Chondrichthyan teeth from the Early Triassic Paris Biota (Bear Lake County,Idaho, USA)

A new, diverse and complex Early Triassic assemblage was recently discovered west of the town of Paris, Idaho (Bear Lake County), USA. This assemblage has been coined the Paris Biota. Dated earliest Spathian (i.e., early late Olenekian), the Paris Biota provides further evidence that the biotic recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction was well underway ca. 1.3 million years after the event. This assemblage includes mainly invertebrates, but also vertebrate remains such as ichthyoliths (isolated skeletal remains of fishes). Here we describe first fossils of Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes) from the Paris Biota. The material is composed of isolated teeth (mostly grinding teeth) preserved on two slabs and representing two distinct taxa. Due to incomplete preservation and morphological differences to known taxa, the chondrichthyans from the Paris Biota are provisionally kept in open nomenclature, as Hybodontiformes gen. et sp. indet. A and Hybodontiformes gen. et sp. indet. B, respectively. The present study adds a new occurrence to the chondrichthyan fossil record of the marine Early Triassic western USA Basin, from where other isolated teeth (Omanoselache, other Hybodontiformes) as well as fin spines of Nemacanthus (Neoselachii) and Pyknotylacanthus (Ctenachanthoidea) and denticles have been described previously.     

Cyrtocrinids (Cyrtocrinida,Crinoidea) and other associated crinoids from the Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian)–Cretaceous (Berriasian–Barremian) of the Carpathian Foredeep basement (western Ukraine)

Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian) and Cretaceous (Berriasian–Barremian) strata of the Ukrainian part of the Carpathian Foredeep basement are rich, at least locally, in crinoid remains. Crinoids belonging to cyrtocrinids (Cyrtocrinida) are represented by whole cups, isolated remains of disarticulated cups, brachial plates and columnals. They are assigned to the following taxa: Cyrtocrinida indet., Eugeniacrinites cf. cariophilites (von Schlotheim), Lonchocrinus sp., Phyllocrinus stellaris Zaręczny, Ascidicrinus pentagonus (Jaekel), Gammarocrinites sp., Psalidocrinus armatus (Zittel), Psalidocrinus sp., and Hemibrachiocrinidae gen. indet. Cyrtocrinids are associated with other stalked (isocrinids, Isocrinida and millericrinids, Millericrinida) and stemless (saccocomids, Roveacrinida) crinoids. Columnals, pluricolumnals, brachial plates, and cirrals of isocrinids are assigned to Balanocrinus sp., Isocrinina fam. et subfam. indet., and columnals of millericrinids to Millericrinida indet. Free-living roveacrinids are assigned to Saccocoma sp. and Crassicoma sp. Knowledge on Jurassic and Cretaceous crinoids formerly described from Ukraine is discussed. Although majority of crinoids described herein seems to be allochthonous, autochthonous forms were also found with certainty in some intervals. These include some cyrtocrinids, which dominate in shallow-water environments of the Ukrainian Carpathian Foredeep basement. Isocrinids are also common in this shallow marine environment, whereas sessile saccocomids are assigned to low-energy, mud-supported bottom, open marine, outer-platform/upper slope, and relatively deep environments.     

Microfaunal remains at Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave, Israel: Preliminary results on small vertebrates, environment and biostratigraphy

Preliminary results of the investigation of the microfauna at the Acheulo-Yabrudian Middle Pleistocene site of Qesem Cave, Israel, are presented. Thus far the assemblage includes ca. 10,000 bone and tooth fragments, of which 50% could be identified to the generic and some hundreds to the species level. Based on the current material, the fauna includes the following squamate reptiles: Laudakia sp., Chamaeleo sp., Gekkonidae indet., Lacertidae indet., Scincidae indet., Pseudopus sp., Varanus sp., Colubroidea indet. (at least three species) and micromammals: Suncus etruscus, Crocidura cf. leucodon, Crocidurinae indet. (large form), Chiroptera indet., Sciurus cf. anomalus, Cricetulus cf. migratorius, Microtus guentheri, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, Dipodillus cf. dasyurus, Meriones cf. tristrami, Gerbillidae indet., Mus cf. musculus, Apodemus cf. flavicollis. These results suggest that the fauna includes only taxa that occur recently in the territory of Israel. The ecological preferences of the nearest living relatives of the recorded taxa allow us to infer a paleoenvironment with a mosaic of open and woodland habitats. However, comparing the lower with the upper levels of the microfauna-bearing profile, a slight shift towards more wooded conditions might be detectable. Biostratigraphical inferences from the recorded micromammal taxa cover a rather wide age range, whereas the radiometric (U-series and preliminary TL) dating enable a provisionally estimated date for the microfauna-bearing levels at 360-300 ka. Detailed morphometric comparisons with material from other sites in the region are necessary and may yet provide further insights.     

New finds of the Neogene lizard and snake fauna (Squamata: Lacertilia; Serpentes) from the Slovak Republic

This paper deals with the squamate fauna from three Neogene localities in Slovakia. Neogene lizards and snakes have rarely been reported from this region and many aspects of their evolution and palaeodiversity are still poorly understood. Squamate remains from the Upper Miocene (MN 9) locality of Borsky Sv?ty Jur belong to at least five different taxa: Lacerta sp., Pseudopus sp., Colubroidea indet. (? Elapidae), Natricinae indet. and Colubridae indet. The ophidian assemblage from Ivanovce (Lower Pliocene; MN 15b) is dominated by colubrids, mainly Zamenis longissimus. The remainder is comprised of the species Natrix natrix. Squamate material from this locality also includes Lacerta cf. agilis, Pseudopus sp. and Ophisaurus sp., while that from Hajnáčka (Upper Pliocene; MN 16a) is extremely poor, comprising just one taxon - Natrix natrix. The Ivanovce material represents the oldest proof of the former existence of the species Zamenis longissimus and Natrix natrix in the Slovak Republic. The composition of this snake fauna indicates faunistic and palaeoecological changes at the end of the Miocene, although this was not as rapid as at similar localities in Europe. The squamate fauna of Slovakia has changed very little since the beginning of the Pliocene, and the majority of taxa are represented by species that currently occur in this region.     

Microvertebrates from unit G/layer 17 of the archaeological site of Hummal (El Kowm,Central Syria): Preliminary results

We present a first look at the microvertebrate fauna of the Middle Pleistocene site of Hummal in Central Syria. Some 2000 microvertebrate remains (1200 mammalian; 230 reptilian; 600 unidentified) were found in unit G/layer 17 by screen-washing sediments in an area of 4 m². The following taxa have been identified: Reptilia: Agaminae indet., Gekkota indet., Lacertidae indet. (2–3 taxa), Eryx sp., Natricinae indet.; and Mammalia: Crocidurinae indet., Chiroptera indet., Lepus sp., Arvicolinae indet., Ellobius sp., Microtus sp., Murinae indet. (large form), Mus sp., Meriones sp., Gerbillus sp. The presence of Ellobius indicates a Middle Pleistocene age of the fauna. This genus does not occur in Syria today, but is recorded in Israel in Late Acheulean to Early Mousterian sites. In North Africa, the occurrence of this genus is restricted to the early part of the Middle Pleistocene. The ecological requirements of the nearest living relatives of the recorded taxa indicate mainly open habitats, but also the presence of vegetation and wet conditions, at least close to the site. Lepus, Ellobius, Meriones, Gerbillus, and Eryx live to various extents in steppes, semi-deserts, and deserts. Various extant species of large murids that come into consideration occupy a variety of wooded habitats, grassland and savannah and require the presence of water. Hummal offers the most detailed Pleistocene portrait yet of hominin palaeoenvironment in an area that, at the end of the Pleistocene, became known as part of the Fertile Crescent.     

The latest Early Pleistocene amphibians and reptiles from Kaiafas (Greece) and the first record of fossil Ophiomorus (Squamata,Scincidae)

Together with the rest of the Balkan Peninsula, Greece acted as a refuge for thermophilic amphibians and reptiles during the Quaternary Glaciations. In this work we provide new herpetological data on the latest Early Pleistocene locality of Kaiafas, in western Peloponnese. The site yielded one indeterminate salamandrid urodelan (Salamandridae indet.), one tree frog (Hyla gr. H. arborea), one indeterminate testudinid (Testudinidae indet.), at least two lacertid lizards (Lacertidae indet. A and B), one scincid lizard (Ophiomorus sp.), one anguid lizard (Pseudopus sp.), and one indeterminate “colubrine” snake (“Colubrinae” indet.). This assemblage is indicative of a surrounding environment with water bodies, wooded areas, and possibly loose soils with rocks and stones. In spite of being based on few remains, the study of the amphibians and reptiles from Kaiafas resulted in the identification of the first fossil of Ophiomorus known worldwide. Moreover, the two lacertid taxa displayed very peculiar morphological features which are either previously unknown or rare in that clade.     

内蒙古宝格达乌拉地区新发现再沉积古近纪化石材料(英文)

报道了发现于宝格达乌拉地区的少量古近纪化石材料(包括零碎的牙齿和头后骨骼)。材料产自不整合覆盖在细粒红层之上的河相沉积物,显示出再沉积特点。经鉴定,它们可归入Breviodon minutus,Rhinocerotidae gen.et sp.indet.,Brontotheriidae gen.et sp.indet.及其他未定奇蹄类。材料在时代上确属古近纪无疑,但产出层位的时代尚有疑问。宝格达乌拉地区过去只出产新近纪脊椎动物化石,古近纪的地层和化石都未曾报道。根据新化石点与附近地层的接触关系,我们怀疑这些古近纪化石是后期再沉积在新近纪的宝格达乌拉组中的。新材料的发现提示该地区可能还有更多的古近纪地层。     

Turtle remains from the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation of Yunyang,Sichuan Basin,China

Three turtle shells from the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation of Yunyang (Chongqing, China) are described and assigned to Xinjiangchelyidae (Testudines: Eucryptodira). This is the first report of turtle remains from the Xintiangou Formation, Sichuan Basin and represents the oldest known Xinjiangchelyidae. The assemblage includes two taxa, Protoxinjiangchelys sp. and Xinjiangchelyidae indet. This discovery extends the stratigraphical distribution of Xinjiangchelyidae and improves our knowledge about the early evolution of that family. It demonstrates that by the Middle Jurassic, at the time of deposition of the Xintiangou Formation, the group was already diversified in the Sichuan Basin.     

Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) sea lilies (Echinodermata,Crinoidea) from the glacial rafts of northwestern Poland

Seven Santonian (Isocrinus? minutus, Tetracrinus jagti, Cyathidium senessei, Bourgueticrinidae indet., Notocrinidae indet., Glenotremites paradoxus, Marsupites testudinarius) and seven Campanian (Nielsenicrinus carinatus, Austinocrinus sp., Bourgueticrinidae indet., Bourgueticrinus cf. constrictus, B. ellipticus, B.? suedicus, Roveacrinina gen. et sp. indet.) crinoid taxa from the Cretaceous glacial rafts of northwestern Poland (near Wolin Island) are described for the first time. The taphonomy and palaeogeographic implications are discussed. The present assemblage differs taxonomically from the crinoid faunules recently described from the glacial rafts of eastern Poland. However, these faunules are similar to crinoids from the autochthonous Upper Cretaceous sediments of southern and eastern Poland (Miechów Trough, Kraków-Cz?stochowa Upland, Middle Vistula River valley). An update of Late Cretaceous crinoids from the Miechów Trough and Kraków-Cz?stochowa Upland is also given.     

Avian remains from the Upper Pleistocene (MIS3) site of Aguilón P-7, south of the Ebro River,Spain

Aves are represented by abundant fossil remains in Quaternary sites. Birds are well adapted to the environment they inhabit, so they make very good paleoenvironmental indicators for Quaternary sites. Here we analyse the avian remains from the Late Pleistocene (probably MIS3) site of Aguilón P-7 (AGP-7). The Pleistocene sediments fill up a shallow cave, which is located in the Zaragozan part of the Iberian Range, 55 km south of the city of Zaragoza. We have for the first time provided a taxonomic and taphonomic study of the avian assemblage of AGP-7, as well as a preliminary paleoenvironmental analysis based on these data. Nine avian taxa have been identified: Galliformes indet., Lagopus sp., Aquila chrysaetos, Gyps fulvus, Passeridae indet., Anthus sp., Prunella modularis,Sturnus cf. unicolor and Corvus monedula. The taphonomic analysis did not provide conclusive information. However, it suggests an accumulation of uneaten food remains by diurnal birds of prey. The identified taxa currently inhabit the Iberian Peninsula, populating woodland environments with rocky areas. They are found in areas with an oceanic climate, in contrast to the Mediterranean climate that now prevails in Aguilón.     

Remains of sea turtles from the Ikovo locality (Lugansk Region, Ukraine; Middle Eocene)

Fragmentary remains of sea turtles (Cheloniidae sensu lato: Argillochelys sp., Puppigerus nessovi Averianov, 2005, and Cheloniidae gen. indet.) from the Ikovo locality (Lugansk Region, Ukraine; Lower Lutetian, Middle Eocene) are described. The genera Argillochelys and Puppigerus are recorded for the first time in Eastern Europe. The turtle assemblage from Ikovo is similar at the generic level to West European assemblages (Belgium, Great Britain) of approximately the same age (Lower-Middle Eocene). In the presence of P. nessovi, the Ikovo assemblage is similar to that from the Middle Eocene Dzheroi 2 locality (Uzbekistan).     

云南开远小龙潭动物群的性质及时代的进一步探讨

本文在前人工作的基础上,结合新材料,对小龙潭动物群作了新的补充与论述.小龙潭动物群在组合面貌上与西瓦立克的 Chinji, Nagri 层动物群相近,动物群的时代不早于 Chinji 层而早于云南禄丰石灰坝动物群,为晚中新世.     

A new Ruscinian site in Europe: Baza-1 (Baza basin,Andalusia, Spain)

The Guadix–Baza depression (southeastern Spain) preserves one of the best continental Plio-Pleistocene records of the European continent. The new site, Baza-1, is the first Ruscinian locality with fauna of large vertebrates known in the basin. During the summer seasons of 2001, 2002, 2015 and 2016, systematic excavations were undertaken in the site over an area of 25 m², which provided > 400 fossil remains of Ruscinian mammals. The faunal assemblage is diverse, comprising 17 genera. Rodentia are represented by Ruscinomys sp., Apocricetus barrierei, Debruijnimys julii, Apodemus gorafensis, Castillomys gracilis, Occitanomys cf. brailloni, Paraethomys meini, Paraethomys aff. abaigari, Stephanomys cordii, Trilophomys cf. castroi and Eliomys aff. intermedius. Large mammals are represented by two proboscideans, Anancus arvernensis and Mammut borsoni, the rhino Stephanorhinus sp. cf. S. jeanvireti, the equid cf. Hipparion sp., two bovids, a large sized Alephis sp. and a small-to-middle sized Bovidae indet. (cf. Antilope sp.), and a middle sized deer, Cervinae indet. This record is completed by the presence of a chelonid, Testudinae indet. Biostratigraphic data from micro and macromammals suggest an age for the assemblage between 4 and 4.5 Ma.     

Finds of fragmentary bird skeletons in the Middle Miocene of the northern Caucasus

The first anatomically assembled skeletal remains of Neogene birds in Russia have been found. The head and a fragment of the vertebral column of a duck (Anatidae) and a hind limb of a perching bird (Passeriformes) from the Middle Miocene of the Krasnodar Region (Tsurevsky Formation) comprise the earliest known Miocene birds from European Russia. The skull of a very small duck (smaller than any extant species of Eurasian ducks) shows a combination of morphological characters characteristic of the extant species of Tadorna and Nettapus, and could belong to a representative of the fossil genus Mioquerquedula. This discovery supports a separate generic status for small-sized middle Miocene anatids from Eurasia, and suggests that they were more primitive than the extant Anatinae.     

The Anatomy of the bill Tip of Kiwi and Associated Somatosensory Regions of the Brain: Comparisons with Shorebirds

Three families of probe-foraging birds, Scolopacidae (sandpipers and snipes), Apterygidae (kiwi), and Threskiornithidae (ibises, including spoonbills) have independently evolved long, narrow bills containing clusters of vibration-sensitive mechanoreceptors (Herbst corpuscles) within pits in the bill-tip. These ‘bill-tip organs’ allow birds to detect buried or submerged prey via substrate-borne vibrations and/or interstitial pressure gradients. Shorebirds, kiwi and ibises are only distantly related, with the phylogenetic divide between kiwi and the other two taxa being particularly deep. We compared the bill-tip structure and associated somatosensory regions in the brains of kiwi and shorebirds to understand the degree of convergence of these systems between the two taxa. For comparison, we also included data from other taxa including waterfowl (Anatidae) and parrots (Psittaculidae and Cacatuidae), non-apterygid ratites, and other probe-foraging and non probe-foraging birds including non-scolopacid shorebirds (Charadriidae, Haematopodidae, Recurvirostridae and Sternidae). We show that the bill-tip organ structure was broadly similar between the Apterygidae and Scolopacidae, however some inter-specific variation was found in the number, shape and orientation of sensory pits between the two groups. Kiwi, scolopacid shorebirds, waterfowl and parrots all shared hypertrophy or near-hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus. Hypertrophy of the nucleus basorostralis, however, occurred only in waterfowl, kiwi, three of the scolopacid species examined and a species of oystercatcher (Charadriiformes: Haematopodidae). Hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus in kiwi, Scolopacidae, and other tactile specialists appears to have co-evolved alongside bill-tip specializations, whereas hypertrophy of nucleus basorostralis may be influenced to a greater extent by other sensory inputs. We suggest that similarities between kiwi and scolopacid bill-tip organs and associated somatosensory brain regions are likely a result of similar ecological selective pressures, with inter-specific variations reflecting finer-scale niche differentiation.     

甘肃灵台雷家河新第三纪晚期的大哺乳动物组合及其时代

讨论的大哺乳动物化石出自甘肃灵台雷家河村东南小石沟[72074(1)、72074(4)]和文王沟(93002)等地的新第三纪晚期地层。它们包括15种,分属8属、9科、4目,可能代表两个不同时代的组合。第一组合所在的地层层位是72074(4)剖面的L5~L3层和72074(1)剖面的第3层,主要由 Hipparion pater、Acerorhinus sp．、Nyctereutes．、 Hyaeninae gen．et sp．indet．和Gazella niheensis等类型组成,其性质与山西榆社高庄组南庄沟段和醋柳沟段产出的大哺乳动物的接近,时代可能为中上新世。第二组合所在的地层层位是72074(1)剖面的第2层,以Anancus sinensis 和Cervidae gen．et sp．indet．为代表,其性质与榆社麻则沟组动物群的相近,时代为晚上新世。     

黔西水城晚二叠世长兴期钙藻和有孔虫及其古环境意义

在黔西水城地区的K576井长兴组共鉴定钙藻3属3种,包括Gymnocodium bellerophontis、Permocalculus sp.和Tauridiumkurdistanensis;有孔虫8属10种,其中(虫筳)类2属2种,有孔虫动物群主要由Reichelinasp.indet.、Nankinella sp.、Pachyphloia schwageri、Pachyphloia sp.、Geinitzina sp.、Nestellorella sp. indet.、Howchinella sp.、Hemigordius aff. saranensis、Hemigordius sp.和Midiella sp. indet.组成。将本井按照生物特征分为有孔虫-钙藻-介形虫组合、有孔虫-腕足类-介形虫组合、介形虫-双壳类-腹足类组合、有孔虫-钙藻-双壳类组合、有孔虫-腕足类-介形虫组合、有孔虫-钙藻-双壳类组合和介形虫组合等7个组合。按照层序地层划分、垂向沉积序列特征和测井资料的分析,有孔虫-钙藻-介形虫组合(SQ3-3)和有孔虫-腕足类-介形虫组合(SQ3-4)时期地层为三角洲前...     

Neoselachians (Chondrichthyes,Elasmobranchii) from the Lower and lower Upper Cretaceous of north‐eastern Spain

Extensive sampling of several Barremian and Albian–Cenomanian levels across the Aguilón, Oliete and Aliaga subbasins of the Iberian Basin, north‐east Spain, yielded abundant material of new or so far poorly known neoselachians. The faunas consist of 16 different species, five of which represent new species and two new genera: Cantioscyllium brachyplicatum sp. nov. , Platypterix venustulus gen. et sp. nov. , Ptychotrygon pustulata sp. nov. , Ptychotrygon striata sp. nov. and Iberotrygon plagiolophus gen. et sp. nov. In addition, teeth of Heterodontus cf. H. carerens, Lamniformes indet., Pteroscyllium sp., Scyliorhinidae indet., Rhinobatos sp., Spathobatis sp., Belemnobatis sp., Ptychotrygon geyeri, Ptychotrygon sp. and Celtipristis herreroi are described. The new family Ptychotrygonidae is defined. The localities comprise palaeoenvironments ranging from lacustrine and shallow lake to open marine settings. Neoselachians are almost completely absent from continental settings in the Barremian, as a result of prevailing freshwater conditions, but became more abundant in marine strata. The Albian–Cenomanian selachian assemblage is the most profuse and diverse of the three assemblages studied. It is dominated by small, benthic and near‐coastal taxa, for instance Cantioscyllium and Ptychotrygon, and contains several new species, including an endemic batoid, Iberotrygon plagiolophus gen. et sp. nov. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155 , 316–347.     

A Fish Assemblage from the Middle Eocene from Libya (Dur At-Talah) and the Earliest Record of Modern African Fish Genera

In the early nineteen sixties, Arambourg and Magnier found some freshwater fish (i.e., Polypterus sp., Siluriformes indet. and Lates sp.) mixed with marine members in an Eocene vertebrate assemblage at Gebel Coquin, in the southern Libyan Desert. This locality, aged ca 37–39Ma and now known under the name of Dur At-Talah, has been recently excavated. A new fish assemblage, mostly composed of teeth, was collected by the Mission Paléontologique Franco-Libyenne. In this paper, we describe freshwater fish members including a dipnoan (Protopterus sp.), and several actinopterygians: bichir (Polypterus sp.), aba fish (Gymnarchus sp.), several catfishes (Chrysichthys sp. and a mochokid indet.), several characiforms (including the tiger fish Hydrocynus sp., and one or two alestin-like fish), and perciforms (including the snake-head fish Parachanna sp. and at least one cichlid). Together with the fossiliferous outcrops at Birket Qarun in Egypt, the Libyan site at Dur At-Talah reduces a 10-Ma chronological gap in the fossil record of African freshwater fish. Their fish assemblages overlap in their composition and thus constitute a rather homogenous, original and significant amount of new elements regarding the Paleogene African ichthyofauna. This supports the establishment of the modern African freshwater fish fauna during this time period because these sites mostly contain the earliest members known in modern genera.