To the Revision of Freshwater Permian and Triassic Ostracods of the Genus Gerdalia Belousova, 1961

Paleontological Journal - Partial revision of the Permian–Triassic freshwater ostracod genus Gerdalia Belousova, 1961 is performed. The genus is shown to be a collective group. The holotype...     

The Late Triassic Phytosaur Mystriosuchus Westphali, With A Revision of the Genus

Mystriosuchus westphali is based on a large, well-preserved cranium and a snout fragment from the Stubensandstein (Norian) of south-west Germany. The hypodigm is redescribed and new or poorly known cranial structures in phytosaurs are discussed. For the first time, the presence of a premaxillary crest is substantiated in a phytosaur. The type specimen shows a supernumerary occipital element (='tabular') that is probably fused to the parietal in other phytosaurs, and an orbitosphenoid. A computerised parsimony analysis confirms the hypothesis that Mystriosuchus is nested within Pseudopalatinae, the most derived clade of phytosaurs, and thus does not fall within basal phytosaurs. Mystriosuchus is characterised by five unique features (slit-like interpremaxillary fossa, triangular cross-section of the postorbito-squamosal bar, strongly reduced posttemporal fenestra, and two features of the cranial sculpture), plus eight synapomorphies that also occur in some more distantly related taxa. Mystriosuchus westphali is diagnosed by, among other apomorphies, a distinct premaxillary crest, a squamosal-proo¨tic contact, absence of a posterior process of the squamosal, and a slit-like posttemporal fenestra. The type species Mystriosuchus planirostris shows, most significantly, the naris facing forward anteriorly and upward posteriorly, and the longest rostrum and the highest degree of depression of the supratemporal opening in any phytosaur. Mystriosuchus exemplifies a common pattern in phytosaurids in being a genus that includes a gracile, elongated, slender-snouted and a more robust species with a broader, often crested snout. This study demonstrates that a detailed analysis of the cranial anatomy and the rigorous application of cladistic principles to identified character states help to clarify current inconsistencies in the taxonomy and nomenclature of phytosaurs.     

Revision of Late Permian tetrapod tracks from the Dolomites (Trentino-Alto Adige,Italy)

The Val Gardena Formation of the Dolomites region in northern Italy preserves the most significant assemblage of Late Permian tetrapod footprints in the world. More than 120 years of collecting resulted in about 900 publicly accessible specimens from the study area. This huge amount of data is comprehensively revised in the light of recent advances in the study of Late Palaeozoic – Early Mesozoic tetrapod ichnofossils. According to our analyses, the Val Gardena Sandstone Formation includes tracks that can be assigned to cf. Batrachichnus isp. (temnospondyl amphibian), Capitosauroides isp. (amphibian), Dicynodontipus isp. (cynodont therapsid), Dolomitipes accordii n. igen. n. comb. (dicynodont therapsid), cf. Dromopus isp. (neodiapsid), Pachypes dolomiticus (pareiasaurian parareptile), Paradoxichnium problematicum (archosauromorph neodiapsid), Procolophonichnium tirolensis n. comb. (procolophonoid parareptile), cf. Protochirotherium isp. (archosauriform neodiapsid) and Rhynchosauroides pallinii (neodiapsid). The ichnoassociation is dominated by tracks of neodiapsid and parareptilian tetrapods, whereas synapsid and anamniote tracks are rather minor components. It includes 10 out of 12 tetrapod ichnogenera known from Lopingian deposits and thus it constitutes a reference for the Paradoxichnium biochron. It shows striking similarities with other low-latitude non-aeolian contemporaneous ichnoassociations of Europe and North Africa, differences may be linked to the palaeoenvironment. Moreover, it shows a clear Triassic affinity.

The new ichnogenus Dolomitipes was registered in Zoobank.org. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5B4D871C-D16A-4E93-8211-CEE08019BA60     

地黄属的分类学修订

地黄属特产于我国,本文对该属进行了分类修订。根据地黄属的腊叶标本和活体植物研究,结合地黄属的野外调查,确认地黄属有5个种,并将高地黄Rehmannia elata N.E.Brown ex Prain处理为裂叶地黄R.piasezkii Maxim的一个异名。同时给出地黄属每个种的描述、分布和分种检索表。     

Revision of the Permian ammonoid family Cyclolobidae

The development of views on the phylogeny of the family Cyclolobidae Zittel, 1895 is discussed. The generic composition is emended, phylogenetic links are indicated, a new version of the phylogenetic scheme is proposed, and phylogeny of the key genera is traced at species level. The sutural ontogeny of the genus Mexicoceras is examined, its placement in the family Cyclolobidae is supported, and its position in the phylogenetic reconstruction of the family is determined.     

A Revision of the Genus Leptomischus Drake

In this revision, three species are recognised. A discussion is made on merging the genus Polysolenia into Leptomischus. Indopolysolenia burmanica Deb et Rout is reduced to a synonum of Leptomischus primuloides Drake. A key to species is given below: l. Flowers larger, with corollas more than 2cm long. 2.Stipules 3-fid or torn; Leaves narrowly lanceolate; stigmas with 2 short obtuse lobes ...................................................... 1.L. wallichii 2.Stipules entire; leaves obovate to elliptic; stigmas with 2 slender elongate lobes ......................................................... 2. L. primuloides 1.Flowers smaller, with corollas 6-6.5mm long; stigmas with 2 lanceolate lobes .......................................................... 3. L. parviflorus     

Sphaerapus,A Poorly Known Invertebrate Trace Fossil From Nonmarine Permian and Jurassic Strata of North America

In 1858, Edward Hitchcock named Sphaerapus larvalis and S. magnus for burrows from the nonmarine Lower Jurassic Turners Falls Formation in Massachusetts. Walpia hermitensis White, 1929, from the Lower Permian Hermit Shale, Arizona, is also a little known ichnotaxon. Examination of the type material indicates that Sphaerapus is a senior subjective synonym of Walpia. Sphaerapus is also a nomen oblitum, but Walpia has not been sufficiently used to replace its senior synonym as a conserved name; thus, we use the senior synonym Sphaerapus as the valid name of this ichnogenus, which is monospecific (S. larvalis = S. magnus = W. hermitensis). Numerous specimens of Sphaerapus from the Lower Permian of New Mexico and Texas, and a new record from the Lower Jurassic of Massachusetts show that it is a horizontal endichnion or exichnion having an unpacked tunnel with a cylindrical to ellipsoidal cross section, in some specimens branching, and lined with flattened, lenticular, non-coprolitic sediment pellets that are irregularly arranged and in some specimens imbricated. The pellets distinguish Sphaerapus from other endichnia. Sphaerapus resembles burrows of recent variegated mud-loving beetles and mole crickets, so Sphaerapus was likely produced by a hexapod similarly adapted for subsurface, compaction burrowing. Variation in pellet shape and arrangement in Sphaerapus reflects fluidity of the sediment burrowed, so this variation is a taphonomic artifact of no ichnotaxonomic significance. The latest Wolfcampian first appearance of Sphaerapus is not facies related, as similar facies lacking Sphaerapus are present in middle-late Wolfcampian strata. Therefore, the first appearance of Sphaerapus may reflect the evolutionary first appearance of a hexapod that moved through the sediment by compaction tunneling. However, the stratigraphically disjunct distribution of Sphaerapus may indicate that its preservation and fossilization were sensitive to paleoenvironmental and/or taphonomic factors that may also be involved in its first appearance.     

Revision of the Genus BosminaBAIRD, 1845 (Crustacea,Cladocera)

The genus Bosmina can be differentiated into four subgenera: 1. Bosmina s. str. BAIRD , 1845, 2. Eubosmina SELIGO , 1900, 3. Neobosmina LIEDER , 1957, and 4. Sinobosmina LIEDER , 1957. Subgeneric discrimination is based upon several features of the females (postabdominal claw, serration of the mucro, patterns of the lateral head pores) and, mainly, upon certain differences in the morphology of the male (postabdomen and, according to LILLJEBORG 1900, BURCKHARDT 1924 and KOŘINEK 1971, the first leg). The distribution of the Bosmina subgenera throughout the world varies: Bosmina s. str. is distributed worldwide (except for Australia?), Eubosmina is holarctic, Neobosmina has been found in Africa, the neotropical zone, Australia and Oceania, and Sinobosmina occurs in East and South-East Asia.