A new crocodylomorph specimen from the Araripe Basin (Crato Member,Santana Formation), northeastern Brazil

The fossil fauna of the Santana Formation (Early Cretaceous) comprises many distinct taxa, but crocodylomorphs are poorly understood. Here we describe a new specimen (MPSC-R1137) that consists of a complete hind limb found in the Crato Member, the basal section of the Santana Formation. Based on the characteristics of the fibula (e.g., pronounced variation of the shaft width) and length proportions of the femur and tibia, this specimen can be distinguished from Caririsuchus camposi and Araripesuchus gomesii, which are known from the Romualdo Member (the upper lithostratigraphic unit of the Santana Formation). The only crocodylomorph formally described from the Crato Member is Susisuchus anatoceps, whose holotype lacks elements of the hind limb. On the basis of a comparative anatomical study of the hind limb, which shows no similarities between MPSC-R1137 and other crocodylomorphs from the Araripe Basin, we tentatively classify this new specimen as cf. Susisuchus sp., and provide new anatomical information for this rather derived crocodylomorph.      

A new specimen of the azhdarchoid pterosaur Tapejara wellnhoferi

A new specimen of the Early Cretaceous azhdarchoid Tapejara wellnhoferi is described from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation, NE Brazil, providing the first detailed account of the postcranial skeleton. Although limited in its preservation, the osteology is typical of other azhdarchoid pterosaurs from these deposits and represents a juvenile animal with a relatively small wing span of < 1.5 m. The ratios of the pedal elements are identical to those noted for larger, indeterminate azhdarchoids of the Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation, where the unguals of the pes are greatly enlarged relative to those of the ornithocheiroids that co-inhabited the Santana lagoon. The ratios of these elements suggest that, as part of a larger suite of characters, these animals were likely better adapted for life on the ground than their ornithocheiroid relatives.     

孢粉信息函数在辽河断陷西部凹陷沙河街组古环境分析中的应用

为了加强含油气盆地的古环境和古气候研究,寻找古环境研究的多种途径,探索用孢粉信息函数半定量恢复古环境和古气候。孢粉是气候变化敏感的信息载体,气候适宜,孢粉信息函数值越高,而且在沉积过程中,从岸边到湖盆中心,随着水体加深,孢粉信息函数值逐渐降低。利用孢粉信息函数的这种变化规律,按<2.0、2.0—2.1、>2.1三个参数值,将辽河断陷西部凹陷沙河街组一段沉积时期的湖盆划分为半深湖、浅湖和滨浅湖环境。并依据沙河街组孢粉信息函数值从沙四段到沙一段呈现低(1.97)—高(2.12)—低(1.88)—高(2.28)的韵律性变化,判断古气候呈干热—潮湿—干热—潮湿的旋回性演变。西部凹陷沙河街组孢粉信息函数的变化规律与古气候演变有很好的响应,同时与盆地不同发育阶段的古地貌、古环境密切相关。因此,孢粉信息函数是重建古气候、古环境的有效手段之一,能弥补缺少大化石给含油气盆地沉积环境研究带来的不足。     

Trace-element budgets in the Ohio/Sunbury shales of Kentucky: Constraints on ocean circulation and primary productivity in the Devonian–Mississippian Appalachian Basin

The hydrography of the Appalachian Basin in late Devonian–early Mississippian time is modeled based on the geochemistry of black shales and constrained by others' paleogeographic reconstructions. The model supports a robust exchange of basin bottom water with the open ocean, with residence times of less than forty years during deposition of the Cleveland Shale Member of the Ohio Shale. This is counter to previous interpretations of these carbon-rich units having accumulated under a stratified and stagnant water column, i.e., with a strongly restricted bottom bottom-water circulation. A robust circulation of bottom waters is further consistent with the palaeoclimatology, whereby eastern trade-winds drove upwelling and arid conditions limited terrestrial inputs of siliciclastic sediment, fresh waters, and riverine nutrients. The model suggests that primary productivity was high (~ 2 g C m^− 2 d^− 1), although no higher than in select locations in the ocean today. The flux of organic carbon settling through the water column and its deposition on the sea floor was similar to fluxes found in modern marine environments. Calculations based on the average accumulation rate of the marine fraction of Ni suggest the flux of organic carbon settling out of the water column was approximately 9% of primary productivity, versus an accumulation rate (burial) of organic carbon of 0.5% of primary productivity. Trace-element ratios of V:Mo and Cr:Mo in the marine sediment fraction indicate that bottom waters shifted from predominantly anoxic (sulfate reducing) during deposition of the Huron Shale Member of the Ohio Shale to predominantly suboxic (nitrate reducing) during deposition of the Cleveland Shale Member and the Sunbury Shale, but with anoxic conditions occurring intermittently throughout this period.     

SOLNHOFEN-STYLE SOFT-TISSUE PRESERVATION IN A NEW SPECIES OF TURTLE FROM THE CRATO FORMATION (EARLY CRETACEOUS, APTIAN) OF NORTH-EAST BRAZIL

Abstract:  The partial, articulated skeleton of a pleurodiran turtle from the Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation (Araripe Basin) of north-east Brazil displays an impression of the outline of the soft tissues surrounding the left hind limb. The external mould of the soft tissue surface preserves only the gross morphology of the limb although the outline of the limb is well defined. It appears to be an external mould of the limb's surface, which formed prior to the decay of the integument. The limb skeleton is mostly fully articulated. This style of preservation is comparable with the mouldic preservation found in such famous fossils as the feathered Archaeopteryx specimens of the Solnhofen limestone. Although soft-tissue preservation is occasionally encountered in the Crato Formation, this is the first documented occurrence of mouldic preservation of body outline reported for this Konservat-Lagerstätten. The new specimen is referred to the pelomedusoid Araripemys and represents a new species, A. arturi sp. nov., which is described here.     

Der Frühe und Mittlere Jura. Lebensraum Jurameer

Central Europe preserves sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age, deposited in a subtropical sea, which permit insights into Mesozoic marine ecosystems by their extensive fossil record. Calcareous plankton contributed to the formation of marine sediments for the first time and became an important factor in the global Carbon cycle ever since. Ammonites, Belemnites, fish and marine reptiles shifted through the open water, while a varied fauna dwelled upon and borrowed within the sea floor. Faunal associations as well as depositional environments changed, however, and as these changes are recorded in the rocks, they help to reconstruct the vicissitudes of a mesozoic sea, its changing sea level and current patterns, and what influence they had for the evolution of marine faunas.     

AN EXCEPTIONALLY PRESERVED ANTLION (INSECTA, NEUROPTERA) WITH COLOUR PATTERN PRESERVATION FROM THE CRETACEOUS OF BRAZIL

Abstract:  A new species of palaeoleontid neuropteran Baisopardus cryptohymen sp. nov. is described. The holotype is remarkable for the preservation of fine body structures and colour patterning on all of its four wings. The specimen is nearly complete, lacking only the abdomen and the right mesothoracic leg, and is preserved as a black-brown compression in laminated limestone of the Nova Olinda Member, Crato Formation (late Aptian, Early Cretaceous), Ceará, Brazil. The colour pattern of the forewings comprises a series of dark brown bands that overlap with colourless bands of the hindwings; it produced a cryptic colour pattern when the wings were folded.     

25000年以来渤海湾西岸古环境探讨

 本文依据孢粉、微体古生物、放射性碳测年、因子分析等资料,表明25000a,BP 以来渤海湾西岸的古植被,古地理环境演变既受气候冷暖变化的影响,又受海平面变化的制约。25000—23000a,BP 为高海平面时期,古植被为森林草甸植被,23000—12000a,BP,气候冷干,为低海平面时期,以草原植被为主,前期和后期为沼泽草甸植被。12000—5000a,BP 气候温凉或温暖湿润为海平面上升时期,为阔叶林草甸或沼泽草甸植被,5000a,BP 以来,气候变凉变干,为海退时期,古植被由沼泽草甸演变为盐生草甸。     

长江干流和汉江的鳡鱼繁殖习性及其胚胎发育

本文报道了1961—1966年、1976—1978年和1981年在长江干流和汉江对鳡鱼的繁殖习性、产卵场的分布、产卵场的环境条件、促使产卵的外界因素和产卵规模等方面的调查研究结果。比较系统地研究了鳡鱼鱼卵、鱼苗的胚胎发育,描述了各个发育阶段的形态特征。与长江中其他产漂流性卵鱼类(特别是青鱼、草鱼、鲢和鳙)的胚胎相比较,鳡鱼具有许多明显的特点。       

THE LATE TRIASSIC BLACK SHALES OF THE GUANLING AREA, GUIZHOU PROVINCE, SOUTH-WEST CHINA: A UNIQUE MARINE REPTILE AND PELAGIC CRINOID FOSSIL LAGERSTÄTTE

Abstract:  Black shales of the lower member of the Carnian Xiaowa Formation (previously known as the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation or as the Wayao Formation) in the Guanling area, Guizhou Province, south-west China, are yielding a rich marine reptile fauna and exceptional remains of pelagic crinoids. The black shales represent deposition on the drowned southern margin of the Yangtze Platform during a Maximum Flooding Interval. The relatively reduced sedimentation rates led to the formation of the Lagerstätte through the accumulation of fossils in the anoxic bottom sediments over a prolonged period of time. Invertebrate fossils represent almost exclusively pelagic forms, such as a diverse ammonite fauna and halobiid bivalves. The spectacular finds of colonies of large (stem lengths > 11 m) crinoids of the genus Traumatocrinus attached to driftwood prove that this crinoid was the first to evolve a pseudoplanktonic life style. The other crinoid is the planktonic roveacrinid Osteocrinus . The marine reptile fauna, represented by probably hundreds of skeletons, is numerically dominated by three species of ichthyosaurs and four species of thalattosaurs. The thalattosaurs fill a palaeobiogeographic gap between the Alpine thalattosaur faunas and those from western North America. Two species of placodonts are rare finds. As for the thalattosaurs, the placodont occurrences greatly expand the geographic range of the group because placodonts have been known previously only from the Mediterranean region, the Alps and the Muschelkalk Basin. The unique abundance of thalattosaurs contrasts with a scarcity of fishes. Although we suggest that the fauna is authochthonous and inhabited surface waters, it must have represented an unusual ecosystem. However, the possibility remains that both the marine reptiles and the Traumatocrinus colonies were concentrated in the region by currents and do not reflect the biocoenosis.     

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Campanian) paleoenvironmental history of the Eastern Canadian margin of the Western Interior Seaway: bonebeds and anoxic events

Upper Cretaceous strata in the Pasquia Hills of the northern Manitoba Escarpment, eastern Saskatchewan, Canada provide a detailed paleoenvironmental and sea-level record of the eastern margin of the Western Interior Seaway. Sediments deposited during the Cenomanian/Turonian Greenhorn marine cycle are dominantly black mudstones deposited in a stratified water column, with bottom-water anoxia recurrently reaching into the photic zone. A middle Cenomanian sea-level lowstand event followed by transgression left a series of bonebeds within the Belle Fourche Member of the Ashville Formation, indicating a sedimentary environment starved of coarse siliciclastics. Maximum sea level resulted in the formation of limestone beds within the Favel Formation, further favoured by reduced terrigenous sediment input compared to the western margin. Limestone sedimentation was followed by a phase of increased freshwater input under lower sea level conditions, and reducing zoo- and phytoplankton diversities. During final Greenhorn regression, eastern Saskatchewan probably turned into a restricted basin severely limiting marine circulation. Poor or absent benthic foraminiferal assemblages and biomarker analysis suggest prevailing watermass stratification throughout the Cenomanian/Turonian transgressive/regressive cycle. This was caused either by a freshwater lid, stratification of Boreal and Tethyan-derived watermasses, or both, to various intensities affected by changing sea level. Basin oxygenation during Niobrara time varies between localities along the eastern margin as documented by presence/absence of benthic and planktic foraminifera.     

Studies on the fish fauna of an estuary in the S. W. Netherlands,before and after its change into the stagnant,saline, Lake Grevelingen

Summary The Grevelingen was fished with a beam-trawl during the years 1960–1963, when in open connection with the North Sea as well as with the river Rhine, during the years 1966–1969, when the connection with the river was blocked by a dyke, and from 1971–1976, when the connection with the sea was also blocked by a dyke and the stagnant, saline Lake Grevelingen was created.The (mainly) demersal fishes captured were classified into (1) frequent species spawning within the area; (2) frequent species spawning outside the area, and (3) incidental visitors from the coastal sea.After closure the incidental visitors either became much less frequent or dropped out entirely. Some of the langer spawners decreased in numbers. Their place was occupied by smaller fishes, such as sand smelts and the stickleback.As piscivorous fishes almost completely dropped out, the above small species were able to increase and so were the two gobies present before the closure. The black goby (Gobius niger) invaded the lake and built a large, propagating population, in a similar way as it had done in Lake Veere, a neighbouring saline lake, created in a similar way. The turbot and the brill increased in numbers and there are indications that both spawn in the lake. These two species are the only large piscivorous fishes left at the moment and the nearly empty niche, created by the absence of other, incidental visiting, marine piscivores, is now filled by numbers of markedly increased grebes and cormorants.The flatfishes, used to spawn at sea, were trapped inside the lake. They grew on, but, as no reproduction was possible and recruitment through the locks in the dyke on the land side was minimal, their population decreased, the more rapidly as many were captured by fishermen.It is concluded that in the stagnant, saline lake, species diversity decreased and food chains became shorter, as compared with the more mature situation in the open estuary.Contribution No. 190 of the Delta Institute for Hydrobiological Research.     

Validation of daily increment formation in otoliths for three Diplodus species in the Mediterranean sea

The efficacy of two fluorochromes, chlorhydrate of tetracycline (CHTC) and alizarin complexone (ALC), to induce a label on the otoliths of juvenile sparid fishes by immersion techniques was tested in different experimental conditions. CHTC did not mark otoliths in natural sea water and was toxic in divalent cation-free sea water. Immersing fish in a 50-mg 1⁻¹ ALC natural seawater solution for 24 h induced a well-defined mark on the otoliths and had no effect on survival. A daily periodicity of increment formation on otoliths was observed in captivity for Diplodus vulgaris and D. puntazzo , and was conserved in natural environment for D. sargus . The frequency of increment deposition did not vary with the age of juvenile fishes. Thus, otolith microstructure analysis will be a reliable method to give age estimates in these three sparid species during their juvenile life.     

The Late Tortonian-Early Messinian Foraminiferal Record Of The Abad Member (Turre Formation), Sorbas Basin, Almería, South-East Spain

The Late Tortonian-Early Messinian Abad Member in the Sorbas Basin, south-east Spain contains abundant foraminifera. Planktonic foraminifera have been used to reconstruct the environmental conditions that developed within the basin. Benthonic foraminifera reveal a detailed picture of the palaeoenvironment. After an initial deepening episode, from upper epibathyal ( c . 200 m) depths to lower epibathyal ( c . 1000 m) depths, the basin progressively shallowed to shelf depths ( c . 100 m); this palaeobathymetric reconstruction thus describes an initial rapid transgressive episode, a highstand and a regressive phase; the basin water mass became progressively warmer, and yet there was no significant increase in salinity or oxygen level in the water mass. The lack of any microfossil evidence to support an increase in the salinity levels towards the top of the Abad Member indicates a rapid environmental switch from normal marine conditions during the deposition of the Abad Member to hypersaline conditions during deposition of the overlying Yesares Member and precipitation of great thicknesses of gypsum. This research illustrates the necessity for high resolution sampling, approximate to the standard interval (10 feet: c . 3 metres) used in industrial boreholes, for Mediterranean Late Miocene stratigraphies, and indicates that all previous palaeoenvironmental studies on the Sorbas Basin have had inadequate sampling regimes which do not represent the evolving environmental conditions of the Abad Member.     

黔北志留系石牛栏组松坎段上部近岸——远岸的相分异

华南板块上扬子区滇黔桂古陆以北的陆表海缓坡带,因海水深度变化导致志留纪兰多维列世埃隆晚期石牛栏组的岩相—生物相差异,这种差异始于松坎段上部沉积期。本文选择2个剖面,分别代表近岸和远岸带的古地理位置,作松坎段上部灰岩岩相学和沉积环境指标分析。余庆大庄村剖面位于近岸带,可频繁出现薄层泥粒状灰岩和颗粒灰岩,属浅水高能带常见的壳相生屑滩堆积;而桐梓水坝塘剖面位于远岸带,偏深水低能环境中的瘤状灰岩和含泥灰岩透镜体多含灰泥和粉砂屑。这些证据从细节上揭示松坎段上部沉积时,靠近黔中古陆近岸带存在壳相动物大量繁衍的生态位,还伴随有钙质微生物形成的叠层石和核形石,但空间展布上可能是狭窄的,大部分陆表海区的海水深度处于最大风浪暴浪基面以下。     

Fossil fish otoliths from the Chibanian Miyata Formation,Kanagawa Prefecture,Japan, with comments on the paleoenvironment

The Paleo-Tokyo Bay (Kanto Plateau) that persisted during the transgression periods in the Middle-Late Pleistocene is known for its rich marine fauna that accommodated both the warm and cold water taxa brought by the Kuroshio and Oyashio Currents, respectively. However, little is known on the paleoichthyofauna in this area and the processes shaping the marine ichthyofauna of modern southern Kanto. We used fossil fish otoliths and teeth discovered in the Sha’ana Tuffaceous Sand Member belonging to the Chibanian Miyata Formation, exposed at Sha’ana-dai, Miura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, to reconstruct the paleoichthyofauna and its associated paleoenvironment and explore the content of fish assemblages during this period. The Sha’ana Tuffaceous Sand Member was composed of upper sandy mud and lower muddy sand horizons at the exposure. A total of 1,675 fish remains were collected from this site, of which 1,389 were assigned to 62 distinct taxa (20 orders, 31 families). The taxonomic composition revealed taxa from various environments, including shallow continental shelf, epi- to meso-pelagic settings, and the majority were from a generally temperate climatic zone. Paleoenvironmental analyses suggested that the fish assemblages were from the continental shelf (approximate depth of 100–200 m) in a temperate sea where both warm Kuroshio and cold Oyashio Currents had an influence on the biota. The analysis also showed that two boreal fishes, namely Clupea pallasii and Theragra chalcogramma, once had a wider distribution that extended to the southwestern areas of the Paleo-Tokyo Bay. This study provides a more complete view of the related paleobiogeography of marine fishes during the Chibanian and is essential for reconstructing the evolutionary processes of the rich ichthyofauna in the southern Kanto.     

西藏台错古湖晚第四纪轮藻类及其生态环境、气候变化探讨

西藏台错TT-1剖面厚369 cm,为一套碳酸盐粘土和粘土碳酸盐沉积,地层测年为41.4-4.5 ka,含丰富的轮藻化石,分属于11个轮藻植物群,群落所在地层的碳酸盐和钙质含量分别为80％和33％.从老到新(剖面自下而上):①41.4-26.64 ka(369-319 cm),处于末次冰期间冰阶MIS3a暖期,湖区气候...     

Density-habitat relationships of mangrove creek fishes within the southeastern saline Everglades (USA), with reference to managed freshwater releases

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan aims to make considerable changes to the quantity, quality, and timing of freshwater delivery to the southeastern saline Everglades (SESE), a mangrove ecosystem located between the freshwater Everglades and downstream estuarine embayments. Whereas fishes inhabiting seasonally-inundated areas of the SESE and the shorelines of downstream embayments have been examined, those utilizing the creeks connecting these ecotones have not. To evaluate the functional role of the creek habitat and the possible impact of future hydrologic changes on the fishes inhabiting them, 228 underwater visual surveys were performed at three locations of the SESE over a three-year period. Fish abundance data was related to structural habitat, water level, and salinity over various time periods. The SESE contains taxa from both the freshwater Everglades and downstream embayments, but does not appear to function as a nursery for most fishery taxa. Abiotic variability and fish diversity increased with distance from major freshwater sources. Though there were significant differences in the physical structure of mangrove trees among locations, few meaningful correlations between these parameters and the density of individual fish taxa were found. Small prey-base fishes (<10 cm TL) utilize the expansive ephemeral wetlands (i.e., upper mangle) during wet periods, and were concentrated into deeper creeks when these wetlands became dry. Densities of these fishes increase on the upper mangle with increased flooding (hydroperiod), and we observed greater densities of larger species in the creeks when hydroperiods exceeded 240 days. Based on these results, we recommend that water management create water releases which result in a wet period of ca. 240 days, followed by a gradual dry period lasting ca. 90 days.     

A NEW SPECIES OF ALLIGATOR FROM SHANWANG, SHANDONG

<正> A crocodilian specimen is described and identified, as a new species of Alligalor in present paper. The material was collected from the Middle Member of the Shanwang Formation, Linqu County, Shandong Province by the members of the Linqu Paleontological Museum in 1984. Nearly 40 taxa of fossil vertebrates, including fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, have been reproted from this Miocene locality since 1930's (Yian et al. 1983, Qiu et al. 1986). Within the vertebrate fauna the fossil mammals and fishes are very rich, but the other are relatively rare. This is the first record of a crocodilan from the diatomaceous quarry of Shanwang.     

Depositional environment and biofacies characterization of the Upper Pennsylvanian–Lower Permian deposits of the San Salvador Patlanoaya section (Puebla, Mexico)

The San Salvador Patlanoaya section (Puebla State of Mexico) has been subdivided into seven informal members labeled A–F. Members C–F have been dated as Missourian to Leonardian (equivalent to Kasimovian to Kungurian, i.e. lower Upper Pennsylvanian to upper Lower Permian). Members C–E display a shallowing-upward trend as does member F. The biodiversity of these carbonate deposits outcropping in the San Salvador Patlanoaya section is relatively low, although multiple microfossils (algae, small foraminifera, fusulinids and fish remains) are represented. Member C consists of calcarenitic limestone interpreted as distal tempestites interbedded with shaly limestone facies. These storm beds are composed mainly of silt, sand-sized quartz grains and bioclasts. Member D corresponds to coarse bioclastic limestones represented by calcareous tempestites and channel beds with erosional bases. Member E is composed of green shales and cross-bedded sandstones and gravelly conglomerates. Member F corresponds to a condensed package of limestones and interbedded siliciclastics and is Cisuralian (Early Permian) in age. Member G consists of condensed black shales and limestone nodules. The results of the study have significant implications for recognition of climatic and/or sea-level fluctuations in bioclastic–siliciclastic facies during the Late Pennsylvanian–Early Permian. The skeletal limestones and channel sandstones, common throughout the Pennsylvanian–Permian section, provide a constraint on palaeobathymetry, with the water depth fluctuating frequently around a position below, but near, the storm wave base.