New fossil fruits of Carya (Juglandaceae) from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in Tennessee,eastern United States

Fossil fruits including nuts and associated husk valves of a new species of Carya (Juglandaceae) are described from the latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene in northeastern Tennessee, eastern United States. The husk valves are elliptic, 1.2–4.5 mm thick, with a convex exterior face and a concave interior face; the nuts are globose to ovoid in shape, smooth and longitudinally ribbed on exterior surface, with a short protruding apex and a slightly 4-angled base; inner ribs, lacunae and primary septa are well-developed, while secondary septa are absent or weakly developed. The combination of these carpological characteristics clearly shows a close resemblance to the genus Carya in Juglandaceae. Detailed comparisons of carpological morphology and anatomy indicate that the present fossil taxon is different from both living and most other fossil species of the genus, and therefore warrants the designation of a new fossil species, Carya tennesseensis Huang et al., sp. nov. Carya tennesseensis displays a carpological similarity to C. ventricosa from the late Oligocene to early Pliocene in Europe, suggesting a potential species exchange of the genus between Europe and southeastern North America during the late Neogene. The new fossil species represents one of the few fruit fossil species of Carya from its modern distribution range in southeastern North America. It provides crucial information for better understanding the rapid diversification of the genus from the late Miocene to early Pliocene, and the origin and establishment of today's Carya biodiversity in this region.     

EVOLUTION, TAXONOMY AND ANTITROPICAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORPOISES (PHOCOENIDAE, MAMMALIA)

True porpoises are a morphologically distinctive and evolutionarily old group of odontocete cetaceans classified as the family Phocoenidae. They are distinct from members of the family Delphinidae, with which they have sometimes been classified. Re-examination of all living and fossil species of phocoenids yields new information on the evolution of the family and indicates the need for significant taxonomic changes. Two separate lines of descent within the group are classified as the subfamilies Phocoeninae and Phocoenoidinae. The living southern hemisphere spectacled porpoise, Phocoena dioptrica , is actually more closely related to the North Pacific Dali's porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli , than to other species of Phocoena. It therefore belongs in the subfamily Phocoenoidinae with Phocoenoides but represents a separate genus, Australophocaena (new genus). The earliest unquestioned fossil phocoenids have been found only in rocks around the Pacific basin. They include latest Miocene and Pliocene species of Piscolithax and the Late Miocene Salumiphocaena stocktoni (new genus) in the Phocoenoidinae, and an undescribed latest Miocene species in the Phocoeninae. World climate has influenced past and present distributions of phocoenids, and Australopbocaena dioptrica is possibly the antitropical counterpart of Phocoenoides dalli. All species of living phocoenids show similarities caused by convergent evolution, resulting in part from the phenomenon of paedomorphosis.     

Late Miocene Palaeocarya (Engelhardieae: Juglandaceae) from Southwest China and its biogeographic implications

Fossil fruits of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) are described from late Miocene sediments of southeastern Yunnan, China. The fruits present a tri-lobed wing consisting of an intact oblong-ovate middle lobe and two lateral lobes. The lobes are apically obovate, and have pinnate venation. The middle lobe is thicker at the base and gradually tapers to the apex. The nutlet, located at the base of the winged fruit, is round and hispid, and is subdivided by a septum into two compartments. Based on extensive morphological comparisons to previously documented fossil fruits, we found that the fossil fruits align most closely with members of the genusPalaeocarya, but have a unique combination of characters. Thus, we describe the fossils as a new species, Palaeocarya hispida sp. nov. This species represents an important range expansion for low-latitude occurrences of Palaeocarya in the late Miocene and therefore substantially improves our understanding of the biogeographic history of the genus. We propose that the wide distribution of Palaeocarya and relatively narrow distributions of close relatives, Engelhardia, Alfaropsis, and Oreomunnea, might be associated with a stepwise cooling and a major ice sheet expansion in the Antarctic and Arctic from the late middle Miocene to early Pliocene. In particular, the climatic oscillations during the Quaternary, such as the last glacial maximum, might have led to a decrease in the geographic distribution of Engelhardieae.     

Fruits and seeds of the brandon lignite III. Turpinia (Staphyleaceae)

Turpinia uliginosa sp. nov. is described as seeds from the Early Oligocene Brandon Lignite. This occurrence represents a considerable departure from its modern range in the Old and New World tropics. A survey of the previously described fossil seeds and seeds of the modern species suggests thatTurpinia uliginosa is most closely related to the Neotropical members of the modern genus. A brief summary is offered of the characters of the modern seeds ofStaphylea andTurpinia.     

Middle Miocene dispersals of apes

The earliest record of fossil apes outside Africa is in the latest early Miocene of Turkey and eastern Europe. There were at least 2, and perhaps 4, species of ape, which were found associated with subtropical mixed environments of forest and more open woodland. Postcranial morphology is similar to that of early Miocene primates and indicates mainly generalized arboreal quadrupedal behaviours similar to those of less specialized New World monkeys such as Cebus. Robust jaws and thick enamelled teeth indicate a hard fruit diet. The 2 best known species of fossil ape are known from the site of Pa?alar in Turkey. They have almost identical molar and jaw morphology. Molar morphology is also similar to that of specimens from Germany and Slovakia, but there are significant differences in the anterior teeth of the 2 Pa?alar species. The more common species, Griphopithecus alpani, shares mainly primitive characters with early and middle Miocene apes in Africa, and it is most similar phenetically to Equatorius africanus from Maboko Island and Kipsaramon. The second species is assigned to a new species of Kenyapithecus, an African genus from Fort Ternan in Kenya, on the basis of a number of shared derived characters of the anterior dentition, and it is considered likely that there is a phylogenetic link between them. The African sites all date from the middle Miocene, similar in age to the Turkish and European ones, and the earliest emigration of apes from Africa coincides with the closure of the Tethys Sea preceding the Langhian transgression. Environments indicated for the African sites are mixtures of seasonal woodlands with some forest vegetation. The postcrania of both African taxa again indicate generalized arboreal adaptation but lacking specialized arboreal function. This middle Miocene radiation of both African and non-African apes was preceded by a radiation of arboreal catarrhine primates in the early Miocene, among which were the earliest apes. The earliest Miocene apes in the genus Proconsul and Rangwapithecus were arboreal, and because of their association with the fruits of evergreen rain forest plants at Mfwangano Island, it would appear that they were forest adapted, i.e. were living in multi-storied evergreen forest. The same or similar species of the same genera from Rusinga Island, together with other genera such as Nyanzapithecus and the small ape Limnopithecus, were associated with plants and animals indicating seasonal woodland environments, probably with gallery forest forming corridors alongside rivers. While the stem ancestors of the Hominoidea were almost certainly forest adapted, the evidence of environments associated with apes in the later part of the early Miocene and the middle Miocene of East Africa indicates more seasonal woodlands, similar to those reconstructed for the middle Miocene of Pa?alar in Turkey. This environmental shift was probably a requisite for the successful emigration of apes out of Africa and made possible later movement between the continents for much of the middle Miocene, including possible re-entry of at least one ape lineage back into Africa.     

Hemiptelea mikii sp. nov. (Ulmaceae), fossil fruits and woods from the pleistocene of central Japan

A new fossil species,Hemiptelea mikii, is described on the basis of fruits from the Pleistocene of central Japan. It is distinguished fromH. davidii, the only extant species of the genus restricted to Korea and China, in having shorter fruits. Fossil woods discovered from the same horizon differ from the extant one in some anatomical characteristics, and are assigned to the new fossil species. Taken together with earlier records of fossil fruit occurrence in the early and the middle Pleistocene of central Japan, the latest finding of fossil fruits and woods from the last glacial sediments (ca. 50,000 years ago) at Kita-egota site of Tokyo suggests thatH. mikii was widespread in central Japan throughout the Pleistocene and survived until as late as the Last Glacial age.     

Hypsosteiromys (Rodentia, Hystricognathi) from the Early Miocene of Patagonia (Argentina), the only Erethizontidae with a tendency to hypsodonty

Hypsosteiromys is the only New World porcupine that shows a tendency to hypsodonty. It is recorded exclusively from the Colhuehuapian Age (Early Miocene) of central Patagonia (Argentina). In addition to the type species, a second one, Hypsosteiromys nectus(AMEGHINO, 1902), is recognized, from the southern cliff of Colhuehuapi Lake (Chubut province). It differs from the type species in the lesser development of the anterolabial and posteroflexid notches of the m1-3, shorter p4 and dp4, and more slender incisors. Dental morphology suggests that the species of Hypsosteiromys lived in more open areas than most fossil and living Erethizontidae.     

New fossil anthropoids from the middle Miocene of East Africa and their bearing on the origin of the oreopithecidae

Recent paleontological collections at the middle Miocene locality of Maboko Island in Kenya, dated at 15-16 million years, have yielded numerous new specimens belonging to at least five species of fossil anthropoids. The most common species of ape at the site, a medium-sized primate with a very distinctive dental morphology, clearly represents a previously undescribed taxon. When compared with other Miocene anthropoids from East Africa, it has its closest affinities with the poorly known species Rangwapithecus vancouveringi from the early Miocene locality of Rusinga Island. The species from Maboko Island is described here as belonging to a new genus of fossil anthropoid, to which "Rangwapithecus" vancouveringi is also referred. The new genus has a highly distinctive suite of derived characters of its molars and premolars, which it shares with Oreopithecus bambolii from the late Miocene of Europe. These synapomorphies indicate a close phyletic relationship between the East African species and Oreopithecus and form the basis for the inclusion of these taxa in a single family, the Oreopithecidae Schwalbe, 1915. In many respects, however, the East African forms are more conservative than Oreopithecus, and in a general sense they can be regarded as an intermediate grade between Oreopithecus and the more generalized early Miocene catarrhines, the proconsuloids. There is, therefore, good fossil evidence to indicate that the origins of the Oreopithecidae can be traced back to the early Miocene of Africa.     

甘肃永昌早二叠世两种科达叶的微细构造及古大气CO_2浓度重建

角质层微细构造是鉴定植物属种的重要特征之一,近年来又在古气候恢复中得到广泛应用。从甘肃永昌下二叠统采获了角质层保存较好的两种科达叶化石,详细分析了表皮微细构造特征,并结合其外形特征进行了属种鉴定:其中一种鉴定为淮南科达(Cordaites huainanensis Chen),另建立了一新种,命名为永昌科达(Cordaites yongchangensis sp.nov.)。本文选取与化石标本的宏观形态和角质层微观形态较为相似的长叶竹柏(Podocarpus fleuryi Hickel)作为其现存最近对应种,初次尝试利用化石气孔特征重建了甘肃永昌早二叠世的古大气CO2浓度。     

Gliridae (Rodentia,Mammalia) with a simple dental pattern: a new genus and new species from the European Early and Middle Miocene

A new genus of Gliridae, Simplomys gen. nov. is proposed. It contains glirids with a simplified dental pattern from the European Early and Middle Miocene. Simplomys gen. nov. includes several species originally described as Pseudodryomys such as Simplomys simplicidens, Simplomys robustus, Simplomys julii, and Simplomys aljaphi. In addition, a new species, Simplomys meulenorum sp. nov. , is proposed from the Spanish Miocene. The species of this genus share not only a very reduced and simplified dental morphology, but also unique dental proportions that clearly separate them from any other genera of Gliridae. Simplomys gen. nov. is recorded in most of the fossil faunas from the Early and Middle Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula, and shows the maximum diversity in this area during Mammal Neogene Zones MN 3 and MN 4. The genus has been also recorded in other European countries such as France, Germany, and Switzerland, conferring to this very characteristic taxon an important role for biochronological correlations within the European continent. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 157 , 622–652.     

Chaneya, a New Genus of Winged Fruit from the Tertiary of North America and Eastern Asia

A new genus is recognized on the basis of wind-dispersed fruits from the Eocene of western North America and Miocene of eastern Asia. The fruits consist of an accrescent hypogynous calyx of five obovate sepals and one or more globose fruit bodies. Although the fossils were formerly placed in the extant genera Porana (Convolvulaceae) and Astronium (Anacardiaceae), our investigation of numerous specimens from several floras in the western United States (e.g., Florissant, Green River, Clarno) and Canada (Whipsaw Creek, British Columbia) and the Yilan and Shanwang floras of China reveals unique characters that indicate that the fossils are a distinct genus, which we name Chaneya. Unlike Porana and Astronium, the fossil calyces have stomata that are longitudinally aligned, and early stages of fruit development show a gynoecium of five apocarpous carpels, of which only one or two usually enlarge at maturity. Precise systematic placement of the fossil genus is uncertain, but similarities to the extant Picrasma of the Simaroubaceae are suggestive of possible affinities. Two species are recognized: Chaneya tenuis (Lesq.) comb. nov., from the Eocene of western North America and northeastern China, and Chaneya kokangensis (Endo) comb. nov., from the Miocene of eastern Asia.     

Miocene hawk converges on Secretarybird

A falconiform Miocene fossil bird from North America, represented by a nearly complete tarsometatarsus with phalanges in place, is that of a hawk that converged on the living Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius. It is described as a new genus and species, Apatosagittarius terrenus. The palaeoenvironment indicates a Miocene setting similar to the present day habitat of the living Secretarybird, characterized by extensive grasslands and savannas.     

The parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) from the Middle Miocene of Sansan (Gers,Southern France)

The occurrence of Archaeopsittacus sp. (Psittaciformes) in the fossil deposits of Sansan (France) is reported, testifying to a survival of this genus in the Middle Miocene, as Archaeopsittacus verreauxi was described from the Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (France) and was recorded only from its type locality. The data discussed here indicate the presence of two parrot species from Sansan, as it is the type locality of another parrot species, Pararallus dispar, only known from this locality. The differences between the humeri of these two taxa are described in detail, together with the differences from the other European fossil parrot species. The presence of more than one species of parrot in the same locality is not rare, but in Europe it is recorded in Sansan for the second time. Evidence for parrots also confirms the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Sansan, as parrots are primarily arboreal species. Archaeopsittacus also represents one of the few common elements between the Early and Middle Miocene European bird assemblages.     

PSEUDOFAGUS IDAHOENSIS,N. GEN. ET SP. (FAGACEAE) FROM THE MIOCENE CLARKIA FLORA OF IDAHO

A new genus and species of Fagaceae are established for compressed leaves and attached fruits which represent one of the dominant taxa in the rich Miocene Clarkia flora of northern Idaho. The leaf and fruit morphology, cuticular and pericarp anatomy, and leaf phytoliths fall within the range of variation of the subfamily Fagoideae. The unique fruit consists of a large, exposed, distinctly keeled, trigonous nut and a diminutive basal cupule. The cupule has an apical frill of free, petiolate, leaflike appendages but lacks other ornamentation, and there is no evidence of a distinct Valvation. As no other genus of the Fagaceae has fruits with this combination of characters, a new genus is established and is referred to the subfamily Fagoideae. The Miocene genus seems most closely related to the extant genus Fagus.     

On the placement of the Cretaceous orthopteran Brauckmannia groeningae from Brazil, with notes on the relationships of Schizodactylidae (Orthoptera, Ensifera)

The fossil orthopteran Brauckmannia groeningae Martins-Neto (Orthoptera, Ensifera) from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil, currently misplaced at both the genus and family level, is transferred to the family Schizodactylidae and assigned to the extant genus Schizodactylus Brullé; ergo, Brauckmannia enters synonymy under Schizodactylus and Brauckmanniidae enters synonymy under Schizodactylidae. Schizodactylus groeningae (Martins-Neto), comb. n. agrees in size and general habitus with extant members of the genus, but can be readily separated by the robust, subovoid form of the metatibiae and the distinctive morphology of the lateral metabasitarsal processes. This species represents the first fossil occurrence of Schizodactylidae and the only New World record of this ancient lineage. Phylogenetic relationships of the schizodactylids are reviewed and a sister-group relationship with Grylloidea advocated based on a reappraisal of morphological and molecular evidence.     

The pigs and “Old World peccaries” (Suidae and Palaeochoeridae,Suoidea, Artiodactyla) from the Miocene of Sandelzhausen (southern Germany): phylogeny and an updated classification of the Hyotheriinae and Palaeochoeridae

The fossil remains of two species of Suoidea (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Early/Middle Miocene locality of Sandelzhausen (MN5; Bavaria, Germany) are described. A skull and some isolated teeth and bones reveal hitherto unknown features of Schizoporcus muenzenbergensis, Schizoporcini, Taucanaminae, Palaeochoeridae (Old World peccaries), Suoidea. The phylogeny of the Taucanaminae is discussed and an updated classification of the Palaeochoeridae is presented. The new names Schizoporcus and Schizoporcini replace the junior homonyms Schizochoerus Crusafont and Lavocat (1954) and Schizochoerini Golpe-Posse (1974). Remains of several skulls and mandibles, over 50 associated tooth rows, over 300 isolated teeth, and over 200 bones, constitute one of the largest collections of a Miocene suid known, and are assigned to Hyotherium soemmeringi wylensis, Hyotheriini, Hyotheriinae, Suidae (pigs), Suoidea. Hyotherium is the oldest certain suid genus known and many assumed it to be one of the most primitive. While the postcranial bones of the Suidae and Palaeochoeridae differ in many ways, the bones of Hyotherium are already very similar in morphology to those of living pigs, although they are much more slender, suggesting that the genus was more fleet-footed. Features related to rooting behaviour indicate that Hyotherium was a more efficient rooter than Palaeochoeridae and living Dicotylidae, but not as efficient as living suids. The phylogeny of the Hyotheriinae is discussed. The subfamily is divided into Hyotheriini and Aureliachoerini, new tribe, and an updated classification is presented.     

The westernmost tarsier: A new genus and species from the Miocene of Pakistan

As the closest living sister group of anthropoids, tarsiers (Family Tarsiidae) are an important group in primate evolution. However, their fossil record is poor: only four species have been described, two from the Eocene of China and two from the Miocene of Thailand. All are from outside the range of the living species, which occur only on islands off Southeast Asia. Here, we describe a new fossil tarsier from Pakistan, a significant range extension. This record consists of two lower molars, an upper molar, and a lower premolar found in the Miocene Manchar Formation (∼18–16 Ma [millions of years ago]) of Sindh Province, southern Pakistan. The Pakistani tarsier is morphologically distinct from all living and fossil tarsiers, but most similar to the middle Miocene Thai species Tarsius thailandicus. Though living tarsiers have traditionally been classified in a single genus, a recent revision proposed a division into three genera, which is strongly supported by molecular data. The Pakistani species is not referable to any of these genera, and we create for it and T. thailandicus a new tarsiid genus. This discovery broadens our understanding of the geographic range and morphological diversity of Miocene tarsiers and helps to put the living tarsiers into their evolutionary context.     

Fruits and foliage of Pueraria (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) from the Neogene of Eurasia and their biogeographic implications

? Premise of the study: Pueraria (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) is native in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania and is well known as a rampant invasive weed in the southeastern United States (P. montana; better known as kudzu), but relatively little is known about its early evolution and biogeographic origin. ? Methods: On the basis of comparative analyses of the fruit and leaflet architecture of closely related extant and fossil taxa, we studied the fossil history and biogeography of Pueraria. ? Key results: Fossil Pueraria is recognized on the basis of distinctive fruit and foliage from the Mio-Pliocene of middle latitudes in China, Japan, Abkhazia, and Croatia. Recognition of P. miothunbergiana from the Mio-Pliocene of China and Japan is reinforced by a trifoliolate leaf as well as isolated lateral and terminal leaflets. Pueraria shanwangensis sp. nov. represents the first recognition of fossil Pueraria fruits. This fruit species co-occurs with P. miothunbergiana in the Middle Miocene Shanwang flora and possibly represents the same population. Pueraria maxima (Unger) comb. nov., previously named as Dolichites maximus or Desmodium maximum, is recognized on the basis of leaflets from the Miocene of Croatia and Abkhazia. Other prior fossil reports of Pueraria and Dolichites are reevaluated. ? Conclusions: Pueraria had begun to diversify by at least the Middle Miocene and had spread into the Mio-Pliocene subtropical and temperate floras of the Balkan Peninsula, the Caucasus, and eastern Asia, which suggests the present diversity of this genus in tropical Asia and Oceania might have originated from the mid-latitudes of Eurasia.     

云南海口早寒武世褐藻化石新知

主要报道了产自云南海口耳材村早寒武世筇竹寺组玉案山段澄江生物群中的褐藻化石－拟点叶藻（Punctariopsis latifolia gen.et sp.nov.)简单拟点叶藻（Punctariopsis simplex gen.etsp.nov.)和古德带藻（Vendotaenia cf.antiqua Gnilovskaya)3种。这些化石丰富了澄江生物群物种的多样性,为研究该群生物爆发性演化提供了新的证据。同时通过对现生褐藻和褐藻化石形态学的比较研究,表明化石属和现代属在系统演化上可能有较密切的亲缘关系,并进一步证明了澄江生物群在云南海口地区发生于一个潮间带和亚潮带的海水环境。