A New Genus (Protosciadopityoxylon gen. nov.) of Early Cretaceous Fossil Wood from Liaoning,China

A new genus ( Protosciadopityoxylon gen nov. ) of Early Cretaceous fossil wood reported in the present paper was discovered from Liaoning Province, China, and is named as a new species:Protosciadopityoxylon liaoningense gen. et sp. nov. It is described here and this generic name, adopted by the authors, is employed for fossil wood that is believed to be nearly related to the recent genus Sciadopitys and the fossil genus Sciadopityoxylon. The new genus bears some similarities to Protophyllocladoxylon,Protocircoporoxylon and Xenoxylon in different geological ages, but it differs from them in the types of cross-field pitting.     

中国浙江新昌化石木研究

本文介绍了发现于中国东南沿海地区浙江省新昌县中生代地层中的一种化石木新种———新昌南洋杉型木 (AraucarioxylonxinchangenseDuansp .nov .)。这种化石木保存在早白垩世馆头组中、下部的紫红色泥砂岩中 ,分布在新昌县城西部 ,南北绵延 2 5公里、东西宽约 2公里的狭长地区。由于在化石木产区曾发现过多种植物化石 ,因而确定了该区在早白垩世时期处于我国的欧洲 中国植物区内 ,属亚热带 热带气候区 ,种种迹象表明此时气候有些干旱。同区发现的松柏目叶化石 ,其气孔构造与南洋杉科有一定的亲缘关系 ,这一点似乎与化石木之属可以对应。     

New shore bug (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Saldidae) from the Early Cretaceous of China with phylogenetic analyses

A new genus with a new species of Saldidae, Brevrimatus pulchalifergen. et sp. n., is described and illustrated. The fossil specimen was found from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China. Phylogenetic analyses within Saldidae were performed, and the results indicate Brevrimatus pulchalifergen. et sp. n. should be assigned to the subfamily Chiloxanthinae.     

辽西义县下白垩统沙海组木化石新材料

辽西地区下白垩统沙海组是我国北方地区重要的白垩纪木化石产出层位,其产出的木化石数量丰富、类型多样.尽管前人开展了部分研究,但目前对沙海组木化石植物群组成特征的认识仍相对薄弱.本文报道了辽西义县上石洞沟地区沙海组产出的木化石新材料,共鉴定出2属3种,分别为:Phyllocladoxylon cf.eboracense(H...     

Diversification in an Early Cretaceous avian genus: evidence from a new species of Confuciusornis from China

A new species of Confuciusornis, the oldest known beaked bird, is erected based on a nearly complete fossil from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, northeast China. C. feducciai is the largest and shows the highest ratio of the forelimb to the hindlimb among all known species of Confuciusornis. The skeletal qualitative autapomorphies, including a V-shaped furcula, a rectangular deltopectoral crest, the absence of an oval foramen at the proximal end of the humerus, the very slender alular digit, a relatively much longer ischium which is two-thirds the length of the pubis, and the morphology of sternum, strongly suggest the new specimen is a valid distinctive taxon. Detailed comparison with other described species provides sound evidence for diversification in the Early Cretaceous avian genus Confuciusornis. Anatomical features suggest an arboreal habit of the new bird.     

First fossil record of the genus Nageia (Podocarpaceae) in south China and its phytogeographic implications

The first fossil record of the genus Nageia Gaertner from the Tertiary of southern China is reported. Nageia hainanensis sp. nov. is described from the Eocene Changchang Formation of Hainan Island. The extant species of Nageia are widely distributed in southeastern Asia, from northeastern India to southeastern China and southern Japan, and southward through Indochina to the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. The fossil evidence of Nageia has been discovered from the Lower Cretaceous of the Far East of Russia and Japan. The distribution of both modern and fossil species of Nageia indicates that this genus could have originated in the northeastern part of Asia in the Early Cretaceous and spread to south China at least in the Eocene. Discovery of Nageia fossil record in south China provides important evidence for the geological and phytogeographic history of the genus.     

A new species of Baiera from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of southeastern Jilin,China

The Early Cretaceous Yingzuilazi Formation is exposed in the Baishan Basin, Baishan region of the southeastern Jilin Province, China. So far, no reports on fossil plants from this formation have been published. During recent field excursions, abundant faunal remains belonging to the Early Cretaceous Lycoptera–Ephemeropsis–Eosestheria assemblage of the Jehol Biota and numerous fossil plants were collected from the lacustrine beds of the lower part of this formation. A new species of Ginkgoales from this formation, Baiera baishanensis n. sp., is described based upon the leaf morphology and epidermal characters. This is the first report about fossil plants from the Yinzuilazi Formation, the easternmost distribution area of the Jehol Biota. The discovery of the new species extends significantly the stratigraphic and geographic distribution of Baiera in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota as well as the Eurasia. It also shows that Baiera was a common member of Ginkgophytes once lived in the Early Cretaceous deciduous forest of Northeast China. The new species also improves our knowledge on understanding the leaf morphology, epidermal features, and diversity of Baiera during the Early Cretaceous. Analysis of the epidermal characters of the new species and other associated plants reveals that the plants grew in a warm and humid climate in the temperate zone. The presence of some deciduous plants, including gingkgoaleans, czekanowskialeans, and some conifers, demonstrates a climate with seasonal fluctuations and precipitation.     

A NEW LATE CRETACEOUS MACROSEMIID FISH (NEOPTERYGII, HALECOSTOMI) FROM MOROCCO, WITH TEMPORAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE EXTENSIONS FOR THE FAMILY

Abstract:  A recent collection of actinopterygian fossil fishes from a previously unreported locality in the Cenomanian or Turonian of southeastern Morocco includes a single specimen of a macrosemiid fish. Macrosemiids are more common in Jurassic and Early Cretaceous deposits, with the previously known range of the family being Late Triassic through Aptian or Albian. This discovery therefore extends the temporal range of the family into the Late Cretaceous. Moreover, macrosemiids had not previously been reported from northern Africa or the Moroccan area of the Tethys basin; therefore, this fossil also increases the geographical range of the family. The Moroccan macrosemiid is described in a new genus and species, Agoultichthys chattertoni . A phylogenetic analysis places it basal to all other genera of the family with the exception of Notagogus . Diagnostic characters of the new species include the high number of scales laterally along the body and the greater number of dorsal fin rays than in other members of the family.     

京西盆地早白垩世中生黏蚊一新属新种 (双翅目:中生黏蚊科)(英文)

记述了京西盆地早白垩世中生黏蚊一新属新种———京西华夏中生黏蚊Huaxiasciophilitesjingxiensisgen .etsp .nov.。新属区别于其它属的特征为 :Sc具分支 ;r m长于Rs基部之长 ;Rs明显呈波纹状 ;径室较小。化石采自卢尚坟村卢尚坟组昆虫的典型剖面 ,时代属早白垩世巴列姆期 (BarremianStage) ,归卢尚坟昆虫群。对其系统发育及在地史上的分布进行了初步探讨。模式标本保存于北京林业大学。     

Fruits of icacinaceae (tribe iodeae) from the late paleocene of Western north america

The Icacinaceae occur pantropically today, but are well represented by fossil fruits of the warm Early Middle Eocene, when tropical plants that currently occupy low latitudes were more widely distributed in higher latitudes. Members of this family are first known in the Late Cretaceous; however, fossil fruits of tribe Iodeae are quite rare before the Eocene. In this paper we describe the first formally recognized Late Paleocene icacinaceous taxa from western North America. We name two new species of Icacinicarya based on anatomically preserved fruits and establish a new genus, Icacinicaryites, for impressions with a strong similarity to Icacinicarya that lack anatomical preservation. These new records from the Almont/Beicegel Creek flora in North Dakota and several localities in Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana complement records known from the Early Eocene of England and document an increased diversity of Iodeae and related forms in the Paleogene of western North America.     

中国浙江新昌化石木研究

本文介绍了发现于中国东南沿海地区浙江省新昌县中生代地层中的一种化石木新种——新昌南洋杉型木 (Araucarioxylon xinchangense Duan sp. nov.)。这种化石木保存在早白垩世馆头组中、下部的紫红色泥砂岩中,分布在新昌县城西部,南北绵延25公里、东西宽约2公里的狭长地区。由于在化石木产区曾发现过多种植物化石,因而确定了该区在早白垩世时期处于我国的欧洲 中国植物区内,属亚热带 热带气候区,种种迹象表明此时气候有些干旱。同区发现的松柏目叶化石,其气孔构造与南洋杉科有一定的亲缘关系,这一点似乎与化石木之属可以对应。     

ANATOMICALLY PRESERVED SEED CONES OF THE PINACEAE FROM THE EARLY CRETACEOUS OF VIRGINIA

A collection of anatomically preserved conifer cones from the Early Cretaceous of Virginia contains two new species of the extinct pinaceous genus Pityostrobus. Superficially, the fossil cones resemble those of modern species of Picea. However, the fossils reveal such a peculiar mixture of anatomical features that they cannot be assigned to any extant genus of the Pinaceae. One of the new species, Pityostrobus hueberi, is most comparable with Pityostrobus corneti Alvin from the Early Cretaceous of Belgium. Pityostrobus virginiana, the other new species, differs from all other members of the genus in only slight—but nonetheless significant—attributes. Pityostrobus hueberi and P. virginiana are the first species of this genus to be reported from Early Cretaceous sediments of the North American Atlantic Coastal Plain. As such, they increase our knowledge of the structural variation exhibited by ancient members of the Pinaceae.     

Paleoleishmania proterus n. gen., n. sp., (Trypanosomatidae: Kinetoplastida) from Cretaceous Burmese amber

A trypanosomatid (Trypanosomatidae: Kinetoplastida) associated with a blood-filled female sand fly in Cretaceous Burmese amber, is described in the new genus and species, Paleoleishmania proterus. The genus Paleoleishmania is established as a collective genus for digenetic fossil trypanosomes associated with sand flies. Amastigotes, promastigotes and paramastigotes are described. Paleoleishmania proterus is the first fossil kinetoplastid and provides a minimum age for the digenetic Trypanosomatidae. Its discovery indicates that vector-borne pathogens had been established by the Early Cretaceous.     

A golden orb-weaver spider (Araneae: Nephilidae: Nephila) from the Middle Jurassic of China

Nephila are large, conspicuous weavers of orb webs composed of golden silk, in tropical and subtropical regions. Nephilids have a sparse fossil record, the oldest described hitherto being Cretaraneus vilaltae from the Cretaceous of Spain. Five species from Neogene Dominican amber and one from the Eocene of Florissant, CO, USA, have been referred to the extant genus Nephila. Here, we report the largest known fossil spider, Nephila jurassica sp. nov., from Middle Jurassic (approx. 165 Ma) strata of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species extends the fossil record of the family by approximately 35 Ma and of the genus Nephila by approximately 130 Ma, making it the longest ranging spider genus known. Nephilidae originated somewhere on Pangaea, possibly the North China block, followed by dispersal almost worldwide before the break-up of the supercontinent later in the Mesozoic. The find suggests that the palaeoclimate was warm and humid at this time. This giant fossil orb-weaver provides evidence of predation on medium to large insects, well known from the Daohugou beds, and would have played an important role in the evolution of these insects.     

A new lobster <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paraclytia valashtensis</Emphasis> (Crustacea,Decapoda, Nephropidae) from the Late Cretaceous of the central Alborz Range,Iran

A new species of Late Cretaceous clawed lobster, Paraclytia valashtensis, is described. The discovery is a notable addition to the sparse decapod fossil record of Iran, and this is the first record of the genus outside central Europe. The four previously known species of Paraclytia are from Germany and the Czech Republic, so this discovery represents a significant expansion of the palaeogeographic range of the genus.     

New basal eutherian mammal from the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota,Liaoning, China

A new genus and species of eutherian mammal, Acristatherium yanensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota, China. The new taxon is based on a partial skull that is preserved in three dimensions from the Lujiatun bed of the Yixian Formation and dated 123.2±1.0 Ma. Its right upper and lower dentitions are nearly complete and it has a dental formula 4.1.5.3/3.1.5.3. The new mammal reveals several craniodental characteristics of Early Cretaceous eutherians previously unknown in fossil records of therians, such as a possible vestige of the septomaxilla. The craniodental features of the new taxon are compared with those of relevant Early Cretaceous eutherians and therians. Phylogenetic analyses based on a data matrix containing 70 taxa and 408 characters place A. yanensis as the most basal eutherian in the selected group. The morphological differences between Acristatherium and Eomaia indicate that eutherians already had a significant degree of generic diversification ca 125 Ma.     

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW FOSSIL GENUS AND SPECIES HUAXIASCIOPHILITES JINGXIENSIS (DIPTERA: MESOSCIOPHILIDAE) FROM EARLY CRETACEOUS JINGXI BASIN OF BEIJING,CHINA*

Abstract A new fossil genus and species of the family Mesosciophilidae, Huaxiasciophilites jingxiensis gen. et sp. nov. is described. The fossils of the new genus and species were collected from the Early Cretaceous Lushangfen Formation (K⁴₁ 1) of Jingxi basin of Beijing China. The new genus is established based on the following characters: that Sc short, not exceed the forking of R and Rs, with branches; r‐m longer than basal part of Rs; Rs very thick and undee; and radial cell very short. The phylogenetic tree of Mesosciophilidae superimposed on the geological time scale was also analyzed. The holotype is deposited in the Beijing Forestry University.     

The earliest fossil record of Panorpidae (Mecoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of China

The early history of Panorpidae (Mecoptera) is poorly known due to sparse fossil records. Up to date, only nine fossil species have been described, all from the Paleogene, except the Early Cretaceous Solusipanorpa gibbidorsa Lin, 1980. However, we suggest S. gibbidorsa is too incompletely preserved to permit even family classification. A new genus with two new species, Jurassipanorpa impunctata gen. et sp. n. and Jurassipanorpa sticta sp. n., are described based on four well-preserved specimens from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. These two new species are the earliest fossil records of Panorpidae. The new genus is erected based on a combination of forewing characters: both R₁ and Rs₁ with two branches, 1A reaching posterior margin of wing distad of the forking of Rs from R_1, and no crossveins or only one crossvein between veins of 1A and 2A. In all four specimens, long and robust setae ranging from 0.09 to 0.38 mm in length and pointing anteriorly, are present on anal veins of forewings. The function of these setae is enigmatic.     

Plenasium xiei sp. nov. from the Cretaceous of Northeast China: Additional evidence for the longevity of osmundaceous ferns

A new species of the Osmundaceae, Plenasium xiei sp. nov., is herein described from the Cretaceous of Northeast China. The specimens examined here represent the earliest unequivocal record of the extant genus Plenasium in Eurasia based on fossil rhizomes. The rhizome consists of a central stem with a mantle of petiole bases and adventitious roots. The stem contains an ectophloic‐dictyoxylic siphonostele and a two‐layered cortex. The C‐shaped leaf trace bears two protoxylem bundles at the point of separation from the stele. The pith is heterogeneous. The parenchymatous inner cortex is thinner than the sclerenchymatous outer cortex. Lobed sclerenchyma bands occur at the adaxial sides of the stem xylem strands, in the concavity of the leaf trace, and along the adaxial side of the vascular bundles of the petiole base. In distal petiole portions, the sclerenchyma band splits into several groups in the transverse view. Sclerenchyma rings are heterogeneous with an abaxial sclerenchymatous arc of thick‐walled fibers. Numerous sclerenchyma strands of thick‐walled fibers appear in the petiolar inner cortex and the stipular wing. These fossils provide unambiguous evidence for the existence of subgenus Plenasium of modern Plenasium by at least the Late Cretaceous, demonstrating the longevity of this extant subgenus. Altogether the leaf and rhizome fossil records of Plenasium indicate that this genus was widely distributed across North America and Eurasia from the Early Cretaceous to the Early Cenozoic, followed by a range restriction to Eurasia in the Late Cenozoic. Extant Plenasium species are only known from East and Southeast Asia.