Crustaceen-Koprolithen aus der Trias der westlichen Tethys (Lienzer Dolomiten, Österreich; Pragser Dolomiten,Italien) und vom Gondwana-Westrand (oberes Magdalenatal,Kolumbien, Südamerika)

We describe Triassic Crustacean microcoprolites from the western Tethyan realm (Lienz Dolomites, Southern Alps) and from the western shores of Gondwana (upper Magdalena valley, Colombia, South America). The Colombian fauna originates from the Norian Payandé Formation and represents the first discovery of microfossils in this formation. The Colombian fauna is highly diverse and shows close affinities to faunas of the western Tethyan and Mediterranean region but also to North American faunas. The form speciesPalaxius colombiensis andPalaxius groesseri are new, and forPalaxitts shastaensis the genusPayandea n. gen. is erected.Thoronetia quinaria is revised. It is shown, that crustacean microcoprolites are a good tool for supra-regional stratigraphic correlation. Possible migration paths are discussed.     

The oldest record of a boring foraminifer: Early Permian of New Mexico,USA

The bioeroding foraminifer Troglotella incrustans Wernli and Fookes (Bolletino della Societa Paleontologica Italiana 31, 1992, 95), is widely reported from Bajocian?, and Oxfordian to Lower Cenomanian (with a Late Jurassic acme) shallow‐water limestones of the Tethyan realm. A single specimen of a boring foraminifer, assigned to T. incrustans, has now been observed from the Lower Permian (Sakmarian) Community Pit Formation of the Doña Ana Mountains, New Mexico, USA. Surviving the end‐Permian mass extinction, T. incrustans might be a Lazarus taxon that persisted in refuges. This finding represents the oldest record of a foraminifer exhibiting an euendolithic way of life. Boring foraminifera have not been previously recorded from strata older than the Jurassic. Boring traces of potentially foraminiferan origin, however, have been already reported from the Lower Carboniferous (?Ordovician).     

Review of Japanese Dinosaur Track Localities: Implications for Ichnotaxonomy,Paleogeography and Stratigraphic Correlation

Nine dinosaur ichnospecies from the Lower Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous of Japan, including two that are new, are described herein. The new ichnotaxa are Asianopodus pulvinicalx ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. and Schizograllator otariensis ichnosp. nov. The Japanese ichnotaxa are allied to Lower Jurassic ichnospecies in South China, North America, Western Europe and South Africa, and Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous ichnospecies from Southeast and East Asia. This suggests they were part of a global ichnofauna before continental drift began in the Middle Jurassic, leading to the development of a more endemic dinosaur fauna in the Cretaceous. At least two assemblages, an ornithopod-gracile-toed theropod-dominated community, in northeastern Asia, and a robust theropod- and sauropod-dominated community in the southern part of the continent, existed in the Cretaceous. This parallels North American dinosaur distribution patterns in the Cretaceous and seems to be a reflection of paleolatitudinal controls.     

Conodonts from the Permian Jisu Honguer (Zhesi) Formation of Inner Mongolia, China

The Jisu Honguer Formation (“Zhesi Formation”) is a North China marine carbonate unit of Permian age containing a mixed fauna of Tethyan, Boreal and endemic elements. The age of the Jisu Honguer Formation has been thought to range from Artinskian to Kazanian based on previous studies using mostly benthic macrofossils. A typical Mesogondolella aserrata conodont fauna is reported from the lower part of the upper member of the Jisu Honguer Formation in the Ulanqub District, Zhesi area, of northern China. The fauna indicates a Middle Permian (Guadalupian) age, most likely late Wordian to early Capitanian, for the strata yielding conodonts. The whole Jisu Honguer Formation could be assigned to the Wordian to early Capitanian age. The overlying Yihewusu Formation is probably of Capitanian age. There are no Wuchiapingian marine deposits in the Zhesi area. As characteristic of the open sea Guadalupian conodont faunas of the Tethys, smooth Mesogondolella dominate the fauna. The view that all Tethyan Guadalupian conodont faunas consist exclusively of serrated Mesogondolella cannot be confirmed. Three new species are described: Mesogondolella neoprolongata C. - y. Wang, Mesogondolella mandulaensis C. - y. Wang and Wardlawella jisuensis C. - y. Wang.     

Late Jurassic decapod crustaceans from northeast Japan

Abstract: Astacidean and thalassinidean macrurans (Glyphea sp., ?Eryma sp. and Protaxius sp.) and a new longodromitid crab, Planoprosopon kashimaensis, are recorded from the Upper Jurassic (upper Kimmeridgian to lower Tithonian) of Fukushima Prefecture, northeast Japan. Material was collected from the Tatenosawa Sandstone Member of the Nakanosawa Formation, Somanakamura Group, from which abundant Tethyan‐type marine invertebrates are known. Planoprosopon kashimaensis sp. nov. closely resembles P. heydeni (von Meyer), a common form in the Upper Jurassic of the Tethyan realm in Europe, and represents the oldest record of a brachyuran from the circum‐Pacific region. Similarities to contemporaneous decapod assemblages in southern Germany indicate that closely comparable, parallel decapod faunas in the Tethyan realm, inclusive of brachyurans, had already been established in the western circum‐Pacific region by the Late Jurassic.     

Lower Jurassic corals from the Pamir Mountains,Central Asia

The paper describes new Lower Jurassic corals from the South-Eastern Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan) and interprets their relationships with contemporaneous West Tethyan corals. Taxonomic similarities with Pliensbachian European and North African faunas indicate a Pliensbachian age for this fauna, which was previously considered to be of Hettangian/Sinemurian age. Together with the taxa earlier described from the Pamirs, this fauna consists of 30 species of 25 genera, including Triassic holdover genera such as Stylophyllopsis, Phacelostylophyllum and Eocomoseris. The bulk of the fauna represents new Jurassic genera: Alichurastrea, Eomicrophyllia, Guembelastreomorpha, Gurumdynia, Pinacomorpha, Protostephanastrea, Psenophyllia, Sedekastrea and Stylimorpha. Earlier coral studies of the region concerned the genera: Archaeosmilia Melnikova, 1975, Archaeosmiliopsis Melnikova, 1975, Cylismilia Roniewicz, 1988, Pachysmilia Melnikova, 1989, and Prodonacosmilia Melnikova in Melnikova and Roniewicz, 1976. Two species that were considered to belong to the genus Cylismilia, are redescribed and reclassified in the genera Psenophyllia, and Archaeosmilia Melnikova, respectively.     

Mitochondrial DNA Variation and Phylogeography of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum)

Sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were used to examine patterns of variation within and among populations of the ferruginous pygmy-owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) from both North America (including populations from Mexico) and South America. As currently conceived, G. brasilianum is paraphyletic, with North American and South American clades representing two distinct groups that should be recognized as the distinct species G. ridgwayi and G. brasilianum, respectively. Within the G. ridgwayi clade, populations from Arizona, Sonora, and Sinaloa are genetically distinct and share no mitochondrial haplotypes with populations occurring in Texas and other regions of Mexico. According to nested clade analysis this separation may be the consequence of past fragmentation that predates the origin of the Sonora desert. In addition, gene flow between the Arizona/Sonora/Sinaloa populations and the Texas/other Mexico populations is practically nonexistent, with estimates being approximately one individual every 10 generations. Collectively, these data suggest that the Arizona/Sonora/Sinaloa clade should be recognized as either a distinct subspecies or phylospecies from the group containing populations in Texas and the remainder of Mexico. These data should be used as guidelines for pygmy-owl recovery and conservation, as they meet the recommendations of task 3 of the pygmy-owl recovery plan that lists genetic data as essential information for pygmy-owl management.     

EDIACARAN AND CAMBRIAN INDEX FOSSILS FROM SONORA, MEXICO

Abstract:  The Cambrian index fossil Treptichnus pedum is reported from the Puerto Blanco Formation near Pitiquito, Sonora, Mexico, and new occurrences of the Neoproterozoic index fossil Cloudina are reported from the underlying La Ciénega Formation. Considered together, these fossils constrain the location of the Ediacaran/Cambrian boundary in Mexico. The suite of fossils in this sequence is important because it provides an independent biostratigraphic datum for constraining the position of Laurentia during the onset of metazoan diversification, for testing proposed lithostratigraphic correlations among western North American Neoproterozoic–Cambrian successions, and for testing regional tectonic paradigms such as the Mojave-Sonora Megashear hypothesis.     

The ants of the southern Sonoran desert: community structure and the role of trees

In contrast to other North American deserts, the southern Sonoran desert is dominated by trees that provide shaded microhabitats necessary for the establishment and survival of several plant species. Near the southern limit of the Sonoran desert in Sonora, Mexico, we evaluated the role that tree microhabitats may play in structuring ant communities. We recorded 39 species and 21 genera of ants from a 9.7-ha area. Total species richness was estimated to be between 47 and 49 species, a much greater species richness than that reported for other North American arid-zone habitats. Although species richness did not differ between open ground and tree-shaded microhabitats, species composition did. Opportunistic species, Camponotus species, Pheidole sciophila and P. titanis were more common near trees, whereas Pheidole sp. A and granivorous species were more active in open areas. The imperilment of trees in the Sonoran desert due to commercial cutting and the spread of buffelgrass Pennisetum ciliare may alter the existing composition of ant communities.     

The dispersal and colonisation behaviour of the marine polychaete <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nereis diversicolor</Emphasis> (O. F. Müller) in south-east England

Recent submarine caves are inhabited by endemic faunas adapted to oligotrophism, darkness and a tranquil environment. Many of their representatives are archaic types of animals resembling fossils from very early times in evolution. This article compares fossil fauna from Jurassic neptunian dykes (originally sea bed clefts) from the Western Carpathians with the Recent cave-dwelling fauna. The ostracods Pokornyopsis feifeli are particularly important. In the Western Carpathians, these were exclusively found in the Middle/Late Jurassic fissure fillings, but in the non-Tethyan Germanic Jurassic this species was found in deep-marine claystones. They are phylogenetic forerunners of the recent genus Danielopolina inhabiting both anchialine caves and deep seas. This indicates a Jurassic migration of deep-marine fauna to cryptic habitats. Other examples of cryptic communities include the Upper Jurassic cavity-dwelling fauna dominated by serpulids and scleractinian corals. Associated suspension feeders include thecideidine brachiopods, oysters, bryozoans, sponges, crinoids and sessile foraminifers. Serpulid-dominated bioconstructions have recent analogies in the Mediterranean and Carribean seas. Different type of dyke communities represent the Late Jurassic fauna of small sized ammonites which originated from both Tethyan and Boreal paleobioprovinces. It has not been established whether these amonites were juvenile, dwarfed specimens adapted to limited cave space or size-sorted adult specimens.     

Ontogeny and Sexual Dimorphism of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Glyptotherium texanum</Emphasis> (Xenarthra,Cingulata) from the Pliocene and Pleistocene (Blancan and Irvingtonian NALMA) of Arizona,New Mexico,and Mexico

North American glyptodonts originated from South American ancestors during the Great American Biotic Interchange no later than early Blancan North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA). A substantial expansion in population samples from the late Blancan 111 Ranch fauna of southeastern Arizona, several late Blancan faunas in New Mexico, and the early Blancan–Irvingtonian faunas of Guanajuato, Mexico, permit, analysis of sexual dimorphism and ontogeny of Glyptotherium texanum Osborn, 1903. Growth of carapacial osteoderms was allometric, including changes of the external sculpturing. Overall anatomy of the carapace changed with growth, with development of distinctive pre-iliac and post-iliac regions in lateral profile of adults. Skulls of adults possess a unique boss on the anterior surface of the descending process of the zygomatic arch that is not present in juveniles. Sexual dimorphism involves differences in anatomy of lateral and posterior osteoderms. Glyptotherium arizonae Gidley, 1926, is a junior synonym of G. texanum. The temporal distribution of G. texanum extends from early Blancan NALMA to Irvingtonian NALMA, with geographical distribution from Central America and Mexico to southern United States.     

A new ammonoid fauna from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) Kasimlar Formation of the Taurus Mountains (Anatolia,Turkey)

We describe a new ammonoid fauna from the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey. The Carnian ammonoid fauna from A?a?iyaylabel is presented for the first time. Ammonoids were obtained from limestone to marl beds of an approximately 35‐m‐thick section, which presents the rare opportunity to investigate ammonoid faunas across the Lower–Upper Carnian boundary. Intense sampling near the village of A?a?iyaylabel led to the recognition of a new Lower Carnian (Julian 2) to Upper Carnian (Tuvalian 1) ammonoid fauna from the Kasimlar Formation. The genus Kasimlarceltites gen. nov. is reported for the first time from the Taurus Mountains, which represents the main faunal element and occurs as huge mass occurrence (n ? 1 million). Kasimlarceltites krystyni gen. et sp. nov., Klipsteinia disciformis sp. nov. and Anasirenites crassicrenulatus sp. nov. occur within the Lower Carnian Carbonate member (Units A–B) of the Kasimlar Formation from the Taurus Platform Units. Ammonoids described from the marls of the Tuvalian Marlstone member were deposited during a major, Tethyan‐wide climate crisis – the so‐called Carnian crisis – characterized by a demise of carbonate platforms. Based on the biostratigraphic relevance of certain ammonoid taxa described herein, the age of the analysed parts of the Kasimlar Formation is Julian 2 to Tuvalian 1. The discovery of the new ammonoid assemblages from A?a?iyaylabel substantiates the significance of Upper Triassic faunas within the Taurus Mountains and facilitates the correlation with faunal assemblages from other regions in the Tethyan Realm. The ammonoid fauna and facies indicate a general deepening from open‐platform margins, over deeper shelf settings down to an open marine‐influenced basinal environment. The tentative habitat for Kasimlarceltites gen. nov. is a shallow platform environment to upper mid‐ramp.     

吉林李家窑范家屯组中的二叠纪北温带牙形刺动物群

在吉林省九台市三台乡李家窑附近的二叠系范家屯组中采到一特殊的牙形刺动物群。多数牙形刺都较小,锯齿发育,齿脊细齿不愈合。由一些未见报道的新分子组成。本文描述了４个新种（Ｍｅｓｏｇｏｎｄｏｌｅｌｌａ ｃｈａｎｇｃｕｎｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｍ．ｊｉｌｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｍ．ｍｕｌｔｉｓｅｒｒａｔａ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｍ．ｐｓｅｕｄｏａｌｔｕｄａｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．）和３个未命名新种     

AMMONOIDS AND THE TRIASSIC/JURASSIC BOUNDARY IN THE HIMALAYAS OF SOUTHERN TIBET

Abstract:  The sections of Germig in the Nyalam area, southern Tibet, provide a continuous exposure of ammonoid-bearing, uppermost Triassic and basal Jurassic strata. Eighteen species (three of them new) are described and illustrated: Choristoceras marshi Hauer , C. aff. marshi, C. cf. nobile Mojsisovics , C. nyalamense sp. nov., Eopsiloceras germigense sp. nov. , Pleuroacanthites aff. biformis (Sowerby) , Rhacophyllites sp., Nevadaphyllites cf. psilomorphus (Neumayr), Neophyllites sp. indet., Neophyllites cf. biptychus (Lange), Psiloceras tibeticum sp. nov., P. calliphyllum (Neumayr), Euphyllites cf. struckmanni (Neumayr), Discamphiceras pleuronotum (Canavari), Alsatites spp., Kammerkarites frigga , and K. sp. The ammonoid fauna shows a strong affinity to that of the Northern Calcareous Alps, although diversity in the Calliphyllum Zone is markedly lower. The ammonoid succession across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary is subdivided into four zones: the Rhaetian Marshi, the basal Hettangian Tibeticum, the lower Hettangian Calliphyllum, and the middle Hettangian Pleuronotum zones. It is the only known succession across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary in the Tethyan Realm that is not condensed. The Marshi and Calliphyllum zones are correlated with the same zones in the Northern Calcareous Alps. The Tibeticum Zone, a new local zone, is transitional between the Marshi and the Calliphyllum zones in that it yields both choristoceratids and psiloceratids. Its base is taken to mark the base of the Jurassic System in the eastern Tethys.     

Multivariate hierarchical analyses of Early Jurassic Ostracoda assemblages

Palaeobiogeographic patterns of Early Jurassic ostracods from the northern and southern hemispheres (96 sections located in Europe, North Africa, Western Australia and North and South America) based on 243 species-level records document global patterns of distribution that can be compared to those previously published on ostracods from the European Epicontinental Sea and Tethyan and South Panthalassa areas. All described records of ostracods from both hemispheres spanning the Hettangian to Early Toarcian have been compiled and verified, and their patterns of origin and distribution have been interpreted. Jaccard coefficient of similarity was used to asses similarities among European, American and Tethyan ostracod shelf faunas. The numerical analysis shows a progressive longitudinal gradient in provincialism through the Early Jurassic, consistent with the northward drift of Tethyan ostracod faunas towards the European Epicontinental Sea and the southward movement of European taxa into Tethys and Panthalassa oceans. The spread of cosmopolitan species and extinction of endemic species, allied to the disappearance of geographical barriers, warmer climate conditions and rising sea levels can explain the reduction in ostracod diversity and the east-west provincialism throughout the Early Jurassic. Interchange between hemispheres, including bipolar distributions, are recognized from the Sinemurian time, pointing out that for most of the studied period, the climate worldwide was warm and tropical.     

Sur l'origine du genre Microceratina Swanson, 1980 (Ostracoda, Eucytherurinae) et sa présence téthysienne dès le Jurassique supérieur

The discovery in the uppermost Jurassic of Lebanon of a species of the ostracod genus Microceratina Swanson, 1980 (Eucytherurinae), of which the oldest known species was until now of Maastrichtian age, confirms the Tethyan origin of this genus. Two new species are created: Microceratina bhannesensis nov. sp. from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Lebanon, and Microceratina azazoulensis nov. sp. from the Cenomanian of Morocco. The genera Chapmanicytherura Weaver, 1982 and Erratacytheridea Herrig et al., 1997, are considered as probable junior synonyms of Microceratina. An exhaustive bibliographical analysis allowed to identifying several other Cretaceous species susceptible to be assigned to the genus Microceratina.     

Tremadoc (earliest Ordovician) brachiopods from Purmamarca and the Sierra de Mojotoro, Cordillera Oriental of northwestern Argentina

The Late Tremadoc storm-dominated shoreface to inner platform deposits exposed west of the Purmamarca village (Coquena Formation) contain a considerably more diverse brachiopod fauna than previously reported. Coquinite horizons from the lower heterolitic succession have yielded monospecific associations of Nanorthis purmamarcaensis nov. sp. (formerly assigned to N. christianiae KJERULF), which is also reported from the Late Tremadoc rocks of the Cerro San Bernardo area. The fine-grained Upper Member of the Coquena Formation contains a more diverse fauna composed by Nanorthis brachymyaria nov. sp., Astraborthis quebradensis nov. sp. and the new plectorthid genus Lipanorthis (type species L. andinus nov. sp.). A different species of Lipanorthis (L. santalaurae nov. sp.) from the Mid Tremadoc Floresta Formation of the Sierra de Mojotoro is also described.     

Planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of theMaastrichtian sedimentary beds at Ain Mdeker,northeastern Tunisia

Maastrichtian Foraminifera from the sedimentary beds at Ain Mdeker are recorded and identified. The fauna examined is found to be clearly Tethyan in composition. On the basis of this fauna, four planktic foraminiferal zones, the Globotruncana falsostuarti Zone, the Rugotruncana gansseri Zone, the Abathomphalus mayaroensis Zone and the Globotruncana falsocalcarata Zone are distinguished in the Maastrichtian of the sequence studied. These zones are futher compared with the zones established in equivalent strata in the sequence at El Kef, the most complete sequence in Tunisia. In addition to the index species only the biostratigraphically most important species from the fauna studied are illustrated.     

Latest Toarcian-earliest Bajocian (Jurassic) Grammoceratinae (Hildoceratidae,Ammonitina) of the western Tethys: Their palaeobiogeographic and phylogenetic significance

Grammoceratinae (Hildoceratidae, Ammonitina) abound in the Toarcian strata of many western Tethyan localities, especially the Subbetic and Lusitanian basins (of southern Spain and central western Portugal, respectively). They decline through the Aalenian and disappear by the lowermost Bajocian. The genera Asthenoceras, Vacekia (subgenera Vacekia and Nadorites) and Fontannesia are traditionally considered as the last Grammoceratinae, with species of Osperleioceras occurring in the uppermost Toarcian. Grammoceratinae are common in the eastern Pacific, especially Oregon and Alaska where Asthenoceras is abundant. They also occur in the eastern Tethys (Thailand). Although studies of Toarcian to early Bajocian Subbetic and Lusitanian grammoceratins already exist, new material from these and other palaeogeographic areas (England, Portugal and Spain) is revised here. A new genus, Linaresites nov. gen. (for Fontannesia montillanensis Linares and Sandoval) and two new species (Vacekia striata Henriques, and Asthenoceras taverai Sandoval) are described. Another form, “Asthenoceras” sp. A is described and let in open nomenclature. Temporal analysis of Aalenian to early Bajocian Grammoceratinae demonstrates a progressively more evolute morphology through time, sometimes coupled with size reduction. Palaeogeographic evidence suggests that during the early Middle Jurassic, western Tethys and eastern Pacific were temporarily well connected, possibly through the Hispanic Corridor, as demonstrated by the similarity between Tethyan and eastern Pacific Grammoceratinae.