AN UNUSUAL FOSSIL FRUCTIFICATION FROM THE JURASSIC OF OAXACA,MEXICO

A fructification with unusual branching arrangement, Perezlaria oaxacensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic Zorrillo Formation of Oaxaca, Mexico. The sporangial heads are similar to the pollen-bearing organs of several Mesozoic pteridosperms. The association of P. oaxacensis, as well as some isolated organs resembling the synangia of Caytonanthus, with glossopteroid foliage is noted.     

INVESTIGATIONS OF NORTH AMERICAN CYCADEOIDS: WELTRICHIA AND WILLIAMSONIA FROM THE JURASSIC OF OAXACA,MEXICO

Specimens of cones of members of the family Williamsoniaceae, order Cycadeoidales, from Jurassic deposits of Oaxaca, Mexico, demonstrate the first bona fide evidence of the pollenbearing Weltrichia from the Mexican Jurassic as well as provide new information on ovulebearing Williamsonia.     

Lacewings of the family Osmylidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the Upper Jurassic of Asia

Three new genera and five new species of osmylid lacewings are described from the locality Karatau (Kazakhstan, Upper Jurassic): Jurosmylus parvulus sp. nov. (Protosmylinae), Ensiosmylus acutus gen. et sp. nov. (Spilosmylinae), Kolbasinella elongata gen. et sp. nov. (Gumillinae), Arbusella bella gen. et sp. nov. and Jurakempynus arcanus sp. nov. (Kempyninae). Another new osmylid species (Jurakempynus sublimis sp. nov.) is described from the Upper Jurassic of Mongolia (Shar-Teg locality). The quantitative compositions of the osmylid faunas of Karatau and Shar-Teg are discussed.     

New Insects (Insecta: Trichoptera,Reculida, Eoblattida) from the Mesozoic of Asia

New caddisflies, reculid and eoblattid insects from the Mesozoic of Asia are described. Caddisflies of the families Philopotamidae (Mesoviatrix paradoxa gen. et sp. nov. and Kempia piotri gen. et sp. nov.) and Polycentropodidae (Polylongevus eskovi gen. et sp. nov.) from the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous of the Kempendyai locality in Yakutia are described. A short review and comparison of fossil members in these families are provided. New Gryllones insects, Shurabia tanga sp. nov., Sauk batkenicus gen. et sp. nov. from the Sauk Tan’ga locality (Lower Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan), Say kirgizicus gen. et sp. nov. from the Shurab III locality (Reculida: Geinitziidae; Lower or Middle Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan) Griphopteron iya sp. nov. (Eoblattida: Blattogryllidae) from Iya locality (Middle Jurassic of Russia) are described.     

Botanical characterisation of Mexican honeys from a subtropical region (Oaxaca) based on pollen analysis

Melissopalynological analysis of 39 honey samples from Oaxaca, Mexico, enabled us to establish the important plant sources exploited by bees during the principal harvest in four districts of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. A total of 64 taxa belonging to 29 families were recorded. These subtropical honeys were characterised by their botanical origin as follows: (a) monofloral honeys of Bursera simaruba, Clethra mexicana, Cordia alliodora, Lonchocarpus sp., Mangifera indica, Miconia argentea, Orbignya cohune and Quercus sp.; (b) bifloral honeys with an association of Heliocarpus donnell-smithii and Ceiba sp., Lonchocarpus sp. and Mimosa pudica, H. donnell-smithii and Mangifera indica, Miconia argentea and Miconia tenuiflora; (c) oligofloral honeys of Asteraceae; and (d) multifloral honeys with three or four species ≥10%. Monofloral honeys were placed in classes I, II, III, IV and V. Oligofloral were class II, bifloral were classes I and II, and polyfloral honeys were assigned to classes I, II and III. Honey samples of Apis mellifera had a diversity index range of 0.3 to 2.7. It is well known that this bee is polylectic and has a heterogeneous foraging behaviour. In the State of Oaxaca, it prefers resources of secondary vegetation from low deciduous forest, although taxa of economic importance were also utilised, for instance, Mangifera indica and Citrus sinensis. Oaxaca has important and diverse native resources, and beekeeping activity needs to be promoted because of its potential to develop new types of honey.     

Corals,molluscs, and paleogeography of late Jurassic strata of the Cerro Pozo Serna,Sonora, Mexico

Jurassic strata of late Oxfordian to early Kimmeridgian age are reported from the Cerro Pozo Serna, northwest-central Sonora, Mexico. The presence of these marine strata greatly alters previous paleogeographic reconstructions of the Tethyan embayment in this area. Approximately 60% of the Sonorian molluscan fauna has been previously reported from Jurassic horizons in the Gulf of Mexico and west Texas regions. The remainder of the molluscs have previously been reported from either the western interior United States or Canada. The Pozo Serna faunas seem to be zoogeographically transitional between communities present in the southern North American Tethyan realm and regions within the central North American Tethyan realm. Additionally, the Pozo Serna fauna greatly resembles contemporaneous communities reported from the Jurassic of Morocco. Corals from the Sonorian Jurassic prove to be, in large part, conspecific with well-known central European and Algerian reef-building species. The scleractinian Lepidophylliopsis gen. nov. and Macgeopsis sonorensis sp. nov. are described from central Sonora.     

Una nueva especie de Weltrichia (Bennettitales) del Jurásico Medio de la Formación Tecomazuchil (Oaxaca, México)

A new species of Weltrichia (Williamsoniaceae: Bennettitales) is described from the Middle Jurassic of Oaxaca. The specimens come from the Tecomazuchil Formation in the Ayuquila region, at the border between the Oaxaca and Puebla states. Fossils are preserved as impressions and compressions, in a fine-grained sublitharenite sequence deposited in a fluvial environment. Preserved diagnostic characters include: large size; a cup-shaped receptacle showing seven radially arranged and basically fused microsporophylls bearing synangia. Microsporophylls are ornamented with longitudinal striations and fine brittled hairs on the edge of their wide base, and taper into a narrow distal tip. In the adaxial part of the microsporophylls seven to nine synangia are observed. These characters differentiate the new species Weltrichia mixtequensis from all previously recorded species from Mexico or elsewhere. The presence of this new species in the Middle Jurassic strata of the Ayuquila region add to the scarce fossil record of microsporangiate structures in the Jurassic flora of Mexico.     

The first find of chrysomelids (Insecta: Coleopetra: Chrysomeloidea) from Callovian-Oxfordian Daohugou biota of China

Tarsomegamerus mesozoicus nov. gen., nov. sp., an almost complete specimen of leaf beetle from the Callovian-Oxfordian of Daohugou Formation in Inner Mongolia, China is described. Tarsomegamerus mesozoicus is assigned to the Protoscelinae (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera). This new leaf beetle represents the first record of chrysomeloids from Mesozoic of China and it extends the geographical distribution of Protoscelinae from central Asia into eastern Asia. This find provides new fossil material for studying the origin and evolution of Chrysomeloidea and by making a stratigraphic correlation of the correlative non-marine sedimentary rocks. Although the age of the Daohugou Formation is debatable it is most likely Callovian-Oxfordian (latest Middle Jurassic-earliest Late Jurassic) rather than early Middle Jurassic (late Aalenian-early Bajocian) or Early Cretaceous.     

New nematocerans (Insecta: Diptera) from the Late Jurassic of Mongolia

New nematoceran taxa are described based on isolated wings from the Late Jurassic Shar Teg locality (Mongolia): ?Nannotanyderus incertus sp. nov. (Tanyderidae), Crenoptychoptera liturata sp. nov. (Ptychopteridae), Chaoburmus amphilogos sp. nov., Mesocorethra cincta sp. nov. (Chaoboridae), Rasnicynomma additum gen. et sp. nov., and Palaeoperissomma ornatum sp. nov. (Perissommatidae).     

New Stenolaematous bryozoans from the Jurassic of central European Russia (Moscow city and the Moscow and Kostroma Regions)

New bryozoans from the Middle Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of Moscow city (Reptomulticava pileola sp. nov.) and the Moscow Region (Spirodella radiolobata gen. et sp. nov.) and from the Middle Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) of the Kostroma Region (Hyporosopora mittai sp. nov.) are described. All three bryozoans belong to the class Stenolaemata. Some features of their colonial organization and environmental conditions are discussed.     

A Remarkable New Family of Jurassic Insects (Neuroptera) with Primitive Wing Venation and Its Phylogenetic Position in Neuropterida

Background

Lacewings (insect order Neuroptera), known in the fossil record since the Early Permian, were most diverse in the Mesozoic. A dramatic variety of forms ranged in that time from large butterfly-like Kalligrammatidae to minute two-winged Dipteromantispidae.

Principal Findings

We describe the intriguing new neuropteran family Parakseneuridae fam. nov. with three new genera and 15 new species from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou (Inner Mongolia, China) and the Early/Middle Jurassic of Sai-Sagul (Kyrgyzstan): Parakseneura undula gen. et sp. nov., P. albomacula gen. et sp. nov., P. curvivenis gen. et sp. nov., P. nigromacula gen. et sp. nov., P. nigrolinea gen. et sp. nov., P. albadelta gen. et sp. nov., P. cavomaculata gen. et sp. nov., P. inflata gen. et sp. nov., P. metallica gen. et sp. nov., P. emarginata gen. et sp. nov., P. directa gen. et sp. nov., Pseudorapisma jurassicum gen. et sp. nov., P. angustipenne gen. et sp. nov., P. maculatum gen. et sp. nov. (Daohugou); Shuraboneura ovata gen. et sp. nov. (Sai-Sagul). The family comprises large neuropterans with most primitive wing venation in the order indicated by the presence of ScA and AA1+2, and the dichotomous branching of MP, CuA, CuP, AA3+4, AP1+2. The phylogenetic position of Parakseneuridae was investigated using a phylogenetic analysis of morphological scoring for 33 families of extinct and extant Neuropterida combined with DNA sequence data for representatives of all extant families. Parakseneuridae were recovered in a clade with Osmylopsychopidae, Prohemerobiidae, and Ithonidae.

Conclusions/Significance

The presence of the presumed AA1+2 in wings of Parakseneuridae is a unique plesiomorphic condition hitherto unknown in Neuropterida, the clade comprising Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera. The relative uncertainty of phylogenetic position of Parakseneuridae and the majority of other families of Neuroptera reflects deficient paleontological data, especially from critical important periods for the order, earliest Triassic and latest Triassic/earliest Jurassic.     

Tres adiciones al genero Baccharis (Compositae) en Mexico

1. -Bigelowia pyramidata Rob. & Greenm. from Oaxaca proves to be a dioecious plant and is therefore transferred to the genusBaccharis.
2. -Baccharis matudae sp. nov. is described on the basis of material collected in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí. The species is closely related toB. pyramidata (Rob. & Greenm.) Rzedowski.
3. -Baccharis zamoranensis sp. nov. is described on the basis of material collected on the border of Querétaro and Guanajuato. The taxon is related toB. multiflora H.B.K., known from central and southern Mexico.

     

Late Jurassic cockroaches (Insecta,Blattaria) from the Houtiyn-Hotgor locality in Mongolia

A low-diversity cockroach assemblage from the Upper Jurassic of the Houtiyn-Hotgor locality in Mongolia is described, comprising Solemnia alexandri gen. et sp. nov. (Caloblattinidae), Blattula choutinensis sp. nov. (Blattulidae) and a presumed Triassic relict Irreblatta relicta gen. et sp. nov. (incertae familiae). The carnivorous Raphidiomimidae supposedly originated directly from the Caloblattinidae.     

New beetle species of the genus Lasiosyne (Coleoptera, Lasiosynidae) from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Russia and Mongolia

Six new species of the genus Lasiosyne Tan et al., 2007, the type genus of the family Lasiosynidae Kirejtshuk et al., 2010, are described from Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits of Mongolia and East Siberia: L. shartegiensis sp. nov., L. insculpta sp. nov., L. longitarsa sp. nov., L. cataphracta sp. nov., L. punctata sp. nov., and L. decora sp. nov. A modified diagnosis of the genus is proposed.     

New bibionomorpha (Insecta: Diptera) from the Jurassic of Asia

The new species Protorhyphus rohdendorfi sp. nov. (Protorhyphidae), Mesorhyphus handlirschi sp. nov., and M. hennigi sp. nov. (Anisopodidae), Procramptonomyia ponomarenkoi sp. nov. and P. kovalevi sp. nov. (Procramptonomyiidae) are described from the Upper Jurassic deposits of Mongolia (Shar Teg); some features of Archirhyphus asiaticus Rohdendorf, 1964 are revealed. The latter two species are also known from the locality of Karatau (Kazakhstan, J_2/3). The genus Tega Blagoderov, Krzemi??ska, and Krzemi??ski, 1993 is transferred from the family Cramptonomyiidae into Anisopodidae (Teginae subfam. nov.).     

New mayfly nymphs from the Jurassic of Northern and Northeastern China (Insecta: Ephemeroptera)

Four new species of mayfly nymphs, Furvoneta relicta sp. nov., Clavineta eximia sp. nov. (originally Mesoneta antiqua), Mesobaetis latifilamentacea sp. nov., and Stackelbergisca cylindrata sp. nov. are described from the Jurassic of China. All these species may have inhabited lakes rather than flowing water. The geological age and stratigraphical correlation of the nymph-bearing strata are briefly reviewed.     

New hymenopteran insects (Insecta: Vespida) from the lower or middle Jurassic of India

Hymenopterans Xyelula alexandri Rasnitsyn, sp. nov. (Sepulcidae) and Kotaphialtites frankmortoni Rasnitsyn, gen. et sp. nov. (Ephialtitidae) are described from the Lower or Middle Jurassic Kota Formation, Andhra Pradesh, India. These finds prove a considerable similarity between the Gondwanan and Laurasian hymenopteran faunas during the Jurassic, as well as during the Triassic and Cretaceous.     

New species of Palaeobolbomyia Kovalev and Ussatchovia Kovalev (Diptera, Brachycera, Rhagionidae) from the Callovian-Oxfordian (Jurassic) Daohugou biota of China: Biostratigraphic and paleoecologic implications

Three new species of fossil snipe flies (Insecta, Diptera, Rhagionidae) from the Daohugou Formation of Chifeng City in Nei Monggol Autonomous Region (= Inner Mongolia), northeastern China are described as Palaeobolbomyia sinica nov. sp., Ussatchovia robusta nov. sp. and Ussatchovia gracilenta nov. sp. They represent the first records of the genera Palaeobolbomyia Kovalev and Ussatchovia Kovalev in China and have implications for stratigraphic correlation of the formations in which they are found. Although the precise age of the Daohugou Formation is currently unresolved, it is most likely Callovian-Oxfordian (latest Middle Jurassic-earliest Late Jurassic) rather than early Middle Jurassic (late Aalenian-early Bajocian) or Early Cretaceous.     

Systematics and palaeoecology of middle Toarcian Asteroidea (Echinodermata) from the “Seuil du Poitou”, Western France

Complete, articulated starfish fossils are rare. However, more frequently encountered dissociated skeletal elements (ossicles) permit reliable taxonomic identification, making them a valuable data source for diversity estimates. Nearly 300 asteroid ossicles, collected from the middle Toarcian marls in western France can be assigned to five species. Four species and two genera are described: Comptoniaster vrinensis nov. sp. (Goniasteridae), Poncetaster crateri nov. gen. nov. sp. (Stauranderasteridae), Galbaster recurrans nov. gen. nov. sp. (Goniasteridae) and Pentasteria? liasica nov. sp. (Astropectinidae). The known diversity of Early Jurassic asteroids is increased from 12 to 16 species. These taxa illustrate the diversification of crown-group asteroids early in the Jurassic, following the Permo-Triassic crisis. They also reflect bias of the fossil record, and imply the existence of numerous ghost lineages in the evolutionary trees of extant groups. Variation in asteroid diversity across the “Seuil du Poitou” was driven by ecological constraints. The relative frequency (abundance of ossicles and diversity) of goniasterids and stauranderasterids increases in shallower environments. The Benthopectinidae, represented by Plesiastropecten hallovensis, occurred primarily from deep-shelf sediments. Similar ecological patterns are observed for more recent fossil and extant relatives, which further supports the idea of conservative evolution in post-Palaeozoic starfishes since the Early Jurassic.     

A new genus of Elateriform beetles (Coleoptera,Polyphaga) from the Middle-Late Jurassic of Karatau

A new coleopteran genus, Anacapitis gen. nov., comprising A. karataviensis sp. nov., A. incertus sp. nov., and A. oblongus sp. nov., is described from the Karabastau Formation of the Karatau locality (southern Kazakhstan, Middle-Late Jurassic) in the infraorder Elateriformia. The systematic position of the new genus within the suborder Polyphaga is discussed.