New ammonoid taxa from the Lower Cretaceous Giumal Formation of the Tethyan Himalaya (Northern India)

Knowledge of the Early Cretaceous ammonoids of the NW‐Himalayas was poor until recent discoveries. Intense sampling from the Giumal Formation exposed near the village of Chikkim (Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India) led to the recognition of a new Early Cretaceous ammonoid fauna. The succession consists of arenitic sandstone interbedded with shale that was deposited by turbidity currents on an unstable shelf in the Early Cretaceous. Ammonoids have been obtained only from sandstone beds in the lower one‐third and close to the top of the c. 350‐m‐thick section. Eight new ammonoid taxa (1 genus and 7 species) are described: Sinzovia franki sp. nov. (rare), Giumaliceras giumaliense gen. et sp. nov. (abundant), Giumaliceras bhargavai gen. et sp. nov. (rare), Neocomites (Eristavites) platycostatiformis sp. nov. (rare), Cleoniceras oberhauseri sp. nov. (abundant), Australiceras himalayense sp. nov. (rare) and Deshayesites fuchsi sp. nov. (rare). Sinzovia and Deshayesites are reported for the first time from the Tethyan Himalaya. According to the biostratigraphic relevance of some ammonoid taxa described here, the age of the Giumal Formation can be constrained from Berriasian (Giumaliceras assemblage) to Aptian (Cleoniceras assemblage). The discovery of the new fauna substantiates the significance of the Giumal Formation around Chikkim and facilitates comparison with faunal assemblages from other regions in the Tethys Ocean and beyond.     

Precocious sexual dimorphism and the Lilliput effect in Neo‐Tethyan Ostracoda (Crustacea) through the Permian–Triassic boundary

The Elikah River section spanning the Lopingian (Late Permian) to the Griesbachian (Early Triassic) time interval in the Central Alborz Mountains (north Iran) was sampled for ostracod analysis. We report 79 species distributed among 38 genera. Four new species are described: Acratia? pervagata Forel sp. nov., Microcheilinella alborzella Forel sp. nov., Basslerella superarella Crasquin sp. nov. and Cavellina nesenensis Crasquin sp. nov. The ontogeny of 13 species is described and sexual dimorphism in the genus Microcheilinella is here undoubtedly recognized for the first time. Six species show precocious sexual dimorphism of their carapace as early as A‐5 juvenile. The Lilliput effect is for the first time recorded and quantified for two species. Rare long‐time span Palaeocopida species, known throughout the entire Permian, document relatively long‐term evolution, including the size and growth rate modifications associated with the earlier appearance of carapace sexual dimorphism through time. These patterns might be related to the Guadalupian–Lopingian events and/or to climatic modifications occurring during the Permian interval.     

Three new species of the genus Caesarodispus (Acari: Microdispidae) associated with ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a key to species

Three new species of the genus Caesarodispus (Acari: Heterostigmatina: Microdispidae) phoretic on ants are described from Iran: C. khaustovi Rahiminejad & Hajiqanbar sp. nov. , C. pheidolei Rahiminejad & Hajiqanbar sp. nov. and C. nodijensis Rahiminejad & Hajiqanbar sp. nov. All species were associated with alate ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from northern Iran. A key to all species of Caesarodispus is provided.     

New species of sap beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Epuraeinae,Cybocephalinae) from the Baltic amber

A new genus, Baltoraea gen. nov., two new species of this genus, B. insignis sp. nov. and B. simillima sp. nov., and three other new species, Cybocephalus (Cybocephalus) balticus sp. nov., C. (C.) electricus sp. nov. and C. (C.) kerneggeri sp. nov. are described from the Late Eocene Baltic amber. The systematic position of the genus Baltoraea and presumable bionomics of the new sap beetles are discussed.     

A new Permian ammonoid fauna of the Kobylka River (North Urals)

A new ammonoid fauna from the Artinskian-Kungurian boundary beds is described from the Kobylka River basin (North Urals). Two new species, Sakmarites tardus sp. nov. and Paragastrioceras kobylkense sp. nov., are described.     

Some evolutionary features of bryozoans of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neotrematopora</Emphasis> Morozova and new <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neotrematopora</Emphasis> species from the Devonian of the Salair Ridge and Rudnyi Altai (Russia)

The evolution of the Neotrematopora species is shown to trend in the direction of developing stronger colonies, implemented in different ways: through changes in the diameter of apertures and thickness of walls of autozooecia, changes in the location and number of diaphragms, number of acanthozooecia and mesozooecia, and the degree to which the latter are filled. An increased development of some structural elements of the colony was compensated for by a decrease in the role of others. Based on the general direction of evolution in the genus Neotrematopora and the succession of its species changing each other in time, several phylogenetic lines in the development of the Early Devonian-Early Givetian Neotrematopora species in the Altai-Sayan folded region are outlined. During the Middle Emsian transgression the species of the Salair paleobasin invaded Gornyi Altai, and those of the Gornyi Altai invaded the Salair. New species from the Emsian (N. spinula sp. nov.) and Eifelian (N. alveolata sp. nov., N. ariadnae sp. nov.) stages of the Salair Ridge and from the Emsian Stage (N. rudnoaltaica sp. nov.) of Rudnyi Altai are described.     

New species of caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Rovno amber,Eocene of Ukraine

A new genus and seven new species of the caddisfly families Philopotamidae, Polycentropodidae, Ecnomidae, Hydroptilidae, and Leptoceridae (Wormaldia nasticentia sp. nov., Holocentropus flexiflagrum sp. nov., Electrocyrnus perpusillus gen. et sp. nov., Archaeotinodes reveraverus sp. nov., Agraylea electroscientia sp. nov., Triplectides palaeoslavicus sp. nov., and Leptocerus solifemella sp. nov.) from the Rovno amber (Upper Eocene, Ukraine) are described     

Late paleocene flora of the northern Alaska Peninsula: the role of transberingian plant migrations and climatic change

For the first time, the Late Sagwon Flora is described from the upper beds of the Prince Creek Formation (Upper Paleocene) at the Sagavanirktok River (northern Alaska Peninsula). The flora is dominated by the angiosperm Tiliaephyllum brooksense Moiseeva et Herman sp. nov. and conifer Metasequoia occidentalis (Newb.) Chaney. The Late Sagwon Flora is most similar to the Danian or Danian-Selandian flora from the middle part of the Upper Tsagayan Subformation (Amur Region) and lower part of the Wuyun Formation (Heilongjiang Province, China). This similarity allows us to hypothesize that the genus Tiliaephyllum, which dominated in the Late Tsagayan Flora, migrated via the Bering Land Bridge from southern paleolatitudes of the Far East to high latitudes of the Arctic Pacific, due to the progressively warming climate of the Paleocene. Additional new angiosperm species are described from the Late Sagwon Flora: Archeampelos mullii Moiseeva et Herman sp. nov., Tiliaephyllum brooksense Moiseeva et Herman sp. nov., and Dicotylophyllum sagwonicum Moiseeva et Herman sp. nov.     

New subgenus of the genus Schizoprymnus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Japan, having a unique abdominal carapace structure

A new subgenus of the genus Schizoprymnus Foerster is described and figured from Honshu, Japan. The subgenus, Ibarakius subgen. nov., comprises three species, S. (I.) gotoi sp. nov. (type species), S. (I.) kaizawus sp. nov., and S. (I.) honshuensis sp. nov. A pair of long, curved posteroventral processes on the carapace is unique to Ibarakius subgen. nov. The variability of frontal protuberances and sutures of the carapace in the brachistine genera Triaspis Haliday and Schizoprymnus Foerster is discussed.     

Freshwater fish otoliths from the Deccan Trap associated sedimentary (Cretaceous-Tertiary transition) beds of Rangapur,Hyderabad, District,Andhra Pradesh,India

The present paper describes 12 species of fish otoliths recovered by washing and screening processes from the Deccan Trap associated sedimentary (Intertrappean) beds exposed near Rangapur, Hyderabad District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The present collection of otoliths contains four major groups: Clupeomorpha (“Clupeidarum” sp.), Osteoglossomorpha (“Osteoglossidarum” deccanensis sp. nov., “O”. intertrappus sp. nov. and “Notopteridarum” nolfi sp. nov.), Protacanthopterygii (“Salmoniformorum” rectangulus sp. nov.), and Percomorpha (Dapalis sp., “Apigonidarum” ovatus sp. nov., “Serranidarum” sp., “Percoideorum” ellipticus sp. nov., “P.” rangapurensis sp. nov., “Percoideorum” sp. 1 and “Percoideorum” sp. 2). This collection of otoliths represents freshwater lacustrine deposition of the sediments. The age of the Intertrappean beds is considered Uppermost Cretaceous to Palaeoncene on the basis of freshwater ostracode (Paracypretta jonesi, Mongolianella hislopi and Candoniella sp.) and charophyte (Platychara perlata and Nemegtichara sp.) assemblages.     

Taxonomic and faunistic studies of the Sepsidae (Diptera) from Vietnam,with descriptions of six new species

A total of 52 species belonging to nine genera of the Sepsidae are reported from Vietnam. Of these, six species (Dicranosepsis splendifica sp. nov., D. trochanteris sp. nov., Mucha rectotibialis sp. nov., Perochaeta exilis sp. nov., Sepsis nigriminima sp. nov. and S. silvicola sp. nov.) are described as new to science. Eighteen species are newly recorded from Vietnam. Toxopoda pseudoviduata Ozerov, 2010 is synonymized with T. cavata Iwasa, 2008. The faunal composition of Vietnamese Sepsidae is divided into six groups based on distributional data and discussed. A key to the species of Vietnamese Sepsidae is also provided.     

Modern hydrophilid clades present and widespread in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Hydrophilidae)

We present a summary of the fossil evidence documenting the worldwide occurrence of the family Hydrophilidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Polyphaga: Hydrophiloidea) in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. We present the first known fossils of the family from the Mesozoic, being c. 100 Myr older than the fossil record available until now. Two Late Jurassic fossils are documented: P rotochares brevipalpis gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Talbragar Fish Bed (New South Wales, Australia) and ‘Mesosperchus’ schultzi Ponomarenko, 1985 from Solnhofen (Bavaria, Germany). The occurrence of the Hydrophilidae in the Early Cretaceous is documented by six species, all of which may be already assigned to modern subfamilies/tribes: B aissalarva hydrobioides gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Baissa outcrops (Buryat Republic, Russia) and C retoxenus australis gen. nov., sp. nov. from Koonwarra outcrops (Victoria, Australia) are both assigned to the tribe Hydrobiusini (Hydrophilinae); A legorius yixianus gen. nov., sp. nov. and Alegorius sp. from the Yixian Formation (Liaoning, China) may represent the Acidocerinae or Enochrinae, H ydroyixia elongata gen. nov., sp. nov. and H . latissima sp. nov. from the same locality are assigned to the Acidocerinae. The phylogenetic position of Baissalarva hydrobioides is also tested by a phylogenetic analysis. The presence of extant clades (Hydrophilinae: Hydrobiusini, Acidocerinae) in the Early Cretaceous and the wide distribution of the Hydrobiusini in both Gondwana and Laurasia at the same time suggests that the principal extant clades of the Hydrophilidae are at least of Early–Middle Jurassic origin. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

Permian ammonoids of the Kolyma-Omolon Region: Ogonerian association

The Ogonerian association of Early Permian ammonoids from the Upper part of the Munugudzhakian Formation (upper part of the Ogonerian Horizon) contains Uraloceras omolonense Bogoslovskaya et Boiko, U. kolymense Bogoslovskaya et Boiko, Neoshumardites munugudzhensis sp. nov., N.? nassichuki sp. nov., and Bulunites gracilis sp. nov. These taxa suggest the Sakmarian-Artinskian boundary beds examined are geochronologically older than the level with Neoshumardites triceps Ruzhencev in the South Ural Mountains.     

Four new species of Scythrididae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) from Irano–Turanian area,with notes on taxonomy and distribution

Four new scythridid species are described: Scythris kabulella sp. nov. and S. claudiae sp. nov. from Afghanistan, S. alborzensis sp. nov. from Iran and S. bifasciella sp. nov. from Iran and Turkey. Scythris kabulella is closely related to S. bagdadiella Amsel, 1949 and is assigned to the S. bagdadiella species group because of its genital features. Scythris claudiae is also assigned to Scythris pascuella species group due to its genital features. At present, S. alborzensis and S. bifasciella could not be assigned to any known species group.     

Ammonites of Tethyan origin in the Ryazanian stage of the Russian platform: Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Riasanella</Emphasis> gen. nov.

A new ammonite genus Riasanella is described from the Ryazanian Stage of the Russian Platform (type species R. rausingi sp. nov.). The new species R. plana sp. nov., R. olorizi sp. nov., and R. riasanitoides sp. nov. are described. These species come from the lower, strongly condensed beds of the Riasanites rjasanensis Zone of the Moscow Region. The upper subzone of this zone in the Ryazan Region contains specimens of Riasanella, identified in open nomenclature. The new genus is assigned to the family Himalayitidae; one of its species is a possible ancestor of Riasanites Spath.     

New representatives of the family Melagathiceratidae (Ammonoidea) from the Lower Triassic of South Primorye

A new ammonoid genus, Ussurijuvenites (Melagathiceratidae), is described from the early Olenekian of South Primorye, represented by two new species (U. popovi sp. nov. and U. artyomensis sp. nov.); data on the inner shell structure of melagathiceratid ammonoids (based on U. artyomensis sp. nov.) are presented for the first time.     

New tanystropheids (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha) from the Triassic of Europe

A new prolacertilian species and genus, Augustaburiania vatagini gen. et sp. nov. (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha), from the Lower Triassic of the Don River Basin is described. It is the first representative of the Tanystropheidae in the Eastern Europe and the world oldest member of this family. Another new genus (Protanystropheus gen. nov.) from Central and Western Europe is also established. The diversity, systematics, phylogeny, evolution, and stratigraphic and geographical distribution of prolacertilians are discussed. The ecological role of prolacertilians in Early Triassic communities and adaptation to marine environments are analyzed.     

Pronemouridae fam. nov. (Insecta: Plecoptera), the stem group of nemouridae and notonemouridae,from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia,China

Abstract: A new family, Pronemouridae fam. nov., with a new genus, Pronemoura gen. nov., and five new species of fossil stoneflies are described from Daohugou village (Middle Jurassic), Inner Mongolia, China: P. shii sp. nov., P. angustithorax sp. nov., P. longialata sp. nov., P. minuta sp. nov. and P. peculiaris sp. nov. Wing venation of pronemourinids presents some or considerable variety in the fore and hind wings of the same or different individuals. Pronemourinidae, retaining plesiomorphic characters (short, multisegmented cerci and CuA with forks), should be treated as the stem group of Nemouridae and Notonemouridae. Based on fossil data, we propose a model in which the extant plecopterid distribution began in the Early Cretaceous. Nemouridae and Notonemouridae must have occurred in Asia and begun to migrate from here by at least the Early Cretaceous.     

New conodonts of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polygnathus</Emphasis> from the Evlanovian and Livnian (Upper Devonian) of the Voronezh Anteclise (central Devonian Field)

New conodont species of the genus Polygnathus (P. krutoensis sp. nov., P. makhlinae sp. nov., P. menneri sp. nov., P. obruchevae sp. nov.) are described from the Evlanovian-Livnian (Upper Devonian) deposits of the Voronezh Anteclise (central regions of the Rassian platform). The ontogenetic series of the new species are presented.