Two new species of Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae: sect. Saccanthera) from Nevada, U.S.A.

Two Nevada species are described here for the first time: Penstemon tiehmii N. H. Holmgren, which is endemic to Mount Lewis of the Shoshone Range in Lander County; and Penstemon rhizomatosus N. H. Holmgren, which is endemic to the central Schell Creek Range in White Pine County. They both belong to section Saccanthera and are closely related to P. kingii S. Watson, a Great Basin endemic of valley sagebrush habitats. Both new species are talus plants of higher elevations and differ from P. kingii principally in their rhizomatous habit, petiolate leaves, and pubescence of shorter hairs.     

Lapworthellids and other skeletonised microfossils from the Cambrian Stage 3 of the northern Montagne Noire,southern France

The Montagne Noire (southern France) possesses one of the most complete Cambrian successions in the western peri-Gondwana margin and might provide a good stratigraphic reference for both regional charts and international correlations. However, to date, the lower Cambrian succession of the northern Montagne Noire has been supposed to be devoid of biostratigraphically significant fossils. The complex tectonostratigraphic framework of the area (a range divided into Axial Zone, northern and southern Montagne Noire) exacerbated problems related to regional correlations and palaeogeographic reconstructions. As a result, the chronostratigraphic context of the lower Cambrian of northern Montagne Noire is still uncertain and stratigraphic reports have broadly relied on putative lithostratigraphic correlations with the southern Montagne Noire. The purpose of this study is to characterise, for the first time, the fossil record of carbonate beds and lenses of the northern Montagne Noire occurring at the top of the siliciclastic-dominated Marcory Formation, in order to provide regional bio- and chronostratigraphic constraints on lower Cambrian strata. Moreover, this study is aimed at improving international chronostratigraphic correlation. Carbonate beds and lenses cropping out along the Orque Cliff, in the Mélagues thrust slice, were investigated. They yielded a faunal assemblage constituted of molluscs (Igorella cf. ungulata and Igorella moncereti n. sp.), hyoliths (Conotheca brevica), chancelloriids (Archiasterella cf. pentactina and Allonnia sp.) and tommotiids (Lapworthella rete). L. rete is recorded in upper Meishucunian (Cambrian Stage 3) strata of the Yangtze Platform (South China) where it is used as index fossil of the Cambrian Stage 3 Sinosachites flabelliformis–Tannuolina zhangwentangi Assemblage Zone. Therefore, the presence of this tommotiid provides evidence that the studied carbonate beds and lenses are Cambrian Age 3 (Atdabanian according to the Siberian chart). The upper part of the Marcory Formation in the Mélagues slice, dated as Cambrian Stage 3, might represent a lateral equivalent of the mixed (carbonate-siliciclastic) Pardailhan Formation defined in the southern Montagne Noire.     

Flora of the Kazanian–Urzhumian boundary in the middle Permian of the Russian Platform

Rich fossil plant localities in the upper Guadalupian and the lowermost Lopingian of the Russian Platform are confined to several discrete “levels” or “horizons” divided by intervals that are almost devoid of plant remains. One such “horizon” is located at the boundary between the Upper Kazanian and the Urzhumian of the regional stratigraphic scale. Numerous localities of this level can be grouped into two geographical clusters, the northern one being confined to the Kama River Basin, and the southern one to the Orenburg Region and Southern Bashkortostan. Regarding the southern localities, three floras that are seemingly successive in time can be distinguished. Against a common background of articulates (Paracalamites and Equisetites), the lowermost flora is characterized by the dominance of leaves of Rufloria (Cordaitanthales) with very rare conifers. Conifers (Quadrocladus, Sashinia, Dvinostrobus) and leaves of Phylladoderma (Peltaspermales) are the most abundant elements of the middle assemblage, whereas Rufloria leaves are very seldom found together with the peltasperm Ginkgophyllum and the conifer-like Steirophyllum. The uppermost flora is dominated by Odontopteridium and Ustyugia, two closely related genera of peltasperms, whereas cordaitaleans are totally absent. Comparison with the northern localities, which can be linked to the type sections of the Upper Kazanian and the Urzhumian, enables the dating of these assemblages in terms of the regional stratigraphic scale. All three floras prove to be confined to the uppermost Kazanian, and only the youngest one could also occur in the lowermost Urzhumian. As the stratigraphic ranges of all observed plant taxa exceed the total stratigraphic interval under study, the sequence of the floras seems to be caused by ecological (most likely climatic) factors rather than the actual evolution of plants. In particular, the observed gradual elimination of cordaitaleans confirms the general view on the extinction of this group on the Russian Platform. The southwestern boundary of the occurrence of cordaitaleans on the Russian Platform stretched from the southwest to the northeast, approximately parallel to the palaeolatitudes reconstructed on the basis of palaeomagnetic data. During the Guadalupian it moved to the northeast, which is to the north considering the position of the North Pole of that time. Cordaitaleans were the main peat-forming plants in the Late Palaeozoic of northern Pangea (in the Kuznetsk, Tunguska and Pechora Basins). So their retreat to the north was most likely a consequence and a reflection of the warming and drying of the climate.     

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.     

Two new species of Potentilla (Rosaceae) from the Intermountain Region of western U.S.A.

Two new species ofPotentilla from the Intermountain West (U.S.A.) are described and illustrated here for the first time.Potentilla cottamii is known only from the higher quartzite slopes of the Pilot Range and the Raft River Mountains of western Box Elder Co., Utah and adjacent Elko Co., Nevada in the Great Basin. It most closely resemblesP. hyparctica, P. robbinsiana, andP. frigida, which may be its closest living relatives.Potentilla angelliae is known only from one collection from a subalpine meadow on Boulder Mountain of the Aquarius Plateau in southern Utah. It most closely resemblesP. crinita, P. subjuga, andP. bicrenata, the first of which is considered to be its closest relative.     

Vertebrate assemblages from the north‐central Main Karoo Basin,South Africa,and their implications for mid‐Permian biogeography

The rich fossil vertebrate record from the Beaufort Group, Main Karoo Basin, provides a global standard for mid‐Permian to Mid‐Triassic continental faunas. However, recent studies have demonstrated variability in the composition of contemporaneous faunas across Gondwana. This raises the question of how much the vertebrate faunas differ within the Karoo, where the taxonomic composition of vertebrate assemblage zones (AZs) is mostly considered to be uniform. Although fossil material is known from across the outcrop of the Beaufort Group, the lowest Beaufort strata have received little attention, particularly north of S31°10′. Here, we report two fossil tetrapod assemblages from the lowest Beaufort Group in the southern Free State Province, which represent the northernmost point at which the lowest Beaufort has been targeted for collecting. The lower assemblage is characterized by an abundance of the small dicynodont Eosimops and can thus be attributed to the Tapinocephalus AZ (Guadalupian), but the absence of dinocephalian or pareiasaurian material is unlike contemporaneous assemblages found further south. This suggests that the Tapinocephalus AZ was not uniform across the entire basin and highlights that the abundance, distribution and taxonomic composition of Karoo biozones may vary more than currently appreciated. The upper assemblage, characterized by the dicynodonts Oudenodon, Aulacephalodon and Dinanomodon, is attributable to the upper Cistecephalus AZ to lower Daptocephalus AZ. The juxtaposition of the lower Tapinocephalus AZ and upper Cistecephalus\lower Daptocephalus AZ in the southern Free State implies a stratigraphic gap from the Middle to Late Permian of up to 6 million years.     

Phylogeography of Coreoperca whiteheadi (Perciformes: Coreoperca) in China based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences

The phylogeography of Coreoperca whiteheadi was studied using sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene and first intron of the S7 ribosomal protein gene. The reciprocal monophyly mitochondrial cytb and nuclear sequences strongly suggest that C. whiteheadi has significantly reduced gene flow between populations and may be in the process of speciation. Phylogenetic analysis revealed phylogeographical structuring into two major clades (highly supported by bootstrap analysis) corresponding to the two regions divided by Nanling-Wuyi Mountain Range. Subsequent nested clade analysis confirmed this structure. The results suggest that Nanling-Wuyi Mountain Range represents a major phylogeographic barrier for C. whiteheadi. Six evolutionarily significant units of C. whiteheadi were designated from the genetic analysis for conservation and management.     

A revision of the salvia dorrii complex (Lamiaceae)

Expressions of theSalvia dorrii (Kellogg) Abrams complex, a member of subg.Audibertia Benth., are distributed over much of the western United States. The complex consists of two species,S. dorrii andS. pachyphylla Epling ex Munz.Salvia dorrii is divided into subsp.dorrii and subsp.mearnsii (Britton) McClintock, the latter endemic to central Arizona. Subspeciesdorrii is composed of four varieties: var.carnosa (Douglas ex Greene) Cronq., a large-leaved erect shrub of Washington and Idaho southward through Oregon into extreme north-central California: var.dorrii, a small-leaved erect shrub of southern Oregon and Idaho southward through the Great Basin of Nevada and western Utah to southeastern California and northern Arizona: var.pilosa (A. Gray) Strachan & Reveal, a small-leaved erect shrub differing from var.dorrii by pilose bracts and calyx, in southern California and western Arizona with disjunct populations in the Lahontan Basin of northwestern Nevada and northestern California; and var.clokeyi Strachan, var. nov., a low mat-forming subshrub of the high mountains of Clark Co., Nevada.Salvia pachyphylla ranges from southern California southward to the high mountains of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and eastward across extreme southern Nevada to (as a disjunct) northeastern Arizona. Each entity is described in detail, mapped and illustrated.     

The Grass Valley Horse

Abstract

The head and part of the neck of a baked clay horse figurine from an archaeological site in Lander County is described. It suggested the presence of the Grass Valley horse in Central Nevada reaffirms the strong cultural ties between the PlateauShoshone and the buffalo hunting; horse-nomad Shoshone of the Western Plains, ties already indicated by Shoshone pottery and other plains type artifacts indigenous to the area.     

Age constraints of the Hungshihyen Formation (Early to Middle Ordovician) on the western margin of the Yangtze Platform,South China: New insights from chitinozoans

The Hungshihyen Formation represents the Lower to Middle Ordovician near-shore siliciclastic deposits on the western margin of the Yangtze Platform, South China. However, its age is still debated, largely because of insufficient studies. Here we documented the Bursachitina maotaiensis–B. qianbeiensis chitinozoan assemblage from the lower part of the Hungshihyen Formation at Songliang, Qiaojia County, eastern Yunnan Province. This assemblage is remarkably similar to an assemblage that roughly correlates to the middle part of the Corymobograptus deflexus graptolite Biozone in northern Guizhou Province, indicating that the Hungshihyen Formation at Songliang is probably of late Floian age and may extend into the early Dapingian. Additionally, a revision on the chitinozoans previously documented from the strata assigned to the same formation in the Wuding area was made according to the latest classification. The revision allows the recognition of the Euconochitina symmetrica–Eremochitina brevis assemblage, and therefore suggests a late Tremadocian age for this interval based on regional and global chitinozoan biostratigraphic correlations. Considering also its lithologic succession, we argue that the chitinozoan-bearing strata in the Wuding area previously assigned to the Hungshihyen Formation correspond most likely to the uppermost part of the underlying Tangchi Formation or the lowermost part of the Hungshihyen Formation. The base of the Hungshihyen Formation appears therefore to be diachronous in eastern Yunnan Province.     

A new variety of Draba pedicellata and a lectotype for D. cusickii (Brassicaceae)

A closely related group of Great Basin endemic dradas,Draba cusickii O. E. Schulz,D. sphaeroides Payson, andD. pedicellata (Rollins & R. A. Price) Windham, are described, keyed, and discussed in order to putD. pedicellata var.wheelerensis N. H. Holmgren, var. nov. in perspective.Draba cusickii is endemic to Steens Mountain of southeastern Oregon, andD. sphaeroides is known only from three mountain ranges in Elko County, Nevada, whereasD. pedicellata is more widespread in mountain ranges of eastern Nevada in Elko, Eureka, Nye, and White Pine counties.Draba pedicellata var.pedicellata occupies most of the range of the species, with var.wheelerensis being restricted to the Snake Range, just to the east of the range of the typical variety.     

Sampling affects the detection of genetic subdivision and conservation implications for fisher in the Sierra Nevada

The small population of fisher (Pekania pennanti) in the southern Sierra Nevada is completely geographically and genetically isolated putting it at increased risk of extinction. Previous research using a clustered sampling scheme found a high amount of genetic subdivision within the southern Sierra Nevada population hypothesized to be caused by the Kings River Canyon. In this study, we use a larger and more geographically continuous set of genetic samples (n = 127) than was previously available to test this hypothesis and evaluate the genetic structure of the population. Both spatial and non-spatial population assignment models found three primary genetic clusters with moderate divergence between the clusters (F _ST = 0.05–0.13) at 10 microsatellite loci. These clusters appear to be associated with areas around the Kings River and Mountain Home State Demonstration Forest. One model also detected additional fine scale subdivision north of the Kings River that may be evidence of founder effects from a recent population expansion. The amount of population subdivision detected in this study is lower than previously found and indicates that while certain landscape features may reduce gene flow, these landscape features may be less of a barrier than initially thought. In the previous work, samples were collected in clusters which can inflate estimates of population structure by increasing the likelihood of oversampling related individuals. This study demonstrates how clustered sampling from a continuously distributed population can affect the assessment of population subdivision and influence conservation implications.     

Mammalian biochronology of the Paleogene-Neogene boundary at Aktau Mountain, eastern Kazakhstan

At Aktau Mountain in the Ili depression of eastern Kazakstan, fossil mammals that encompass the Paleogene-Neogene boundary occur at three stratigraphic levels. The lowest level is in the lower Kyzylbulak Formation and produces Brontotheriidae and the hyracodontidArdynia and is tentatively assigned a late Eocene (Ergilian) age. The lower part of the overlying Aktau Formation produces fossils of the giant rhinocerosParaceratherium and is tentatively assigned a late Oligocene (Tabenbulukian) age. The upper part of the Aktau Formation yields a fossil mammal assemblage that includesGomphotherium,Stephanocemas, Brachypotherium andLagomeryx. It is clearly of Miocene age, probably late early Miocene (late Burdigalian), a correlative of European Reference Level MN 5 and the late Shanwangian of China. The Paleogene-Neogene boundary at Aktau Mountain thus is in the Aktau Formation.     

黔西水城晚二叠世长兴期钙藻和有孔虫及其古环境意义

在黔西水城地区的K576井长兴组共鉴定钙藻3属3种,包括Gymnocodium bellerophontis、Permocalculus sp.和Tauridiumkurdistanensis;有孔虫8属10种,其中(虫筳)类2属2种,有孔虫动物群主要由Reichelinasp.indet.、Nankinella sp.、Pachyphloia schwageri、Pachyphloia sp.、Geinitzina sp.、Nestellorella sp. indet.、Howchinella sp.、Hemigordius aff. saranensis、Hemigordius sp.和Midiella sp. indet.组成。将本井按照生物特征分为有孔虫-钙藻-介形虫组合、有孔虫-腕足类-介形虫组合、介形虫-双壳类-腹足类组合、有孔虫-钙藻-双壳类组合、有孔虫-腕足类-介形虫组合、有孔虫-钙藻-双壳类组合和介形虫组合等7个组合。按照层序地层划分、垂向沉积序列特征和测井资料的分析,有孔虫-钙藻-介形虫组合(SQ3-3)和有孔虫-腕足类-介形虫组合(SQ3-4)时期地层为三角洲前...     

Palaeobiogeographic distribution patterns and processes of Neochonetes and Fusichonetes (Brachiopoda) in the late Palaeozoic and earliest Mesozoic

The global palaeobiogeographic distributions of two resembling genera, Neochonetes and Fusichonetes (Brachiopoda), from the Carboniferous to Griesbachian are analysed. This analysis provides insight into the biotic response of two related genera to changing palaeoclimate, regional tectonics, and environmental crises. Neochonetes originated in the equatorial area in the Mississippian, and it mostly retained this position during the peak of the glaciation in the Carboniferous–Permian ice age (namely in the Pennsylvanian). Neochonetes then dispersed globally during the Cisuralian when the climate became warmer and the ice sheet started to retreat. In the Guadalupian and Lopingian, following the closure of the Ural seaway at the end of the Cisuralian and the regression at the end-Guadalupian, Neochonetes almost disappeared in the western part of Gondwana. Subsequently during the Lopingian the genus retracted to the middle- and low-latitude Palaeo-Tethys and Tethys. In comparison, Fusichonetes originated in the equatorial area in the late Guadalupian and was still present in that area in the Lopingian. Both genera occurred only in South China in the Griesbachian. It is inferred that this could be related, not only to the deteriorated palaeoenvironmental conditions (e.g., anoxia, global warming) leading up to the extinction of most of the Neochonetes and Fusichonetes species in other areas, but also to the better physiological adaptation of the smaller shells of Neochonetes and Fusichonetes species in South China.     

Diverse radial symmetry among the Cambrian Fortunian fossil embryos from northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi provinces,South China

The Cambrian Fortunian fossil embryos exhibit embryonic development of ancient animals and hence have important bearings on evolutionary developmental biology. They have radial symmetry, and may be early representatives of cnidarians. Here we report new material of three-dimensionally phosphatized fossil embryos from the Fortunian Kuanchuanpu Formation and coeval strata in northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi provinces, South China. The new material includes previously reported fossil embryos assignable to Pseudooides prima with biradial symmetry or pseudo-hexaradial symmetry, Quadrapyrgites quadratacris with tetraradial symmetry, and Olivooides multisulcatus with pentaradial symmetry. Additionally, we recovered two new types of fossil embryos, i.e., Embryo I with hexaradial symmetry and Embryo II with octaradial symmetry, and they are tentatively suggested to represent new cnidarians. In contrast to the diverse radial symmetry of the Fortunian cnidarians, modern cnidarians exhibit stable tetraradial symmetry in medusozoans, biradial symmetry in anthozoans, and bilateral symmetry in siphonophores (Hydrozoa). The current study supports the view that the tetraradial symmetry of modern medusozoans is a surviving remnant of their Fortunian relatives.     

Lower Ovetian (Lower Cambrian) trilobites and biostratigraphy of the Pedroche Formation (Sierra de Córdoba, southern Spain)

The low Lower Cambrian rocks from the Sierra de Córdoba, which consist of well exposed mixed facies and abundant fossil assemblages showing long stratigraphic ranges throughout the Pedroche Formation, represent one of the best successions of this age in Europe. The fossil assemblages include diverse Ovetian archaeocyaths, trilobites, small shelly fossils, calcimicrobia, trace fossils and stromatolites. Trilobites are still poorly known, and thus they are the main objective of this work. The trilobites studied originate from three sections. At the Arroyo de Pedroche 1 section, cf. Bigotinella and Bigotinabivallata are replaced towards the top by Lemdadellalinaresae, Lemdadellaperejoni sp. nov. and, finally, by Eoredlichia cf. ovetensis. At the Arroyo de Pedroche 2 section, Lemdadellalinaresae is replaced by Lemdadellaperejoni sp. nov. and Eoredlichia cf. ovetensis, while at the Puente de Hierro section Lemdadellalinaresae, L. aff. linaresae and Serraniaverae occur together. These new biostratigraphic data confirm that the Pedroche Formation, originally defined as a repetitive sequence of four members, contains only two members. The new trilobite discoveries permit the first tentative correlation between the Ovetian of southern Spain and Lower Cambrian strata from the High Atlas (Morocco), Siberia, Antarctica and Carteret (France).