ISOLATED GRAPTOLITES FROM THE TELYCHIAN (UPPER LLANDOVERY, SILURIAN) OF LATVIA AND ESTONIA

Abstract:  Isolated material of 21 graptolite species from the upper Telychian of Latvia and Estonia is described. New thecal structures are recognized in Streptograptus , for example enrolment of the disto-lateral margin of the flange in distal S. nodifer thecae, possession of proximal lobes in S. wimani and elongated proximal lobes in S. sp. 3. S. spp. 1 and 2 both possess a nozzle, but do not have coiled metathecae. Thecal asymmetry in Oktavites falx is shown to be the reverse of that in O. spiralis . Several new Streptograptus and Monoclimacis species remain to be described. The absence of many of the taxa described herein from Silurian equatorial regions strengthens the case for a distinct equatorial graptolite province.     

A new probable stem lineage crustacean with three-dimensionally preserved soft parts from the Herefordshire (Silurian) Lagerstätte, UK

A new arthropod with three-dimensionally preserved soft parts, Tanazios dokeron, is described from the Wenlock Series (Silurian) of Herefordshire, England, UK. Serial grinding, digital photographic and computer rendering techniques yielded 'virtual fossils' in the round for study. The body tagmata of T. dokeron comprise a head shield and a long trunk. The head shield bears six pairs of horn-like spines and the head bears five pairs of appendages. The antennule, antenna and mandible are all uniramous, and the mandible includes a gnathobasic coxa. Appendages four and five are biramous and similar to those of the trunk: each comprises a limb base with an endite, an enditic membrane, and two epipodites, plus an endopod and exopod. The hypostome bears a large cone-like projection centrally, and there may be a short labrum. The trunk has some 64 segments and at least 60 appendage pairs. A very small telson has the anus sited ventrally in its posterior part and also bears a caudal furca. Comparative morphological and cladistic analyses of T. dokeron indicate a crustacean affinity, with a probable position in the eucrustacean stem group. As such the epipodites in T. dokeron are the first recorded in a eucrustacean stem taxon. The new species is interpreted as a benthic or nektobenthic scavenger.     

Anatomy and Morphology of Pinnatiramosus,a New Plant from the Middle Silurian (Wenlockian) of China

A new genus and species Pinnatiramosus qianensis is described from the Xiushan Formation of Middle Silurian (Wenlockian)in the north of Guizhou, China. This plant consists of a prostrate axis and erect pinnate branching system. Conductin gbundle is comprised of tubular cells with scalariform or alternate simple pits. Pinnatiramosus gen. nov. Diagnosis: Plant cylindrical, differentiated into erect branches and prostrate axes; erect branches much branched, consisting of regular or irregular pinnate lateral branches; laterals opposite or alternate, with basal parts constricted and acute or blunt apices. Conducting bundle comprised of longitudinally aligned tubes with secondary thickening. Reproductive structures nor seen. Derivation of name: Pinnatus (Latin)=pinnate and ramosus (Latin)=ramose, referred to the external morphology of the plant. Pinnatiramosus qianensis sp. nov. Diagnosis: Characters described as the genus. Prostrate axes at least 400 mm in length and 3–6 mm in diameter, produced erect longer branches and downward shorter branches; erect branches up to 200 mm long and vary from 1.0 to 2.5mm in diameter, branched at least six orders, with lateral branches unequally developed, long laterals scattered among short ones; lateral branches oppositely or alternately arranged on main axis, 1–3 mm: apart; ultimate bran- ches 0.4–0.8 mm in diameter, with acute or blunt apex; borne at angles of 40–70˚ with main axis. Conducting bundle ca. 1/4 of the axis diameter, composed of tubular elements with secondary thickening; tubes range from 15–54μm in diameter, with blunt end wall; secondary wall averages 4.86 μm in thickness, ranging 2.5–6.6 μm, with scalariform and alternate pits. Derivation of name: Qian is the abbreviation for Guizhou province from where the plants are found. In this paper, is made the comparison of this new plant with fossil and living algae as well as early vascular plants on the basis of its external morphology and internal structure According to the comparison, Pinnatiramosus belongs to one of specialized plants with tracheophyte- like conducting tissue. Some interesting opinions are here provided as follows: (i) Silurian is, an important age of plant evolution. During this period certainly coexist not only various algae and undoubted vascular plants but also a group of interesting plants that were just immigrating from aquatic to terrestrial environments. (ii) The transmigration of algae from water to land occurred along several different evolutionary lines. Accompanying changes of these algae on morphology and anatomy were adapted to terrestrial environments. (iii) Pinnatiramosus represents a group of new plants with remarkably nontracheophyte morphology but tracheophyte- like anatomy. (iv) The tracheid-like tubes, macerated out of Silurian rocks, derived more probably from non-vascular plants such as Pinnatiramosus, Prototaxitesor Nematothallus than from vascular plants.     

黔北晚奥陶世和早志留世四射珊瑚新资料

报道黔北早志留志中期（Middle Llandovery)地层中新发现的四射珊瑚7属--Cantrillia,Neocantrillia,Prototryplasma,Pycnostylus,Dalmanophyllum?.Rhegmaphyllum,Schlotheimophyllum,并描述产自黔东北石阡奥陶纪末期（Late Ashgill)观音桥层四射珊瑚2种--Grewingkia cf.bilateralis Neuman,Brachyelasma cf.medioseptatum(Neuman)及晚奥陶世（Early Ashgill期）涧草沟组中首次发现的四射珊瑚Crassilasma sp.。全文共描述四射珊瑚13属18种,其中6新种,它们是Crassilasma fenggangense sp.nov.,C.crebrumseptatum sp.nov.,Dinophyllum insolitum sp.nov.,Neocantrillia silurica sp.nov.,Prototryplasma guizhouense sp.nov.,Schlotheimophyllum regeneranum sp.nov.。     

四川广元晚志留世植物碎片

本文初步研究了产自四川广元晚志留世地层中植物碎片,共分为三个类型。TypeI 具有叶状体,表面具有孔,叶状体上着生有具有中间加厚带的枝。Type Ⅱ的枝表面具有刺。Type Ⅲ的枝二歧分叉三次。通过研究认为,Type I与苔藓类植物可以对比,具有一定的相似性,可能生活在比较干燥的环境中。Type Ⅱ的母体植物可能生活在具有食草动物的环境中。     

Late Ordovician–Early Silurian facies development and environmental changes in the Subpolar Urals

The continuous Upper Ashgill–Sheinwoodian carbonate succession in the most eastern Kozhym River area in the Subpolar Urals comprises the Yaptikshor (Rawtheyan), Kamennaya baba (Hirnantian), Ruchej and Manyuku (Llandovery–?Sheinwoodian) formations. The facies of the deep subtidal Yaptikshor Fm. mark an abrupt sea‐level rise following emergence of the Bad’ya reef (Rawtheyan). Carbonate breccias at the base of the Kamennaya baba Fm. correlate with the beginning of the Hirnantian glaciation and change upwards towards the Ordovician–Silurian boundary with the development of light‐grey massive boundstone/packstone shoal deposits. An abrupt change in facies to the Rhuddanian–Aeronian Ruchej Fm. continental slope environment marked the start of a long‐term sea‐level rise. The uppermost Aeronian–?Sheinwoodian is represented by submarine canyon carbonate conglobreccias of the Manyuku Fm. unconformably underlying the Balban’yu reef. The rapid facies changes at the base of the Hirnantian and at the Ordovician–Silurian boundary were of global eustatic origin. In contrast, the abrupt changes in the Rawtheyan and the formation of the Manyuku Fm. conglobreccias were of local or regional origin associated with tectonics. They were followed by the start of a regional transgression (Yaptikshor Fm.) and a global transgression marked by the initiation of the Balban’yu Reef in the Sheinwoodian.     

Silurian bolbozoids and cypridinids (Myodocopa) from Europe: pioneer pelagic ostracods

Abstract: Bolbozoid and cypridinid myodocope ostracods from France, the Czech Republic and Sardinia consist of four genera (one new: Silurocypridina) and at least ten species (eight new: Bolbozoe acuta, B. rugosa, B. parvafraga, Parabolbozoe armoricana, Silurocypridina retroreticulata, S. variostriata, S. calva and Calocaria robusta). They have a functional design, palaeogeographical distribution, depositional setting and faunal associates that suggest that they were swimmers in the water column, living in dim light, relatively deep environments, above near bottom dysoxic/anoxic conditions. These myodocope faunas include some possible pelagic species sensu stricto, with widespread palaeogeographical (transoceanic) distribution, and some species that occupied hyperbenthic niches and were capable of making short incursions to the sediment to scavenge on carrion. These data support the model that Silurian myodocopes were pioneer pelagic ostracods.     

西昆仑地区志留系温泉沟群的疑源类和几丁虫

西昆仑地区处于中亚腹地的高寒缺氧地带,区域地质研究程度较低。下志留统温泉沟群中-下部轻变质的碎屑岩中一直未发现可靠的化石证据。最近,在温泉沟地区志留纪地层中发现较丰富的Leiosphaeridia,Flo-risphaeridium,Conochitina,Ancyrochitina,Desmochitina,Eisenackitina,Rhabdochitina,Cyathochitina,Lag-enochitina和?Eremochitina属等疑源类和几丁虫化石分子,为温泉沟群中-下部轻变质碎屑岩的时代确定提供了重要的微体化石方面依据。     

Ordovician and Silurian coralline red algae

Solenopora gotlandica Rothpletz, hitherto placed in the Solenoporaceae Pia, is locally common in the mid-Silurian of Gotland and Wales. It possesses small cells, radial monomerous thallus organization, trichocytes, and sporangia arranged in irregular sori. Solenopora gotlandica is not congeneric with S. spongioides , the type species of Solenopora. It closely resembles the extant coralline red alga Sporolithon Heydrich. S. gotlandica is here transferred to Craticula gen. nov., and Craticula is placed in the Craticulaceae fam. nov., which morphologically closely resembles the Mesozoic-Cenozoic family Sporolithaceae. The Craticulaceae is placed in the extant rhodophyte order Corallinales. Middle-Late Ordovician Petrophyton kiaeri Høeg resembles Late Ordovician Solenopora richmondense Blackwell et al. , which has sporangia in calcified compartments arranged in sori. These fossils may be craticulaceans. The apparent gap in the fossil record between Silurian Craticula and Cretaceous Sporolithon favours separation of these genera at family level. However, future work may demonstrate that the Craticulaceae is a junior synonym of the Sporolithaceae. Recognition of the Craticulaceae extends the earliest record of the Corallinales from Cretaceous to Silurian, and possibly Ordovician.     

First documentation of Llandovery (Silurian) conodont genus Astropentagnathus in China (Langao,Shaanxi Province) and the age of Baiyaya Formation

Age of the Baiyaya Formation in the Ziyang-Langao region of Shaanxi Province remains debatable. Ten samples were taken for conodont biostratigraphical studies from the Tianwancun section. The first discovery of Astropentagnathus in China indicates that the genus has a wider geographical distribution than previously known. Conodont fauna from the Baiyaya Formation suggests that the lower part of the unit corresponds to the Pterospathodus eopennatus Superbiozone, and its upper part to the lower Wenlock (probably mainly to the Kockelella ranuliformis Superbiozone). Diachroneity of the Baiyaya Formation in the region is confirmed by conodont studies from the Tianwancun and Qiaoxi sections. Further studies are required to find out age-variation of the formation more precisely.