New Late Triassic gastropods from the wallowa Terrane (Idaho) and their biogeographic significance

Summary Two characteristic new species and one new genus are described from the Late Triassic of Idaho (Wallowa Terrane):Brochidiella idahoensis n. gen., n. sp. andPtychostoma ornata n. sp.Brochidiella is only known from western North America.Ptychostoma is present in the Carnian of the European Alps (Tethys) and is widespread in the western part of the North American continent (Panthalassa). Late Triassic gastropod faunas from the accreted terranes of North America are poorly known but hold a great potential for future palaeobiogeographic reconstructions.     

ARCHAEOLEERSIA NEBRASKENSIS GEN. ET SP. NOV. (GRAMINEAE-ORYZEAE), A NEW FOSSIL GRASS FROM THE LATE TERTIARY OF NEBRASKA

Archaeoleersia nebraskensis, gen. et sp. nov. was collected from the Late Miocene Ash Hollow Formation in Garden County, Nebraska. The remains consist of anthoecia (fertile lemmas and paleas) preserved as silicifications. Examination of anthoecia by scanning electron microscopy revealed prickle hairs, simple projections, and microhairs. The fossils compare most closely with living Leersia ligularis Trin. of Central and South America. Archaeoleersia nebraskensis resembles more southern living taxa and suggests that climatic deterioration during the Late Tertiary or Quaternary resulted either in a southward migration of ancestral North American forms or in the elimination of North American populations of already widely distributed ancestral forms. Associated flora and fauna indicate a mesic, lacustrine paleoenvironment for Archaeoleersia nebraskensis.     

Multicellular thallophytes with differentiated tissues from Late Proterozoic phosphate rocks of South China

An assemblage of megascopic, multicellular thallophytes with well-preserved tissues and microstructures was discovered in phosphate rocks of the Late Proterozoic Doushantuo Formation (approximately 680 Ma old) at the Wengan-Fuquan Phosphate Mines, Guizhou Province, South China. Two new genera and three new species are erected: Thallophyca ramosa n. gen. et n. sp., Thallophyca simplica n. gen. et n. sp. and Wengania globosa n. gen. et n. sp. The thalli of Thallophyca are embedded in amorphous collophane and consist of differentiated tissues interpreted as cortex and medulla, and distinct structures (conceptacle-like cavities and special cell-groups or 'cell-islands'). Tissue differentiation and megascopic (millimetric to centrimetric) size of the thalli suggest that the new genus Thallophyca may represent a primitive metaphyte. The new genus Wengania is assigned to the Paleozoic algal group Solenoporaceae Pia. This study provides reliable fossil evidence of Late Proterozoic metaphytes and leads to the following conclusions: (1) diverse multicellular thallophytes had evolved during Late Proterozoic Ediacaran time; (2) adaptive radiations possibly took place more or less contemporaneously in both metazoans and metaphytes, and (3) Precambrian phosphate rocks can preserve megafossils with delicate microstructures.     

LATE PRECAMBRIAN TRACE FOSSILS FROM NEW SOUTH WALES

Seven trace-fossil species are described from the upper part of the Torrowangee Group (Upper Proterozoic) of western New South Wales, and a variety of other traces are illustrated. A few forms occur in the Fowlers Gap Beds, and a more diverse and abundant fauna is recorded from the stratigraphically higher Lintiss Vale Beds. Virtually all the traces are preserved in the plane of bedding, as semi-reliefs. The named trace fossils all come from the Lintiss Vale Beds, and are as follows: Planolites ballandus sp. nov., Planolites? sp., Cochlichnus serpens sp. nov., Gordia? sp., Torrowangea rosei gen. et sp. nov., Phycodes? antecedent sp. nov., and Curvolithus? davidis sp. nov. Three of these species are regarded as feeding burrows (endogene), and are thought to represent the activity of infaunal, worm-like deposit feeders. Others may be either feeding burrows or crawling trails. There are also a few impressions which seem to be rest marks. A discussion of the significance of the trace-fossil occurrences is presented.     

Small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) from the Terreneuvian (lower Cambrian) of Baltica

We describe a new assemblage of small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) from diagenetically minimally altered clays and siltstones of Terreneuvian age from the Lontova and Voosi formations of Estonia, Lithuania and Russia. This is the first detailed account of an SCF assemblage from the Terreneuvian and includes a number of previously undocumented Cambrian organisms. Recognizably bilaterian‐derived SCFs include abundant protoconodonts (total‐group Chaetognatha), and distinctive cuticular spines of scalidophoran worms. Alongside these metazoan remains are a range of protistan‐grade fossils, including Retiranus balticus gen. et sp. nov., a distinctive funnel‐shaped or sheet‐like problematicum characterized by terminal or marginal vesicles, and Lontohystrichosphaera grandis gen. et sp. nov., a large (100–550 μm) ornamented vesicular microfossil. Together these data offer a fundamentally enriched view of Terreneuvian life in the epicratonic seas of Baltica, from an episode where records of non‐biomineralized life are currently sparse. Even so, the recovered assemblages contain a lower diversity of metazoans than SCF biotas from younger (Stage 4) Baltic successions that represent broadly equivalent environments, echoing the diversification signal recorded in the coeval shelly and trace‐fossil records. Close comparison to the biostratigraphical signal from Fortunian small shelly fossils supports a late Fortunian age for most of the Lontova/Voosi succession, rather than a younger (wholly Stage 2) range.     

A New European Marsupial Indicates a Late Cretaceous High-Latitude Transatlantic Dispersal Route

The first record of an undoubted opossum-like marsupial from the Mesozoic of Europe indicates an invasion from North America at the end of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). The new 66.1 million-year-old marsupial, Maastrichtidelphys meurismeti n. gen., n. sp., represented by a right upper molar, comes from the type Maastrichtian of The Netherlands. The Maastricht marsupial exhibits affinities with earlier (early Maastrichtian) North American herpetotheriids providing definitive evidence of a high-latitude North Atlantic dispersal route between North America and Europe during the latest Cretaceous. Previously, the first major interchange for marsupials was thought to have occurred nearly 10 million years later in the Eocene. The occurrence of this new marsupial in Europe implies that at some time during the latest Cretaceous, sea level and climatic conditions must have been sufficiently favorable to allow for such a high-latitude dispersal. The fragmentary remains of hadrosaurid and theropod dinosaurs, as well as boid snakes from northwestern Europe which have affinities with North American taxa help substantiate assumptions made by the occurrence of the herpetotheriid marsupial in Maastricht.     

Small shelly fossils and trace fossils near the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary in the Yukon Territory, Canada

In the past an ‘explosion’ in diversity and abundance of small shelly fossils and of trace fossils has served to mark the base of the Cambrian. However, no evidence has been presented to prove that the ‘explosions’ of the two groups were synchronous. We describe small shelly fossils and trace fossils from the same phosphatic limestone beds that indicate that the two events were separate in time. The small shelly fossils are Anabarites trisulcatus, Hyolithellus cf. H. isiticus, Microcornus? sp., Protohertzina anabarica, P. unguliformis, P. sp. A, Pseudorthotheca sp. A, Rushtonia? sp. A, four types of tuberculate plates and one type of reticulate plate. These fossils represent a restricted, ‘pre-explosion’ fauna and are assigned to the Anabarites-Circotheca-Protohertzina Assemblage Zone, an uppermost Precambrian zone in the Meishucun Stage, Yunnan Province, China. A point at the top of this zone has received strong international endorsement for future designation as the base of the Cambrian. Associated with the small shelly fossils are the trace fossils Cruziana sp. A, Cruziana? sp. B, Rusophycus sp. A, Palaeophycus rubdark and arthropod scratch marks. If found in isolation, this trace fossil assemblage would be considered as post-Precambrian because it includes large, highly organized arthropod traces that are traditionally accepted as occurring above the trace fossil ‘explosion’. We therefore conclude that the trace fossil ‘explosion’ predates the small shelly fossil ‘explosion’. If the proposed location of the base of the Cambrian in Yunnan is accepted, the small shelly fossil ‘explosion’ concept and its relationship to the boundary would not be greatly modified. The trace fossil ‘explosion’, however, would no longer indicate the base of the Cambrian and the ranges of some trace fossils would be extended into the Precambrian.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Noriphyllia</Emphasis>, a new Tethyan Late Triassic coral genus (Scleractinia)

Noriphyllia gen. n. is a distinctive coral representing the Coryphylliidae, a group of Late Triassic scleractinian corals. Coral faunas of this age are poorly known. The new coral is distinguished from related corals belonging to the reimaniphylliids by key features of septal microstructure as discerned in thin sections. This microstructure consists of a straight/wavy midseptal zone and lateral septal stereome organized into thin fascicles of fibres, producing a fine and sharp micromorphology of the septal sides. The solitary genus Noriphyllia gen. n. contains two Early Norian species: N. anatoliensis sp. n. chosen as the type species and N. dachsteinae sp. n., and a Carnian species referred to as N. monotutoensis sp. n. The new genus is widely distributed in the Late Triassic, Early Norian reef facies of the Tethys region (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria; Taurus Mountains, Turkey) and it also occurs in the Carnian of Timor. Noriphyllia gen. n. is unique and details of its microstructural features add new understanding to the composition of both Late Carnian and Early Norian corals.     

First Baltic amber megapodagrionid damselfly (Odonata: Zygoptera)

Electropodagrion szwedoi n. gen., n. sp., first Baltic amber megapodagrionid damselfly, is described. The European and North American fossils document a very high diversity and a much wider distribution of this group of damselflies during the Cenozoic than today. A checklist of described fossil species of damselflies of the family Megapodagrionidae is given.     

A new scanilepiform from the Lower Triassic of northern Gansu Province,China, and phylogenetic relationships of non‐teleostean Actinopterygii

A new scanilepiform, Beishanichthys brevicaudalis gen. et sp. nov. , is named and described based on fossils from the Lower Triassic lake deposits exposed in Beishan area, Gansu Province, China. The discovery documents a new record of this group, which is significantly older than other known scanilepiforms from China, and is slightly younger than Evenkia from the Lowest Triassic of Central Siberia. Although the Beishan beds were previously interpreted as Late Permian in age, based on megaplant fossils, this new discovery supports the reinterpretation of the deposits as Early Triassic in age, based on vertebrate fossils from the same locality and horizon. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted to resolve the relationships of Scanilepiformes with other actinopterygian clades, and the inter‐relationships within Scanilepiformes. Contrary to previous thought that scanilepiforms are closely related to the Amiidae, the phylogenetic results of this study recognize the Scanilepiformes as stem‐group neopterygians. Relationships of the Scanilepiformes and Australosomus with other neopterygians remain unresolved. With a characteristic long‐based dorsal fin, scanilepiforms represent a small group that emerged in Early Triassic freshwater environments, inhabited Eurasia and North America during the Middle–Late Triassic, briefly invaded the marine environment by the Late Triassic in Europe, and became extinct at the end of Triassic. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 161 , 595–612.     

Insights on the Behavior of Late Paleozoic Aquatic Crustaceans (Pygocephalomorpha?): Compound Trace Fossils from Western Argentina

We describe intergradations between the arthropod repichnial trace fossils Diplichnites gouldi (Gevers et al., 1971), Dendroidichnites Demathieu et al., 1992, and Monomorphichnus Crimes, 1970 with two distinct cubichnial traces, Gluckstadtella cooperi Savage, 1971 and Huilmuichnus santracruzensis new ichnogenus and ichnospecies. These compound ichnofossils are part of high ichnodiversity arthropod-dominated trace fossil associations from the Late Carboniferous Agua Escondida Formation of the San Rafael Basin (Argentina). The complex ichnotaxonomy of Diplichnites and the ichnospecies D. gouldi are discussed and some possible working solutions are proposed. The most likely producer of the compound trace fossils are the Pygocephalomorpha, a group of Late Paleozoic crustaceans that are recorded in nearby basins from Uruguay and Brazil. The compound trace fossils are used to infer a number of complex behaviors of pygocephalomorphs in a subaqueous setting, including caridoid (tail flip) or more primitive escape reactions, landing followed by resting and transient resting during normal walking. In addition, different gaits can be inferred from well-preserved D. gouldi, which can be correlated with contrasting trackway morphology.     

Ladinian carbonates of the Cabo Cope Unit (Betic Cordillera,SE Spain): a tethys-maláguide palaeogeographic gateway

Summary The Cabo Cope Unit, which outcrops east of Aguilas (Murcia), belongs to the Maláguide tectonic Complex (Betic Internal Zone) and displays stratigraphic characteristics of particular interest, including Triassic bioclastic carbonate beds which are not common in the Maláguide units. Biostratigrafic fossils have been found in these beds and may correlate with Triassic alpine biofacies. Alpine fauna fossils only appeared in those palaeogeographic units of the Internal Zone of the Cordillera referred to as Alpujárride units, while the influence of the Sephardic faunal province is evident in almost all the cordillera. For these reasons it is noteworthy that new alpine fauna fossils have been found in an Internal Zone unit in which relevant fossils rarely appear. The Triassic succession of the unit studied in this paper can be subdivided into two members: a lower one, which is clastic and contains thick gypsum beds, and an upper one, consisting of carbonate rocks. The lower member has been interpreted as a fluvial-coastal deposit. The upper member is interpreted as a sequence of carbonate ramp deposits. This ramp evolved into a shallow platform with tidal flats typical of a coastal zone. The bivalve fossilsDaonella cf.lommeli (Wissmann) and “Posidonia” sp. have been found in the carbonate member, along with the conodontSephardiella mungoensis (Diebel). These fossils are of the Late Ladinian age and have been found only in this outcroup of the Betic Cordillera. The presence of this fossil assemblage, which belongs to the alpine faunal province, indicates a connection during the Late Ladinian between the Tethys sea and this area of the Maláguide palaeogeographic domain. The palaeogeographic location of the Cabo Cope Unit during the Middle Triassic was at the south-easternmost part of the Betic Basin, implying that the connection between the Tethys and the Betic Basin was established in the easternmost domains of the basin.     

Devonian Vertebrates From Colombia

Vertebrate remains are reported from the Emsian–Eifelian Floresta Formation and the Late Devonian (?Frasnian) Cuche Formation of north‐eastern Colombia. The material from the Floresta Formation is associated with a marine invertebrate fauna and includes an arthrodire and probably a rhenanid. Several vertebrate‐bearing localities are recorded from the Cuche Formation; vertebrates occur with plant remains and lingulid fragments. They include an acanthodian (Cheiracanthoides? sp.), a chondrichthyan (Antarctilamna? sp.), placoderms (Bothriolepis sp., Asterolepis? sp. and an undetermined groenlandaspidid or primitive brachythoracid arthrodire), a stegotrachelid actinopterygianand three sarcopterygians (a cosmine‐covered form tentatively referred to an osteolepidid, the porolepiform Holoptychiussp., and the rhizodontid Strepsodus? sp.). This assemblage suggests a Late Frasnian age and is surprisingly similar to Late Devonian vertebrate assemblages found in similar facies of Europe and North America, notwithstanding the presence of the Gondwanan chondrichthyan Antarctilamna?. key words: Vertebrata, Devonian, Colombia, South America, biostratigraphy, palaeobiogeography.     

新疆吐鲁番盆地桃树园晚二叠世非海相腹足类

提要新疆吐鲁番盆地桃树园地区晚二叠世地层称作下仓房沟群,自下而上分为泉子街组、梧桐沟组和锅底坑组,为河–湖相碎屑沉积,剖面连续,层序清楚,动、植物化石丰富。文中研究的腹足类标本产于桃东沟剖面梧桐沟组下部和中部的介壳灰岩层和灰岩透镜体中,见有2层,计有2科4属6种:Xinjiangospira rotundata Yu et Zhu,Xinjiangospira habita sp.nov.、Hydrobia turpanensis Wei、Hydrobia orientalis sp.nov.、Pseudamnicola taodonggouensis sp.nov.和Valvata complanusa sp.nov.;与腹足类共生的有双壳类、叶肢介、介形类,以及植物和脊椎动物化石等,其中双壳类主要是Palaeanodonta,Palaeomutela和Anthraconauta等属。该腹足动物群由Hydrobiidae和Valvatidae的属种组成,标本数量多,壳体小,保存完好,是迄今已知属种最丰富的古生代淡水腹足类动物群。当前梧桐沟组腹足动物群面貌与准噶尔盆地大龙口剖面小龙口组...     

Vertical displacement and taphonomic filtering of nannofossils by bioturbation in the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary section at Caravaca,SE Spain

K?dzierski, M., Rodríguez‐Tovar, F.J. & Uchman, A. 2011: Vertical displacement and taphonomic filtering of nannofossils by bioturbation in the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary section at Caravaca, SE Spain. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 321–328. At the Caravaca section, SE Spain, the position of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) boundary is well‐defined, with multidisciplinary datasets from a thin rusty layer at the base of the 10 cm dark boundary layer. Nannoplankton assemblages containing the Danian taxon Neochiastozygus sp. and enriched in Thoracosphaera spp. are displaced below the K–Pg boundary into the trace fossils Zoophycos, Thalassinoides and Chondrites. These trace fossils are filled with dark‐coloured sediments of the dark boundary layer. The nannofossil assemblage from the 1‐cm thick interval below the boundary, enriched in Thoracosphaera spp. and Braarudosphaera spp., may have been displaced by Chondrites tracemakers, the traces of which are abundant in this interval. The downward transport of the Danian nannofossils into the Maastrichtian by the tracemakers seems to be one of the common mechanisms responsible for their apparent appearance below the K–Pg boundary. The dark boundary layer contains very rare Danian specimens and abundant Maastrichtian nannofossils. The Maastrichtian taxa were most likely conveyed up on to the seafloor by tracemakers during the Danian. The redistribution of nannoplankton down and up across the rusty layer (K–Pg), challenges the usefulness of nannofossils for high‐resolution stratigraphy of the K–Pg boundary. □Nannoplankton, Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary event, biogenic mixing, trace fossils.     

A FOSSIL EQUISETUM SP. (FAMILY EQUISETACEAE,SUBGENUS HIPPOCHAETAE) FROM THE LATE TERTIARY ASH HOLLOW FORMATION OF NEBRASKA

Silicified leaf-sheath fragments of Equisetum sp. are described from Late Tertiary strata in west-central Nebraska. The close affinity of these fossils to the subgenus Hippochaetae is supported by the presence of sunken stomata arranged in two regular rows on each leaf-sheath segment. This is the first report of the genus Equisetum from the late Tertiary Ash Hollow Formation of central North America.     

A Late Triassic Invertebrate Ichnofauna from Ghost Ranch,New Mexico

Invertebrate trace fossils are reported from the Late Triassic Chinle Formation at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, for the first time. They occur in beds higher in the section than the Coelophysis Quarry. Six ichnotaxa are recognized: Steinichnus milfordensis, Planolites montanus, Palaeophycus tubularis, Taenidium serpentium, ?Arenicolites sp. and Skolithos sp. This ichnofauna is consistent with the Scoyenia ichnofacies, considered typical of lake margins in semiarid to arid regions.     

Modern hydrophilid clades present and widespread in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Hydrophilidae)

We present a summary of the fossil evidence documenting the worldwide occurrence of the family Hydrophilidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Polyphaga: Hydrophiloidea) in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. We present the first known fossils of the family from the Mesozoic, being c. 100 Myr older than the fossil record available until now. Two Late Jurassic fossils are documented: P rotochares brevipalpis gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Talbragar Fish Bed (New South Wales, Australia) and ‘Mesosperchus’ schultzi Ponomarenko, 1985 from Solnhofen (Bavaria, Germany). The occurrence of the Hydrophilidae in the Early Cretaceous is documented by six species, all of which may be already assigned to modern subfamilies/tribes: B aissalarva hydrobioides gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Baissa outcrops (Buryat Republic, Russia) and C retoxenus australis gen. nov., sp. nov. from Koonwarra outcrops (Victoria, Australia) are both assigned to the tribe Hydrobiusini (Hydrophilinae); A legorius yixianus gen. nov., sp. nov. and Alegorius sp. from the Yixian Formation (Liaoning, China) may represent the Acidocerinae or Enochrinae, H ydroyixia elongata gen. nov., sp. nov. and H . latissima sp. nov. from the same locality are assigned to the Acidocerinae. The phylogenetic position of Baissalarva hydrobioides is also tested by a phylogenetic analysis. The presence of extant clades (Hydrophilinae: Hydrobiusini, Acidocerinae) in the Early Cretaceous and the wide distribution of the Hydrobiusini in both Gondwana and Laurasia at the same time suggests that the principal extant clades of the Hydrophilidae are at least of Early–Middle Jurassic origin. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

Composite Trace Fossil Assemblage in a Distal Carbonate Setting from the Tethys (Middle Jurassic,Betic Cordillera,Southern Spain)

Ichnological analysis of a Middle Jurassic carbonate surface from the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain) reveals a complex trace fossil assemblage, including softground Ophiomorpha, firmground Arenicolites, Thalassinoides and Gastrochaenolites, and hardground Trypanites as well as possible Gastrochaenolites. The ecological replacement in the macrobenthic community is interpreted according to successive suites that are controlled mainly by substrate consistency. Variations in composition and abundance of trace fossils between suites can be ecologically and/or taphonomically determined.     

New Species of Bryophaenocladius Thienemann, 1934 from Tanzania,with Bare Squama (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Bryophaenocladius imberbus sp. n., B. mazumbaiensis sp. n., and B. usambarensis sp. n. are described and figured as male imago, based on specimens collected in the Usambara Mountains in NE Tanzania. All three species lack setae on squama.