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Ernietta plateauensis

April 9, 2022, 8:50 pm
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Ernietta plateauensis Pflug, 1966

Systematics:  Animalia Petalonamae Erniettomorpha
Size: 3-12 cm
Type Horizon and Locality:  Late Ediacaran, Schwartzkalk Limestone Member, Kuibis Formation, Nama Group, Namibia
Type Specimen :

This enigmatic sack-like animal lived half buried in the substrate and the hollow body is thought to be also filled with substrate material up to a degree. It was probably a suspension feeder and there is some indication it formed colonies in shallow marine or freshwater environments. The best preserved specimens are from the Nama Group of Namibia, but it is also known from the Wood Canyon Formation of Nevada, US.

April 9, 2022


References:

Elliott, D. A., Trusler, P. W., Narbonne, G. M., Vickers-Rich, P., Morton, N., Hall, M., ... & Schneider, G. I. (2016). Ernietta from the late Edicaran Nama Group, Namibia. Journal of Paleontology, 90(6), 1017-1026.

Gibson, B. M., Rahman, I. A., Maloney, K. M., Racicot, R. A., Mocke, H., Laflamme, M., & Darroch, S. A. (2019). Gregarious suspension feeding in a modular Ediacaran organism. Science Advances, 5(6), eaaw0260.

Hall, J. G., Smith, E. F., Tamura, N., Fakra, S. C., & Bosak, T. (2020). Preservation of erniettomorph fossils in clay-rich siliciclastic deposits from the Ediacaran Wood Canyon Formation, Nevada. Interface focus, 10(4), 20200012.

Ivantsov, A. Y., Narbonne, G. M., Trusler, P. W., Greentree, C., & Vickers‐Rich, P. (2016). Elucidating Ernietta: new insights from exceptional specimens in the Ediacaran of Namibia. Lethaia, 49(4), 540-554.
 
Maloney, K. M., Boag, T. H., Facciol, A. J., Gibson, B. M., Cribb, A., Koester, B. E., ... & Laflamme, M. (2020). Paleoenvironmental analysis of Ernietta-bearing Ediacaran deposits in southern Namibia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 556, 109884. 
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Fallotaspis bondoni

April 17, 2022, 5:46 pm
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Fallotaspis bondoni (Neltner & Poctey, 1950)

Systematics:  Arthropoda Trilobita Redlichiida Olenellina Fallotaspidoidea Fallotaspididae
Size: 2.5 cm
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Cambrian, Amouslek Formation (Cambrian Stage 3), Western Anti-Atlas,  Morocco
Type Specimen : Faculté des Sciences de Lyon no 16 498 (coll. Neltner G 21) cephalon and anterior portion of the thorax
Synonyms:Fallotaspis longa Hupé, 1953, Fallotaspis longispina Hupé, 1953

Fallotaspis represents a genus of Early Cambrian Trilobites with a wordlwide distribution  and is used as an index fossil. F. bondoni was originally described as a species of Olenellus from specimens found in Morocco. It also occurs in the Montenegro Member, Campito Formation, of the White Mountains,  California.

April 17, 2022


References:
 
Geyer, G. (1996). The Moroccan fallotaspidid trilobites revisited. Beringeria, 18, 89-199.
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Leptauchenia decora

April 24, 2022, 5:58 pm
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Leptauchenia decora Leidy, 1856

Systematics:  Mammalia Artiodactyla Tylopoda Merycoidodontidae Leptaucheniinae
Size: 60 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Late Oligocene, Upper Member, Brule Formation (Arikareean) Jackson county, South Dakota, US
Type Specimen : ANSP 10878 (Lectotype), a partial right maxilla.

Merycoidodontidae form a diversified family of diminutive even-toed ungulates that thrived in North America during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. Despite their often pig-like appearance, they were more closely related to camels. Leptauchenia ("thin llama") was a genus from the western United States that apparently lived in a desert habitat. Three species are currently recognized: The smallest species, L. decora represented here, from the Late Oligocene, and the larger Late Oligocene-Early Miocene L. major and L. lullianus. Remains of Leptauchenia have been found in North and South Dakota, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

April 24, 2022


References:
 
Prothero, D. R. & Sanchez, F. (2008). Systematics of the leptaucheniine oreodonts (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from the Oligocene and earliest Miocene of North America. Neogene Mammals, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 44, 335-356.
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Tinirau clackae

May 7, 2022, 6:17 pm
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  Tinirau clackae Swartz, 2012

Systematics:  Eotetrapodiformes
Size: 1 m long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Middle Devonian, Red Hill I beds (Upper Givetian), Eureka county, Nevada, US
Type Specimen : UCMP 118605, an almost complete skeleton

This marine predatory fish from the Middle Devonian of Nevada was close to the ancestry of land-living vertebrates. It is named after Tinirau, the half-human, half-fish guardian of ocean life of Polynesian legends, alluding to the status of the fossil as a transitional form between fish and tetrapods.

May 7, 2022


References:
 
Swartz, B. (2012). A marine stem-tetrapod from the Devonian of western North America. PLoS One, 7(3), e33683.
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Pezopallichthys ritchei

May 15, 2022, 11:14 am
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 Pezopallichthys ritchei Wilson & Caldwell, 1998

Systematics:  Thelodonti Furcacaudiformes Pezopallichthyidae
Size: 4 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Middle Silurian, Road River Formation, Delorme Group (Wenlock), Avalanche Lake, MacKenzie Mountains, Northwestern Territories, Canada
Type Specimen : UALVP 32994, an almost complete specimen

This small Silurian jawless fish is known from several nearly complete specimens. The body has a distinctive barrel shape thus its name, Pezopallichthys, which translate into "football fish".

May 15, 2022


References:
 
Wilson, M. V., & Caldwell, M. W. (1998). The Furcacaudiformes: a new order of jawless vertebrates with thelodont scales, based on articulated Silurian and Devonian fossils from northern Canada. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18(1), 10-29.
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Superciliaspis gabrielsei

May 28, 2022, 5:17 pm
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 Superciliaspis gabrielsei (Dineley & Loeffler, 1976) Adrain & Wilson, 1994

Systematics:  Osteostraci Cornuata Cephalaspidida Superciliaspididae
Size: 11 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Devonian, Delorme Group (Lochkovian), MOTH locality, MacKenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada
Type Specimen : NMC 13761, laterally compacted cephalic shield

At first provisionally described as a species of Cephalaspis, Superciliaspis ("Eyebrow shield") was a small Early Devonian Osteostracan jawless fish from the Northwest Territories of Canada. Several well preserved fossils are known including of juveniles, that show that ossification of the dermoskeleton starts progressively at an early stage of development when the animal was only 20% of its adult size.

May 28, 2022


References:
 
Adrain, J. M., & Wilson, M. V. (1994). Early Devonian cephalaspids (Vertebrata: Osteostraci: Cornuata) from the southern Mackenzie Mountains, NWT, Canada. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 14(3), 301-319.
 
Hawthorn, J. R., Wilson, M. V., & Falkenberg, A. B. (2008). Development of the dermoskeleton in Superciliaspis gabrielsei (Agnatha: Osteostraci). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28(4), 951-960.
 
Scott, B. R., & Wilson, M. V. (2015). The Superciliaspididae, a new family of Early Devonian Osteostraci (jawless vertebrates) from northern Canada, with two new genera and three new species. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 13(3), 167-187.
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Wladysagitta janvieri

May 29, 2022, 1:37 pm
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Wladysagitta janvieri Voichyshyn, 2006

Systematics:  Osteostraci Cornuata Zenaspida
Size: 15 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Devonian, Old Red Formation, Dniestr Series, Podolia, Ukraine
Type Specimen : SMNH BP.102, fragmentary mould of the headshield from the dorsal side and its imprint

Wladysagitta ("Dr. Wladyslaw Zych's arrow") was a jawless fish with an arrow-shaped headshield. Two species are known: W. janvieri from the Lower Devonian of Ukraine and W. acutirostris from the Lower Devonian of Great Britain. Its exact phylogenetic position is uncertain with the latest studies placing it among the Zenaspids.

May 29, 2022


References:
 
Voichyshyn, V. (2006). New osteostracans from the Lower Devonian terrigenous deposits of Podolia, Ukraine. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 51(1) 131-142.

Sansom, R. S. (2009). Phylogeny, classification and character polarity of the Osteostraci (Vertebrata). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 7(1), 95-115.
 
 
All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Podolaspis lerichei

May 29, 2022, 4:53 pm
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Podolaspis lerichei (Zych, 1927)

Systematics:  Pteraspidomorphi Heterostraci Pteraspidiformes Podolaspididae
Size: 25 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Devonian, Old Red Sandstone (Lochkovian), Podolia, Ukraine
Type Specimen : anterior part of carapace in dorsal view (Lectotype selected by Tarlo in Zych, 1927)

These medium sized pteraspidformes have a long almost vertical dorsal spine and large triangular cornual plates (the "wings" on the sides of the armored head). Four species have been described all from the Early Devonian of Podolia, Ukraine: P. lerichei (type species), P. podolica, P. zychi and P. danieli.

May 29, 2022


References:

Voichyshyn, V. (2011). The Early Devonian armoured agnathans of Podolia, Ukraine. Palaeontologia Polonica, (66) 1-211.


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Lepidaspis serrata

June 5, 2022, 5:29 pm
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Lepidaspis serrata Dineley & Loeffler, 1976

Systematics:  Pteraspidomorphi Heterostraci Lepidaspidiformes Lepidaspididae
Size: 20 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Devonian, Delorme Gr, MOTH locality, McKenzie Mountains, Northwest, Canada
Type Specimen : NMC 19879, crushed, incomplete cephalothorax

Lepidaspis ("lizard shield") is a heterostracan jawless fish of uncertain affinities. The armor was made of unique tiny scales with serrated edges.

June 5, 2022


References:
 
Dineley, D. L.  & Loeffler, E.J. (1976). Ostracoderm faunas of the Delorme and associated Siluro-Devonian formations, North West Territories, Canada. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 18, 1-208.


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.

 

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Dicksonosteus arcticus

June 5, 2022, 5:44 pm
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Dicksonosteus arcticus Goujet, 1975

Systematics:  Placodermi Arthrodira Phlyctaeniidae
Size: 15-20 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Devonian, Wood Bay Series, Spitsbergen, Norway
Type Specimen : MNHN Paris SVD 115, incomplete head shield

Dicksonosteus ("Dicksonland bone") is a primitive arthrodire placoderm from the Early Devonian of Spitsbergen, Norway, with a flattened head shield. It was probably a benthic fish.

June 5, 2022


References:
 
Goujet, D. (1975). Dicksonosteus, un nouvel arthrodire du Dévonien du Spitsberg remarques sur le squelette visceral des Dolichothoraci. Colloques Internationaux du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 218, 81-99.


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.

 

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Boreaspis rostrata

June 11, 2022, 10:34 pm
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Boreaspis rostrata Stensiö, 1927

Systematics:  Osteostraci Cephalaspidiformes Cornuata Benneviaspidiformes Boreaspididae
Size: 5 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality:  Early Devonian, Wood Bay Series, Spitsbergen, Norway
Type Specimen : specimen nr 96,  cephalic shield (Stensio, 1927)

Boreaspis was a small armored jawless fish with a long rostrum. Several species have been described from the Early Devonian of Spitsbergen. The cephalic shield of the type species, B. rostrata measured only 1.5 cm.

June 11, 2022


References:
 
Stensiö, E. A. (1927). The Downtonian and Devonian vertebrates of Spitsbergen. part I, Family Cephalaspidae. Skrifter om Svalbard og Nordishavet 12, pp 1-391


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.

 

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Haikouella lanceolata

June 25, 2022, 4:56 pm
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Haikouella lanceolata Chen, Huang & Li, 1999

Systematics:  Chordata Vertebrata?
Size: 3 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality: Lower Cambrian, Maotianshan Shale, Haikou, Kunming, Yunnan, China
Type Specimen : EC00213a,b, complete specimen

Known from some 305 specimens, this small fish-like animal from the famous Chengjiang fauna was probably an early vertebrate. The fossils show the presence of a notochord, neural cord with a brain, a heart, a stomach, and gills among other things. It is very similar to the contemporary Yunnanozoon, possibly the same animal.

June  25, 2022


References:
 
Chen, J. Y., Huang, D. Y., & Li, C. W. (1999). An early Cambrian craniate-like chordate. Nature, 402(6761), 518-522


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Olenelloides armatus

June 25, 2022, 5:13 pm
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Olenelloides armatus (Peach, 1894)

Systematics:  Arthropoda Trilobita Redlichiida Olenellina Olenelloidea Biceratopsidae
Size: 1 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality: Lower Cambrian, Series 2, Stage 4, 'Fucoid' Beds, Scotland, UK
Type Specimen : GSE 472 (Lectotype) almost complete cephalon

This tiny trilobite with a hexagonal spiky cephalon is known from the Lower Cambrian of Scotland. The unusual shape has been explained as retention of juvenile traits in adults, a phenomenon called paedomorphosis, although this has been disputed.

June  25, 2022


References:
 
McNamara, K.J. (1978) Paedomorphosis in Scottish Olenellid Trilobites (Early Cambrian), Palaeontology, 21 (3) 635-655.


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Nanlinghu Formation

July 1, 2023, 8:20 pm
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Nanlinghu Formation

A sampling of critters from the Early Triassic (Olenekian) Nanlinghu Formation of the Anhui Province of China

Ankitokazocaris chaohuensis Ji et al., 2017 (Thylacocephala)
Chaohuichthys majiashanensis Tong et al., 2006 (Actinistia)
Majiashanosaurus discocoracoidis Jiang et al., 2014 (Sauropterygia)
Cartorhynchus lenticarpus Motani et al., 2015 (Ichthyosauromorpha)
Saurichthys majiashanensis Tintori et al., 2014 (Actinopterygii)
Chaohusaurus geishanensis Young & Dong, 1972 (Ichthyosauromorpha)
Sclerocormus parviceps Jiang et al., 2016 (Ichthyosauromorpha)


March 12, 2022





All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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Blue Lias Formation

December 3, 2023, 2:24 pm
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Blue Lias Formation

A sampling of critters from the Early Jurassic Blue Lias Formation of England

Plagiostoma giganteum Boehm, 1911 (Mollusca Bivalvia Limidae)
Cenoceras striatum (Sowerby, 1817) (Mollusca Cephalopoda Nautiloidea)
Psiloceras planorbis (Sowerby, 1824) (Mollusca Cephalopoda Ammonoidea)
Dimorphodon macronyx (Buckland, 1829) (Pterosauria Dimorphodontidae)
Thalassiodracon hawkinsi (Owen, 1838) (Sauropterygia Pleiosauria Pliosauridae)
Leptonectes tenuirostris (Conybeare, 1822) (Ichthyosauria Leptonectidae)
Protoichthyosaurus prostaxalis Appleby, 1979 (Ichthyosauria Ichthyosauridae)
Atychodracon megacephalus (Stutchbury, 1846) (Sauropterygia Plesiosauria Rhomaleosauridae)
Macroplata tenuiceps Swinton, 1930 (Sauropterygia Plesiosauria Rhomaleosauridae)
Ichthyosaurus communis De la Beche & Conybeare, 1822 (Ichthyosauria Ichthyosauridae)

February 27, 2022


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Article 0

December 3, 2023, 2:34 pm
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Wenlock (Late Silurian) fish from Scotland

A sampling of Wenlockian (Late Silurian) fish from Scotland

Ateleaspis tessellata Traquair, 1899 (Osteostraci Ateleaspidiformes)
Ciderius cooperi van der Brugghen, 2015 (Anaspidomorphi Eupharineda)
Lanarkia horrida Traquair, 1898 (Thelodonti Furcacaudiformes Lanarkiidae)
Birkenia sp. (Anaspidomorphi Anaspida Birkeniiformes)
Lasanius problematicus Traquair 1898 (Anaspidomorphi Anaspida Birkeniiformes Lasaniidae)
Shielia taiti (Stetson, 1931) (Thelodonti Phlebolepidiformes Shieliidae)


March 6, 2022


All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura.  The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)  license meaning that you are free to use them  as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.
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