Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.

UNLABELLED: Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo. BACKGROUND: Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia, has produced a sizeable sample of human skeletal remains dating roughly between 940-2890 cal ybp. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Preliminary analysis indicates that this material is important for two reasons. First, individuals from the older time horizons are small in body size even relative to "pygmoid" populations from Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and thus may represent a marked case of human insular dwarfism. Second, while possessing a number of derived features that align them with Homo sapiens, the human remains from Palau also exhibit several skeletal traits that are considered to be primitive for the genus Homo. SIGNIFICANCE: These features may be previously unrecognized developmental correlates of small body size and, if so, they may have important implications for interpreting the taxonomic affinities of fossil specimens of Homo.

Adiantumshastense, a new species of maidenhair fern from California.

A new species of Adiantum is described from California. This species is endemic to northern California and is currently known only from Shasta County. We describe its discovery after first being collected over a century ago and distinguish it from Adiantumjordanii and Adiantumcapillus-veneris. It is evergreen and is sometimes, but not always, associated with limestone. The range of Adiantumshastense Huiet & A.R.Sm., sp. nov., is similar to several other Shasta County endemics that occur in the mesic forests of the Eastern Klamath Range, close to Shasta Lake, on limestone and metasedimentary substrates.