Bothriolepiform antiarchs (Pisces,Placodermi) from the devonian of Central Kazakhstan

Bothriolepiform antiarchs (Placodermi, Antiarchi) are represented by two genera in the Devonian of Central Kazakhstan: Bothriolepis Eichwald (Bothriolepididae) and Tenizolepis Malinovskaja (Dianolepididae). The first includes five species: B. babichevi Malinovskaja, 1992, B. kassini Malinovskaja, 1988, B. amankonyrica Malinovskaja, 1988, B. nikitinae Malinovskaja, 1988, and B. tastenica Malinovskaja, 1988; the second includes only two valid species, T. asiatica (Obrucheva, 1955) and T. rara Malinovskaja, 1977. As type collections of bothriolepiform antiarchs of Central Kazakhstan were revised, the diagnoses were emended and the postcranial exoskeleton was reconstructed. The classification of the order is discussed and a new family, Tubalepididae fam. nov., is established.     

On high-armor bothriolepidid placoderms (Pisces,Placodermi, Bothriolepididae) from the Upper Devonian of the southern Ural Mountains and Kuznetsk Coal Basin

The bothriolepidid placoderms Bothriolepis markovskii sp. nov. from the southern Ural Mountains and Bothriolepididae gen. et sp. indet. from the Kuznetsk Coal Basin are described. The new species from the southern Ural Mountains has a high dorsal crest, resembling in this character Scottish B. cristata Traquair, Australian B. gippslandiensis Hills and B. cullodenensis Long, and B. heckeri Lukševičs from the Novgorod Region. The bothriolepidid from the Kuznetsk Coal Basin is similar to Bothriolepis from central Poland and Livnolepis from European Russia. The new finds expand the diversity and distribution of crested bothriolepidid antiarchs. Apparently, the high bone dorsal crest developed in parallel in the exoskeleton of different both-riolepidid groups.     

Devonian antiarchs (Pisces,Antiarchi) from central and Southern European Russia

Antiarchi (Pisces, Placodermi) from the Devonian of central and southern European Russia (Central Devonian Field) are studied. Antiarchs belong to three families, the Asterolepididae, Remigolepididae (suborder Asterolepidoidei), and Bothriolepididae (suborder Bothriolepidoidei). The diagnoses of the order, two suborders, three families, and five genera (two of which are new) are given. Sixteen species, including one new, are described; ten taxa are determined in open nomenclature. Morphological structures of representatives of these families are considered in detail. Classifications of antiarchs and their position in the system of the lower vertebrates are discussed. Devonian vertebrate localities of central and southern European Russia that have yielded antiarchs are listed. Each locality is characterized by its ichthyoassemblage.     

Larval morphology of Agabus clypealis (Thomson, 1867) and A. pseudoclypealis Scholz, 1933 and notes on their distribution (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

The third instar larvae of Agabus clypealis (Thomson, 1867) and A. pseudoclypealis Scholz, 1933 are described. Important morphological structures (head, legs, and abdominal segment 8 with urogomphi) are illustrated. Both species share a completely sclerotized abdominal segment 6 with A. setulosus (J. Sahlberg, 1895). Morphological characters and species phenology are discussed in relation to the A. confinis-species group. All available literature records and some new and additional data on distribution of the two species are provided. Agabus clypealis is recorded for the first time from Estonia, and there is no reason to doubt the records of A. pseudoclypealis from Kazakhstan.     

New data on the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Praeglyphioceras</Emphasis> (Praeglyphioceratidae,Ammonoidea)

The history of the taxonomy and classification of the Famennian genus Praeglyphioceras Wedekind, 1908 and the family Praeglyphioceratidae are discussed. The sutural ontogeny of this genus, which is examined for the first time for two species of the genus, supports the high taxonomic rank of praeglyphioceratids. This family is mostly related to primitive Prionoceratoidea. A new species, Praeglyphioceras korobkovi sp. nov., is described from the delphinus Zone (Prolobites-Platyclymenia Genozone) of the Aktyubinsk Region of Kazakhstan.     

Middle Cambrian lingulate brachiopods from the Murrawong Creek Formation,northeastern New South Wales

Fourteen species of lingulate brachiopods are documented from allochthonous limestone blocks of the Murrawong Creek Formation in the southern New England Fold Belt, northeastern New South Wales, Australia. The fauna includes Treptotreta jucunda Henderson and MacKinnon 1981, Treptotreta sp. cf. T. sp. nov. Henderson 1992, Amictocracens teres Henderson and MacKinnon 1981, Stilpnotreta magna Henderson and MacKinnon 1981, Anabolotreta tegula Rowell and Henderson 1978, Neotreta orbiculata Koneva 1990, Linnarssonia sp., Linnarssonia sp. cf. L. ophirensis (Walcott 1912), Pegmatreta clavigera sp. nov., Acrothele subsidua (White 1874), Micromitra sp. cf. M. modesta (Lochman 1940), Micromitra sp. Henderson 1992, Lingulella sp. A Henderson 1992, and Kyrshabaktella certa Koneva 1986.

The associated trilobite assemblages indicate a medial Middle Cambrian age for the blocks, and the stratigraphic ranges of several of the lingulate species have been extended. The fauna displays biogeographic links at the specific level with northeastern and southeastern Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, North America, Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Britain; the strongest links (four species in common) are with the Georgina Basin in northeastern Australia and the Tasman Formation in New Zealand.     

Mobergellans (Problematica) from the Cambrian of Greenland, Siberia and Kazakhstan

Mobergellans are disc-shaped problematic fossils of phosphatic composition bearing prominent muscle attachment structures on the presumed internal surface. They are found exclusively in sediments of Early Cambrian age, mainly from Laurentia, Baltica and Siberia. Type material ofDiscinella brastadi Poulsen, 1932 from North-East Greenland is re-studied and synonomised withDiscinella micans (Billings, 1871). Specimens from Siberia described asD. brastadi are re-assigned toMobergella hexactina n. sp., and specimens from Siberia described asMobergella radiolata Bengtson, 1968 are re-assigned toM. sibirica n. sp.Aktugaia triangula Mis-Sarzhevsky, 1976 from Kazakhstan is redescribed, and its relationship to other mobergellans is discussed.      

Middle-late devonian placoderms (Pisces: Antiarchi) from Central and northern Asia

Antiarch placoderms (Pisces, Placodermi, Antiarchi) from the Middle-Upper Devonian of Central and northern Asia (Asian part of the former Soviet Union) are described. Available antiarch specimens belong to 28 species (eight of which are described in open nomenclature), of 9 genera, 5 subfamilies, 6 families, 2 orders. The main localities of Middle-Late Devonian antiarchs are listed and provided with the data on stratigraphic distribution. The morphological structure of antiarchs and history of their study in Central and northern Asia are briefly considered. The principles of systematics and phylogeny of antiarchs, feature of their historical development in the Middle and Late Devonian of this area, and their paleozoogeographic relationships are discussed.     

LEAVES OF ARCHAEOSIGILLARIA VANUXEMII,A DEVONIAN LYCOPOD FROM NEW YORK

The leaf of mid Devonian Archaeosigillaria vanuxemii from Gilboa, N.Y. is known to have a thick conical base. This study demonstrates by the uncovering technique the attachment of leaves to the stem, the flattened lamina that is deltoid in outline with a toothed margin, and an apex prolonged into a hair. Comparisons are made with specimens from Kazakhstan. The morphology of leaves of other species of Archaeosigillaria and the slowly accumulating data on leaves of Devonian lycopods are discussed.     

New taxa of snipe flies (Diptera: Brachycera: Rhagionidae) in the Daohugou Biota,China

Three impressions of snipe flies from the uppermost Middle Jurassic or lowermost Upper Jurassic Daohugou Formation in northeastern China are described as Protorhagio parvus sp. nov. and Lithorhagio megalocephalus get. et sp. nov. Protorhagio parvus is the first record of the genus Protorhagio Rohdendorf, 1938 outside the Karatau-Mikhailovka locality (Kazakhstan), which has implications for biostratigraphic correlation of the formations, in which they are found. The taxonomic position of Lithorhagio gen. nov. is discussed. Although Orsobrachyceron Ren, 1998 demonstrates some resemblance in form to the new genus, it probably belongs to Xylomyidae rather than Rhagionidae.     

Phylogeny and taxonomic reassessment of pikas Ochotona pallasii and O. argentata (Mammalia,Lagomorpha)

We examined a cranial morphometric data set consisting of 186 specimens from the entire distribution range of Ochotona pallasii sensu lato and O. argentata, as well as 67 complete sequences of the COI gene and 28 sequences of the MGF and PRKCI introns from these and closely allied species. Our results show that the two allopatric morphologically similar taxa composing O. pallasii sensu lato – from Mongolia and adjacent territories and Kazakhstan – are paraphyletic relative to O. argentata. Genetic distances between these three taxa are larger than the intraspecific variation known for the subgenus Pika, in which the species under consideration belong; these distances are even larger than the interspecific differences among closely related species such as O. hyperborea, O. mantchurica and O. hoffmanni. Thus, the three focal taxa are recognized here as distinct species. Inspection of the type specimen of O. pallasii indicated that this specimen was not collected in Kazakhstan, has previously been theorized. The most probable place of the holotype's origin is Russian south‐eastern Altai (Chuyskaya Steppe); whatever its exact origin, it definitively originates from the ‘Mongolian’ taxon. Based on this evidence, the senior synonym for the Kazakh pika is O. opaca Argyropulo, 1930. Thus, we propose to recognize three separate species in the O. pallasii species group: O. pallasii (Mongolia and adjacent territories), O. opaca (eastern Kazakhstan) and O. argentata (Helan Shan Range, China).     

Taxonomic revision of the cestodes of the family Progynotaeniidae (Cyclophyllidea) parasitising stone curlews (Charadriiformes: Burhinidae)

The type series of Progynotaenia evaginata Fuhrmann, 1909 from Burhinus senegalensis in Sudan, P. foetida Meggitt, 1928 from B. oedicnemus in Egypt and Angularia australis Maplestone, 1921 from B. grallarius in Australia are redescribed. As a comparative material, specimens of P. evaginata from B. oedicnemus in Kazakhstan were studied. The type-series of P. evaginata and P. foetida were found to be heterogeneous due to the presence of scoleces and fragments of cestodes of the genus Stenovaria Spasskii & Borgarenko, 1973 (Dilepididae). For P. foetida, a lectotype is designated. P. foetida is recognised as a synonym of P. evaginata (new synonymy). Angularia australis, previously considered a member of the Dilepididae, is transferred to the Progynotaeniidae as a synonym of P. evaginata (new synonymy). The synonymy of P. indica Johri, 1963 with P. evaginata, proposed by Ryzhikov & Tolkacheva (1981), is supported. The host range and the geographical distribution of P. evaginata are restricted to birds of the genus Burhinus from the Eastern Hemisphere.     

Les vertebres devoniens de l'Iran central. III: Antiarches

The Upper Devonian of the Kerman region (Central Iran) has yielded but a few remains of antiarchs. Some ofthem may be referred to the almost world-wide distributed genus Asterolepis, whereas others are suggestive of the genera Byssacanthus and Stegolepis, previously recorded only from the Middle and Upper Devonian of Soviet Union.     

Six new species and some nomenclatural changes in neotropical Lycopodiaceae

Palhinhaea divaricata B. Øllg., Palhinhaea lugubris B. Øllg., Palhinhaea pseudocurvata B. Øllg., Palhinhaea reflexifolia B. Øllg., Phlegmariurus ciliatospiculatus B. Øllg. and Phlegmariurus luteynii B. Øllg. are described as new to science. Diphasium lawessonianum (B. Øllg.) B. Øllg. is a new combination, based on Lycopodium lawessonianum B. Øllg. Three subfamilies of the Lycopodiaceae: Huperzioideae, Lycopodielloideae and Lycopodioideae, first used by Wagner and Beitel (1992), are validated.     

Stenolaemate bryozoans from the Geirud Formation (Upper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous) of Central Alborz (Iran)

Two bryozoan species are described from the Geirud Formation (Upper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous) of Central Alborz (Iran). Trepostome Schulgina mutabilis Troizkaya, 1975 is known from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) of Central Kazakhstan. The new species Ascopora geirudensis n. sp. is the earliest known representative of the rhabdomesine genus Ascopora Trautschold, 1876.     

Stipa adamii sp. nov. (Poaceae) from the western Tian‐Shan,and some remarks on the taxa of the section Smirnovia occurring in Kazakhstan

Stipa adamii M. Nobis sp. nov. (Poaceae), endemic to Kazakhstan, is described and illustrated. The species belongs to the section Smirnovia Tzvel. and is distributed in the central Karatau Mountains (western Tian‐Shan). It is morphologically close to Stipa karataviensis Roshev. but is easily distinguishable by longer glumes, lemmas, awns and the callus. The awn is scabrous in the lower part and the callus is bearded in S. adamii whereas both organs are glabrous in S. karataviensis. Characters distinguishing S. karataviensis and S. adamii are presented in a table, together with photographs of the callus. The analysis of morphological characters of the taxa provides new information on their variability. A key to the species of Stipa sect. Smirnovia occurring in Kazakhstan, typification of the name S. manrakica and synonymization of the name S. saurica as a syn. nov. are included.     

The new species Ettingshausenia sarbaensis (Angiospermae) from the Cenomanian-Turonian of Western Kazakhstan in light of the problem of classification of dispersed cretaceous Platanus-like leaves

Based on morphological and epidermal characters of the leaf, a new species, Ettingshausenia sarbaensis sp. nov., from the Cenomanian-Turonian of western Kazakhstan is described. In fossil Platanus-like leaves, the unique epidermal structure, with the combination of encyclocytic, laterocytic, and paracytic stomata and the presence of trichomes on one or from two to seven epidermal cells, is shown for the first time. Based on variations in morphological and epidermal characters, two morphotypes corresponding to groups of sun and shade leaves are recognized. The expediency of consideration of dispersed Cretaceous Platanus-like leaves within the framework of morphological classification of leaves is discussed.     

The earliest atrypides and athyridides (Brachiopoda) from the Ordovician of Kazakhstan

The middle Ordovician brachiopod faunas of Kazakhstan provide one of the most complete records of the evolution and radiation of some of the oldest known spire-bearing brachiopods. By contrast with North American faunas, Kazakhstanian atrypide taxa mostly belong to the suborders Atrypidina and Lissatrypidina, whereas the suborder Anazygidina is completely absent. Kazakhstanian species referred previously to ZygospiraKuzgunia are reassigned to Sulcatospira, which appeared in the Caradoc Diplograptus multidensClimacograptus clingani biozones (Sulcatospira? praecursor and Sulcatospira prima sp. nov.). Primitive, and possibly the oldest known Athyridida also appeared in Kazakhstan sometime during the Caradoc (Kellerella misiusi sp. nov.) and became widespread in brachiopod assemblages developed in carbonate mud mounds. Phylogenetic analysis suggests the early divergence of the Anazygidina, Atrypidina and Athyridida, which probably evolved independently from various primitive smooth Lissatrypidina. The new atrypide subfamily Pectenospirinae and two new atrypide genera (Rozmanospira gen. nov. and Pectenospira gen. nov. with P. pectenata sp. nov. as type species) are erected.     

The subspecies of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina limbata</Emphasis> (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae)

Examination of 1492 specimens of Ch. limbata (Fabricius, 1775) from the entire distribution range resulted in the discrimination of six subspecies: limbata (West Europe excluding the Apennine Peninsula, the Crimea, north and south of European Russia, the Great Caucasus, Northern Kazakhstan, and southern West Siberia), discipennis (Ménétriés, 1848) (southeast of European Russia, Western Kazakhstan), hochhuthii (Suffrian, 1851) (south of East Siberia, Eastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Northern China), luigionii (Depoli, 1936) (the Apennines, the Alps, Herzegovina, the Mediterranean coast of France); russiella ssp. n. (deciduous forests, forest-steppe and steppe of European Russia and Ukraine); volodi ssp. n. (alpine regions of the Lesser Caucasus and eastern Turkey). Ch. limbata findelii (Suffrian, 1851) is a new junior synonym of Ch. limbata limbata.