Anatomy of a New Species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales) from Early Stage of Early Permian in China

Scolecopteris Zenker, a kind of anatomically-preserved fertile foliage of Late Paleozoic Marattiales, has been well studied in Euramerican Flora. It is composed of 28 species which can be divided into four forms (groups) mainly based on modified or umodified pinnules, the variation of the outer facing sporangial walls, and with or without a prominent central parenchyma area. In contrast, Scolecopteris Zenker in Cathaysian Flora has been poorly studied so far, and only one species S. sinensis Zhao, was reported in 1991 which was considered as a member of Minor Group. The paper reports a second species of Scolecopteris, i.e.S, shanxiensis sp. nov., which differs from the above four groups in that its outer facing wall of the sporangia is thick at the base and top (2 ~ 3 layers of cells), and a little thinner ( 1~2 layers of cells) at the midlevel of the synangia. So a new group, Shanxiensis group, is set for the new species. The other characteristics of Shanxiensis group is comparable with Minor group. The new species comes from the coal balls in Coal Seam No. 7 in the upper part of Taiyuan Formation (early Early Permian) from Taiyuan, Shanxi, China. The identification of Scolecopteris shanxiensis sp. nov. :The fertile pinnule probably peeopterids, 5.5 ~ 6.0 mm in length and 2.0 ~ 2.2 mm in width. The lateral extensions of the lamina of the pinnule bend abaxially and above the synangia. The synangia arrange along the sides of the midrib of the pinnnle and there are about 10 synangia in each row. The synangium is elliptical in longitudinal section and radial in cross section, 0.7 ~ 0.8 mm in height and 0.6 ~ 0.7 mm in diameter. Each synangium has 5-7 (mostly 6) fusiform sporangia fused at the base and attached to the top of the synangial pedicel. The outer facing wall of the sporangia consists of 2~3 layers of cells at the base and becomes thinner at the midlevel (1~2 layers of cells), and at the top of the synangia the wall become thicker again. The cells of the outer facing wall of the sporangia are elongate in the longitudinal sections. The lateral and inner facing walls of the sporangia are one cell thick. The synangial pedicel is small. Spores in situ are small, generally 11~14 µm in diameter, spherical or rounded-triangular, trilete and smooth-walled.     

Reinvestigation of Nystroemia pectiniformis Halle, an enigmatic seed plant from the Upper Permian of China

Reinvestigation of Nystroemia pectiniformis Halle from the Upper Shihhotze Formation of Shanxi Province, China, has led to the identification of new and important features of this enigmatic Late Permian seed plant, permitting its typification and diagnosis. After reassembling several of the previously studied specimens to form a single articulated branching system comprising at least four orders of branching, previously unknown features of its branching pattern and morphology have been characterized. First–order axes are wide and branch to one side only, bearing second–order branches either singly or in pairs and of two kinds: one fertile and bearing characteristic ovulate branching systems and the other presumably vegetative. Ovulate second–order axes are narrow and branch to one side only, producing numerous, closely spaced lateral branches in two alternate to sub–opposite rows. Lateral branches are slender and produce numerous ovulate branching systems to one side of the axis only. Ovulate branching systems divide unequally to produce 3–15 ultimate axes of different lengths that are planated. Each ultimate axis bears a single terminal ovule with 180 degree rotational symmetry and two horn–like integumentary projections distally. The other kind of second–order axes are distinct from those bearing ovules; they are wider and longer and branches occur on both sides of the secondary axis, lacking divisions in close proximity to the first–order axis. These have only been observed incomplete although their distinct morphology indicates they are unlikely to be ovulate branches from which ovules/seeds have been shed. Additional organs of the Nystroemia plant are considered, including pollen organs previously assigned by Halle to the same species (displaying its characteristic branching style), and also leaves of Chiropteris reniformis Halle that were probably borne on the larger kind of second–order branches. Implications of Nystroemia on seed plant evolution and distribution are discussed, and it is concluded that this most likely represents a late stratigraphic occurrence of a plesiomorphic hydrasperman–type seed plant with affinities closely allied to members of the Lyginopteridales.     

An enigmatic actinopterygian (Pisces: Osteichthyes) from the Upper Permian of China

A new actinopterygian fish Yaomoshania minutosquama gen. & sp. nov., from the Upper Permian of the Dzungaria [Junggar] Basin in China is described. The material consists of two very fragmentary specimens showing almost exclusively scale rows. The arrangement of the scale rows of the holotype resembles the reversion lines of acanthodian caudal fins and of cheirolepids. The size and shape of the scales, and the diminishing size of the scales along the rows, is similar to those of acanthodians and those actinopterygians with small scales such as Cheirolepis. However, the histology of the scales demonstrates features that are found in more advanced actinopterygians: superimposed ganoine lamellae, the arrangement of dentine tubules and pulp canals, buried odontodes stacked on each other to make the ornamental ridges, and an asymmetric pattern of growth achieved by extensive remodelling (resorption and redeposition) of all layers of the scale. Yaomoshania minutosquama is proposed as a small-scale bearing, basal actinopterygian, different from Cheirolepis , but characterized by advanced histological characters.     

The Upper Permian articulate Phyllotheca australis from South Africa

RAYNER, R. J., 1992. The Upper Permian articulate Phyllotheca australis from South Africa. The taxonomic position of two fossil articulates, which form an important element of the Permian Gondwana flora, is examined in the light of recent collections from South Africa. Vegetative and fertile axes, dispersed and attached sporangia, in-situ spores, isolated and attached whorls of leaves, rhizomes bearing roots and branches, naked axes and a permineralized axis are all assigned to Phyllotheca australis. The large numbers of axes with attached sporangia allow a reinterpretation of the fertile structure and the specific diagnosis is emended. Although it is recognized that the fossils assigned to this taxon may represent a species complex, there exist no clear morphological discontinuities between the material previously assigned to P. australis and P. indica from widely separated Gondwanan localities. Phyllotheca australis was common throughout Gondwana, and is a reliable index fossil of the Upper Permian.     

中国石炭纪和二叠纪植物群

本文总结了和讨论了中国石炭纪和二叠纪植物群分布特征,在对植物群成分分析的基础上,认为中国早石炭世（杜内期、维宪期和纳缪尔A期）分布一个全球一致性的植物群,即拟鳞木植物群Lepidodendropsis flora。中国的晚石炭世（纳缪尔B-C期、维期发期和斯蒂分期）和二叠纪植物群为华夏植物群。本文还对北方华夏植物群亚区和南方华夏植物群亚区植物群进行了对比,并论述了这两个植物群在组成成分上的差异。     

Charred wood of Prototaxoxylon from the Wuchiapingian Wutonggou Formation (Permian) of Dalongkou,northern Bogda Mountains,northwestern China

Charred wood occurs sporadically in sedimentary rocks in China. A marcroscopic charcoal with well-preserved anatomical structure is described from the Wuchiapiangian Wutonggou Formation in the southern part of Dalongkou section, northern Bogda Mountains in the Junggar Basin, northwestern China. It is characterized by uniseriate radial tracheidal pitting, taxaceous tertiary spiral thickenings in the tracheidal walls, uniseriate tangential tracheidal pitting, homogeneous, uniseriate, 2–10 cells high xylem rays, and 1–2 pits in each cross-field. It is assigned to Prototaxoxylon uniseriale Prasad. The uniseriate, bordered, contiguous, rarely separate tangential pitting of P. uniseriale is evidenced clearly for the first time. The features of this species show a close affinity with conifers. The coniferous charred wood may have been derived from an extrabasinal forest, perhaps from upland environment deep within the hinterland, according to results of modern taphonomic research.     

Microproblematic endophytes and epiphytes of fern pinnules from the Upper Pennsylvanian of France

Ten different types of microproblematic structures occur on the surfaces, and in epidermal and hypodermal cells of fern pinnules preserved in the Late Pennsylvanian Grand-Croix cherts from France. These include thick-walled spheres, some with a prominent exit site, aggregations of variously sized spheres that may be surrounded by a membrane or sheath, a cylindrical structure composed of polygonal compartments, and branched hyphae/filaments with intercalary swellings protruding from a small opening in the surface (probably a stomatal pore). Some of the structures likely were produced by some fungal group, and may represent (resting) spores, microsclerotia, and conidiophores. The affinities of the others, and sometimes even their biological nature, remain difficult to determine. Nevertheless, documenting these structures is important because it provides the first indication for vascular plant leaves that were colonized by different types of organisms in a late Paleozoic ecosystem.     

Foliar anatomy of Gigantonoclea guizhouensis (Gigantopteridales) from the Upper Permian of Guizhou Province,China

The present paper details the anatomy of permineralized foliar specimens of Gigantonoclea guizhouensis Gu and Zhi (Gigantopteridales) from the Upper Permian of western Guizhou Province in southwest China. In addition to reticulate venation, these fossil leaves possess a number of interesting anatomical features including: multicellular spines on the midrib, hypodermal sclerenchyma ribs, U- or V-shaped xylem in the midrib and secondary veins, tracheids with various secondary wall thickening patterns, paracytic stomata on the abaxial surface, epidermal cells with sinuous anticlinal walls, and secretory cavities in the mesophyll. Based on anatomical features, a liane habit is suggested, and the systematic differences among Gigantonoclea guizhouensis, Gigantopteridium, and the North American taxon Delnortea are underscored.     

A new species of Discinites (Noeggerathiales) from the Upper Permian of Weibei Coalfield, North China

A new species of Discinites is described from the Late Permian Upper Shihhotse Formation of the Weibei Coalfield, Shaanxi Province, China. D. hanchengensis sp. nov. has decurrent and disk-like sporophylls with deep-toothed apices, elliptical sporangia and rectangular epidermal cells. The spores are generally of the Calamospora type. The megaspores and microspores are 300–380 and 45–90 μm in diameter, respectively. The microspores are similar in size to those of all other species of Discinites that contain Calamospora, but the megaspores are remarkably smaller. The new species represents the first record of Discinites with Calamospora from China and from the Cathaysian flora. Finally, we summarize the associated foliages of Discinites in the Cathaysian flora and find that they are all markedly different from those found in the Euramerican flora.     

Aragonitic dasycladalean algae from the Upper Permian of Sichuan, China

Exceptionally well-preserved specimens of Mizzia yabei (Karpinsky) were discovered in bituminous packstone intercalations of the early Upper Permian Maokou Formation of Anxian County (Sichuan, China). Staining techniques and x-ray diffraction reveal that the organic encrustation around the central stem and the lateral branches consists of aragonite. Average aragonite contents range between 27% and 40%. The bulk of the remaining 60–73% calcite represents cement. The total Sr-content is 3, 400 ppm, indicating 8,000–10,000 ppm for the aragonite fraction. The organically precipitated aragonite was deposited as closely packed fibres, 10–20 μm long and 0.5–1 μm wide. The fibres are arranged in clinogonal (water-jet) fascicles, which diverge towards the central (spar-filled) stem. This microstructure shows that the mineralization of the mucilage started at the periphery of the extracellular encrustation and progressed toward its interior. Diagenetic alterations of the original aragonite include various stages of breakdown of the fibres into 0.5–1 μm large granules (micritization), minor syntaxial growth of the fibres and local transformation of acicular aragonite into neomorphic calcite. The dasycladaleans from the Permian of Sichuan appear to be by far the oldest representatives of this order with preserved aragonitic mineralogy and microstructure. Comparably well-preserved examples are only known from Eocene and younger deposits.     

Gryllolattids (Insecta, Grylloblattida) from the Upper Permian of South Africa

A Late Permian fauna of grylloblattid insects (Insecta; Grylloblattida) from the KwaZulu-Natal Province (South Africa) is considered. New taxa, Liomopterites ulterior sp. nov. and L. meridionalis sp. nov. (family Liomopteridae); Normandienoptera serotina gen. et sp. nov. and Afrogrylloblattus disputabilis gen. et sp. nov. (Skaliciidae), are described. Mioloptera stuckenbergi Riek, 1973 and Mioloptoides andrei Riek, 1976 of the family Liomopteridae are redescribed.     

Callistophytalean pteridosperms from Permian aged floras of China

Abstract: Recent investigations into Permian aged floras from China have highlighted the widespread occurrence of callistophytalean pteridosperms that challenge previous understanding of their spatial and temporal distribution and diversity. In China, the group spans the Permian period and constitutes a distinctive but rare component in many peat‐forming environments. The stratigraphically earliest callistophytalean occurs in the Asselian‐Sakmarian stages with fossils from the Taiyuan Formation of northern China including ovules of Callospermarion undulatum in coal ball assemblages, and ovulate fronds of Norinosperma shanxiensis and synangiate fronds of Norinotheca shanxiensis in adpression assemblages. More abundant in the fossil records are adpression remains from the Roadian‐Wordian stages with the Lower Shihhotse Formation preserving abundant vegetative and ovulate remains of Emplectopteris triangularis that is now considered to represent a callistophytalean. The youngest callistophytalean recognised is from the Wuchaipingian‐Changhsingian stages with the Xuanwei Formation of southern China containing a single stem of Callistophyton boyssetii that provides indisputable evidence of the group in the lead up to the end‐Permian mass extinction. These accounts are augmented by analysis of pollen records that demonstrate the callistophytalean pollen genus Vesicaspora to be widespread through palynological assemblages from the Permian period in both North and South China, including the Upper Shihhotse Formation, Shihchienfeng Group, Xuanwei Formation, and possibly also in the mid‐Pennsylvanian Benxi Formation. Although macrofossil specimens are uncommon elements in the assemblages that contain them, they demonstrate the continuity of callistophytalean pteridosperms from the Pennsylvanian sub‐period into the early Guadalupian epoch of the Permian in North China and into the Lopingian epoch of the Permian in South China. Of the species present, both Callistophyton boyssetii and Callospermarion undulatum are known from the Pennsylvanian–earliest Permian age floras of Euramerica, whereas Norinosperma, Norinotheca and Emplectopteris appear to represent endemic Cathaysian elements. Results imply that callistophytalean pteridosperms can no longer be excluded from theories of post‐Carboniferous plant evolution and floristics, appearing to have played an important role in both Permian and Carboniferous aged plant communities. The presence of Vesicaspora in several formations from which macro‐remains have not been identified is a hopeful indicator that further callistophytalean pteridosperms are yet to be found.     

Zhutheca Liu, Li et Hilton gen. nov., the fertile pinnules of Fascipteris densata Gu et Zhi and their significance in marattialean evolution

The morphology of the fertile pinnules of Fascipteris densata Gu et Zhi have been subjected to a detailed morphological investigation based on recently collected specimens from the Upper Permian of Yunnan Province, south China. These investigations have revealed that this species possesses synangia of the Asterotheca-type, situated in two or three rows either side of the midrib on a Fascipteris-type pinnule. This arrangement of Asterotheca-type synangia is extremely unusual considering that all other reports of this genus are with a single row of synangia located on each side of the midrib of a pecopteroid-type pinnule. As a consequence of this unique morphological arrangement, a new genus, Zhutheca densata Liu, Li et Hilton gen. et comb. nov. has been created to distinguish this material from other specimens of the Asterotheca and Fascipteris types. The structure and arrangement of the fertile pinnule of Zhutheca are compared with other Palaeozoic and Mesozoic marattialean taxa with which it shares certain features of its morphology. In addition, the stratigraphic, evolutionary and phylogenetic significance of Zhutheca are considered in detail.     

A new dicynodont (Anomodontia, Eotherapsida) from the Upper Permian of Tatarstan

A new dicynodont genus and species, Idelesaurus tataricus sp. nov. (Cryptodontidae), from the Semin Ovrag locality (Tatarstan, Tetyushinskii District; Upper Permian, Upper Tatarian Substage, Severodvinian Horizon) is described. The skull patterns of the East European and South African Cryptodontidae and Aulocephalodontidae are compared from the morphofunctional point of view.     

Sclerospiroxylon xinjiangensis nov. sp., a gymnospermous wood from the Kungurian (lower Permian) southern Bogda Mountains,northwestern China: Systematics and palaeoecology

A new silicified wood, Sclerospiroxylon xinjiangensis Wan, Yang et Wang nov. sp., is described from the Cisuralian (lower Permian) Hongyanchi Formation in southeast Tarlong section, Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The fossil wood is composed of pith, primary xylem and Prototaxoxylon-type secondary xylem. The pith is solid, circular, heterocellular, with sclerenchyma and parenchyma. The primary xylem is endarch to mesarch, with scalariform thickenings on tracheid walls. The secondary xylem is pycnoxylic, composed of tracheids and parenchymatous rays. Growth rings are distinct. Tracheids have mostly uniseriate, partially biseriate araucarian pitting on their radial walls. Helical thickenings are always present on both the radial and the tangential walls. Rays are 2–14 cells high, with smooth walls. There are 2 to 7, commonly 2 to 4 cupressoid pits in each cross-field. Leaf traces suggest that S. xinjiangensis nov. sp. was evergreen with a leaf retention time of at least 15 years. Based on the sedimentological evidence, growth rings within the S. xinjiangensis nov. sp. could have been caused by seasonal climatic variations, with unfavorable seasons of drought or low temperature. Low percentage of latewood in each growth ring is probably due to the intensity of climatic seasonality and/or long leaf longevity.     

福建中中新世紫萁属(紫萁科)的一个新种

丰富的化石记录显示中生代和新生代紫萁属在北半球广泛分布.本文描述了发现于福建中中新世佛昙群的紫萁属一新种:漳浦紫萁(Osmunda zhangpuensis Z.X.Wang and B.N.Sun,sp.nov.).化石小羽片保存完好,呈线状披针形,边缘具齿,羽状脉序.在该属现生种中,当前化石种与现生种Osmunda...     

Permineralized Cardiocarpalean Ovules in Wetland Vegetation from Early Permian Volcaniclastic Sediments of China

In this paper we report the first occurrence of permineralized plant fossils in volcaniclastic lithologies from China and in doing so describe a new species of cardiocarpalean ovule permineralized within tuffaceous sediments from a recently discovered locality near Pingquan, Hebei Province, North China. The tuff is part of the Early Permian Taiyuan Formation which contains a diverse fossil plant assemblage that includes cordaitean spermatophytes, lepidodendralean lycophytes, equisetophytes, and filicalean ferns, all of which were typical of Permian floras of northern China at this time. Specimens of Cardiocarpusdabiziae sp. nov. have the characteristic platyspermic shape and vascularization of cardiocarpalean ovules, and display prominent protuberances on the exterior of the integument. The integument of the ovule is composed of three layers; a thick sarcotesta, a thin and comparatively dense sclerotesta, and a single layer of large endotesta cells. The pollen chamber produces a slender nucellar beak. In several specimens the megaspore membrane contains well-developed tissue of the megagametophyte. The ovules have prominent external integumentary protuberances which suggest that well-developed systems of plant/animal interactions were operative in Early Permian wetland biotas of the Cathaysian realm.     

Latest Permian Palaeolithocycliidae (Radiolaria) from South China

The family Palaeolithocycliidae Kozur and Mostler was formerly thought to be ranging from Devonian to Carboniferous. However, a lot of radiolarians assignable to this family were discovered in the late Changhsingian (Latest Permian) of South China. Six species, including Palaeolithocyclia pilata n. sp., Palaeolithocyclia platta n. sp., Paramphibrachium woni n. sp., Klaengspongus spinosus Sashida, Klaengspongus formosus n. sp. and Klaengspongus umbilicatus n. sp., have been identified. In this paper, these species are illustrated and described.     

Observations on the surface microreticulation of platform elements of Neogondolella (Conodonta) from the Upper Permian, Meishan, China

Specimens of the platform element of Neogondolella from the Upper Permian of the Meishan section show well-developed polygonal microsculpture on their oral surfaces, attributable to the imprints of secreting cells. In all populations studied, there is a small but significant increase of mean polygon size with element size, but no variation in polygon size related to position on the element. There is a difference in mean polygon size between the two species N. changxingensis and N. deflecta , but this appears merely to reflect the larger mean size of elements of the latter species. No evidence for periodicity of polygon size during ontogeny is detected. The population of N. changxingensis in Bed 24e is dominated by small specimens with a mean polygon size smaller than on equivalent-sized elements in the normal population of Bed 24d; this suggests that the 'dwarf' population reflects a combination of high juvenile mortality and retarded cell growth.     

New Grylloblattida (Insecta) from the Upper Permian and Lower Triassic of European Russia and Kazakhstan

New grylloblattid insects are described from the Upper Permian and Lower Triassic of European Russia and Kazakhstan: Kuplya minutissima gen. et sp. nov. (Tshekardominidae) from the Severodvinian locality Novo-Aleksandrovka (Orenburg Region); Parachauliodites orthopteroides gen. et sp. nov. (Chaulioditidae), Permofossilis commasticatus gen. et sp. nov. (Permotermopsidae), Megakhosarodes tensilis sp. nov. (Megakhosaridae), and Baharellinus dilaceratus sp. nov. (Blattogryllidae) from the Severodvinian locality Isady (Vologda Region); Dvinopedes salariovensis gen. et sp. nov. (Chaulioditidae) from the Vyatkian locality Aristovo (Vologda Region); Klyazmia karasevi gen. et sp. nov. (Chaulioditidae) from the Vyatkian locality Sokovka (Vladimir Region); Megakhosarodes borealis sp. nov. (Megakhosaridae) from the Vyatkian locality Balymotikha (Vladimir Region); Sigmophlebia rugulosa sp. nov. (Tshekardominidae) from the Upper Permian locality Karaungir (East Kazakhstan Province); and Chauliodites kitshmengensis sp. nov. and C. nedubrovensis sp. nov. (Chaulioditidae) from the Induan locality Nedubrovo (Vologda Region).