东濮凹陷沙河街组(古近纪)植物活动痕迹类型及其环境与层序地层学意义

植物活动痕迹即根迹,是层序地层学中识别低位期沉积的重要标志。东濮凹陷沙河街组(古近纪)根迹发育,形态各异,可分为A、B、C、D、E五种类型,分别被解释为五类次级沉积环境下的产物。其中A型根迹、B型根迹与河口湾沉积环境相关,前者见于河口湾陆方一侧的河口沙坝(bay head bar),后者则出现于海方一侧易受海浪冲蚀的盐碱凹地。已有资料证明,植物活动痕迹,结合动物活动痕迹和古生物学、沉积学研究,可为判别河口湾沉积环境、层序界面提供重要实据,从而在层序地层学研究和储层沉积环境探索中显示重要作用。     

禄丰古猿化石产地沉积环境与埋藏学的初步研究

本文根据沉积物成因、古气候和古生物特征,把禄丰古猿化石产地新第三纪地层划分为晚中新世石灰坝组和早上新世庙山坡组。据岩性和岩相特征,可划分出五个不同的沉积阶段,每个阶段代表不同的沉积环境。古猿和其他脊椎动物化石主要埋在石灰坝组(四段)湖泊沼泽化沉积环境,次之为庙山坡组(五段)河流相沉积环境。     

膜翅目广腰亚目化石及其在缅甸琥珀中的研究现状及展望

白垩纪缅甸琥珀昆虫化石研究是当前古昆虫学研究的热点之一。广腰亚目是膜翅目中的一个重要类群,其研究不仅为探讨膜翅目起源、早期演化、系统发育、不同地质时期古地理、古生态等方面提供重要的科学证据,而且可为陆地生态系统中的生物多样性研究提供重要材料。文中综述缅甸琥珀的研究简史及研究现状,阐述广腰亚目在印痕化石与缅甸琥珀中的特点、分布情况及该亚目在印痕化石与缅甸琥珀间的研究差异,进而探讨膜翅目广腰亚目化石当前研究现状、存在的问题及未来前景,并期望广大研究者增加对缅甸琥珀广腰亚目类群的关注和研究。     

AMNIOTE PHYLOGENY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FOSSILS

Abstract— Several prominent cladists have questioned the importance of fossils in phylogenctic inference, and it is becoming increasingly popular to simply fit extinct forms, if they are considered at all, to a cladogram of Recent taxa. Gardiner's (1982) and Løvtrup's (1985) study of amniote phylogeny exemplifies this differential treatment, and we focused on that group of organisms to test the proposition that fossils cannot overturn a theory of relationships based only on the Recent biota. Our parsimony analysis of amniote phylogeny, special knowledge contributed by fossils being scrupulously avoided, led to the following best fitting classification, which is similar to the novel hypothesis Gardiner published: (lepidosaurs (turtles (mammals (birds, crocodiles)))). However, adding fossils resulted in a markedly different most parsimonious cladogram of the extant taxa: (mammals (turtles (lepidosaurs (birds, crocodiles)))). That classification is like the traditional hypothesis, and it provides a better fit to the stratigraphic record. To isolate the extinct taxa responsible for the latter classification, the data were successively partitioned with each phylogenetic analysis, and we concluded that: (1) the ingroup, not the outgroup, fossils were important; (2) synapsid, not reptile, fossils were pivotal; (3) certain synapsid fossils, not the earliest or latest, were responsible. The critical nature of the synapsid fossils seemed to lie in the particular combination of primitive and derived character slates they exhibited. Classifying those fossils, along with mammals, as the sister group to the lineage consisting of birds and crocodiles resulted in a relatively poor fit to data; one involving a 2—4 fold increase in evolutionary reversals! Thus, the importance of the critical fossils, collectively or individually, seems to reside in their relative primitive-ness, and the simplest explanation for their more conservative nature is that they have had less time to evolve. While fossils may be important in phylogenetic inference only under certain conditions, there is no compelling reason to prejudge their contribution. We urge systematists to evaluate fairly all of the available evidence.     

Functional Morphology in Paleobiology: Origins of the Method of ‘Paradigms’

From the early nineteenth century, the successful use of fossils in stratigraphy oriented paleontology (and particularly the study of fossil invertebrates) towards geology. The consequent marginalising of biological objectives was countered in the twentieth century by the rise of ‘Paläobiologie’, first in the German cultural area and only later, as ‘paleobiology’, in the anglophone world. Several kinds of paleobiological research flourished internationally after the Second World War, among them the novel field of ‘paleoecology’. Within this field there were attempts to apply functional morphology to the problematical cases of fossil organisms, for which functions cannot be observed directly. This article describes the origins of the kind of functional inference for fossils that I proposed in 1961 as the method of ‘paradigms’ (a year before Thomas Kuhn made that word more widely familiar with a quite different meaning). Here I summarize some of my ‘worked exemplars’, which were intended to show the paradigm method in action. These case-studies were all taken from the paleontologically important phylum of the Brachiopoda, but the method was claimed to have much wider implications for the interpretation of the fossil record in terms of adaptive evolution. This article takes the history of the paradigm method as far as the late 1960s. I hope to trace, in a sequel, its ambivalent fate during the 1970s and beyond, when for example Gould’s critique of ‘the adaptationist programme’ and the rise of computer-based quantitative methods for the evolutionary interpretation of the fossil record led to the relative eclipse of functional morphology in paleontology.     

Diverse bryophyte mesofossils from the Triassic of Antarctica

Compared with the fossil record of vascular plants, bryophyte fossils are rare; this circumstance is probably related to a lower preservation potential compared with that of vascular plants. We searched for bryophyte remains in extensive collections of plant‐fossil assemblages from the Triassic of Antarctica and identified three assemblages with surprisingly well‐preserved bryophyte fossils. Although most bryophyte remains are too fragmented to conclusively place them in a detailed systematic context, they exhibit features sufficient to suggest the presence of at least four types of leafy bryophytes and two orders of thallose liverworts (Pallaviciniales and Metzgeriales) in the high‐latitude Triassic ecosystems of Antarctica. The leafy bryophytes exhibit combinations of morphological features (e.g. keeled and entire‐margined, ecostate leaves with elongated cells) that today occur in only a few small, systematically isolated groups, but were common among Palaeozoic and especially Mesozoic bryophytes. The diverse morphologies of the bryophyte fossils add further support to previous hypotheses that during warmer periods in the Earth's history, bryophyte vegetation may have been particularly rich and diverse in high‐latitude regions. Through analysis of the sedimentology and taphonomy of these assemblages, we identify a combination of key factors that may explain the preservation of bryophyte fossils in these deposits: (1) punctuated, high‐energetic sedimentary events causing traumatic removal and incorporation of bryophytes into sediment‐laden flood waters; (2) limited transport distance, and short period of suspension, followed by rapid settling and burial as a result of a rapidly decelerating flow discharging into a floodplain environment; and (3) early‐diagenetic cementation with iron hydroxides in locally anoxic zones of the organic‐rich, muddy substrate.     

The micromammalian fauna from the Leilao, Yuanmou hominoid locality: implications for biochronology and paleoecology

The discovery of Lufengpithecus at Yuanmou, in Yunnan Province, China, provides important clues to understanding the evolution of early hominoids in eastern Asia. However, the age and paleoecology of the fauna remain to be established. An assemblage of micromammalian fossils, collected recently by screenwashing at Leilao, one of the hominoid-bearing localities at Yuanmou, contains 41 species belonging to 16 families and 4 orders, and represents the most diverse Neogene micromammalian fauna known from southwestern China. This paper presents an analysis of the taxonomy, age, and paleoecology of the micromammalian fauna. The Yuanmou hominoid fauna is now considered older than the Lufeng fauna, and is currently thought to correspond to an age of about 9 Ma. The micromammalian fauna indicates a predominantly forested habitat, with marginal environments consisting of bush-grassland.     

Human molecular chronotyping in sight?

Recent research on mouse models has taken us closer to deciphering the molecular clock mechanism that defines an individual's 'body time'. How feasible will it be to create a molecular timetable that allows determination of individual body time from tissue harvested at a single time point?     

A fish and tetrapod fauna from Romer's Gap preserved in Scottish Tournaisian floodplain deposits

The end‐Devonian mass extinction has been framed as a turning point in vertebrate evolution, enabling the radiation of tetrapods, chondrichthyans and actinopterygians. Until very recently ‘Romer's Gap’ rendered the Early Carboniferous a black box standing between the Devonian and the later Carboniferous, but now new Tournaisian localities are filling this interval. Recent work has recovered unexpected tetrapod and lungfish diversity. However, the composition of Tournaisian faunas remains poorly understood. Here we report on a Tournaisian vertebrate fauna from a well‐characterized, narrow stratigraphic interval from the Ballagan Formation exposed at Burnmouth, Scotland. Microfossils suggest brackish conditions and the sedimentology indicates a low‐energy debris flow on a vegetated floodplain. A range of vertebrate bone sizes are preserved. Rhizodonts are represented by the most material, which can be assigned to two taxa. Lungfish are represented by several species, almost all of which are currently endemic to the Ballagan Formation. There are two named tetrapods, Aytonerpeton and Diploradus, with at least two others also represented. Gyracanths, holocephalans, and actinopterygian fishes are represented by rarer fossils. This material compares well with vertebrate fossils from other Ballagan deposits. Faunal similarity analysis using an updated dataset of Devonian–Carboniferous (Givetian–Serpukhovian) sites corroborates a persistent Devonian/Carboniferous split. Separation of the data into marine and non‐marine partitions indicates more Devonian–Carboniferous faunal continuity in non‐marine settings compared to marine settings. These results agree with the latest fossil discoveries and suggest that the Devonian–Carboniferous transition proceeded differently in different environments and among different taxonomic groups.     

A fossil record for trematodes: extent and potential uses

Some extant parasitic flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes, Class Trematoda, Order Digenea) produce pits on the interior shell surface of their molluscan bivalve hosts. Based on comparisons of pits in Tertiary and Quaternary Gemma, Parastarte and Transennella (Family Veneridae), we establish a history of association between trematodes and these host genera spanning over 5 My in North America. This is the first report of a fossil record for the Trematoda. Similar pits are also present in many other bivalve genera (both fossil and living species), indicating that a substantial fossil record may exist for parasitic flatworms. The identification of parasitic infections from fossil shells may provide a new dimension for the study of the evolutionary biology, paleoecology and biogeography of host-parasite associations. □ Trematoda, trace fossils, Veneridae, paleoecology. life-history evolution, parasites.     

Taphonomic and paleoecologic implications of flow-induced forces on concavo-convex articulate brachiopods: an experimental approach

The Orientation of benthic marine organisms may be disturbed by flow-induced forces (i.e. drag and lift) caused by wave and current activity. Drag and lift are partly a function of organism size and shape. Consequently, morphology may affect stability (defined as resistance to reorientation, flipping, or entrainment) both during the life of an organism and after its death. An understanding of drag-and-lift effects is therefore essential to the interpretation of paleoecology and biostratinomic processes. An experimental method for quantifying the relative effects of flow-induced forces is described. These forces are measured during flume experiments using transducers and plaster replicas of fossils. As an illustration of the method's potential for taphonomic research, results from experiments investigating the effects of concavo-convex morphologies of articulate brachiopods are presented. Concave-up and convex-up orientations are commonly used to infer paleohydraulic conditions. Two geniculate brachiopods (Rafinesquina alternata and Leptaena richrnondensis) and three flattened forms (a second morphotype of Rafinesquina altemata, Strophodonta demissa , and Tropidoleptus carinatus) were tested in convex-up and concave-up postures and in three azimuthal orientations (hingeline oriented upstream, hingeline downstream, and hingeline parallel to flow). Concave-up orientations consistently exhibit higher drag than convex-up orientations, and this supports the common observation that valved fossils are typically found convex up in paleoenvironments dominated by traction transport. The presence of geniculation significantly increases drag. Lift is relatively insignificant for all models in most orientations. □ Taphonomy, paleoecology, brachiopods, flow-induced forces, transport.     

襀翅目化石的研究进展

回顾中国及世界襀翅目化石研究进展,列出已发表的化石种类名录、分布及年代,共19科、85属、225种;襀翅目化石世界分布,但主要集中在前苏联地区,中国仅14种.不同地质年代发现的襀翅目种类、数量和特征不同.本文并简要介绍稚虫食性、系统学、古地理和古生态等方面的研究成果,并初步分析了研究中存在的一些问题和今后需要解决的问题.     

Human Origins Studies: A Historical Perspective

Research into the deep history of the human species is a relatively young science which can be divided into two broad periods. The first spans the century between the publication of Darwin’s Origin and the end of World War II. This period is characterized by the recovery of the first non-modern human fossils and subsequent attempts at reconstructing family trees as visual representations of the transition from ape to human. The second period, from 1945 to the present, is marked by a dramatic upsurge in the quantity of research, with a concomitant increase in specialization. During this time, emphasis shifted from classification of fossil humans to paleoecology in which hominids were seen as parts of complex evolving ecosystems. This shift is in no small part due to the incorporation of neo-Darwinian synthetic theory. Finally, technological innovation and changes in social context are considered as influences on human origins studies.     

Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605): The Study of Trace Fossils During the Renaissance

The Renaissance was a time of flourishing for literature, art and science. A prominent figure in Renaissance science was the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, considered today to be one of the founding fathers of modern paleontology. Aldrovandi is known to have widely studied body fossils, but his work on trace fossils has yet to be explored by science historians. This paper proposes to critically analyze Aldrovandi's approach to trace fossils, based on his writings (most of which are still unpublished) and on the illustrations that accompany them. In his studies, the Bologna-born naturalist accurately describes such ichnological celebrities as Gastrochaenolites and Cosmorhaphe and discusses a few theoretic principles on the trace-making process. The study of the works of Aldrovandi brings to light a fascinating and little-known source of the history of ichnology.     

Analyse biostratigraphique et paléontologique de l'Albien marin d'Estremadura (Portugal)

The marine Albain from Estremadura is splited up into four Orbitolinidae zones, adjusted to biostratigraphic scales from mesogean province: zone with Orbitolina (Mesorbitolina) minuta (lower to middle Albian); zone with Neorbitolinopsis conulus (base of upper Albian); zone with Orbitolina (Orbitolina) concava (top of upper Albian) and zone with Orbitolina (Orbitolina) duranddelgai (Vraconian). The vertical extension of the main fossils is replaced in the framework of these zones. The most interesting species for biostratigraphy, paleoecology or taxinomy are summarily described.     

Fossil bee nests,coleopteran pupal chambers and tuffaceous paleosols from the Late Cretaceous Laguna Palacios Formation,Central Patagonia (Argentina)

The Late Cretaceous Laguna Palacios Formation in Central Patagonia (San Jorge Basin), southern South America, is composed of tuffaceous deposits supplied by periodical volcanic ash falls partly reworked by rivers, on broad plains. Variations in ash-fall rates allowed the formation of stacked, mature paleosols, which are one of the most characteristic features of this formation. The mature paleosols show well-developed horizons, ped structure and bear an intricate network of trace fossils mostly produced by small roots and invertebrates. Two different insect trace fossils could be recognized in this formation: sweat bee nests and coleopteran pupal chambers. Fossil bee nests are composed of inclined tunnels with cells attached to them by means of short necks, a typical construction of bees of the subfamily Halictinae. Similar halictine constructions were reported from the Cretaceous of the USA. Coleopteran pupal chambers are discrete, ovoid structures, having an internal cavity with a smooth surface, and an outer wall of lumpy appearance composed of different layers of soil material. They are commonly constructed by the larvae of different families of Coleoptera. Similar trace fossils were previously reported from the Asencio Formation (Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary) of Uruguay and from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia (Late Cretaceous). These trace fossils constitute some of the only paleontological data from the Laguna Palacios Formation, allowing inferences about its paleoecology, paleoclimatology and paleogeography. Ecological preferences of Halictinae, as well as some features of the nests, suggest a temperate, seasonal climate and an environment dominated by low vegetation for the Laguna Palacios Formation, which is also compatible with sedimentologic and pedogenic evidence. The morphology of the nests, typical of North American halictinae, adds more evidence to the hypothesis of the existence of faunal interchange between North and South America by the Late Cretaceous. The fossil nests constitute some of the oldest evidence of bees in the fossil record, the third known record of bees of Cretaceous age and the first for the Southern Hemisphere. The two traces described are, together with those of Dakota and the Gobi Desert, the only trace fossils from paleosols of Cretaceous age that can be certainly attributed to insects.     

First report of Schizopholis (Lingulata,Brachiopoda) from the Tsinghsutung Formation (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) in Guizhou,China

Schizopholis Waagen, 1885 is a genus of linguliform brachiopod, which is known from Cambrian Stage 4 to the Wuliuan Stage of Australia, Antarctica, Pakistan and China. Recently, new material of Schizopholis was discovered from the upper part of the Tsinghsutung Formation (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) near Balang village, Jianhe County, Guizhou Province, China. These specimens display the oval pedicle opening in the ventral valve, a median tongue and a pair of tubercles in the dorsal valve that are characteristic features of Schizopholis napuru (Kruse, 1990). This is the first time that this species has been described from Guizhou Province, China. Previously, fossils of this species are usually preserved in carbonate deposits, but the new material documented herein preserved in mudstone of the Tsinghsutung Formation, providing new information regarding both the paleogeographic distribution and paleoecology of this species.     

Cercopithecoid primate postcranial fossils from Cooper's D,South Africa

Among several highly fossiliferous localities in the Bloubank Valley (Gauteng, South Africa), the Cooper's Cave System has been known since 1938 and has produced a rich fossil assemblage, including some remains of the early hominin Paranthropus robustus. In 2001, excavations began at a new locality, Cooper's D, which dates to ～1.4-1.5 Ma. Although hominins are relatively rare in the assemblage, remains of cercopithecoid primates are much more common. Craniodental fossils currently indicate the possible presence of at least three large-bodied cercopithecoid primate genera at Cooper's D: Gorgopithecus, Papio, and Theropithecus. In this study, we identify and describe > 100 cercopithecoid primate postcranial fossils representing all regions of the appendicular skeleton. The specimens come from several age classes and size morphs; more than one third of the fossils described are from sub-adult and juvenile individuals. The adult postcranial fossils vary substantially in size, with body masses estimated between 30 and 60 kg (from 16 of the better preserved specimens). The functional morphology of the postcranial remains indicate that these elements come from animals that likely utilized terrestrial substrates, but they remain difficult to definitively attribute to Gorgopithecus, Theropithecus, or Papio given the absence of associated skeletons. The smaller specimens likely belong to Papio while the larger ones can be attributed to the other two genera. Because Cooper's D has also yielded fossils of the early hominin Paranthropus robustus, this raises the question of how these four large-bodied, mostly terrestrial primates sympatrically utilized the landscape.     

Paleoecology of Upper Eifelian and Lower Givetian coral limestones in the northwestern Sauerland (Devonian; Rhenish Massif)

Summary The prevailing sandy/silty lower part of the Middle Devonian in the northwestern Sauerland includes two coral limestone horizons, which contain a rich fauna of corals, stromatoporoids, and calcareous algae. The Ihmert-Formation is subdvided into three parts. The older coral limestone horizon is the Grünewiese-Member of the Ihmert-Formation (uppermost Eifelian), the younger is in the Bredenbruch-Member of the Unterhonsel-Formation (lower Lower Givetian). Conclusions about the environmental constraints are drawn from the sedimentology and the fossil content of the coral limestones. Predominant biostromes are built between storm wave base and normal wave base. Only the few bioherms grew above the normal wave base. These coral limestones were deposited in a tropical or subtropical normal marine environment in the shallow euphotic zone. Among the reef-builders epoecism is very frequent, and until now this phenomenon has not been investigated in detail. Fragile rugose and tabulate corals lived as commensals with stromatoporoids. Some other aspects of paleoecology are concisely presented.     

Low fossilization potential of keratin protein revealed by experimental taphonomy

Recent studies have suggested the presence of keratin in fossils dating back to the Mesozoic. However, ultrastructural studies revealing exposed melanosomes in many fossil keratinous tissues suggest that keratin should rarely, if ever, be preserved. In this study, keratin's stability through diagenesis was tested using microbial decay and maturation experiments on various keratinous structures. The residues were analysed using pyrolysis‐gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry and compared to unpublished feather and hair fossils and published fresh and fossil melanin from squid ink. Results show that highly matured feathers (200–250°C/250 bars/24 h) become a volatile‐rich, thick fluid with semi‐distinct pyrolysis compounds from those observed in less degraded keratins (i.e. fresh, decayed, moderately matured, and decayed and moderately matured) suggesting hydrolysis of peptide bonds and potential degradation of free amino acids. Neither melanization nor keratin (secondary) structure (e.g. ?‐ vs β‐keratin) produced different pyrograms; melanin pyrolysates are largely a subset of those from proteins, and proteins have characteristic pyrolysates. Analyses of fossil fur and feather found a lack of amides, succinimide and piperazines (present even in highly matured keratin) and showed pyrolysis compounds more similar to fossil and fresh melanin than to non‐matured or matured keratin. Although the highly matured fluid was not water soluble at room temperature, it readily dissolved at elevated temperatures easily attained during diagenesis, meaning it could leach away from the fossil. Future interpretations of fossils must consider that calcium phosphate and pigments are the only components of keratinous structures known to survive fossilization in mature sediments.