiques du Service des Mines, Madagascar 16: 1-128. [ Links ]
COLLIGNON, M. 1950. Recherches sur les faunes albiennes de Madagascar. III. L'Albien de Komihevitra. Annales Géologiques du Service des Mines, Madagascar 17: 19-54. [ Links ]
COLLIGNON, M. 1963. Atlas des fossiles caractéristiques de Madagascar (Ammonites). X. Albien. xv + 184 pp. Tananarive:, Service Géologique. [ Links ]
HITZEL, E. 1902. Sur les fossiles d'âge Albien recuillis par M.A. Guebhard dans la region d'Escragnolles (Alpes-Maritimes). Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France (4)2: 874-880. [ Links ]
HAUGHTON, S.H. 1936. Account of the geology of the Cretaceous beds and a preliminary analysis of the associated ammonite fauna. In: RENNIE, J.V.L. Lower Cretaceous Lamellibranchia from northern Zululand. Annals of the South African Museum 31: 283-294. [ Links ]
KENNEDY, W.J. & KLINGER, H.C. 1975. Cretaceous faunas from Zululand and Natal, South Africa. Introduction, stratigraphy. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Geology 25: 263-315. [ Links ]
KENNEDY, W.J. & KLINGER, H.C. 2008. Cretaceous faunas from Zululand and Natal, South Africa. The ammonite subfamily Lyelliceratinae Spath, 1921. African Natural History 4: 57-111. [ Links ]
KENNEDY, W.J. & KLINGER, H.C. 2011. Cretaceous faunas from Zululand and Natal, South Africa. The ammonite genus Oxytropidoceras Stieler, 1920. African Natural History 7: 69-102. [ Links ]
KORN, D., EBBIGHAUSEN, V., BOCKWINKEL, J. & KLUG, C. 2003. The A-mode ontogeny in prolecanitid ammonites. Palaeontology 46: 1123-1132. [ Links ]
KULLMANN, J. & WIEDMANN, J. 1970. Significance of sutures in phylogeny of Ammonoidea. University of Kansas, Paleontological Contributions 42: 1-32. [ Links ]
LEANZA, A.F. 1970. Ammonites nuevos o pocos conocidos de Aptiano, Albiano y Cenomaniano de los Andes Australes con notas acera de su posicion estratigráfica. Revista de la Asociacion Geologica, Argentina 25: 197-261. [ Links ]
ORBIGNY, A. d'. 1840-1842. Paléontologie française: Terrains Crétacés. 1. Céphalopodes. 1-120 (1840); 121-430 (1841); 431662 (1842). Paris: Masson. [ Links ]
OWEN, H.G. 1988. The ammonite zonal sequence and ammonite taxonomy in the Douvilleiceras mammilatum Superzone (Lower Albian). Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Geology) 44: 177-231. [ Links ]
PERVINQUIÈRE, L. 1907. Études de paléontologie tunisienne. 1. Céphalopodes des terrains secondaires. Carte Géologique de la Tunisie. Paris: de Rudeval. [ Links ]
RICCARDI, A.C. & MEDINA, A. 2002. The Beudanticeratinae and Cleoniceratinae (Ammonitida) from the Lower Albian of Patagonia. Revue de Paléobiologie 21: 291-351. [ Links ]
SAVELIEV, A.A. 1973. [Stratigrafiya i Ammonity Nizhnego Al'ba Mangyschlaka.] Trudy Vsesoiuznogo Nauchno-Issledovatel'-skogo Geologicheskogo Neftegazovogo Instituta 323: 1-339. [In Russian. [ Links ]]
SPATH, L.F. 1942. A monograph of the Ammonoidea of the Gault. 15. Palaeontographical Society Monographs, 669-720. [ Links ]
WHITEHOUSE, F.W. 1926. The Cretaceous Ammonoidea of eastern Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 8: 195-242. [ Links ]
WHITEHOUSE, F.W. 1928. Additions to the Cretaceous ammonite fauna of eastern Australia. Part 2 (Desmoceratidae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 9: 200-206. [ Links ]
ZITTEL, K.A. VON 1895. Grundzüge der Palaeontologie (Palaeo-zoologie). vii + 972 pp. Munich & Leipzig: R. Oldenbourg. [ Links ]
Received 19 June 2012
Accepted 10 August 2012


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We are a Spanish/American couple with five children, and we are leaving Nanjing after 16+ years here.
We have an excellent driver who has worked for us for the last three years (after going through several really not good drivers, so believe me, we know the difference!) He is always on time, drives safely, and knows his way around Nanjing. He was a taxi driver for several years so any place you tell him he knows how to get there. Just contact me if you are interested and I can put you in touch with him.
We also have two lovely Ayis, sisters, who have worked with us for 10 years now. Our youngest is almost 11 years old so they really have been with us on this entire journey as parents. Again, we have been here 16 plus years and tried other ayis, as well as seeing friends and aquaintances go through several ayis. It is saying a lot that these two sisters have kept house for us, cooked, cleaned, grocery shopped, taken care of our children from 2 weeks old to 10yrs old, sometimes several of the children at a time. They have traveled with us, and taken care of the children many times when my husband and I have had to leave them to travel.
Wang Ayi is the younger sister, she is smiley, open, easy to communicate with (neither sister speaks English), and super energetic. Her specialty is French style crepes for breakfast, and roast lemon chicken drumsticks for dinner. She has traveled with us many times to Thailand, Spain and USA. She has a current USA visa, it will expire in October but is easily renewable by mail (she doesn't have to go to the consulate in person). She should also be able to get an EU visa as she has been several times.
Yong Jun is the older sister and she is a very hard worker. Her specialty is an egg/tomato dish and garlic spinach. She is very flexible about her hours and is willing to be paid per hour as long as she is getting enough hours overall. Her hourly rates are very reasonable and she is willing to work weekends, evenings, and many hours.
They make an amazing team if someone is able to hire both, but they are also great separately. They have taken care of our chaotic, messy, big family for all these years which is saying A LOT! They really have good hearts and care for the children--for me the bottom line has always been that I have 100% trust that my kids are safe and well taken care of. Please don't hesitate to contact me to set up an interview or to get more information. We would love to know they have a good job to go to when we leave.

subset: commoncrawl


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Layer Cake Geology
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Collection
Resources in this top level collection a) must have scored Exemplary or Very Good in all five review categories, and must also rate as "Exemplary" in at least three of the five categories. The five categories included in the peer review process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
- Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
- Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page
For more information about the peer review process itself, please see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.
This activity has benefited from input from faculty educators beyond the author through a review and suggestion process. This review took place as a part of a faculty professional development workshop where groups of faculty reviewed each others' activities and offered feedback and ideas for improvements. To learn more about the process On the Cutting Edge uses for activity review, see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.
This page first made public: Jun 4, 2009
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Fossil formation (in sedimentary rocks)
How the activity is situated in the course
Content/concepts goals for this activity
-When deposited, younger (more recent) sedimentary rock layers sit on top of older rock layers (Law of Superposition).
-Sedimentary rock layers and time can be correlated.
-Relative ages of rocks can be determined based on rock layer position.
-Relative ages of fossils within rock layers can be determined based on position.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
Other skills goals for this activity
Description of the activity/assignment
Determining whether students have met the goals
Download teaching materials and tips
- Activity Description/Assignment:Layer Cake Geology Activity (Acrobat (PDF) 128kB Jun3 09)
- Instructors Notes:
- Solution Set:Layer Cake Geology Worksheet Answer Key (Acrobat (PDF) 159kB Jun3 09)
Other Materials
- Fossil Fauna Icons (Acrobat (PDF) 143kB Jun3 09)
- Layer Cake Geology Worksheet (Acrobat (PDF) 106kB Jun3 09)


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Rachael Aadland in the US
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BERLIN – Though budgets are always where your financial strategy begins, they're never where it ends. Unplanned expenses always manage to crop up somehow, and they can put your long-term goals at risk. Therefore, it's crucial to have a flexible strategy for managing your debt as well as your assets. One source of help you may not realize you have is the borrowing power of your portfolio.
Using your assets as the basis for a margin loan gives you access to a virtually limitless menu of opportunities, and the degree of risk may not be as high as you think. The proceeds can be used for diversifying investment holdings, implementing hedging strategies or financing the exercise of stock options. The liquidity in a portfolio can also be used to acquire artwork and real estate or to cover emergency expenditures. Margin debt can also substitute for home equity loans.
"More and more investors are realizing that margin borrowing remains a convenient way to achieve a number of financial goals without disrupting a long-term investment strategy or triggering a taxable event," said Jim Gildea, Vice President with Merrill Lynch's Global Securities Based Lending Group.
So how do margin loans work? Margin loans are collateralized by the securities held in an investment account. Unlike traditional bank loans, they do not require an application or special fees, and the funds are made available immediately. For those with large portfolios, the interest rates can be significantly lower than those on standard bank loans.
Traditionally, margin loans have been used most often in connection with investing — often purchasing securities either to reduce the borrower's cash outlay or to increase the amount of securities purchased and, in turn, the potential return on investment. However, in recent years, as investors are discovering how versatile this form of loan can be, more and more of them are taking advantage of margin.
Today, 67 percent of the Merrill Lynch clients who use margin do so for temporary and noninvestment reasons, such as tuition and home renovations. Margin can be employed for something as simple as protection from overdraft charges. Consider this: Anyone who charges, wires, journals or writes a check for an amount greater than the credit balance in a bank checking account or a brokerage firm cash account will incur overdraft charges — in addition to a per-incident fee, depending on the financial institution. With a margin account, there are no additional fees and no repayment schedule.
Borrowing on margin does involve additional risk, but the degree of added risk depends on how the proceeds are used. Using a margin loan to purchase securities, for example, exposes an investor to a higher degree of risk than paying for home repairs. That's because newly purchased securities may decline in value, requiring additional funds in a margin account or the forced sale of the securities.
Even if you're borrowing on margin for noninvestment purposes, it's still worth noting that the securities you use as collateral are subject to market fluctuations. You can reduce risk by borrowing less than the maximum amount available, maintaining a well-diversified portfolio and weighting the stock portion of your portfolio toward high-quality equities while holding investment-grade debt securities.
"As long as the risks are managed, leveraging the power of the eligible securities in a portfolio can simplify investors' access to funds, enhance their financial strategy and get them closer to their goals," Gildea says.
(The writer is a Merrill Lynch Senior Financial Advisor. She can be reached at 410-213-9084.)


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'All mountain'—as in 'the entire mountain.' To ride it, you can't put limits on climbs or descents—just be ready to ride where the trail takes you. This means that your trail bike must be equal parts lightweight & durable for scaling climbs and navigating seemingly endless downhill terrain. Our trail bikes meet this challenge head-on, so call it 'all mountain' or a 'one quiver bike'—we'll just call it the right tool for the job.
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The factors that contribute to the uncertainty of battery life in a standby or stationary application are worsening as power networks try to handle new data and communication demands. Even in applications where the battery is the last line of power, real-time information about its ability to reliably deliver power is still not readily available.
Sophisticated hand-held test equipment and battery monitoring systems have improved industry-wide understanding of battery conditions and prevented major power failures, but few systems are intertwined with the rest of the charging and power systems. As a result, rectifiers and chargers continue to operate independently of the battery diagnostics, and the elements causing battery deterioration will likely reappear. Battery failure may be only a symptom of a system or environmental issue that is causing battery deterioration. By continuing to treat the symptoms to ensure power availability, you may have to prematurely replace batteries and incur added costs of installation, servicing, scrap processing, and continued technician resources.
A more elegant solution would be to incorporate a battery monitoring and management system into the charger/rectifier system. What if you continuously monitored the battery and environmental parameters to produce an accurate measurement of the battery state-of-charge (SOC) and state-of-health (SOH)? In addition to having advanced warning of an impending battery failure, you could use these SOC and SOH diagnostics to control the rectifier and optimize the charge supplied to the battery string — effectively eliminating float charging.
State-of-charge (SOC)
While an exact definition of SOC is debatable, for our purposes here think of it as fuel in a fuel tank. If SOC is the amount of fuel in the tank, then the SOH is the condition of the tank itself. You need both measurements to accurately estimate the amount of energy in the battery and to estimate the ability of the battery to hold and deliver that energy. You can define relative battery SOC in terms of the measured specific gravity compared to the design specific gravity. More simply, a battery that has lost 50% of its full charge capacity can still achieve an SOC of 100%, but only because that 100% SOC battery is capable of delivering only a diminished capacity. Even though your battery has achieved 100% SOC, it may no longer have the capacity to deliver the energy it was designed to deliver.
SOC is an accurate indicator of the amount of energy available in a particular battery. As the battery cycles, SOC indicates the relative amount of energy removed or added. Fig. 1 on page XX represents SOC calculations obtained during field-testing in a vehicle application in May, 2001.
State of Health (SOH)
As the battery ages or its environment changes, SOC can become less important because it will often not reveal a faulty battery on its own. To complete the diagnostics, you must calculate a measurement of the battery's SOH. For standby and stationary battery applications, the SOH diagnostic relates to the ampere-hour (Ah) capacity of the battery at a given discharge rate. SOH can be expressed from 0% to 100%, based on the real time Ah capacity of the battery measured against the minimum requirements for the application at 25 degrees C. You must compensate the SOH calculation for temperature and SOC. SOH also takes into account the predicted Ah capacity of a new battery at 100% SOC.
An accurate SOH measurement equates to the ability of the battery to deliver its energy. As a battery develops faults or is subject to adverse conditions, its SOH will decline. Continuous monitoring of this parameter and its elements will help you diagnose failure modes such as sulfating, grid corrosion, low-electrolyte level, loss of active material, terminal and connection fault, and single or multiple faulty cells. In addition, by always having the current SOH measurement, a power management system can alert you to a problem before it becomes an emergency and enable you to correct it before the battery is stressed or fails.
Fig. 2 on page XX displays SOH measurements compared to the actual Ah capacity of the battery. Each event is a revised calculation for an SOH measurement based on a change in another measurement or parameter, including SOC. Event No. 1 is equivalent to an assumption in the algorithm of 100% SOH at battery installation. Combined, the measurements of SOC and SOH allow you to determine, at any moment, the energy level of the battery and its ability to deliver that energy upon demand.
Using diagnostics for optimized charging
SOC and SOH measurements can form the backbone of real-time information, which you can use to control the charging system output to the battery. Such a system could vastly decrease battery failure and extend battery life by optimally charging the batteries according to the SOC, SOH and other system measurements.
Since few methods for determining an accurate SOC have been feasible or practical, experts have proposed other charging profiles, such as alternating constant voltage-constant current (CICVCICV), overcharging, hysteresis charging, and individual cell equalization.
Real-time, continuous monitoring can produce accurate SOC and SOH calculations. When supplied to the charging system — along with the measurements of battery conductance, voltage, current, and temperature — they enable the charging system to supply the appropriate charging current. These diagnostics are independent of the battery design, and can be calculated without performing repeated programmed discharge tests on the batteries.
The key to establishing the SOC and SOH diagnostics is measuring the battery's conductance. Similar conductance technology has already been proven with a less-sophisticated design to provide rapid, intelligently controlled charging for 6V to 36V lead-acid batteries. The most recent advances in conductance technology enable you to conduct the following diagnostics:
Real-time continuous monitoring while batteries are online.
Measurements at variable rates of charge and discharge. This represents a significant advance from previous technology, which could measure only during level float charge.
Multiple measurement use, or the ability to measure conductance at various loads.
Noise immunity.
Conductance technology offers many potential benefits that will drive its development for the stationary/standby power industry. It represents a significant opportunity for you to provide innovative battery monitoring diagnostics, and the potential to take advantage of accurate, instantaneous battery measurements. Expected benefits from this technology include improvements in the life and reliability of the battery, its charging economies and diagnostic charging intelligence, and its warning of impending failure.
Cox is director of the OEM Business Unit, Midtronics, Inc. in Willowbrook, Ill.
Essential parameters to monitor
To establish meaningful diagnostics, you must measure the following battery parameters:
DC Voltage
Current (both charge and discharge)
Battery Temperature
Battery Conductance
The last item bears special mention. A battery's measured conductance correlates linearly with its ability to deliver current. As conductance declines, so does a battery's ability to meet its specified capacity and supply energy. A major benefit to using conductance is the ability to calculate a battery's capacity without performing an extensive discharge or load test. Instrumentation measures conductance by inserting a low-level AC signal, which does not cycle or age the battery.


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It's early in the 2014 season and Major League Baseball scoring is down again, and the first reaction is that drug testing and tougher penalties must be working.
But there is evidence that is not the entire story, and baseball should be worried.
There might be a more logical explanation that has nothing to do with drugs and more to do with how teams are smarter than ever.
One problem with blaming the lack of scoring on steroid testing is that hitters weren't the only players using performance-enhancing drugs. Many pitchers have been caught, and if hitters have stopped using, so have pitchers.
Still, scoring is on pace to be at its lowest level in more than 20 years, and there has been a steady decline in runs per game since the MLB expanded its drug testing in 2006.
But if we look more closely at just power numbers being put up by hitters, we get a picture that is less clear.
Since 2006, Isolated Power (extra bases per at-bat; ISO) in the MLB has been on a steady decline. However, there has not been a drop in the number of home runs per fly ball (HR/FB). This suggests that fly balls are leaving the park as often as ever, and the 13.5% decline in home runs since 2006 is due to fewer fly balls and not shrinking muscles.
Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon believes the lack of offensive production is due to teams playing smarter defense. Specifically, he believes offense has been hurt by the increased use of defensive metrics by teams when it comes to positioning fielders, a trend his team started several years ago ( via TampaBay.com):
Simply put, baseball teams have gotten smarter, and it's making hitting more difficult.
The biggest example of how teams are using defensive stats is with infield shifts. That is, when players are moved to unorthodox spots on the field when history shows certain batters are more likely to hit the ball to certain spots on the field.
This is a practice that was once limited to occasional use against the game's biggest sluggers, but is now a regular occurrence against many batters who show patters on where they hit the ball.
In 2011, the Rays led all teams by using 216 shifts during the season, according to BillJamesOnline.com, and they led by a wide margin. That season, only four teams shifted more than 100 times.
In 2013, the Rays shifted their infielders 466 times and didn't even lead their division. The Baltimore Orioles led all of baseball with 470 shifts, and 23 teams shifted at least 100 times.
This year, the Astros shifted 127 times in the first 12 games alone and are on pace for more than 1,500 shifts.
If we compare shifts per game to runs per game, we see a correlation that may be directly related.
Of course, the drop in scoring began before the use of defensive shifts took off. However, in 2011 and 2012, scoring was relatively stable (it went up, from 4.28 to 4.32 r/gm).
Then, in 2013, scoring went down, from 3.5% to 4.17 runs per game, the second-biggest drop since the expanded steroid testing in 2006 (scoring dropping 5.0% in 2010).
So what we are probably seeing is a that steroid testing may have affected scoring up until 2011, and now smarter defense is making the situation even worse. The result is a lack of offense that hasn't been seen in more than 20 years.
That's a scary thought for Major League Baseball as it continues to fight for the attention of young sports fans who want more action.
When other sports see a shift too far in the direction of offense or defense, they react and make changes. If baseball doesn't want the players juiced, they need to find another way to increase scoring, and it might be time to juice the baseballs.


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June 27, 2013
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even Doc Rivers got weary of the two-week saga of his move to the Los Angeles Clippers. He thought the unusual deal was dead several times, and he insists he really didn't mind the prospect of returning to the Boston Celtics.
"I felt like I was the only guy in all this that was in a win-win," Rivers said.
The Clippers think they've got plenty of winning in store after landing one of the NBA's most respected veteran coaches.
The Clippers formally introduced Rivers at their training complex Wednesday after dealing a first-round pick to the Celtics. Rivers was simply grateful to end his self-described "strange ordeal" ever since the Celtics floated the possibility of moving the NBA's highest-paid coach to a talented team determined to replace Vinny Del Negro with a topflight leader.
"The reason I wanted this when it was made available was because of what we have," said Rivers, who also will be the Clippers' senior vice president of basketball operations. "I clearly think this is an extremely talented basketball team. There were times last year they were the best team. I like the talent we have here."
Rivers believes the Clippers have the ingredients to be a title contender, although unrestricted free agent Chris Paul is a major part of that recipe. Rivers' arrival is widely expected to cinch a new deal for CP3 — and Rivers believes their partnership will lead to chances for championships.
"We're going for it, let there be no mistake," Clippers President Andy Roeser said. "We're going for it. We want to win, and we think Doc will help us get there."
Rivers largely sat out the negotiations about his fate over the last two weeks, staying at his offseason home in Orlando while Celtics President Danny Ainge and the Clippers' top brass hammered out details of the move. Rivers gave up on the deal multiple times, even discussing the Celtics' roster for next season with Ainge on Sunday, convinced he would return for a 10th season in Boston.
Rivers turned off his phone and watched his youngest son, Spencer, in an AAU game. When he turned it back on, he found out he might be on the move after all — and a few hours later, the deal was done.
With all of his formal clothes in Boston, Rivers couldn't even wear a suit when he headed out to the West Coast to accept his next coaching challenge.
"Things always find their path," Rivers said. "This took a long and winding path, but it found a way. ... I didn't intend it to be this way. I didn't want it to be this way. Danny and I thought it was something we would explore, and it would be quick."
But it's finally over, and Rivers has started to consider what he'll do with his new team, which won a franchise-record 56 games and its first Pacific Division title last season, only to lose to Memphis in the first round of the postseason. Rivers is eager to improve the Clippers' defense while maximizing the potential of Blake Griffin and Paul, whose return is the franchise's top offseason priority.
Paul and Griffin didn't attend the news conference, but backup big men Ronny Turiaf and Ryan Hollins showed up for a look at their new coach. Rivers said he had already spoken to most of his new players and most of the Celtics.
"Very excited about the future with Coach Rivers and his staff," Griffin tweeted. "Can't wait to get to work. Thanks for all the support clipnation!"
Rivers was understandably cagey about any conversations with Paul, who was widely thought to desire an established, veteran coach in Los Angeles. Roeser has been steadfastly confident the Clippers will hang on to CP3, and Rivers' arrival only made him more optimistic.
"I think we're just going to have to wait until he makes his decision and signs his contract, but all the indications are that he likes Doc and respects him," Roeser said of Paul.
Rivers was greeted in Playa Vista by a huge Hollywood media contingent, baffling a few longtime Clippers employees used to toiling in the glitzy Lakers' shadow. With each passing month, the Clippers are stealing the spotlight from the 16-time champions who share their hallway at Staples Center.
"I don't understand what the fuss is," Roeser said with a laugh. "It's not even the first time we gave up a first-round pick for Doc."
Roeser referred to the 1991 trade that brought the veteran point guard to the Clippers for one season in 1991-92. Rivers wore Los Angeles' No. 25 jersey that year — the same number on the ceremonial jersey he held Wednesday to herald his return.
Rivers' front-office title means he'll have a say in the Clippers' personnel moves, but Rivers clearly indicated he's only one part of a decision-making team including Roeser and Gary Sacks, their vice president of basketball operations.
"I think titles don't mean that much," Roeser said. "What matters is we're going to sit down together and find a way to make this team better."
Roeser confirmed the Clippers won't be making any player transactions with Boston in the near future, but said the Clippers "will be active in the free-agent market." A reunion between Rivers and Kevin Garnett in Los Angeles remains unlikely after the NBA banned any potential trades including both men, but Rivers seems confident the Clippers already have enough talent to be even better.
"That's the only reason I'm coaching, is to try to win titles," Rivers said. "We've got to prove we can win a series first."


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Well, I'm not quite sure how you'd get your money back from these buffalo as the viewing is free–but aren't they the best buffalo you've ever seen? Joseph Oregon resident Mark Lacey recently posted this gorgeous photo to his Facebook account and I couldn't help but share. When you visit Wallowa County in Eastern Oregon in the spring you might just see buffalo up on "the North Highway" (aka Oregon Highway 3 north of Enterprise, Oregon).
It's quite a sight to see these buffalo that are part of the Stangel Buffalo Ranch. And it is possible to sometimes get close enough to hear them snort at each other. And yes, those really are the Wallowa Mountains in the background.
Stay here at our Eastern Oregon bed and breakfast and we'll send you out on a buffalo excursion. Or maybe for some birdwatching, or wildlife viewing, or who knows what! We're well equipped with binoculars, detailed maps, hiking guides, etc., and advice to help you get the most out of your vacation.


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Pakistan Taliban attack army camp, kill at least 1 soldier
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Security officials say Pakistani Taliban fighters have attacked an army camp near the Afghan border, killing at least one soldier.
The officials said Tuesday that four militants tried to enter the camp in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area around midnight, triggering a shootout with soldiers. Three militants were shot and killed and the fourth, wearing an explosive-rigged vest, blew himself up.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll. One set of security officials said one soldier was killed, while another said two soldiers died and nine were wounded.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military policy.
A Taliban spokesman, Asimullah Mehsud, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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State pledges $50 million for new Sandy Hook school
Newtown will not have to pay a penny for a new Sandy Hook Elementary School -- state officials are making sure of that.
In the waning hours of the General Assembly session this week, legislators voted to approve as much as $50 million for a new school in Newtown.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, at a Capitol news conference Thursday afternoon, said he had made it clear to Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra within days after the Dec. 14 shootings at the school that it would be up to the town to decide the future of the building.
"We're going to treat this matter with the greatest respect that we can, understanding that hopefully this is a dramatic event, the likes of which we will never see again and would require, as it already has, a large response in emotion, in support and in funding," Malloy said.
The local task force of the town's 28 elected officials voted last month to raze the school and build a reconfigured one on the same Dickinson Drive property, complete with a new driveway.
"The community seems to have spoken and that is they want to replace this building," Malloy said. "And if that is their final decision, I support it."
The emotional decision was difficult for town leaders, who held several hearings for townspeople to offer their opinions.
To demolish the school, where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators, and build a new school on the site is estimated to cost about $42 million.
Benjamin Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, said the state approved a "grant-in-aid to give Newtown more flexibility for the design and construction" of the school.
The aid appears, without a town or project name, as a $50 million line in the $2 billion bonding package. It will have to be approved by the State Bond Commission, which Malloy chairs.
Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra said Thursday she is "very, very pleased'' with the General Assembly's action, calling it a "real gift that signifies a confidence in our community that we will use those resources wisely."
State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, R-Newtown, hailed the effort, done as part of general state business without requiring separate legislation that could have delayed such a decision.
Meanwhile, Newtown is pursuing federal funds for the school, but that is trickier to procure.
The expectation is that with the state pledge, Newtown can make a timeline that would bring Sandy Hook students back to their own neighborhood school by the fall of 2016. A municipal building committee has already been assigned, and the behind-the-scenes work required to begin construction is underway.
The approximately 450 students from Sandy Hook, in kindergarten through fourth grade, are finishing the school year at the renovated former Chalk Hill School in Monroe.
Llodra promised Thursday that the town will spend "not one dime more than we have to spend." She said the $50 million is a maximum figure, and she expects the project will be accomplished under that price, with any unused funds returned to the state coffers.
"We wouldn't take advantage of that generosity," Llodra said. "We will be very conservative, and very respectful not to abuse that gift."


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For most clients, working with Meredith Moore and the team at MAWM signifies a proactive step in building a long-term relationship with a financial advisor and consolidating financial decisions. Here's what you can expect from our fee-based approach to financial planning:
We deliver:
Are my current retirement savings sufficient?
What are the tax advantages of an annuity?
I'm retired, how long will my savings last?
How much am I spending?
Meredith Moore is an agent licensed to sell insurance through New York Life Insurance Company, may be licensed with various other independent unaffiliated insurance companies in the states of Georgia, New York, Florida and North Carolina. No insurance business may be conducted outside the states referenced. Meredith Moore is a Registered Representative offering securities products and services through NYLIFE Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Licensed Insurance Agency. 1125 Cambridge Square, Suite C, Alpharetta, GA 30009. In this regard, this communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the states of Georgia and Florida. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident outside the specific states referenced. Moore and Associates Wealth Management is not owned or operated by NYLIFE Securities LLC or its affiliates. *Meredith Moore is also separately registered as an investment adviser representative under Eagle Strategies LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser, offering advisory services in the states of Georgia, Florida, and New York. As such, these services are strictly intended for individuals residing in Georgia, Florida, New York and South Carolina. Meredith Moore is licensed to offer mutual funds and variable products. Market Watch information is provided for informational purposes and is not considered an offering of securities.
Neither Moore and Associates Wealth Management, its employees nor Eagle Strategies LLC, or its subsidiaries and affiliates, offers provides tax, legal, or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal, or accounting professional regarding your particular situation.


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Gould Book Club
The EEB Grad Book Club Presents:
Musings on.....
The Structure of Evolutionary Theory
By Stephan Jay Gould
Gould, S. J. 2002. The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University. 1433 p.
As biologists – and evolutionary biologists at that – we all strive to retain some knowledge of the historical underpinnings of our vast discipline (or multi-disciplines) plus, at the very least, we hope to maintain a cursory understanding of the complex ideas that render evolutionary biology a controversial field. At this informal gathering we will touch upon a number of those contentious topics, and conventional topics for that matter (it's a given that Gould will have some unorthodox spin on those well-accepted areas), and voila – we will be better EEB graduate students because of it (even if we only improve our vocabulary skills). So bring your copy of Gould and a dictionary and meet us at ….
Meeting Time:
Fridays 5pm @ The Hale
Scheduled Readings:
|12 September
|The Hale
|(Chp 9) The Primary Claims of Punctuated Equilibrium: Data and Definitions; The Scientific Debate on Punctuated Equilibrium: Critiques and Responses
|pp 765, 784–812
|19 September
|The Hale
|(Chp 8) The Grand Analogy: A Speciational Basis for Macroevolution; Presentation of the Chart for Macroevolutionary Distinctiveness; The Particulars of Macroevolutionary Explanation
|pp 714-724
|26 September
|The Hale
|(Chp 8 continued...) Reproductive drive: directional speciation; Species selection, Wright's Rule and the power of interaction with directional speciation
pp 724-735
|03 October
|The Hale
|(Chp 8 continued...) Species-level drifts as more powerful than the analogous phenomena in microevolution; The scaling of external and internal environments; Summary Comments
|pp 735-744
|10 October
|The Hale
| Chp 10: Historical Constraints and the Evolution of Development; Constraints As a Positive Concept
*We are waiting on an interlibrary loan of Dennett
|pp 1025-1037
|17 October
|The Hale
|Dennett has arrived! Copy is in Roberta's mailbox for photocopying
|17 pgs
|24 October
|The Hale
|(Chp 10 continued...) Heterochrony and Allometry as the Locus Classicus of the first positive (empirical) meaning: channeled directionality by constraint
|pp 1037-1051
|31 October
|Halloween Break!
|07 November
|14 November
|The Hale
|(Chapter 10 continued...) The aptive triangle and the second positive meaning: constraint as a theory-bound term for the patterns and directions not built exclusively (or sometimes even at all) by natural selection
|pp 1051-1061
|21 November
|28 November
|Thanksgiving Break
|5 December


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Just a quick desktop for all the authors out there who put a piece of themselves into every word they write.
This inspirational quote comes from Red Haircrow, a Native-American author and poet currently living in Germany. You can find him on Twitter at @Redhaircrow.
Download the wallpaper for your desktop: 1366×768 | 1920×1080 | 1024×768 | 1280×800
Keep writing!
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Brad's creative insight is easily accessible through constant communication and feedback. He's concerned about your vision, and it shows in the final product. He has a consistent devotion to making your vision a reality.
Brad came up with a powerful visual look and graphic design that tied together the various "chapters" in my story. What's more, he is a pleasure to work with—a great listener and highly collaborative!
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As an author, I wanted something that would showcase my books, but do so by telling a kind of story. And that is exactly what Brad accomplished. The finished product is beautiful, evocative and efficient, just like a great novel.
Apt Design is a pleasure to work with. They always meet or beat their deadlines with consistent creativity.
Brad provided very clear and understandable (for those of us who are tech challenged) directions on the process, explaining the steps he would take to build and design the site, as well as the input he wanted from me, and the training involved once the site was complete. Brad, who has a sharp eye for design, ran with it and produced a great site. He does good work.
Brad's design work is creative and impeccable — and best of all, he listens well and asks all the right questions, with no assumptions about his clients' experience.
Brad is an incredible designer. My book's website is exactly what I wanted, even though I couldn't even begin to articulate what I wanted before talking to Brad. Not only is the website wonderful, but he finished it faster than he promised, and he was great to work with. I am so glad I hired Brad for this project. I am absolutely delighted with the results.
EVERY project he works on is the most important project to him, and that's how he makes you feel through his accessibility, responsiveness, communication and professionalism.
After scouring dozens of author websites I contacted Brad – because his designs are clean and tight, and he is easy to work with. From inspecting his initial concept drafts, it was clear that selecting Brad was the right move.
I chose Apt Design because Brad's websites stood out from all the others I saw. The bonus was that besides his talent he is also a joy to work with.
Brad made the process of developing my web site not only painless, but positively enjoyable. His enthusiastic, "can-do" attitude permeated every discussion we had. I would recommend him to any writer looking to develop a web site!
His ability to grasp an organization's goals and translate them into images is pitch-perfect. With his upbeat attitude and timely delivery, he is a real pleasure to work with.
It was a pleasure to work with Brad at Apt Design. On the design front, his concepts were spot on, so we never got started on false trails. And he easily and accurately incorporated my feedback in a comfortable back-and-forth dialogue that resulted in a strong final product. I remain extremely pleased with the result.
Brad effectively translated my half-formed ideas into a beautiful website, and he gave me lots of choices and allowed plenty of feedback. He also did a great job making the web design flexible enough to evolve with my needs.
Brad is a complete professional and a pleasure to work with — he's intuitive, creative, responsive and reliable.


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Know Your Zine Writer – Ian Koss
Posted by Matthew Moyer on February 19, 2010
To help prepare you for our Much Ado About Books Zine Events, we're kicking off a series of short interviews with several of the participating writers and creators. Next up is Ian Koss, publisher of Ink 19. Enjoy!
Please introduce yourself and your webzine, Ink 19.
My name is Ian Koss; I'm the publisher and co-founder (with Francis P. Dreyer III) of Ink 19. We started Ink Nineteen in early 1991 as a printed complement to a public-access cable video show, to be called "Room Nineteen." (We spelled out the numeral in those heady pre-text-message, pre-URL days.) The show never quite coalesced, but we proceeded with plans for publication, and were in print through the end of 2000. Ink 19 continues to publish online, at www.ink19.com.
When and how did you first become involved with zines?
I was originally involved with the campus paper as an undergraduate; I was also involved with the radio station and was an avid music fan. My computer science degree gave me early access to the internet — these were the pre-WWW days, when the medium had email and newsgroups and not much else. Publishing Ink Nineteen was the solution to the equation of what to do with those interests.
At its height, Ink 19 was distributed throughout the state and the Southeast – what kind of work went into planning, producing and distributing an issue?
An unbelievable amount of work from a large group of selfless, dedicated and vastly underpaid people went into each issue. We did almost everything in-house — editorial, layout, production, distribution, ad sales, billing. It was a full-time job for a handful of people, and a week's worth of 20-hour days to publish each issue.
Without corporate backing, we always had to come up with creative solutions to problems, since we couldn't "wash them away with the money hose," as we liked to say. To this day I have no idea how we were able to get it done, month after month.
Tell me your favorite Ink 19 behind-the-scenes story.
Shortly after we first started distributing in the Tampa area, I got a call from a well-established quasi-religious organization in that area, wanting to purchase a full-page ad at our standard rate. We'd sold very few full-page ads at that time, and all at a steep discount, so the money was tempting. But it felt wrong, so I told them I'd call them back. I thought about it for five minutes, then decided it was a can of worms we didn't want to open. When I called back to tell them we were turning down their ad, they became furious, citing their freedom of speech and threatening legal action. I couldn't decide whether to be amused or insulted.
Another time, legendary underground producer Kim Fowley called me on the phone out of the blue and spoke to me for about 30 minutes. I was completely zonked on cold medicine at the time, lacking the sense to beg off and call him back at a more lucid time. I don't recall much of the conversation, other than his promising that he would overnight some sample recordings. He didn't — I never heard from him again.
You made the decision to take Ink 19 online several years ago, what prompted that?
Ink 19 has always had a foot in the digital realm — even from before the first issue, which featured writing that was solicited and collected over the internet. Production was always dependent on some form of electronic communication, whether it was transmitting layout files over balky 2400 modems or emailing PDFs of proofs. Our editorial department was fully online, meaning all articles were collected, proofed and prepared over the internet, by 1998. We were able to do so much with so little mostly because we leveraged technology as much as we could, but by the end of 2000 it was clear that the spiraling cost of dealing with print, coupled with sagging ad sales as the first dot-com bust loomed and the music industry found itself unable to deal with digital distribution, doomed Ink 19 as a paper publication.
At the same time, everything Ink 19 needed to "publish" online was mostly in place (we'd been updating our website since 1997), and publication costs there were nearly nil — literally a thousandth the monthly cost of putting out a printed edition. The decision to publish online seemed somewhat obvious to me, as it meant getting rid of the aspects of the magazine that were the most expensive and least fun.
What current projects are you working on?
There are several projects within Ink 19 itself that I'm working on, there's always room for improvement. I'm also involved with community radio again, with a weekly show showcasing the WTF-ness of the music I like. When time allows, I'll play with some local buskers for spare change. In between all of that, I'll work on folding little bits of paper and other distractions-from-distractions.
One Response to "Know Your Zine Writer – Ian Koss"
February 22, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Long Live Ink19!


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"Nanny McPhee Returns"
Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as a mother overwhelmed by taking care of five kids and a family farm during WW II. But she is visited one night by a mysterious stranger whose come to help her.
We don't waste our time on anything not worth your time. We celebrate the best of what's coming on film and TV. We cheer when our expectations are met and criticize when we're let down.