New Gryllones Insects (Insecta: Gryllones) from the Babii Kamen’ Locality (Upper Permian of Russia). Part 1. Order Eoblattida

Paleontological Journal - New representatives of the order Eoblattida (Insecta: Blattidea): Mesoblattogryllus palaeozoicus sp. nov., Protoblattogryllus sibiricus sp. nov., Babakhosara mediana gen....     

New Middle Permian insects from Salagou Formation of the Lodève Basin in southern France (Insecta: Pterygota)

Summary

New insects are described from the Middle Permian (Guadalupian) of Salagou Formation in the Lodève Basin (Languedoc region, France). Palaeopterans are represented by new odonatopterans viz. Huangiopterum lodevense n. gen., n. sp. and Huangiopterum species B, attributed to clade Panodonata (Huangiopteridae n. fam.), already recorded through the family Saxonagrionidae in the same formation, and a diaphanopterodean Martynovia cf. halli Beckemeyer 2004 (Martynoviidae) known from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma. Archaeorthopterans are supplemented by Bethouxia ariegensis n. gen., n. sp., Paralongzhua elongata n. gen., n. sp., Lodevolongzhua incompleta n. gen., n. sp., the caloneurodean Jarmiloptera mouralensis n. gen., n. sp., and a cnemidolestodean cf. Tococladus sp. (Tococladidae). Permophyllum rotundatum n. sp. (?Tettigoniidae) demonstrates the first presence of Orthoptera with wings probably mimicking Peltaspermales reproductive organs in Late Palaeozoic possibly analogous to the known crypsis of roachoid tegmina with pteridosperm pinnules. Frequent occurrence of hardly identifiable grylloblattid wing fragments support their significant role in term of abundance and diversity of the Permian faunas. New taxa based on wing venation pattern as Genera and species undetermined A, B (Liomopteridae), Permobaharellus salagousensis n. gen., n. sp. (family uncertain), Lodevophlebia reticulata n. gen., n. sp. (Sylvaphlebiidae), Oborella lodevensis n. sp. (Euryptilonidae), and Genus and species undetermined C, were described. Paoliida is represented by a paoliid gen. et sp. indet. and three anthracoptilids Strephocladus gandi n. sp., Strephocladus mouralensis n. sp., Lodevocladus subtilis n. gen., n. sp. The first record of miomopteran Palaeomantis sp. (Paleomanteidae) from Salagou Formation is presented. Acercarian insects are represented by the first record of Thripida and diverse new hemipterans, namely Euroscytina lutevanorum n. gen., n. sp. (Cicadomorpha: Scytinopteridae), Prosbole dio n. sp., Prosbole garrici n. sp., Pervestigia cf. veteris Becker-Migdisova 1961 (Prosbolidae), Archescytina species A (Paleorrhyncha: Archescytinidae) and Permopsyllidium lesclansis n. sp. (Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea: Protopsyllidiidae). Entomofauna from the Salagou Formation demonstrate highly diverse insect communities with some taxa linked to early and late Permian ones known from assemblages in Euramerica and Russia, such as Obora (Czech Republic), Wellington Formation (Kansas and Oklahoma, USA), and Tshekarda (Ural, Russia).     

Paleosols and host rocks from the Middle–Upper Permian reference section of the Kazan Volga region,Russia: A case study

The Urzhumian (Wordian) and Severodvinian (Capitanian) reference section of the Monastery Ravine (Kazan Volga region, Russia), contains two siltstone lithofacies: (a) laminated and (b) massive. Depositional settings of the laminated siltstones can be interpreted as perennial to ephemeral lakes; depositional settings of the massive siltstones are interpreted as floodplains with soil cover and periodical silt influx in wet seasons. The bulk geochemistry of siliciclastics has revealed a high degree of weathering of both types of siltstone. The similar chemical composition, mineralogy, and grain size suggest the same provenance of silt material. Geochemical data indicate eastern source rocks, which are the Permian red beds of the Cis-Ural plains.The main genetic types of paleosols hosted in the massive siltstones in the studied section, include moderately developed Vertisols and Calcisols with drab-colored root traces, calcareous nodules, low chroma mottles, angular blocky peds and slickensides. These pedofeatures indicate in general a semi-arid climate with clear seasonality of rainfall. Major oxides of the paleosol matrix were used to estimate paleoprecipitation through the bases to alumina (ΣBases/Al) ratio and chemical index of alteration minus potassium (CIA-K) proxies. Estimates from Urzhumian paleosols indicate relatively low mean annual precipitation (MAP) of 390 mm/yr. The transition to the Severodvinian paleosols is marked by a noticeable MAP increase up to 777 mm/yr. This climate moistening coincides with changes in the morphology of paleosols from dolomitic with low redoximorphy to calcitic with gley horizons. The pedogenic carbonate nodules consisting of dolomicrite (5–10 μm) are very common in the Urzhumian paleosols and their morphology, micromorhology and isotopic features indicate the pedogenic origin of dolomite.Sedimentological and paleopedological features of the studied siltstones, as well as the location of the Volga-Ural basin in a mid-latitude position (25–32 °N) indicate a monsoonal character of precipitation during the Middle Permian.     

Finds of Ruminants and New Data on the Stratigraphy of the Late Miocene Locality of Fortep’yanka 2 (Northwest Caucasus,Adygea Republic)

Paleontological Journal - New finds of fossil remains of ruminants of genera Euprox Stehlin, 1928 (Dicrocerini, Muntiacinae, Cervidae) and Protragocerus Depéret, 1887 (Boselaphini, Bovinae,...     

New grylloblattid insects (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Grès à Voltzia of the Vosges (Middle Triassic of France)

New grylloblattid insects (Grylloblattida) are described from the Grès à Voltzia of the Vosges (Anisian of Alsace and Lorraine, France): Chauliodites anisicus, sp. nov. (Chaulioditidae), Palaeomesorthopteron pullus gen. et sp. nov. (Mesorthopteridae), Megakhosarodes vosgesicus sp. nov. (Megakhosaridae), Dorniella elcanoides sp. nov., D. apectinata sp. nov., D. diluta sp. nov., D. ovalis sp. nov., Baharellinus umbrosus sp. nov. Embigryllus shcherbakovi gen. et sp. nov., and Vosgesopterum arzvillerensis gen. et sp. nov. (Blattogryllidae).     

New petrified gymnosperms from the Permian of Maranhão (Pedra de Fogo Formation), Brazil: Ductolobatopitys nov. gen. and Kaokoxylon

Continuing the study of petrified gymnosperm trunks recovered from the Pedra de Fogo Formation, we identify here two new taxa from the Permian deposits of the Parnaíba Basin, northeastern Brazil. One taxon is an endemic form named Ductolobatopitys mussae Conceição, Neregato et Iannuzzi, nov. gen., nov. sp., characterized by solenoid, lobed and non-septate heterocellular pith, cauline bundles with endarch maturation, and secondary xylem with araucarian radial pitting on the tracheid walls. The other form is assigned to the genus Kaokoxylon, which has been recorded from most of Gondwana, including the Parnaíba Basin, but is recorded for the first time from the Pedra de Fogo Formation with the new species Kaokoxylon brasiliensis. It is characterized by solid, non-septate heterocellular pith with sclerenchyma cells, endarch cauline bundles, and uni-to triseriate radial pitting on the walls of the tracheids. The sedimentological interpretations of the outcrops where the fossils were collected indicate that these plants lived on the shores of large continental lakes, with relatively high humidity but possibly periods of drought. These inferences are supported by growth interruptions in the secondary xylem, the presence of calamitalean and tree-fern stems, and microbialites that crop in the same area. These new finds not only increase the known diversity of the flora in the Pedra de Fogo Formation, but also provide more accurate information for understanding the floristic elements that formed the subtropical flora during the Cisuralian in this basin in Western Gondwana.     

New Spiriferids (Brachiopoda) from the Middle–Late Permian of Northeastern Mongolian Boreal Basin

Paleontological Journal - Three new spiriferid species are established from the Mongolian key sections of the Middle Permian Tsagaan-Temete horizon and Late Permian Binder horizon, Uldza formation....     

Sursumura affinis sp. n.—a New Deep-Sea Species of the Family Munnopsidae (Isopoda: Asellota) from the Region of Australia and New Zealand

We describe here Sursumura affinis sp.n., a new deepwater species of the family Munnopsididae (Isopoda: Asellota) from the South Australian and South Fiji hollows. It is characterized as follows: the dorsum of the body is not granulated, bearing short setae; the pleonite lacks a dorsal spine; the pleotelson bears 5 dorsal spines; the preanal projection of the pleotelson is well-developed; the exopod of pleopod 4 is relatively slender and short. In morphology, the new species is most similar to S. abyssalis (Wolff, 1962) from the Tasmanian Sea. This is the second species of the genus described from the Australian–New Zealand region.     

A New Genus and Species—Cycadostrobilus paleozoicus Zhu of Cycadaceae from the Permian of China

This paper describes a new microstrobilus of palaeozoic Cycadaceae collected from the upper part of Lower Shihezi Formation, Dongshan Mine, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China and named it as Cycadostrobilus paleozoicus Zhu, gen. et sp. nov. This new cycad is the oldest microstrobilus to our knowlege of cycads. In the same locality and layer, there are Primocycas chinensis Zhu et Du, Sphenophyllum emarginatum Brongn. , S. costae Sterz. , S. verticallatum (Schloth.) Brongn. , S. oblongifolium (Germ. et Kaulf. ) Ung. , Tingia carbonica (Schenk.) Halle, T. hamaguchii Kon’no, Macrostachys huttoniformis Halle, Sphenopteris norinii Halle, S. firmata Sze, S. gothanii Halle, Sphenopteridium pseudogermanicum (Halle) Gu et Zhi, Pecopteris feminaeformis (Schloth.) Sterz. , P. wongii Halle, P. tuberculata Halle, P. unita Brongn. , P. taiyuanensis Halle, Emplectopteris triangularis Halle, Taeniopteris norinii Halle, T. spp. , Cordaites principalis (Germ.) Gein. , Cornucarpus patulus Halle, Radicites spp. and a few taxa unknown to palaeobotanical data. The authors consider that Cycadostrobilus paleozoicus is the same species as Primocycas chinensis, and its veg.etative leaves are similar to those of the genus Taeniopteris, e.g.T. norinii Halle.     

Upper Permian (Murghabian) rugose corals from Oman (Ba’id area,Saih Hatat): Community structure and contributions to reefbuilding processes

Summary Coral-dominated communties are rare in Upper Permian reefs. The study of Murghabian rugose and tabulate corals from allochtonous carbonates (‘Oman exotics’) of the Hawasina Complex and autochthonous carbonates of the Saih Hatat area/Arabian Platform (Oman) provides evidence for a significant contribution of rugose corals to the formation of Late Permian reefs. The corals are described with respect to taxonomy, microfacies and community structure. 8 genera and 7 species were recognized.Monothecalis minor n.sp.,Praewentzelella regulare n.sp. andWentzelella katoi magna n.ssp. are new. The corals represent three communities: (1)Praewentzelella community (Hawasina Complex), (2) cerioid coral community (Hawasina Complex), and (3)Waagenophyllum community (Hawasina Complex and Saih hatat). The corals from the Hawasina Complex and the Saih Hatat flourished in significantly different environments: Rugosa from the Hawasina Complex are representatives of reefs, whereas their counterparts from the Saih Hatat lived in level-bottom communities. Coral-bearing reefal boundstones are characterized by a diverse assemblage of sphinctozoans, inozoans, chaetetids, bryozoans, crinoids,Tubiphytes, Archaeolithoporella and algae. These communities produced bafflestones or framestones and were part of a sponge reef complex. The level-bottom community of the Saih Hatat is low-diverse only comprising rugose and tabulate corals. These of isolated colonies locally acted as bafflers.     

Macroscopic plant remains from the base of the Ust’-Pinega formation (Upper Vendian of the Arkhangelsk Region)

Plant macrofossil remains from the Lyamtsa and Arkhangelsk beds of the Ust’-Pinega Formation (Vendian) are reported for the first time. Three new taxa of vendotaenid algae showing cellular parenchymatous morphology are described: Archyfasma lamellata sp. nov., Favosiphycus wukii gen. et sp. nov., and Gandvikia caudata gen. et sp. nov. Phytostratigraphic characteristics allow the author to correlate the deposits under study with the base of the Mogilev Formation (Vendian of Podolia). A distinctive Lower Redkino vendotaenid flora is described for the first time. It is shown to precede the Upper Redkino Eoholynialen flora.     

New Genera and Species of ‘Giant’ Ostracods (Crustacea: Cyprididae) from Australia

Two new genera of giant ostracods Lacrimicypris n. gen. and Repandocypris n. gen. from Australia are described and eight new species:L. kumbar n. sp., R. austinensis n. sp., R. gleneagles n. sp., Mytilocypris coolcalalaya n. sp., Australocypris bennetti n. sp., A. beaumonti n. sp., A. mongerensis n. sp. and Caboncypris kondininensis n. sp. The number of known Australian genera and species of giant ostracods are now 6 and 21, respectively. Keys to genera and species are provided: all species can be distinguished using the hemipenis and male first leg. The usefulness of the bursa copulatrix as a species-level taxonomic character is highlighted. Most of the species described in this paper occur in salt lakes and existing ecological information on Western Australian species, as well as the distributions of all species, are summarized. Western Australia has a particularly rich halobiont fauna but current explanations relating richness of the halobiont fauna to the widespread occurrence of salt lakes appear incomplete. Australocypris bennetti is unusual in that it is frequently found at pH < 4. Its morphology differs slightly in acidic and alkaline waters.     

Late Norian (Triassic) Radiolaria from the Kotel’nyi Island (New Siberian Islands,Arctic, Russia)

Two radiolarian assemblages were recovered from upper Norian strata of the Kotel’nyi Island (Russia); the first assemblage, from the Monotis zabaikalica Subzone (lower part of Upper Norian), is represented by Betraccium inornatum Blome, Dumitricaella (?) parva Sugiyama, Ferresium titulense Blome and 24 other species; the second assemblage, from the Monotis subcircularis Subzone (upper part of Upper Norian), is represented by Crucella sp. cf. C. angulosa Carter, Kahlerosphaera acris Bragin, K. sp. cf. K. parvispinosa Kozur & Mostler, Pseudohagiastrum crassum (Carter) and 11 other species. Both assemblages have common taxa with Upper Norian and Rhaetian radiolarian assemblages of British Columbia and they display clear Boreal features: low taxonomic diversity, abundance of taxa known from high-latitude regions, absence or rare presence of taxa known from low-latitude areas. The presence of early representatives of nassellarian genera Droltus and Parahsuum is very distinctive. Six new species are described: Pseudohagiastrum spinosum nov. sp., Cantalum boreale nov. sp., Plafkerium carteri nov. sp., Droltus guttaeformis nov. sp., Laxtorum blomei nov. sp., L. glacialis nov. sp.     

New Paleocene Sepiid Coleoids (Cephalopoda) from Egypt: Evolutionary Significance and Origin of the Sepiid ‘Rostrum’

New coleoid cephalopods, assignable to the order Sepiida, are recorded from the Selandian/Thanetian boundary interval (Middle to Upper Paleocene transition, c. 59.2 Ma) along the southeastern margin (Toshka Lakes) of the Western Desert in Egypt. The two genera recognised, Aegyptosaepia n. gen. and ?Anomalosaepia Weaver and Ciampaglio, are placed in the families Belosaepiidae and ?Anomalosaepiidae, respectively. They constitute the oldest record to date of sepiids with a ‘rostrum-like’ prong. In addition, a third, generically and specifically indeterminate coleoid is represented by a single rostrum-like find. The taxonomic assignment of the material is based on apical parts (as preserved), i.e., guard, apical prong (or ‘rostrum-like’ structure), phragmocone and (remains of) protoconch, plus shell mineralogy. We here confirm the shell of early sepiids to have been bimineralic, i.e., composed of both calcite and aragonite. Aegyptosaepia lugeri n. gen., n. sp. reveals some similarities to later species of Belosaepia, in particular the possession of a distinct prong. General features of the phragmocone and protoconch of the new form are similar to both Belocurta (Middle Danian [Lower Paleocene]) and Belosaepia (Eocene). However, breviconic coiling and the presence of a longer ventral conotheca indicate closer ties with late Maastrichtian–Middle Danian Ceratisepia. In this respect, Aegyptosaepia n. gen. constitutes a link between Ceratisepia and the Eocene Belosaepia. The occurrence of the new genus near the Selandian/Thanetian boundary suggests an earlier origin of belosaepiids, during the early to Middle Paleocene. These earliest known belosaepiids may have originated in the Tethyan Realm. From northeast Africa, they subsequently spread to western India, the Arabian Plate and, probably via the Mediterranean region, to Europe and North America.     

Chromosomal Study of Colostethus brunneus from the Type Locality and Two Related Species (Anura – Dendrobatidae)

In this paper, we report a chromosomal study of three Brazilian species of Colostethus, C. brunneus from the type locality, Colostethus sp. (aff. trilineatus), and Colostethus sp., which is morphologically similar to C. brunneus. The diploid number for C. brunneus was 2n = 24 chromosomes, in agreement with that previously described for specimens from Peru. Colostethus sp. (aff. trilineatus) and Colostethus sp. showed a very similar karyotype with 22 chromosomes. The NOR was located on pair 3 in C. brunneus, on pair 4 in Colostethus sp. (aff. trilineatus), and on pair 2 in Colostethus sp. In one specimen of Colostethus sp., an additional NOR site was located on pair 7 in only one of the homologs. This extra Ag-NOR site was confirmed by FISH using an rDNA probe. In addition to the NOR location, the C-banding pattern was also species-specific, despite the similar chromosomal morphology of the species. These results indicate that although these species may be closely related, there is a clear dichotomy in their chromosome number.     

Checklist of the Diptera superfamilies Tephritoidea and?Sciomyzoidea of Finland (Insecta)

A revised checklist of the flies of superfamilies Tephritoidea and Sciomyzoidea of Finland is provided. The following families are covered: Eurygnathomyiidae, Lonchaeidae, Neottiophilidae, Pallopteridae, Piophilidae, Platystomatidae, Tephritidae, Ulidiidae (Tephritoidea); Coelopidae, Dryomyzidae, Heterocheilidae, Phaeomyiidae, Sciomyzidae, Sepsidae (Sciomyzoidea).     

Shell Beds as paleoecological puzzles: A case study from the Upper Permian of the Paraná Basin, Brazil

Summary Microstratigraphic, sedimentological, and taphonomic features of the Ferraz Shell Bed, from the Upper Permian (Kazanian-Tatarian?) Corumbataí Formation of Rio Claro Region (the Paraná Basin, Brazil), indicate that the bed consists of four distinct microstratigraphic units. They include, from bottom to top, a lag concentration (Unit 1), a partly reworked storm deposit (Unit 2), a rapidly deposited sandstone unit with three thin horizons recording episodes of reworking (Unit 3), and a shell-rich horizon generated by reworking/winnowing that was subsequently buried by storm-induced obrution deposit (Unit 4). The bioclasts of the Ferraz Shell Bed represent exclusively bivalve mollusks.Pinzonellaillusa andTerraia aequilateralis are the dominant species. Taphonomic analysis indicates that mollusks are heavily time-averaged (except for some parts of Unit 3). Moreover, different species are time-averaged to a different degree (disharmonious time-averaging). The units differ statistically from one another in their taxonomic and ecological composition, in their taphonomic pattern, and in the size-frequency distributions of the two most common species. Other Permian shell beds of the Paraná Basin are simílar to the Ferraz Shell Bed in their faunal composition (they typically contain similar sets of 5 to 10 bivalve species) and in their taphonomic, sedimentologic, and microstratigraphic characteristics. However, rare shell beds that include 2–3 species only and are dominated by articulated shells preserved in life position also occur. Diversity levels in the Permian benthic associations of the Paraná Basin were very low, with the point diversity of 2–3 species and with the within-habitat and basin-wide (alpha and gamma) diversities of 10 species, at most. The Paraná Basin benthic communities may have thus been analogous to low-diversity bivalve-dominated associations of the present-day Baltic Sea. The ‘Ferraz-type’ shell beds of the Paraná Basin represent genetically complex and highly heterogeneous sources of paleontological data. They are cumulative records of spectra of benthic ecosystems time-averaged over long periods of time (10²–10⁴ years judging from actualistic research). Detailed biostratinomic reconstructions of shell beds can not only offer useful insights into their depositional histories, but may also allow paleoecologists to optimize their sampling designs, and consequently, refine paleoecological and paleoenvironmental interpretations.     

Male genitalia of Charimachilis (Insecta: Archaeognatha) and the status of archaeognathan “paleoforms”

Organisms Diversity & Evolution - The paper continues the exploration of the morphological and functional diversity of male genitalia in Archaeognatha by the study of an undescribed...