Small theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic coal mine of Guimarota (Portugal)

Isolated teeth of small theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic lignite coal mine of Guimarota (near Leiria, Portugal) are described and illustrated. The well known Upper Jurassic theropods from Europe,Archaeopteryx andCompsognathus, are the most common taxa in the Guimarota assemblage. One morphotype is closely related to an allosaurid theropod. Six further morphotypes of theropod teeth are also described, which are closely related to Cretaceous theropods such as dromaeosaurids, troodontids, tyrannosaurids,Richardoestesia andParonychodon. A Late Jurassic origin of these groups of theropods, which is very often postulated, is discussed.     

Lacewings of the family Osmylidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the Upper Jurassic of Asia

Three new genera and five new species of osmylid lacewings are described from the locality Karatau (Kazakhstan, Upper Jurassic): Jurosmylus parvulus sp. nov. (Protosmylinae), Ensiosmylus acutus gen. et sp. nov. (Spilosmylinae), Kolbasinella elongata gen. et sp. nov. (Gumillinae), Arbusella bella gen. et sp. nov. and Jurakempynus arcanus sp. nov. (Kempyninae). Another new osmylid species (Jurakempynus sublimis sp. nov.) is described from the Upper Jurassic of Mongolia (Shar-Teg locality). The quantitative compositions of the osmylid faunas of Karatau and Shar-Teg are discussed.     

A juvenile eurysternid turtle (Testudines: Eurysternidae) from the upper Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) of Nusplingen (SW Germany)

A juvenile turtle from the upper Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) of Nusplingen is identified as an eurysternid turtle. It differs in plastral morphology from a juvenile eurysternid turtle from the latest Kimmerdigian of Kelheim described in the 19th century, which represents a comparably early developmental stage. Both juveniles have primordial ribs not yet transformed into costals and lack all other carapacial elements whereas the plastral elements are well developed. The new specimen from Nusplingen has a more robust plastron type when compared to the very gracile, bow- or arc-shaped plastron type of the formerly described juvenile. Both plastron types are also represented by yet undescribed additional juvenile, medium-sized and/or larger eurysternid specimens. The juvenile specimens thus likely document the presence of two morphologically very similar eurysternid taxa in the Upper Jurassic of southern Germany. Both plastron types are different from those described for Idiochelys and Solnhofia but may resemble plastron morphology of Eurysternum, which is, however, only incompletely known.     

New and little-known grylloblattids of the family Geinitziidae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Triassic and Jurassic of Europe,Asia, and South Africa

The fossil history of the family Geinitziidae is reviewed. New taxa are described in the family: Shurabia hissarica, sp. nov. (Lower Jurassic of Tajikistan), Sh. shartegica, sp. nov. (Upper Jurassic of Mongolia), Sh. serrata, sp. nov. and Ginitzia sagulensis, sp. nov. (both Lower Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan). The subfamily Stegopterinae Sharov, 1961 is synonymized under Geinitziinae Handlirsch, 1906. The genera Minesedes Fujiyama, 1973 and Ominea Fujiyama, 1973 (Upper Triassic of Japan) are synonymized under Shurabia Martynov, 1937 and Geinitzia Handlirsch, 1906, respectively. Geinitzia varia Bode, 1953 (Lower Jurassic of Germany) and Fletchizia picturata Riek, 1976 (Upper Triassic of South Africa) are redescribed from their holotypes. F. kapokraalensis Wappler, 2001 and F. aleda Wappler, 2001 (both Upper Triassic of South Africa) are transferred to the genus Shurabia.     

The earliest known Salamanders (Amphibia,Caudata):A record from the Middle Jurassic of England

Marmorerpeton gen. nov. represented by M. kermackisp. nov. and M. freemani sp. nov., is the earliest known genus of fossil salamander from the Upper Bathonian, Middle Jurassic of Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, England. Marmorerpeton is more primitive than any other known salamander in the absence of intravertebral spinal nerve foramina in the atlantal centrum, but in other features it resembles members of the family Scapherpetontidae, neotenous salamanders otherwise known from the Upper Cretaceous and Palaeocene. The Kirtlington herpetofauna is a unique freshwater assemblage of Middle Jurassic small amphibians and reptiles, several of which represent the earliest known occurrences of their respective groups.     

The Kuehneotheriidae (Mammaliaformes) from Saint-Nicolas-de-Port (Upper Triassic,France): a Systematic Review

The origin and first diversification of mammals in the Upper Triassic remain poorly understood, in part because many fossil discoveries are not fully studied, and in part because the material remains poor. The Saint-Nicolas-de-Port quarry (Rhaetian, France) is the second most important locality that yielded remains of Kuehneotherium, after the fissure-fillings of the Glamorganshire (Lower Jurassic, Wales). This study identifies one new species of Kuehneotherium, K. stanislavi, sp. nov., and a new genus of Kuehneotheriidae, Fluctuodon necmergor, gen. et sp. nov. For these two new species, lower and upper molars are described and the first reconstructions of the postcanine row are proposed. Comparisons with material of Kuehneotherium from other Upper Triassic sites (Syren in Luxembourg, Emborough in England, and Jameson Land in Greenland) suggest two distinct Upper Triassic specific kuehneotheriid assemblages, respectively, west and east of the London Brabant Massif. They also suggest that the extinction event during the Triassic/Jurassic transition did not have a great impact on Kuehneotherium.     

Sunosuchus (Archosauria, Crocodyliformes) from the Toutunhe Formation (Middle Jurassic) of the Southern Junggar Basin (Xinjiang, NW-China)

A new specimen of the widespread Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Asian gonipholidid crocodilian genus Sunosuchus is described on the basis of a partial skeleton from the Upper Toutunhe Formation (Middle Jurassic, ?Bathonian-Callovian) of Liuhonggou, SW of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China. The specimen is represented by a partial mandible, teeth, vertebrae, limb and girdle bones and osteoderms. It can be distinguished from other nominal species of the genus by a unique combination of characters: slightly heterodontous dentition, strongly sculptured posteroventral part of the mandible, short fenestra mandibularis, convex dorsal surface of the retroarticular process, keeled cervical vertebral centra and ventral osteoderms with a distinctive sculpture of wide pits and narrow ridges. The heterodontous dentition is a potential autapomorphy of this form. The new specimen is closest in morphology to material described recently from the Callovian of Kirghisia as Sunosuchus sp. It represents the second Middle Jurassic record of the genus, the first crocodile from the Toutunhe Formation, the first substantial crocodile find from the Mesozoic of the Southern Junggar Basin, and the first Middle Jurassic record of Sunosuchus from China. This extends both the paleobiogeographical distribution of the genus in Asia and its stratigraphic distribution in China considerably.     

New Stenolaematous bryozoans from the Jurassic of central European Russia (Moscow city and the Moscow and Kostroma Regions)

New bryozoans from the Middle Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of Moscow city (Reptomulticava pileola sp. nov.) and the Moscow Region (Spirodella radiolobata gen. et sp. nov.) and from the Middle Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) of the Kostroma Region (Hyporosopora mittai sp. nov.) are described. All three bryozoans belong to the class Stenolaemata. Some features of their colonial organization and environmental conditions are discussed.     

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.     

First evidence of an ankylosaur (Dinosauria,Ornithischia) from the Jurassic Qigu Formation (Junggar Basin,NW China) and the early fossil record of Ankylosauria

The first evidence of an ankylosaur from the Late Jurassic Qigu Formation of the southern Junggar Basin (Xinjiang, northwestern China) is described, based on an isolated caudal vertebra that was discovered together with fragmentary remains of other dinosaurs, including stegosaurs, sauropods, and theropods. The caudal vertebra is characterized by the following features: (i) elliptical morphology of the centrum, being wider than high; (ii) short antero-posterior length of the centrum; (iii) pronounced transversely extending ventral groove; (iv) massive transverse process, that is longer than the centrum diameter; (v) transverse process meeting the centrum high at the dorsal half and at a relatively flat angle; (vi) transverse process making a broad contact with the neural arch without forming a proximo-dorsal projection; and (vii) notochordal prominence present in the centre of the anterior articular surface. The study specimen represents only the second record of an ankylosaur from the Jurassic of Asia — aside from the slightly older Tianchisaurus from the early Upper Jurassic Toutunhe Formation, equally from the Junggar Basin. It helps to fill a gap in our knowledge of the early evolution of these armoured dinosaurs. Additionally, this discovery highlights the potential of the southern Junggar Basin to yield a rich vertebrate fauna and thus to provide an important insight into Late Jurassic ecosystems of Central Asia.     

Armored dinosaurs(Ornithischia: Ankylosauria)) from the Middle and Upper Jurassic of England

Hitherto the earliest positive record of ankylosaurs(armored dinosaurs) has been from beds well up in the Lower Cretaceous; in fact, however, specimens referable to the ankylosaurian family Nodosauridae are present in the Middle and Upper Jurassic of England: from the Middle Callovian [partial mandible Sarcolestes leedsiLydekker]], the Upper Oxfordian [femur Cryptodraco eumerus (Seeley)), maxilla Priodontognathus phillipsii (Seeley))], and the Upper Tithonian [caudal vertebra, tooth]. The Tithonian tooth and those of Priodontognathus are large and similar to those of the nodosaurids Priconodon and Sauropelta (Lower Cretaceous, U.S.A.). The incomplete mandible of Sarcolestes is similar to that of Sauropelta with a dermal scute fused to the lateral surface, and a tooth row extending to the anterior end of the jaw; an unusual feature is the caniniform first tooth. The quadrupedal ankylosaurs and stegosaurs probably represent separate evolutionary lines that extend back at least into the Lower Jurassic, and both lines probably evolved from ornithopod dinosaurs that were bipedal. Nodosaurid ankylosaurs occur in Europe from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous and probably reached North America via a filter route in the early Cretaceous.     

Late Jurassic cockroaches (Insecta,Blattaria) from the Houtiyn-Hotgor locality in Mongolia

A low-diversity cockroach assemblage from the Upper Jurassic of the Houtiyn-Hotgor locality in Mongolia is described, comprising Solemnia alexandri gen. et sp. nov. (Caloblattinidae), Blattula choutinensis sp. nov. (Blattulidae) and a presumed Triassic relict Irreblatta relicta gen. et sp. nov. (incertae familiae). The carnivorous Raphidiomimidae supposedly originated directly from the Caloblattinidae.     

The first record of the family Cleridae (Coleoptera): Shartegopsis miranda gen. et sp. nov. in the mesozoic (Shar-Teg, Upper Jurassic, Southwestern Mongolia)

A new genus and species of the family Cleridae, Shartegopsis miranda gen. et sp. nov., is described from Shar-Teg (southwestern Mongolia, Upper Jurassic). Judging by the characters that can be examined, it can probably belong to the subfamily Tillinae, and it is the earliest known member of the family. Mathesius liaoningensis Kolíbac et Huang, 2011 is considered closely related to species of the paleoendemic family Parandrexidae.     

New Insects (Insecta: Trichoptera,Reculida, Eoblattida) from the Mesozoic of Asia

New caddisflies, reculid and eoblattid insects from the Mesozoic of Asia are described. Caddisflies of the families Philopotamidae (Mesoviatrix paradoxa gen. et sp. nov. and Kempia piotri gen. et sp. nov.) and Polycentropodidae (Polylongevus eskovi gen. et sp. nov.) from the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous of the Kempendyai locality in Yakutia are described. A short review and comparison of fossil members in these families are provided. New Gryllones insects, Shurabia tanga sp. nov., Sauk batkenicus gen. et sp. nov. from the Sauk Tan’ga locality (Lower Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan), Say kirgizicus gen. et sp. nov. from the Shurab III locality (Reculida: Geinitziidae; Lower or Middle Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan) Griphopteron iya sp. nov. (Eoblattida: Blattogryllidae) from Iya locality (Middle Jurassic of Russia) are described.     

A bryozoan-like chaetetid (possible sclerosponge)from Jurassic-Cretaceous limestone near Orhaneli,Northwestern Turkey

Bryozoan-like fossils have been found rarely in Upper Jurassic or Lower Cretaceous limestone near Orhaneliin northwestern Turkey; they represent the chaetetid species Atrochaetetes alakirensisCUIF & FISCHER, 1974, possibly a sclerosponge, and previously known only from the lower part of the Upper Triassic.     

Supposed alderfly larva (Insecta, Megaloptera) from the Jurassic locality Shar-Teg, southwestern Mongolia

The first Mesozoic alderfly larva of Sharasialis fusiformis gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Upper Jurassic Lagerst?tte of Shar-Teg (southwestern Mongolia). In contrast to Cenozoic alderflies, it has a short thick appendage instead of a long terminal filament.     

Twopictonia (perisphinctidae) from the subbetic upper jurassic of spain

Two ammonites belonging to the genusPictonia Bayle, 1878 (subgenusPachypictonia Schneid, 1940) are described from the Lower Kimmeridgian of the Subbetic of Western Andalusia, this being the first evidence of the presence of this genus in the Mediterranean (Tethydian) Upper Jurassic.     

Representatives of the genus Ammosiphonia He, 1977 (Foraminifera) from the Jurassic and Carboniferous of Western Siberia

The wide distribution of the genus Ammosiphonia in the Upper Jurassic and Carboniferous of Western Siberia is established for the first time. Six haplophragmoidid species of Western Siberia are assigned to this genus. The diagnosis of the genus is emended; the taxonomic positions and scopes of the species Ammosiphonia nonioninoides (Reuss), A. beresoviensis (Bulatova), and A. sibirica (Zaspelova) are revised; two new species, A. suprajurassica sp. nov. and A. valanginica sp. nov., are described.     

Cyrtocrinids (Cyrtocrinida,Crinoidea) and other associated crinoids from the Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian)–Cretaceous (Berriasian–Barremian) of the Carpathian Foredeep basement (western Ukraine)

Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian) and Cretaceous (Berriasian–Barremian) strata of the Ukrainian part of the Carpathian Foredeep basement are rich, at least locally, in crinoid remains. Crinoids belonging to cyrtocrinids (Cyrtocrinida) are represented by whole cups, isolated remains of disarticulated cups, brachial plates and columnals. They are assigned to the following taxa: Cyrtocrinida indet., Eugeniacrinites cf. cariophilites (von Schlotheim), Lonchocrinus sp., Phyllocrinus stellaris Zaręczny, Ascidicrinus pentagonus (Jaekel), Gammarocrinites sp., Psalidocrinus armatus (Zittel), Psalidocrinus sp., and Hemibrachiocrinidae gen. indet. Cyrtocrinids are associated with other stalked (isocrinids, Isocrinida and millericrinids, Millericrinida) and stemless (saccocomids, Roveacrinida) crinoids. Columnals, pluricolumnals, brachial plates, and cirrals of isocrinids are assigned to Balanocrinus sp., Isocrinina fam. et subfam. indet., and columnals of millericrinids to Millericrinida indet. Free-living roveacrinids are assigned to Saccocoma sp. and Crassicoma sp. Knowledge on Jurassic and Cretaceous crinoids formerly described from Ukraine is discussed. Although majority of crinoids described herein seems to be allochthonous, autochthonous forms were also found with certainty in some intervals. These include some cyrtocrinids, which dominate in shallow-water environments of the Ukrainian Carpathian Foredeep basement. Isocrinids are also common in this shallow marine environment, whereas sessile saccocomids are assigned to low-energy, mud-supported bottom, open marine, outer-platform/upper slope, and relatively deep environments.     

Notes on the Melanorosauridae,a family of large Prosauropod Dinosaurs (Saurischia: Sauropodomorpha)

The femur of the anchisaurid (= plateosaurid) prosauropoddinosaur Euskelosaurus browniiHuxley, 1866 from the lower Elliot Formation (Upper Triassic) of South Africa is sigmoidal in posterior view with the fourth trochanter well removed from the medial edge. The sympatric Melanorosaurus readiHaughton, 1924 is not a junior synonym of Euskelosaurus brownii because the femur is straight in posterior view with the fourth trochanter close to the medial edge. In addition to Melanorosaurus, the Melanorosauridae Huene, 1929 includes Camelotia borealis nov. gen. and nov. sp. from the Upper Triassic of England, Riojasaurus incertusBonaparte, 1969 from the Upper Triassic of Argentina, and possibly some of the posteranial material referred to the? rauisuchian the codontian Sinosaurus triassicusYoung, 1948 from the Lower Jurassic of China.