An unusual lizard (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Early Cretaceous of Las Hoyas, Spain

The Early Cretaceous (Barremian) lepidosaurian assemblage of Las Hoyas (Cuenca Province, Castilla-La Mancha), Spain, resembles that of roughly contemporaneous localities at Montsec (Catalonia), Una (Castilla-La Mancha) and Galve (Aragon) in being dominated by the scincomorph lizard Meyasaums ( Ilerdaesaurus ). It differs in the presence of two previously unknown taxa, one of which, described here, shows a strikingly unusual morphology in its ribs and distal limb skeleton suggestive of climbing specialization. This form is sufficiently distinct from other known taxa to warrant the erection of a new genus and species, Scandensia ciervensis gen. et sp. nov. Cladistic analysis of Scandensia suggests that it forms a sister taxon to living squamates (Iguania + Scleroglossa and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor).     

Early Cretaceous Ferns From Lacustrine Limestones At Las Hoyas, Cuenca Province, Spain

A brief outline is presented of the geological conditions prevailing in the hard-water lake that produced the Las Hoyas fossiliferous site in the Serranía de Cuenca (north-east central Spain). The corresponding Barremian laminated limestones contain varied fossil remains including plants. The fern component of the assemblage is described in the present paper. Ten taxa are referable to the families Matoniaceae, Dicksoniaceae and Schizaeaceae, whilst eight are unclassified. A new species of Dicksoniaceae is described: Coniopteris laciniata. Three species, Pelletixia valdensis, Cladophlebis albertsii, and Sphenopteris fontainei, are recorded here for the first time outside the English Wealden; one species, Acrostichopteris foliosa, is new to the Barremian of Europe. The fern assemblage from the Las Hoyas site is most similar to that of the English Wealden. The xeromorph character of some species is noted.   Although the specimens from Las Hoyas are generally small, even tiny, most are still identifiable leaf fragments preserved as imprints on platy limestone. Epidermal detail has been obtained from a few impressions. Some rather delicate remains, such as indusia, a crozier with pinnules, and fragments of Pelletixia valdensis occur, thus suggesting limited residence time in water.     

NEW FOSSIL LACEWINGS AND ANTLIONS (INSECTA, NEUROPTERA) FROM THE LOWER CRETACEOUS CRATO FORMATION OF BRAZIL

Abstract:  Remarkable new fossil taxa of Neuroptera from the laminated limestone of the Crato Formation, north-east Brazil, are described: Nuddsia longiantennata gen. et sp. nov. (Osmylidae, Gumillinae), the first fossil record of this family from South America, Parapalaeoleon magnus gen. et sp. nov. (Palaeoleontidae), and Triangulochrysopa formosa sp. nov. (Mesochrysopidae). A diagnosis of Gumillinae is provided; Epiosmylidae is considered to be a synonym of this subfamily. A revised diagnosis of Palaeoleontidae is provided, based on a new interpretation of venational characters evident on the exceptionally well-preserved specimen of P. magnus ; vein homologies are determined and the fusion of MP and CuA is discussed. The genus Triangulochrysopa has been known previously only from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas, Spain.     

Short-term colonization trace-fossil assemblages in a carbonate lacustrineKonservat-Lagerstätte (Las Hoyas fossil site, Lower Cretaceous, Cuenca, Central Spain)

Summary Rhythmically laminated fine-grained lacustrine carbonatcs of the Cretaceous La Huérguina Limestone Formation at Las Hoyas fossil site, central Spain, contain not only a spectacular body fossil fauna, but also vertebrate and invertebrate trace fossils. The study of the Las Hoyas invertebrate ichnofauna provides valuable taphonomic, paleoecological and paleoenvironmental information and represents one of the first attempts to study in detail a lacustrine trace-fossil assemblage in carbonate rocks. The Las Hoyas ichnofauna includesCruziana problematica, Helminthoidichnites tenuis, Lockeia isp.,Palaeophycus tubularis, andTreptichnus pollardi. This assemblage is characterized by low ichnodiversity and small burrow size, and it is dominated by surface trails and extremely shallow burrows produced mostly by detritus feeders. The Las Hoyas ichnofauna indicates low to moderately low energy, permanently submerged, shallow-lacustrine areas. The ichnofauna is suggestive of environmental stress, most likely oxygen-depleted conditions in interstitial waters. Occurrence of traces in event beds indicates opportunistic colonization by epifauna and very shallow infauna during brief periods of improved oxygenation related to the passage of density underflows and dilute turbidity currents. The Las Hoyas ichnofauna resembles other shallow lacustrine trace-fossil assemblages of the archetypalMermia ichnofacies and differs significantly from the archetypalScoyenia ichnofacies. It is therefore best regarded as a proximal, depauperate example of theMermia ichnofacies. The Las Hoyas assemblage is similar to the slightly older lacustrine Montsec ichnofauna, but it is remarkably different from marine ichnocoenoses of other Mesozoickonservat-lagerst?tten in lithographic limestones such as those of Cerin, Solnhofen and Nusplingen.     

New Early Cretaceous hymenopterous insects (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Sierra del Montsec (Spain)

Four new species of Hymenoptera are described from the Early Cretaceous (Lower Barremian) lithographic limestones of the Sierra del Montsec (Lérida Province, NE Spain):Prosyntexis montsecensis n. sp. (Sepulcidae),Manlaya lacabrua n. sp. (Gasteruptiidae),Meiagaster cretaceus n. gen., n. sp. (Bethylonymidae),Angarosphex lithographicus n. sp. (Sphecidae). The Spanish assemblage extends our knowledge of the distribution of the Lower Cretaceous hymenopteran fauna and will throw light on its character in a probably dry environment with seasonal rainfall.     

Palaeohistology and preservation of tetrapods from Las Hoyas (Lower Cretaceous,Spain)

The Upper Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) site of Las Hoyas (Spain) is an important Konservat Lagerstätte that has a yielded well-preserved biota. Both the palaeohistology and the preservation of six tetrapods were investigated in this study. Chemical analysis (Ca/P ratio, fluorine, strontium, barium and REE amounts) reveals an alteration of the original apatite of the bone in fluoroapatite by postmortem substitutions, a late Sr incorporation during fossilization, and a rather moderate postmortem REE incorporation in the freshwater environment of Las Hoyas. However, the conditions of fossilization have limited the dissolution-recrystallisation processes and preserved the microstructure of the bones. Bone growth rate estimations have been made according to Amprino's rule. The Discoglossidae indet, the Centrocryptodira indet. and Scandensia ciervensis are characterized by low growth rates and an ectothermic metabolism. Concornis lacustris, Pelecanimimus polyodon and the Archosauria indet. are characterized by a faster growth and probably higher resting metabolic rate. All of the specimens are adults of small-sized species. This leads to the hypothesis of an ecological filter favoring small-sized species in this ecosystem, strengthening the taphonomical results. The combination of geochemical and histological studies seems to offer a more precise overlook of life history traits and preservation of these fossils from Las Hoyas.     

First British Mesozoic Spider, From Cretaceous Amber Of The Isle Of Wight, Southern England

Cretamygale chasei , a new genus and species of spider, is described from a single specimen preserved in amber of early Barremian age from the Isle of Wight. This is the oldest (and second Cretaceous) amber spider to be described, and the first record of a Mesozoic spider from Britain. It belongs to the group Bipectina of the infraorder Mygalomorphae, and is tentatively referred to the family Nemesiidae. It is the oldest bipectinate, extending the record by around 90 myr, the only known fossil nemesiid, and the second oldest fossil mygalomorph.     

New snakeflies (Insecta: Raphidioptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of the UK,Spain and Brazil

Abstract: Several new taxa of snakeflies (Raphidioptera) are described from the Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Wealden, UK (Barremian), Montsec, Spain (Barremian) and the Crato Formation, Brazil (Aptian). Mesoraphidia ednae sp. nov. and M. hilli sp. nov. are described from the Wealden; Nanoraphidia lithographica sp. nov. and Iberoraphidia dividua gen. et sp. nov. are described from Montsec, and Baissoptera lisae sp. nov. is described from the Crato Formation. The geographical range of Nanoraphidia has potentially been extended.     

Anatomical differentiation of isolated scales of amiiform fishes (Amiiformes,Actinopterygii) from the Early Cretaceous of Las Hoyas (Cuenca,Spain)

The scales of amiiform fishes are more different from each other than previously stated. The anatomy of the scales of the three amiiform taxa from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of Las Hoyas (Cuenca, Spain) is described in detail. The differences between them has allowed the segregation of isolated scales form the fossil record of this site into the three taxa, providing relatively large population samples that can be studied from a palaeobiological and palaeoecological point of view.     

New Trigonioidoidea (Bivalvia; Unionoida) from the Early Cretaceous of Spain

Abstract: Two taxa belonging to the Trigonioidoidea (Order Unionoida) are described from the Early Cretaceous of Spain. Nippononaia (Paranippononaia) camerana subgen. et sp. nov. is described from the Aptian of the Cameros Basin of the north‐west Iberian Range. Subnippononaia fordi Barker et al., 1997 is described from new material from the Calizas de la Huérguina Formation (Late Barremian) from Las Hoyas and Buenache de la Sierra, Cuenca Province, and Subnippononaia is raised to generic status. The stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the Cornago G exposure of the Enciso Group where Nippononaia (Paranippononaia) camerana originates is interpreted as a fresh to brackish water system.     

An Early Cretaceous faunal and floral continental assemblage:Las Hoyas fossil site (Cuenca,Spain)

The fossiliferous beds of Las Hoyas (province ofCuenca, Spain) are composed of limestones (probably Late Hauterivian). The main fossiliferous facies consists of laminated limestone from a lake-basin plain with bottom waters perennially anoxic. The floral and faunal assemblage is similar to that of Montsech (prov. of Lérida, Spain), with divergences especially in the insects and some tetrapods. Bottom-dwelling invertebrates are scarce. Most of invertebrates are arthropods: three crustaceans and a relatively diversified entomofauna. The fishes are the main component of the vertebrate fauna both in number of individuals and diversity (13 different taxa). Among tetrapods the most abundant is a new genus of Caudata. Reptiles are represented by a chelonian, a little lizard and an atoposaurid crocodile. Finally, a new bird is reported from Las Hoyas, with an intermediate phylogenetic position between Archaeopteryx and Ornithurae.     

A new coptoclavid larva (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Dytiscoidea) from the Middle Jurassic of China,and its phylogenetic implication

Daohugounectes primitivus, a new genus and species of coptoclavid beetles, is described from 67 fossil larvae from the Jurassic locality of Daohugou, northeastern China. It differs from other coptoclavids in the combination of the following characters: lateral lobes of nasale present; legs relatively short, with tarsi flat and slightly dilated; abdominal tergite VIII almost circular; derivative of abdominal segment IX present; urogomphi short; and helical thickening of tracheae weak. Most of these features are plesiomorphic for the family Coptoclavidae and the superfamily Dytiscoidea. Among dytiscoids, a derivative of abdominal segment IX is present only in the larvae of the recently discovered relic family Aspidytidae.     

New beetles (Insecta,Coleoptera) from the Lower Triassic of European Russia

Fossil remains of beetles are described from two Lower Triassic localities: Entala (Induan) and Tikhvinskoe (Olenekian). Only one beetle fossil was previously known from the Lower Triassic of Tikhvinskoe. The fossils are rather few and poorly preserved, but they are worth describing as finds rare for the Lower Triassic. Five fossils from Entala most probably belong to beetles of the same species of the formal genus Pseudochrysomelites. Beetles of this genus are especially abundant in deposits close to the Permian–Triassic boundary and can be considered “disaster taxa.” There are no known cases, either in the Permian or in the Middle–Upper Triassic, of a random sample of five specimens belonging to a single species. This suggests that in the Entala oryctocenosis the species diversity of beetles is extremely low. All three beetle fossils found in Tikhvinskoe belong to beetles of different species, showing that diversity had already started to increase. However, it remained low, and all fossils belong to the formal family Schizocoleidae, and two of the three belong to the same genus, Pseudochrysomelites. The Khei-Yaga locality, which immediately follows Tikhvinskoe in time (topmost Olenekian or early Anisian), already contains beetles of the families Asiocoleidae and Permosynidae. In the Lower Anisian of the Buntsandstein, such typical Mesozoic beetles as Cupedidae and Coptoclavidae have been recorded. The appearance of such advanced beetles as early as the Lower Anisian suggests that the famous Permian–Triassic crisis was not as deep as it is usually believed, and many beetles survived it, disappearing, however, from the fossil record in the Early Triassic.     

FILLING A GAP: THE FIRST OCCURRENCES OF EPIPHAXUM (CNIDARIA: HELIOPORACEA: LITHOTELESTIDAE) IN THE EOCENE, OLIGOCENE AND MIOCENE

Abstract:  A new species of the genus Epiphaxum (family Lithotelestidae) is described and illustrated in detail, and compared to other species. Epiphaxum arbuscula sp. nov. has been collected from Upper Eocene (Priabonian), Upper Oligocene (Chattian) and Lower Miocene (Upper Burdigalian) deposits of the Aquitaine Basin, south-west France. Epiphaxum is a poorly documented genus but its fossil record extends back to the Late Cretaceous; it was previously known only from the Paleocene (Danian). Epiphaxum arbuscula differs from all others species of the genus in the form of its colony. In contrast to the creeping colonies of previously known species, it has branched colonies. It is very common at one Upper Oligocene outcrop from which an assemblage with submarine cave remains has been described. A close relationship between the three extant species (two from the Caribbean Sea and one from the Indo-West Pacific region) and the Paleogene species is also noted. These constitute a group that has not undergone any important morphological changes for the last 65 million years.     

A well-preserved aneuretopsychid from the Jehol Biota of China (Insecta, Mecoptera, Aneuretopsychidae)

The Aneuretopsychidae is an unspeciose and enigmatic family of long-proboscid insects that presently consist of one known genus and three species from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of north-central Asia. In this paper, a new genus and species of fossil aneuretopsychid is described and illustrated, Jeholopsyche liaoningensisgen. et sp. n. Fossils representing this new taxon were collected from mid Early Cretaceous strata of the well known Jehol Biota in Liaoning Province, China. This finding documents the first formal record of fossil Aneuretopsychidae in China. In addition, this well-preserved and new material reveals previously unknown and detailed morphological structure of the mouthparts, antennae, head, thorax, legs and abdomen of this distinctive insect lineage.     

On the mesozoic taxa of scarabaeoid beetles of the family Hybosoridae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea)

Three new species of scarabaeoid beetles of the family Hybosoridae are described in the new genus Protohybosorus, gen. nov. from the Middle-Upper Jurassic of Kazakhstan (Karatau-Mikhailovka locality). The Lower Cretaceous species Geotrupoides fortus Ren, Zhu et Lu, 1995 (Inner Mongolia, China) is transferred to the genus Leptosorus Nikolajev, 2006.     

TAXONOMY AND ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF THE MESOZOIC CYTHERURID OSTRACODA FROM WEST-CENTRAL ARGENTINA

Abstract:  The status of thirty four species of the cytheroidean ostracod family Cytheruridae from the Neuquén Basin, west-central Argentina is reviewed. These species belong to the following nine genera: Eucytherura Müller, ranging in this study from Pliensbachian to Valanginian and represented by fourteen species; Kangarina Coryell and Fields, Aalenian–Bajocian, with a single species; Acrocythere Neale, Hauterivian, one species; Paranotacythere Bassiouni, Berriasian, two species; Procytherura Whatley, Pliensbachian to Hauterivian, twelve species; Cytheropteron Sars, Aalenian–Bajocian, one species: Eocytheropteron Alexander, Hauterivian, one species; Paradoxorhyncha Chapman, Aalenian–Bajocian, one species; and Paracytheridea Müller, Berriasian, one species. Of the three subfamilies of the Cytheruridae, the Cytherurinae, with thirty species are by far the most numerous and abundant throughout the study. The other two subfamilies, the Cytheropterinae are represented by three species and the Paracytherideinae by a single species of the nominative genus. Several of the species are very widely distributed geographically and have, for example, also been recorded from Europe; others indicate close links with South Africa and Australia. The stratigraphical ranges of certain genera have been extended as a result of this study. For example, Kangarina has not previously been recorded below the Cretaceous. The Cytheruridae are clearly the most diverse cytheroidean ostracodes in the Mesozoic of the Neuquén Basin and are more diverse than all other groups of ostracodes combined. Four new species, Eucytherura tessae , Eucytherura yunga , Procytherura amygdala and Eocytheropteron immodicus are described. Eucytherura guillaumeae nom. nov. for Eucytherura tuberculata Brenner and Oertli and Eucytherura paranuda nom. nov. for Eucytherura nuda (Brand) are proposed.     

A new crested pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Spain: the first European tapejarid (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)

Background

The Tapejaridae is a group of unusual toothless pterosaurs characterized by bizarre cranial crests. From a paleoecological point of view, frugivorous feeding habits have often been suggested for one of its included clades, the Tapejarinae. So far, the presence of these intriguing flying reptiles has been unambiguously documented from Early Cretaceous sites in China and Brazil, where pterosaur fossils are less rare and fragmentary than in similarly-aged European strata.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Europejara olcadesorum gen. et sp. nov. is diagnosed by a unique combination of characters including an unusual caudally recurved dentary crest. It represents the oldest known member of Tapejaridae and the oldest known toothless pterosaur. The new taxon documents the earliest stage of the acquisition of this anatomical feature during the evolutionary history of the Pterodactyloidea. This innovation may have been linked to the development of new feeding strategies.

Conclusion/Significance

The discovery of Europejara in the Barremian of the Iberian Peninsula reveals an earlier and broader global distribution of tapejarids, suggesting a Eurasian origin of this group. It adds to the poorly known pterosaur fauna of the Las Hoyas locality and contributes to a better understanding of the paleoecology of this Konservat-Lagerstätte. Finally, the significance of a probable contribution of tapejarine tapejarids to the early angiosperm dispersal is discussed.