Devonian and Carboniferous dendroid graptolites from Belgium and their significance for the taxonomy of the Dendroidea

Devonian and Carboniferous dendroid graptolites from Belgium are evaluated and partly revised. New finds in two different stratigraphic intervals of the ‘Carrière de Lompret’, an active quarry exploiting Frasnian limestones and shales east of Frasnes-lez-Couvin, allow the identification of Callograptus sp. and Dictyonema fraiponti, both belonging to the dendroid family Acanthograptidae. The relatively high diversity of the dendroid graptolite fauna from the Viséan Marbre noir de Denée, one of the few Carboniferous graptolite faunas in the world, can be shown to be based on astogenetic and preservational aspects. Nearly all known specimens can be included in the highly variable Dictyonema fraiponti, a fan-shaped large dendroid species with complex stipes formed from tubular thecae, possessing simple to complex bridges connecting adjacent stipes. Some of the graptolite material is well preserved and provides important information on the tubarium construction of Devonian to Carboniferous dendroid graptolites and, thus, is highly significant for a taxonomic and phylogenetic understanding of the youngest dendroid graptolite faunas worldwide. The genera Callograptus and Ptiograptus are revised based on their type species (Callograptus elegans from Quebec, Canada; Ptiograptus percorrugatus from the Silurian or Devonian of Kentucky, USA) and referred to the Acanthograptidae.     

Middle Devonian dendroid graptolites from the Brilon Reef area (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, Germany)

Dendroid graptolites from the Middle Devonian (Givetian, middlePolygnathus varcus Biozone) of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge are described for the first time. The fauna of the Burgberg locality south of the Brilon reef comes from a black shale layer in a succession of calcareous debris flows. The fauna includes five species ofDictyonema andRuedemannograptus described in open nomenclature. The fragmentation of the material is conside-red as an indication of post-mortem transport.      

New species of spiriferids (Brachiopoda) from the Devonian and Carboniferous of Eastern Europe

In a revision of previously published materials, two new spiriferid species from the Late Tournaisian, Unispirifer subtornacensis sp. nov. and Mesochorispira ussuilensis sp. nov., and Atylephorus nalivkini sp. nov. from the Lytva Horizon of the Upper Devonian of Bashkiria are described. Based on the original collection, a new Serpukhovian subspecies, Podtsheremia duplicicosta triplicicosta, from the southern Ural Mountains and a new Late Carboniferous species, Purdonella kalashnikovi, from the polar Ural Mountains and adjacent islands are established.     

New data on the Tournaisian bryozoans (Lower Carboniferous) from Azerbaijan and Armenia

Three new bryozoan species of the order Trepostomata are described from the Tournaisian sedimentary rocks of Azerbaijan (Nakhichevan) and Armenia: Nikiforopora arpaensis sp. nov., Tabuliporella nakhichevanica sp. nov., and Anisotrypa kjarkiensis sp. nov. The sequential change in the bryozoan associations in southern Transcaucasia during the Tournaisian age is considered. Some taxa are shown to belong also to the Early Carboniferous bryozoan assemblages of the shelf seas of the Paleotethys.     

New Devonian and Carboniferous bryozoans of the Holy Cross Mountains (central Poland)

New bryozoans from the Middle-Upper Devonian (Eifelian-Frasnian) and the Lower Carboniferous (Tournaisian) of the Holy Cross Mountains in central Poland are described: Bigeyella sparsa gen. et sp. nov., B. separata gen. et sp. nov., Eridopora singula sp. nov., Leptotrypa pulchra sp. nov., Kysylschinipora klarae sp. nov., Coelotubulipora rara sp. nov., Alternifenestella genuina sp. nov., Exfenestella polonica sp. nov., and Rectifenestella localis sp. nov. Some paleogeographic and stratigraphic aspects of the Paleozoic deposits of this region are discussed and main bryozoan localities are described.     

New bryozoans from the Devonian of Afghanistan and the Carboniferous of Iran

A new family, Vidronovellidae, with a new genus, Vidronovella, and its type species V. fastigata sp. nov., and a new species, Europora gerirudensis, are described from the Famennian of Afghanistan, and the new species Primorella iranica, Heloclema magnificum, and Worthenopora elbursensis are described from the Viséan of Iran.     

New data on the phylogeny of Choristitidae (Carboniferous brachiopods)

A new species and genus of Choristitinae, Adventochoristites abavus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Upper Serpukhovian of the Donets Basin and is considered as an ancestor of the Middle-Late Carboniferous Choristites linage. The characteristic features differing Alphachoristites from Choristites and Trautscholdia are specified. New species Alphachoristites berestovensis sp. nov. and Quizhouspirifer tshaikensis sp. nov. are established.     

Large Tristichopteridae (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha) from the Late Famennian Evieux Formation of Belgium

Remains of two large sarcopterygians are described from Famennian deposits in Belgium. One of them is referred to Eusthenodon wängsjöi Jarvik; it is the first occurrence of this genus in Belgium. The other, much larger one, appears to be a tristichopterid. It has a postspiracular; size and shape of the mandible similar to those of Platycephalichthys skuenicus and P. bischoffi ; snout and cheek patterns close to those of Eusthenodon ; unusual shape of the supratemporal resembling that of Hyneria , Mandageria and Platycephalichthys skuenicus ; and tooth histology quite similar to that of Eusthenodon and Platycephalichthys .     

New data on osteostracans (Agnatha) from the Lower Devonian of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago

The osteostracans Reticulaspis menneri gen. et sp. nov. and Nucleaspis unica gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Devonian Severnaya Zemlya Formation of October Revolution Island of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago are described. The perfect preservation of the exoskeleton structure of Reticulaspis menneri allows the design and growth mode of the exoskeleton, with a continuous reticular dental surface of the cephalothoracic shield to be characterized. Nucleaspis unica is represented by a juvenile stage, which is extremely scarce in this vertebrate group. The preoccupied generic name Ungulaspis Afanassieva et Karatajūt?-Talimaa, 1998 is replaced by Paraungulaspis.     

Middle to Late Pleistocene herpetofauna from Scladina and Sous-Saint-Paul caves (Namur,Belgium)

For the first time, the fossil herpetofauna from the Middle and Late Pleistocene of Scladina and Sous-Saint-Paul caves (Sclayn, Belgium) is described. The amphibians and squamate reptiles are represented by one salamander (Salamandra salamandra), three anurans (Pelodytes punctatus, Bufo bufo and Rana temporaria), two lizards (Lacerta cf. agilis and Anguis fragilis) and two snakes (Zamenis longissimus and Vipera cf. berus). The occurrence of the Parsley Frog (Pelodytes punctatus) and the Aesculapian Snake (Zamenis longissimus), which are not currently represented in Belgium, is of particular interest. Scladina also represents one of the northernmost fossil mentions for the Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra) although it is within its current distribution in Europe. Finally, the presence of the Adder (Vipera cf. berus) is very probably attested in Scladina whereas today this snake is infrequent and classified as endangered in Belgium.     

New palaeobotanical data from the Lower Devonian of Mezquita de Loscos (Teruel Province,Spain)

Recent fieldwork has uncovered three new localities from the Lower Devonian of Mezquita de Loscos (Teruel Province, Spain) with further plant mega-fossils and the first record of micro-fossils. Such plant remains have been interpreted as belonging to a basal euphyllophyte, Taeniocrada-like stems, Hostinella genus and paired sporangia. Fourteen spore taxa were recovered, including Ambitisporites, Aneurospora, Brochotriletes, Chelinospora, Emphanisporites, Gneudnaspora and Retusotriletres, among others. New evidence confirms a Lochkovian age for this outcrop and suggests that the plant diversity was more complex than originally documented.     

The latest Tremadocian messaoudensis-trifidum acritarch assemblage from the upper part of the Lierneux Member (Salm Group, Stavelot Inlier, Belgium)

The acritarch assemblage occurring in the upper part of the Lierneux Member (Jalhay Formation, Salm Group, Stavelot Inlier, Belgium) has recently been attributed to the messaoudensis-trifidum microflora and dated as latest Tremadocian. It contains most of the characteristic species of the English Lake District sub-assemblage 3 except for the two galeate species Cymatiogalea deunfii and C. messaoudensis. The reinvestigation of all available material has established a very diverse association of over 40 species. It shows a great potential from both stratigraphic and palaeogeographic points of view. A formal Stelliferidium trifidum–Veryhachium lairdii Biozone defined by the appearance of 11 species is proposed. Athabascaella playfordii has been observed in all samples. Previously known only from areas of low to intermediate latitudes, the species is shown for the first time to occur also at higher latitudes. Most of the identified species, including Dactylofusa velifera, Kladothecidium eligmosum and Palaiosphaeridium kamax are illustrated. Some are briefly described. The synonymy between Priscogalea chevronensis and Stelliferidium trifidum is confirmed.     

Oichnus Bromley Borings in the Irregular Echinoid Hemipneustes Agassiz from the Type Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous,The Netherlands and Belgium)

Three ichnospecies of Oichnus Bromley occur in tests of the large holasteroid echinoid Hemipneustes striatoradiatus (Leske) in the type area of the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) in The Netherlands and Belgium; Oichnus simplex Bromley (penetrative), Oichnus paraboloides Bromley (nonpenetrative and showing two distinct morphologies), and Oichnus excavatus isp. nov. (nonpenetrative). The two distinct morphologies of O. paraboloides (both shallow, one with a central boss) are gregarious, but do not occur together on the same specimens, suggesting they were generated by different taxa. Oichnus paraboloides with a central boss occurs on H. striatoradiatus from the upper Nekum Member, Maastricht Formation (Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous). Tests of the host echinoid are smaller in the overlying Meerssen Member, Maastricht Formation, where they are infested by O. excavatus, the largest borings considered herein, which have concave walls and a large central boss. Blisters inside tests from the Meerssen Member show that this infestation occurred when the echinoid was alive. It is postulated that producers of these borings in H. striatoradiatus may have been genetically related and increased in size during the Maastrichtian even as the host echinoids showed a size decrease. This size increase in H. striatoradiatus was genetic and cannot be related to increase in size of borings.     

New data on the distribution of the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) flexible crinoid Cibolocrinus (Crinoidea,Flexibilia)

Two new species of flexible crinoids of the genus Cibolocrinus (Crinoidea, Flexibilia) from the Upper Carboniferous of the Moscow Region are described: C. kutasovi (Moscovian Stage, Podolskian Regional Substage) and C. gerassimovi (Gzhelian Stage, Dobryatinian Regional Substage). The first species, C. kutasovi, belongs to a group with low cone shaped cups that first appeared in the Moscow Basin and then spread to the Midcontinent of North America. In one specimen of C. gerassimovi the smallest infrabasal plate is situated in the A ray, which is not typical for flexible crinoids. A poorly preserved crown of Cibolocrinus sp. from the Upper Carboniferous (Gzhelian Stage) of the Darvaz Ridge (western Pamir, central Tajikistan) is also described. The described specimens of Cibolocrinus from the Moscow Region and the Darvaz Ridge are the first reliable specimens of this genus described from Europe and Asia.     

New data on eurypterids (Eurypterida,Chelicerata) of the upper Carboniferous of the Donets Basin

Eurypterid finds are described from the Carboniferous (Kasimovian) localities Lomuvatka (Luhansk Region, Ukraine) and Kakichev (Rostov Region, Russia). These eurypterids are supposedly juveniles of Adelophthalmus carbonarius Chernyshev, 1933, the only eurypterid previously described from the Donets Basin.     

New Atrypids (Brachiopoda) from the Lower Devonian of Northeast Russia

New atrypids are described from the Lower Devonian of Northeast Russia: Musalitinispira, gen. nov. with type species M. dogdensis, sp. nov. (subfamily Atrypinae), Spinatrypina (Spinatrypina) krivensis, sp. nov., and Datnella, gen. nov. with type species D. datnensis (Baranov, 1995) (subfamily Spinatrypinae).