The stem placental mammal <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prokennalestes</Emphasis> from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia

All materials, including upper and lower jaw fragments and isolated teeth, of two closely related species of the stem placental mammal Prokennalestes, P. minor Kielan-Jaworowska et Dashzeveg, 1989 (258 specimens) and P. trofimovi Kielan-Jaworowska et Dashzeveg, 1989 (251 specimens), from the type locality of Khovoor (Early Cretaceous of Mongolia) are described. These extensive materials allow for the first time the study of morphological and size variability in an Early Cretaceous mammal. Prokennalestes can be diagnosed by the dental formula I?/4, C1/1, P4–5/5, M3/3, presence of the Meckelian groove, the mandibular foramen positioned dorsally on a prominent longitudinal ridge, presence of the masseteric foramen, double-rooted and premolariform lower canine, submolariform P5 with a large protocone and minute metacone, presence of the preparastyle, cusplike postmetacrista, and cusplike conules with incipient conular cristae on the upper molars, premolariform p5, the protoconid distinctly higher than the metaconid, the paraconid and metaconid connate at the base, transverse protocristid, and presence of distal metacristid on the lower molars. Two Prokennalestes species are reliably distinguished by the tooth dimensions (P. minor is smaller by 20%), the position of the infraorbital foramen (under P4 in P. minor and between P4 and P5 or under P5 in P. trofimovi), the presence of protoconal swelling on P4 (usually absent in P. minor and usually present in P. trofimovi), the ectocingulum extension in M3 (longer in P. minor), position of the posterior end of the mandibular symphysis (under p2 in P. minor, under p2–p3 in P. trofimovi), and by the position of the posterior mental foramen (under p4 in P. minor and under p5 in P. trofimovi). Taking into account considerable morphological differences between the two samples, they are regarded as different species rather than sexual morphs of the same species. Prokennalestes is a basal eutherian mammal similar in phylogenetic position to other stem placentals (Eomaia, Murtoilestes, Bobolestes, Aspanlestes). A more exact phylogenetic position of Prokennalestes can be established based on rigorous phylogenetic analysis including a large set of known stem therian and stem placental taxa.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Perturbatacrusta</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">leini</Emphasis> n. gen., n. sp. a new microencruster incertae sedis (? sponge) from Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous platform margin carbonates of the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria

A new microencruster of unknown systematic position is described as Perturbatacrusta leini n. gen., n. sp. from the Late Jurassic Plassen Carbonate Platform of the Northern Calcareous Alps and its resediments (p.p. Barmstein Limestone). The labyrinthic interior canal system and marginal openings reveal a possible sponge origin. Differences and affinities to allied taxa such as Radiomura cautica Senowbari-Daryan and Schäfer are discussed. The biostratigraphic range of Perturbatacrusta leini n. gen., n. sp. known so far is Kimmeridgian to Tithonian (?Early Berriasian) so far reported from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece. Perturbatacrusta leini was detected in boundstones with a diverse association of microencrusters and mainly encrusting sponges occurring together with microbial crusts. Together with the other encrusting organisms and reef builders, Perturbatacrusta leini played an important role for the carbonate production and stabilization of the reefal and slope carbonates in the Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous of the western Neotethys realm.     

On the phylogeny of Early Cardioceratidae (Ammonoidea) and Cadoceratinae from Central Russia at the Bathonian–Callovian boundary

The phylogeny of the Middle Jurassic Cardioceratidae is reconstructed on the basis of a study of their shell morphology and analysis of their stratigraphic distribution. The phylogenetic lineage Cranocephalites → Arctocephalites → Arcticoceras → Paracadoceras is assigned to the subfamily Arctocephalitinae (Upper Bajocian–lowermost Callovian). The subfamily Cadoceratinae (Upper Bajocian–Callovian) also originating from Cranocephalites includes the phylogenetic lineage Greencephalites → Cadoceras → Longaeviceras; and lateral branches Chamoussetia and Platychamoussetia. The origin of the Early Callovian Eckhardites, also assigned to Cardioceratidae, is not established. The generic names Rondiceras and Cadochamoussetia are considered as junior synonyms of Cadoceras and Chamoussetia, respectively. The Early Callovian species Cadoceras bellabimba sp. nov. is described.     

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes concerning <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ormopteris</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pellaea</Emphasis> (Pteridaceae) in Brazil

We typify and clarify the nomenclature and identity of three species originally described in the fern genus Pellaea. We find Pellaea bongardiana to be illegitimate and recognize it as a synonym of Ormopteris riedelii (= P. riedelii). We also consider Pellaea brasiliensis to be a synonym of O. riedelii. The phylogenetic position of Pellaea flavescens, recently combined in Ormopteris (as O. flavescens), is discussed, and a key to all species of Ormopteris in Brazil is provided.     

Revision of the taxonomic status of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gloeoporus</Emphasis> (Polyporales,Basidiomycota) reveals two new species

Gloeoporus Mont. is characterized by an easily separated gelatinous hymenophore and a continuous hymenium over the pore mouth. Recent molecular taxonomic and phylogenetic research showed that morphological grouping of Gloeoporus is polyphyletic. The lack of comprehensive phylogenetic studies of Gloeoporus exacerbates confusion in determining the taxonomic position of the genus. To delimit the genus Gloeoporus, we performed multi-locus phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU), and the second-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2). The phylogenetic analyses revealed that current delimitation of Gloeoporus is not monophyletic. Gloeoporus s.s. includes mostly clamped species lacking cystidia. Some species of Gloeoporus featuring simple septa and cystidia are proposed to be renamed to Meruliopsis. Two new species of Gloeoporus were also observed and they are named Gloeoporus africanus and Gloeoporus orientalis.     

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.     

New and little known orthopteroid insects (polyneoptera) from fossil resins: Communication 2

New taxa of the suborder Blattina (order Dictyoptera), possibly belonging to the family Corydiidae (Erucoblatta semicaeca gen. et sp. nov., Miocene; Proholocompsa gen. nov., Eocene; and Holocompsa nigra sp. nov. and H. abbreviata sp. nov., Miocene) and belonging to the family Ectobiidae (Plectoptera electrina sp. nov., Miocene; Agrabtoblatta symmetrica gen. et sp. nov. and ?Symploce rete sp. nov., Pleistocene) are described. The taxonomic position of the enigmatic genus Raphidiomimula Grimaldi et Ross from the Upper Cretaceous is discussed.     

Phylogenetic and morphological analysis of a new cliff-dwelling species reveals a remnant ancestral diversity and evolutionary parallelism in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sonchus</Emphasis> (Asteraceae)

We describe a new cliff-dwelling species within Sonchus (Asteraceae): Sonchus boulosii and analyze its systematic position and evolutionary significance; in addition, we provide a key to the species of Sonchus in Morocco. Both morphological and ecological characteristics suggest a close relationship of S. boulosii with taxa of section Pustulati. However, ITS nrDNA and cpDNA matK markers indicate its uncertain position within the genus, but clear genetic differentiation from the remaining major clades. ITS phylogenetic trees show that likely evolutionary shifts to rocky habitat took place at least five times within genus Sonchus and that sect. Pustulati and S. boulosii clades have a clearly independent evolutionary origin. We postulate that the strong resemblance of S. boulosii to other rocky species reflects a phenomenon of homoplasy, probably driven by parallel evolutionary adaptations to the severe ecological constraints of its cliff face habitat. Therefore, a new section is also described, which includes S. boulosii as its sole representative: section Pulvinati. According to phylogenetic trees, the new clade may share its common ancestor with the clade comprising sections Maritimi and Arvenses, from which it is widely divergent in morphology and ecology, with the exception of Sonchus novae-zelandiae. However, the latter is a derived taxon, with high level of polyploidy unlike S. boulosii that shows 2n?=?18, basal chromosome number of the genus. Since sections Pulvinati and Pustulati seem to be quite old in Sonchus, we also hypothesize that some similarities, such as fruit morphology, may reflect the persistence of some primitive characteristics.     

Morphological similarity between echinoid taxa as a result of convergent and parallel evolution

Convergence is observed in groups, which are phylogenetically remote. A flat test is typical for some representatives of the order Cassiduloida, such as Jurassic and Early Cretaceous species of the genera Pygurus and Clypeus, and also many Cenozoic «sand dollars,» i.e., echinoids of the order Clypeasteroida. Both usually inhabit coarse sandy grounds of shallow areas. The superorder Spatangacea includes the so-called Echinocorys life form, which is characterized by an oval test with superficial nonpetaloid or subpetaloid ambulacra, marginal or inframarginal periproct, and absence of fascioles. These are the following genera: Early Cretaceous Corthya (family Collyritidae), Late CretaceousLate Paleocene Echinocorys (family Holas-teridae), Paleocene Isaster, Recent Isopatagus (family Isasteridae), Recent Scrippsechinus (family Palaeotro-pidae), and Recent Urechinus (family Urechinidae). In contrast to the majority of spatangaceans with the burrowing mode of life, these genera dwell on the substrate surface. In the Cenozoic, the monobasal apical system appears in some genera of the order Spatangoida, most genera of the order Cassiduloida, all groups of the orders Clypeasteroida and Oligopygoida, and in the genus Echinoneus (order Holectypoida). The paral-lelism is revealed in groups connected by remote relationships. At the end of the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) and, especially, Late Jurassic, the so-called disasterid echinoids (superorder Spatangacea) show a distinct trend to the loss of contact between ocular plates I and V and apices of the posterior ambulacra with the periproct, which are shifted to the anterior part of the apical system (genera Collyrites, Collyropsis, Cyclolam-pas). At the same time, the peristome of some genera was displaced to the anterior margin of the test, which became bilaterally symmetrical in outline. However, in the Jurassic, all spatangaceans remained disasterid echinoids, i.e., had a disjunct apical system, which can be interpreted as a somewhat “abnormal” state. This trend disappeared only at the beginning of the Cretaceous, when “normal” forms with a joint apical system appeared, that is, the families Holasteridae (genera Eoholaster and Holaster, order Holasteroida) and Toxas-teridae (genus Toxaster, order Spatangoida). Interesting examples of synchronous parallelism are provided by the appearance of meridosternous (diasternal) plastron in two collyritid genera (Tetraromania and Corthya) in the Barremian, whereas in the holasterid genus Holaster, this type of plastron apparently appeared in the Valanginian (heterochronous parallelism). The ethmolitic type of the apical system appeared at the end of the Cretaceous and Paleocene at least in five families: Schizasteridae, Paleopneustidae, Brissidae, Spatangidae, and Loveniidae.     

The origin and taxonomic position of the Crimean endemic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrodiaetus pjushtchi</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera,Lycaenidae) based on the data on karyology,ecology, and molecular phylogenetics

The geographic ranges, karyotypes, ecological preferences, and mitochondrial DNA polymorphism were analyzed to reveal the origin and taxonomic position of Agrodiaetus pljushtchi and related species of A. damone species group. According to the data obtained, the common ancestor of these species originated in Asia Minor in Late Pliocene, 1.2–1.8 million years ago. In Early Pleistocene (0.8–1.2 million years ago), a representative of this group migrated into the Crimea and gave rise to A. pljushtchi. Another branch originated from the common ancestor, which migrated into Central Asia and Siberia and gave rise to a variety of partly sympatric taxa. Recently, representatives of the Central Asian — Siberian lineage occupied Eastern Europe and approached the area of A. pljushtchi but did not overlap with it. The karyotype n = 67 is an apomorphy of the A. damone species complex. However, this karyotype is not species-specific and cannot be used to differentiate taxa within the complex. The similarity of karyotypes is thus not sufficient to consider A. pljushtchi and A. damone as conspecific taxa. The natural history data support the isolated position of A. pljushtchi, and phylogenetic analysis shows that A. pljushtchi and A. damone are not closely related.     

Molecular genetic analysis of the suprageneric system of casebearer moths,with a description of a new genus from the tribe Carpochenini Cǎpuşe, 1973 (Lepidoptera,Coleophoridae)

Based on a complex approach including morphological and molecular genetic methods, the taxonomic position of two casebearer moth species Coleophora tsherkesi Falkovitsh, 1970 and C. isabellina Falkovitsh, 1970 (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae) is discussed. On the phylogenetic tree based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI), two species form a common cluster with species of the genera Ionescumia, Carpochena, and Goniodoma. Data on the molecular phylogeny and morphology justify the placement of Coleophora tsherkesi and C. isabellina in a separate genus Falkmisa Anikin et Dyomin, gen. n. Thus, the tribe Carpochenini includes three genera: Ionescumia, Carpochena, and Falkmisa.     

Shell Microstructure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhynchonella loxiae</Emphasis> Fischer (Brachiopoda,Rhynchonellida) from the Upper Volgian of Moscow Region

The shell microstructure of Late Jurassic rhynchonellids of the family Rhynchonellidae from the boreal basin of the Russian Platform is studied for the first time. The studied rhynchonellids differ in the shell microstructure from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rhynchonellids of the families Cyclothyrididae, Praecyclothyrididae, Basiliolidae, and Norellidae from the warm-water Mediterranean basin. The revealed peculiarities of shell structure of Rhynchonella loxiae (type species of Rhynchonella) may be added to the diagnosis of Rhynchonella and should be considered in characterizing the family Rhynchonellidae.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dagysina</Emphasis>—A new nodosariid genus (foraminifera) from the Upper Triassic of Kotel’ny Island,New Siberian Islands

A new nodosariid genus Dagysina gen. nov. with the type species Dagysina novosibirica sp. nov. is described from the Norian deposits of Kotel’ny Island, New Siberian Islands. A close phylogenetic relationship between Dagysina and the Early Liassic Frondiculinita is revealed based on morphological resemblance and an identical geographic range.     

New and little-known orthopteroid insects (Polyneoptera) from fossil resins: Communication 4

New taxa of Ensifera and Caelifera orthopterans (Insecta, Orthoptera), from the families Gryllotalpidae [Marchandiinae, subfam. nov. (Lower Cretaceous)], Haglotettigoniidae [?Haglotettigonia aenigmatosa, sp. nov. (Lower Cretaceous)], Tettigoniidae [Meconematinae: Archixizicus occidentalis, gen. et sp. nov. (Eocene), Eogrigoriora gracilis, gen. et sp. nov. (Eocene), Miophlugis rostratus, gen. et sp. nov. (Miocene)], Stenopelmatidae [Siinae: Electrosia baltica, gen. et sp. nov. (Eocene); Gryllacridinae: Plesiolarnaca prior, gen. et sp. nov. (Eocene)] and Tridactylidae [Mongoloxyinae: Birmitoxya intermedia, gen. et sp. nov. (Upper Cretaceous). The Eocene species Lipotactes martynovi Zeun. and L. bispinatus Weidn. are transferred to the genus Eomortoniellus Zeun. (Tettigoniidae: Tympanophorinae); Prorhaphidophora zeuneri Chop. and P. tachycinoides Chop. are transferred to the genus Protroglophilus Gor. (Rhaphidophoridae: Protroglophilinae). The Eocene species E. handlirschi Zeun., species of the genus Protroglophilus, and a possible member of the genus Succinotettix Piton (Tetrigidae: Tetriginae), as well as a Miocene representative of the genus Archaeoellipes Heads (Tridactylidae: Tridactylinae) are also discussed.     

Birds as hosts of ixodid ticks (Acarina,Ixodidae)

rophic relations between ixodid ticks of the world fauna parasitizing as adults on birds are analyzed. These ticks include 60 out of 650 species of the family Ixodidae and belong to the genera Ixodes, Haemaphysalis, and Amblyomma. Relations between birds and ticks of the genus Ixodes are most ancient. Colonial marine birds seem to be the first hosts of ixodid ticks in the class of birds. Trophic specialization of ticks is not associated with bird taxa, because in most cases no tick specificity is caused by either phylogenetic features of hosts, or specific environmental conditions.     

Phylogenetic Analyses of Cretaceous Fossils Related to Chloranthaceae and their Evolutionary Implications

Chloranthaceae were one of the first common lines during the early radiation of angiosperms, possibly reflecting adaptation to more open habitats. Phylogenetic analyses clarify the position of Cretaceous mesofossils in molecular trees of Recent taxa. Plants that produced Asteropollis pollen, with tepals adnate to a single carpel, are nested in crown group Chloranthaceae with Hedyosmum; Canrightiopsis, with three stamens and no perianth, is sister to Sarcandra and Chloranthus; and Canrightia is a stem relative that illustrates a still bisexual stage in floral reduction. Plants that produced Pennipollis pollen are related to Chloranthaceae and/or Ceratophyllum rather than monocots. Appomattoxia, which produced Tucanopollis pollen, has equivocal affinities, but Pseudoasterophyllites, with similar pollen and stems with reduced leaves, may be a link between Chloranthaceae and Ceratophyllum. These results imply that flowers became unisexual before losing the perianth, while bisexual flowers in Canrightiopsis, Sarcandra, and Chloranthus are secondarily derived from unisexual flowers.