Observations on Syracosphaera rhombica sp. nov.

A spherical coccosphere and two collapsed coccospheres composed of monomorphic rhombic coccoliths were encountered in 2005 in the Java upwelling system of the SE Indian Ocean, while a further two specimens with elongate coccospheres were recently found in the Gulf of Mexico. All of the specimens were collected from the lower photic zone (75–160 m). The coccoliths possess a proximal flange, a slightly flared wall with a serrated distal margin, and a relatively plain central area structure comprised only of overlapping laths. The taxon appears to be an undescribed species of the Syracosphaera nodosa group, so we describe it herein as Syracosphaera rhombica sp. nov.     

Découverte de faunes d'Ammonites de la zone à Platynota(Kimméridgien inférieur) dans les Monts de Chellala (avant-pays Tellien,Algérie); Conséquences stratigraphiques et paléogéographiques

In Chellala mountains (Seba el Abiod), in Western Algeria, new biostratigraphic data, based on Ammonites, allow characterize, for the first time in North Africa, the Platynota zone with the species-index Sutneria platynota. This species was known, to the present time, only in the South European border. These new biostratigraphic data show the diachronism of flyschoid facies. They do not exceed middle Oxfordian in the Tlemcenian zone; on the contrary they go up to lower Kimmeridgian in the preatlasic zone.     

A PALAEOGENE RECORD OF EXTANT LOWER PHOTIC ZONE CALCAREOUS NANNOPLANKTON

Abstract:  In this paper, we document Palaeogene occurrences of the extant nannoplankton genera Gladiolithus, Algirosphaera and Solisphaera from claystones of the Kilwa Group microfossil lagerstätte, coastal Tanzania. In the modern ocean, these taxa are restricted to tropical and subtropical lower photic zone habitats (100–200 m). All three genera produce small and/or fragile coccoliths, which have not previously been found as fossils or are only found in late Quaternary sediments. Their presence in the Kilwa Group sediments demonstrates the exceptional quality of preservation and provides a minimum origination time for these ecologically specialized nannoplankton. Gladiolithus is present in the oldest Palaeogene Kilwa Group material studied (late Paleocene, c . 59 Ma), which pushes back the origination time for lower photic zone coccolithophores by over 40 million years. The co-occurrence of several species of Gladiolithus alongside Algirosphaera and Solisphaera suggests that a relatively diverse lower photic zone assemblage was established by at least the Eocene. The abundant and consistent occurrence of specimens that are indistinguishable from the modern species Gladiolithus flabellatus has been observed in samples of late Paleocene (Nannofossil Zone NP6) to early Oligocene (Nannofossil Zone NP21) age and support an open ocean palaeoenvironmental interpretation for the Kilwa Group sediments. We describe three new species of Gladiolithus , G. brevis , G. ornatus and G. contus and one new combination, Algirosphaera fabaceus.     

The first juvenile specimen of Eolacerta (Squamata: Eolacertidae) from the early–middle Eocene of the Messel Pit (Germany)

We describe the first juvenile specimen of an eolacertid lizard. The material comes from one of the most important Eocene localities, the Messel Pit in Germany. The new specimen provides unique information on the early ontogeny of Eolacerta, the largest known lizard from Messel, with a maximum snout-vent length greater than 30 cm and a mass approaching 1 kg. The specimen described here, with a SVL of 11.3 cm and an estimated mass of 21 g, can be allocated more precisely to Eolacerta robusta based on the co-occurrence and the combination of following features: (1) the nasal process of premaxilla is long; (2) position of lacrimal (being more anteriorly located in Stefanikia siderea); (3) the postorbital process of jugal is broad; (4) the ratio of the anterior and posterior region of the frontal between the sulcus interfacialis; (5) a mid-parietal constriction of the parietal table is present; (6) the interparietal shield broadens anteriorly; (7) the transverse sulcus is straight anteriorly. The incipient character of the parietal constriction and the slightly lower number of maxillary teeth (28 vs. 30–32 in adults) are consistent with a juvenile animal. Very important is evidence for the presence of pterygoid dentition (pointed teeth arranged in a single line) and the absence of palatine dentition. Ceratobranchial I is observed for the first time for this species, and its shape and length are very similar to those of Lacertidae. There are 27 presacral vertebrae in the juvenile, as in adults. In the juvenile specimen, ventral keel on the centrum is present in all vertebrae. The ventromedial portion of the ischium is well preserved here and gives information on the exact shape of this portion, at least in juvenile form. The scalation, as far as it is preserved, is similar to that of Stefanikia, except that the rectangular subdigital scales are longer in comparison with their width, and therefore have a broader appearance.     

Records and palaeoenvironmental conditions of Early Miocene scleractinian corals from the Fırat formation (Diyarbakır,Turkey)

Miocene scleractinian corals were documented for the first time in the Fırat Formation of Sarıca village, Eğil district of Diyarbakır, SE Turkey. The fauna consists of four hermatypic species belonging to three families: Diploastrea taurinensis (d’Achiardi, 1868), Tarbellastraea reussiana (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1850), Echinopora gemmacea (Lamarck, 1816) and Montastraea pelouaensis (Chevalier, 1954). The morphospecies described here are typical of the early Miocene (Aquitanian-Burdigalian) and show that the Fırat Formation coral community was composed of shallow and subtropical reefs of Mediterranean Tethys palaeobiogeographical affinity. The examined species are reef components found in tropical and subtropical oceans, as are the majority of zooxanthellae. The species were upper photic zone related, had massive colonial growth morphology, and lived in a shallow tropical-subtropical marine palaeoenvironment at a depth of up to 50 m. They grew on hard ground, clean water, and normal salinity and required a minimum seawater temperature of 18 ̊C; however, they were most abundant at water temperatures ranging from 22 to 26 ̊C in high-moderate water energy. Consequently, this fossil assemblage will not only improve our knowledge of scleractinian coral diversity and morphological variation in SE Turkey but will also provide an important background for future studies of coral taxonomy, diversity and biogeography of the region.     

Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber pelecinid wasps (Hymenoptera,Pelecinidae) support the hypothesis of an Asian origin of the family

A new species of pelecinid wasp, Eopelecinus marechali sp. nov., is described and figured from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber based on a single well-preserved female specimen. Contrary to Eopelecinus inopinatus Jouault et al., 2020a, unique other Eopelecinus known from this deposit, the new species is based on a complete female specimen. This discovery confirms that the Pelecinidae were highly diverse during the Cretaceous and highlights the underestimated diversity of the genus Eopelecinus in Burmese amber biota. Eopelecinus marechali sp. nov. differs from all other Eopelecinus species by its unique metasomal ratio. A summary on the fossil pelecinid species with distributions and ages is provided. Based on the particular geological history of the West Burmese Terrane and the fossil record of the family, the hypothesis of an Asian origin of the family is discussed. The records of Eopelecinus in both Laurasia and Burmese amber biota, during the mid-Cretaceous, suggest that possible transfers of fauna have taken place between these two geological blocks.     

L'âge du complexe récifal des côtes de meuse entre verdun et commercy et la stratigraphie de l'oxfordien dans l'est du bassin de Paris

The question of the age of «Hauts de Meuse coral rag is studied again using new faunas of brachiopods and ammonites collected above, below and inside the coral rag. Ammonites fauna of the well known «Calcaires de Creuë is revised. Results obtained agree closely.The «Hauts de Meuse coral rag grew up during Middle Oxfordian time; and extend part of the Plicatilis zone (Antecedens Subzone) and the whole Transversarium Zone up to the basis of the Bifurcatus Zone, for the first time identified in Lorraine. So it span a short depositional time, about 1 MY, with a high deposition rate, the thickness of the coral rag being more than 100 meters, reaching 150 meters in Saint-Mihiel area. Towards SE, on the other side of the Marne Gap, the sudden change into basinal facies go with a reducing of thickness and deposition rate.Upper Oxfordian deposits show a relative uniformity of facies and thickness. At the top of Middle Oxfordian limestones, the age of the discontinuity and the Sequanian renewal of deposition is basal Bifurcatus Zone. Erosional renewal and terrigeneous deposits are a wide spread event by the beginning of Upper Oxfordian.In the paleontological part, species upon which are based new ages and interpretations are only figured, except the species new or with new paleontological data, which are described. Type specimen of Perisphinctes mosensisBayle, from the «Calcaires de Creuë, is described and photographically figured for the first time.     

Anatomically preserved lepidodendralean plants from lower permian coal balls of northern China: Achlamydocarpon intermedium sp. nov.

Lepidodendralean lycopsids, a dominant component in Late Palaeozoic wetland plant communities, possess a diversity of reproductive structures that are primarily known from the Late Palaeozoic floras of Europe and North America. Here we document an anatomically preserved lepidodendralean lycopsid sporophyll with attached megasporangium from the Lower Permian Taiyuan Formation in Shanxi Province, northern China. The sporophyll has a pedicel onto which the sporangium is attached, and the sporangium is dorsiventrally flattened, proximally dehiscent and longitudinal ridged. The megasporangial wall comprises three zones: an outer uniseriate layer of columnar cells, a middle layer 1–3 cells thick comprising isodiametric parenchymatous cells, and an inner zone 1–3 cells thick of thick-walled cells. The vascular system comprises a single xylem strand surrounded by zone of parenchyma that continues through the pedicel into the lamina. Within the megasporangium a single functional megaspore and three abortive megaspores occur. Features of this specimen conform to Achlamydocarpon Schumacher-Lambry, and comparisons with other species show it shares similarities with A. takhtajanii (Sni.) Schumacher-Lambry and A. varius Taylor and Brack-Hanes. Although the morphology and anatomy of the specimen we describe overlaps with these two species, it is distinct from both leading to the erection of the new species A. intermedium sp. nov. The evolutionary significance of A. intermedium sp. nov. and the identity of its parent plant are considered, and the status and systematic position of “Oriental lepidophytes” from the Cathaysian floras are discussed.     

Microstructure de CladochonusMcCoy, 1847(Tabulata,Carbonifère)

The microstructure of two species of Cladochonusfrom Algerian Carboniferous, C. crassus (McCoy) and C. cf. tenuicollisMcCoy, has been studied by ultra-thin sections. Their walls consist of: 1. an external fibrous layer, 2. a median layer of undulating lamellae, 3. an internal zone of slender, elongated elements to which the name of «grundulae is given here. New data bring complements to the generic diagnosis of Cladochonus s. str. Some Permian cladochonid forms show different microstructures and should, therefore, be shifted to new generic units.     

Revision of the lower Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) ammonite species Cheloniceras cornuelianum (d’Orbigny, 1841)

The aim of the present work is to determine the morphological characteristics of the lower Aptian (lower Cretaceous) ammonite species Cheloniceras cornuelianum (d’Orbigny, 1841) (Douvilleiceratinae, Douvilleiceratidae) on the basis of 32 specimens from the Paris Basin (France), including the lectotype of the species and 23 topotype specimens. It is generally admitted that this species occurs in the Deshayesites forbesi-Dufrenoyia furcata zones interval (lower Aptian). Our study has lead to several unexpected results. First, the study sample of C. cornuelianum is very probably younger and has more primitive traits than expected: it is probably dated around the limit between the Deshayesites forbesi and Deshayesites deshayesi zones and is morphologically close to the earlier genus Procheloniceras Spath, 1923. Secondly, the lectotype is an extreme specimen with much derived traits compared to its original population. It constitutes an example of type-specimen not morphologically representative of its original population, responsible of a risk of misinterpretation of the species. Finally, the intraspecific variability and the proportion of asymmetric specimens of the study sample of C. cornuelianum are very important but there is no evidence of sexual dimorphism.     

Sublittoral hard substrate communities off Helgoland

In the Helgoland region eight sublittoral hard substrate communities occur. These communities were stationary in time during the years 1987–1989. The major governing parameters are the available amount of daylight and the degree of exposure to water movement. In the photic zone, three communities are met with, one of which is widespread and appears to be independent of the exposure to water movement. Under exposed conditions, at the lower border of the photic zone, a second community is observed. A third community is established on erosive muschelkalk substrates. In the aphotic zone also, three communities are found. The distribution of these communities is related to the rate of water movement. One community is divided into three variants, with different preferences regarding the angle of inclination and nature of the substrates. In the artificially constructed harbours, where sedimentation exceeds erosion, two different communities have settled. In the community under moderately sheltered conditions many species are found which also occur in the natural photic zone. Under extremely sheltered conditions a group of species has become dominant which is very rare in the Helgoland region outside the quay-walls but which has been described as being characteristic for sheltered localities elsewhere.     

Dysomma alticorpus,a new species of cutthroat eel from the Gulf of Aqaba,Red Sea (Teleostei: Synaphobranchidae)

The cutthroat eel Dysomma alticorpus n. sp. is described based on a single specimen collected in a trammel net at a depth of 350 m off Eilat, Israel, Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. The new species belongs to the Dysomma anguillare species complex, which comprises species possessing a well-developed pectoral fin, intermaxillary teeth, a uniserial row of 7–15 large compound teeth in the lower jaw (which may be followed by a few smaller teeth), and an anteriorly situated anus with the trunk shorter than the head length. It is characterised by a combination of the following characters: origin of the dorsal fin well anterior to the base of the pectoral fin, predorsal length 13.8% TL; preanal length 22.8% TL; three compound teeth on the vomer; head pores: IO 4, SO 3; M 6; POP 0; AD 1, F 0, ST 0; lateral-line pores: predorsal 4, prepectoral 8, preanal 14, total 57–58, the last at the posterior two-thirds of the total length; MVF 7–16–115; total vertebrae 115. Dysomma alticorpus n. sp. is compared with other species of the genus. A revised key to the species of the genera Dysomma and Dysommina is provided.     

STUDIES ON MARINE PLANKTON DIATOMS. III. STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF GOSSLERIELLA TROPICA1

The structure of the tropical oceanic diatom Gossleriella tropica Schütt was examined in the light and electron microscopes. The species is characterized by a primarily poroid valve, surface, it single central labiate process and a unique ring of spines attached to the cingulum. Placement of the genus in the family Rhizosoleniaceae is suggested. Although G. tropica is widely distributed in the world's oceans, it is usually confined to the lower photic zone, salinities of 34.5–35.5% and temperatures of 15–30 C.     

A New Specimen of Carroll’s Mystery Hupehsuchian from the Lower Triassic of China

A new specimen of an enigmatic hupehsuchian genus is reported. The genus was first recognized by Robert L. Carroll and Zhi-ming Dong in 1991, who refrained from naming it because of the poor quality of the only specimen known at the time. After more than two decades, we finally report a second specimen of this genus, which remained unprepared until recently. The new specimen preserves most of the skeleton except the skull, allowing us to erect a new genus and species, Eretmorhipis carrolldongi. The new species shares many characters with Parahupehsuchus longus, including the strange axial skeleton that forms a bony body tube. However, the body tube is short in the new species, being limited to the pectoral region. The vertebral count and limb morphology considerably differ between the new species and P. longus. The forelimb of E. carrolldongi is markedly larger than its hind limb as in Hupehsuchus nanchangensis but unlike in P. longus. The new species is unique among hupehsuchians in a list of features. It has manual and pedal digits that spread radially, forming manus and pes that are almost as wide as long. The third-layer elements of the dermal armor are unusually large, spanning four vertebral segments, yet there are substantial gaps among them. With the addition of the unique paddle, it is now clear that Hupehsuchia had diverse forelimb morphologies spanning from paddles to flippers, unlike ichthyopterygians that were taxonomically more diverse yet only had flippers.     

Torreites milovanovici Grubić, 1979, the first report of the Torreites genus in Iran

Late Cretaceous Torreites milovanovici, pertaining to Hippuritids (rudists) as marine heterodont bivalves, from SW Iran (northern Shiraz), is the centerpiece of this study. It is the first specimen of the Torreites genus recorded in Iran. More than 25 Torreites specimens were collected from the medium-bedded carbonate layer of the Upper Cretaceous succession of the study area. As well as in Iran, T. milovanovici specimens are recorded from Oman, and United Arab Emirates (UAE), although other species are found in Cuba, Jamaica, and Mexico. The Torreites-bearing bed is attributed to the clastic lower unit of the Tarbur Formation in Zagros Basin which is overlain by the carbonate upper unit of this Formation. Referring to field and laboratory observations as well as different previous references the Torreites-bearing carbonate layer in the study section can be ascribed to the Campanian. T. milovanovici specimens in Iran are compared with those recorded in Oman and UAE, using some determinative parameters. They show similarities in angles and size. Finding the species in a new area can be inspiring for future studies. It enhances the paleobiogeographical distribution of Family Torreitidae in the world and matching them chronologically can reveal some new evolutionary trends.     

Nouvelles espèces de Madréporaires dans le Kimméridgien supérieur du Jura (France)

The study of an Upper Kimmeridgian madreporarianfauna collected in the southern french Jura (between Valfin and Belley), allowed: 1) to describe five Scleractinian new species: Mitrodendron biennensis nov. sp., Hexapetalum nemorosum nov. sp., Thalamocoenia gironensis nov. sp., Cryptocoenia stelliserrata nov. sp., Columnocoenia miniflora nov. sp. and a new variety of Heliocoenia (Kobycoenia) claudiopolisensisBeauv., 1964, characterized by its small calices; 2) to modify the diagnosis and the systematic position of the species Baryhelia crassa (de From.) which was created as Heterocoenia crassade From.; 3) to increase of a new species the genus Hexapetalum only known, till now, by its Stramberg Tithon type-species; and 4) to give some palaeoenvironmental conclusions = the Upper Jurassic reef formations in the Southern Jura grew in shallow water characterized by an abundant carbonate sedimentation. Genera associations and distribution confirm the presence, between Oyonnax and Belley, of a low energy area, protected by a barrier reef and, northern of this barrier, of a higher hydrodynamic environment.     

Early Tithonian entactinarian Radiolaria from the Solnhofen area (southern Germany). Part I

The article describes part of the Entactinaria radiolarians from a very rich and well-preserved radiolarian assemblage extracted from a lower Tithonian sample (Mue 22) collected from the Mühlheim Member of the Mörnsheim Formation of southern Germany. With a single exception (genus Odoghertites nov. gen.), all other Entactinaria described are of primitive type, that is their initial spicules are not differentiated into an apical and a basal group and are not connected by arches to form a heteropolar “microsphere”. They have been assigned to five families, four of which are new (Isometractiniidae, Triumbraculidae, Hollandocachoniidae, Odoghertitidae), 10 new genera (Isometractinia, Triumbraculum, Tardentactinia, Lententactinia, Hollandocachonia, Sphaerentofurca, Stylentofurca, Zuegelifurca, Spongentofurca, Odoghertites), and 19 new species. One of the new species comes from the lower Bajocian of Oregon. A new skeletal structural term, support structure, is introduced as a special type of connection between the primary spines and the macrosphere or cortical shell.     

Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and turnover dynamics in the late Campanian–Maastrichtian of the tropical South Atlantic

The complete late Campanian–Maastrichtian succession of the South Atlantic reference DSDP Site 525A has been investigated to establish a detailed record of calcareous nannofossil biohorizons. A complete holostratigraphy of the core is presented for this interval and allows for global correlations to other Tethyan and Boreal reference sections for that interval. The new study allows for proposing a new time scale with a tie of Tethyan and Boreal nannofossil zonations. A new subzonation is proposed for the late Campanian UC16 Zone in the Tethyan Realm and the last occurrences of Uniplanarius trifidus and Zeugrhabdotus praesigmoides are demonstrated as markers of the Campanian–Maastrichtian boundary. The difference between cumulative first and last occurrences reflects the turnover dynamics of calcareous nanoplankton in the South Atlantic and highlights 6 major events. Five of them appear well related to major changes in sea-surface temperatures whereas the sixth event is likely the expression of a global decrease in primary productivity in the late Maastrichtian. Surprisingly, the turnover dynamics in calcareous nannoplankton appears completely unrelated to that observed in planktic foraminifera which shows only 4 major events with different timings. The two groups thus seem to have responded either very differently to similar environmental constraints or to different direct environmental constraints in the photic zone, although caused by the same global changes in climate.     

Gastropodes sinémuriens du Monte Cucco (Apennins d’Ombrie-Marche, Italie centrale)

Recent researches carried out in the uppert part of the “Calcare Massiccio” formation of Monte Cucco allowed to recover a rich Sinemurian fauna of gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, ammonoids and some solitary corals. The gastropod fauna is greatly dominant and includes 18 species which belong to the superfamilies Pleurotomarioidea, Fissurelloidea, Amberleyoidea, Neritoidea, Loxonematoidea, Cerithioidea, Nerineoidea, Littorinoidea and Acteonoidea. Ten species of gastropods are here described for the first time. This fauna shows a marked affinity with that of the Sinemurian of Sicily. Under a paleoecological point of view, it is indicative of free marine conditions, in photic zone but under a weak hydrodynamism, and therefore may suggests the reference to a deep infralittoral or upper circalittoral environment.