Upper Devonian Radiolarians from the Zeravshan-Gissar Mountainous Area,Uzbekistan

The first finds of Upper Devonian radiolarians in cherty rocks of the Akbasay Formation, Zeravshan-Gissar mountainous area, are reported. Nineteen species of spherical and spiny forms were identified and assigned to 8 genera. Finds of co-occurring conodonts and radiolarians enabled the refinement of the proposed age of radiolarian associations.     

Devonian (Eifelian) disparid crinoids from the Zeravashan range,southern Tien Shan,Uzbekistan

No Devonian disparid crinoids have been described from Uzbekistan, although parahexacrinid thecae and assorted columnals have been described in several papers in the past 50 years. Discovery of a cup of Pisocrinus and a thecae of Haplocrinites are the first of these genera known from Uzbekistan. The stratigraphic range of Haplocrinites is revised to be late Early Devonian (Emsian) to Early Carboniferous (Tournaisian) because Silurian species assigned to the genus are based on loose ossicles that morphologically do not belong to the genus. The paleogeographic ranges of Pisocrinus and Haplocrinites are extended into Uzbekistan. Haplocrinites uzbekistanensis n. sp. is described.     

Late Silurian trilobites from the Nuratau and Turkestan ranges, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

Silurian trilobites of Ludlow and P?ídolí age are described from sections in southern Uzbekistan and from adjacent parts of Tajikistan. They belong to 22 species (10 named and 12 under open nomenclature) distributed among 13 genera belonging to the families Proetidae, Tropidocoryphidae, Aulacopleuridae, Scharyiidae, Cheiruridae, Encrinuridae and Odontopleuridae. The following new species are described: Interproetus pentaxus, Paleodechenella turkestanica, P. zaaminicus, Cromus tamchii and Leonaspis nuratensis. The generic associations from the mid Ludlow bear a striking resemblance to coeval ones from Bohemia, and include genera otherwise known only from that region or from adjacent parts of central Europe. The trilobite faunas from the late Ludlow and P?ídolí series are much less diverse and are dominated by genera of the Warburgellinae (Tropidocoryphidae), which include one species common to Vaigatch Island in the Russian Arctic, and Podolia, Ukraine. The closest links of the diverse central Asian mid Ludlow faunas are therefore to central Europe, whilst the sparser younger Ludlow and P?ídolí faunas, such as they are, suggest closer links to Baltica.     

New Late Devonian strophomenids (Brachiopoda) from Mongolia

Two new strophomenid species, Leptagonia barunkhuraica sp. nov. (Famennian) and Floweria mongolica sp. nov. (Frasnian), from the Upper Devonian of the Barunkhurai Depression of southern Mongolia are described.     

Late Devonian - Early Carboniferous vertebrate microremains from the Carnic Alps, northern Italy

Vertebrate microremains from the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous of the Carnic Alps are predominantly chondrichthyan, with minor placoderm and actinopterygian remains. The faunas are sparse and, with very few exceptions, occur only in conodont-rich pelagic limestones (Pramosio Limestone) representative of the palmatolepid-bispathodid conodont biofacies. Phoebodont and jalodont chondrichthyans, also reflecting open-ocean environments, predominated during the Famennian, and eventually symmoriids seem to predominate during the Early Carboniferous. The presence of Siamodus in this assemblage gives a new locality for this genus known from few regions in the world and allows confirming its stratigraphical range (limpidus Zone) and its relation to deep-water environments. The Late Devonian vertebrate faunas are tropical and cosmopolitan, having much in common with coeval taxa from the North-Gondwanan margins and Asian terranes. Composition of the vertebrate faunas is consistent with the Carnic Alps terrane having occupied a position intermediate between Gondwana and Laurussia, as hypothesized by various authors, but because of sparsity of the taxa represented and the pronounced cosmopolitan nature of both the conodont and vertebrate faunas, the data are not compelling.     

Late Devonian Acritarchs from the Gneudna formation in the Western Carnarvon basin,Western Australia

The Gneudna Formation is a Late Devonian(Frasnian) sequence of marine calcareous sediments that occurs in the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The present palynological study is based upon subsurface silty strata from a borehole (Pelican Hill or Bibbawarra Bore) that was drilled early this century near the western coastal limit of the Carnarvon Basin.The subject strata have previously been attributed to the Gneudna Formation on lithostratigraphic grounds. They contain a rich and varied assemblage of marine microphytoplankton (acritarchs), associated with trilete miospores of which Geminospora lemurataBalme, 1962 is the dominant form. Forty-seven species of acritarchs are recognizable in the palynoflora, which corresponds very closely with that described recently (Playford & Dring, 1981) from the Gneudna Formation in the vicinity of its type section on the opposite (eastern) side of the Carnarvon Basin. The apparently parochial complexion of the Gneudna acritarch suite is probably illusory, insofar as early Late Devonian acritarchs have not been studied extensively or intensively from either the northern or southern hemispheres.The following new species of acritarchs areformally instituted herein: Elektoriskos villosa, Lophosphaeridium pelicanensis, and Pterospermella tenellula.     

Late Devonian global ostracod palaeobiogeography

A global Late Devonian ostracod database is constructed, incorporating new materials from South China and Northwest China. Four palaeobiogeographical units (Cathaysia, North America, Europe and peri‐Gondwana) are recognized during the Frasnian and five palaeobiogeographical units (Cathaysia, North America, Europe, Siberia and Australia) in the Famennian. Three controlling factors (climatic zonation, geographical isolation and global sea‐level changes) are identified to have played roles in shaping the palaeogeographical regionalization of ostracod faunas in the Late Devonian. The ostracod palaeobiogeography in the Frasnian was mainly influenced by climatic zonation, while rapid changes in tectonic configuration in the Famennian drastically altered the global palaeobiogeography of ostracods. The palaeobiogeographical regionalization of ostracod faunas suggests that Laurussia and Gondwana continued to draw near during the Late Devonian, with the first collision occurring in Southern Central Europe in the Famennian. The South China plate drifted northward to the Kazakhstan plate away from the Australian plate, which gradually became isolated during the Famennian Stage.     

A New Late Silurian or Early Devonian Thelodont from the Boothia Peninsula, Arctic Canada

Isolated scales of Boothialepis thorsteinssoni gen. et sp. nov. are described from a fossiliferous calcareous dolomite at the base of the Somerset Island Formation of the Boothia Peninsula, Arctic Canada. A new family, Boothialepididae (Thelodonti), is established on features of the scale morphology and histology. The new genus and species are distinguished by characteristics of crown sculpture, neck, and unusual size of the base. Two other thelodonts, Nikolivia elongata Karatajūtė-Talimaa and Canonia grossi Vieth, and an acanthodian, Poracanthodes sp., are described from the same stratigraphical level. Thelodonts have not previously been described from the Boothia Peninsula. Conodont-based correlation indicates a Late Silurian age for the base of the Somerset Island Formation on the Boothia Peninsula. Correlation of the beds with precisely dated microvertebrates in the Read Bay section on Cornwallis Island enables the age of the horizon with the new species to be determined as Early Devonian.     

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.     

Famennian (Late Devonian) ammonoids from the Ouarourout section (Saoura Valley,Algeria)

In North Africa, the ammonoids constitute an important part of the Devonian marine macro-invertebrates. New material has been recently collected in the ‘Argiles de Marhouma’ Formation from several sections located near Béni-Abbès in the Saoura Valley (Ougarta Mountains, Algerian Sahara). Red nodular limestones (i.e., ‘griotte’ facies) characterize this formation rich in ammonoids. The assemblages from the Ouarourout section are composed of Goniatitida and Clymeniida constituting 30 species and 19 genera belonging to 11 families, with Cyrtoclymenia, Erfoudites, Kosmoclymenia, Planitornoceras, Platyclymenia, and Prionoceras, as the most abundant genera. The taxonomic comparison and the biostratigraphic correlations are made by considering the assemblages recorded in the Anti-Atlas of Morocco, which are very close to those observed in Algeria. In the Ouarourout area, the ‘Argiles de Marhouma’ Formation contains middle and late Famennian ammonoid assemblages and three biostratigraphic intervals can be identified: Planitornoceras, Platyclymenia and Medioclymenia.     

Siluro-devonian Conodonts from the Camelford Limestone, Wellington, New South Wales, Australia

Conodont data have been utilized to identify the Silurian/Devonian boundary within the Camelford Limestone near Wellington, NSW. Conodont faunas are documented from the eosteinhornensis Zone to early delta Zone with one new species of Walliserodus ( W. multistriatus ) and two new species of Ozarkodina ( O. brocki and O. camelfordensis ) described. An apparatus reconstruction of Belodella anomalis is also presented.     

Frasnian bryozoans (Late Devonian) from the Khoshyeilagh Section,Alborz Mountains (northern Iran)

A bryozoan fauna containing seven species is described from the Upper Frasnian (Upper Devonian) rocks in the Khoshyeilagh Section, Alborz Mountains (northern Iran). The studied bryozoan assemblage includes one new trepostome species, Eridotrypella alborzensis sp. nov., an additional four species identified at species level: two trepostomes, Minussina akkayaensis Volkova, 1974 and Leptotrypella inaudita Morozova, 1961, and two rhabdomesine cryptostomes, Bigeyella mariae (Morozova, 1961) and Saffordotaxis multispinata (Morozova, 1955). Furthermore, two species are described in open nomenclature: the trepostome Schulgina sp. and the rhabdomesine cryptostome Nicklesopora sp. The studied fauna shows a close similarity at the species level between northern Iran and the Altai-Sayan Folded Belt (Russia), south China, and Transcaucasia.     

西欧晚泥盆世法门期早期石燕贝类腕足动物

比利时新基尔里斯(Senzeilles)地区是西欧晚泥盆世地层研究的一个经典地区,也是法门期石燕贝类腕足动物的重要比产区。然而针对本区弓石燕类的现代研究却较为匮乏,此外,早期的分类工作已难以满足现代专题性的课题资料要求（即层位清楚、鉴定准确的系统分类工作）,因此对比利时地区法门期的“弓石燕属”足动物进行系统古生物学研究及对比具有重要意义。当前研究在华南现有成果的基础上,通过对壳面特征(贝体大小、基面特征、微细纹饰特征、中槽壳褶发生方式)及内部构造(齿板特征、内窗板特征等)的系统研究及对比,拓展了Plicapustula属的定义,即:褶上和褶间均发育微瘤纹饰。欧洲的Plicapustula属分子褶间均发育放射状细瘤微细纹饰,而华南的该属分子褶间均缺失微瘤纹饰。由于该特征存在明显的地域性,因此当前研究以此为依据建立了Paraplicapustula亚属,并将欧洲的标本归入该亚属。此外,本文还首次识别并描述了欧洲的Sinospirifer属。大部分西欧Sinospirifer属和Plicapustula属与华南地区相比,在种级组成上存在明显的差异,包括标本大小、齿板是否增厚、壳褶数目及分枝情...     

An anatomically preserved arborescent lycopsid, Sublepidodendron songziense (Sublepidodendraceae), from the Late Devonian of Hubei, China

Sublepidodendron is a common megafossil plant in the Late Devonian of China, but historically the generic delimitation based on leaf bases masked its true systematic position. A reinvestigation of S. songziense from the Late Devonian Hsiehchingssu Formation, Hubei, China, provides new insights into its internal anatomy and reproductive morphology. This arborescent lycopsid is characterized by small, vertically elongated leaf bases arranged in spirals, presence of false leaf scars, possibly bearing separate cones, and association with a stigmarian rhizomorph. The potential for organic connections of these detached organ genera has been noted for other Sublepidodendron species. The anatomy of S. songziense axes from two levels reveals that the thinner axis may bear an ectophloic siphonostele with a filamentous pith and an outer cortex. The thicker axis has a siphonostele with a branch gap, two-zoned pith with secondary thickenings, multiseriate rays across secondary xylem, a thick periderm, and primary and secondary tracheid walls characterized by "Williamson's striations." Similarities to synapomorphies of Diaphorodendraceae and Lepidodendraceae suggest that S. songziense bears a closer affinity to Lepidodendrales rather than Protolepidodendrales, as formerly thought. Widespread occurrence of Sublepidodendron implies that phylogenetically advanced arborescent lycopsids must have diverged by the Late Devonian.     

Spiriferide brachiopods from the Famennian (Late Devonian) Hongguleleng Formation of western Junggar,Xinjiang, northwestern China

Junggar is one of the most important areas in the study of the Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous in the Junggar-Hinggan Stratigraphic Region. Nevertheless, abundant benthic fossils await modern taxonomic studies. In this paper, six genera and eight species of Famennian spiriferide brachiopods are described from the Duguer Member and its equivalents of the Hongguleleng Formation in western Junggar, adding new data to the Rugaltarostrum Subassemblage of the “Palaeospirifer”–Megalopterorhynchus Brachiopod Assemblage of this area. Five previously recognized species within this subassemblage are revised, including: Cyrtospirifer junggarensis F.M. Zhang [now Ulbospirifer? junggarensis (F.M. Zhang)]; Tenticospirifer tenticulum transversus F.M. Zhang [now Cyrtospirifer transversus (F.M. Zhang)]; Tenticospirifer koketekensis F.M. Zhang [now Cyrtospirifer koketekensis (F.M. Zhang)]; Mucrospirifer quadratus F.M. Zhang (now “Mucrospirifer” quadratus F.M. Zhang); and Mucrospirifer bouchadi (Muir-Wood) (now Tylothyris cf. novamexicana Stainbrook). Three additional species, Cyrtiorina houi n. sp., Goungjunspirifer sinicus F.M. Zhang, and Cyrtospirifer procumbens Simorin in Litvinovich et al., are described. Ulbospirifer? junggarensis and Goungjunspirifer sinicus are characterized by a prismatic layer. Cyrtiorina houi shows a moderately high and triangular ventral interarea, with delthyrium covered by pseudodeltidium with a rounded foramen. Cyrtospirifer procumbens can be distinguished from other species of this genus by its shallow, clearly limited sulcus with prominent primary plications, and high ventral interarea. Cyrtospirifer transversus has an alate to subpentagonal outline. Cyrtospirifer koketekensis has rounded and distinct flank plications. The ventral delthyrium of “Mucrospirifer” quadratus is covered by a pseudodeltidium. Tylothyris cf. novamexicana develops an angular sulcus in cross-section. Comparisons with the coeval brachiopod faunas from various regions indicate that, biogeographically, western Junggar has a close relationship with the Tarbagatai Mountain Range, northeastern Kazakhstan, central Kazakhstan, and Karaganda Basin, and a certain affinity with North America.     

桂东仁义剖面吉维特阶上部的牙形石及腕足动物

本文报道了在桂东仁义剖面中上泥盆统巴漆组中一段八十余米厚地层中发现的牙形石3属10种(包括亚种)和腕足动物16属17种(包括属种未定类型).根据牙形石的组合分布,识别出Schmidtognathus hermanni带、Polygnathus cristatus带和Klapperina disparilis带上亚带,表...     

A Late Devonian plant assemblage from the Avon Gorge, west England: taxonomic, phylogenetic and stratigraphic implications

Plant fossils from the Avon Gorge originally identified as Rhacophyton sp. have been subjected to a detailed morphological study incorporating examination of both previously known material and new specimens. A single taxon, Chlidanophylon dublinensis, dominates the assemblage accounting for over 90% of the fossils encountered. Other plant organs identified include dispersed acupulate preovules and five less frequently occurring organs of which four are of unknown affinities; the leaf genus Platyphyllum, Alicomopleris sp., two kinds of novel and frequendy dichotomizing branching structures and the spermatophyte synangium Telangiopsis. Possible whole plant relationships between the components of the fossil assemblage are discussed and the stratigraphic, systematic and evolutionary position of the component taxa are considered.