Turiasauria-like teeth from the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin,Portugal

Turiasauria is a clade of eusauropods with a wide stratigraphic range that could extend from the Bathonian to the lower Aptian including Turiasaurus, Losillasaurus, Zby and putatively, Galveosaurus, Atlasaurus and isolated remains from Middle Jurassic-to-Lower Cretaceous. Some are characterised by the presence of heart-shaped teeth. Several tooth occurrences from the Portuguese Upper Jurassic with this type of morphology (SI: 1.1–1.8) are reported and discussed. If this morphology is regarded as synapomorphic of Turiasauria, the teeth will be tentatively related to this clade. From a sample of 43 teeth, three main morphotypes are described. Three hypotheses might explain the morphological variation: (1) the range of tooth morphologies indicates variation in the jaw, (2) the range of tooth morphologies indicates taxonomic variation or (3) a combination of both. The general wear pattern in morphotypes I and II starts with a distal facet, then the appearance of mesial/apical facet and finally a ‘V’-shaped facet. In morphotype III, the wear begins with a mesial facet. The variability observed for Portuguese Upper Jurassic specimens is congruent with the morphological variability along the tooth row shown by other sauropods with spatulate/spoon-shaped teeth and it is considered the most parsimonious hypothesis to explain it.     

A new species of Theriosuchus (Atoposauridae, Crocodylomorpha) from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Guimarota, Portugal

A new species of an atoposaurid crocodilian, Theriosuchus guimarotae, is described from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Portugal. Theriosuchus guimarotae can be distinguished from other species of Theriosuchus by a lateral surface of squamosal bevelled ventrally; a rounded, caudally projecting and dorsally sculptured caudolateral corner of the squamosal; a premaxillomaxillary suture aligned caudomedially in dorsal aspect; a minimum space between the supratemporal foramina that comprises one third of the total width of the cranial table; a minimum width of the frontal between the orbits that comprises one third of the maximum width of the skull at the orbits; a dentition that comprises only pseudocaniniform and lanceolate-shaped teeth; the presence of an external mandibular fenestra and all vertebral bodies amphicoelous. Its osteology also sheds light on the diagnosis of Theriosuchus within Atoposauridae. The material additionally includes specimens representative of several ontogenetic stages, each of which is discussed here. With its Late Jurassic age, T. guimarotae represents the oldest well-preserved material of Theriosuchus and reveals further knowledge about the palaeobiogeography of the genus in western Europe.     

Salinity-controlled benthic associations from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

The Upper Kimmeridgian—basal Tithonian clastic sequence at Santa Cruz, Estremadura, represents environments ranging from river channels and flood plains to lagoons and protected bays showing a deltaic influence. Within the marginal marine environments, five benthic macroinvertebrate associations are recognized and analysed in terms of diversity and species composition. All five are thought to be controlled largely by salinity and to represent lowered and/or fluctuating salinity regimes. They can be grouped along a salinity gradient in which the Mesosaccella dammariensis—Corbulomima suprajurensis association, occurring in prodelta silts and marls, represents the closest approach to fully marine conditions and in which the Eomiodon securiformis association, typical of delta front sands, extends into the oligohaline regime. Banks of the Isognomon lusitanicum association and patch reefs of the Praeexogyra pustulosa—Nanogyra nana association are thought to be typical of brachy-to mesohaline conditions occurring in brackish bays and lagoons. Characteristic of the latter salinity regimes is also the Jurassicorbula edwardi association. The integrated approach, using benthic faunas, trace fossils and sedimentological data, leads to a detailed interpretation of the sedimentary sequences and the construction of a biofacies model which can also be used for other parts of the Lusitanian Basin.     

A tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

Fragmentary theropod remains from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Guimarota, Portugal, represent a new taxon of theropod dinosaurs, Aviatyrannis jurassica gen. et sp. nov. Together with Stokesosaurus from the Morrison Formation of North America, Aviatyrannis represents the oldest known tyrannosauroid, indicating that tyrannosauroid origins may be found in the Middle–Late Jurassic of Europe/North America. Furthermore, current evidence suggests that early tyrannosaurs were rather small animals, which is in general accordance with their origin amongst the generally rather small coelurosaurs.     

江西晚白垩世大型兽脚类恐龙牙齿（英文）

描述了江西晚白垩世南雄组产出的两颗大型兽脚类恐龙牙齿。这两颗牙齿的齿冠高度分别为91和76 mm左右。较小牙齿近似圆锥形,齿冠基部比率为0.72,与典型的暴龙类牙齿相似。较大牙齿横向侧扁,齿冠基部比率约为0.47,舌侧和唇侧表面近乎平坦,前后缘冠面基部发育明显的纵向褶皱,区别于已发现的暴龙科、鲨齿龙科和棘龙科成员的牙齿。江西大型兽脚类恐龙牙齿的发现对于全面了解华南地区南雄组多样化的脊椎动物群组成具有一定的意义。     

A New Species of Goniopholis from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

The new goniopholidid crocodile Goniopholis baryglyphaeus sp. nov. from the Kimmeridgian of Guimarota/Leiria, Portugal is based on the oldest known relatively complete skeleton of Goniopholis from Europe and consists of a nearly complete skull together with a mandible and various postcranial remains. G. baryglyphaeus shows characters that hitherto have only been described for Goniopholis simus : a caudal expansion of the prefrontal that excludes the frontal from the medial margin of the orbit; and the loss of contact between the paroccipital process and the lateral surface of the squamosal and the quadrate, which exposes the cranioquadrate canal laterally. This new species can be distinguished from other European Goniopholis species by an articular facet placed ventral to the retroarticular process, and directed slightly medioventrally; a caudal margin of the mandible forming almost a right angle at its caudoventral corner; an almost square rostrolateral corner of the cranial table; a straight transverse suture between the parietal and the frontal with a median rostral process; a rostrally tapering wedge-like lacrimal, and a regular heavy skull-sculpturing. The new find of Goniopholis in Portugal shows that this genus was distributed in a larger area, and was present much earlier, than hitherto reported in south-western Europe.     

Tetradactyl footprints of an unknown affinity theropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Morocco

Background

New tetradactyl theropod footprints from Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian) have been found in the Iouaridène syncline (Morocco). The tracksites are at several layers in the intermediate lacustrine unit of Iouaridène Formation. The footprints were named informally in previous works “Eutynichnium atlasipodus”. We consider as nomen nudum.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Boutakioutichnium atlasicus ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. is mainly characterized by the hallux impression. It is long, strong, directed medially or forward, with two digital pads and with the proximal part of the first pad in lateral position. More than 100 footprints in 15 trackways have been studied with these features. The footprints are large, 38–48 cm in length, and 26–31 cm in width.

Conclusions/Significance

Boutakioutichnium mainly differs from other ichnotaxa with hallux impression in lacking metatarsal marks and in not being a very deep footprint. The distinct morphology of the hallux of the Boutakioutichnium trackmaker –i.e. size and hallux position- are unique in the dinosaur autopodial record to date.     

Chemical preservation of tail feathers from Anchiornis huxleyi,a theropod dinosaur from the Tiaojishan Formation (Upper Jurassic,China)

A panel of geochemical techniques is used here to investigate the taphonomy of fossil feathers preserved in association with the skeleton of the Jurassic theropod Anchiornis huxleyi. Extant feathers were analysed in parallel to test whether the soft tissues morphologically preserved in the fossil also exhibit a high degree of chemical preservation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) indicate that clays and iron oxide pseudomorphs occur in the surrounding sediment and also reveal the preservation of melanosome-like microbodies in the fossil. Carbon gradient along a depth profile and co-occurrence of carbon and sulphur are shown in the fossil by elastic backscattering (EBS) and particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE), which are promising techniques for the elemental analysis of fossil soft tissues. The molecular composition of modern and fossil soft tissues was assessed from micro-attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro-ATR FTIR), solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (CP-MAS ¹³C NMR) and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry in the presence of TMAH (TMAH-Py-GC-MS). Results indicate that the proteinaceous material that comprises the modern feathers is not present in the fossil feathers. The fossil feathers and the embedding sediment exhibit a highly aliphatic character. However, substantial differences exist between these samples, revealing that the organic matter of the fossil feathers is, at least partially, derived from original constituents of the feathers. Our results suggest that, despite the morphological preservation of Anchiornis feathers, original proteins, that is keratin, were probably not preserved in the 160-myr-old feathers.     

Poekilopleuron bucklandii, the theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Normandy

Poekilopleuron bucklandii , described by Eudes–Deslongchamps in 1838, is one of the earliest discovered dinosaurs. Although incomplete, it is one of the best preserved Middle Jurassic theropods known from Europe. Unfortunately, the only specimen of P. bucklandii , housed in the Musée de la Faculté des Sciences de Caen, was destroyed during World War II. However, casts of some parts of the type skeleton have been found in the collections of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. These casts and Eudes–Deslongchamps' monograph are used to redescribe the specimen. Poekilopleuron shares one synapomorphy with the Spinosauroidea and we tentatively assign it to that clade. The possible synonymy between Poekilopleuron and Megalosaurus is examined and we conclude that Megalosaurus is a nomen dubium and that the name should be restricted to the type dentary.     

On the spinosaurid theropod teeth from the early Barremian (Early Cretaceous) Blesa Formation (Spain)

Spinosaurids are one of the most abundant theropods from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. The published fossil record consists mainly of teeth. A good example is La Cantalera-1 site in the Blesa Formation (Spain). This site represents a marshy environment with periodic droughts, resulting in a non-permanent body of water. Theropod dinosaur teeth are frequent. Seventeen spinosaurid teeth have been studied using qualitative and quantitative features, including a statistical analysis, in order to compare them with the known spinosaurid record from Spain. In La Cantalera-1 we recognise two different morphotypes: Baryonychinae indet. and Spinosaurinae? indet. Baryonychinae indet. was produced by baryonychines close to Baryonyx; teeth with similar morphology have been described in other sites from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Teeth tentatively attributed to Spinosaurinae? indet. were produced by spinosaurines close to Spinosaurus. This morphotype could provide new evidence of the presence of spinosaurines in the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. The small size of the teeth from La Cantalera-1 when compared with those from other sites is interpreted as the result of the conditions characteristic of the deposit area, which represents an ecosystem unable to sustain large-sized organisms.     

A diverse Upper Jurassic dinosaur ichnofauna from central‐west Portugal

Mateus, O. & Milàn, J. 2009: A diverse Upper Jurassic dinosaur ichnofauna from central‐west Portugal. Lethaia, Vol. 43, pp. 245–257. A newly discovered dinosaur track‐assemblage from the Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation (Lusitanian Basin, central‐west Portugal), comprises medium‐ to large‐sized sauropod tracks with well‐preserved impressions of soft tissue anatomy, stegosaur tracks and tracks from medium‐ to large‐sized theropods. The 400‐m‐thick Lourinhã Formation consists of mostly aluvial sediments, deposited during the early rifting of the Atlantic Ocean in the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian. The stratigraphic succession shows several shifts between flood‐plain mud and fluvial sands that favour preservation and fossilization of tracks. The studied track‐assemblage is found preserved as natural casts on the underside of a thin bivalve‐rich carbonate bed near the Tithonian–Kimmeridgian boundary. The diversity of the tracks from the new track assemblage is compared with similar faunas from the Upper Jurassic of Asturias, Spain and the Middle Jurassic Yorkshire Coast of England. The Portuguese record of Upper Jurassic dinosaur body fossils show close similarity to the track fauna from the Lourinhã Formation. □Dinosaur tracks, Lusitanian Basin, Portugal, skin impressions, Upper Jurassic.     

Sobralispongia densespiculata, a new coralline sponge from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

From the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) of Portugal, the coralline sponge Sobralispongia densespiculata nov. gen. and nov. sp. is described. Main characteristics are a crustose habit, a primary spicule skeleton of very densely packed styles and subtylostyles arranged in a plumose architecture, microscleres of possibly aster-type, and a microgranular to fibrous secondary calcareous skeleton. The primary mineralogy of the calcareous skeleton was probably high-Mg calcitic. An assignment to the demosponge Order Axinellida is proposed.     

Isolated theropod teeth from the Kem Kem Beds (Early Cenomanian) near Taouz, Morocco

Thirty-seven well-preserved, isolated theropod teeth from the Early Cenomanian Kem Kem beds, Morocco, are identified by using morphometric data and direct comparison with teeth previously described in the literature. Direct comparison reveals that four different morphotypes (MT 1–4) are present in the sample. The teeth of MT 1 are characterised by unserrated carinae and belong to spinosaurid dinosaurs. The teeth of MT 2–4 have serrated carinae, and our data analysis indicates they are of carcharodontosaurid, dromaeosaurid, and abelisaurid origin. Three types of crown enamel ornamentation are present among the teeth of MT 1, which implies that, apart from Spinosaurus aegyptiacus STROMER 1915, more than one species of spinosaurine theropods may be present in the Early Cenomanian of Northern Africa. Our results also confirm the occurrence of abelisaurids, dromaeosaurids, and carcharodontosaurids in Morocco.     

Microstructure of aptychi of Upper Jurassic (Upper Oxfordian) ammonites from Central Russia

To date, bivalve calcitic plates which cover the outer chitinous lamella of the lower jaws of Jurassic and Cretaceous ammonoids (aptychi sensu stricto) have been classified into several morphotypes (form genera) based on shape, surface sculpture and internal microstructure. However, previous works on aptychi microstructure focused mainly on thick morphotypes (e.g. Laevaptychus and Lamellaptychus), whereas little was investigated for thin Praestriaptychi. In this study, the microstructure of Praestriaptychi of Upper Oxfordian Perisphinctes and of recently discovered aptychi of aspidoceratid microconch Mirosphinctes (both belonging to the superfamily Perisphinctoidea) is described. These aptychi are compared with Laevaptychi of Upper Oxfordian macroconchs Euaspidoceras (a dimorphic counterpart of Mirosphinctes). This study demonstrated that the aptychi of Perisphinctes and Mirosphinctes differ from each other and from Laevaptychi in their microstructure, number of calcitic layers and in growth patterns. The aptychi of both aspidoceratid dimorphs are similar in terms of growth pattern, but differ in microstructure and the number of calcitic layers. Neither aptychi of Perisphinctes nor of Mirosphinctes have a tubular layer with a honeycomb surface pattern, which is typical for Laevaptychus. This indicates that aptychi were extremely diverse and their microstructure varied significantly not only within the superfamily, but even within a dimorphic pair of aspidoceratid ammonites. A lack of a tubular layer in Praestriaptychus indicates that it developed independently in Lamellaptychus of Haploceratoidea and Laevaptychus of Aspidoceratidae.     

Two new lacewings (Neuroptera) from the Upper Jurassic locality Shar-Teg (Mongolia)

Two new lacewing species, Prohemerobius minor sp. nov. (Prohemerobiidae) and Sogjuta shartegica sp. nov. (Osmylidae), are described from Upper Jurassic deposits of the Mongolian locality Shar-Teg.     

Palaeoberesellids (Dasycladaceans) from the Upper Jurassic Arab-D Reservoir, Saudi Arabia

Palaeoberesellids, tubular septate dasycladacean algae hitherto only described from the Upper Palaeozoic, have been discovered in the Late Jurassic Arab-D Reservoir from the Khurais Oilfield, Saudi Arabia. Material is referred to a new species, Kamaena khuraisensis . Specimens occur in the wackestones and packstones of the lower part of the reservoir, deposited in offshore shelf environments deeper than those containing most of the other described Arab Reservoir dasycladaceans.