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No 11 (2023)
Ancient Pollinating Insects
Abstract
Recent studies of the mouthparts of fossil insects and the pollen preserved on their bodies and in their guts have shed new light on the evolution of insect pollination. In particular, it has been shown that various groups of gymnosperms could have used insects as pollinating agents long before the appearance of flowering plants. The paper provides an overview of the most important studies in paleoentomology, which focused on the origin and evolution of mutualistic relationships between plants and insect pollinators.
Priroda. 2023;(11):3-12
3-12
Petrified Tree of Sakhalin Island: A New Type of Jewelry and Ornamental Material
Abstract
Petrified wood belongs to the group of florogenic jewelry and ornamental materials. It is widely used for the manufacture of various types of products. The paper presents first results of a detailed gemological and mineral-geochemical study of the petrified wood of jewelry and ornamental quality from Sakhalin Island. The petrified wood is associated with the Santonian and Campanian deposits of the Late Cretaceous age. According to the mineral composition and decorative and technological characteristics, two types of petrified wood can be distinguished. The first type of petrified wood is characterized by almost complete replacement of the wood original organic compounds mainly by quartz and, to a lesser extent, by calcite with inclusions of pyrite, dolomite, microcline, and kaolinite. In the second type, the role of calcite increases significantly, while the quartz content decreases. Fragments of petrified wood are of large size and good decorative, technological, and ecological characteristics. It can be collected in the rivers with other types of jewelry and ornamental materials at little costs and without destroying the environment.
Priroda. 2023;(11):13-25
13-25
Road of Winds Across the Mongolian Plains
Abstract
Ancient Mongolia is imaged as a country of dinosaurs and other Mesozoic fauna and flora. However already joint Soviet-Mongolian expeditions of the last century have revealed even more interesting palaeontological remains and sedimentological features in the Precambrian and Palaeozoic strata of this country, important for the understanding of the development of the entire Earth. Nowadays, numerous international expeditions are especially interested in the period of 1000–500 Ma that covers a blustery diversification of unicellular eukaryotes, global glaciations, one of the main stage of the phosphate accumulation process, and an establishment of animals with mineral skeletons. More than that, Mongolia of that time was represented not by a single marine basin but rather a number of seas associated with various microcontinents and volcanic arcs, which provides an opportunity to conceive the differences in the succession of these events under different conditions.
Priroda. 2023;(11):26-38
26-38
African Baobabs of the Limpopo Province
Abstract
African baobab is an extremely unpretentious tree with many useful properties. Its various parts are eaten, used in medicine, and in the manufacture of household products. Baobabs are of great importance to people living in dry areas. What are the reasons for baobabs to withstand extreme droughts, grow in unfavorable soils, quickly recover from damage, and live up to 2 thousand years or more? The answer to these questions lies in the tree’s internal structure: new “stems” appear inside the baobab as it grows. This phenomenon is observed only in trees of the genus Adansonia. In order to understand how the structure of the baobab changes with its age and how this aff ects its growth and life expectancy, we went to the northeast of the Republic of South Africa, to the Limpopo province, where the range of the African baobab begins.
Priroda. 2023;(11):39-47
39-47
Silicate Surprises: the Discovery of Two New Minerals with a Layered Structure
Abstract
This paper reports on the discovering of two new layered-silicate mineral species, kalyuzhnyite-(Ce) NaKCaSrCeTi(Si8O21)OF(H2O)3 and letnikovite-(Ce) (Na )Ca2Ce2[Si7O17(OH)]F4(H2O)4. They are found in the Darai-Pioz alkaline massif in the Tien-Shan mountains of Tajikistan. The structure of these minerals includes two new types of layers formed by SiO4-tetrahedra, the kalyuzhnyite double [Si8O21]10–-sheet and letnikovite [Si7O17(OH)]7--sheet. The specific features of these minerals are described and compared with related layered minerals. Both of minerals with large channels potentially can be used as a model for synthesis of microporous materials of industrial interest.
Priroda. 2023;(11):48-51
48-51
52-56
57-60
Papier-mâché Elephant for the Saint Petersburg Kunstkamera
Abstract
The museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint Petersburg) exhibits a taxidermy piece and a skeleton of an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758), mounted in 1806–1807 for Saint Petersburg Kunstkamera. The technique and the anatomical accuracy of this taxidermy piece are exceptional for the early 19th century. The name of the maker was considered lost. However, analyzes of the archival documents revealed that the taxidermy piece was mounted by a papier-mâché artist Carl Thimpont, and the skeleton was constructed under the supervision of anatomist Piotr Zaslavsky. The drawings by anatomist Petrus Camper from his book of 1802 provided a theoretical basis for both of them. The elephant itself was a diplomatic gift from the Emir of Bukhara to Catharine the Great. The animal was kept in the imperial menagerie since 1796 to 1806.
Priroda. 2023;(11):61-66
61-66
A Tower of Strength. Monument to Academician V. E. Fortov
Priroda. 2023;(11):67-70
67-70
71-71
72-72