First record of Eretmophyllum (Ginkgoales) with well-preserved cuticle from the Middle Jurassic of the Ordos Basin,Inner Mongolia,China

The genus Eretmophyllum, a characteristic and widespread taxon of the order Ginkgoales, is restricted in the Mesozoic floras of Eurasia. In China, although some specimens were assigned to Eretmophyllum based on gross leaf morphology, none have epidermal structure, which is essential for species delimitation within this genus. In this paper, we describe a new species, Eretmophyllum neimengguensis n. sp., from the Middle Jurassic Yan’an Formation of the Ordos Basin, China. This is the first record of the genus Eretmophyllum (Ginkgoales) from the Ordos Basin as well as from China based upon the gross leaf morphology and the epidermal structure. The new record significantly extends the stratigraphic and geographic distribution of Eretmophyllum in China and Eurasia. It also improves our understanding of its leaf morphology, epidermal structure, and past diversity. The taxonomic position and the stratigraphic and geographical range of the genus Eretmophyllum are discussed. Briefly, leaf morphological and epidermal characters of the new species, associated plant assemblages, and sedimentology indicate that the regional climate of the Ordos Basin was warm and humid with seasonal temperature and precipitation fluctuations in warm-temperate zone during the Middle Jurassic. Furthermore, given the relationship between the distribution/diversity of the genus and the climate, the genus Eretmophyllum may be confined to the warm-temperature climate, is intolerant of heat and frost, and can be considered as an indicator of humid and warm climatic conditions.     

A new species of Baiera from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of southeastern Jilin,China

The Early Cretaceous Yingzuilazi Formation is exposed in the Baishan Basin, Baishan region of the southeastern Jilin Province, China. So far, no reports on fossil plants from this formation have been published. During recent field excursions, abundant faunal remains belonging to the Early Cretaceous Lycoptera–Ephemeropsis–Eosestheria assemblage of the Jehol Biota and numerous fossil plants were collected from the lacustrine beds of the lower part of this formation. A new species of Ginkgoales from this formation, Baiera baishanensis n. sp., is described based upon the leaf morphology and epidermal characters. This is the first report about fossil plants from the Yinzuilazi Formation, the easternmost distribution area of the Jehol Biota. The discovery of the new species extends significantly the stratigraphic and geographic distribution of Baiera in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota as well as the Eurasia. It also shows that Baiera was a common member of Ginkgophytes once lived in the Early Cretaceous deciduous forest of Northeast China. The new species also improves our knowledge on understanding the leaf morphology, epidermal features, and diversity of Baiera during the Early Cretaceous. Analysis of the epidermal characters of the new species and other associated plants reveals that the plants grew in a warm and humid climate in the temperate zone. The presence of some deciduous plants, including gingkgoaleans, czekanowskialeans, and some conifers, demonstrates a climate with seasonal fluctuations and precipitation.     

Early Jurassic flora from South Primorye,Far East,Russia

A unique Early Jurassic flora from the Schitukhe Formation of South Primorye, Russia is further studied, with newly collected materials. The flora is composed of over 50 taxa. It is dominated by ferns (Dipteridaceae, Marattiaceae, etc.), cycads (Pterophyllum, Nilssonia, Ctenis, Taeniopteris, etc.), conifers (Cycadocarpidium, Podozamites, etc.), and other seasonally deciduous gymnosperms (Czekanowskiales, Ginkgoales, etc.), showing a special flora living in an ecotone zone between the Palaeofloristic realms of Siberian Flora and Euro-Sinian Flora in the East Asia during the early Early Jurassic. The flora is compared with its coeval floras from China and Japan. A new species Cycadocarpidium pacificum n. sp. is reported. The age of the Schitukhe flora is constrained by the marine mollusca fossils yielded in the sandwich marine beds of the Schitukhe Formation, as the Hettangian–Sinemurian.     

An overview of fossil Ginkgoales

Neither direct fossil evidence nor consensus exists on the origin of the Ginkgoales and their phylogenetic relationships with other seed plants. The bases for assigning most Palaeozoic leaf fossils to Ginkgoales are shaky. There are eight morphogenera considered more or less well defined and useful for classifying Mesozoic leaf and shoot compressions/impressions, and only two or three morphotaxa of anatomically preserved wood fossils have generally been used. About nine genera of ovulate organs, however, have been reported in the Mesozoic. Whole plant reconstructions suggested for a number of well-preserved ginkgoalean plants are enumerated. Their associated (or connected) organs, and their occurrences and distributions are cited in detail. There are three or four major evolutionary lineages so far recognized among Mesozoic Ginkgoales: the Ginkgo-Grenana-Nehvizdyella lineage, the Karkenia lineage, the Yimaia-Toretzia/Umaltolepis lineage and perhaps the Schmeissneria lineage. Ginkgoales may be classified into five to six families, with a number of accessory morphotaxa and unclassified taxa. The general evolutionary trend among ginkgoaleans is reduction of both vegetative and reproductive organs. The reduction trend is seen clearly in the genus Ginkgo and roughly recapitulated in the developmental sequences of the living species. A similar reduction sequence runs in parallel in other lineages of Ginkgoales. Ginkgoales flourished during Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, but a significant radiation of the group had occurred already in Late Triassic when Ginkgoales were present in high taxonomic diversity and showed considerable morphological innovation. Geographically, Ginkgoales are mainly distributed in Laurasia and probably originated there. The earliest records are from Laurasia as is the relict living fossil. Ginkgoales may have lived in various climates and diverse habitats, although most flourished in mesic and temperate climates, and the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic ginkgos were largely confined to riparian environments.Advances in micro- and ultrastructure studies and chemical investigations on the cuticle and megaspore membrane of ginkgoalean fossils are also summarized. Further studies in these fields may provide useful information on the ecology and palaeoclimatology of Ginkgoales as well as their taxonomy.     

New data about Early Cretaceous Ginkgoales from southwestern Europe (middle-late Albian of Spain)

We present in this work a leaf-type corresponding to the Ginkgoales genus Sphenobaiera recorded in deposits from the middle-upper Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of northeastern Spain. The fossil leaf shows a widely dissected lamina that forks regularly six times ending at the apex in sixty-four tiny wedge-shaped segments, which are characters similar to those in Sphenobaiera pecten from the Middle Jurassic of England. The exceptional preservation of this fossil leaf, which preserves all segments in connection with its base, in addition to taphonomical and sedimentological data, indicates a nearby location for the parent plant, which grew near the shores of a tidally-influenced fluvial environment. A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the sub-environments where the different types of Ginkgoales known from the Albian of northeastern Spain developed is also presented. The presence of a variety of different types of Ginkgoales in middle-upper Albian deposits from Spain represents a new contribution to the knowledge of the palaeoenvironmental conditions for this region of southwestern Eurasia during the late Early Cretaceous.     

Variabilité et disjonction évolutive des caractèresdans les populations de Micraster (Echinoidea,spatangoida) du Crétacé supérieur de Picardie

Morphological variation in Turonian and Coniacian Micraster (Irregular Echinoids) from Picardy is analysed in samples from 4 beds stratigraphically superimposed in the chalk cliff and numbered C2, C3, C4 and C5. The statistical study is made of 23 characters (12 quantitative and 11 qualitative).In first part, uni- and multivariate analysises, complementedby observations of populations, have enabled us to recognize M. leskei (Des Moulins) in the two lower beds and M. decipiens (Bayle) in the upper ones.The growth of M. leskei is analysed in the second part. The biometrical study (bi- and multivariate analysises) of growth processes of the C2-bed urchins (which are small) and of the C3- bed urchins (which are sometimes much bigger) shows the homology of their ontogeny and confirms the name «large M. leskei given by R.B. Stokes for the C3 urchins. The genetic or ecological origin of that variation is discussed.In the third part, the analysis (multivariate) has enabled to understand the considerable variability of M. decipiens. This species contains several morphological types: trapezoidal or heart-shaped urchins, and conical- shaped urchins. The study shows that «gibbous forms are simple variants and that the two first forms may be considered as morphs of the same species. It is possible that these forms are separate species.     

Foliar seed-bearing organs of Paleozoic ginkgophytes and the early evolution of the Ginkgoales

This paper deals with the Late Paleozoic phase of the evolution of the ginkgophytes (gymnosperms attributed to the order Ginkgoales). New genera and species of Permian gymnosperms are erected that are more or less confidently related to the Ginkgoales or belong to ancestral (for this order) pteridosperms with foliar seed-bearing organs: Cheirocladus longicheirus Naugolnykh, gen. et sp. nov. and Psygmophyllodendron uralensis Naugolnykh, gen. et sp. nov. A new family, Cheirocladaceae Naugolnykh, fam. nov., uniting gymnosperms with weakly modified foliar seed-bearing systems is proposed. The extended diagnosis of the family Psygmophyllaceae Zalessky emend. Naugolnykh, emend. nov. is provided. The extensive study of additional new material allowed the author to describe the morphology of Biarmopteris pulchra Zalessky (Cheirocladaceae), Psygmophyllum expansum (Brongniart) Schimper, and P. cuneifolium (Kutorga) Schimper (Psygmophyllaceae). Racemose aggregations of seeds of Karkenia sp. (Karkeniaceae), the oldest reliable record of Karkenia Archangelsky, are characterized. The typology of foliar seed-bearing organs of early ginkgophytes and morphogenetic transformations of the leaves of ginkgophytes are discussed.     

A new species of the conifer genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oswaldheeria</Emphasis> with well-preserved leaf anatomical elements from the Bathonian of the Kursk Region

A new species, Oswaldheeria eximia sp. nov., was discovered in the Bathonian continental deposits of an open-cast mine of Mikhailovskii Rudnik Mines, near the town of Zheleznogorsk in the Kursk Region. This is the first record of Oswaldheeria Bose et Manum from European Russia. The leaf anatomy of Oswaldheeria, reconstructed for the first time based on material of unique preservation, has shown that members of this genus were not closely related either to the Ginkgoales or to modern Sciadopitys Siebold et Zucc.     

Conodontos carboníferos de la sección del río Cares (Unidad de Picos de Europa, Zona Cantábrica, NO de España)

The first Carboniferous conodonts studied from the Cares river section correspond to fifteen species and one subspecies from seven genera, some of them reported from the Picos de Europa Unit for the first time. The conodonts belong to several zones between the upper Tournaisian and the upper Serpukhovian-lower Bashkirian. Furthermore, the species Idiognathodus incurvus Dunn is reported for the first time in the Cantabrian Mountains and southern Europe, from upper Bashkirian or lower Moscovian beds.     

Two new species of Ginkgoales from the Middle Jurassic of Mexico

This paper reports two new species of Ginkgoales collected from the Cañada Alejandro and Río Ñumi (Zorrillo and Zorrillo–Taberna Undifferentiated Formations, Middle Jurassic). Thirty-one fossils were selected and compared with 14 species from different localities. A numerical taxonomy analysis was performed through a data matrix formed by 15 characters. Results indicate an important speciation process of the Ginkgoales during the Jurassic in the southeast of Mexico. New evidence suggests the existence of eight species from the Ginkgoidium Yokoyama, 1889 and Sphenobaiera (Florin) Harris and Millington, 1974 genera and two new species Ginkgoidiumnundichii Velasco-de León, Lozano-Carmona, Flores, Martínez and Silva and Sphenobaieramixteca Velasco-de León, Lozano-Carmona, Flores, Martínez and Silva     

Revision of the Genus Paratylenchus Micoletzky, 1922 and Descriptions of New Species. Part III of Three parts-Gracilacus

Part III covers species with female stylet length >41 μm which are considered by this author to comprise the genus Gracilacus Raski, 1962. Seven new species of Gracilacus are described and further observations given on 14 other species. Paratylenchus strenzkei (Volz, 1951) Oostenbrink, 1960 is transferred to species inquirendae. A key to the species of Gracilacus is included.     

Prevalencia de especies de Malassezia asociadas a lesiones de dermatitis seborreica en pacientes de Argentina

BackgroundSeborrheic dermatitis (SD) is considered the second most frequently dermatosis associated with the genus Malassezia but little is the knowledge about the epidemiology of this association.AimsTo determinate the prevalence of Malassezia species associated with SD and to analyse their distribution according to the location of the lesion on the body.MethodsThis study was performed in Resistencia city, located in a subtropical area in northeast Argentina. In this study, 226 skin samples from patients with lesions compatible with SD were studied. Age, gender and body sites lesion were recorded. Strains were identified by PCR-RFLP.ResultsOne hundred and thirty-one positive cultures were obtained. Association of 2 species was detected in 10 cases; therefore, 141 strains were isolated. Malasezzia globosa (43.3%) was the most frequent species isolated, followed by Malasezzia furfur (20.6%), Malasezzia sympodialis (17%) and Malasezzia restricta (16.3%). Three isolates of Malasezzia slooffiae (2.1%) and one of Malasezzia pachydermatis (0.7%) were obtained. Statistical significance (P < 0.05) was found between M. globosa and scalp. Malasezzia restricta was isolated only in head areas.ConclusionsThis study suggests M. globosa is the most related species to SD. The prevalence of other species is different from that reported by other authors. Only M. globosa and M. restricta presented a pattern of relationship with the body sites of the lesions. It is noteworthy is the isolation of the zoophylic species M. pachydermatis. The Malassezia genus ecology and the pathogenic role of its species are still under study. This work is a contribution to this knowledge.     

Une nouvelle espèce de Podocnemis (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae) provenant du Néogène de la formation Solimões, Acre, Brésil

A Neogene turtle from Brasil is described. It represents the first find of a new species close to the extant Podocnemis sextuberculata. Both species constitute a new clade in the genus. The synapomorphies they share and the differences between them are given. P. negrii nov. sp. is the second fossil species of the genus, after P. bassleri from the Neogene of Peru, which constitutes another clade with the extant P. expansa. The relationships between these two clades and the other species of the genus are not determinate.     

Two early mississippian seeds from the price formation of Southwestern Virginia

Lagenospermum imparirameum Arnold, originally described from a few specimens of cupulate seeds borne on two or three times dichotomous branches, is now shown to be borne on more complex branching systems. Details of the cupule and seed morphology are added and an emended diagnosis of the taxon is given. A new species,Gnetopsis hispida, is described as the third occurrence of this genus and the first occurrence in beds of Lower Mississippian Age in North America. The classification, evolutionary implications, and dispersal biology are discussed for each of the seeds     

Algal epiphytes of Zostera marina: Variation in assemblage structure from individual leaves to regional scale

Data from a hierarchical study of four Zostera marina beds in Wales were used to identify the spatial scales of variation in epiphyte assemblages. There were significant within and among bed differences in assemblage structure. The differences in assemblage structure with spatial scale generally persisted when species identifications were aggregated into functional groups. There was also significant within and among bed variability in Zostera density and average length. Local variations in Zostera canopy variables at the quadrat scale (total leaf length, average leaf length and leaf density per quadrat) were not related to epiphyte species richness nor to the structure of the assemblage. In contrast, individual leaf length was significantly related to species richness in two of the beds and the structure of epiphyte assemblages was always related to individual leaf lengths. The absence of links between quadrat scale measurements of canopy variables and assemblage structure may reflect the high turnover of individual Zostera leaves. Experimental work is required to discriminate further between the potential causes of epiphyte assemblage variation within and between beds. No bed represented a refuge where a rare species was abundant. If a species was uncommon at the bed scale, it was also uncommon in beds where it occurred. The heterogeneous assemblages found in this study suggest that a precautionary approach to conservation is advisable. As much of a bed as possible should be retained, both to protect the integrity of local assemblages and to retain rare species at regional scales.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Baierella</Emphasis> from the Krasnyi Yar locality,Early Cretaceous of western Transbaikalia

Plant remains of Baierella R. Potonié (Ginkgoales) were found for the first time in the Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Khilok Formation (Buryatia Republic), where they form a thin coal bed. A new species, B. averianovii, is described from the Krasnyi Yar locality. The monodominant burial of the new species in combination with pollen grains of Ginkgocycadophytus prevailing in the relevant palynological assemblage allows the authors to reconstruct a monospecific woody wetland plant community.     

Un atoposauridé (Crocodylia,mesosuchia) du portlandien de la Meuse (est de la France)

A small crocodilian skull from the lower Portlandian (Cyrena rugosa beds) of Brauvilliers (Meuse) is referred to an atoposaurid of the genus Alligatorium, apparently closely related to the species A. paintenense from the Tithonian of Franconia. It is the first reportof one of these small continental crocodilians from north-eastern France.