Two new maastrichtian species ofSerpentipora (Bryozoa)

Two new species are described of the cyclostomatous bryozoan genusSerpentipora Brood.S. germanka is not uncommon in the White Chalk of Northern Europe andS. rugosa occurs in the Upper Maastrichtian of the Netherlands. Fossil species ofSerpentipora have not been reported previously from Europe.     

Les “ Mésentéripores ” (Bryozoaires cyclostomes) du Néocomien du Jura suisse et Français

Study of new and important collections of bryozoa in Neocomian of the French and Swiss Jura improve the knowledge of these Bryozoa, especially the “mesenteripores” (Tubuloporina with bilamellar structure) of which almost all the species types proceed from the Jura. These species are here redefined, for example M. campicheana which was poorly known until now. One new species, Mesonopora uniordinata, is described. To this superior delimitation of species, is added extensed geographical distribution and also more precise stratigraphical position. The fauna of mesenteripores varies according to lithostratigraphy, that is to say, with variations of paleoenvironment. Among these, modification of substratum, sedimentary deposition, depth, are the easiest to envisage.     

Note on Cyclostomatous Bryozoa from Eilat, Israel

Five species of cyclostomatous Bryozoa are reported in an assemblage from the Red Sea at Eilat, Israel. Tuhulipora samuelsoni sp.n. is described. The fauna is closely related to known Indo-Pacific faunas.     

Bryozoaires du Crétacé supérieur trouvés dans les résidusdu remplissage d'une fente karstique dans les Gorges du Nant (Vercors)

33 species of Upper Cretaceous silicified bryozoansfound by A. Arnaud-Vanneau and H. Arnaud (Grenoble) within a crevice filled with residual clay, have been studied. Most of the species are known from the Senonian (Coniacian — Santonian) of the Anglo-Paris Basin. The faunal relations with the Upper Cretaceous Bryozoa of the Provence, of the Aquitain Basin or the Alpine regions (Austrian Alps) are less significant. Decurella? arnaudae nov. sp. and Onychocella subpalpigera nov. sp. are described.     

über Opercula bei der fossilen BryozoengattungInversaria v. Hagenow 1851 (Cheilostomata,Ob. Kreide)

The calcareous opercula ofInversaria tubiporacea (Goldfuss 1826) from the Dutch Maastrichtian Chalk-tuff are described and figured by Stereoscan photographs. The genusInversaria v.Hagenow 1851, as demonstrated byVoigt &Williams (1973), belongs to the Cheilostomata and not, as maintained hitherto, to the Cyclostomata. The discovery of true opercula in situ inInversaria also serves as important evidence for the cheilostomatous character of that genus. In comparison with the opercula of Recent Cheilostomes, these opercula, the first to be found in fossil species, are highly calcified and provided with strange outgrowths the like of which have never been observed in Recent species. On their frontal surface exists a conical process which is directed distally and is often curved. It starts from the hollow central disc of the operculum. On the reverse (internal) surface two symmetrical pairs of branching spines (sclerites) arise vertically from a horizontal cross-bar; the external pair is more prominent with antler-like apophyses, projecting like two corner pillars into the lumen of the zooecia. The median pair is lower and often found to be coalesced into a knobbed or thorny clew. The zoarium ofInversaria tubiporacea consists of a vertical central axis surrounded by regular concentric layers of subsequently formed zooecia with budded only by proliferation after the degeneration of the foregoing older ones (frontal budding) and not by simple encrustation of autonomous outer layers of new zooecia enveloping the periphery of the zoarium. The zooecial tubes are observed to continue directly through all these outer layers, but in fast consist of a series of distinct zooecia following each other by budding and subsequent degeneration. This may be demonstrated by the fact that in the same tube passing through all these layers the opercula of several different generations of polypides are represented. Therefore, it must be concluded that, in similarly constructed zoaria of cyclostomatous and trepostomatous Bryozoa, the zooecial tubes which apparently were secreted only by one polypide must have been built up by numerous successive generations of zooids, each budded every time the degeneration of a parental zooid occured.     

The sclerobionts of the Bajocian Oolithe ferrugineuse de Bayeux Formation from Calvados (Paris Basin,Normandy, France)

Silicified fossils collected in ploughed fields at Gavrus (Calvados, France), mainly mollusc shells, are Bajocian in age, and come from the Oolithe ferrugineuse de Bayeux Formation. The entire formation is highly condensed and most fossils are reworked. Their silicification allowed treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid. This treatment brought to light numerous encrusting sclerobionts: Porifera (3 taxa), Bryozoa (n), Polychaeta (9), Brachiopoda (n), Bivalvia (5). The borings and bioerosional traces are described using the “categories of architectural design” as defined by Buatois et al. (2017). Among the 28 ichnotaxa described (corresponding to an ichnodisparity of 14), Planavolites wisshaki isp. nov., Kleithrichnus belemnophilus igen. nov., isp. nov. and Foggara foggara igen. nov., isp. nov. are new. Some Gastrochaenolites dijugus Kelly and Bromley, 1984 borings accommodate the shell of the presumed borer Lithophaga fabella J.-A. Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1838. A group of Nododendrina europaea (Fischer, 1875) on a belemnite rostrum provides a good instance of an ichnogenetic series. Encrusting sclerobionts and macroscopic boring and bioerosional trace-makers are dominantly suspension feeders. The ichnofacies is a peculiar Entobia-ichnofacies, found in deeper, lower-energy environments than the “classical” coastal Entobia-ichnofacies, on deep shell-grounds far from the coast, in the deep euphotic zone.     

Sur quelques flores du Carbonifère des Pyrénées béarnaises

The fossil Carboniferous flora of various localitiesof the «zone primaire axiale in Pyrénées Mountains, which was mainly known only by lists of determinations, is described and figured for the first time, due to the recent discovery of a very nice fossiliferous locality. The plant association comprises Lepidophyta, Arthrophyta, Filicophyta, Pteridospermaphyta and Cordaitophyta, with the following dominant species: Neuralethopteris schelehanii (Stur), Karinopteris acuta (Brongniart), Eusphenopteris hollandica (Gothan & Jongmans), Paripteris gigantea (Sternberg), Calamites cf. cistiiformis (Stur) and Corynepteris sp.Such an association is typical for an Upper Namurian B-Lower Namurian C age in Western Europe. The biostratigraphic results are compared with the data obtained by Goniatites found also in these localities.The identity of such plant-assemblages from WesternEurope as well as South and North-East China is in favour of a continental continuity between these provinces during the Namurian.     

Middle Jurassic (upper Bajocian) marine vetigastropods from the Western Saharan Atlas,Algeria

Whereas Middle Jurassic gastropods are very well known in Europe and other regions of the world, these faunas have been much less studied from northern Africa and most contributions available in literature have been based on relatively well-preserved material. Except a little lower Bajocian fauna from the Central High Atlas (Morocco) described at the turn of the 21th century, nothing is known about the Middle Jurassic gastropods of the southwestern Tethyan margin. The present paper aims to update the systematics of two vetigastropod species: Obornella cf. granulata (Sowerby, 1818) and Ambercyclus ornatus (Sowerby, 1819) recently found in the upper Bajocian succession of the Ksour Mountains (Tniet el Klakh Formation) at western Saharan Atlas (northern Algeria). The new Ambercyclus material found in well-preserved conditions confirms the absence of umbilicus in Ambercyclus; thus, we emend the original generic diagnosis. The specimens of Obornella cf. granulata and Ambercyclus ornatus represent the first occurrence of both genera and species in the upper Bajocian marine deposits of the western Saharan Atlas, and provide new taxonomic and palaeobiogeographic information about Middle Jurassic vetigastropods in Algeria.     

Brittle stars from the upper Cenomanian of the Preafrican platform: First ophiuroid remains for the Cretaceous of Algeria

While Late Cretaceous ophiuroids are relatively well known in Europe, these faunas have been much less studied in North Africa. With the exception of some Tunisian assemblages preliminary described at the turn of the 21st century, nothing is known about the Cretaceous brittle stars of the southwestern Tethyan margin. The present paper seeks to bring the first data about hitherto unknown ophiuroids recently found in the early upper Cenomanian succession of the eastern side of the Preafrican trough (Menaguir section, Algeria). This “community” of brittle stars comprises at least eight species. Most of them are probably new, but have not been formally named here. These are representatives of the families Hemieuryalidae, Amphiuridae, Ophiodermatidae, Ophiacanthidae, Ophiopezidae and probably also Ophiomyxidae and Ophiobyrsidae. Almost all vertebrae are zygospondylous; no streptospondylous vertebrae indicate the absence of the order Euryalida here. Most of the ophiuroids belong to the orders Amphilepidida and Ophiacanthida. Ophiotitanos serrata, Ophiomyxa? aff. jekerica, Ophiojagtus? sp. and some other taxa resembling ophiuroid assemblages from the Late Cretaceous of central, western and northern Europe. With respect to the late Cenomanian age, the depth of the sea and the taxonomic composition, there are some similarities with ophiuroids of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. The mid-ramp subtidal facies suggests that brittle stars lived here in a warm, euphotic and probably shallow sea.     

Foraminifères du Lias moyenet supérieur d'Obon: Chaînes ibériques,Province de Teruel,Espagne

The Obon sections in the central Iberian ranges, thestratigraphy of which is well established, have a rich microfauna of Foraminifera from Upper Domerian and Toarcian. It is partly original (4 new species are described, and 4 are left as open nomenclature).The plentifulness of the material has allowed thestructures of some of the populations to be shown up, some of the forms to be grouped up into spectrums and precisions brought in about the notion of the Lenticulina genus and its systematics.A part of the Iberian species is also to be found in the rest of Western Europe and Morocco. The Poitou species created by J.M. Payard (1947) are the objects of critical comparison. The later appearance of the marly-calcareous facies in Poitou may explain the differences in stratigraphic repartition fairly constantly observed.     

Bryozoa from the west European continental slope

Fifty-four species of Cheilostome and Ctenostome Bryozoa are reported from 75 stations along the continental slope of western Europe. Three new species are described. The collection comprises remnants of the richer shelf fauna plus a deeper water element, with a predominance of northern stenothermal species.     

At the end of the rope: Geophilus hadesi sp. n. – the world’s deepest cave-dwelling centipede (Chilopoda,Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae)

A new geophilomorph centipede, Geophilus hadesi sp. n., is described from caves in the Velebit Mountain, central Croatia. Together with Geophilus persephones Foddai & Minelli, 1999, described from Pierre Saint-Martin cave in France, they are the only two remarkably troglomorphic geophilomorphs hitherto known. The new species apparently belongs to a group of Geophilus species inhabiting mainly Western and Southern Europe, with a uniquely modified pretarsus in the second maxillae. Geophilus hadesi sp. n. shows unusual traits, some of which commonly found in troglobitic arthropods, including exceptionally elongated antennae, trunk segments and leg claws. The species is described upon specimens found in two caves at a depth below -250 m. Another two specimens apparently belonging to the same species have been recorded in another deep vertical cave at -980 m and -1100 m. The latter represents the world’s deepest record of Chilopoda as a whole.     

Patterns in the benthic communities on the shelf of the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands

Summary Benthic communities at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands were sampled qualitatively with an epi-benthic sled at 57 stations over a five year period. Additional information on these communities was obtained from replicate underwater photographs. In total, 546 macrofaunal species were found. Despite the extreme isolation and geological youth of the islands, there seems to have been a diverse colonisation. A cluster-analysis based on species abundance aggregated most stations into 8 groups. Each of these groups had a unique depth and substratum combination. Thourella variabilis (Octocoralea), and Cabarea darwinii (Bryozoa) characterised deep rocky assemblages and Serpula vermicularis, Lanice conchilega (Polychaeta) and Magellania kerguelenensis (Brachiopoda) characterised soft substrata. Indicator species separating each of the 8 clusters are given. Trends in percentage cover and densities of major taxa with respect to depth and substratum, as shown by photographs, are described. Deep, rocky substrata were dominated by Porifera, Bryozoa and Cnidaria, while soft-substrata were dominated by Polychaeta, Bivalvia and Brachiopoda. Errant forms consisted predominantly of Echinodermata, with Crustacea being important in shallower habitats. Filter-feeders dominated the benthos of the islands in all habitats.     

The genusNephtys (Polychaeta: Phyllodocida) of northern Europe: A review of species,including the description ofN. pulchra sp. n. and a key to the Nephtyidae

Twelve species ofNephtys now known from northern Europe are described, including one new species,N. pulchra sp. n. A key is provided to the 14 species of Nephtyidae, from the region. Geographic changes in the setiger in which interramal cirri first occur are recognized inN. caeca (Fabricius),N. ciliata (Müller),N. hombergii Savigny andN. pente Rainer.     

Un chiroptère emballonuridédans le Néogène d'Europe occidentale; Considérations paléobiogéographiques

The occurrence of an emballonurid bat is revealed within the micromammalian fauna found at the Lower Miocene locality of Port-la-Nouvelle (Aude). The material is described, and the comparison with homologous elements of fossil and living Emballonuridae indicates a modern character of the teeth.This species could be related to the recent genusTaphozous.. Therefore, a new family is added to the Western European mammalian Neogene fauna; and the Neogene geographical area of this family, previously limited to East Africa, is now extended to Europe.     

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.     

The Madagascan Maastrichtian bryozoans of Ferdinand Canu – Systematic revision and scanning electron microscopic study

In 1922, the first taxonomic work on Maastrichtian bryozoans from Madagascar was published in the Annales de Paléontologie by Ferdinand Canu. Canu described 25 species, 17 of which were regarded as new but the material has never been revised until now. Here we employ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to illustrate Canu's material and revise the taxonomy. Based on this revision, 23 species, comprising eight cyclostomes and 15 cheilostomes, are recognized. A new genus, Fehiborypora, is introduced for the cribrimorph Cribilina (?) labiatula, and two new species are described: ‘Plagioecia’ antanihodiensis sp. nov. and ‘Escharoides’ charbonnieri sp. nov. Galeopsis parvipora is synonymized with Crustoporina prona Stoliczka. All bryozoan species found are encrusters on echinoids or oysters.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cortinarius</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Riederi</Emphasis>: taxonomy and phylogeny of the new section with European and North American distribution

Cortinarius is one of the most species-rich genera of mushroom-forming fungi. Based on phylogenetic and morphological evidence, Cortinarius, sect. Riederi, is introduced at sectional level (= subsect. Riederi sensu Brandrud & Melot). The taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology and distribution of not only mainly European but also including some North American taxa of this section are treated, which includes nine species and two varieties. Of these, three taxa are described as new (C. burlinghamiae, C. pallidoriederi and C. argenteolilacinus var. dovrensis). The sect. Riederi species possess morphological features similar to Phlegmacium group(s) and forms a phylogenetically isolated lineage, with no supported affinity to other phlegmacioid groups. Three taxa are known from both Europe and North America, two species are known only from North America and five only from Europe. Altogether, eight of the ten taxa are associated with conifers or northern (boreal-subalpine) deciduous trees (Betula spp.). Only two species occur in more temperate forests (Fagus forests), and no species have so far been found in thermophilous Quercus forests     

A new species of Phyllotis (Rodentia,Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) from Tucumán province,Argentina

A new species of rodent of the genus Phyllotis is described based in cranial and external morphology, as well as morphometric data. Additionally, sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome-b were used to asses the phylogenetic relationships. We have compared our specimens with all the extant species of the genus Phyllotis and also with some species of related genera, particularly with the most similar and with those that occur in the province of Tucumán and northwestern Argentina. The new species is large compared to the average size of the genus, and can be easily distinguished from all other species essentially by coloration and by cranial morphology. It is closely related to the recently described P. anitae, and these two species are, in turn, sister to P. osilae. The only two localities where the new species has been found are in the Upper Montane Forests of the southern portion of the Yungas Ecoregion, in the province of Tucumán, Argentina.