The first definitive Middle Jurassic atoposaurid (Crocodylomorpha,Neosuchia), and a discussion on the genus Theriosuchus

Atoposaurids were a clade of semiaquatic crocodyliforms known from the Late Jurassic to the latest Cretaceous. Tentative remains from Europe, Morocco, and Madagascar may extend their range into the Middle Jurassic. Here we report the first unambiguous Middle Jurassic (late Bajocian–Bathonian) atoposaurid: an anterior dentary from the Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK. A comprehensive review of atoposaurid specimens demonstrates that this dentary can be referred to Theriosuchus based on several derived characters, and differs from the five previously recognized species within this genus. Despite several diagnostic features, we conservatively refer it to Theriosuchus sp., pending the discovery of more complete material. As the oldest known definitively diagnostic atoposaurid, this discovery indicates that the oldest members of this group were small‐bodied, had heterodont dentition, and were most likely widespread components of European faunas. Our review of mandibular and dental features in atoposaurids not only allows us to present a revised diagnosis of Theriosuchus, but also reveals a great amount of variability within this genus, and indicates that there are currently five valid species that can be differentiated by unique combinations of dental characteristics. This variability can be included in future broad‐scale cladistics analyses of atoposaurids and closely related crocodyliforms, which promise to help untangle the complicated taxonomy and evolutionary history of Atoposauridae. © 2015 The Authors. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Linnean Society of London     

A new species of Dyrosaurus (Crocodylomorpha, Dyrosauridae) from the early Eocene of Morocco: phylogenetic implications

A new dyrosaurid is described from the Ypresian of the phosphatic deposits of the Oulad Abdoun Basin of Morocco. It is based on numerous cranial and postcranial remains, allowing an almost complete reconstruction. This new Dyrosaurus species, Dyrosaurus maghribensis sp. nov. , is currently only known from Morocco. It differs from D. phosphaticus , present in contemporaneous levels of Algeria and Tunisia, by several autapomorpies, including a smooth dorsal margin of the parietal and widely opened choanae. A phylogenetic analysis, using 47 taxa and 234 morphological characters, shows the dyrosaurids as the sister taxon of pholidosaurids, which include Elosuchus , Sarcosuchus , Terminonaris and Pholidosaurus , and the thalattosuchians. Goniopholididae is a non-monophyletic group; however, if dyrosaurids are not included in the analysis, the result differs and the goniopholidids form a distinct clade. If Thalattosuchia is excluded, both Goniopholididae and Pholidosauridae become paraphyletic assemblages. Thus, phylogenetic problems remain with respect to longirostrine clade, and more attention should be paid to resolving their evolutionary relationships amongst the crocodyliforms.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 148 , 603–656.     

A new species of Theriosuchus (Atoposauridae, Crocodylomorpha) from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Guimarota, Portugal

A new species of an atoposaurid crocodilian, Theriosuchus guimarotae, is described from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Portugal. Theriosuchus guimarotae can be distinguished from other species of Theriosuchus by a lateral surface of squamosal bevelled ventrally; a rounded, caudally projecting and dorsally sculptured caudolateral corner of the squamosal; a premaxillomaxillary suture aligned caudomedially in dorsal aspect; a minimum space between the supratemporal foramina that comprises one third of the total width of the cranial table; a minimum width of the frontal between the orbits that comprises one third of the maximum width of the skull at the orbits; a dentition that comprises only pseudocaniniform and lanceolate-shaped teeth; the presence of an external mandibular fenestra and all vertebral bodies amphicoelous. Its osteology also sheds light on the diagnosis of Theriosuchus within Atoposauridae. The material additionally includes specimens representative of several ontogenetic stages, each of which is discussed here. With its Late Jurassic age, T. guimarotae represents the oldest well-preserved material of Theriosuchus and reveals further knowledge about the palaeobiogeography of the genus in western Europe.     

Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the subtribe Aporiina (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): implications for the origin of Australian butterflies

The Australian fauna is composed of several major biogeographical elements reflecting different spatial and temporal histories. Two groups of particular interest are the Gondwanan Element, reflecting an ancient origin in Gondwana or southern Gondwana (southern vicariance hypothesis), and the Asian Element, reflecting a more recent origin in Asia, Eurasia or Laurasia (northern dispersal hypothesis). Theories regarding the origin and evolution of butterflies (Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea) in Australia are controversial, with no clear consensus. Here, we investigate the phylogenetic and historical biogeographical relationships of the subtribe Aporiina, a widespread taxon with disjunct distributions in each of the major zoogeographical regions. Attention is paid to origins of the subtribe in the Australian Region for which several conflicting hypotheses have been proposed for the Old World genus Delias Hübner. Our phylogenetic reconstruction was based on analysis of fragments of two nuclear genes (elongation factor‐1α, wingless) and one mitochondrial gene (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) for 30 taxa. Phylogenetic analyses based on maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference of the combined data set (2729 bp; 917 parsimony informative characters) recovered six major lineages within the monophyletic Aporiina, with the following topology: (Cepora + Prioneris + (Mylothris + (Aporia + Delias group + Catasticta group))). Given a probable age of origin of the stem‐group near the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (69–54 Mya), followed by diversification of the crown‐group in the early to mid Tertiary (57–45 Mya), we show that an origin of the Aporiina in either southern Gondwana or Laurasia is equally parsimonious, and that dispersal has played a major role in shaping the underlying phylogenetic pattern. We tentatively conclude that an origin in southern Gondwanan is more likely; however, neither hypothesis satisfactorily explains the present‐day distribution, and additional lower‐level phylogenies are needed to determine the directionality of dispersal events of several taxa and to reject one hypothesis over the other. Dispersal is inferred to have occurred primarily during cooler periods when land bridges or stepping‐stones were available between many of the zoogeographical regions. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 90 , 413–440.     

Phylogenetic relationships of the Atoposauridae (archosauria,crocodylomorpha)

A systematic revision of the family Atoposauridae is presented, interpreting and reviewing their relationships. The seventy‐one characters have been divided into cranial, postcranial and metric which have been used in three separate cladistic analyses in order to discuss their concordance. Polarities, in each case, have been deduced from distinct outgroups. We have used a PHYLIP program (version 2.9). There are five valid taxa of Atoposauridae: Alligatorellus beaumonti (rejecting the two subspecific taxa) Alligatorium meyeri, Theriosuchus pusillus. Alligatorium depereti (which is transferred to a new genus Montsecosuchus) and Aloposaurus (discussed as a nomen dubium). The three cladograms are not fully concordant. The relative level of derivation in postcranial and cranial characters suggests congruence. The metric traits seem to retain, in general, a primitive condition. The final proposed cladogram clusters Alligatorium + Alligatorellus as the sister group of Montsecosuchus + Theriosuchus.     

Molecular systematics of Selenops spiders (Araneae: Selenopidae) from North and Central America: implications for Caribbean biogeography

The Caribbean region includes a geologically complex mix of islands, which have served as a backdrop for some significant studies of biogeography, mostly with vertebrates. Here, we use the tropical/subtropical spider genus Selenops (Selenopidae) to obtain a finer resolution of the role of geology in shaping patterns of species diversity. We obtained a broad geographic sample from over 200 localities from both the islands and American mainland. DNA sequence data were generated for three mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene for eleven outgroup taxa and nearly 60 selenopid species. Phylogenetic analysis of the data revealed several biogeographic patterns common to other lineages that have diversified in the region, the most significant being: (1) a distinct biogeographic break between Northern and Southern Lesser Antilles, although with a slight shift in the location of the disjunction; (2) diversification within the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola; (3) higher diversity of species in the Greater Antilles relative to the Lesser Antilles. However, a strikingly unique pattern in Caribbean Selenops is that Cuban species are not basal in the Caribbean clade. Analyses to test competing hypotheses of vicariance and dispersal support colonization through GAARlandia, an Eocene–Oligocene land span extending from South America to the Greater Antilles, rather than over‐water dispersal. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101 , 288–322.     

Cranial anatomy and systematics of Hypacrosaurus altispinus,and a comparative analysis of skull growth in lambeosaurine hadrosaurids (Dinosauria: Ornithischia)

The cranial anatomy of the helmet‐crested lambeosaurine Hypacrosaurus altispinus (Ornithischia: Hadrosauridae) is described, with a focus on ontogenetic and individual variation in phylogenetically significant characters of the cranial crest, braincase, and facial skeleton. Cranial material of H. altispinus represents a relatively complete growth series that includes crestless juveniles of less than half the size of large individuals with fully developed crests. Cranial ontogeny is compared with other lambeosaurines using bivariate morphometrics and through qualitative comparison of a size‐standardized cranial growth series. Bivariate analyses reveal that the relative growth of the skull and cranial crest of H. altispinus and H. stebingeri are similar, and that Hypacrosaurus more closely resembles Corythosaurus than Lambeosaurus. Hypacrosaurus altispinus is systematically revised. The taxon is characterized by five autapomorphies, most of which are concentrated in the skull, as well as an enlarged terminal ischial foot. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian likelihood (Mk+gamma) phylogenetic analyses were conducted to test the monophyly of the genus. Hypacrosaurus monophyly is corroborated in light of new anatomical data. Although H. stebingeri and H. altispinus share few derived characters of the skull, the hypothesis that H. stebingeri is a metaspecies that represents the ancestor of H. altispinus cannot be rejected. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 159 , 398–434.     

Evolutionary patterns of Clavatoraceae (Charophyta) in the mesogean basins analysed according to environmental change during Malm and lower cretaceous

Evolutionary patterns of Clavatoraceae during the Malm and the Lower Cretaceous can be understood by considering how palaeoecological constraints of these charophytes were affected by palaeoenvironmental change. Speciation of Clavatoraceae reached maxima in the Tithonian and especially in the Lower Barremian, coinciding with an important areal extension and environmental diversification of freshwater swamps. Extinction reached a peak in the Upper Barremian, coinciding with the marine flooding of freshwater environments in Mesogea, and continued through the Aptian and Albian due to substitution of carbonatic freshwater swamps by terrigenous deltaic environments and probably by development of highly competitive aquatic flora of angiosperms. Anagenetic change within species attained maxima during the Berriasian and Lower Barremian, when freshwater environments became extensively developed. Absence of change (stasis) was marked during the Valanginian and Hauterivian, in a geological context of environmental stability and areal reduction of the freshwater environments.     

Phylogenetic analysis of Russian Permian dicynodonts (Therapsida: Anomodontia): implications for Permian biostratigraphy and Pangaean biogeography

Dicynodont therapsids have been known from the Upper Permian of Eastern Europe since the beginning of the twentieth century, but the phylogenetic relationships of these taxa have not been examined cladistically. Here we present the results of a phylogenetic analysis that includes eight Permian dicynodonts from Russia as well as 18 taxa best known from southern Africa. Our results do not conflict with much of the established picture of Permian dicynodont phylogeny, but are consistent with several novel hypotheses. Most importantly, our analysis suggests that the genus Dicynodon is paraphyletic, and we question its use in correlating widely separated basins. However, we cannot strongly reject a monophyletic Dicynodon . Our results also indicate that the closest Permian relatives of Kannemeyeria lived in Russia, suggesting a Laurasian origin for the lineage that includes this important Triassic taxon. The phylogeny presented here also suggests a Laurasian origin for several other dicynodont clades, but a Gondwanan origin is equally likely given the data at hand. Regardless of where these groups originated, there appears to be some endemism among Late Permian dicynodont faunas. Although our understanding of dicynodont phylogeny is improving, this study emphasizes the disparity in sampling of the dicynodont record between Gondwana and Laurasia and the need for a large scale phylogenetic analysis of Permian and Triassic dicynodonts.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 139 , 157−212.     

Molecular systematics of the gonorynchiform fishes (Teleostei) based on whole mitogenome sequences: implications for higher-level relationships within the Otocephala

Although the order Gonorynchiformes includes only 31 species assigned to seven genera and four families, it exhibits a large variety of anatomical structures, making difficult the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships among its representatives. Within the basal teleosts, the Gonorynchiformes belong to the Otocephala where they have been alternatively placed as the sister group of the Otophysi and of the Clupeiformes. In this context, we investigated the phylogeny of the Gonorynchiformes using whole mitogenome sequences from 40 species (six being newly determined for this study). Our taxonomic sampling included at least one species of each gonorynchiform genus and of each other major otocephalan lineage. Unambiguously aligned, concatenated mitogenomic sequences (excluding the ND6 gene and control region) were divided into five partitions (1st, 2nd, and 3rd codon positions, tRNA genes, and rRNA genes) and partitioned Bayesian analyses were conducted. The resultant phylogenetic trees were fully resolved, with most of the nodes well supported by the high posterior probabilities. As expected, the Otocephala were recovered as monophyletic. Within this group, the mitogenome data supported the monophyly of Alepocephaloidei, Gonorynchiformes, Otophysi, and Clupeiformes. The Gonorynchiformes and the Otophysi formed a sister group, rending the Ostariophysi monophyletic. This result conflicts with previous mitogenomic phylogenetic studies, in which a sister relationship was found between Clupeiformes and Gonorynchiformes. We discussed the possible causes of this incongruence. Within the Gonorynchiformes, the following original topology was found: (Gonorynchus (Chanos (Phractolaemus (Cromeria (Grasseichthys (Kneria, Parakneria)))))). We confirmed that the paedomorphic species Cromeria nilotica and Grasseichthys gabonensis belong to the family Kneriidae; however, the two species together did not form a monophyletic group. This result challenges the value of reductive or absent characters as synapomorphies in this group.     

A new neosuchian crocodylomorph (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Early Cretaceous of north-east Brazil

Abstract:  A new neosuchian crocodylomorph, Susisuchus jaguaribensis sp. nov., is described based on fragmentary but diagnostic material. It was found in fluvial-braided sediments of the Lima Campos Basin, north-eastern Brazil, 115 km from where Susisuchus anatoceps was found, in rocks of the Crato Formation, Araripe Basin. S. jaguaribensis and S. anatoceps share a squamosal–parietal contact in the posterior wall of the supratemporal fenestra. A phylogenetic analysis places the genus Susisuchus as the sister group to Eusuchia, confirming earlier studies. Because of its position, we recovered the family name Susisuchidae, but with a new definition, being node-based group including the last common ancestor of Susisuchus anatoceps and Susisuchus jaguaribensis and all of its descendents. This new species corroborates the idea that the origin of eusuchians was a complex evolutionary event and that the fossil record is still very incomplete.     

The oldest durophagous teleosauroid (Crocodylomorpha,Thalattosuchia) from the lower Bathonian of central High Atlas,Morocco

Marine crocodylomorphs were particularly abundant in Europe during the Middle Jurassic, but were very scarce in Africa. New finds of thalattosuchian cranial remains in Morocco suggest that this scarcity is probably related to poor sampling rather than original diversity. These remains pertain to the coastal thalattosuchians, the teleosauroids, and particularly to the clade grouping the blunt‐toothed ‘Steneosaurus’ obtusidens and the genus Machimosaurus. A new tribe is erected grouping these two taxa: Machimosaurini. Until now the machimosaurins have been known from the middle Callovian. The new material extends the presence of this group further back to the lower Bathonian, nearly 5 myr earlier. The machimosaurins are the only teleosauroid group that has been recently reviewed, and the difference between the revised diversity provided herein and that previously reported is large. A review of other teleosauroids and clear establishment of their phylogenetic relationships are also likely to have considerable impact on their observed diversity. So, until a complete review of the teleosauroids is carried out, the results of crocodylomorph diversity analyses should be treated with caution.     

Molecular phylogeny and systematics of the Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea): higher classification and biogeography

The systematic relationships of the butterfly family Pieridae are poorly understood. Much of our current understanding is based primarily on detailed morphological observations made 50–70 years ago. However, the family and its putative four subfamilies and two tribes, have rarely been subjected to rigorous phylogenetic analysis. Here we present results based on an analysis of molecular characters used to reconstruct the phylogeny of the Pieridae in order to infer higher‐level classification above the generic level and patterns of historical biogeography. Our sample contained 90 taxa representing 74 genera and six subgenera, or 89% of all genera recognized in the family. Three complementary approaches were employed: (1) a combined analysis of a 30 taxon subset for sequences from four gene regions, including elongation factor‐1 alpha (EF‐1α), wingless, cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), and 28S (3675 bp, 1031 parsimony‐informative characters), mainly to establish higher‐level relationships, (2) a single‐gene analysis of the 90 taxon data set for sequences from EF‐1α (1066 bp, 364 parsimony‐informative characters), mainly to establish lower‐level relationships, and (3) an all available data analysis of the entire data set for sequences from the four genes, to recover both deep and shallow nodes. Analyses using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference provided similar results. All supported monophyly for the four subfamilies but not for the two tribes, with the Anthocharidini polyphyletic and the Pierini paraphyletic. The combined and all available data analyses support the following relationships among the subfamilies: ((Pseudopontiinae + Dismorphiinae) + (Coliadinae + Pierinae)), corroborating Ehrlich’s 1958 phenetic hypothesis. On the basis of these analyses, and additional morphological and life history evidence, we propose a reclassification of the subfamily Pierinae into two tribes (Anthocharidini s.s., Pierini s.s.) and two informal groups (Colotis group, Leptosia), with the tribe Pierini s.s. subdivided into three subtribes (Appiadina, Pierina, Aporiina) and three genera (Elodina, Dixeia, Belenois) of uncertain status (incertae sedis). The combined and all available data analyses support the following relationships among the Pierinae: (Colotis group + Anthocharidini s.s. + Leptosia + (Elodina + ((Dixeia + Belenois) + Appiadina + Pierina + Aporiina))). Application of a molecular clock calibrated using fossil evidence and semiparametric rate smoothing suggests that divergence between the Pierina and Aporiina occurred no later than the Palaeocene (> 60 Myr). The minimum estimate for the age of the crown‐group of the Pieridae was 112–82 Myr, with a mean of 95 Myr. A historical biogeographical hypothesis is proposed to explain the present‐day distribution of the clade Pseudopontiinae + Dismorphiinae, which argues for an origin of the two subfamilies in western Gondwana (Africa + South America) during the Late Cretaceous. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 147 , 239–275.     

Sunosuchus (Archosauria, Crocodyliformes) from the Toutunhe Formation (Middle Jurassic) of the Southern Junggar Basin (Xinjiang, NW-China)

A new specimen of the widespread Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Asian gonipholidid crocodilian genus Sunosuchus is described on the basis of a partial skeleton from the Upper Toutunhe Formation (Middle Jurassic, ?Bathonian-Callovian) of Liuhonggou, SW of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China. The specimen is represented by a partial mandible, teeth, vertebrae, limb and girdle bones and osteoderms. It can be distinguished from other nominal species of the genus by a unique combination of characters: slightly heterodontous dentition, strongly sculptured posteroventral part of the mandible, short fenestra mandibularis, convex dorsal surface of the retroarticular process, keeled cervical vertebral centra and ventral osteoderms with a distinctive sculpture of wide pits and narrow ridges. The heterodontous dentition is a potential autapomorphy of this form. The new specimen is closest in morphology to material described recently from the Callovian of Kirghisia as Sunosuchus sp. It represents the second Middle Jurassic record of the genus, the first crocodile from the Toutunhe Formation, the first substantial crocodile find from the Mesozoic of the Southern Junggar Basin, and the first Middle Jurassic record of Sunosuchus from China. This extends both the paleobiogeographical distribution of the genus in Asia and its stratigraphic distribution in China considerably.     

Snipe flies (Diptera: Rhagionidae) from the Daohugou Formation (Jurassic), Inner Mongolia,and the systematic position of related records in China

Abstract: Four new species referred to three new genera and one known genus of fossil snipe flies (Family Rhagionidae) from the Daohugou Formation of Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia, north‐eastern China, are described as Daohugorhagio elongatus gen. et sp. nov., Parachrysopilus jurassicus gen. et sp. nov., Sinorhagio sinuatus sp. nov. and Trichorhagio gregarius gen. et sp. nov. These taxa represent only a fraction of the rhagionid assemblage in the Daohugou biota. They contribute towards the high diversity and abundance of snipe flies during the latest Middle Jurassic – earliest Late Jurassic. The diagnosis of Sinorhagio K. Zhang, Yang and Ren, 2006 is revised based on the new results. Many genera and species from the Lower Cretaceous of China have been assigned to Rhagionidae. Most of these do not actually belong to this family: specifically Mesorhagiophryne incerta Hong and Wang, 1990, M. robusta Hong and Wang, 1990, Mesostratiomyia laiyangensis Hong and Wang, 1990, Stratiomyopsis robusta Hong and Wang, 1990, Longhuaia orientalis Hong, Wang and Sun, 1992, Basilorhagio venusius Ren, 1995. Pauromyia oresbia Ren, 1998 is transferred to an archisargid genus as Sharasargus oresbius (Ren, 1998) comb. nov.     

Evolutionary and biogeographical history of an ancient and global group of arachnids (Arachnida: Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi) with a new taxonomic arrangement

We investigate the phylogeny, biogeography, time of origin and diversification, ancestral area reconstruction and large‐scale distributional patterns of an ancient group of arachnids, the harvestman suborder Cyphophthalmi. Analysis of molecular and morphological data allow us to propose a new classification system for the group; Pettalidae constitutes the infraorder Scopulophthalmi new clade , sister group to all other families, which are divided into the infraorders Sternophthalmi new clade and Boreophthalmi new clade . Sternophthalmi includes the families Troglosironidae, Ogoveidae, and Neogoveidae; Boreophthalmi includes Stylocellidae and Sironidae, the latter family of questionable monophyly. The internal resolution of each family is discussed and traced back to its geological time origin, as well as to its original landmass, using methods for estimating divergence times and ancestral area reconstruction. The origin of Cyphophthalmi can be traced back to the Carboniferous, whereas the diversification time of most families ranges between the Carboniferous and the Jurassic, with the exception of Troglosironidae, whose current diversity originates in the Cretaceous/Tertiary. Ancestral area reconstruction is ambiguous in most cases. Sternophthalmi is traced back to an ancestral land mass that contained New Caledonia and West Africa in the Permian, whereas the ancestral landmass for Neogoveidae included the south‐eastern USA and West Africa, dating back to the Triassic. For Pettalidae, most results include South Africa, or a combination of South Africa with the Australian plate of New Zealand or Sri Lanka, as the most likely ancestral landmass, back in the Jurassic. Stylocellidae is reconstructed to the Thai‐Malay Penisula during the Jurassic. Combination of the molecular and morphological data results in a hypothesis for all the cyphophthalmid genera, although the limited data available for some taxa represented only in the morphological partition negatively affects the phylogenetic reconstruction by decreasing nodal support in most clades. However, it resolves the position of many monotypic genera not available for molecular analysis, such as Iberosiro, Odontosiro, Speleosiro, Managotria or Marwe, although it does not place Shearogovea or Ankaratra within any existing family. The biogeographical data show a strong correlation between relatedness and formerly adjacent landmasses, and oceanic dispersal does not need to be postulated to explain disjunct distributions, especially when considering the time of divergence. The data also allow testing of the hypotheses of the supposed total submersion of New Zealand and New Caledonia, clearly falsifying submersion of the former, although the data cannot reject the latter. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105 , 92–130.     

晚白垩世精美临河盗龙(Linheraptor exquisitus)的分类位置及其对驰龙科系统学的意义（英文）

驰龙类的精美临河盗龙(Linheraptor exquisitus)于2010年基于一件近完整骨架命名,化石采自内蒙古西部巴彦满达呼大门地点上白垩统乌兰苏海组。然而,最近三项研究认为精美临河盗龙是蒙古乌哈托喀地点上白垩统捷达克赫塔组发现的白魔龙(Tsaagan mangas)的晚出异名。本文依据61个形态学特征区分精美临河盗龙和白魔龙,否认了上述观点。许多特征来自对精美临河盗龙正型标本先前未修理部分,特别是头骨左侧的观察。这些新观察支持和加强了我们先前认为的精美临河盗龙和白魔龙属于两个不同属种的观点。精美临河盗龙具有的一些特征之前被认为是白魔龙或者其他驰龙类的自近裔特征,这表明进步的骨骼特征在驰龙类中的分布异常复杂。认为精美临河盗龙和白魔龙为同物异名的观点实际上忽略了很多微小的形态变异。增加分类取样可以将那些看似显著的鉴定特征转化为更加细微的形态变异,而这些形态变异对于精细的系统发育分析具有潜在的重要意义。在未来的研究中,利用连续数据的严格定量方法,有助于处理类似信息。     

New occurrences of the wood Protocupressinoxylon purbeckensis Francis: implications for terrestrial biomes in southwestern Europe at the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary

Abstract:  Previously known from the Kimmeridgian–Portlandian of Dorset (UK) only, Protocupressinoxylon purbeckensis wood is reported here from the Kimmeridgian of Asturias (Spain) and Ajoie (Switzerland). The morphospecies taxonomy and nomenclature are discussed, and new supplementary illustrations are given. The P. purbeckensis tree was growing in dry strongly seasonal (tropophilous) environments, and the new occurrences suggest that such a climate prevailed on land all over southwestern Europe at the end of the Jurassic (Kimmeridgian sensu anglico – Portlandian). The review of fossil wood data indicates that such a stressful environment may have constrained terrestrial biocoenoses and their evolution at the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. But wood generic diversity curves are also strikingly similar to that drawn 20 years ago for nonmarine tetrapods, implying a fossil Lagerstätte effect.     

Review of the systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the Sabethini (Diptera: Culicidae)

This paper reviews the historical treatment of the tribe Sabethini and genus-group taxa and examines the unusual life histories associated with the group. Although recognized by taxonomists as distinct, the taxonomic position of sabethines has been questioned and their rank within the family Culicidae unstable. In order to evaluate the current status of the classification of the tribe a cladistic analysis is performed. Thirty-seven taxa are selected from within the Sabethini and two outgroups were chosen from the tribe Aedini. Exemplars are selected from genus-group taxa world-wide and new and traditional character systems examined in larval, pupal and adult life stages. The results firmly establish the sabethines as a monophyletic group. However, the genera Runchomyia , Tripteroides and Wyeomyia are not demonstrably monophyletic. In addition, the data support the New World taxa as a monophyletic group to a paraphyletic assemblage of Old World taxa. The pattern displayed by the cladogram suggests the ability to vector arboviruses has arisen more than once in mosquitoes.