Eine Conodontengruppe von Prooneotodus tenuis (MÜller, 1959) in natürlichem Zusammenhang aus dem Oberen Kambrium von schweden

A natural conodont assemblage,Prooneotodus tenuis (MÜller, 1959) was discovered in shales in Zone I of the Upper Cambrian of Hunneberg, Väastergötland, Sweden. It is composed of 12 similar single cone elements, which form 6 pairs of different size. The largest is more than twice the size of the smallest. This variation in size together with the occurrence of between 8-12 elements in conspecific assemblages recorded by Miller & Rushton (1973) makes it likely that during growth the animal added new elements to the apparatus. Should this be applicable to all conodonts, this observation would be of some relevance in the statistical reconstruction of conodont apparatusses.     

End-Permian mass extinction of calcareous algae and microproblematica from Liangfengya,South China

A new assemblage of calcareous algae and microproblematica is reported from the Changxing Formation at the Liangfengya section in Chongqing, South China. This assemblage comprises eighteen species of seven genera, including three genera of gymnocodiaceaens (Gymnocodium, Permocalculus, and Tauridium), three genera of dasycladaleans (Epimastopora, Macroporella, and Mizzia), and one genus of microproblematica (Pseudovermiporella). A new algal species, Tauridium elongatum nov. sp., is described. Quantitative analysis indicates that the last occurrences of 22% of the species (4 out of 18) fall into a 52 cm thick interval of the uppermost Changhsingian. No calcareous algae are found in the Permian-Triassic boundary (P-T boundary) beds and the overlying Feixianguan Formation. Four out of 10 species have a stratigraphic abundance greater than 10% and all vanished in the uppermost Changhsingian. An abrupt extinction for calcareous algae occurred in the Clarkina yini conodont Zone.     

Parafurnishius,an Induan (Lower Triassic) conodont new genus from northeastern Sichuan Province,southwest China and its evolutionary implications

A fundamental aspect of taxonomy at the generic level, critical to understand Early Triassic conodont evolution, is the composition of the multielement apparatus. In this paper, we document a platform-bearing new conodont genus, Parafurnishius n. gen., as well as its multielement apparatus from the Griesbachian Feixianguan Formation (Lower Triassic) in Xuanhan County, northeastern Sichuan Province, southwest China. The new conodont genus is characterized by numerous robust and irregularly distributed conical denticles with variable platform morphology that has a possible affinity with the P₁ elements of Furnishius. These genera have apparatuses similar to those of Ellisonia and are classified with the family Ellisoniidae. The strong intraspecific variation of P₁ elements and the growth series within the entire sample population suggest that Parafurnishius may have evolved from the Griesbachian Isarcicella by developing random denticle positioning away from the platform centre, and then possibly evolved into younger Triassic Furnishius by developing a stable blade configuration. This preferred interpretation implies an ellisonid apparatus for Isarcicella. Alternatively, Parafurnishius may have evolved from Ellisonia and developed a homeomorphic P₁ element with Isarcicella. This new taxon has strong intraspecific variation of denticle growth orientation during the Early Triassic.     

New Middle Devonian conodont data from the Dong Van area,NE Vietnam (South China Terrane)

Middle Devonian conodonts from the Si Phai section in NE Vietnam are described. The section ranges from the Middle Devonian ensensis to timorensis conodont zones to the Late Devonian rhomboidea conodont Zone. A rich overall assemblage is described, including 27 taxa of species or subspecies rank and 11 taxa described in an open nomenclature. Among the dominant Polygnathus forms, four new taxa are described: Polygnathus linguiformis saharicus subsp. nov., Polygnathus linguiformis vietnamicus subsp. nov., Polygnathus rhenanus siphai subsp. nov., and Polygnathus xylus bacbo subsp. nov. Conodont assemblages are attributed to polygnathid, polygnathid-klapperinid, and klapperinid conodont biofacies representing hemipelagic to pelagic environments. The klapperinid biofacies, unreported in the previous literature, are here attributed to offshore areas of the external shelf. The taxonomic compositions of the studied conodont assemblages, as well as their CAI characteristics (CAI 4–5), suggest a palaeogeographic affinity of the studied strata to the Chinese Devonian Guangxi Basin, and the South China Terrane in general. Furthermore, the conodont biofacies and the palaeogeographic distribution of the fauna are discussed.     

Norigondolella n. gen., eine neue obertriassische Conodontengattung

The development of the genus concept for platform-bearing gondolellid conodonts is discussed. The collective genusNeogondolella Bender & Stoppel s. l. must be subdivided into several genera separated mostly by morphological differences of their platform elements. Only for these genera, but not forNeogondolella s. l., differential diagnoses againstGondolella Stauffer & Plummer s. l. can be given.Norigondolella n. gen., species of which were formerly placed intoParagondolella Mosher s. l.,Gondolella Stauffer & Plummer s. l. orNeogondolella Bender & Stoppel s. l., is a typical gondolellid platform conodont genus of topmost Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) pelagic sediments. It has evolved from Carnian representatives ofParagondolella, but the lower surface of the platform element shows considerable similarities (homoeomorphy) to the Middle Carboniferous to Middle Permian genusMesogondolella Kozur.     

Testing hypotheses of element loss and instability in the apparatus composition of complex conodonts: articulated skeletons of Hindeodus

Knowledge of the conodont skeleton, in terms of the morphology of the elements and the positions they occupy, provides the foundation for understanding of homology, taxonomy and evolutionary relationships in conodonts. This knowledge also underpins analyses of conodont functional morphology and feeding. Direct evidence of skeletal anatomy and apparatus architecture comes from natural assemblages: fossils that preserve together the articulated remains of the conodont apparatus, either collapsed onto a bedding plane or as clusters of elements in which juxtaposed and overlapping elements have been fused together by diagenetic minerals. Here we describe six clusters of the biostratigraphically important conodont Hindeodus parvus from the Lower Triassic Shangsi section, Sichuan Province, South China. Five of these clusters represent the partial remains of articulated skeletons, providing direct evidence of the number and arrangement of elements in the apparatus. Combined with data from previously published natural assemblages this provides a test of the hypothesis that Triassic conodonts had a reduced dentition. Hindeodus parvus possessed a complete raptorial array of two M and nine S elements (unpaired S₀; symmetrically paired S₁, S₂, S₃, S₄); the paired P₁ locations were occupied by carminiscaphate elements, but the apparatus lacked P₂ elements. This is consistent with broader evidence for a particularly high degree of integration and constraint operating on the S–M array of morphologically complex conodonts, leading to conserved architecture of the array over a period of more than 250 million years. The loss of elements from the P domain implies a change in food processing ability and, given the predominance of data from P elements in conodont taxonomy and biostratigraphy, the hypothesis of element loss from the P domain has significant implications for the broader understanding of conodont diversity and evolutionary patterns.     

Cladistic tests of monophyly and relationships of biostratigraphically significant conodonts using multielement skeletal data –Lochriea homopunctatus and the genus Lochriea

Abstract: Since the 1960s, huge progress has been made in reconstructing the multielement skeletons of conodont species and developing a biologically defensible taxonomy. Nevertheless, a widespread prejudice remains that certain parts of the conodont skeleton, particularly the P₁ elements, are more informative than others with regard to taxonomy and evolutionary relationships. Here, we test these views. A new partial multielement reconstruction of the skeleton of the biostratigraphically significant conodont originally described as Gnathodus commutatus homopunctatus allows us to conduct a cladistic test of the alternative hypotheses of phylogenetic placement of this species. Our analysis also provides the first test of the hypothesis that Lochriea– species of which are markers for global correlation – is monophyletic and tests hypotheses concerning the origins of the genus. Our results demonstrate that homopunctatus is a species of Lochriea and that the genus is monophyletic. The widely held view that Lochriea arose from a species of Bispathodus is not supported. Our results show that it is difficult to predict a priori which parts of the conodont skeleton carry phylogenetic signal, and provide strong support for the hypothesis that similarity in the morphology of conodont P₁ elements alone is not a reliable guide to relationships and taxonomic groupings of conodont species. This is because P₁ elements with similar morphologies are convergently acquired in multiple conodont clades, because reliance on the characters of only one of the six or seven morphologically distinct elements of the conodont skeleton ignores phylogenetically significant data and because P₁ elements can lack characters that might seem to be diagnostic of a genus. Conodonts are no different to other organisms: ignoring data that have the potential to be phylogenetically informative is unlikely to produce the most reliable hypotheses of evolutionary relationships. We suggest that other biostratigraphically significant hypotheses of relationship between conodont taxa that are based on P₁ elements alone should be subject to cladistic testing.     

Boreal Tintinnid Assemblage in the Northwest Pacific and Its Connection with the Japan Sea in Summer 2014

Tintinnids are planktonic ciliates that play an important role in marine ecosystem. According to their distribution in the world oceans, tintinnid genera were divided into several biogeographical types such as boreal, warm water, austral and neritic. Therefore, the oceanic tintinnid assemblage could be correspondingly divided into boreal assemblage, warm water assemblage and austral assemblage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of boreal tintinnid assemblage in the Northwest Pacific and the Arctic, and to identify the connection between boreal tintinnid assemblage and neighboring assemblages. Surface water samples were collected along a transect from the East China Sea to the Chukchi Sea in summer 2014. According to the presence of boreal genera and warm water genera, three tintinnid assemblages (the East China Sea neritic assemblage, the Japan Sea warm water assemblage, and the boreal assemblage) were identified along the transect. The boreal assemblage extended from the Chukchi Sea to the waters north of the Sōya Strait. Densities peaks occurred at stations in the two branches of the Alaska Current and decreased both northward and southward. The densities were <10 ind./dm³ at most stations in Arctic region. The dominant genera (Acanthostomella, Codonellopsis, Parafavella, and Ptychocylis) accounted for 79.07±29.67% (n = 49) of the abundance in the boreal assemblage. The densities of the dominant genera covaried with strongly significant positive correlations. Tintinnids with lorica oral diameter of 22–26 μm and 38–42 μm were dominant and contributed 67.35% and 15.13%, respectively, to the total abundance in the boreal assemblage. The distribution and densities of tintinnids in the study area suggest that the Sōya Strait might be a geographical barrier for tintinnids expansion.     

Euxinocythere (Ostracoda, Cytheridae, Leptocytherinae) du Miocène supérieur du Bassin de Turiec (Slovaquie) : taxonomie et paléoécologie

Eight new species of the family Cytheridae have been identified in the Upper Miocene deposits of the Turiec Basin (Slovakia), a small isolated intermountain depression. Six species are new - Euxinocythere aphroditae, E. delicata, E. lactea, E. minuscula, E. quadricostata, E. satyrica - and two are kept in open nomenclature. Their attribution to the genus Euxinocythere is based on arrangement of the hinge elements and of anterior marginal zone. This genus is known from brackish ostracod assemblages of the Paratethys and the Eastern Mediterranean while the species from the Turiec Basin are associated to fresh-water assemblages. The Euxinocythere have been found in littoral as well in deep limnic environment.     

AnOistodus venustus-like conodont species from the Middle Ordovician of Baltoscandia

Ordovician conodont specimens resemblingOistodus venustus Stauffer, 1935 have been reported from many areas. There is increasing evidence, however, that several lineages with homeomorphic conodont elements have erroneously been referred to one and the same species. I have investigated Baltoscandian conodont elements of this kind in order to find out about their origins and phylogenetic relationships with morphologically comparable elements from other areas. A natural grouping of finds from the Middle and lower Upper Ordovician of Baltoscandia is here described as belonging to a new species of a new genus,Venoistodus balticus n. gen., n. sp. The new species probably evolved paedomorphically fromDrepanoistodus forceps (Lindström, 1955) in the Early Ordovician.     

Cenomanian ostracods of the Tarfaya upwelling region (Morocco) as palaeoenvironmental indicators

Changes in ostracod occurrence and assemblage composition from the Cenomanian of the Tarfaya Basin (Morocco) are investigated in order to evaluate their potential for palaeoenvironmental analyses of Cretaceous upwelling regions. Most frequent genera found at Tarfaya are Brachycythere, Veenia, Reticulocosta, Cytherelloidea, and Nigeroloxoconcha. Assemblages found at Tarfaya are characterised by low diversities. Successive appearance of assemblages dominated by these genera represents a depth gradient, corresponding to the results of the performed correspondence analysis. Ostracods are most abundant if associated either with moderate food supply and sufficient oxygenation or high food supply and high oxygenation. They disappear almost completely during permanent oxygen deficiency and are, contrary to benthic foraminifera, less frequent during periods of enhanced food supply. Species of the genus Brachycythere appear to be more sensitive to oxygen deficiency than other genera. Reticulocosta and Cytherelloidea avoid strong food pulses and are probably better adapted to oxygen depletion than other genera. Ostracods appear to be powerful environmental indicators for sea-level changes, oxygenation or food supply in Late Cretaceous upwelling settings, such as in the Cenomanian Tarfaya Basin.     

Taxonomic Composition and Trophic Structure of the Continental Bony Fish Assemblage from the Early Late Cretaceous of Southeastern Morocco

The mid-Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage from south-eastern Morocco is one of the most diversified continental vertebrate assemblages of this time worldwide. The bony fish component (coelacanths, lungfishes and ray-finned fishes) is represented by relatively complete specimens and, mostly, by fragmentary elements scattered along 250 kilometres of outcrops. Here we revisit the bony fish assemblage by studying both isolated remains collected during several fieldtrips and more complete material kept in public collections. The assemblage comprises several lungfish taxa, with the first mention of the occurrence of Arganodus tiguidiensis, and possibly two mawsoniid coelacanths. A large bichir cf. Bawitius, is recorded and corresponds to cranial elements initially referred to ‘Stromerichthys’ from coeval deposits in Egypt. The ginglymodians were diversified with a large ‘Lepidotes’ plus two obaichthyids and a gar. We confirm here that this gar belongs to a genus distinctive from Recent gars, contrary to what was suggested recently. Teleosteans comprise a poorly known ichthyodectiform, a notopterid, a probable osteoglossomorph and a large tselfatiiform, whose cranial anatomy is detailed. The body size and trophic level for each taxon are estimated on the basis of comparison with extant closely related taxa. We plotted the average body size versus average trophic level for the Kem Kem assemblage, together with extant marine and freshwater assemblages. The Kem Kem assemblage is characterized by taxa of proportionally large body size, and by a higher average trophic level than the trophic level of the extant compared freshwater ecosystems, but lower than for the extant marine ecosystems. These results should be regarded with caution because they rest on a reconstructed assemblage known mostly by fragmentary remains. They reinforce, however, the ecological oddities already noticed for this mid-Cretaceous vertebrate ecosystem in North Africa.     

A new Devonian species of the enigmatic Carboniferous conodont Dollymae

Arrow-shaped P₁ elements of Dollymae are characteristic for the Tournaisian conodont faunas worldwide but the phylogeny of this conodont remains obscure and its origin is cryptic. Dollymae peregrina n. sp., from the upper Famennian (upper expansa Zone) strata in the Holy Cross Mountains (central Poland), is the oldest representative of the Dollymae lineage. The morphology of the new species’ P₁ element shows primitive features in comparison to other members of this genus and is transitional in the number of element processes. Thus D. peregrina n. sp. is most probably ancestral to the remaining species. The genus appears to be monophyletic, probably rooted in Pelekysgnathus within the Icriodontidae.     

Unusual assemblages of Late Cretaceous silicoflagellates from the Canadian Archipelago

Devon and Ellef Ringnes islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago contain well-preserved Santonian through early Campanian silicoflagellates. These occur in three unusual assemblages, which comprise three biostratigraphic zones. The oldest, the Vallacerta tumidula Partial Range Zone of Santonian age, contains an extremely variable microflora that includes species of the poorly-known genus Variramus, two new species of Cornua, and a new genus Umpiocha. The Schulzyocha ruppelii Range Zone of early Campanian age includes several species of the new genus Schulzyocha, reflecting quadrate silicoflagellate skeletal morphologies that lack a basal structure. The youngest assemblage includes the poorly-known species Cornua trifurcata, the nominative taxon of the C. trifurcata Partial Range Zone (proposed by McCartney et al., in press c; emended herein), which allows a correlation with a silicoflagellate-bearing sequence from the Horton River area, Northwest Territories of Canada. This report presents information on 24 silicoflagellate taxa, proposes 2 new genera, Schulzyocha and Umpiocha, and describes 13 new species and 1 new combination. All of these new taxa disappear by the top of the Campanian Cornua trifurcata Partial Range Zone. These assemblages reveal a new history of silicoflagellate evolution prior to the late Campanian, the period from which most of our prior knowledge about Cretaceous silicoflagellates was derived. The assemblages show progressive change from skeletons with highly variable morphologies to more stable silicoflagellate skeletal geometry. Two important Corbisema species, C. apiculata and C. archangelskiana, appear to be derived from separate lines within Cornua in the latest Santonian and early Campanian. The important Cretaceous genus Lyramula makes its first appearance at the beginning of the Campanian.     

Conodont biostratigraphy of the Early Triassic in eastern Slovenia

The Early Triassic is a critical interval for the study of recovery from the terminal Permian mass extinction, as there are small-scale extinction events, which may have contributed to the delayed recovery. The systematic measuring and sampling of a 12-m-thick section at the Mokrice locality in eastern Slovenia has resulted in the recovery of a conodont fauna from the Olenekian beds. Four conodont zones have been recognized. These zones are in ascending order as follows: the Hadrodontina aequabilis Zone, Platyvillosus corniger Zone, Platyvillosus regularis Zone, and Triassospathodus hungaricus Zone. These conodont zones confirm the proposed conodont biozonation sequence in western Slovenia and have correlation value especially for the western marginal Tethys. Multielement conodont apparatuses of Triassospathodus hungaricus and Platyvillosus regularis have been reconstructed based on conodont elements that were recently obtained from the Slovenian sections. Although the S₂element was not found, the apparatus indicates that the conodont species “Spathognathodus” hungaricus should be assigned to the genus Triassospathodus.     

A new coral‐associated decapod assemblage from the Upper Miocene (Messinian) Upper Coralline Limestone of Malta (Central Mediterranean)

Abstract: A rich coral‐associated decapod assemblage is recorded from the ‘Depiru Beds’ of the upper part of the Upper Coralline Limestone (Messinian, Upper Miocene), from the island of Malta. Nineteen species within 17 genera have been discovered, where 14 genera are new for Malta. Four new species are described, namely Micippa annamariae sp. nov., Pilumnus scaber sp. nov., Panopeus muelleri sp. nov. and Herbstia melitense sp. nov. Herbstia melitense sp. nov. constitutes the first record of the genus from the fossil record in the Mediterranean region. This discovery more than doubles the number of known fossil decapod species from Malta. The fossil bivalve Jouannetia (J.) semicaudata Des Moulins, 1830 and the extant decapod Maja goltziana D’Oliveira, 1888, are also recorded for the first time from Malta. Other Neogene coral‐associated decapod assemblages are investigated and correlated with the new assemblage from Malta. The migration of taxa between the Mediterranean region and the Paratethys, particularly during the Lower Badenian (Langhian), is evidenced by the strong affinity of the Maltese decapod assemblage with that of the Middle Miocene Badenian assemblages from Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. Upper Miocene, Messinian assemblages from Spain, Algeria and Morocco are also similar to that from Malta.     

华南贵州宾夕法尼亚亚纪牙形类Neognathodus动物群:演化及地层对比意义

以华南斜坡相的罗甸纳庆剖面为代表,我国石炭纪宾夕法尼亚亚纪早–中期地层建立起了基于多个属种的牙形类分带,并可与全球其他地区同期地层进行广泛对比。Neognathodus属是这一时期一类常见的浅水相牙形类分子,在北美、东欧等地的浅水相地层中被广泛用作地层划分对比标志。该属分子在我国北方地区浅水相地层中是重要的带化石分子,而在华南斜坡相剖面中占比非常低。结合现有的生物地层框架,本文厘清了华南贵州罗甸附近3条斜坡相剖面中Neognathodus属分子的延限,尝试利用牙形类P1分子齿台的对称特征将其演化过程归纳为五个阶段,并提出阶段4中对称分子(如:N. bothrops, N. colombiensis, N. nataliae等)的再次出现可作为全球莫斯科阶底界的辅助对比标志。     

Palynology of the legler lignite: A deposit in the tertiary cohansey formation of New Jersey,U.S.A.

Six measured sections of lignite and related sediments of the Cohansey formation were studied palynologically reconstructing the vegetation and environment at the time of deposition and ascertaining the age of the deposit. Sections were exposed in a pit located at Legler, New Jersey, approximately 3.2 km north of Lakehurst. This is the first reported study of pollen of this formation.Pollen and spores of 40 taxa, consisting of 5 cryptogams, 4 gymnosperms, and 31 angiosperms were encountered in the lignite. Quercus and associates, Gordonia, Rosaceae, Ilex, and Clethra, form the lowermost stratigraphic assemblage. A middle assemblage consists of Quercus-Nyssa in association with the Ericaceae and Polypodiaceae; Quercus-Pinus makes up the uppermost assemblage. Several, predominantly warm-temperate to tropical genera, for example, Cyrilla, Jussiaea, Engelhardia, Gordonia, and Cyathea, are also represented. Dinoflagellates in the upper portions of the sections indicate a transitory estuarine setting.The dominant vegetation of Quercus, Pinus, Carya, and the warm-temperate genera, depict a climate generally warmer and wetter than at present. Pollen assemblages reflect a local environment that was subject to marine transgession and subsequent regression. The age of the deposit is believed to be late Miocene or early Pliocene.     

The evolution of peafowl and other taxa with ocelli (eyespots): a phylogenomic approach

The most striking feature of peafowl (Pavo) is the males'' elaborate train, which exhibits ocelli (ornamental eyespots) that are under sexual selection. Two additional genera within the Phasianidae (Polyplectron and Argusianus) exhibit ocelli, but the appearance and location of these ornamental eyespots exhibit substantial variation among these genera, raising the question of whether ocelli are homologous. Within Polyplectron, ocelli are ancestral, suggesting ocelli may have evolved even earlier, prior to the divergence among genera. However, it remains unclear whether Pavo, Polyplectron and Argusianus form a monophyletic clade in which ocelli evolved once. We estimated the phylogeny of the ocellated species using sequences from 1966 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and three mitochondrial regions. The three ocellated genera did form a strongly supported clade, but each ocellated genus was sister to at least one genus without ocelli. Indeed, Polyplectron and Galloperdix, a genus not previously suggested to be related to any ocellated taxon, were sister genera. The close relationship between taxa with and without ocelli suggests multiple gains or losses. Independent gains, possibly reflecting a pre-existing bias for eye-like structures among females and/or the existence of a simple mutational pathway for the origin of ocelli, appears to be the most likely explanation.