Systematics and phylogenetic implications of the haplosclerid stromatoporoid Newellia mira nov. gen.

Wood, Rachel, Reitner, Joachim & West, Ronald R. 1989 01 15: Systematics and phylogenetic implications of the haploslerid stromatoporoid Newellia mira nov. gen. Lethaia, Vol. 22, pp. 85–93. Oslo. ISSN 0024–1164. The presence of spicules in a Palaeozoic stromatoporoid is here confirmed. Parallelopora mira Newell, 1935 from the Upper Carboniferous of the U.S.A. is redescribed as a calcified haplosclerid sponge with a primary siliceous spicule framework of isodictyally arranged styles, sub-tylostyles and strongyles and a secondary calcareous skeleton of stromatoporoid grade and probable aragonitic original mineralogy. P. mira is placed within a new genus Newellia, and family, the Newellidae. This form is postulated to have possessed large amounts of collagenous organic material which enveloped and bound the spicular framework in place. By the draping outline of the calcareous skeleton around the spicule framework and by analogy with the Recent demosponge genus Vaceletia, the calcareous skeleton is suggested to have formed by the direct mineralization of this collagenous template. Newellia mira nov. gen. is further proposed to constitute a member of a new clack of haplosclerid stromatoporoids, together with Euz-Miella erenoensis (Lower Cretaceous); a clade with some similarity to Recent non-calcified forms, e.g. Adocia. Most notably, the presence of different calcareous skeleton mineralogies and possibly microstructures in these two forms suggests the independent development of a calcareous skeleton at different times within this spicule clade. Demosponges appear to have produced calcareous skeletons independently in many different spicule clades. Calcified demosponges are now known from the Hadro-merida (Lower carboniferous; Upper Cretaceous - Recent), Axinellida (Upper Triassic - Lower Cretaceous; Upper Cretaceous; Recent), Poecilosclerida (Recent) as well as the Haplosclerida (Upper Carboniferous - Lower Cretaceous; Recent).□Upper Carboniferous, stromatoporoid, spicules, haplosclerid demosponges, calcareous skeleton biomineralization, demosponge clades, polyphyly.     

First Mesozoic record of the scleractinian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Madrepora</Emphasis> from the Maastrichtian siliceous limestones of Poland

The objective of the present article is to document the first stratigraphic occurrence of the colonial oculinid Madrepora, known from the modern seas as an azooxanthellate taxon that contributes to the formation of deep-water coral reefs. The Upper Cretaceous specimens of Madrepora sp. reported herein from Poland were recovered from Upper Maastrichtian (Nasiłów and Bochotnica localities) and Lower Maastrichtian (Bliżów locality) siliceous limestones. The corals are preserved as imprints of the branch fragments and molds of the calices. Despite their moldic preservation, the coral remains exhibit key generic features of the genus Madrepora; including (1) sympodial colony growth form with calices arranged in opposite and alternating rows in one plane of the branch, and (2) imprints of the granular coenosteum texture, occasionally showing peculiar reticulate patterns. Some features of the Cretaceous Madrepora sp., such as the reticulate coenosteum texture, the range of the corallite diameter (2.8–4 mm), and the arrangement of the septa in three regular cycles resemble the skeletal features of the modern, typically constructional, species M. oculata (type species). The lack of any evidence of coral buildups and related debris in the whole Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene sequences from Poland and the sparse occurrence of colony fragments, suggests that the Cretaceous Madrepora sp. formed small, isolated colonies.     

Foraminiferan tests and dasycladalean thalli as cryptic microhabitats for thaumatoporellacean algae from Mesozoic (Late Triassic–Late Cretaceous) platform carbonates

Thaumatoporellacean algae are widespread constituents in Middle Triassic–Cretaceous shallow-marine carbonates of the Tethyan realm. Based on various examples from Mesozoic limestones of Mediterranean platforms (e.g., Dinaric, Apenninic, Apulia) and rare records of Iberia (Pyrenees), Saudi Arabia and Mexico, it is shown that thaumatoporellaceans commonly dwelt as cryptoendoliths in the tests of larger benthic foraminifera and the thalli of dasycladalean algae. Their high morphological plasticity allowed the test invasion and the adaptation to the available interior spaces (chambers, apertures). The temporal distribution of cryptoendolithic thaumatoporellaceans with first records in the Late Triassic, shows acme intervals in Early–Middle Jurassic and Early–Late Cretaceous times. Within the foraminiferans, the thaumatoporellaceans were erroneously considered as an integral part of the test, respectively, phrenoteca-like structures (species Biokovina gradacensis) in the Lower Jurassic and trematophore (species Scandonea? mediterranea) in the Upper Cretaceous. Therefore, the presence of phrenoteca-like structures in the Biokovinidae, being part of the family diagnosis, is challenged. The comparably thin walls of the cryptoendolithic thaumatoporellacean algae are interpreted as an adaptation to the poorly illuminated microhabitats (photoadaptation) in order to maximize light capture for photosynthesis.     

The bipolar bivalve <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oxytoma (Palmoxytoma) cygnipes</Emphasis> (Young &; Bird, 1822) in the Upper Pliensbachian of Germany

The morphologically conspicuous bivalve Oxytoma (Palmoxytoma) cygnipes (Young & Bird, 1822), known for its palaeogeographically bipolar distribution, from a limestone bed in the boundary “Belemniten–Schichten”/Amaltheenton formation, Lower Jurassic, in N Germany is described. The occurrence of this palaeoceanographically significant bivalve points to an influx of cool seawater from the Arctic to the North-German Basin at the base of the Upper Pliensbachian, just before the deposition of the Amaltheenton formation. A review of previously reported occurrences on the NW European Shelf indicates two distinct stratigraphic intervals of occurrence of this taxon: the Rhaetian–Hettangian boundary and the Upper Pliensbachian. Whereas the former interval of occurrence may be related to short-term cooling in the course of the end-Triassic extinction event, the latter is interpreted as reflecting the influx of a cool water current to the eastern part of the NW European Shelf, which continued southwards parallel to the coast of the Bohemian–Vindelician High.     

Evolutionary trend of Zoophycos morphotypes from the Upper Cretaceous–Lower Miocene in the type pelagic sections of Gubbio,Italy

About 200 Zoophycos specimens, including 90 specimens studied in detail, have been analysed in the continuous Upper Cretaceous–Lower Miocene pelagic sedimentary type sections of the Gubbio area (the Contessa Highway, Contessa Quarry and Bottaccione sections, Northern Apennines). The sediments are reddish to grey limestones and marls of the Scaglia Group and marls with volcaniclastic deposits of the Bisciaro Formation. The aim was to examine the evolutionary trend of what is probably the most debated trace fossil of all time, from the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Miocene. Despite having been found in beds ranging from the Cambrian to the present, no consensus has been reached regarding mode of construction, tracemaker or ethological explanation for Zoophycos. Four Zoophycos morphotypes are recognized at Gubbio showing variations of major and minor lamellae, apex, lobes and whorls: the Cretaceous–Eocene cone‐shaped type 1, the Upper Eocene–Middle Oligocene helicoidal type 2, the Oligocene lobate type 3 and the Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene flat type 4. The very high ichnodensity in some beds (hundreds of specimens in discrete levels of the Bisciaro Formation, now destroyed by quarrying) seems to find explanation in abnormal concentrations of phytodetritus and organic matter on the seafloor in some periods. This very high abundance in discrete levels reflects a change in sedimentation and seafloor conditions at pre‐flysch deposition. Due to such high ichnodensity, many adjacent specimens display deformed outer margins. Taphonomic analysis shows a variation of whorls, laminae and U‐shaped lobes, reflecting ontogenetic development of the tracemaker(s) (?sipunculid worms).     

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.     

Cretaceous scleractinian corals from the Albian of Cabo de Ajo (Cantabria Province, N-Spain)

For the first time a detailed stratigraphic section of the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of Cabo de Ajo peninsula (Cantabria Province) is logged. The Ajo facies represents a subtropical shallow-water carbonate platform environment. When the platform was subjected to relatively high-energy conditions, calcarenite skeletal shoals developed. In periods of higher sealevel, deeper-water marls were deposited in intraplatform basins. The outcrops yield abundant fossils of scleractinian corals. Three selected stratigraphic horizons containing corals were sampled. Fauna 1 and 2 grew on a shallow-water soft bottom substrate (marl) below wave-base level and contain very small plocoid and phaceloid growth forms. Fauna 3 is associated with a calcarenitic matrix and large forms suggesting a more agitated and wave-influenced environment. 16 species of corals belonging to 7 suborders are described taxonomically. These rather diverse coral associations are among the youngest from the Urgonian facies of Europe, and compare well with other Urgonian Tethyan faunas.     

Tithonian-Berriasian foraminiferal faunas from the Torinosu-type calcareous blocks of the southern Kanto Mountains, Japan: their implications for post-accretionary tectonics of Jurassic to Cretaceous terranes

The Torinosu-type limestones, having many lithologic characters showing their original deposition on shallow shelves, are widely distributed in the Jurassic to Cretaceous terranes of Japan. The foraminiferal faunas from the Jurassic to the lowermost Cretaceous of Japan were first revealed in the calcareous blocks of the southern Kanto Mountains. Distinguished microfaunas consist of 39 species including many marker species of the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa such as Melathrokerion spirialis, Charentia evoluta, Freixialina planispiralis, Nautiloculina oolithica, Everticyclammina cf. virguliana, Haplophragmium lutzei and Pseudocyclammina lituus. These faunas suggest a Tithonian to Berriasian age of Torinosu-type limestones. They are contained in four tectonostratigraphic units (Kamiyozawa, Hikawa and Gozenyama Formations; Ogouchi Group) continuously accreted from Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. The younger deposition age of Torinosu-type limestones than the accretion age (Bajocian to Bathonian) in the Kamiyozawa Formation and their older age than the accretion age of the Ogouchi Group (late Albian to middle Maastrichtian) are important to date the post-accretionary tectonics of Jurassic to Cretaceous terranes of Japan and to explain the emplacement process of Torinosu-type limestones.     

Decapod Crustacea from the Agrio Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Neuquén Basin,Argentina

Abstract: Two species of decapod crustacean are recorded from the Agua de la Mula Member of the Agrio Formation (Upper Hauterivian – Lower Barremian) of the Neuquén Basin of west‐central Argentina, namely Astacodes falcifer Bell and a new species of Palaeohomarus, P. pacificus. The preservation of the specimens is exceptional, some showing delicate compound eyes and a stridulatory apparatus, features rarely found in fossil forms. Many specimens are preserved articulated inside calcareous nodules, within dark‐grey shales. The lobster‐bearing sediments accumulated in a low‐energy marine environment and diagenetic mineralization occurred very rapidly, prior to significant decay, thus allowing exceptional preservation of specimens. Palaeohomarus was a rare genus in the Cretaceous with a palaeogeographic distribution restricted to the Mediterranean Tethys, the eastern USA and Madagascar, while Astacodes falcifer has been recorded only from Speeton (eastern England) and Neuquén.     

Stratigraphic distribution of shallow-water benthic foraminifera from the Lower Cretaceous Taft formation,Central Iran (Yazd Block), with evidence for the importance of hiatuses

In this contribution, two stratigraphic sections are described through the Lower Cretaceous shallow-water platform sediments (Taft formation) from the northern Tethys, which are located in the Yazd Block, Central Iran. Benthic foraminifera are used to propose a biostratigraphy for these successions. They are grouped around several assemblage zones, and several genera and species are reported from the Yazd Block basin for the first time (e.g., Arenobulimina cochleata, A. meltae, Belorusiella sp., Bolivinopsis cf. labeosa, Decussoloculina barbui, Martinotiella jucunda, Myncina bulgarica, Novalesia cornucopia, Sabaudia briacensis, Simplorbitolina manasi). Their presence can provide a better understanding for the paleogeographic reconstruction of the Tethyan seaways. Furthermore, they represent candidates as potential index fossils in the Lower Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Yazd Block. The new biostratigraphic data allow to date the Lower Cretaceous successions between the probable Valanginian and the late Aptian. Based on the absence of early Barremian indicators and also late Aptian markers, two hiatuses are recognized through the Taft formation. This formation also displays a diachrony in ages at its base and top, which suggests the effect of long-term subsidence in the Yazd Block during the Early Cretaceous, following the Cimmerian phase of orogeny.     

The anatomy of the upper cretaceous snake Najash rionegrina Apesteguía & Zaher, 2006, and the evolution of limblessness in snakes

Najash rionegrina Apesteguía & Zaher, 2006 , a terrestrial fossil snake from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina, represents the first known snake with a sacrum associated with robust, well‐developed hind limbs. Najash rionegrina documents an important gap in the evolutionary development towards limblessness, because its phylogenetic affinities suggest that it is the sister group of all modern snakes, including the limbed Tethyan snakes Pachyrhachis, Haasiophis, and Eupodophis. The latter three limbed marine fossil snakes are shown to be more derived morphologically, because they lack a sacrum, but have articulated lymphapophyses, and their appendicular skeleton is enclosed by the rib cage, as in modern snakes.     

Upper Cretaceous flora of Karakumzholy, northeastern Aral Region

Upper Cretaceous plant impressions from the reddish gray sandy and clayey deposits of the Zhirkindek Formation of the Karakumzholy locality (the Lower Syr Darya Uplift, Kazakhstan) were studied. This Turonian flora includes two species of fern (Filices) and several angiosperm species. The angiosperms Ettingshausenia cuneifolia (Bronn) Stiehler (described previously as Platanus cuneifolia Bronn) and Trochodendroides arctica (Heer) Berry dominate at the locality. The former species is a typical representative of the Upper Cretaceous flora of the Euro-Sinian subtropical phytogeographic region of Eurasia, while the latter belongs to the temperate Siberian-Canadian phytogeographic region.     

Stratigraphie et sédimentologie des « Couches rouges » continentales du Jurassique-Crétacé du Haut Atlas central (Maroc) : implications paléogéographiques et géodynamiques

In several synclines of the central High Atlas, the “Redbeds” following the closure of the marine Tethyan Atlasic trough during the Middle Jurassic are constituted by three successive formations or units of continental deposits dated recently with biostratigraphical elements. Some micropaleontological markers, mainly charophytes and ostracods, allow to precise the stratigraphy in agreement with a Bathonian-?Callovian assignment for the lower unit (Guettioua Formation), and in dating the middle and upper units. The Upper Jurassic, mainly the Kimmeridgian, is developed in the lower part of the middle unit (Iouaridene Formation). The Barremian has been recognized in this middle unit and in the upper unit (Jbel Sidal Formation). The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary is thus delimited for the first time with micropaleontological data. These new data are very significant for the Atlasic history during the Mesozoic. The basaltic flows inserted in the continental Jurassic-Cretaceous deposits of the central High Atlas result from two separate events in the Middle Jurassic and in the Barremian. The tectogenesis in the basins is characterized by a polyphase process including notably a synsedimentary tectonic activity conspicuous in the Barremian. The evidence of marine to brackish intercalations allows moreover to date the first Cretaceous transgressive event on the NW boundary of the High Atlas during the Lower Barremian and to consider an Atlantic paleogeographical interaction. SW margin of the Tethyan trough in the Lower and Middle Jurassic, the central High Atlas is merged with the margin of the central Atlantic Ocean during the Lower Cretaceous.     

Structure of the inflorescence and flower ofPetalonyx linearis (Loasaceae)

Fossil chloranthoid androecia,Chloranthistemon endressii gen. et spec. nov. are described from the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Santonian or Lower Campanian) of Scania, southern Sweden. They are three-lobed and dorsiventrally flattened with all pollen sacs borne laterally and inclined toward the presumed adaxial surface. The central lobe bears two pairs of pollen sacs, the lateral lobes a single pair each. The morphology, anatomy and valvate dehiscence of the fossil androecia is very similar to that seen in extant species ofChloranthus andSarcandra, but the in situ pollen differs from that of all extantChloranthaceae in being spiraperturate. A single chloranthoid androecium from the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Albian) of Maryland, North America has a more generalized structure thanChloranthistemon endressii. It consists of three stamens that are fused at the base, and each stamen bears two pairs of oppositely positioned pollen sacs. Combined with anatomical information from recentChloranthus the Lower Cretaceous specimen suggests that the androecium in the living genus has arisen by fusion and other modifications of three separate stamens each with a normal complement of four pollen sacs. The structure of both the Upper and Lower Cretaceous androecia suggest that these fossilChloranthaceae were insectpollinated. Macrofossil evidence combined with information from dispersed pollen indicates that theChloranthaceae diversified early in angiosperm fossil history and were an important component of Mid-Cretaceous plant communities.     

Parataxonomy and palaeobiogeographic significance of dinosaur eggshell fragments from the Upper Cretaceous strata of the Cauvery Basin,South India

Abstract

In the past, fossilised dinosaur eggshells have been extensively documented from the Upper Cretaceous Lameta Formation of Central India and as many as nine oospecies are known at present from this formation. Compared to this, only one dinosaur oospecies has been described from the Cretaceous succession of the Cauvery Basin. However, the first fossil egg from India, identified as a chelonian egg, was documented from the Aptian – Albian Karai Formation of the Cauvery Basin in 1957. Following this, a solitary titanosaurid dinosaur egg was described from the Upper Cretaceous (Lower Maastrichtian) Kallankuruchhi Formation, Cauvery Basin in 1996. More recently, we have recovered isolated eggshell fragments from the marine part of the Upper Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) Kallamedu Formation. Based on eggshell morphology, microstructure and ultrastructure, these eggshell fragments are assigned to the oospecies Fusioolithus baghensis. The new find from the Cauvery Basin is important from palaeobiogeographic point of view as the oofamily Fusioolithidae is found in the Upper Cretaceous strata of India, France, Argentina and Morocco. Based on the common occurrence of similar oospecies in South America, Africa, Europe and India, a Late Cretaceous palaeobiogeographic connection between India and South America as well as Europe via Africa is suggested.     

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.     

Oldest known non-marine diatoms (Aulacoseira) from the uppermost Cretaceous Deccan Intertrappean beds and Lameta Formation of India

Non-marine diatoms occur in the Deccan Intertrappean beds (Upper Cretaceous) of Mohgaon-Kalan, Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh and Pisdura, Lameta Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Maharashtra, India. This represents the oldest record of non-marine diatoms yet reported and the oldest from the Indian subcontinent. The diatoms were recovered from thin sections of chert and dinosaur coprolites by random fracturing. Solitary forms are the most common but colonial filaments up to five cells were also observed. Based on the morphological characters, the diatoms are identified as Aulacoseira Thwaites. The Lower Cretaceous marine diatom genus Archepyrgus Gersonde and Harwood also resembles Aulacoseira in general morphological characters and it seems that Aulacoseira evolved from Archepyrgus and migrated to the non-marine realm.     

The Miocene <Emphasis Type="Italic">Keramidomys</Emphasis> (Rodentia,Eomyidae) from the Sandelzhausen locality (Germany)

In this note the taxonomic position of the tiny eomyid genus Keramidomys (Hartenberger, 1967) from the Early/Middle Miocene boundary locality of Sandelzhausen in the Bavarian Upper Freshwater Molasse is reexamined. As the chronological dating of the Sandelzhausen fossil site has been modified in the past from formerly the Neogene mammal unit MN6 to now MN5 and thanks to new abundant material this rodent is compared with other European forms. It is shown that the Sandelzhausen eomyid must be called K. thaleri Hugueney & Mein, 1968 on the basis of several morphological dental differences from K. carpathicus Schaub & Zapfe, 1953. This rodent seems to be an immigrant from East Asia into Europe. Even if K. thaleri is known in many European localities, all correlated to MN5, it is always a rare element of European rodent faunas. Differentiation from K. carpathicus is not easy and requires a sufficiently large sample.      

The oldest species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Glaphyrus</Emphasis> Latr. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Glaphyridae) from the Mesozoic of China

Glaphyrus ancestralis sp. nov. is described from the Yixian Formation (Upper Jurassic or Lower Cretaceous). The species is not only one of the earliest records of the family Glaphyridae but also the oldest representative of an extant genus of the family.     

The Early Cretaceous of North-East Greenland: A crossroads of belemnite migration

Recent field work in Lower Cretaceous successions of Traill Ø and Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland, have resulted in c. 2350 belemnite guards collected bed-by-bed from the upper Ryazanian – Hauterivian. The most common belemnite genera observed, Acroteuthis, Pachyteuthis, and Cylindroteuthis are of boreal-arctic affinities and closely related to NW European and Siberian faunas. Other taxa, including Hibolithes (common), Pseudobelus (relatively common) and Duvalia (rare), show faunal links to both NW European and Mediterranean faunas. This paper describes and discusses these findings in their taxonomic, biostratigraphic, palaeobiogeographic, palaeoecologic and palaeoceanographic context. In particular, the occurrence of Pseudobelus which is common in the circum Mediterranean area, is remarkable since it is the first observation of this Tethyan genus in the entire Boreal Realm. The palaeoecological interpretation of these observations result in the recognition of four different palaeobiogeographic belemnite assemblages for the Boreal Realm: 1) North-East Greenland, 2) Spitsbergen, 3) NW Europe and 4) Siberia. In contrast to the other assemblages, the belemnite faunas of North-East Greenland consist of a) Boreal-Arctic elements, b) Boreal-European taxa, c) endemic belemnites of Tethyan ancestry, and d) Tethyan species. These findings make North-East Greenland part of an immigration route from the Tethyan Realm via the north Atlantic to the high Boreal. This allowed Tethyan species, which are otherwise unknown from the Boreal Realm, to reach North-East Greenland. The occurrence of the Tethyan genus Pseudobelus in North-East Greenland also supports the interpretation of this taxon as a hemipelagic dweller, capable of crossing major distances. The belemnite patterns further suggest the existence of a proto Gulf-stream, documenting a south-to-north flow of warm surface waters as far north as Greenland already in the earliest Cretaceous (Valanginian). This has substantial implications for the interpretation of Early Cretaceous climate and oceanic current systems, as well as for the palaeobiology of belemnites.