New Devonian brachiopods from northeastern Russia

Brachiopods from the Devonian of northeastern Russia are described: Eoprokopia gen. nov., with the type species E. aequalis sp. nov. (subfamily Prokopiinae, order Orthida); Davoustia settedabanica sp. nov. and D. verkhojanica sp. nov. (family Anopliidae, order Chonetida); and Alkhovikovia gen. nov. with the type species A. libera sp. nov. and A. importuna sp. nov. and Tikhyspirifer gen. nov. with the type species T. globosus sp. nov. (subfamily Rhynchospiriferinae, order Spiriferida).     

New Lower Devonian brachiopods of the family Reticulariidae Waagen (order Spiriferida) of northeastern Russia

New Lower Devonian brachiopod taxa of the family Reticulariidae (order Spiriferida) are described from northeastern Russia: Havlicekospirifer gen. nov. with the type species H. mirabilis sp. nov. (subfamily Reticulariinae) and Pavlovispirifer gen. nov. with the type species P. pelagicus sp. nov. (subfamily Rhenothyridinae).     

Brachiopods of the suborder Delthyridina Ivanova (order Spiriferida) from the Lower and Middle Devonian of northeastern Russia

New brachiopods of the suborder Delthyridina Ivanova (order Spiriferida) from the Lower and Middle Devonian of northeastern Russia, Ivanothyris costatus sp. nov. (subfamily Delthyridinae), Eoreticularia lata sp. nov., Yania gen. nov. with the type species Y. tumida sp. nov. (subfamily Eoreticulariinae), Reticulariopsis equitans Modzalevskaya, and R. (?) borealis sp. nov. (subfamily Reticulariopsinae) are described.     

Brachiopods from the family Ambocoeliidae George (Order Spiriferida) from the Emsian (Lower Devonian) of northeastern Russia

Brachiopods from the family Ambocoeliidae George from the Emsian (Lower Devonian) of northeastern Russia are described: Bisinocoelia despecta sp. nov.; Yakutospirifer gen. nov. with the type species Y. krivensis sp. nov.; Micospirifer gen. nov. with the type species M. simplex sp. nov.; Kolymospirifer gen. nov. with the type species K. optatus sp. nov. (subfamily Ambocoeliinae); Datnospirifer gen. nov. with the type species D. alius sp. nov.; Khalimospirifer gen. nov. with the type species Kh. microscopicus sp. nov.; Gerospirifer gen. nov. with the type species G. normalis sp. nov., and G. gerensis sp. nov.; Dogdospirifer gen. nov. with the type species D. yolkini sp. nov. (subfamily Rhynchospiriferinae).     

Substrate specific associations of epebionts on Middle Devonian brachiopods: Implications for paleoecology

A detailed study of over 2500 host brachiopods, from the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group of New York State, revealed distinct patterns of epibiont encrustation, that provide insight into taphonomy and paleoautecology of the host brachiopod shells and depositional environments. The concavo‐convex orthid, Tropidoleptus carinatus (Conrad), as well as strophomenid, and smooth athyrid brachiopods are among the most heavily encrusted. However, terebratulids of nearly identical size and shape are relatively clean of epibionts. This selective distribution strongly suggests that epibionts were discouraged from settling on punctate brachiopods. Brachiopods with small spines and frills were also nearly clean of epibionts, possibly because of entrapment of a mud layer, which made the outer layer of the host inhospitable for larval settling. Concavo‐convex taxa reveal high percent coverage and diversity of epibionts on the convex valve, which probably rested on the substrate during the life of brachiopod. This pattern is observed even on brachiopods that were buried with the convex valve downward. This implies complex post‐mortem histories involving multiple episodes of reorientation and colonization.     

Brachiopods of the family ambocoeliidae (spiriferida) from the givetian of southern Verkhoyansk Region (northeastern Russia)

Four new ambocoeliid species, Ambocoelia ectypa sp. nov., Echinocoelia tikhiensis sp. nov., Emanuella takwanensis (Kayser), and Ladjia sita sp. nov., from the Givetian of the southern Verkhoyansk Region are described (northeastern Russia).     

New Devonian Palliocerida (Cephalopoda, Astrovioidea)

Eight new species of Ostreioceratidae are described from the Lower and Upper Devonian of Novaya Zemlya, Lower Devonian of the Pechora River basin, North Ural Mountains, and the Zeravshan Range: Ostreioceras admotum, O. simile, O. abruptum, O. sobolevi, Plagiostomoceras kuzmini, P. adumbratum, P.? acerbum, and P. vinogradovi. A new family Bogoslovskyidae is established in the order Palliocerida.     

Lower Devonian vertebrates, arthropods and brachiopods from northern Vietnam

Additional vertebrates and ostracods from the bituminous shale of the Khao Loc Formation at Tong Vai, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam, corroborate its correlation with the upper part of the Xishancun (Xiaxishancun) Formation and the lower part of the Xitun and Lianhuashan formations of South China, and its Middle to Late Lochkovian age. The variations in morphology and ornamentation of the galeaspid Polybranchiaspis liaojaoshanensis from Tong Vai are discussed and regarded as possibly size and growth-related. A new acanthothoracid placoderm with a very deep dorsal process is described from Tong Vai and the specific distinction between the antiarchs Minicrania lissa from Tong Vai and M. lirouyii from Yunnan is supported by additional characters. Petalichthyid placoderms are recorded from this locality for the first time, and the skull of a juvenile youngolepidid sarcopterygian is described. Eurypterid fragments and a phyllocarid crustacean are also recorded from the Khao Loc Formation. A new species of the chonetid brachiopod genus Tulynetes, endemic to northern Vietnam, is described from the Pragian Mia Le Formation at Cu Le, Bac Kan Province, a new locality which yields a large diversity of taxa with outstanding preservation.     

New spiriferids (Brachiopoda) from the Lower and Middle Devonian of northeastern Russia

New spiriferids (Brachiopoda) are described from the Lower and Middle Devonian of northeastern Russia: Tatjanaspirifer iskrensis sp. nov. and T. magnificus sp. nov. (family Reticulariidae); Cyrtina inveterata Baranov, sp. nov. and Blodgettospirifer gen. nov. with type species B. lezhoevi sp. nov. (family Cyrtinidae).     

A new pachyosteomorph arthrodire (Pisces: Placodermi) from the Upper Frasnian of the Central Devonian Field,Russia

A new genus and species of pachyosteomorph arthrodire, Omalosteus krutoensis gen. et sp. nov. from shallow-water marine deposits of the Evlanovo Regional Stage (Upper Frasnian, Upper Devonian) of the Central Devonian Field is described. It is tentatively referred to the family Trematosteidae Gross, 1932, which was earlier believed to be endemic to central Europe. The new genus is characterized by a rounded, dorsoventrally compressed cross section of the pectoral region and smooth head shield and postcranial membrane bones. The centrale is elongated, forming a narrow lateral lobe. The praeorbitale, postorbitale, and centrale come in contact in the center of the orbital region. The mediodorsale is wide, its carinal process projects considerably posteriorly. The anterior margin of the anterior ventrolaterale lacks articular facets for the interlaterale.     

Devonian antiarchs (Pisces,Antiarchi) from central and Southern European Russia

Antiarchi (Pisces, Placodermi) from the Devonian of central and southern European Russia (Central Devonian Field) are studied. Antiarchs belong to three families, the Asterolepididae, Remigolepididae (suborder Asterolepidoidei), and Bothriolepididae (suborder Bothriolepidoidei). The diagnoses of the order, two suborders, three families, and five genera (two of which are new) are given. Sixteen species, including one new, are described; ten taxa are determined in open nomenclature. Morphological structures of representatives of these families are considered in detail. Classifications of antiarchs and their position in the system of the lower vertebrates are discussed. Devonian vertebrate localities of central and southern European Russia that have yielded antiarchs are listed. Each locality is characterized by its ichthyoassemblage.     

Middle Cambrian lingulate brachiopods from the Murrawong Creek Formation,northeastern New South Wales

Fourteen species of lingulate brachiopods are documented from allochthonous limestone blocks of the Murrawong Creek Formation in the southern New England Fold Belt, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The fauna includes Treptotreta jucunda Henderson and MacKinnon 1981, Treptotreta sp. cf. T. sp. nov. Henderson 1992, Amictocracens teres Henderson and MacKinnon 1981, Stilpnotreta magna Henderson and MacKinnon 1981, Anabolotreta tegula Rowell and Henderson 1978, Neotreta orbiculata Koneva 1990, Linnarssonia sp., Linnarssonia sp. cf. L. ophirensis (Walcott 1912), Pegmatreta clavigera sp. nov., Acrothele subsidua (White 1874), Micromitra sp. cf. M. modesta (Lochman 1940), Micromitra sp. Henderson 1992, Lingulella sp. A Henderson 1992, and Kyrshabaktella certa Koneva 1986.

The associated trilobite assemblages indicate a medial Middle Cambrian age for the blocks, and the stratigraphic ranges of several of the lingulate species have been extended. The fauna displays biogeographic links at the specific level with northeastern and southeastern Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, North America, Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Britain; the strongest links (four species in common) are with the Georgina Basin in northeastern Australia and the Tasman Formation in New Zealand.     

New radiolarians from the Devonian of the southern Ural Mountains: 2. Middle-Late Devonian

Middle-Late Devonian Radiolarians are recorded for the first time in the southern Ural Mountains in Bashkortostan, in a section of Kariukmas Mountain (Upper Eifelian) and on the southern slope of Argagan Mountain (Middle Frasnian). The new Late Eifelian assemblage is composed of 17 species of 11 genera, and Middle Frasnian radiolarians comprise 13 species of 7 genera of spherical, discoidal, pylomate, and spiny radiolarians. A new species, Primaritripus kariukmasensis, sp. nov., is described. The prevalence of discoidal forms in the oryctocenosis suggests shallow marine conditions in the Late Eifelian and Middle Frasnian basins. Two new biostratons, the Upper Eifelian beds with Primaritripus kariukmasensis and Middle Frasnian beds with Primaritripus chuvashovi, are established based on radiolarians.     

Lower Devonian Chonetoidean Brachiopods From Bac Bo, North Viêt Nam

Recent investigations of the Lower Devonian fauna of North Viêt Nam have provided abundant invertebrates, among which chonetoidean brachiopods are especially common. Their good preservation has allowed the revision of eight of the nine species described in the literature. The North Vietnamese chonetoidean fauna is mainly characterized by the diversity of representatives of the Family Strophochonetidae (strophochonetines and parachonetines), which includes nine species. Three new genera, namely TulynetesBacbonetesCyrtochonetes, and two species, namely Bacbonetes janvieriChlupacina nariensis, are described. The occurrence of Perichonetes mirabilisChlupacina nariensis, and plicanoplitid brachiopods establishes the extension of the south-west China pelagic Nandan Facies to eastern Bac Bo. The Lower Devonian chonetoidean fauna of eastern Bac Bo is closely allied to that of south-west and central China belonging to the Yangtzé microcontinent, whilst the fauna of western Bac Bo appears to be more closely allied with that of the northern Gondwanaland margin. One new additional chonetoidean genus, Orthochonetes, is described in a note added to the systematic section.     

New brachiopods from the Ordovician of northeastern Russia

New brachiopod taxa, Starnikoviella gen. nov., with the type species S. settedabanica sp. nov. (family Clitambonitidae), and Avdeevella gen. nov., with the type species A. mica sp. nov. (subfamily Glyptomeninae), from the Middle–Upper Ordovician boundary deposits of northeastern Russia are described.     

A new species of psammosteiform heterostracan (Agnatha) from the Givetian (Middle Devonian) of the Voronezh Region

A new pycnosteid species, Schizosteus shkurlatensis sp. nov. (Agnatha, Psammosteiformes), from the Staryi Oskol beds (Givetian, Middle Devonian) of the Voronezh Region is described. This is the first species of the genus Schizosteus Obruchev from the Central Devonian Field. The similarity between species of this genus and early species of Psammolepis is discussed.     

Lower Devonian reef structures in Russia: an example from the Urals

The Lower Devonian reefs of the Urals were formed in two different environmental settings: (1) the Novaya Zemlya-West-Uralian reefs were rigid organic structures that grew at a passive platform at the eastern margin of Baltica; (2) reefal limestones from the Eastern Urals developed in an island arc during a phase of volcanism. The reef belts can be traced for more than 2,500 km. The largest barrier reefs (up to 1,500 m thick) formed during the Pragian-Lower Emsian (West-Urals zone) and Emsian (East-Urals zone). They are characterized by rather uniform faunal and sedimentary features from the Arctic Ocean as south as near the Aral Lake. The Uralian reef facies was constructed mainly with algal and microbial communities (calcimicrobes and cyanobacteria) in association with low-diverse metazoan assemblages. In the Lower Devonian reefs of both regions, there are similar groups of organisms comprising some of the major taxa of reef-builders and reef-dwellers. The distinctive feature of the Lower Devonian reefs of both regions is the stromatolite-like framework structure. A clear palaeobiogeographic link is obvious between West-Uralian and East-Uralian environment settings during the Early Devonian.     

New grylloblattids of the family Lemmatophoridae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Permian of Russia

New grylloblattids of the family Lemmatophoridae (Insecta: Grylloblattida), Artinska sojanensis sp. nov., Sylvaprisca colorata sp. nov., and Uraloprisca lisca gen. et sp. nov., from the Soyana locality (Lower Kazanian, Arkhangelsk Region) and Paraprisca solikamskensis sp. nov. from the Tyul’kino locality (Ufimian, Perm Region) are described. Two species are transferred from the genus Paraprisca to Uraloprisca gen. nov.: Uraloprisca uralica (G. Zalessky, 1952), comb. nov. and Uraloprisca causaria (Novokshonov, 2000), comb. nov. (both from the Kungurian of the Perm Region). The evolution of the family is discussed.     

New Triassic beetles (Coleoptera) from northern European Russia

Beetle remains from the Triassic Khey-Yaga locality, Nenets National District, Korotaikha Basin, Nyadeita Formation, Olenekian-Anisian are described. Only isolated elytra have been found. Tetracoleus tshalyshevi gen. et sp. nov. and T. minimus sp. nov. are described and assigned to Tricoleidae, and six new species are described in formal taxa. Tetracoleus is close to Permian tricoleids just found in the Newcastle Group of Australia and the Vyatkian Aristovo locality of northern European Russia. The composition of elytra in the locality is closer to that of Lower Triassic localities than other Middle Triassic localities and characterizes the beginning of a recovery after the Permian-Triassic ecological crisis. Longxianocupes Hong in Liu, Liu et Hong, 1985 is shown to be a junior synonym of Sogdelytron Ponomarenko, 1969. The species Palademosyne ovum Ponomarenko, 2004, P. elongatum Ponomarenko, 2004, and P. latum Ponomarenko, 2004 are transferred to the genus Pseudochrysomelites Handlirsch, 1906.