First description of axymyiid fossils (Insecta: Diptera: Axymyiidae)

Two species of fossil insects from the Daohugou Formation of Chifeng City in Nei Monggol Autonomous Region, northeastern China are described, and recognized as Psocites pectinatus (Hong, 1983) nov. emend., nov. transl. and P. fossilis nov. sp. They are the oldest representatives of the family Callovian or Axymyiidae, and first described of this family in the Mesozoic. Although early the age of the fly-bearing beds is controversial, it is probably Oxfordian or Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) rather than Early Cretaceous or Middle Jurassic.     

A new Permian gnetalean cone as fossil evidence for supporting current molecular phylogeny

• Background and aims The order Gnetales has been the central focus of controversy in seed plant phylogeny. Traditional treatment of morphology supports the anthophyte hypothesis with Gnetales sister to angiosperms but current molecular data reject this hypothesis. A new fossil gnetalean cone, Palaeognetaleana auspicia gen. et sp. nov., is reported from the Upper Permian in North China, and its phylogenic implications are considered.• Methods Samples of cones from the upper part of the Upper Permian redbeds of Baode section, northwestern Shanxi Province, China, were examined.• Key results The cone is characterized by its unusual nature of reproduction that combines features of post-Triassic gnetaleans and some of the Palaeozoic conifers. It is made up of a number of imbricate axillary units, each simply formed by an ovule and a subtending bract, which may be comparable with the axillary seed-scale complex of some of the Palaeozoic conifer cones. The cone exhibits at least a partially bisexual character that appears to have pollen sacs with monosulcate ribbed pollen grains and sessile, asymmetric, and radiospermic ovules. The ovule has an integument of three envelopes: an outer one of pointed scales; a middle sclerified one; and an inner cuticle that extends upward into a micropyle with an oblique tip.• Conclusions The new Permian cone has unequivocal affinity with the Gnetales. The fossil has considerably extended the divergence time of the Gnetales from 140 (210?) back to 270 myr ago and, therefore, provides the first significant fossil evidence to support the current conclusion based on molecular data of seed plants, i.e. monophyletic gymnosperms, comprising the Gnetales are closely related to conifers.Key words: Palaeognetaleana auspicia (gen. et sp. nov.), Gnetales, bisexual fossil cone, phylogeny of seed plants, radiation of gymnosperms, molecular data, Late Permian, North China     

Les premiers Anguilliformes : I. Révision des genres cénomaniens Anguillavus HAY, 1903 et Luenchelys nov. gen.

New specimens from Cenomanian outcrops of Lebanon permit redescribtion of the first eel-like fossil fishes. Anguillavus bathshebaeHay, 1903 becomes synonymous with the type species A. quadripinnisHay, 1903. A new fossil eel with pelvic fins, Anguillavus mazeni nov. sp., is furthermore proposed. In the same way, the revision of Luenchelys minimus nov. gen., nov. sp., reveals some morphological variations at the specific level and a widespread biogeographical repartition which potentially can be important. This whole anatomical revision is a necessary basis for integrating these fossils into the Anguilliformes (Teleostei, Elopomorpha) and gives an idea of the plesiomorphic structural pattern of the order, in which the modern forms are particularly specialised.     

New fossil genus and species of carrion beetle (Coleoptera,Silphidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Jinju Formation,South Korea

A new fossil genus of Silphidae, Cretosaja gen. nov., is described, based on a new fossil species, Cretosaja jinjuensis sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous Jinju Formation in South Korea. The association of Cretosaja with Nicrophorinae is discussed on the basis of morphological evidence. Diagnostic differences of the fossil and extant genera of Nicrophorinae are provided. Primitive characteristics presented in Mesozoic silphids are discussed.     

Pronemouridae fam. nov. (Insecta: Plecoptera), the stem group of nemouridae and notonemouridae,from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia,China

Abstract: A new family, Pronemouridae fam. nov., with a new genus, Pronemoura gen. nov., and five new species of fossil stoneflies are described from Daohugou village (Middle Jurassic), Inner Mongolia, China: P. shii sp. nov., P. angustithorax sp. nov., P. longialata sp. nov., P. minuta sp. nov. and P. peculiaris sp. nov. Wing venation of pronemourinids presents some or considerable variety in the fore and hind wings of the same or different individuals. Pronemourinidae, retaining plesiomorphic characters (short, multisegmented cerci and CuA with forks), should be treated as the stem group of Nemouridae and Notonemouridae. Based on fossil data, we propose a model in which the extant plecopterid distribution began in the Early Cretaceous. Nemouridae and Notonemouridae must have occurred in Asia and begun to migrate from here by at least the Early Cretaceous.     

Vitis seeds (Vitaceae) from the late Neogene Gray Fossil Site, northeastern Tennessee, U.S.A.

This study focuses on morphometric and systematic analyses of the fossil Vitis seeds, recovered from the Gray Fossil Site (7-4.5 Ma, latest Miocene-earliest Pliocene), northeastern Tennessee, U.S.A. A multivariate analysis based on eleven measured characters from 76 complete fossil seeds recognizes three morphotaxa. Further comparisons with both selected modern and fossil vitaceous specimens confirm that these morphotaxa represent three new species, viz. Vitis grayensis sp. nov., Vitis lanatoides sp. nov., and Vitis latisulcata sp. nov. Furthermore, the close resemblance of the first two fossil grapes (V.grayensis and V.lanatoides) with two East Asian Vitis species provides further support concerning a strong eastern Asian aspect of the Gray fossil biota in the late Neogene southeastern North America, as previously evidenced by both animals (e.g. Pristinailurus bristoli [red panda]) and other plants (e.g. Sinomenium and Sargentodoxa).     

New charophyte assemblage from middle Miocene lacustrine deposits of Moneva (Ebro Basin,Spain)

Two new fossil charophyte species from middle Miocene lacustrine deposits of Moneva (Ebro Basin, NE Spain) are described and illustrated. Sphaerochara miocenica nov. sp. is represented by medium sized gyrogonites with a characteristic spheroidal shape and ornamented with numerous small and regularly spaced tubercles arranged along the spiral cells. Several specimens show an unusual carbonate encrusted layer that covers completely or partially the gyrogonite. Psilochara monevaensis nov. sp. is characterized by large gyrogonites, with typical prolate shape and protruding apical poles. A second population of S. miocenica nov. sp. from a distant early upper Miocene lacustrine basin located in the Middle East (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon), identified in a previous study as Sphaerochara sp., is described and illustrated here, allowing the comparison of these distant populations. Ecologically, the associated fauna and facies from both localities suggest that these taxa grew in very shallow athalassic lakes. Interestingly, S. miocenica nov. sp. having a wide geographic distribution in peri-Mediterranean lakes with variable salinity, may become a fossil guide for the Miocene, providing at the same time important palaeoecological information.     

New species of Palaeobolbomyia Kovalev and Ussatchovia Kovalev (Diptera, Brachycera, Rhagionidae) from the Callovian-Oxfordian (Jurassic) Daohugou biota of China: Biostratigraphic and paleoecologic implications

Three new species of fossil snipe flies (Insecta, Diptera, Rhagionidae) from the Daohugou Formation of Chifeng City in Nei Monggol Autonomous Region (= Inner Mongolia), northeastern China are described as Palaeobolbomyia sinica nov. sp., Ussatchovia robusta nov. sp. and Ussatchovia gracilenta nov. sp. They represent the first records of the genera Palaeobolbomyia Kovalev and Ussatchovia Kovalev in China and have implications for stratigraphic correlation of the formations in which they are found. Although the precise age of the Daohugou Formation is currently unresolved, it is most likely Callovian-Oxfordian (latest Middle Jurassic-earliest Late Jurassic) rather than early Middle Jurassic (late Aalenian-early Bajocian) or Early Cretaceous.     

Two Flat-Backed Polydesmidan Millipedes from the Miocene Chiapas-Amber Lagerst?tte,Mexico

Two species of fossil polydesmidan millipedes (Diplopoda: Polydesmida) embedded in amber are described from Miocene strata near Simojovel, in the Chiapas Highlands, Mexico. Maatidesmus paachtun gen. et sp. nov., placed into Chelodesmidae Cook, 1895, and Anbarrhacus adamantis gen. et sp. nov., assigned in the family Platyrhacidae Pocock, 1895. Morphological data from fossil specimens have been recovered using 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography and regular to infrared-reflected microscopy. Both fossil species are recognizable as new primarily but not exclusively, by collum margin modification and remarkable paranotal and metatergite dorsal sculpture.     

Mesozoic Trachypachidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from China

Abstract: Four well‐preserved beetles, attributed to Eodromeinae within Trachypachidae, are described from the Mesozoic of Inner Mongolia, China. Eodromeus robustus sp. nov., E. daohugouensis sp. nov. and Unda chifengensis sp. nov. are from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou. The diagnostic characters for the two genera are revised, and all species of these genera are keyed. A new genus and species, Sinodromeus liutiaogouensis gen. nov., sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liutiaogou. The current fossil records of Trachypachidae from China are reviewed, and only five species (four described here) can be convincingly attributed to this family. The morphological disparity of Mesozoic Eodromeinae suggests that they evolved a broad spectrum of locomotory lifestyles.     

The first find of chrysomelids (Insecta: Coleopetra: Chrysomeloidea) from Callovian-Oxfordian Daohugou biota of China

Tarsomegamerus mesozoicus nov. gen., nov. sp., an almost complete specimen of leaf beetle from the Callovian-Oxfordian of Daohugou Formation in Inner Mongolia, China is described. Tarsomegamerus mesozoicus is assigned to the Protoscelinae (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera). This new leaf beetle represents the first record of chrysomeloids from Mesozoic of China and it extends the geographical distribution of Protoscelinae from central Asia into eastern Asia. This find provides new fossil material for studying the origin and evolution of Chrysomeloidea and by making a stratigraphic correlation of the correlative non-marine sedimentary rocks. Although the age of the Daohugou Formation is debatable it is most likely Callovian-Oxfordian (latest Middle Jurassic-earliest Late Jurassic) rather than early Middle Jurassic (late Aalenian-early Bajocian) or Early Cretaceous.     

Stukalinia, a new substitute generic name for fossil crinoid Lobocrinus Stukalina non Wachsmuth and Springer 1897 (Echinodermata: Crinoidea)

A new generic name, Stukalinia nom. nov., is proposed for a fossil Ordoviacian crinoid that currently has the preoccupied fossil generic name Lobocrinus Stukalina 1982 non Wachsmuth and Springer (1897), along with a new family name, Stukaliniidae nom. nov., instead of the illegitimate family name Lobocrinidae Stukalina (1982).     

Miocene bristlemouths (Teleostei: Stomiiformes: Gonostomatidae) from the Makrilia Formation,Ierapetra, Crete

Bristlemouths of the genus Cyclothone are currently regarded as the most abundant vertebrates on Earth. The fossil record seems to suggest that these fishes diversified during the Miocene in the Pacific Ocean, but there is no evidence of their presence in the Miocene of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean basin. A new bristlemouth, Cyclothone gaudanti sp. nov. (Teleostei, Stomiiformes, Gonostomatidae), is described herein based on 16 specimens from the Upper Miocene Makrilia Formation (late Tortonian of Crete, Greece). The small sized species is characterized by light pigmentation, 30–31 (14–15 + 15–16) vertebrae, dorsal fin with 10–13 rays, anal fin with 10–14 rays, premaxilla bearing seven closely spaced teeth, maxilla with 42–55 teeth, epipleurals, and autogenous parhypural. The presence of epipleurals appears to be unique of this Miocene species, and the re-establishment of this ancestral character state may be possibly interpreted as related to a phylogenetic character reversal. Morphological and paleoecological considerations suggest that this species possibly inhabited the upper mesopelagic layer, at depths ranging from 2–300 and 500 meters.     

Evidence for modular evolution in a long-tailed pterosaur with a pterodactyloid skull

The fossil record is a unique source of evidence for important evolutionary phenomena such as transitions between major clades. Frustratingly, relevant fossils are still comparatively rare, most transitions have yet to be documented in detail and the mechanisms that underpin such events, typified by rapid large scale changes and for which microevolutionary processes seem insufficient, are still unclear. A new pterosaur (Mesozoic flying reptile) from the Middle Jurassic of China, Darwinopterus modularis gen. et sp. nov., provides the first insights into a prominent, but poorly understood transition between basal, predominantly long-tailed pterosaurs and the more derived, exclusively short-tailed pterodactyloids. Darwinopterus exhibits a remarkable ‘modular’ combination of characters: the skull and neck are typically pterodactyloid, exhibiting numerous derived character states, while the remainder of the skeleton is almost completely plesiomorphic and identical to that of basal pterosaurs. This pattern supports the idea that modules, tightly integrated complexes of characters with discrete, semi-independent and temporally persistent histories, were the principal focus of natural selection and played a leading role in evolutionary transitions.     

Mesozoic leaf beetles of the tribe Mesolpinini trib. nov. (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from the Lower Cretaceous

This publication is based on recent studies of Lower Cretaceous leaf beetles from the Yixian Formation (Liaoning, China), which are represented by five new species of one new genus Mesolpinus gen. nov. (M. antenattus sp. nov. [type species], M. adapertilis sp. nov., M. angusticollis sp. nov., M. basicollis sp. nov., and M. trapezicollis sp. nov.) assigned to a new tribe, Mesolpinini trib. nov. of the subfamily Chrysomelinae. This tribe, which includes only species from the Jehol biota, is the oldest known group of the family in the fossil record. A key to species of the genus Mesolpinus gen. nov. is provided and the position of the new tribe is discussed. A brief overview of the Mesozoic data on the subfamily Chrysomeloidea is given.     

New Weevils (Coleoptera,Curculionoidea) from the Eocene of the Green River,United States: Part 1

New genera, Pseudochirotenon gen. nov. (with the type species P. eocaenicus sp. nov.), Archaeoheilus gen. nov. (type species A. scudderi sp. nov.), Primocentron gen. nov. (type species P. wickhami sp. nov.), and Pseudophaops gen. nov. (type species Otiorhynchus perditus Scudder, 1876), and new species, Pseudochirotenon eocaenicus sp. nov., Perapion rasnitsyni sp. nov., Archaeoheilus scudderi sp. nov., A. ovalis sp. nov., Primocentron wickhami sp. nov., and Eudiagogus vossi sp. nov., from the Early–Middle Eocene of the Green River are described. New combinations of names (Apionion evestigatum (Scudder, 1893), comb. nov., Archaeoheilus packardii (Scudder, 1893), comb. nov., A. provectus (Scudder, 1876), comb. nov., A. deleticius (Scudder, 1893), comb. nov., A. lacoei (Scudder, 1893), comb. nov., Pseudophaops perditus (Scudder, 1876), comb. nov.) are established. The first fossil records of the tribe Ecelonerini from the New World and genus Perapion from the Green River Formation are provided.     

Five new species of Stenothemus Bourgeois from Guangxi,China (Coleoptera,Cantharidae)

Five new species of Stenothemus Bourgeois, 1907 from Guangxi, China are described, S. normalis sp. nov., S. flavicans sp. nov., S. nigripennis sp. nov., S. elongaticeps sp. nov. and S. maculaticollis sp. nov.. They are illustrated with habitus photos and aedeagi of males, also abdominal sternites VIII and internal genitalia of females. A key for the identification of the above species is provided.     

Late Cretaceous Arman Flora of the Magadan District: Composition, age, and new plant species

The Arman Flora comes from volcanic-sedimentary deposits of the Arman Formation in the Arman River basin and from volcanic and volcanic-sedimentary rocks of the Nel??kandzha-Khasyn Interfluve. It comprises about 80 fossil plant species. The Arman Flora is dated as Turonian and Coniacian because of its similarity to the reliably dated Penzhina and Kaivayam floras of the northwestern Kamchatka Peninsula and Tylpegyrgynai Flora of the Pekul??nei Ridge. This is corroborated by isotopic (U-Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar) age determination for the plant-bearing layers. New conifer and angiosperm species of the Arman Flora are described: Pagiophyllum parvum sp. nov., Araliaephyllum armanensis sp. nov., Terechovia philippovae sp. nov., and Parvileguminophyllum samylinae sp. nov.