New radiolarians from the Devonian of the southern Ural Mountains: 1. Early-Middle Devonian (Late Emsian-Early Eifelian)

Late Emsian-Early Eifelian radiolarians from the southern Ural Mountains are recorded and described for the first time. They come from the Kamennaya Gora section on the Tanalyk River near the town of Buribay, Bashkiria. The new Late Emsian-Early Eifelian radiolarian assemblage consists of 20 species of 11 genera of spherical, discoidal, spindle-shaped, pylomate, and spiny radiolarians. Four new species, i.e., Entactinia rostriformis sp. nov., Palaeodiscaleksus tumefactus sp. nov., Primaritripus buribayensis sp. nov., and P. chuvashovi sp. nov., are described. The diagnosis of the genus Primaritripus Afanasieva, 2000 is amended. The fact that the oryctocenosis is dominated by discoidal radiolarians suggests that, in the Late Emsian-Early Eifelian, the area under study was occupied by a relatively shallow marine basin. Based on radiolarians, a new Upper Emsian-Lower Eifelian biostraton, beds with Primaritripus buribayensis-Entactinia rostriformis, is established. The history of the study of Early Devonian radiolarians is considered.     

A New European Marsupial Indicates a Late Cretaceous High-Latitude Transatlantic Dispersal Route

The first record of an undoubted opossum-like marsupial from the Mesozoic of Europe indicates an invasion from North America at the end of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). The new 66.1 million-year-old marsupial, Maastrichtidelphys meurismeti n. gen., n. sp., represented by a right upper molar, comes from the type Maastrichtian of The Netherlands. The Maastricht marsupial exhibits affinities with earlier (early Maastrichtian) North American herpetotheriids providing definitive evidence of a high-latitude North Atlantic dispersal route between North America and Europe during the latest Cretaceous. Previously, the first major interchange for marsupials was thought to have occurred nearly 10 million years later in the Eocene. The occurrence of this new marsupial in Europe implies that at some time during the latest Cretaceous, sea level and climatic conditions must have been sufficiently favorable to allow for such a high-latitude dispersal. The fragmentary remains of hadrosaurid and theropod dinosaurs, as well as boid snakes from northwestern Europe which have affinities with North American taxa help substantiate assumptions made by the occurrence of the herpetotheriid marsupial in Maastricht.     

Burmaphlebia reifi gen. et sp. nov., the first anisozygopteran damsel-dragonfly (Odonata: Epiophlebioptera: Burmaphlebiidae fam. nov.) from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber

A new family, genus and species of damselfly, Burmaphlebia reifi gen. et sp. nov. (Burmaphlebiidae fam. nov.), is described as the second fossil odonate from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber. Its phylogenetic position is discussed and the fossil is attributed to a new family at the base of the anisozygopteran grade, probably closely related to the Recent relict group Epiophlebiidae. It is the first record of the ‘anisozygopteran’ grade from amber and the smallest known representative of this group.http://zoobank.org/6EFE7288-BD89-42F9-BFA5-804CE6B904A6     

Trimeridianellidae nov. fam., a Triassic spumellarian radiolarian family with simple initial skeleton and pyloniacean mode of growth

Based on several samples of Middle and Late Triassic age, the authors describe a new family of spumellarian Radiolaria – Trimeridianellidae Dumitrica and Tekin, characterized by a three-fold symmetry, a first shell of triangular prism type with 6 primary rays originated at the edges of two bases of the prism, or 3 meridian arches with 3 equatorial rays, and growth of pyloniacean type. The family comprises 4 monospecific new genera (Enneacladus Dumitrica, Endoprisma Dumitrica, Trimeridianella Dumitrica and Tekin, and Tristylopyle Dumitrica), 4 new species and one left in open nomenclature. In spite of their spotty occurrences and low diversity, the authors attempt to trace the evolution of the family, which is considered to be the result of heterochrony in ontogenetic growth, mostly of paedomorphic type. The family seems to be related to the Middle Triassic family Patruliidae Dumitrica with which it shares in common the simple microsphere with 6 primary rays and the pyloniacean mode of growth.     

中国丝膜菌属李玉丝膜菌组一新种：李玉丝膜菌

本研究报道了丝膜菌属的一个新种：李玉丝膜菌,该种采自中国吉林省蒙古栎林中,其主要特征为担子体小型、幼时具蓝紫色调,菌盖强水浸状、具条纹,担孢子近球形。该种在系统发育树中形成一个独立的分支,与斑丝膜菌组形成姐妹关系,但遗传关系较远,属于新组李玉丝膜菌组。本文对新分类单元进行了详细描述,并对其系统发育上相近的物种进行了比较。     

Rectogerochammina eugubina nov. gen., nov. sp., a new agglutinated foraminifer from the Upper Cretaceous of Gubbio, Italy

We describe the new agglutinated foraminiferal genus and species Rectogerochammina eugubina nov. gen., nov. sp. from the Upper Cretaceous Scaglia Rossa Formation of the Umbria-Marche Basin in Italy. The genus differs from Gerochammina (Neagu, 1990) in the presence of a terminal uniserial part.     

中国东北晚白垩世酢酱草属（酢酱草科）一新种：嘉荫酢酱草

本文描述了发现于中国黑龙江省嘉荫县晚白垩世(土仑期至赛诺期)的酢酱草科酢酱草属新种 Oxalis jiayinensis Feng,Liu,Song et Ma;炭化种子长约1 mm,宽不足1mm;新月形,两端钝;表面具9 ～10条横脊;种皮石细胞等轴、细胞壁明显加厚。该化石种是酢酱草科在地质时期迄今最早的代表。     

Oxalis jiayinensis,a new species of the Late Cretaceous from Heilongjiang,NE China

Oxalis jiayinensis, sp. nov., is described from the Late Cretaceous (TuronianSenonian) in Jiayin County, Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China. The seed is about 1 mm long, less than 1 mm in diameter, crescentic with obtuse apices and 9～10 transverse ribs. The seed wall is composed of equiaxial, strongly thickened sclereids. The fossil repre-sents the oldest occurrence of the family Oxalidaceae in the world.     

Taphonomy and systematics of a new Late Cretaceous verrucid barnacle (Cirripedia,Thoracica) from Canterbury,New Zealand

Abstract: Cirripede remains (Thoracica, Verrucomorpha), found associated with the mosasaur Prognathodon waiparaensis  Welles and Gregg, 1971 in glauconitic sands of the Late Cretaceous Conway Formation exposed along the Waipara River bank (mid‐Canterbury, New Zealand), are identified as a new species, Verruca sauria sp. nov. On the basis of taphonomy, it is deduced that these verrucids grew on a postmortem accumulation of mosasaur bones under very quiescent conditions. The current amphitropical distribution of the earliest known verrucids, i.e. V. sauria sp. nov., V. prisca  Bosquet, 1854 , V. pusilla  Bosquet, 1857 and V. tasmanica  Buckeridge, 1983 , is rationalized in the light of Tethyan palaeogeography.     

A new oospecies of Similifaveoloolithidae from the Xiuning Basin,Late Cretaceous of Anhui,China

Well-preserved dinosaur eggs from the Cretaceous Huizhou Formation in the Xiuning Basin, Anhui Province, China, are analysed in this paper. We describe a new oospecies, Similifaveoloolithus qiyunshanensis, based on several distinct characters of external morphology, size, eggshell thickness, and internal microstructure. Radial sections of this new oospecies show branched eggshell units with a fused layer near the outer surface, while numerous irregular pores and cones constitute a honeycomb pattern in tangential sections. The discovery of S. qiyunshanensis expands the distribution of Similifaveoloolithidae dinosaur eggs in China and provides new fossils for researching dinosaur eggshell formation mechanisms which are different from those of the currently known oofamilies. The dinosaur-egg-bearing strata in the Huizhou Formation have been dated to the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) on the basis of a similar dinosaur egg assemblage in the Tiantai Basin in Zhejiang Province. The eggs described in this paper are thought to have been laid in a buried nest while enrichment of trace elements in eggshells may have been caused by their ingestion into the body of the dinosaur producer. We suggest that the paleoclimate of this habitat was semi-arid to arid and that this environment was favourable for the preservation of eggs.http://zoobank.org/LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9D63A51F-5A4B-4249-901D-42A33E9FA933     

Galvechelone lopezmartinezae gen. et sp. nov., a new cryptodiran turtle in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe

Abstract: The Spanish town of Galve (Teruel) is notable because of the abundance of Upper Jurassic and, especially, Lower Cretaceous vertebrates recorded there. Although most groups have been studied in detail, information on turtles is very limited even though the material is relatively abundant. So far, no turtle taxa have been identified at the generic level. The only Lower Cretaceous articulated specimen from Galve is analysed here. It is identified as a representative of Cryptodira, Galvechelone lopezmartinezae gen. et sp. nov. Galvechelone lopezmartinezae is determined as a taxon belonging to the node that groups the turtles traditionally assigned to ‘Macrobaenidae’ and ‘Sinemydidae’, and other taxa such as the members of Panchelonioidea. This node, very abundant in the Lower Cretaceous of Asia, and with a broad subsequent distribution, has recently been recognized in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. The diversity of basal members of Eucryptodira in the European Late Jurassic (represented by Thalassemydidae, Plesiochelyidae and Eurysternidae) was high. Owing to a relative scarcity of well‐preserved early Cretaceous turtles from Europe, the knowledge of this group of reptiles is limited. The study of the new turtle from Galve, together with the recently described Hoyasemys jimenezi, and the recently completed review of the enigmatic Chitracephalus dumonii demonstrate that members of the cryptodiran node grouping ‘Macrobaenidae’, ‘Sinemydidae’ and Panchelonioidea were also very diverse in this period.     

Truepera radiovictrix gen. nov., sp. nov., a new radiation resistant species and the proposal of Trueperaceae fam. nov

Two isolates, belonging to a new species of a novel genus of the Phylum “Deinococcus/Thermus ”, were recovered from hot spring runoffs on the Island of São Miguel in the Azores. Strains RQ-24^T and TU-8 are the first cultured representatives of a distinct phylogenetic lineage within this phylum. These strains form orange/red colonies, spherical-shaped cells, have an optimum growth temperature of about 50 °C, an optimum pH for growth between about 7.5 and 9.5, and do not grow at pH below 6.5 or above pH 11.2. These organisms grow in complex media without added NaCl, but have a maximum growth rate in media with 1.0% NaCl and grow in media containing up to 6.0% NaCl. The organisms are extremely ionizing radiation resistant; 60% of the cells survive 5.0 kGy. These strains are chemoorganotrophic and aerobic; do not grow in Thermus medium under anaerobic conditions with or without nitrate as electron acceptor and glucose as a source of carbon and energy, but ferment glucose to d-lactate without formation of gas. The organisms assimilate a large variety of sugars, organic acids and amino acids. Fatty acids are predominantly iso- and anteiso-branched; long chain 1,2 diols were also found in low relative proportions; menaquinone 8 (MK-8) is the primary respiratory quinone. Peptidoglycan was not detected. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, physiological, biochemical and chemical analysis we describe a new species of one novel genus represented by strain RQ-24^T (CIP 108686^T = LMG 22925^T = DSM 17093^T) for which we propose the name Truepera radiovictrix. We also propose the family Trueperaceae fam. nov. to accommodate this new genus.     

Gaiella occulta gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel representative of a deep branching phylogenetic lineage within the class Actinobacteria and proposal of Gaiellaceae fam. nov. and Gaiellales ord. nov

Two isolates, with an optimum growth temperature of about 35-37 °C and an optimum pH for growth between 6.5 and 7.5, were recovered from a deep mineral water aquifer in Portugal. Strains form rod-shaped cells and were non-motile. These strains were non-pigmented, strictly aerobic, catalase and oxidase positive. Strains F2-233^T and F2-223 assimilated carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids. Major fatty acids were novel iso internally branched such as 17:0 iso 10-methyl, 17:0 iso and 15:0 iso 8-methyl. The peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and menaquinone MK-7 was the major respiratory quinone. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene shows the strains to cluster with species of the genera Thermoleophilum, Patulibacter, Conexibacter and Solirubrobacter to which they have pairwise sequence similarity in the range 87-88%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, physiological and biochemical characteristics we describe a new species of a novel genus represented by strain F2-233^T (=CECT 7815^T = LMG 26412^T) for which we propose the name Gaiella occulta gen. nov., sp. nov. We also propose that this organism represents a novel family named Gaiellaceae fam. nov. of a novel order named Gaiellales ord. nov.     

Natranaeroarchaeum sulfidigenes gen. nov., sp. nov., carbohydrate-utilizing sulfur-respiring haloarchaeon from hypersaline soda lakes,a member of a new family Natronoarchaeaceae fam. nov. in the order Halobacteriales

A pure culture of alkaliphilic haloarchaeon strain AArc-S^T capable of anaerobic growth by carbohydrate-dependent sulfur respiration was obtained from hypersaline lakes in southwestern Siberia. According to phylogenetic analysis, AArc-S^T formed a new genus level branch most related to the genus Natronoarchaeum in the order Halobacteriales. The strain is facultatively anaerobic with strictly respiratory metabolism growing either by anaerobic respiration with elemental sulfur and thiosulfate as the electron acceptors or by aerobic respiration at microoxic conditions. Thiosulfate is reduced partially to sulfide and sulfite. It is a first sulfur-reducing alkaliphilic haloarchaeon utilizing sugars, starch and glycerol as substrates for anaerobic growth. It is extremely halophilic (optimum at 3.5 M total Na⁺) and obligately alkaliphilic (optimum at pH 9.5). The dominant polar lipids include PG and PGP-Me with the archaeol (C₂₀-C₂₀) or extended archaeol (C₂₀-C₂₅) cores. The dominant respiratory lipoquinone is MK-8:8. On the basis of unique physiological properties and results of phylogenetic analysis, the soda lake isolate is suggested to be classified into a novel genus and species Natranaeroarchaeum sulfidigenes gen. nov., sp. nov. (=JCM 34033^T = UNIQEM U1000^T). Furthermore, on the bases of phylogenomic reconstruction, a new family Natronoarchaeaceae fam. nov. is proposed within the order Halobacteriales incorporating Natranaeroarchaeum and three related genera: Natronoarchaeum, Salinarchaeum and Halostella.     

On a new family of non-pigmented parasites in the blood of reptiles: Garniidae fam. nov., (Coccidiida: Haemosporidiidea). Some species of the new genus Garnia

A new family, Garniidae, has been erected within the Suborder Haemosporidiidea (Protozoa: Sporozoa), for certain blood-parasites of South American lizards. Members of this family are differentiated from those of the Plasmodiidae and Haemoproteidae by their failure to produce malarial pigment when developing in the erythrocytes, and from members of the Leucocytozoidae by their schizogony in the red and white cells of the peripheral blood. Some parasites previously described as Plasmodium species in Panamanian lizards have been transferred to the new genus Garnia, and two new species are described from lizards in Brazil. Vectors and sporogonic stages are as yet unknown.