The earliest myodocopes: ostracodes from the late Ordovician Soom Shale Lagerstätte of South Africa

The late Ordovician Soom Shale Lagerstätte of South Africa has yielded Myodoprimigenia fistuca n. gen. and n. sp., the earliest and only known Ordovician occurrence of myodocopes, one of the major groups of ostracodes. M. fistuca is a likely sister group of the Upper Silurian 'cypridinid' myodocopes and allied forms. It had a thin, lightly mineralized and flexible shell with microstructures resulting from in vivo calcification processes. It probably fed on cephalopod carrion, thus extending evidence for a carnivorous scavenging lifestyle in ostracodes back by 200  Ma. The species was probably nektobenthic and thus consistent with the notion that the origin of the late Silurian pelagic myodocopes - and therefore of pelagic ostracodes - is to be charted in a benthic to pelagic ecological shift in the group.     

A 17‐element conodont apparatus from the Soom Shale Lagerstätte (Upper Ordovician), South Africa

Abstract:  Natural assemblages of a new conodont taxon, Notiodella keblon, from the Upper Ordovician Soom Shale Lagerstätte of South Africa contain 17 elements. This is the first time that a 17‐element apparatus plan has been unequivocally demonstrated in conodonts. The apparatus comprises paired P₁, P₂, P₃, M, S₁, S₂, S₃ and S₄ elements and an unpaired, axial S₀ element and provides a new template for use in the reconstruction of apparatuses from the collections of dispersed elements, particularly for those with icrion‐bearing P₁ elements and perhaps for other balognathids.     

Nektaspid arthropods from the Lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale Lagerstätte,South Australia,with a reassessment of lamellipedian relationships

Abstract: The lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, contains the only known Cambrian Burgess Shale‐type biota in Australia. Two new lamellipedian arthropods, Emucaris fava gen. et sp. nov. and Kangacaris zhangi gen. et sp. nov., from the Emu Bay Shale Lagerstätte are described as monotypic genera that are resolved cladistically as a monophyletic group that is sister to Naraoiidae + Liwiidae and classified within the Nektaspida as a new family Emucarididae. Shared derived characters of Emucarididae involve a bipartite, elongate hypostome and elongation of the pygidium relative to the cephalic shield and very short thorax. A monophyletic Liwiidae is composed of Liwia and the Ordovician Tariccoia + Soomaspis but excludes Buenaspis, and even the membership of Buenaspis in Nektaspida is contradicted amongst the shortest cladograms. New morphological interpretations favour affinities of Kwanyinaspis with Conciliterga rather than with Aglaspidida, and Phytophilaspis with Petalopleura.     

Surface-feeding on cephalopods by procellariiform seabirds in the southern Benguela region, South Africa

Cephalopod beaks recovered from stomach samples taken from 14 seabird species in the southern Benguela region off Southern Africa and from one species at Sub-Antarctic Marion Island, were identified as far as possible, counted and the lower rostral lengths (LRLs) measured. Dorsal mantle lengths (DMLs) and body masses of the cephalopods eaten were estimated. The results of analyses by percentage frequency of occurrence and numerical abundance are discussed with reference to present knowledge of the distribution of cephalopods eaten by seabirds in the areas studied. Division of the cephalopod component of seabird diets into species which float, and species which sink, after death indicates that the birds forage on dead or moribund cephalopods on the surface, rather than catching live bioluminescent cephalopods at night.     

Analysis of the demersal community of fish and cephalopods on the Agulhas Bank, South Africa

The demersal fish and cephalopod communities of the continental shelf and upper slope from 17 to 395m deep were studied during five annual cruises between Cape Agulhas and Port Alfred, South Africa. The cruises showed a consistent pattern of an inshore community (<100m), a shelf community ( c . 90–190m) and a shelf-edge/upper slope fauna (>200m). These groups were identified by dendrograms and multidimensional scaling cluster analysis, which supported on-board observations of catch variation with depth. Although the boundaries are not clearly defined, examination of physical features at the clustered stations suggests that depth, temperature and, to a lesser extent, oxygen concentration are important in the grouping. Occasional, apparently anomalous associations of inshore stations suggested that water temperature and oxygen may over-ride the normal depth distributions of the species groups. This intimates that patterns offish and cephalopod distribution may be dynamic and in part related to the physical parameters of the water body.     

Probing the deep shelf: a Lagerstätte from the Upper Ordovician of Girvan, southwestern Scotland

A deep‐water Konservat Lagerstätte from the lower Caradoc (Sandbian) at Girvan is dominated by the trilobite Diacanthaspis trippi, the carpoids Anatifopsis n. sp.? and a new genus of ctenocystoid together with the polyplacophoran Solenocaris solenoides and the brachiopod Onniella williamsi. Most of these are multi‐element organisms, with many specimens preserved in an articulated state in finely laminated rocks, indicating minimal disturbance and suggesting that the fauna is largely an in situ association. It contains few of the species known from other deep‐water sites of similar age at Girvan which contain diverse assemblages of trilobites and brachiopods absent from the Lagerstätte. The taphonomy of the site indicates preservation by rapid burial followed by early diagenesis under dysaerobic conditions. It provides a ‘taphonomic window’ on otherwise unknown faunas from distal shelf facies on the Ordovician Laurentian margin, and, moreover, is an important reminder of the hidden biodiversity that resided in thin‐shelled, multi‐element organisms.     

黔北上奥陶统宝塔组头足类多样性初探*

上奥陶统宝塔组(桑比阶–凯迪阶)是华南分布广泛的标志性地层单元, 以发育特殊的网纹状灰岩并产出大量头足类化石为特征。黔北桐梓县尧龙山地区的宝塔组厚度较大, 出露极好, 产出数量丰富、保存精美和特征典型的头足类化石。本文在研究区酒店垭、集镇采坑和天域极地3个宝塔组剖面采集到大量原域埋藏的头足类化石, 共8属11种及少量属种未定类型, 以直形壳或盘形壳、体管很小且适合远洋深水游泳的类型为主, 整体上符合扬子台地深水陆棚Sinoceras–Michelinoceras–Disoceras生物相特征。基于壳体扩大率、壳径与体管直径比、气室高与隔壁颈长比、隔壁下凹度、壳径与气室高比等参数变量的主成分分析表明, 在外部特征不显著的情况下, Sinoceras和Michelinoceras的直观差别是壳体扩大率, 而Michelinoceras属不同种的差异主要体现在气室高与隔壁颈长之比, 其他特征的区分度并不明显。层面上单位面积的化石定量统计显示, 尧龙山地区宝塔组中头足类的多样性较高, 并以Sinoceras和Michelinoceras具有极高的个体丰度为特征。扬子板块在奥陶纪桑比期–凯迪期之交处于高水位的陆表海环境, 栖息环境均一化和生态系统复杂化可能是促进该时期头足类动物的复苏和多样性演化的重要原因。     

Reconsideration of the supposed naraoiid larva from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte, South China

The Chengjiang Lagerstätte in the Lower Cambrian of South China yields a small, larva‐like arthropod, which was considered to be a protaspis of naraoiids by many authors. The discovery of a large number of well‐preserved specimens from many new localities has allowed the original study to be revised. The relatively large size, stable morphology and unusual structure of the appendages indicate that these specimens represent adults of a new arthropod, Primicaris larvaformis. The larva‐like outline is considered to have arisen by the heterochronic process of progenesis. In addition, this animal displays primitive aspects of bodyplan and limb morphology that suggest a basal position within arachnomorphs, or perhaps even arthropods, and the similarities to the Vendian arthropod‐like animal Parvancorina probably provide an evolutionary link between Vendian forms and Cambrian arthropods.     

Fossil preservation in the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo phosphorite Lagerstätte, South China

Phosphorites of the late Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation exposed in the vicinity of Weng'an, Guizhou Province, and Chadian, Shaanxi Province, South China, contain exceptionally well-preserved algal thalli, acritarchs, and globular microfossils interpreted as animal embryos. Combined optical microscopic and SEM observations provide insights into the taphonomy of phosphatized fossils. Algal cells and tissues are variably resistant to decay, and within preserved populations permineralization began at varying stages of degradation. In consequence, there is a spectrum of quality in cellular preservation. Algal cell walls, acritarch vesicles, and embryo envelopes are commonly encrusted by an isopachous rim of apatite, with cell interiors filled by collophane and later diagenetic dolomite. In contrast, blastomere surfaces of animal embryos are encrusted primarily by minute phosphatic spherules and filaments, possibly reflecting an immediately postmortem infestation of bacteria that provided nucleation sites for phosphate crystal growth. Thus, the same processes that gave rise to Phanerozoic phosphatized Lagerstätten - phosphatic encrustation, and impregnation, probably mediated by microbial activity - effected soft-tissue preservation in the Doushantuo Lagerstätte. It remains unclear how phosphatic ions and organic macro-molecules interact at the molecular level and to what extent specific microbial metabolisms or microenvironmental conditions control the phosphatization of soft tissues. New observations of phosphatized Doushantuo fossils include: a second locality (Chadian) for Wengania globosa , interpreted as an algal thallus and previously known only from Weng'an; microtunnels in Weng'an phosphorites interpreted as pyrite trails; and new taxa described from Weng'an: Meghystrichosphaeridium reticulatum (acritarch), Sarcinophycus radiatus (algal thallus), and one unnamed problematic form.     

The mammalian fauna associated with an archaic hominin skullcap and later Acheulean artifacts at Elandsfontein, Western Cape Province, South Africa

The Elandsfontein site, Western Cape Province, South Africa, is well known for an archaic hominin skullcap associated with later Acheulean artifacts. The site has also provided nearly 13,000 mammalian bones that can be identified to skeletal part and taxon. The assemblage derives from 49 species, 15 of which have no historic descendants. Comparisons to radiometrically dated faunas in eastern Africa indicate an age between 1 million and 600 thousand years ago. Unique features of the fauna, including the late occurrence of a dirk-toothed cat and a sivathere, may reflect its geographic origin in a region that was notable historically for its distinctive climate and high degree of biotic endemism. Together, taxonomic composition, geomorphic setting, and pollen extracted from coprolites indicate the proximity of a large marsh or pond, maintained by a higher water table. The small average size of the black-backed jackals implies relatively mild temperatures. The sum of the evidence places bone accumulation during one of the mid-Pleistocene interglacials that were longer and cooler than later ones, including the Holocene. The geomorphic context of the fauna presents no evidence for catastrophe, and most deaths probably resulted from attritional factors that disproportionately killed the young and old. However, only the dental-age profile of long-horned buffalo supports this directly. Field collection methods biased skeletal-part representation, but originally, it probably resembled the pattern in the younger, marsh-edge Acheulean occurrence at Duinefontein 2, 45 km to the south. Excavation there exposed multiple vertebral spreads, which probably mark carcasses from which hominins or large carnivores removed the meatier elements. Bone damage at both sites suggests that, despite abundant artifacts, hominins were much less important than carnivores in the bone accumulation. Together with limited observations from other sites, Elandsfontein and Duinefontein provisionally suggest that Acheulean-age hominins obtained few large mammals, whether by hunting or scavenging.     

晚奥陶世生物大灭绝后第一个腕足动物群:来自滇东北镇雄奥陶系顶部硅化腕足类的证据*

首次记载云南镇雄奥陶系顶部尾坝层(赫南特晚期)硅化腕足类,命名其为幼始准携螺贝群落(Eospirigerina putilla Community)。将它与贵州毕节、仁怀观音桥层的德姆贝-褶窗贝群落(Dalmanella–Plectothyrella Community)[赫南特早中期赫南特贝动物群(Hirnantia Fauna)碳酸盐相浅水代表]比较表明,两者面貌差异显著。确认尾坝层腕足类化石群与中国黔北、赣东北和浙西,以及美国、加拿大、瑞典、挪威、俄罗斯、澳大利亚等地赫南特晚期至鲁丹期的化石同属于晚奥陶世大灭绝后第一个动物群,即埃吉伍德-华夏动物群(Edgewood–Cathay Fauna)。它与Hirnantia动物群在组成、多样性、优势度、生态分异、生物地理及共生生物等区别很大。大灭绝第一幕发生后,显生宙历时最短、源自高纬海域、适应冷凉水环境的“机会主义者”——赫南特贝动物群“如鱼得水”,广布全球,却在第二幕降临后,整体灭绝,成为两幕之间海洋底栖生物群演化的一个鲜明标志。此后,诞生了埃吉伍德-华夏动物群,它以世界性、延限历程长的减缩型(含复活型)属种占优势,新生属很少,体现...     

Spicule structure and affinities of the Late Ordovician hexactinellid‐like sponge Cyathophycus loydelli from the Llanfawr Mudstones Lagerstätte,Wales

Exceptionally well‐preserved specimens of the reticulosan sponge Cyathophycus loydelli from the Sandbian (Late Ordovician) Llanfawr Mudstones Formation of Llandrindod, Waes, UK, have been examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The specimens include exquisitely detailed pyritized spicules, and granular pyritization of surrounding soft tissues. Spicules frequently show axial canals of diameter similar to those of modern siliceous sponges, with hexagonal symmetry typical of modern demosponges rather than hexactinellids. In one case, the axial filament is also preserved. The largest spicules (ray diameter >20 μm) show a complex structure, with a laminar external region similar to that of the extant hexactinellid Monorhaphis. Some spicules preserve sub‐micron detail of the spicule surface, resembling the reticulate collagenous sheath of Monorhaphis. The hexagonal symmetry of the canal confirms that at least some Reticulosa are not crown‐group hexactinellids, but stem‐group Hexactinellida or Demospongea, or stem‐group Silicea. This suggests that a square canal is a sufficient diagnostic feature of total‐group Hexactinellida, but that hexagonal canals were more widely distributed among Early Silicea and were probably not restricted to demosponges. Alternatively, comparison with the structure of modern verongiid fibres suggests that these may be homologous with the outer layers of Cyathophycus spicules, and Cyathophycus may instead be a stem‐group demosponge. The preserved detail of the surface layer shows that pyritization can preserve certain material with extraordinarily fine resolution.     

Middle Ordovician Aporthophyla brachiopod fauna from the roof of the World,southern Tibet

A Darriwilian (late Middle Ordovician) brachiopod fauna from the Lower Formation of the Chiatsun Group at Jiacun, northern Nyalam, southern Tibet, consists of ten brachiopod species, forming a distinct Aporthophyla–Paralenorthis Association. Its taxonomic composition is typical of the Aporthophyla Fauna that occupied lower BA2 to upper BA3 benthic environments on sandy lime mud substrates. The occurrence of Paralenorthis in southern Tibet is confirmed for the first time, represented by P. costata sp. nov. Numerical analyses (PCA and CA) of 18 Darriwilian brachiopod faunas from ten palaeoplates or terranes indicate that: (1) the Aporthophyla Fauna was confined to a specific latitudinal belt although it had a wide lateral distribution from the large palaeocontinents of Gondwana to Laurentia; (2) the Saucrorthis Fauna, a typical late Middle Ordovician regional fauna, is limited to a much smaller area, marginal to the Gondwana supercontinent; (3) the strong provincialism persistent in the late Middle Ordovician contributed to increased gamma biodiversity during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.     

Human mandibular incisors from the late Middle Pleistocene locality of Hoedjiespunt 1, South Africa.

The Hoedjiespunt 1 locality is an archaeological and palaeontological site located on the Hoedjiespunt Peninsula at Saldanha Bay, South Africa. In 1996 two human teeth, a left central mandibular incisor and a left lateral mandibular incisor, were discovered during excavations in the late Middle Pleistocene palaeontological layers. These teeth are described and are found to belong to a single subadult individual. Despite their developmental stage, these incisors already display early signs of wear. Their crown diameters are larger than modern and archaeological African comparative material and are most closely comparable with crown diameters of an early Middle Pleistocene and late Middle Pleistocene dental sample from Africa, Europe and Asia. In the light of this metrical evidence, data on two previously excavated maxillary molars, most probably belonging to the same individual, were re-examined. It was found that the Hoedjiespunt 1 hominid possessed dental metrical features (large anterior teeth and small molars) comparable with other African and European hominids referred to the Middle Pleistocene.     

The late Sandbian – earliest Katian (Ordovician) brachiopod immigration and its influence on the brachiopod fauna in the Oslo Region, Norway

Bulk samples of brachiopods from the middle and upper parts of the Arnestad Formation and the entire Frognerkilen Formation in the Oslo Region demonstrate major vertical changes in the Sandbian to Katian amphicratonic fauna of this part of the Baltic Province. The main influx of new taxa occurred in the upper part of the Arnestad Formation (uppermost Sandbian), and in the succeeding Frognerkilen Formation (basal Katian). Faunal change is initially reflected in an increase in diversity and not as a replacement of the previously incumbent genera, which remain throughout the studied sequence. The majority of the new genera migrated from the East Baltic Region or through this region from Avalonia, while the marginal Laurentian taxa first occupied the Scandinavian part of Baltica. Six taxa migrated from Laurentia, three from Avalonia, two from Gondwana and one apparently originated on the South China palaeoplate. The faunal shifts and immigration of brachiopods appear to have been in response to an initial transgression together with the movement of Baltica into more warm temperate latitudes, but the diverse faunas developed both against a background of subsequent regression and in response to an offshore shift of biofacies. The new amphicratonic fauna was thus generated by faunal shifts from elsewhere in the Baltic Province to the marginal environments of the Oslo Region together with more exotic elements from neighbouring continents and microcontinents.     

Morpho-anatomy of the lobopod Magadictyon cf. haikouensis from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte, South China

Magadictyon haikouensis (Luo and Hu, 1999) from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte, an incomplete specimen of a large lobopod with strong appendages, has been regarded as related to the lobopods Microdictyon and Onychodictyon. Newly discovered complete specimens of Magadictyon cf. haikouensis (found by the Early Life Institute field team) show that the taxon, in addition to its strong appendages with appendicules, also had a head bearing similar caecum‐like structures to those of the arthropod Naraoia and Chelicerate, ‘Peytoia’‐like mouthparts and frontal appendages. Because of their similarity, the caecum‐like structures of Magadictyon cf. haikouensis are considered to be homologous with those of stem‐group arthropods. The ‘Peytoia’‐like mouthparts and the frontal appendages are similar to those of the AOPK (Anomalocaris–Opabinia–Pambdelurion–Kerygmachela) group. In addition, the appendages with appendicules show that Magadictyon cf. haikouensis is closely related to Onychodictyon. Therefore, Magadictyon cf. haikouensis is regarded here as a rare transitional form between lobopods and arthropods. Besides, together with other lobopods, the morphology of Magadictyon cf. haikouensis demonstrates that the Cambrian lobopods appear to have been diverse and not particularly closely related to one another, and do not seem to represent a monophyletic clade.     

Geochemistry and palaeogeography of upper Ordovician glaciogenic sedimentary rocks in the Table Mountain Group, South Africa

Evidence for a late Ordovician glaciation is best known from northern Africa and locally in South Africa, and western South America. The South African glacial deposits (Pakhuis Formation of the Table Mountain Group) are present in the western part of the Cape Fold Belt. Two thin diamictites are succeeded by a coarsening upward shale-siltstone unit known as the Cedarberg Formation. These glaciogenic rocks are associated with one of the world's greatest accumulations of mature sandstones. The diamictites are under- and overlain by shales and sandstones that have undergone extensive alteration, presumably as a result of chemical weathering. Some diamictite samples have low values for a Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), in keeping with their inferred glacial origin. Immediately above the glaciogenic diamictites, black shales, comprising the basal Soom Member of the Cedarberg Formation preserve an unusual soft bodied fauna and are enriched in Mo, U and other trace elements. The unusual chemical composition of these shales is attributed to starved basin conditions and a reducing environment during a rapid sea level rise that accompanied demise of the late Ordovician glaciers. The late Ordovician glacial deposits of western South Africa are widely regarded as the distal deposits of a large continental ice sheet centred on North Africa but they may have been partly derived from piedmont glaciers that descended from highlands formed as a result of late Ordovician orogeny.