An enigmatic chordate from the Lower Carboniferous Granton 'shrimp-bed' of the Edinburgh district, Scotland

A new soft-bodied chordate, Conopiscius clarki gen. et sp. nov., with V-shaped scales covering the trunk, and a pair of cone-shaped structures in the head, is described from the Lower Carboniferous of Granton, Edinburgh. It occurs in the 'shrimp-bed' which, although dominated by eumalacostracan crustaceans, has also yielded exceptionally preserved examples of other taxa including the soft parts of conodonts. The new animal may represent a jawless craniate with affinities to Jamoytius. The parallels between this and other faunas yielding similar chordates (e.g. Jamoytius ) may be taphonomic rather than environmental.     

The first tomopterid, a polychaete from the Carboniferous of Scotland

Briggs, Derek E. G. & Clarkson, Euan N. K. 1987 07 15: The first tomopterid, a polychaete from the carboniferous of Scotland.
The first known example of a fossil tomopterid, Eotomopteris aldridgei , is described from the Lower Carboniferous of Granton, Edinburgh. The head bears tentacular cirri, and the trunk preserves evidence of at least 20 pairs of parapodia. The polychaete is associated with other soft-bodied and lightly skeletalized organisms including crustaceans, conodonts, an additional chordate, and branching structures which resemble hydroids. It is similar to living tomopterids and was probably pelagic. This discovery indicates that these polychaetes were well established by the early Carboniferous and probably before.     

Préparation des Conodontes par manipulationen milieu liquide

Described processing for preparation of conodonts improves the well-preservation of very fragile specimens. In classical procedures freed conodonts are airy moved without any technical care of rubbing and falling. In the new exposed technique freed conodonts are moved under distiled water; the previous inconveniences are avoided and the well-preserved conodonts number is increased.     

Pattern of conodont reworking in the Upper Devonian of the Alps: palaeoenvironmental and palaeotectonic implications

Transfer of sediments from shallow shelf to basin usually implies vertical (stratigraphic) reworking of fossils, but in a few instances produces only lateral reworking (actually within the time span of a subzone). An Upper Devonian (Frasnian) pelagic carbonate sequence with allodapic intercalations and thick intraclast parabreccias triggered by seismic shocks and related tsunami and turbidity currents has been studied. Here, the standard biozone sequence is undisturbed at the zonal as well as the subzonal level. However, distribution of conodonts is discontinuous, and ranges of some important species are altered; mature specimens are commonly broken, whereas complete specimens are mostly juvenile forms. Maxima and minima of element frequency and anomalous thickening or thinning of subzones are recognized. Such distribution patterns of conodonts are compared with the four main facies distinguished and related to the environmental interpretation (a platform-basin system, the original gentle slope of which was fragmenting in fault-controlled blocks). The mean frequency of shallow-water, proximal conodonts is 10% whereas transitional to distal deeper-water genera dominate throughout the entire section. In the dominant biofacies, conodonts settled vertically, in the subordinate one they were transported laterally. The 'intraclast parabreccia' is interpreted as a peculiar type of seismitc. The anomalous thickness variation of biozones is related to the step topography of the slope in a fault-controlled carbonate basin.     

A new method for extracting conodonts and radiolarians from chert with NaOH solution

Microfossils are important components of sedimentary rocks used for palaeontological, biostratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic investigations. They are usually extracted from rocks using an acid solution, which might vary depending on the embedding rock lithology. Here we propose a new method using common NaOH (sodium hydroxide; soda) to digest cherts (micro- and cryptocrystalline quartz) instead of the standard technique based on HF (hydrofluoric acid). This new method allows the collection of undamaged specimens of different kinds of microfossils, such as conodonts, radiolarians, teeth and dermal scales, the minerology of which is still preserved (e.g. biogenic apatite in conodonts). The use of soda is thus recommended, as it is less dangerous, less expensive, and it better preserves the extracted microfossils both in shape and mineralogy.     

Allometry in Anisian (Middle Triassic) segminiplanate conodonts and its implications for conodont taxonomy

Conodonts are a clade of chordates and are valuable indicator fossils for biostratigraphy. The segminiplanate (neogondolelliform) conodonts represent a major morphological group ranging from upper Carboniferous to Upper Triassic marine sediments. However, the morphological similarity of segminiplanate P₁ elements generates problems for taxonomy, especially in the Permian and Triassic clades. This paper represents the first study of morphological variation in Triassic segminiplanate conodonts using a geometric morphometric approach. The laminar microstructures observed in conodont cross‐sections indicate that, within our analysed specimens, smaller conodonts with fewer laminae are generally from an earlier ontogenetic stage while larger conodonts with more laminae are from a later stage of ontogeny. Using linear regressions between relative warp scores from both upper and lateral views and conodont length, we demonstrate strongly allometric growth patterns for the species Paragondolella bifurcata Budurov & Stefanov. Our results indicate that the species‐group taxon Pg. praeszaboi bystrickyi (Kovacs et al.) is an early growth stage of Pg. bifurcata and thus synonymous. We suggest that the allometry of conodonts should be considered seriously, especially when there are numerous transitional morphologies between large‐ and small‐sized conodonts. Reconstructing the ontogenetic series and using larger‐sized conodonts within the numerous transitional morphologies in the population of a rock sample for the definition of new species are suggested for future studies.     

河北完县中、晚寒武世无铰纲腕足类

研究了河北完县清醒剖面中寒武统张夏组至上寒武统凤山组酸解法所获得的无铰纲腕足类化石5500多件,详细描述了乳孔贝科2新属、16新种、3未定种,圆货贝科1新属、2新种.自张夏组至凤山组建立了8个无铰纲腕足类化石组合.对乳孔贝亚科的幼壳形态进行了分类,并研究幼壳的演化趋向.     

辽河断陷盆地西部晚寒武世至早奥陶世牙形石生物地层

辽河断陷盆地西部凹陷古潜山顶部地层的时代 ,自 70年代末期以来 ,一直被认为属于中、上元古代。本文通过在总面积为 60 0 km2 的西部凹陷中段系统、详尽的牙形石生物地层研究 ,并结合疑源类、小壳化石以及岩石地层学资料 ,确认研究区内古潜山顶部地层的时代主要为晚寒武世至早奥陶世。中、上元古代地层在研究区内虽然存在 ,但分布极其局限。从而 ,彻底改变了2 0年以来对该地区古潜山地层划分和对比上的传统认识。     

贵州关岭地区三叠系竹杆坡组顶部及"瓦窑组"底部的牙形刺

贵州关岭地区三叠系“瓦窑组”以N.polygnathiformis繁盛为特征,关岭新铺巴毛林至小洼一带“瓦窑组”一段与杨守仁等（1995）Neogondolella polygnathiformis带的下部相当,相当于卡尼阶。“瓦窑组”中N.polyg-nathiformis(Budurov et Stefanov)的幼年期个体丰富,为研究这一晚三叠的重要属种的个体发育提供条件,在该区竹杆坡组上部发现的Celsigondolella baiyunensis sp.nov.和Neogondolella parafoliata sp.nov。为研究Celsigon dolella与Neogondolella这间的演化关系提供新材料。     

Goniatites et conodontes du Viséen/Serpukhovien dans les Pyrénées centrales et occidentales, France

Cephalopods and conodonts from the upper part of the Aspe-Brousset Limestones and lower part of the Iraty Limestones in Central and Western Pyrenees are described. Two levels differing in age are distinguished on their behalf. The oldest one belonging to the Late Visean or Early Serpukhovian yields specimens described as Goniatites baylei Leymerie, 1957, by Mirouse (1957, 1962). They are placed here in the species Dombarites falcatoides Ruzhentsev and Bogoslovkaya, 1971 for which the new subspecies D. falcatoides mirousei is established. The upper level corresponds to the Albergian (upper Serpukhovian) and is characterized by Proshumardites delepinei Schindewolf, 1939. Numerous conodonts belonging to the Lochriea and the Gnathodus groups occur together with this fauna. The joint study of goniatites and conodonts allows us to show the relationship existing between the distributions of both these two groups of organisms as well as to provide precisions on the stratigraphic and the palaeogeographical data in these areas.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Icriodus marieae</Emphasis>, a new icriodontid conodont species from the Middle Devonian

A new conodont species, Icriodus marieae, is described from pelagic limestone beds of the Carnic Alps (Austria). Specimens are obtained from the upper part of the Valentin Formation (Central Carnic Alps) and range from the latest Eifelian to middle Givetian. Significantly differing from other icriodontid conodonts is that the icriodontan element of the new species develops only three denticles on either lateral denticle row, which are constricted to the central part of the element. The anterior part of the element is free of lateral row denticles and consists of two to four denticles, which have a fan-shaped outline in lateral view. The anterior part as well as the posterior part (consisting of cusp and two to three pre-cusp denticles) is higher than the denticles of the central part of the element. Shape analysis confirms that the parameters chosen for landmarks (element size relation and denticle setting) show little variation between different specimens.     

Soft anatomy and the affinities of conodonts

Recent claims that conodonts are members of the Craniata or Vertebrata are based in part upon soft tissue features that have been preserved in a small number of specimens. These features include what appear to be radials in the caudal fin and paired structures that have been identified as eye remnants. The evidence for radials is limited, but credible. However, the anatomy of extant cyclostomes suggests that the paired structures are more reasonably interpreted as otic capsules than the remnants of sclerotic eye capsules. Moreover, even if these structures are the remnants of eyes, conodonts might equally well be a sister group to the craniates as a member of that group. Aside from these paired structures, conodont fossils exhibit no features that are suggestive of a cartilaginous skeleton. Given that cyclostome fossils sometimes show evidence of the cartilages of the head, the apparent absence of a similar skeleton in conodont animals calls into question the claim that they are craniates. The simple single chevron shape of conodont myomeres also suggests that they lie outside of the Craniata. All living craniates have double-chevron myomeres as adults, whereas simple myomeres of the conodont type are found in the non-craniate cephalochordates. Thus the available soft tissue evidence suggests that conodonts are best regarded as the sister group of the craniates.     

Late Devonian dimpled phosphatic microspherules associated with conodonts are possible otoliths of short‐lived and opportunistic organisms

Dimpled phosphatic microspherules, contradictorily associated with conodonts, are widely distributed in strata ranging in age from the Cambrian to Carboniferous. These microspherules have attracted much attention from palaeobiologists and were suggested to be ‘conodont pearls’, ‘conodont otoliths’ or ‘fish otoliths’ due to their similar chemical composition and co‐occurrence with conodonts or fish teeth. However, these hypotheses are still highly controversial. Here, we report ‘checks’, ‘rhythmic growth patterns’ and ‘sub‐diurnal increments’ from growth annuli of the Late Devonian phosphatic microspherules from South China, on the basis of quantitative microstructure analysis. The annulus width of phosphatic microspherules becomes narrower with increasing radius. These microstructural characteristics of growth annuli are most typical indicators of modern animal otoliths. In addition, a maximum value of about 90 annuli is encountered from all the specimens. We propose that these microspherules are essentially phosphatic otoliths, which might have been secreted by a specific kind of marine organisms with very short lifespans (less than 90 days). Furthermore, the sudden enrichment of phosphatic microspherules in the late Frasnian may represent a biological response of short‐lived animals to ecological crisis such as ocean eutrophication.     

Morphogenetic patterns of the shelf-like protuberance in the late Emsian-early Eifelian polygnathid conodonts

The shelf-like protuberance on the outer side of the pit in polygnathid conodonts is a unique and easily recognizable feature usually viewed as taxonomically significant for the biostratigraphically important species Polygnathus serotinus. However, the protuberance is also developed in other late Emsian-early Eifelian polygnathids, which mainly include P. praeinversus, P. vigirei, P. pseudoserotinus and P. linguiformis bultyncki. Although several evolutionary lineages have been proposed to elucidate the phylogenesis of the protuberance, its morphogenesis has been rarely studied. In this study, intraspecific variation of P. linguiformis bultyncki is investigated on the basis of abundant specimens from South China and Germany, and two morphotypes are recognized. Moreover, three morphogenetic patterns of the shelf-like protuberance are proposed. Polygnathus praeinversus and P. pseudoserotinus are assigned to the first morphogenetic pattern, with the protuberance formed as a vestigial outer flank of the asymmetrical basal cavity. The second pattern, which can be applied to P. serotinus and P. vigirei, is characterized by a protuberance that is formed as a shelf-like extension of the pit partially buttressed by platform material in juvenile/immature specimens, and by a well-developed shelf-like extension of the pit on its inner side and a bulge in the platform proper on its outer side in mature specimens. Polygnathus linguiformis bultyncki is characterized by the third morphogenetic pattern. Its protuberance is ontogenetically acquired and though absent in juvenile specimens, in immature and mature specimens it is formed as a bulge in the platform proper fully supported by platform material. This study provides an exemplar for conodont research of other geological periods as growth histology can play an important role in investigating morphological variation of conodonts.     

滇东,黔西和桂北不同相区的三叠纪牙形刺

本文描述了采自滇东、黔西和桂北不同相区２８个剖面的三叠纪牙形刺共２２属７９种。由于不同相区的牙形刺动物群具有不同的特征,因此不同性质的牙形刺动物群的分布与岩相和古沉积环境关系非常密切。本区三叠纪牙形刺可明显分为两大类型,即“台地型”和“盆地型”。本文论述了牙形刺动物群的分布与岩相相带之关系,组建了不同相区的牙形刺序列,同时讨论了二叠－三叠系界线。     

基于深度残差神经网络迁移学习的牙形刺图像识别

为了探索基于深度神经网络模型的牙形刺图像智能识别效果,研究选取奥陶纪8种牙形刺作为研究对象,通过体视显微镜采集牙形刺图像1188幅,收集整理公开发表文献的牙形刺图像778幅,将图像数据集划分为训练集和测试集。通过对训练集图像进行旋转、翻转、滤波增强处理,解决了训练样本不足的问题。基于ResNet-18、ResNet-34、ResNet-50、ResNet-101、ResNet-152五种残差神经网络模型,采用迁移学习方法,对网络模型进行训练以获取模型参数,五种模型测试Top-1准确率分别为85.37%、85.85%、83.90%、81.95%、80.00%, Top-2准确率分别为94.63%、94.63%、94.15%、93.17%、93.66%,模型对牙形刺图像具有较好的识别效果。通过对比研究发现,ResNet-34识别准确率最高,说明对于特征简单的牙形刺属种,增加网络深度并不一定能提升准确率,而确定合适深度的模型则不仅可以提高识别准确率,还可以节约计算资源。通过ResNet-34模型的迁移学习训练和重新训练效果对比可以看出,迁移学习不仅可以获得较高的准确率,而且可以较快获取模型参...     

河南内乡晚奥陶世石燕河组牙形石及其地质意义

将河南内乡晚奥陶世石燕河组牙形石自下而上建立了Ｏｕｌｏｄｕｓｕｉｒｉｃｈｉ－Ａｐｈｅｌｏｇｎａｔｈｕｓｓｈｏｓｈｏｎｅｎｓｉｓ带，Ｏｎｏｄｕｓｒｏｂｕｓｔｕｓ带，Ａｐｈｅｌｏｇｎａｔｈｕｓｇｒａｎｄｉｓ带，Ａｐｈｅｌｏｇｎａｔｈｕｓｄｉｖｅｒｇｅｎｓ带和Ａｐｈｅｌｏｇｎａｔｈｕｓｚｕｏｑｕｅｎｓｉｓ带。这个序列与北美中大陆的很相似，两者可详细对比。充分证实了北美中大陆型牙形石动物群以及中国合此类型牙形石的最高奥陶纪地层在华北地台以南的武当地块北缘的存在，并指明了其古生物地理分区和构造意义。     

Morphologically complex plant macrofossils from the Late Silurian of Arctic Canada

In addition to vegetative remains, fertile remains from ten plants, representing seven distinct taxa whose size and complexity are much greater than most contemporaneous fossils, are reported from late Ludlow (Ludfordian) sediments of Bathurst Island in Nunavut, Canada. Evidence for the age of these beds is gathered from stratigraphic relationships and index fossils including conodonts, graptolites, and brachiopods. Zosterophylls dominate the collection, some of which constitute the earliest record of fertile structures arranged in dense clusters and longitudinal rows along axes. Representatives include a plant that resembles Bathurstia, one species of Zosterophyllum, and two specimens that bear affinity to this genus. Distichophytum is also represented, as is a new zosterophyll named Macivera gracilis. The prevalence of sporangial clustering and reduced sporangial stalks in this flora leads to a discussion of the origins and significance of these morphological features. Following a review of some of the other Silurian floras, particularly the Baragwanathia-bearing Lower Plant Assemblage of Victoria, Australia, which also shows morphological advancement over the rhyniophytoid-dominated floras common to Laurussia, it is concluded that the Bathurst Island flora presents the best evidence to date of substantial morphological diversity, complexity, and stature of vascular land plants in this period.     

Overgrowths of large authigenic apatite crystals on the surface of conodonts from Cantabrian limestones (Spain)

Conodonts from the middle to upper Paleozoic limestones of the Cantabrian zone commonly show apatite overgrowths. A large crystal microtexture observed under the SEM corresponds to local rims of euhedral to subhedral apatite crystals, which were preceded by the neoformation of smaller crystals. Four types of this microtexture (blocky, columnar, fan, and denticular) are described on different areas of the oral surface of conodonts, whereas dissolution features may be present in the basal cavity area. The distribution of these types of microtexture in different areas of conodont morphology suggests a general trend to neocrystallization, where crystal size increases towards the top of the conodont ornamentation and a chemical gradient controls the crystalline growth. This arrangement is widely related to the surface morphology and to the general conodont histology. The large crystal microtexture grows during early diagenesis from near surface to moderate burial and is linked to the known secondary apatite cement present in natural fused clusters of conodonts. The features described here are also compared to microtextures developed on conodonts during low- to medium-grade metamorphic conditions, where phosphate in solution is available.     

Architecture and functional morphology of the skeletal apparatus of ozarkodinid conodonts

Ozarkodinid conodonts were one of the most successful groups of agnathan vertebrates. Only the oropharyngeal feeding apparatus of conodonts was mineralized, and the skeletal elements were generally disarticulated on the death and decay of the body. Occasionally, however, they were preserved in association as ''natural assemblages'', fossilized in situ after post-mortem collapse of the apparatus. From analysis of element arrangement in natural assemblages of Idiognathodus from the Pennsylvanian of Illinois we have produced a precise scale model of the feeding apparatus of ozarkodinid conodonts. At the front lay an axial Sa element, flanked by two groups of four close-set elongate Sb and Sc elements which were inclined obliquely inwards and forwards; above these elements lay a pair of arched and inward pointing M elements. Behind the S-M array lay transversely oriented and bilaterally opposed Pb and Pa elements. Our model sheds new light on food acquisition in conodonts. We propose that the anterior S and M elements of ozarkodinid conodonts were attached to cartilaginous plates. In order for the animal to feed, these plates were first everted, and then drawn back and upward over the anterior edge of an underlying cartilage. These movements produced a highly effective grasping action, the cusps and denticles of the elements converging to grab and impale any food item that lay anterior to the open array. According to this hypothesis, the anterior part of the conodont apparatus is comparable to, and possibly homologous with, the lingual apparatus of extant agnathans; the elements themselves, however, have no direct homologues. <br>