Signs of predation in the Middle Jurassic of south-central Poland: evidence from echinoderm taphonomy

Distinct faunal aggregates are described from the Middle Jurassic (uppermost Bajocian/lowermost Bathonian and Middle Bathonian) clay deposits of Częstochowa area, south-central Poland. These aggregates are composed of molluscs (scaphopods, gastropods, bivalves, ammonites and belemnites), articulate brachiopods and echinoderms (asteroids, crinoids and echinoids). A large percentage of the fossils, especially bivalves, are fragmented, but some fossils are complete. Although most of the fossils are crushed and fragmented, they are still identifiable to at least the genus level. Thorough statistical analysis of taphonomic features indicates that the preservation of asteroid marginal plates is distinct from the ossicles derived from the host clays. The high frequency of bite marks and the good state of preservation suggest that the accumulations are the products of predation activities and most probably are the effect of regurgitation. Taking into account the rich and diverse fauna, the predator was a bottom-feeding generalist. Possible predators include palaeospinacid sharks, a tooth of which was collected from the same bedding surface, but not associated with regurgitated remains. Although the bite marks on the asteroid ossicles point to sharks as potential producers of regurgitates, other vertebrates, like durophagous pycnodontiform fish, cannot be excluded.     

Le Crocodilien Steneosaurus (Mesosuchia,Teleosauridae) dans le Jurassique supérieur franc-comtois (Jura,France)

Two new fossil vertebrate localities have been discovered close to each other in the Upper Jurassic (Effingen beds, Upper Oxfordian) of the Southern Jura department (France). One of the localities have yielded an incomplete skeleton of the crocodilian Steneosaurus (including a well preserved skull), as well as fish remains and an abundant invertebrate fauna. The second locality has mainly yielded various fragmentary bones of Steneosaurus. This is the first discovery of well preserved crocodilian remains in the Oxfordian of the Jura.     

Fossil coniferous wood from the Middle Jurassic of Liaoning Province, China

Silicified coniferous wood was collected from the Lanqi Formation (late Middle Jurassic in age) at Shebudaigou Village, Liaoning Province, China. Three taxa are identified, namely Pinoxylon dacotense Knowlton, Xenoxylon phyllocladoides Gothan, and Araucariopitys sp. Based on these new data, and those of other fossil plants reported previously from the same formation, we consider the climate during the deposition of the Lanqi Formation was subtropical, humid and seasonal. In this respect the Lanqi flora differs from the coeval Shimengou and Longmen floras from North China. The Longmen flora was deposited during more humid, subtropical conditions, while the Shimengou Formation indicates that the climate was warm temperate and dry. Our data would suggest that the Late Jurassic climatic pattern was initiated as early as the late Middle Jurassic.     

Reappraising the early evidence of durophagy and drilling predation in the fossil record: implications for escalation and the Cambrian Explosion

The Cambrian Explosion is arguably the most extreme example of a biological radiation preserved in the fossil record, and studies of Cambrian Lagerstätten have facilitated the exploration of many facets of this key evolutionary event. As predation was a major ecological driver behind the Explosion – particularly the radiation of biomineralising metazoans – the evidence for shell crushing (durophagy), drilling and puncturing predation in the Cambrian (and possibly the Ediacaran) is considered. Examples of durophagous predation on biomineralised taxa other than trilobites are apparently rare, reflecting predator preference, taphonomic and sampling biases, or simply lack of documentation. The oldest known example of durophagy is shell damage on the problematic taxon Mobergella holsti from the early Cambrian (possibly Terreneuvian) of Sweden. Using functional morphology to identify (or perhaps misidentify) durophagous predators is discussed, with emphasis on the toolkit used by Cambrian arthropods, specifically the radiodontan oral cone and the frontal and gnathobasic appendages of various taxa. Records of drill holes and possible puncture holes in Cambrian shells are mostly on brachiopods, but the lack of prey diversity may represent either a true biological signal or a result of various biases. The oldest drilled Cambrian shells occur in a variety of Terreneuvian‐aged taxa, but specimens of the ubiquitous Ediacaran shelly fossil Cloudina also show putative drilling traces. Knowledge on Cambrian shell drillers is sorely lacking and there is little evidence or consensus concerning the taxonomic groups that made the holes, which often leads to the suggestion of an unknown ‘soft bodied driller’. Useful methodologies for deciphering the identities and capabilities of shell drillers are outlined. Evidence for puncture holes in Cambrian shelly taxa is rare. Such holes are more jagged than drill holes and possibly made by a Cambrian ‘puncher’. The Cambrian arthropod Yohoia may have used its frontal appendages in a jack‐knifing manner, similar to Recent stomatopod crustaceans, to strike and puncture shells rapidly. Finally, Cambrian durophagous and shell‐drilling predation is considered in the context of escalation – an evolutionary process that, amongst other scenarios, involves predators (and other ‘enemies’) as the predominant agents of natural selection. The rapid increase in diversity and abundance of biomineralised shells during the early Cambrian is often attributed to escalation: enemies placed selective pressure on prey, forcing phenotypic responses in prey and, by extension, in predator groups over time. Unfortunately, few case studies illustrate long‐term patterns in shelly fossil morphologies that may reflect the influence of predation throughout the Cambrian. More studies on phenotypic change in hard‐shelled lineages are needed to convincingly illustrate escalation and the responses of prey during the Cambrian.     

Redox conditions during sedimentation of the Middle Jurassic (Upper Bajocian–Bathonian) clays of the Polish Jura (south-central Poland)

Depositional redox conditions of the uppermost Bajocian–Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) ore-bearing clays of the Gnaszyn/Kawodrza area in the Polish Jura have been determined using an integrated geochemical (Th/U and U/Th ratios, degree of pyritisation (DOP), sulphur stable isotopes, biomarker analysis) and petrographic approach (measurements of pyrite framboid diameters, and microfacies analysis). The Th/U and U/Th ratios indicate that oxic conditions prevailed on the sea-floor during this interval, and ³⁴S isotopes suggest open-system conditions. DOP values, however, are rather scattered, and may reflect oxic, dysoxic, or anoxic conditions. We consider that the DOP values result from reducing conditions within the sediment and the chemistry of the pore-waters, rather than true sea-floor redox conditions. Pyrite framboid populations also indicate that dysoxic conditions prevailed within the sediment, beneath an oxygenated water column. Biomarker data did not provide any evidence of water column stratification or anoxia during sedimentation of the Middle Jurassic clays.     

A systematic overview of fossil osmundalean ferns in China: Diversity variation,distribution pattern,and evolutionary implications

The order Osmundales is a unique fern taxon with extensive fossil records in geological past. Diverse osmundalean fossils have been reported from China, ranging in age from the Late Palaeozoic to the Cenozoic. Most of them are based on leaf impressions/compressions, but permineralized rhizomes are also well documented. In this study, we provide a systematic overview on fossil osmundalean ferns in China with special references on diversity variations, distribution patterns, and evolutionary implications. Fossil evidence indicates that this fern lineage first appeared in the Late Palaeozoic in China. The Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic interval was the radiation stage. From the Late Jurassic onward, fossil diversity declined rapidly. Cenozoic osmundalean taxa are represented by the relict species of Osmunda. Geographically, osmundalean fossils are found from both the Northern and Southern phytoprovinces of China, though variations are documented for geographical ranges. The Chinese fossil records cover almost all important stages for the macroevolution of the Osmundales, and contribute to further understanding of evolutionary processes of this peculiar fern lineage.     

Considerations on the age of the Tiouaren Formation (Iullemmeden Basin,Niger, Africa): Implications for Gondwanan Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate faunas

Pre-Aptian mid-Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from the African continent are still very poorly known. In Niger, the Tiouaren Formation in the Iullemmeden Basin has yielded dinosaur and other vertebrate remains, and this unit has been dated as Early Cretaceous, most probably pre-Aptian, on the basis of its fish fauna and geological relations to other units in the basin. A review of the fish fauna and invertebrates from this formation does not provide any evidence for such an age, and the geological relations only help to constrain the upper limit for the age of the formation (Aptian). In contrast, the described dinosaur taxa are phylogenetically nested with late Middle Jurassic to Early Late Jurassic taxa from other localities, and thus indicate a pre-Kimmeridgian, probably late Middle Jurassic age for the Tiouaren Formation. Under the assumption of such an age, the dinosaur fauna of this formation provides new insights into dinosaur faunal provincialism during the latest Middle Jurassic. Northern Gondwanan faunas of that time seem to have been different from southern Gondwanan faunas, and show closer affinities to Eurasian faunas than to the latter. A possible explanation for this might be a climatically controlled geographic barrier due to pronounced arid conditions and thus desert environments in central Gondwana during this time.     

A NEW LACEWING FAMILY (NEUROPTERA)FROM THE MIDDLE JURASSIC OF INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA

Abstract  A new family, Grammolingiidae of fossil lacewings is erected, of which 3 new genera and 6 new species are described and illustrated: Grammolingia boi . gen. nov. et sp. nov., Lithlingia rhra gen. nov. et sp. nov., Litholingia eumopha gen. nov. et sp. nov. and Litholingiu polychotom gen. nov. et sp. nov., Leptolingia jurassica gen. nov. et sp. nov. and Leptolingia tianyiensis gen. noc. et sp. nov. A key to genera within this new family is provided. All specimens described were collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Eastern Inner Mongolia, China. The present discovery demonstrates that present knowledge of the Jurassic Neuropetra fauna remains very poor. The fossil specimens are deposited in Yizhou Fossil Museum and Department of Biology, Capital Normal University, respectively.     

Simplification of the enameloid microstructure of large stingrays (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes): a functional approach

The microstructure of neoselachian teeth is characterized by a triple‐layered enameloid, despite its purported absence in batoids since their appearance during the early Jurassic. This feature is thought to have been secondarily lost, as an adaptation to durophagy in batoids. The monophyletic Myliobatiformes are an ecologically diverse clade of batoids that includes very specialized taxa such as the filter‐feeding mobulids and the durophagous myliobatids. Their diversity and recent evolutionary history (Palaeogene) make them an ideal model for assessing adaptive constraints that influence enameloid microstructure. This first study focusing only on batoid enameloid shows a very reduced single‐layered enameloid in the derived filter feeders. However, most other taxa show a double‐layered enameloid, which is probably plesiomorphic for batoids. It is concluded that the triple‐layered enameloid is not a synapomorphy of the neoselachii as a whole, but of Selachimorpha only, and that diet specialization in derived myliobatoids indeeds impact their enameloid microctructure, which is confirmed by their fossil diversity. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London     

Origin and paleoecology of Middle Jurassic hiatus concretions from Poland

Bored and encrusted carbonate concretions, termed hiatus concretions, coming from the Middle Jurassic (Upper Bajocian and Bathonian) siliciclastics of the Polish Jura, south-central Poland, have been subjected to detailed paleoecological investigation for the first time. The concretions possess variable morphology and bear distinct traces of bioerosion and encrustation as a result of exhumation on the sea floor during intervals of low sedimentation and/or erosion. The borings are dominated by Gastrochaenolites and Entobia. Epilithozoans, represented by at least 26 taxa, are dominated by sabellid/serpulid worm tubes and bryozoans, while sponges and corals are minor. No relationship between the concretion size and the number of encrusters has been found, suggesting that concretion size was not the primary factor controlling diversity. Stable isotope analyses and the presence of crustacean scratch marks and Rhizocorallium traces on many of the hiatus concretions indicate that they formed just below the sediment–water interface, within the sulfate reduction zone. Moreover, crustacean activities may have been a prelude to their origin, as shapes of many concretions closely resemble thalassinoidean burrow systems. It is also possible that crustacean activity around the concretions promoted their exhumation by loosening the surrounding soft sediment. The presence of borings and encrusters on different concretion surfaces, as well as truncated borings and a number of abraded epilithozoans, indicate that after the concretions were exhumed they were repeatedly overturned and moved on the sea floor, probably due to episodic storm-related bottom currents in shallow subtidal environment.     

Early Cambrian record of failed durophagy and shell repair in an epibenthic mollusc

Predation is arguably one of the main driving forces of early metazoan evolution, yet the fossil record of predation during the Ediacaran-Early Cambrian transition is relatively poor. Here, we present direct evidence of failed durophagous (shell-breaking) predation and subsequent shell repair in the Early Cambrian (Botoman) epibenthic mollusc Marocella from the Mernmerna Formation and Oraparinna Shale in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. This record pushes back the first appearance of durophagy on molluscs by approximately 40Myr.     

Yanliaoa, an extinct genus of Cupressaceae s. l. from the Middle Jurassic,northeastern China

Yanliaoa is a common fossil in the Middle Jurassic of western Liaoning, eastern Inner Mongolia and northern Hebei Province, China. It is an important element of the Yanliao biota. The genus was established by Pan in 1977 for fossil plants from the Middle Jurassic Haifanggou Formation in Xiasanjiaochengzi, western Liaoning Province, and in present paper, the genus Yanliaoa is studied based on new material. Pan never designated a type specimen and his fossil material cannot be located. We designate a type specimen here for Yanliaoa, so that the genus name Yanliaoa remains valid. Yanliaoa sinensis Pan emend. Tan et al., is found in the same locality and formation as the lost specimens, Y. sinensis of Pan, 1977. Yanliaoa daohugouensis n. sp., a new species with epidermal anatomy, is from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou, Inner Mongolia. A holotype is also selected from the new material for this new species. Characters of the leafy shoots and ovulate cones of Yanliaoa are emended. The epidermal anatomy of this genus is described for the first time. Compared with other extant and extinct species of Cupressaceae s. l., the current species can be distinguished from any known species both by the leafy shoot characters and its epidermal anatomy. It further indicates that Yanliaoa is an extinct and endemic conifer found in the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China.     

Mesozoic Araucariaceae: Morphology and systematic relationships

The Southern Hemisphere conifer family Araucariaceae has a very restricted present day distribution, but was more widespread in the past. The genusAraucaria is represented by good fossil material in both hemispheres as early as the Jurassic, whileAgathis is only known from the Southern Hemisphere beginning in the Cretaceous. Cuticle studies of extant araucarians have enabled accurate comparisons of fossil leaves to living taxa.Araucaria SectionBunya is represented by cones of several types in the Jurassic. In addition to these remains, a suite of araucarian cones showing affinities to several sections of the genusAraucaria have been described from England, Japan and North America. Evidence that fossil araucarian cones may have produced seeds with hypogeal germination is discussed in light of recent work on germination of extant bunya seedlings and the discovery of new fossil shoots from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah.     

Do fossil plants signal palaeoatmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in the geological past?

Fossil, subfossil, and herbarium leaves have been shown to provide a morphological signal of the atmospheric carbon dioxide environment in which they developed by means of their stomatal density and index. An inverse relationship between stomatal density/index and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has been documented for all the studies to date concerning fossil and subfossil material. Furthermore, this relationship has been demonstrated experimentally by growing plants under elevated and reducedcarbon dioxide concentrations. To date, the mechanism that controls the stomatal density response to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration remains unknown. However, stomatal parameters of fossil plants have been successfully used as a proxy indicator of palaeo-carbon dioxide levels. This paper presents new estimates of palaeo-atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations for the Middle Eocene (Lutetian), based on the stomatal ratios of fossil Lauraceae species from Bournemouth in England. Estimates of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations derived from stomatal data from plants of the Early Devonian, Late Carboniferous, Early Permian and Middle Jurassic ages are reviewed in the light of new data. Semi-quantitative palaeo-carbon dioxide estimates based on the stomatal ratio (a ratio of the stomatal index of a fossil plant to that of a selected nearest living equivalent) have in the past relied on the use of a Carboniferous standard. The application of a new standard based on the present-day carbon dioxide level is reported here for comparison. The resultant ranges of palaeo-carbon dioxide estimates made from standardized fossil stomatal ratio data are in good agreement with both carbon isotopic data from terrestrial and marine sources and long-term carbon cycle modelling estimates for all the time periods studied. These data indicate elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during the Early Devonian, Middle Jurassic and Middle Eocene, and reduced concentrations during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. Such data are important in demonstrating the long-term responses of plants to changing carbon dioxide concentrations and in contributing to the database needed for general circulation model climatic analogues.     

吐鲁番拗陷北部中侏罗世孢粉植物群

报道了新疆吐鲁番拗陷北部勒1、米1 、山1和墩1井中侏罗世孢粉化石52属81种.建立了本区中侏罗世孢粉组合: Cyathidites-Psophosphaera-Cycadopite 组合、 Cyathidites-Quadraeculina-Classopollis 组合和 Cyathidites-Callialasporites-Classopollis 组合.它们分别产自西山窑组、三间房组和七克台组.根据孢粉组合特征及其对比, 认为3个组合的地质时代属阿林-巴通期.经研究表明, 中侏罗世早期的植被是以银杏、苏铁类和松柏类等乔木为主体, 并伴有桫椤科树蕨及紫萁科和卷柏科等草本植物.古气候应属温暖潮湿的亚热带气候.至中侏罗世中晚期, 掌鳞杉科植物在植被中占主导地位, 指示当时的气候趋于干旱.     

被子植物的起源-以喜花虻类化石为据

喜花昆虫在被子植物的起源和早期演化上起着决定性的作用。虻类化石中的许多类群都有访花习性,它们为研究被子植物的起源提供了独特材料。虽然最老的被子植物化石还没有发现,但是喜花虻类的爆发式出现,表示了被子植物出现的时间和地点。本文主要以欧亚大陆东部,特别是中国辽西的侏罗杨虻类化石为材料,在功能形态分析和与现代类群作对比的基础上,证证实了虻类是显花植物最原始的传粉类群之一。中国东北、哈萨克斯坦和西伯利来晚     

Experimental tumbling of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dreissena polymorpha</Emphasis>: implications for recognizing durophagous predation in the fossil record

Shell damage left by predators constitutes an important source of information on predator–prey interactions. However, recognition of the origins of shell damage can often be controversial, and needs to be assessed cautiously. More specifically, differentiation between predation- and abiotic-induced shell damage remains challenging. Here, we show the results of tumbling experiments using a bivalve species Dreissena polymorpha in order to determine rates and patterns of shell damage induced by physical forces in high-energy conditions. It is demonstrated that, in contrast to durophagous fish and crab predation, abiotic-induced fragmentation and damage are typically characterized by the presence of distinct abrasive scratches and wear scars on the surface of shell fragments. Furthermore, fragmented shells typically reveal a wide size distribution, and a different degree of sphericity and roundness resulting from abrasion. Importantly, large shell fragments commonly display smooth edges. These data suggest that durophagous predation, which typically induces fragmentation into large and angular shell fragments bearing no wear scars, can be reliably recognized both in present-day environments and in the fossil record.     

Cyrtocrinids (Crinoidea) and associated stalked crinoids from the Lower/Middle Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) shelfal deposits of southern Poland

Five cyrtocrinid crinoid taxa previously unknown from the epicratonic deposits of Poland, as well as associated millericrinids and isocrinids, are described. The studied materials were derived mainly from the Lower and Middle Oxfordian, but crinoids are also from uppermost Callovian and/or lowermost Oxfordian sediments of the Polish Jura Chain (southern Poland). The crinoids, preserved as more or less complete (e.g., basal circlets) cups, include Lonchocrinus dumortieri, Phyllocrinus belbekensis, Remisovicrinus polonicus, Remisovicrinus aff. polonicus, Tetracrinus moniliformis and Sclerocrinus sp. The occurrence of Remisovicrinus polonicus in the late Middle Oxfordian of the southern Poland is confirmed. Moreover, the present study extends the geographic range of all cyrtocrinid species studied and discusses their unusual environmental adaptations.