Sphenobaiera ikorfatensis (Seward) Florin from the Lower Cretaceous of Huolinhe, eastern Inner Mongolia, China

Sphenobaiera ikorfatensis (Seward) Florin from the Lower Cretaceous Huolinhe Formation in the Huolinhe coal–mining area, eastern Inner Mongolia, China, is identified, described and figured. Comparison with the type material of Sphenobaiera ikorfatensis (Seward) Florin from West Greenland confirms its identity. About 20 Chinese leaf specimens are known with well preserved cuticle which is closely similar to the Greenland leaves but more papillate. The palaeoclimatic and phytogeographic significance of the occurrence of this species is discussed in relation to the suggestion that West Greenland, north–east China and eastern Siberia were in the same phytogeographic region during the Lower Cretaceous.     

辽西早白垩世义县组Ruffordia和Nageiopsis的发现及其地层意义

报道辽西义县组两种颇具地层意义的植物化石。Ruffordia goeppertii(Dunker)Seward和Nageiopsis exgr.samioides(Fontaine)berry,根据植物化石认为义县组的时代应属于早白垩世。     

The present status of the genus Pseudotorellia Florin (Ginkgophyta)

An account is given of the present state of Pseudotorellia Florin (Ginkgophyta). The necessity to limit the use of this generic name to leaves, which have been studied with regard to their microscopical characters, is particularly emphasized. Pseudotorellia comprises at present seven valid species from Spitzbergen, East Greenland, Sweden, Poland, and the U.S.S.R. (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Bureja basin in the Soviet Far East). The range of the species is Rhaetic to Lower Cretaceous. No remains of the genus are known from the Southern Hemisphere.     

黑龙江省东部鸡西盆地早白垩世穆棱组植物化石新材料

系统描述了最近采集的穆棱组植物化石22属23种,其中的两种被子植物叶化石均为具原始被子植物叶特征的小型叶,在该植物群中尚属首次发现。运用扫描电镜(SEM)等方法对其中的Tyrmia sp．,Nilssoniopteris sp．,Ginkgoites cf．．sibirica,．Sphenobaiern sp．,Elatocladus manchurica等化石的叶角质层进行了研究。据已有的资料统计,穆棱组迄今已知有化石植物31属38种。该植物群以真蕨类占据绝对优势,裸子植物也相当丰富,其中的大多数种类主要见于早白垩世,穆棱组的地质时代应属早白垩世巴列姆期或巴列姆-阿普梯早期。植物组合中以丰富的热带及亚热带型植物为主要特点,未发现针叶类型的植物,说明早白垩世穆棱组沉积时,该地区的气候温暖湿润;另一方面,落叶的银杏类和松柏类,以及裸子植物木化石中具有清楚的生长轮,又说明该地区的古气候存在着季节变化。该植物群属于早白垩世西伯利亚植物区或加拿大-西伯利亚植物区。     

New data about Early Cretaceous Ginkgoales from southwestern Europe (middle-late Albian of Spain)

We present in this work a leaf-type corresponding to the Ginkgoales genus Sphenobaiera recorded in deposits from the middle-upper Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of northeastern Spain. The fossil leaf shows a widely dissected lamina that forks regularly six times ending at the apex in sixty-four tiny wedge-shaped segments, which are characters similar to those in Sphenobaiera pecten from the Middle Jurassic of England. The exceptional preservation of this fossil leaf, which preserves all segments in connection with its base, in addition to taphonomical and sedimentological data, indicates a nearby location for the parent plant, which grew near the shores of a tidally-influenced fluvial environment. A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the sub-environments where the different types of Ginkgoales known from the Albian of northeastern Spain developed is also presented. The presence of a variety of different types of Ginkgoales in middle-upper Albian deposits from Spain represents a new contribution to the knowledge of the palaeoenvironmental conditions for this region of southwestern Eurasia during the late Early Cretaceous.     

Cuticular anatomy of Sphenobaiera huangii (Ginkgoales) from the Lower Jurassic of Hubei, China

Sphenobaiera huangii (Sze) Hsü is typical Early Mesozoic fossil foliage of Ginkgoales in China. It has been recorded from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Jurassic. The cuticular anatomy is investigated based on material from the type locality, Lower Jurassic Hsiangchi Formation, Zigui County, Hubei Province. The specimens are similar to S. huangii, but contain new information about leaf morphology and cuticular anatomy. Lower and upper cuticle is investigated using light and electron microscopy (LM, SEM, and TEM). Many features are described for the first time, including general structures of lower and upper cuticle, stomata, papillae, and cuticular ultrastructure. At the ultrastructural level, two layers have been distinguished in both lower and upper cuticle, including a homogeneous outer layer with granules and a heterogeneous inner layer with fibrils. Based on a literature comparison between S. huangii and other relevant species of Sphenobaiera, S. huangii may represent the best-known taxon in the genus Sphenobaiera in both leaf morphology and cuticular structures. This study provides the first detailed ultrastructural data on the leaf cuticle of Sphenobaiera, one of the oldest foliage taxa of Ginkgoales, and offers further evidence for potential discussion on the taxonomic relationships of S. huangii with other ginkgoalean taxa.     

Palaeophytochemical Constituents of Cretaceous Ginkgo coriacea Florin Leaves

Chemical investigation of the organic solvent extract of Cretaceous Ginkgo coriacea Florin leaves by liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy （LC-MS） and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）, analogous to those from extant leaves of Ginkgo biloba L., led to the detection of a group of natural flavonoids and other volatiles. The similarity of the chemical constituents in these two species of Ginkgo suggest that the secondary metabolism of extant G. biloba is close to that of the Cretaceous species. The remaining natural products may be one explanation why the leaves of the Cretaceous G. coriacea have been preserved morphologically in fossilization. The detection of flavonoids suggests that the leaves of G. coriacea experienced a mild post-depositional environment during their fossilization. This appears to be the oldest occurrence of flavonoids in plant fossils.     

Dinoflagellate cysts and microforaminifera of the Lower Cretaceous Yatria River section,Subarctic Ural,NW Siberia (Russia). Biostratigraphy,palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic discussion

Rich assemblages of phytoplankton and microforaminifera (foraminifera linings) are found in the marine Lower Cretaceous section from the Yatria River (Subarctic Ural). The Lower Cretaceous (Upper Volgian to Lower Hauterivian) dinocyst and microforaminifera biostratigraphy is calibrated against the ammonite zones. The dinocyst stratigraphy differs from Arctic Canada zonation, except for the Berriasian Paragonyaulacysta? borealis zone, and shows significant similarity with the zonal subdivision of Boreal regions of Europe.

The distribution of phytoplankton and microforaminifera is related to relative sea level variations. Consecutive changes of phytoplankton associations (2 in the Berriasian, 3 in the Valanginian-Early Hauterivian, 4 in the Early Hauterivian), lateral zonations of microforaminifera (2 in the Berriasian, 2 in the Valanginian) and their relation to environmental changes in the Lower Cretaceous seas of the Subarctic Ural Basin are established.     

Review of Japanese Dinosaur Track Localities: Implications for Ichnotaxonomy,Paleogeography and Stratigraphic Correlation

Nine dinosaur ichnospecies from the Lower Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous of Japan, including two that are new, are described herein. The new ichnotaxa are Asianopodus pulvinicalx ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. and Schizograllator otariensis ichnosp. nov. The Japanese ichnotaxa are allied to Lower Jurassic ichnospecies in South China, North America, Western Europe and South Africa, and Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous ichnospecies from Southeast and East Asia. This suggests they were part of a global ichnofauna before continental drift began in the Middle Jurassic, leading to the development of a more endemic dinosaur fauna in the Cretaceous. At least two assemblages, an ornithopod-gracile-toed theropod-dominated community, in northeastern Asia, and a robust theropod- and sauropod-dominated community in the southern part of the continent, existed in the Cretaceous. This parallels North American dinosaur distribution patterns in the Cretaceous and seems to be a reflection of paleolatitudinal controls.     

New jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and similar beetles from the Cretaceous and Early Paleogene of Asia

A new genus and two new species of jewel beetles are described, Andakhudukia ponomarenkoi gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia and Metabuprestium ustkivdense sp. nov. from the lowermost Paleogene of the Amur Region. In addition, four new monotypic genera that share some features with jewel beetles are described: Cretoelaterium kazanovense gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Eastern Transbaikalia and Cretopoena gratshevi gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia have been referred to the families Elateridae and Eucnemidae; Cretofalselaterium baiankhongoricum gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia and Cretogermen turonicum gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Cretaceous of Kazakhstan have been erected for isolated elytra and placed in Coleoptera incertae sedis.     

Valdosaurus, a hypsilophodontid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe and Africa

Material of the hypsilophodontid dinosaur Valdosauruscanaliculatus (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) is described from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of southern England and a new species is recognized from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) of Niger, West Africa. This occurrence of Valdosaurus in Europe and Africa provides evidence of a land connection between these continents across Tethys sometime in the early Cretaceous.     

EVOLUTIONARY TRENDS IN THE GENUS GINKGO

Three main independent phylogenetic groups within Ginkgoales , consisting of different families, are suggested. It is considered impossible to deduce the genus Ginkgo from any other genus by means of fossil evidence known at present.
The oldest finds of Ginkgo date from the Lower Jurassic. During the Cretaceous, increasing polymorphy in foliar remains indicates the rise of new species. During the Lower Cretaceous there also appears a type of leaf known both as G. adiantoides and as G. paradiantoides. This leaf is from the gross morphological and the anatomical point of view almost identical with the Tertiary and Recent Ginkgo populations, thus making a direct ancestry between the present-day Ginkgo and those of the Lower Cretaceous likely. By Lower Tertiary times a considerable reduction has taken place leaving only one gross morphological type of leaf, that of G. adiantoides. This is suggested to be identical with G. biloba. Although there is no positive evidence, it can be assumed that the final reduction of the genus, to its present-day East Asiatic home, has taken place during the Pleistocene period.     

Petroleum Sporo-Pollen Assemblages and Oil Source Rock of Yumen Oil bearing Region in Gansu

Twenty-six species (or forms) of fossil pollen and spores referred to 24 genera extracted from the crude oil samples collected from the Yumen oil-bearing region in West Gansu are observed and the definition of the petroleum sporo-pollen assemblage is given by the authors. On the basis of palynological investigation, the oil source rock of this oil-bearing region is tentatively discussed in this paper. The fossil pollen and spores found from the Tertiary petroleum in this region may be divided into two groups, because they are extremely different in fossilized state. The group of spores and pollen with higher fossilized state is mainly consisted of Schizaeoisporites zizyphinus, Gibotiumspora paradoxa, Monosulcites minimus and Bennettiteaepollenites sp. The other group comprises Pinus, Picea, Ephedra, Potamogeton, Lilium, Ulmus, Chenopodium, Nymphaea, Eutrema, Lens, Nitraria, Tamarix, Achillea, Artemisia, Solidago, Bidens, Graminidites, Cypheraceaepollis, etc. The above mentioned petroleum sporo-pollen assemblage of the tertiary oil reservoir rock is a gathering of fossil pollen and spores brought from the Lower Cretaceous deposits and the tertiary deposits respectively. The appearance of the Early Cretaceous pollen and spores bearing in the black shales of the Lower Xinminbu Formation in the tertiary petroleum may be considered to be a result of petroleum migration. And it reflects that the oil source rock might belong to Early Cretaceous Series. The fossil pollen and spores extracted from the Early Cretaceous petroleum in this region contain merely Schizaeoisporites zizyphinus, Monosulcites minimus, Bennettiteaepollenites sp., Psophosphaera, etc. The tertiary pollen and spores are completely absent there. So it indicates that both the oil source rock and the oil reservoir rock should belong to the fossil-bearing Lower Xinminbu Formation. In addition, there are some pollen of Monosulcites and Psophosphaera in the petroleum reserved in the fissures of the Silurian metamorphic rock. They are also probably brought from the Lower Xinminbu Formation by oil and gas in the process of their migration. In any case, judging from the pollen and spores found from the crude oil, the oil source rock of this oil-bearing region is deduced to be the black shales of the Lower Xinminbu Formation referred to as Early Cretaceous Epoch.     

A new species of Tingidae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia

A new species of lace-bug Sinaldocader ponomarenkoi sp. nov. (Tingidae: Phatnomatini) is described from the Lower Cretaceous Transbaikalian locality Baissa. The new species differs from the type species S. drakei Popov, 1989 from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia in the well-developed lateral carinae of pronotal disc and in the details of hemelytral venation.     

Upper jurassic to lower cretaceous carbonate facies of african affinities in a Peri-European area: Chalkidiki Peninsula, Greece

Summary The Epanomi-New Iraklia area (West coast of the Chalkidiki peninsula) is considered to belong to the Prepeonias subzone (or Gevgeli unit), with a palaeogeographic position near the European margin, represented by the Serbo-Macedonian massif, and at a considerable distance from the fragmented African plate, the marginal block of which is here the Pelagonian Domain. In some boreholes in the area an Upper Jurassic to Lowei Cretaceous limestone sequence has been observed, ending with an unconformity and followed by an Upper Middle-Lower Upper Eocene transgressive bioclastic limestone, an Upper Eocene to Lower Oligocene clastic series and Neogene deposits. This Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous carbonate platform sequence and probably the Upper Jurassic limestones with bauxites of the nearby Mt. Katsika, show African affinities, viz: the presence of the essentially Aptian algal speciesSalpingoporella dinarica, an African plate marker; the chlorozoan type association and the bauxite formation during the Late Jurassic indicating tropical conditions; finally, the chloralgal type association and the sporadic presence of radial-fibrous ooids during the Early Cretaceous indicating peritropical conditions. Lower Cretaceous limestones are apparently missing in the innermost Hellenides. In the Pelagonian Domain s.l., on the other hand, Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous limestones are found in some places, with same characteristics as in the Epanomi-New Iraklia boreholes. On the contrary, the Upper Eocene to Lower Oligocene clastic series of the boreholes can be correlated with the Axios (=Vardar) molassic basin, inline with its present situation. During the Mesozoic, the Epanomi area therefore belonged to a micro-block, next to the NE margin of the Pelagonian Domain, in contrast to earlier interpretations. Its present time position results from Early Cenozoic tectonic phases.     

Galvechelone lopezmartinezae gen. et sp. nov., a new cryptodiran turtle in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe

Abstract: The Spanish town of Galve (Teruel) is notable because of the abundance of Upper Jurassic and, especially, Lower Cretaceous vertebrates recorded there. Although most groups have been studied in detail, information on turtles is very limited even though the material is relatively abundant. So far, no turtle taxa have been identified at the generic level. The only Lower Cretaceous articulated specimen from Galve is analysed here. It is identified as a representative of Cryptodira, Galvechelone lopezmartinezae gen. et sp. nov. Galvechelone lopezmartinezae is determined as a taxon belonging to the node that groups the turtles traditionally assigned to ‘Macrobaenidae’ and ‘Sinemydidae’, and other taxa such as the members of Panchelonioidea. This node, very abundant in the Lower Cretaceous of Asia, and with a broad subsequent distribution, has recently been recognized in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. The diversity of basal members of Eucryptodira in the European Late Jurassic (represented by Thalassemydidae, Plesiochelyidae and Eurysternidae) was high. Owing to a relative scarcity of well‐preserved early Cretaceous turtles from Europe, the knowledge of this group of reptiles is limited. The study of the new turtle from Galve, together with the recently described Hoyasemys jimenezi, and the recently completed review of the enigmatic Chitracephalus dumonii demonstrate that members of the cryptodiran node grouping ‘Macrobaenidae’, ‘Sinemydidae’ and Panchelonioidea were also very diverse in this period.     

The incertae sedis <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carpathoporella</Emphasis> Dragastan, 1995, from the Lower Cretaceous of Albania: skeletal elements (sclerites,internodes/branches,holdfasts) of colonial octocorals

The incertae sedis Carpathoporella Dragastan, 1995, reported from the Lower Cretaceous of the Western Tethyan domain, is usually interpreted as remains of calcareous algae (Dasycladales or Characeae). New thin-section material from the Aptian of Albania sheds light not only on its biogenic nature but also on the morphological variability of this taxon. In fact, Carpathoporella represents the debris of colonial, bushy, most likely gorgonid octocorals with tuberculated spheroids that may be fused at least near the basal root-like holdfast. Colony branching originates from longitudinally grooved calcareous branches or internodes. Possible relationships to other Upper Cretaceous to Palaeogene genera are discussed and a revised critical inventory of Cretaceous octocorals is presented. Due to the evidenced morphological features, Carpathoporella could either represent an ancestral isidid octocoral of the order Alcyonacea such as Moltkia Steenstrup or, due to the likely primary aragonitic skeletal mineralogy, a representative of Epiphaxum Lonsdale of the order Helioporacea. Due to morphological analogies, the new combination Carpathoporella elliotti (Radoičić) is proposed. In any case, the Lower Cretaceous record from Tethyan peri-reefal shallow-water carbonates is highlighted since numerous skeletal findings of fossil gorgonid Octocorallia were so far only known from Upper Cretaceous and younger strata of outer shelf environments of the boreal realm. The origin of deep-water Upper Cretaceous octocorals from Lower Cretaceous shallow-water taxa such as Carpathoporella is proposed as a possible further example of onshore/offshore evolutionary pattern.     

Ammoniten des Cenomans vom Südrand der westfälischen Kreide zwischen Unna und Möhnesee

Systematically collected ammonites from the different levels of the transgressive Cenomanian of the Haarstrang Mountains between Unna and Möhnesee (southern border of the westfalian Cretaceous, NW Germany) have been investigated. Twenty-one taxa (genera and species), partly previously unknown from this region, have been found and described. The fauna from the immediate transgression level is preserved as phosphoritic internal moulds (steinkerns). Fragmentary preservation and fossil condensation levels indicate reworking processes in these basal Cretaceous deposits. The age of the Cretaceous transgression in the area investigated can be precisely established as Lower Cenomanian (=carcitanensis subzone). The Cenomanian sequence, which is lithofacially very variable, can be, on the basis of the ammonite fauna, subdivided according to the modern Cretaceous stratigraphy for the boreal realm.     

Nouvelles datations (Hauterivien supérieur–Barrémien inférieur) dans les « Couches rouges » continentales du Haut Atlas central marocain ; conséquences sur l’âge du magmatisme et des structurations mésozoïques de la chaîne Atlasique

In the Moroccan Central High Atlas, between the Bathonian and the Aptian, marine deposits are present in three continental formations. Known to be unfossiliferous for the main part, they are attributed to the Middle Jurassic or to the Lower Cretaceous, depending on the authors. Charophytes from the top of the second formation (Iouaridene Fm), and from the base of the third one (Jbel Sidal Formation), give an Upper Hauterivian–Lower Barremian age. Thanks to these biostratigraphical data, it has been possible to distinguish the different phases of the magmatic activity and the synsedimentary tectonic events, either linked to the closure of Tethyan Atlasic troughs during the Bathonian or associated with the development of the new basins, diachronous in the Atlasic Belt, during the Lower Cretaceous.