Two new species of Constrictoceras nov. gen. (Ammonoidea) from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of Hungary

The new genus Constrictoceras is described below, and is represented in Hungary by two new species: Constrictoceras foezyi sp. nov. and Constrictoceras steineri sp. nov. According to morphological similarities, they are provisionally assigned to Acanthohoplitinae, but the lack of sutures cannot keep us from the idea of a possible relationship with Puzosiinae or Silesitidae, therefore its phylogenetic position of Constrictoceras gen. nov. is uncertain. Morphologically similar forms are described from the Aptian of Madagascar (Collignon, M., 1962) and from the Middle Aptian of Colombia (Sharikadze et al., 2004). Stratigraphical and paleobiogeographical use is very limited for the new genus.     

New ancyloceratidae (Ammonoidea) from the Aptian of the Ulyanovsk region,Middle Volga

A new genus Pseudoancyloceras gen. nov. with the type species P. calinovense sp. nov. and five new species of Ancyloceratidae (Australiceras (Proaustraliceras) elegans sp. nov., Audouliceras vyrystaykense sp. nov., A. brusyankense sp. nov., A. mordovense sp. nov., Tropaeum (Tropaeum) elaurkense sp. nov.) are described from the Aptian of the Ulyanovsk region, Middle Volga.     

New Protocytherines (Ostracods) from the Lower Cretaceous sequences of the Crimean Peninsula

One new genus of Ostracoda, Protobrachycythere nov. gen. (Protocytherinae, Lyubimova), and two new species, P. taurica nov. sp. and P. aptica nov. sp., are described from the Barremian and Aptian of the Crimea. Based on the ontogeny of the hinge, Protobrachycythere is considered as an ancestor of the Brachycythere Alexander, 1933 (Brachycytherinae Puri, 1954). The higher taxonomy of the Subfamily Brachycytherinae is reviewed. It is suggested to assign Brachycytherinae to the Family Brachycytheridae Puri.     

Ceratosphinctes (Ammonitina, Kimmeridgian) in Mexico: from rare but typical inhabitant of west-Tethyan epioceanic and epicontinental waters to a geographically widespread ammonite genus

Two specimens of Ceratosphinctes represent the first record of this taxon in Mexico (Mexican Huasteca), and are interpreted as Ceratosphinctes rachistrophus amatitlaensis nov. subsp. The subspecies level is used with biogeographic significance, most probably indicating incoming propagules and adaptation to local environmental requirements. Biostratigraphy, based on agreement of the composition of the ammonite assemblage that included C. rachistrophus amatitlaensis nov. subsp. and the previous interpretation of ammonite assemblages with Idoceras in Mexico by Villaseñor et al., indicates precise correlation with Tethyan records (uppermost-Lower to lowermost-Upper Kimmeridgian). The dispersion pattern available for Ceratosphinctes is interpreted as related to ecospace enlargement during the relative sea-level highstand of the late-Early Kimmeridgian.     

New triconodontids (Mammalia) from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai and Fuxin formations, northeastern China

The first triconodontids from Asia have been discovered from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian to Albian) Shahai and Fuxin formations in Liaoning Province, northeastern China: Meiconodon lii gen. and sp. nov. and M. setoguchii gen. and sp. nov. M. lii is characterized by molariform teeth with a developed cusp d, an m3 with taller cusp a, an m4 with three primary cusps of subequal height, the posteriorly decreasing transverse width of the m4, and a considerably reduced m5. M. setoguchii is slightly larger than M. lii, and characterized by a sharp labial cingulum on the m4, and a less developed cusp d on the molariform teeth than M. lii. The extensive interlocking system between molariforms, posteriorly recumbent primary molariform cusps, and their great degree of asymmetry in occlusal view with rounded labial faces and more angulate lingual faces in lateral view, indicate that Meiconodon belongs to the triconodontid subfamily Alticonodontinae. These new taxa are the first record of Triconodontidae from Asia, and of Alticonodontinae outside North America, suggesting the occurrence of mammalian faunal exchange between North America and Asia during or before the Aptian-Albian.     

Nouvelles observations sur les Miogypsinidés du Miocène inférieur et moyen de Provence et de Corse (France) et de Sardaigne septentrionale (Italie)

The detailed study of the Miocene strata of Bonifacio has revealed an atypical Miogypsinid assemblage. In addition to the three already cited genera, Miogypsinoides, Miogypsina and Miolepidocyclina from this region, Miogypsinodella is for the first time represented by two new species (Mdella corsicana nov. sp. et Mdella pillaria nov.sp.). The stratigraphical ranges of each genus in the Miogypsinidae are not verified here. However, Mdes bantamensis is still present in the Upper Burdigalian and the genus Miogypsinoides is also present in the Lower Langhian. Six species of Miogypsina coexist in the Upper Burdigalian (M. tani, M. globulina, M. intermedia, M. cf. sabahensis, M. cushmani, M. mediterranea) and two species are present in the Lower Langhian (M. antillea, M. digitata). This distribution is apparently an example of palaeoendemism resulting from the geographic isolation and the rotation of the Corso-Sardinian block and also from the palaeogeographical and palaeoecological favourable environment during that time.     

Additional data on Todites (Osmundaceae) from the Lower Jurassic—with special references to the paleogeographical and stratigraphical distributions in China

Additional material of Todites (Osmundaceae) from the Lower Jurassic Xiangshan Group in Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces, Eastern China is investigated. Five species of Todites are described based on collections (including sterile and fertile pinnae) from eight localities along the Yangtze River, including Todites denticulatus (Brongniart) Krasser, Todites cf. goeppertianus (Muenster) Krasser, Todites nanjingensis sp. nov., Todites princeps (Presl) Gothan and Todites sp. Material of T. denticulatus and T. nanjingensis sp. nov. contains further data of the fertile pinnae. The stratigraphical ranges and the geographical distribution of the genus Todites in China are discussed and reviewed. Available data show that Todites mostly occurs in the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic of China. The genus was widely distributed in both the Northern and Southern Floristic Provinces of China, and especially abundant and diverse in the Southern Floristic Province.     

Diversimorbus metrosiderotis gen. et sp. nov. and three new species of Holocryphia (Cryphonectriaceae) associated with cankers on native Metrosideros angustifolia trees in South Africa

The Cryphonectriaceae includes important tree pathogens, especially on the Myrtales. During a routine disease survey in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, a fungus resembling the Eucalyptus pathogen Holocryphia eucalypti was observed on native Metrosideros angustifolia (Myrtales). The aims of this study were to identify the fungus and to expand surveys for fungi in the Cryphonectriaceae on M. angustifolia. Fungi were identified based on DNA sequence comparisons and morphological features, and their pathogenicity was tested on M. angustifolia under field conditions. Based on morphology and multigene phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from six gene regions, we describe a new genus including a single species and three new species of Holocryphia (Cryphonectriaceae) from M. angustifolia. These fungi are provided with the names Diversimorbus metrosiderotis gen. et sp. nov., Holocryphia capensis sp. nov., Holocryphia gleniana sp. nov., and Holocryphia mzansi sp. nov. We also revise H. eucalypti, the type of the genus, to include only isolates from Eucalyptus in South Africa. Research results indicated that H. mzansi may undergo host shifts between different tree genera in the Myrtaceae. Inoculation tests showed that isolates of all the newly described species can cause lesions on the branches of M. angustifolia, indicating that they are all pathogens of this tree.     

Diaceratherium massiliae nov. sp. des argiles oligocènes de Saint-André et Saint-Henri à Marseille et de Les Milles près d’Aix-en-Provence (SE de la France), premier grand Rhinocerotidae brachypode européen

A revision of all previously collected mammalian fossils from the two Late Oligocene sites of Saint-André and Saint-Henri in Marseille (both from the MP 26 reference-level) allows us to identify three Rhinocerotoidea species: Protaceratherium albigense, Ronzotherium romani, Diaceratherium massiliae nov. sp., and maybe a fourth one, Eggysodon cf. gaudryi. Only the first two were previously known there. D. massiliae nov. sp. is found together with R. romani; it is the first case of sympatry ever known between the two genera. D. massiliae nov. sp. is then the most ancient Diaceratherium in Europe, where the genus was previously unknown before the MP 29 reference-level. It is a very large species whose limb bones proportions foreshadow these of the later species of the genus, especially D. lemanense from the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene. This suggests a possible phylogenetic link between D. massiliae nov. sp. and D. lemanense, and the coexistence of at least two different but partially contemporaneous lineages among the European Diaceratherium. In Les Milles near Aix-en-Provence, also from the MP 26 reference-level, the three species P. albigense, R. romani and D. massiliae nov. sp. were also found.     

The genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Keppleritiana</Emphasis> gen. nov. (Stephanoceratidae,Ammonoidea) from the Upper Bajocian of the Northern Caucasus

A new ammonite genus of the subfamily Garantianinae, family Stephanoceratidae, from the Upper Bajocian Strenoceras niortense Zone in the Bolshoi Zelenchuk River basin (Karachay-Cherkessia), with two new species from two different localities, is established. The type species Keppleritiana rostovtsevi gen. et sp. nov. is homeomorphic to some species of the Upper Bathonian–Lower Callovian genus Kepplerites (Fam. Kosmoceratidae) but is distinguished by the presence of a ventral furrow in adults. An isolated valve of an aptychus possibly belonging to this species is illustrated. Keppleritiana graebensteini sp. nov. has a more archaic morphology and is apparently ancestral to the type species. The macroconchs and microconchs of both species are described.     

The ant genus Aenictus from Laos,with description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aenictinae)

Ants of the genus Aenictus are recorded from Laos for the first time. Here, we report six species including a new species and a new status: Aenictus binghami Forel, A. cf. dentatus Forel, A. doydeei Jaitrong et Yamane, sp. nov., A. cf. fuchuanensis Zhou, A. hodgsoni Forel, stat. nov., and A. nishimurai Terayama et Kubota. A. doydeei sp. nov. is very probably a nocturnal species.     

A new species of Vasseuromys (Gliridae,Mammalia) from the Upper Oligocene of the Ebro Basin (Spain)

In this paper, a new species of Vasseuromys, V. bergasensis sp. nov., from the locality of Bergasa (Ebro Basin, Spain), is described. Bergasa contains a fauna belonging to the Late Oligocene (zone MP30), composed—among other species—of Issiodoromys pseudanaema and Rhodanomys transiens. The main diagnostic features of V. bergasensis sp. nov. are the presence of a long centrolophid (fused or not to the mesoconid) in the lower molars, a large reduction in the number and length of extra ridges in the upper and lower molars, the absence of extra ridges between metalophid and centrolophid and between centrolophid and mesolophid, and the absence of the metatrope in more than half the specimens of the upper teeth M1 and M2. V. bergasensis sp. nov. is similar in size to V. elegans and smaller than the other members of the genus. The age and simple dental pattern of the new species of Vasseuromys allow us to hypothesize about relationships within the genus.     

New jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from the Cretaceous of Russia,Kazakhstan, and Mongolia

A new jewel beetle genus, with one species (Cretofrontolina kzyldzharica gen. et sp. nov.) from the Upper Cretaceous of Kazakhstan is described based on a body; and three new species of the formal genus Metabuprestium are described based on isolated elytra: Metabuprestium sibiricum sp. nov. and M. arkagalense sp. nov. come from the Arkagala locality (Upper Cretaceous of Russia) and M. ichbogdense sp. nov. is from the Shar Tologoi locality (Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia).     

Opisthobranch gastropods from the Lower Cretaceous of the Ulyanovsk Volga Region: 1. Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tornatellaea</Emphasis> Conrad

Five new species of the genus Tornatellaea from the Lower Cretaceous of the Volga Region near Ulyanovsk, T. kabanovi sp. nov. (Hauterivian), T. densistriata sp. nov., T. gracilis sp. nov., T. volgensis sp. nov. (Barremian), and T. sinzovi sp. nov. (Aptian), are described. The data on geographical and stratigraphical distribution of new taxa are provided.     

On the occurrence of the ammonite aptychi Lamellaptychus cf. rectecostatus (Peters, 1854) from the Ogrodzieniec quarry (southern Poland)

The largely Kimmeridgian-Tithonian (Late Jurassic) aptychus Lamellaptychus rectecostatus (Peters, 1854) is considered to represent the jaw apparatus of the ammonite superfamily Haploceratoidea (Family Oppeliidae). However, here, from the Ogrodzieniec quarry (southern Poland), we present its unusual allochthonous occurrence embedded in a perisphinctid, Perisphinctes (Kranosphinctes) sp., and co-occurring with a late early Oxfordian Cordatum Subzone (Cordatum Zone) ammonite assemblage. The assemblage includes Cardioceras (Cardioceras) cf. cordatum (Sowerby), Neocampylites delmontanus (Oppel), Lissoceratoides erato (d’Orbigny), Bukowskites distortus (Bukowski), Trimarginites cf. arolicus (Oppel), Glochiceras sp., Holcophylloceras zignodianum (d’Orbigny) and Euaspidoceras (Euaspidoceras) perarmatum (Sowerby).     

Mesozoic leaf beetles of the tribe Mesolpinini trib. nov. (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from the Lower Cretaceous

This publication is based on recent studies of Lower Cretaceous leaf beetles from the Yixian Formation (Liaoning, China), which are represented by five new species of one new genus Mesolpinus gen. nov. (M. antenattus sp. nov. [type species], M. adapertilis sp. nov., M. angusticollis sp. nov., M. basicollis sp. nov., and M. trapezicollis sp. nov.) assigned to a new tribe, Mesolpinini trib. nov. of the subfamily Chrysomelinae. This tribe, which includes only species from the Jehol biota, is the oldest known group of the family in the fossil record. A key to species of the genus Mesolpinus gen. nov. is provided and the position of the new tribe is discussed. A brief overview of the Mesozoic data on the subfamily Chrysomeloidea is given.     

New taxa of Mesorthopteridae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Permian of Russia

New taxa of grylloblattids of the family Mesorthopteridae are described from the Permian of Russia: Parastenaropodites aquilonius sp. nov. from the Soyana locality (Middle Permian); P. circumhumatus sp. nov. from the Kul’chumovo locality; and Tshermyaninus biforis gen. et sp. nov., Permorthopteron foliaceus gen. et sp. nov., Parastenaropodites pannea sp. nov., P. exossis sp. nov., Mesoidelia procera sp. nov., and M. riphaea sp. nov. from the Isady locality (Upper Permian). Two species of the genus Khosaridelia Storozhenko, 1992 (family Permotermopsidae) and one species of the genus Megakhosarina Storozhenko, 1993 (family Megakhosaridae) are transferred to the genus Parastenaropodites Storozhenko, 1996 (family Mesorthopteridae); one species of the genus Parastenaropodites is transferred to the genus Austroidelia Riek, 1954; as a result, four new combinations are established: Khosaridelia rigida Aristov, 2005 =Parastenaropodites rigidus (Aristov, 2005), comb. nov. (Vorkuta locality, Lower Permian of Russia); Khosaridelia vyatica Aristov, 2009 =Parastenaropodites vyaticus (Aristov, 2009), comb. nov. (Karaungir locality, Middle Permian of Kazakhstan); Megakhosarina intricata Aristov, 2008 =Parastenaropodites intricatus (Aristov, 2008), comb. nov. (Soyana locality, Middle Permian of Russia); and Parastenaropodites nervosa Storozhenko, 1996 =Austroidelia nervosa (Storozhenko, 1996), comb. nov. (Madygen locality, Middle Triassic of Kyrgyzstan). An identification key to species of the genus Parastenaropodites is given.     

Two new species of Palaeoarthroteles Kovalev and Mostovski (Diptera, Rhagionidae) from the Callovian-Oxfordian (Jurassic) Daohugou biota of China

Two new species of fossil snipe flies (Rhagionidae) from the Daohugou Formation of Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (northeastern China) are described as Palaeoarthroteles jurassicus nov. sp. and P. pallidius nov. sp. They are the first record of the genus Palaeoarthroteles Kovalev and Mostovski beyond Siberia, which have implications for stratigraphic correlation of the formations in which they are found.     

New bibionomorpha (Insecta: Diptera) from the Jurassic of Asia

The new species Protorhyphus rohdendorfi sp. nov. (Protorhyphidae), Mesorhyphus handlirschi sp. nov., and M. hennigi sp. nov. (Anisopodidae), Procramptonomyia ponomarenkoi sp. nov. and P. kovalevi sp. nov. (Procramptonomyiidae) are described from the Upper Jurassic deposits of Mongolia (Shar Teg); some features of Archirhyphus asiaticus Rohdendorf, 1964 are revealed. The latter two species are also known from the locality of Karatau (Kazakhstan, J_2/3). The genus Tega Blagoderov, Krzemi??ska, and Krzemi??ski, 1993 is transferred from the family Cramptonomyiidae into Anisopodidae (Teginae subfam. nov.).     

New snakeflies (Insecta: Raphidioptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of the UK,Spain and Brazil

Abstract: Several new taxa of snakeflies (Raphidioptera) are described from the Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Wealden, UK (Barremian), Montsec, Spain (Barremian) and the Crato Formation, Brazil (Aptian). Mesoraphidia ednae sp. nov. and M. hilli sp. nov. are described from the Wealden; Nanoraphidia lithographica sp. nov. and Iberoraphidia dividua gen. et sp. nov. are described from Montsec, and Baissoptera lisae sp. nov. is described from the Crato Formation. The geographical range of Nanoraphidia has potentially been extended.