Ordovizische Problematika,II.Microancientia gen. n.

A problematical, axial-symmetrical microfossil is described from Upper Ordovician Öjlemyrflint erratic boulders of the Isle of Gotland (Baltic Sea) and of the Kaolinsand (Plio-/Pleistocene) of the Isle of Sylt (North Sea).     

Silurian (Ludlow) acastid trilobites from Gotland and Scania,Sweden

Acastid trilobites from Ludlow strata on Gotland include three stratigraphically non-overlapping species ofAcastella Reed:Acastella madidipes n. sp. (Hemse Marl and Eke Beds),A. breviceps (Angelin 1851) (Burgsvik Beds), andA. amatrix n. sp. (Hamra Beds, and probably Burgsvik Beds). Type and other material ofA. breviceps (Angelin) from the Klinta Formation, Scania, is revised. Meraspid and early holaspid material ofAcastella is described. Some characters supportAcaste and allied taxa of mostly Wenlock age as a monophyletic subfamily Acastinae.Acastella as widely recognized is a grade with Devonian species more closely related to Asteropyginae than to the Ludlow type species. Baltic Ludlow-P?00ED;dolí species previously placed inScotiella Delo form a distinct group,Ewacaste n. gen., that includes a species from the uppermost Eke Beds on Gotland.     

Tervidmonea n.gen. (Bryozoa,Cyclostomata) aus dem Paläogen Mitteleuropas

The new genusTervidmonea (type-species:T. daniensis n.gen. n.sp., ? Fam. Terviidae) is described from the Baltic Danian, from Danian ‘Geschiebe’ (glacial erratic drift material) of Northern Germany, from the Upper Maastrichtian of the Maastricht region, and from the Palaeogene ‘Nummuliten-Mergel’ of Bavaria. The zoarium is erect (‘ldmoneiform’), with alternating uniserial fascicles on the frontal side, as inExidmonea David et al. The dorsal face lacks kenozooids and bears a prominent globular ovicell (gynozooid), by which it differs from the genusTervia Jullien 1882. Certain taxa from the Eocene of the U.S.A. referred toTervia by Canu & Bassler (1920) are considered as congeneric withTervidmonea: T. tumida Smitt,T. globulifera Canu & Bassler, andT. pyrifera Canu & Bassler. However, the identity with the RecentTervia tumida from the Arctic realm remains doubtful and so does the present-day occurrence ofTervidmonea.     

Retiolitid graptolites from the collection of HermannJaeger in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (Germany). I.Neogothograptus andHoloretiolites

Isolated material of Ludlow (Upper Silurian) retiolitid graptolites are described from isolated material in theJaeger collection of the Museum für Naturkunde (Humboldt Universität Berlin, Germany). This material from glacial erratic boulders of northern Germany has never been published, even though it yields important structural information for retiolitid taxonomy. The astogeny and formation of the clathrial and reticular lists ofNeogothograptus andHoloretiolites rhabdosomes is discussed in some detail. New species includeNeogothograptus ornatus n. sp. andNeogothograptus eximinassa n. sp. Hermann Jaeger recognized both species as new and named them in his collection, but not publish the material.Neogothograptus thorsteinssoni Lenz &;Kozlowska-Dawidziuk andNeogothograptus romani Koz?owska-Dawidziuk have been recognized for the first time in north German glacial erratic boulders.     

Taxonomic and biostratigraphic re-evaluation ofPerisphinctes internispinosus Krantz, 1926 (Upper Jurassic, Ammonoidea)

The lectotype ofPerisphinctes internispinosus Krantz, 1926, type species ofWindhauseniceras Leanza, 1945, from the upper Middle Tithonian of Cerro Lotena (Neuquén-Mendoza Basin, Argentina) is designated. The type series, housed in the Paläontologisches Institut der Universität Bonn, was originally illustrated by hand-drawings of two of the eleven specimens. The lectotype is illustrated by a photograph for the first time. The specimen is probably a large microconch; the most likely corresponding macroconch appears to beH. aff.steinmanni (Steuer, 1897) from Cerro Lotena.Windhauseniceras internispinosum is the index and guide species of theInternispinosum Biozone, upper Middle Tithonian, most probablyPonti Zone in age. The occurrence in Arroyo del Yeso (Mendoza) below a succession ofMicracanthoceras species includingM. mirum (Leanza, 1945) which is very close toM. microcanthum, strongly supports this correlation. The species occurs throughout the Neuquén-Mendoza Basin and probably also in the Tarapacá Basin, Northern Chile.     

Retiolitid graptolites from the collection of Hermann Jaeger II: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cometograptus</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spinograptus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plectograptus</Emphasis>

Graptolites from the Jaeger collection at the Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin, Germany) provide important information on structural details of Silurian (Wenlock–Ludlow) retiolitids as well as for the biostratigraphic and biogeographic distribution of these magnificent graptolites. Species of the genera Cometograptus, Spinograptus and Plectograptus are described from isolated glacial boulder material, collected in northern Germany and from shale specimens found in the Lower Graptolite Shale of Thuringia. The biostratigraphic placement of material derived from glacial erratic boulders, however, is far from being precise. The fauna associated with the neotype of Plectograptus macilentus in the ‘Unterer Graptolithenschiefer’ of Thuringia is discussed and illustrated. Cometograptus alfeisenacki from the Cyrtograptus lundgreni Biozone is recognized as a new species. The genus is discovered for the first time in North German glacial erratic boulders.     

Taxonomic status of barbe's leaf-monkey,Presbytis barbei Blyth

The taxonomic status ofPresbytis barbei Blyth has been discussed in the light of fresh collections obtained from its type localityviz Tripura, India. The study reveals thatPresbytis barbei Blyth (1847) is nothing but a synonym ofPresbytis phayrei phayrei Blyth and the so called type specimens ofbarbei present in the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, appear to be wrongly labelled specimens ofPresbytis cristatus atrior Pocock.     

The preservation of ostracod shells in the siliceous chalk of the Danish-Polish Furrow (Baltic Sea)

Summary The number, morphological details and structure of ostracod shells washed from chalk by mechanical disaggregation differ from those in siliceous chalk treated by hydrofluoric acid (HF, conc.). The shells studied are from erratic material (Ger. “Schollen”, “Geschiebe”) of young Quaternary deposits from Nossentin near Malchow/Mecklenburg, NE Germany; Wicko (Vietzig) near Miedzyzdroje (Misdroy), Isle of Wolin/Baltic Sea, NW Poland (Upper Turonian) and from outcropping chalk (Lower Maastrichtian) of the Island of Rügen/Baltic Sea, NE Germany as well as erratic boulders (Upper Maastrichtian), NE Germany. The differences in the number of shells and their state of preservation are primarily caused by biotic and nonbiotic influences after death, e.g. loss of organic substance and shell deformation by low pressure. Greater destruction of the shell and its sculpture is caused by pressure (sedimentary compaction), recrystallization, sparitization and accretine crystallization of the shell calcite during diagenesis. The silification process or origin of flint in chalk is caused by weakly acidic environmental conditions (pH<5) before sedimentary compaction. It is indicated by dispersed pyrite and by well-preserved siliceous radiolarian skeletons. Finely-foliated opal-CT crystals start growing between the crystallites of the ostracod shell, later on forming lepispheres. Silification is early diagenetic, as verified by the well-preserved shell sculpture and structure and the undisturbed bioturbate structure in siliceous nodules.     

The external gills and ornamentation of skull roof bones of the Lower Permian tetrapodDiscosauriscus (Kuhn 1933) with remarks to its ontogeny

Until now, the largest specimens ofDiscosauriscus (and alsoUtegenia andAriekanerpeton- the Lower Permian members of the family Discosauriscidae) have been considered to be adult individuals. The largest specimens ofDiscosauriscus, in which the external gills are still present, had skull lengths of about 22-25 mm. Metamorphosis was believed to have commenced at this size in discosauriscids and specimens with skull lengths of about 50-54 mm were considered to be already adult or senile. New finds ofDiscosauriscus demonstrate the presence of external gills in specimens with skull lengths of up to 32 mm. On the base of this, together with the ornamentation or the skull roof bones and osteological features of new large specimens, it is here concluded that 1)Discosauriscus represents the larval, metamorphic and early juvenile stages of a reptiliomorph tetrapod, the adults of which are yet unknown and 2) two other discosauriscids(Ariekanerpeton andUtegenia) also represent early ontogenetic stages.     

New Lower Cambrian trilobites from Pleistocene erratic boulders of northern Germany and Denmark and their bearing on the intercontinental correlation

Pleistocene erratic boulders in northern Germany and Denmark yield upper Lower Cambrian ellipsocephaloid trilobites described asEpichalnipsus anartanus n. gen., n. sp. andBerabichia erratica n. sp. They are supposedly derived from an unidentified late Early Cambrian unit from central Sweden and most probably come from an otherwise poorly fossiliferous stratigraphie interval of theHolmia kjerulfi Zone. Although both species are new, their systematic affinities permit a refined intercontinental correlation between Baltica and western Gondwana. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Catagenesis in a series of Productus from the Liddar Valley in Kashmir

Four different species ofProductus frequently found, in the Lower and Middle Carboniferous of Kashmir show a lineage more or less in the stratigraphical succession. It starts fromProductus cora d'Orb. (the primitive member of this series) and exhibits a retrogressive accentuation of the twisting of the umbo which almost disappeares in the youngest specimens. The spiral angle varies in the four stages from 70° to 30°. The lineage is regarded as a true genetical one.     

Ordovizische Problematika,I.Melopetasus gen. n.

From Upper Ordovician Öjlemyrflint erratic boulders of the Kaolinsand (Plio-/Pleistocene) of the Isle of Sylt (North Sea) a problematical microfossil is described which possibly represents an ontogenetical stage of a bilateral-symmetrical animal (? trilobite).     

Neufunde der gehörnten Leperditiocopen-Gattung Kiaeria (Ostracoda) in silurischen Geschieben Westfalens sowie ihre systematische und phylogenetische Stellung

From Ludlovian erratic boulders of Northern Germany a new species of the genusKiaeria is described. The genus is characterized by strong ventral horns and was known until now only from Russia and Podolia. For genera with normally two stoppegs in the larger right valve the new family Kiaeriidae is established. Further new taxa are: Tirisochilininae sf. n. and Ivia g. n. (type-species :Isochilina nelsoni Bassler 1932).     

Zur Nahrungsaufnahme vonTetrastemma melanocephalum (Nemertini)

The proboscis of hoplonemerteans is armed with a stylet apparatus, which is used for capturing prey.Tetrastemma melanocephalum (Johnston) is a common hoplonemertean in the littoral of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. It lives in the phytal and on sand- and mudflats and occurs in large numbers in theCorophium belts in the waddenseas.T. melanocephalum feeds on arthropods, mainly on copepods and amphipods. The prey is caught with the proboscis, penetrated by the stylet and grows weak (reduction of movements) within a few seconds; it is then sucked out. During the summer, a 15–35 mm long nemertean captures about 3 specimens ofCorophium volutator of 3.5–6 mm length per day. In theCorophium belt at Sahlenburg, German Bight, North Sea, 29 nemerteans/0.25m² were found; they feed mainly onC. volutator, so that on average more than 10 000 specimens ofC. volutator/m²/month are sucked out by these nemerteans. Hence,T. melanocephalum is an important consumer ofCorophium.     

Postglacial colonization of Northern Europe by distinct phylogeographic lineages of the bullhead, Cottus gobio

Three major phylogeographic lineages of the cottid fish Cottus gobio (bullhead) were identified in northern Europe from mitochondrial DNA sequences and allozyme data. The largely separate freshwater distributions of the lineages demonstrate distinct postglacial colonization histories. West of the Baltic Sea, Swedish lakes were invaded from the southwest (Germany). Another, eastern lineage has colonized the inland waters northeast and east of the Baltic, from refugia in northwest Russia; this lineage comprises a distinct subgroup found only from Estonia. The third lineage, found south and southeast of the Baltic, probably descended from rivers draining to the Black Sea from the north (e.g. Dnepr). In coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, and in near-coast inland waters, the lineages are now found intermixed in various combinations. The alternating fresh- and saltwater phases of the Baltic basin have variously enabled and disabled the use of coastal waters as colonization routes. Hypotheses on the chronology of dispersal and lineage mixing can be based on the distribution of the marker genes and the paleohydrographical record. The diversity of the Fennoscandian bullhead thus comprises anciently diverged (probably mid-Pleistocene) refugial lineages that in their freshwater range constitute distinct evolutionarily significant units. The thorough mixing of the various genomic origins in and around the Baltic, however, refutes the controversial view of distinct species status for the western and eastern ('Cottus koshewnikowi') bullheads. The postglacial contact of the lineages has created new diversity that cannot be interpreted in a conventional hierarchical framework of taxonomic or conservation units.     

Algal propagule banks modify competition, consumer and resource control on Baltic rocky shores

We hypothesized that supply from macroalgal propagule banks may influence the relative abundance of annual and perennial algae and that this may alter the effects of grazers and nutrients on species composition. In a factorial field experiment in the Baltic Sea littoral system we tested the effects of manipulating propagule banks, the abundance of crustacean and gastropod grazers, and nutrient supply on recruitment and growth of macroalgae over a year. Moreover, we determined seasonal patterns of macroalgal propagule dispersal at the experimental site and quantified algal abundance and recruitment at 25 locations throughout the Baltic Sea. Experimental manipulations had minor effects on adults of the dominating perennial alga, Fucus vesiculosus. Instead, we found that species composition was determined by processes operating at early life stages. Propagule supply from a propagule bank strongly favored the fast-growing annual alga Enteromorpha spp. which then blocked settlement and recruitment of Fucus. Grazers reduced the abundance of annual algae and indirectly favored Fucus recruitment. There was an apparent trade-off between gains from the propagule bank and losses to herbivory in five of seven colonizing species. Nutrient enrichment overrode grazer control of annual algae and accelerated the decline of Fucus only when annual algae had already achieved high densities through the propagule bank. Corroborating the experimental findings, field surveys across the Baltic showed that Fucus recruit densities can be predicted from the cover of annual algae during the period of Fucus reproduction and settlement. Recruitment inhibition by annual algae, which is driven by the abundance of annuals in the propagule bank, increasing nutrient levels, and declining consumer control, is suggested as a mechanistic explanation of the current decline of perennial algae in the Baltic Sea.     

Peridermal (cortical) ultrastructure indictyonema cf.rhinanthiforme bulman,and the significance of its bithecae

The cortical ultrastructure ofDictyonema cf.rhinanthiforme Bulman, from the early Llandovery of Cornwallis Island, is shown to consist of cortical bandages of the same basic kind as those seen in many graptoloids (e.g. Crowther & Rickards 1977, Crowther 1981) and confirms the predictions of Andres 1977, and Crowther & Rickards (op. cit.) with respect to the presence of such bandages in dendroids.D. cf.rhinanthiforme still occurred some 60 Ma after the type specimens of the species and is significant in two further respects: in confirming the evolutionary conservativeness of dendroids and in enabling Bulman’s (1933) morphological series of bithecal types to be interpreted as a broad evolutionary sequence in which bithecae with simple tubes gradually change to those with rather complex apertural regions.     

Solgerites Reeside, 1932 (Cretaceous Ammonoidea) a synonym ofForresteria Reeside, 1932, with a revision ofSolgerites brancoi (Solger, 1904) (Cretaceous Ammonoidea) from Cameroon

A revision of the surviving “Barroisiceras” specimens from Cameroon described by SOLGER (1904) suggests thatBarroisiceras brancoi, type species ofSolgerites REESIDE, 1932, including varietiesmitis andarmatus of SOLGER, andBarroisiceras hoberfellneri alstadenensis SOLGER non SCHLüTER are variants of a single species and thatSolgerites is a synonym ofForresteria (Forresteria) REESIDE, 1932, of whichEboroceras BASSE, 1947 also is a synonym.     

Alectorioid Morphologies in Paleogene Lichens: New Evidence and Re-Evaluation of the Fossil Alectoria succini M?gdefrau

One of the most important issues in molecular dating studies concerns the incorporation of reliable fossil taxa into the phylogenies reconstructed from DNA sequence variation in extant taxa. Lichens are symbiotic associations between fungi and algae and/or cyanobacteria. Several lichen fossils have been used as minimum age constraints in recent studies concerning the diversification of the Ascomycota. Recent evolutionary studies of Lecanoromycetes, an almost exclusively lichen-forming class in the Ascomycota, have utilized the Eocene amber inclusion Alectoria succinic as a minimum age constraint. However, a re-investigation of the type material revealed that this inclusion in fact represents poorly preserved plant remains, most probably of a root. Consequently, this fossil cannot be used as evidence of the presence of the genus Alectoria (Parmeliaceae, Lecanorales) or any other lichens in the Paleogene. However, newly discovered inclusions from Paleogene Baltic and Bitterfeld amber verify that alectorioid morphologies in lichens were in existence by the Paleogene. The new fossils represent either a lineage within the alectorioid group or belong to the genus Oropogon.