The Upper Permian articulate Phyllotheca australis from South Africa

RAYNER, R. J., 1992. The Upper Permian articulate Phyllotheca australis from South Africa. The taxonomic position of two fossil articulates, which form an important element of the Permian Gondwana flora, is examined in the light of recent collections from South Africa. Vegetative and fertile axes, dispersed and attached sporangia, in-situ spores, isolated and attached whorls of leaves, rhizomes bearing roots and branches, naked axes and a permineralized axis are all assigned to Phyllotheca australis. The large numbers of axes with attached sporangia allow a reinterpretation of the fertile structure and the specific diagnosis is emended. Although it is recognized that the fossils assigned to this taxon may represent a species complex, there exist no clear morphological discontinuities between the material previously assigned to P. australis and P. indica from widely separated Gondwanan localities. Phyllotheca australis was common throughout Gondwana, and is a reliable index fossil of the Upper Permian.     

Osteomyelitis in a 265-million-year-old titanosuchid (Dinocephalia,Therapsida)

Abstract

Analytical palaeohistology techniques have allowed a better understanding of the microstructure of fossil bone, as well as of bone pathologies of extinct animals. Osteomyelitis is one of the oldest identified bone pathologies, occurring in Synapsida dating back as far as the Lower Permian. Here we show the presence of this pathology in the femur of Jonkeria parva, an omnivorous titanosuchid from the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone of the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The pathology is characterised by bony radial spicules growing perpendicular to the normal orientation of the unaffected fibrolamellar bone tissue, and shows localised increase in vascular canal size. Puncture marks on the femur suggests that an attack by a predator may have resulted in a bacterial infection that caused contiguous and subjacent osteomyelitis.     

The postcranial skeleton of Kingoria nowacki (von Huene) (Therapsida: Dicynodontia)

A new specimen of Kingoria nowacki (von Huene) with a complete pelvic girdle and hindlimb is reconstructed and the method of locomotion analysed. It is concluded that the hindlimb was modified from the normal dicynodont pattern in a direction comparable to that of advanced mammal-like reptiles which are presumed to have given rise to mammals. The pectoral girdle also had a modified form, but the humerus was probably conservative in its morphology. The hindlimb stride relied on protraction and retraction to effect movement while the forelimb relied on long axis rotation of the humerus. Possible reasons for the difference in morphology and function of the fore-and hindlimbs are discussed, and a functional sequence for the generation of the Kingoria pelvic girdle from that of other Permian dicynodonts is suggested.     

Chronostratigraphic accuracy of Ordovician ecostratigraphic correlation

Six stratigraphic sections along a 34 km transect down a Middle Ordovician depth gradient (Trenton Group, New York) were ecostratigraphically correlated to 10⁵ year accuracy by pairwise statistical cross-correlation of curves describing each section's depth history in terms of the distribution of fossil marine benthic communities along the gradient. This accuracy is about an order of magnitude greater than that of ordinary biostratigraphic correlation in the sequence, and it is attained even in correlating between very different biofacies. New ecostratigraphic methods illustrated here promise comparable improvements in analyzing many stratigraphic sequences.     

A new tritylodontid from the Kayenta formation of Arizona

Kayentatherium wellesigen. sp. now is a new tritylodont (Thcrapsida: Synapsida) from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona, U.S.A. Only the skull and parts of the lower jaw are known. The first upper incisor is apparently absent, so the dentition consists of one upper incisor followed, after a diastema, by a row of postcanines, which are replaced posteriorly. The cusp formula of these upper postcanines is 2, 2 (+ a ) 2, a being a tiny mesial cusp. The mean breadth/length ratio of these teeth is 1.59. Kayentatherium is related to the Tritylodon Bienotherium lineage, but is considerably more advanced than the latter, which is of Upper Triassic Lower Jurassic age. This indicates that the Kayenta formation must be Lower or Middle Jurassic age, with agrees with the conclusions of Welles.     

试论二叠纪牙形石古地理分区、演化及其控制因素

阐述二叠纪6个时期牙形石的分布及其古地理分区的划分和演变,探讨牙形石古地区分区的主控因素及其与古气候演变的关系,应用上述古地理分区模式恢复科迪勒拉山脉有关地体牙形石群落的古地理。     

Evolution of Permian conodont provincialism and its significance in global correlation and paleoclimate implication

The main components of Asselian through Artinskian conodont faunas found around the world are basically the same, and the provincialism is indicated only by less common endemic elements such as Gondolelloides and New Genus A Henderson in North Pangea, Sweetognathus bucaramangus around the equator and Vjalovognathus in eastern Gondwana. Provincialism is marked by differences at the species level of Mesogondolella, Neostreptognathodus and Sweetognathus during the Kungurian, and becomes very distinct with differences at the genus level during the Guadalupian and Lopingian. Three provinces of Permian conodonts, referred to as the North Cool Water Province (NCWP), the Equatorial Warm Water Province (EWWP) and the peri-Gondwana Cool Water Province (GCWP), are recognized. The NCWP is marked by Gondolelloides in the early Cisuralian, dominance of Neostreptognathodus and no or rare Sweetognathus in the late Cisuralian, dominance of Merrillina and Mesogondolella and absence of Sweetognathus in the Guadalupian, and dominance of Merrillina and Mesogondolella and absence of Iranognathus in the Lopingian. The EWWP is characterized by the absence of Gondolelloides and Vjalovognathus in the Cisuralian, abundance of Sweetognathus and Pseudosweetognathus in the Kungurian (late Cisuralian), Jinogondolella and Sweetognathus in the Guadalupian, and Clarkina and Iranognathus in the Lopingian. The GCWP is marked by Vjalovognathus, Merrillina in the Cisuralian, Vjalovognathus, Merrillina and Mesogondolella in the Guadalupian, and Vjalovognathus and Merrillina in the Lopingian. Mixed faunas are recognized in regions bordering between the EWWP and GCWP including Western Timor during the Artinskian, Pamirs during the Kungurian and the Salt Range during the Guadalupian and Lopingian.

Three different conodont zonations are proposed, one for each of the three conodont provinces. Four potential horizons for inter-provincial correlation of Permian conodonts are recognized. They are in ascending order: (1) the first appearance of Sweetognathus whitei, which is closely related to the last occurrence of Carboniferous-type conodonts such as Streptognathodus and Adetognathus; (2) the first appearance of Neostreptognathodus pequopensis; (3) the base of the Jinogondolella nankingensis Zone; and (4) the base of the Clarkina postbitteri–Iranognathus erwini Zone.

The spatial and temporal distribution pattern of Permian conodonts suggests that temperature is the primary controlling factor. Evolution of Permian conodont provincialism reveals a glaciation during the Asselian and Sakmarian, a global warming during the Artinskian, a climate cooling in North Pangea during the Kungurian, a continuation of Kungurian climate trends in the Guadalupian, a relatively minor warming during the Wuchiapingian, a returned cooling in the Changhsingian and Lower and Middle Griesbachian, and a global warming in the Late Griesbachian, which ended the Permian conodont lineage.     

Biogeographic analysis of Jurassic-Early Cretaceous wood assemblages from Gondwana

The terrestrial biogeography of Gondwana during Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times is poorly resolved, and the flora is usually considered to have been rather uniform. This is surprising given the size of Gondwana, which extended from the equator to the South Pole. Documenting Gondwanan terrestrial floristic provincialism in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times is important because it provides a historical biogeographic context in which to understand the tremendous evolutionary radiations that occurred during the mid-Cretaceous. In this paper, the distribution of Jurassic-Early Cretaceous fossil wood is analysed at generic level across the entire supercontinent. Specifically, wood assemblages are analyzed in terms of five climatic zones (summer wet, desert, winter wet, warm temperate, cool temperate) established on the basis of independent data. Results demonstrate that araucarian-like conifer wood was a dominant, cosmopolitan element, whereas other taxa showed a greater degree of provincialism. Indeed, several narrowly endemic morphogenera are recognizable from the data. Finally, comparisons with Laurasian wood assemblages indicate strong parallelism between the vegetation of both hemispheres.     

Crossed Lines: The Curious Case of the Beaufort Sea Maritime Boundary Dispute

The Beaufort Sea maritime boundary dispute has traditionally been understood as involving a wedge-shaped area of maritime space that extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles north of the terminus of the Canada-United States border between the Yukon Territory and Alaska. However, new data collected in pursuit of establishing the limits of the extended continental shelf in the region show that the two countries’ seabed resource rights may stretch far beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit of the exclusive economic zone. Significantly, at approximately 200 nautical miles from shore, the U.S.-claimed equidistance line crosses the line claimed by Canada, which follows the 141° W meridian, meaning that the legal positions of the two countries if simply extended beyond the EEZ would appear to favor the other party. This article explores how the United States and Canada might seek to reformulate their legal positions to resolve the dispute. Though these reformulated positions might not reduce the area in dispute, they will clarify it and potentially enable the parties to either delimit a single maritime boundary or choose to implement one of a number of creative solutions to the dispute that are outlined in the article.     

评欧亚晚新生代生物地层对比

随着人们对欧亚地区广泛分布的陆相沉积物研究的不断深入,不少地区性的陆相生物年代表(主要是哺乳动物生物年代表)相继问世(1853-1985).随之出现了许多进行洲内和洲际间生物年代对比的文章.新近的两篇文章(李、吴、邱,1984;薛祥煦,1984)建立并概述了中国晚新生代的陆相生物年代,并与欧洲地区作了对比.与此同时,本文作者发表了数篇讨论欧洲晚新生代哺乳动物生物年代及其对比的文章 (Kretzoi, 1983a, 1983b, 1984, 1985a, 1985b; Kretzoi-Pcsi, 1982).其中一篇讨论了欧洲与中国晚新生代生物年代对比的可能性 (Kretzoi, 1985b).许多殊途同归的观点是很令人满意的,但也有一些看法尚需探讨.这篇短文旨在促进双方观点的进一步交流.作者通过对比中国和欧洲晚新生代动物群进化阶段,认为下述问题尚需探讨或做更详尽的工作.1. 谢家期,作为一个时代的特征性的化石材料似太少,与欧洲进行生物年代对比尚有困难.2. 山旺期尽管有丰富的动物群为代表,但其中从早中新世至晚中新世的属种都有,恐怕不能直接与欧洲的奥尔良期 (Orlanian) 相比,需进一步作工作.3. 就目前所知,通古尔期在时间上较欧洲的阿斯塔拉期短,或仅相当于 Post-Astaracian = Monacian.4. 灞河期建期地点的哺乳动物并不是典型森林型的.相反,河南和山西等省的一些地点的哺乳动物的森林性质较欧洲的 Eppelsheim 期更明显.在中国,有希望将该期作进一步的划分.5. 保德期的材料是新第三纪所有动物群中最丰富的.无论从动物群或是分类单元的数量来说,都很有希望对东亚这一时间跨度作更详细的确定.并为解决新旧大陆之间最大的哺乳动物群的迁徙问题提供资料.6. 静乐期,这一时期是具特征性的.如果把一些含有真马的动物群从中排除,那么这个时期与西伯利亚—欧洲者是很不相同的.7. 游河期和更晚些的第四纪的\"真马\"动物群的时代的确定是令人满意的.这在整个欧亚大陆都是可以对比的,与北美的动物群的时代对比也是有希望的,而与热带地区动物群的比较仅在放射性绝对年龄的基础上才有可能.8. 新生代,尤其是晚新生代真兽类进化和动物群动力学主要受两个因素控制:中亚的辐射中心和白令海峡\"气候筛\".前者取决于古亚洲区的生境演化.中国古脊椎动物学的新成果将有效地推动人们去揭示这一广大地区上生命的进化过程,确信旧大陆陆地上生命历史的许多问题将通过中国同行们的工作得到澄清.     

新疆乌伦古河流域第三纪哺乳动物地层研究的新成果

新疆准噶尔盆地北缘中、新生代地层广泛出露,２０世纪５０年代,对这一地区的中、新生代地层的系统研究工作业已开展。地质部６３１地质队在该地区进行大面积地质填图,新疆石油管理局开展了有关地质问题的综合性专题研究。１９８２年和１９８３年中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所在新疆石油管理局的支持下,组队前往该区进行中、新生代生物地层研究工作,并于８０年代末与９０年代初提交了一批生物地层和古哺乳动物研究文章,进一步提高了该地区第三纪地层的研究程度。由于工作区地处中亚,位于青藏高原以北,西面邻近古土尔盖海峡,东…