A case of mistaken identification of an amber fossil male strepsipteran (Insecta: Strepsiptera)

A well-preserved specimen of amber Strepsiptera was erroneously described as Stylops neotropicallis Kogan and Poinar, 2010. The taxonomic position of the species was based on a count of six antennomeres (typical of the Stylopidae); however, further observations showed that there are actually seven antennomeres, which places the fossil in the family Myrmecolacidae, and it is herein redescribed in the genus Palaeomyrmecolax Kulicka, 2001. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis of a sample of the amber piece containing the fossil revealed that it was Baltic rather than Dominican amber as originally thought. The fossil was compared with another specimen from Baltic amber in the Poinar collection, which shows close affinity to Palaeomyrmecolax succineus Kulicka, 2001, the type species of the genus. Palaeomyrmecolax neotropicallis (n.comb.) differs from that specimen and seems to differ also from the other four species in the genus Palaeomyrmecolax.     

First <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sycidium</Emphasis> (Charophyta) from the Upper Devonian of Thuringia (Germany)

The well-preserved silicified fragment of a utricular envelope assigned to Sycidium aff. clathratum Peck, discovered in the earliest Famennian “incisus bed” of the Bohlen section near Saalfeld in Thuringia (Central Germany), is the first evidence of charophytes present in the West European Late Devonian. The occurrence of 16 longitudinal ridges is shared with the basal Mississippian S. clathratum. The specimen shows delicate structures of the external layer including ovoid elements at its basal end which are interpreted as casts of rudimentary bract cells and/or bracteoles, rarely observed in the fossil record of charophytes. S. aff. clathratum is among the rare Sycidiaceae that survived the terminal Frasnian Kellwasser Event. This single specimen was probably attached to a piece of wood and thereby transported into fully marine basinal environments that characterize the Famennian of the Bohlen section.     

First fossil record of stalked spermatophores with sperm (Collembola: Hexapoda)

Spermatozoa and stalked spermatophores in Baltic amber represent the first report of these reproductive structures in the fossil record. A comparison of this material with sperm and simple stalked spermatophores from extant invertebrates indicates that the fossil structures originated from a springtail (Collembola: Hexapoda). This conclusion is supported by the presence of a female springtail, Sminthurus longicornis Kock and Berendt (Sminthuridae: Symphypleona), in the same piece of amber. This specimen, which appears to have been molting at the time of death, is adjacent to objects interpreted as springtail eggs. The present find establishes the existence of the indirect method of sperm transfer by the late Eocene (40 Ma).     

CALLIXYLON FROM THE UPPER DEVONIAN OF NORTHWESTERN ALBERTA

Campbell, J. D. (Res. Council Alberta, Edmonton.) Callixylon from the Upper Devonian of northwestern Alberta. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(7): 648–652. Illus. 1963.—An oil-well core from the “Granite Wash” of probable early Late Devonian age (Wood bend equivalent) in the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta yielded a thin pyritized chip of coniferoid wood. The pith is not represented, but the secondary tracheid pitting, exhibiting radially aligned clusters of 5–10 araucarioid pits, indicates that the specimen is referable to the wood-type usually called Callixylon, now believed to be the axis of the leaf-genus Archaeopleris. In its low and regularly uniseriate or rarely biseriate rays, with no apparent ray tracheids, the specimen may resemble the species Callixylon trifdievi Zalessky (1909) from the Upper Devonian of Russia, and thus lend some small support to the postulation of a Late Devonian land connection between northwestern North America and Europe.     

Fossil flowers and pollen ofLauraceae from the Upper Cretaceous of New Jersey

A fossil trimerous flower from the Turonian (ca. 90 MYBP, Upper Cretaceous) of New Jersey is described as a new genus in the familyLauraceae. The fossil flower is charcoalified and preserved in exceptional detail. This fossil specimen is particularly remarkable in that several pollen grains have been preserved; pollen grains ofLauraceae generally have very thin exine and are rarely preserved in the fossil record. Although the specimen is incomplete and lacks anthers, there are sufficient structural details preserved to permit an assignment to theLauraceae, as well as comparisons with the tribePerseeae. This new genus provides an important addition to our knowledge of systematic and structural diversity in CretaceousLauraceae.     

Tayassu pecari (Link, 1795) (Mammalia,Cetartiodactyla): comments on its South American fossil record,taxonomy and paleobiogeography

Tayassu pecari is widely distributed across the Neotropical region, from northern Argentina to south-eastern Mexico. However, its fossil record is scarce; it is recorded since the middle Pleistocene to Holocene in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. This paper aims to: (1) update the systematic synonymy of this species; (2) review and update its geographic chronologic distribution and provide a new Lujanian record of Tayassu pecari in Buenos Aires Province and (3) discuss the paleoenvironmental and paleobiogeographical implications of this record. Considering the quantitative analysis performed, the fossil here recorded clearly integrates the group of Tayassu pecari. This specimen corresponds to the first record of Tayassu pecari in the central-northern region of the Buenos Aires Province. During Late Pleistocene, Tayassu pecari was distributed southern to its recent range, probably evidencing different paleoenvironment conditions. This species is the better adapted peccary to tropical and subtropical rainforests, but may also be present in arid environments. Consequently, Tayassu by itself is insufficient to infer the prevailing environmental conditions. However, according to the fauna associated with the specimen described here, it is possible to infer an open or semi-open and arid or semi-arid environment for the central-northern Buenos Aires region by Late Pleistocene times.     

Partial mandible of a giant pterosaur from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of the Hațeg Basin,Romania

We describe and interpret a posterior mandibular symphysis of a very large azhdarchid pterosaur. The specimen LPB (FGGUB ) R.2347 exhibits a series of morphological characters present in both azhdarchid and tapejarid pterosaurs, suggesting a more basal position within the clade Azhdarchidae. This fossil was collected from Maastrichtian continental deposits near V?lioara in the Ha?eg Basin, Romania, but cannot be confidently referred to the contemporaneous giant Hatzegopteryx thambema, also from V?lioara, due to the absence of overlapping skeletal elements. Remarkably, this mandibular symphysis shares a number of features the smaller azhdarchoid Bakonydraco galaczi from the Santonian of Hungary. Additional comparisons with previously described large‐sized azhdarchid mandibles indicate a certain degree of morphological and probably ecological disparity within the group. This specimen represents the largest pterosaur mandible ever found and provides insights into the anatomy of the enigmatic giant pterosaurs.     

Further fossil cephalopods from Jamaica

Fossil cephalopods are rare in the Antillean region. A deformed conch of a kossmaticeratid ammonite,Pseudokossmaticerasl sp., from the Maastrichtian of the Blue Mountain Inlier is the first ammonite from southeastern Jamaica. This tentative systematic assignment is in agreement with the age otherwise assigned to these rocks.Cimomia sp. cf.C. vaughani (Gardner) is a hercoglossid nautiloid from the Lower-Middle Eocene Chapelton Formation of western central Jamaica. This is only the fourth nautiloid from this unit; all previous records were ofHercoglossa sp. The specimen is unusual amongst Antillean fossil cephalopods in including the sponge boringEntobia isp., probably indicating a period of post-mortem residence on the sea floor.      

100 million years of morphological conservation in bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Abstract Scolytine weevils (bark and ambrosia beetles) have a unique ecological significance in forest ecosystems, which equates to major effects on landscape ecology and to monetary losses. Fossilized galleries of scolytines have been reported in Late Mesozoic wood, but here we describe a well‐preserved body fossil from the Cretaceous, c. 100 Ma, preserved in amber from northern Myanmar. Moreover, the specimen is remarkably similar to Recent species of the genus Microborus, revealing stasis unexpected within scolytines and thus highlighting the antiquity of the group. Stratigraphic dating and comparison of insect palaeofaunas included in other well‐dated ambers from multiple sites support the age estimate of the Burmese amber. A minimum age for one clade of scolytines is thus established, indicating an early divergence of scolytines from other weevils in the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous and challenging the current perspective of weevil evolution.     

Homologies of the anterior teeth in indriidae

Schwartz ('74) proposed revised homologies of the deciduous and permanent anterior teeth in living lemuriform primates of the family Indriidae. Gingerich ('77) described a juvenile specimen of Avahi and emphasized the importance of functional integrity in controlling the pattern of dental reduction in primates, neither of which supports Schwartz's interpretation. Schwartz ('78) recently reiterated his position without adequately discussing the Avahi evidence and the functional basis that probably controls dental reduction. Avahi has a deciduous dentition intermediate in morphology between that of Lemuridae and Indriidae, and similar to both. Thus the lower deciduous dental formula of Indriidae is probably 2.1.3, which is the typical and maximum deciduous complement known in living and fossil lemuriform primates. The formula of the lower permanent dentition in Indriidae is thus 2.0.2.3.     

3D digital imaging of a concretion-preserved batoid (Chondrichthyes,Elasmobranchii) from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Morocco

We describe the manual and digital methods used to prepare an exceptional fossil specimen, as well as the composition of this specimen revealed by these methods. The fossil, a rhinobatoid, is 3-dimensionally preserved in a concretion. Fossils like these are seldom encountered, because flat-bodied animals are traditionally preserved in lithographic beds, or more commonly, are only represented by disassociated dentition. Manual preparation was best conducted with needles and a local application of buffered formic acid and neutralised sodium carbonate. High-resolution computed tomography and post-analysis using the invert ramp option in VGStudio Max 2.0 produced the best results to see the complete skeleton of this specimen. The specimen is distinguishable from the only other known 3D preserved fossil rhinobatoid, the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) genus 2Iansan, and is probably a member of Platyrhinidae.     

Trachypithecus auratus sangiranensis,A New Fossil Monkey from Sangiran,Central Java,Indonesia

We describe a new extinct subspecies of the Javan lutung—Trachypithecus auratus sangiranensis—based on an isolated, tooth-bearing upper jaw. The specimen was in volcanic breccia situated between the Lower Pucangan and the Upper Kalibeng Formations 500 m south of the village of Sangiran, near Surakarta, central Java, Indonesia. The new fossil monkey bears morphological similarities to the two living species of leaf monkey from Java, Presbytis comata comata and Trachypithecus auratus auratus, and to the Middle Pleistocene form, Trachypithecus cristatus [=auratus] robustus, from Tegoean, central Java. It is significantly larger than any of these forms, and differs from them in details of dental anatomy. Because the greatest number of similarities are between the new fossil and Trachypithecus auratus subspecies, we designated the specimen as T. a. sangiranensis. The geochronological age of the breccia from which the fossil came, is 1.9± 0.05 Ma (million years), making T. a. sangiranensis one of the oldest fossil monkeys from eastern Asia.     

A new record of Thaumastobombus andreniformis Engel 2001 in Eocene amber (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

A new specimen of the rare fossil bee Thaumastobombus andreniformis Engel 2001 (Apidae: Apinae: Electrapini) is reported and figured from middle Eocene (Lutetian) Baltic amber. The new specimen, a female of the worker caste, agrees in every respect with the holotype except some morphometric differences. These minor size differences are likely related to the degree of sociality of T andreniformis.     

The first fossil record of mites of the family Pyemotidae (Acari: Heterostigmata), with description of a new species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyemotes</Emphasis> from Rovno amber

The first fossil mite of the family Pyemotidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) is recorded. Pyemotes primus sp. nov. is described from the Late Eocene of the Rovno amber from a syninclusion with the bark beetles Taphramites rovnoensis Petrov et Perkovsky, 2008. In the presence of well developed longitudinal striation on hysterosomal tergites, the new species is similar to species from scolyti group, which is characterized by parasitoidism on immature stages of bark beetles and phoresy on adult stages. P. primus differs from the closely related species P. dryas (Vitzthum, 1923), P. parviscolyti Cross et Moser, 1971, P. johnmoseri Khaustov, 2004, and P. mandelshtami Khaustov, 1998 in the subequal setae h ₁ and h ₂.     

SCIADOPITOPHYLLUM CANADENSE GEN. ET SP. NOV.: A NEW CONIFER FROM WESTERN ALBERTA

A new Sciadopitys-like conifer is described on the basis of compression fossils of shoots and leaves found at the Smokey Tower locality in western Alberta. The specimens consist of long, strap-like leaves attached in apparent whorls and subtended by groups of scale leaves. Other scale leaves are borne in loose spirals on the shoots between whorls. These specimens represent the first record of Sciadopitys-like foliage from western North America. Comparisons are made with extant and extinct species of the genus Sciadopitys (Siebold and Zuccarini, 1841) and with the widely distributed fossil genus Sciadopitytes (Goeppert and Menge, 1883).     

A new genus and species of darner dragonfl y (Aeshnidae: Odonata) from the lower Eocene of Laguna del Hunco,Patagonia, Argentina

A new genus of Aeshnidae, Huncoaeshna n. gen., based on Huncoaeshna corrugata n. gen., n. sp., is erected from Laguna del Hunco (Ypresian) in Patagonia Argentina. The specimen presents a special kind of preservation with the middle part of the wing wrinkled. The presence of only two fossil specimens of Aeshnidae in South America is surely due to the lack of paleontomologists and collections of fossil insects in the subcontinent.     

The most ancient bark beetle known: a new tribe,genus and species from Lebanese amber (Coleoptera,Curculionidae, Scolytinae)

Abstract Cylindrobrotus pectinatus gen. et sp.n. , a new scolytine species from Cretaceous Lebanese amber, is described. A new tribe, Cylindrobrotini trib.n. , is proposed for this unique species, which demonstrates an unusual combination of some archaic and many advanced characters. This finding suggests that the Scolytinae became a distinct lineage of Curculionoidea from the Lower Cretaceous. Fossil records are reviewed, and some remarks on the origin and taxonomic position of bark and ambrosia beetles are made. Some comments on the various phylogenetic interpretations of the last 30 years are given, particularly in respect of their correspondence with the fossil record. The early appearance of Scolytinae in the fossil record before other Curculionidae (which appeared in the Upper Cretaceous) can be used as evidence against the hypothesis of bark beetles as offspring of weevils. The question of the taxonomic rank of bark beetles (separate subfamily or family) and their placement among other groups of the superfamily remains unsolved.     

Hepatics from Rovno amber (Ukraine), 6. Frullania rovnoi,sp. nov.

A fossil species of the extant liverwort genus Frullania Raddi is described and illustrated, based on a single inclusion in a piece of Rovno amber (Ukraine) that shares its age with Late Eocene Baltic amber, its northern contemporary. Frullania rovnoi is characterised by leaves with a rounded dorsal lobe and the absence of ocelli. The ventral lobe is inflated and forms a saclike lobule, which is bell-shaped and somewhat constricted above the mouth. The bifid underleaves have several blunt teeth or angulations along the shoulder. The Rovno fossil differs sufficiently from morphologically similar species preserved in Baltic and Bitterfeld amber as to be described as new to science. The shape of the lobules and underleaves, as well as the absence of ocelli, indicate an affiliation to F. sect. Australes, hitherto represented in Eocene amber inclusions solely by F. schumannii (Casp.) Grolle. The Rovno fossil is distinguished from extant species of F. subg. Australes and from F. schumannii by having roughly and irregularly dentate-angulate underleaf margins.     

A stegosaur vertebra (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of Sarthe, western France

A dinosaur vertebra found in the course of road works in the “Chevain Marls” (marine Callovian) of the Vermont outlier, near the village of Béthon (Sarthe, Pays-de-la-Loire, western France) is described and referred to a stegosaur (cf. Lexovisaurus). It is the first record of a dinosaur in the Middle Jurassic of that area. The specimen was probably derived from the floating carcass of an animal that had lived on the emerged areas of the Armorican Massif, near which the Chevain Marls were deposited. This fossil is an addition to the short list of stegosaur remains reported from France.     

INTERCONNECTED REPRODUCTIVE AND VEGETATIVE REMAINS OF POPULUS (SALICACEAE) FROM THE MIDDLE EOCENE GREEN RIVER FORMATION,NORTHEASTERN UTAH

A new specimen from the Middle Eocene Evacuation Creek Member of the Green River Formation in northeastern Utah shows a twig with several leaves of Populus wilmattae Cockrell and a fruiting raceme attached. This specimen establishes for the first time the type of fruits borne by P. wilmattae and provides additional characters with which to assess its taxonomic and evolutionary status. An associated seed shows attached placental hairs like those of extant species of Populus. The Green River fossil differs from extant Populus species in having basically palmate leaf venation and in bearing its fruiting axis on a young twig. In other aspects, the fossil species is remarkably similar to the extant species Populus mexicana.