Lower and Middle Devonian Malvinokaffric ostracods from the Precordillera Basin of San Juan,Argentina

Ostracod from the upper Lower to Middle Devonian rocks of the Argentine Precordillera Basin (Talacasto and Punta Negra formations) are studied. One new genus Pircawayra nov. gen., and five species (including three new: Pircawayra gigantea nov. gen. and sp., Lapazites trinodis nov. sp. and Keslingiella? teresae nov. sp.) are defined. The recorded ostracod fauna closely resembles that coeval from Bolivia and South Africa, exhibiting a remarkable endemism, not only at the genus level, but also at the species level. In addition to its low-diversity, the Malvinokaffric ostracod association is also characterized by having large, thick, coarsely ornamented and swollen valves. The similar ostracod composition from the Andean and South African basins suggests faunal exchange between these two areas. Based on the ostracod faunas, the Malvinokaffric Realm is clearly recognizable at least up to the Middle Devonian.     

Ammonites and infrazonal subdivision of the Dorsoplanites panderi zone (Volgian Stage, Upper Jurassic) of the European part of Russia

Eight biohorizons, four of which were previously distinguished in Central Poland and four new (contradictionis, pommerania, kuteki, and pilicensis), were identified in the Dorsoplanites panderi zone of the Upper Jurassic Middle Volgian Substage of the European part of Russia on the basis of the succession of ammonites of the Zaraiskites genus. The peculiarities of variations of the ammonite complexes in space and time testify to the stepwise warming during the Panderi Chron and the occurrence of the significant latitudinal temperature gradient in the Middle Russian Sea. New species Zaraiskites kuteki is described.     

Zonal correlation and boundaries of the lower Carnian Substage in Northeastern Asia

The stratigraphic distribution of ammonoids was analyzed in the Daxatina canadensis Subzone of the Trachyceras Zone distinguished in the Dolomites of Italy. It was established that ammonoids of the Daxatina and Trachyceras genera are confined to the lower and upper parts of the canadensis Subzone in the Stuores-Wiesen section, which was suggested as a global stratigraphic section of the lower boundary of the Carnian Stage. Owing to discreteness of the ammonoid complex and absence of the Trachyceras genus, the lower part of the canadensis Subzone was excluded from the Trachyceras generic zone and is considered as the independent Daxatina canadensis Zone, which overlies the Frankites regoledanus Zone. On the basis of the principle of priority and similar ammonoids of the canadensis and regoledanus zones, the lower boundary of the Carnian Stage was accepted in the basement of the Alpine Trachyceras aon Zone and coincides with appearance of the Trachyceras genus. The main problems of the Boreal-Tethyan correlation of the Lower Carnian and adjacent stratigraphic levels are reviewed. The composition and distribution of the Lower Carnian ammonoids of northeastern Asia are specified taking into account the results of the revision of the Early Carnian trachyceratids of this region. Being the traditional biomarkers of the basal beds of the Carnian Stage in the Tethys, the ammonoids of the Trachyceras genus, which were unknown before in the Boreal Realm, were identified for the first time in the Lower Carnian of northeastern Asia. The Lower Carnian rocks of northeastern Asia, British Columbia, and the Alps were zonally correlated and the Lower Carnian boundaries were substantiated in the Boreal Realm. The Boreotrachyceras omkutchanicum Zone correlates with the Alpine Trachyceras aon Zone by the presence of the Trachyceras genus and stratigraphic position over the Stolleyites tenuis Zone and its analogs in British Columbia. The ammonoid complex of the Neosirennites armiger Zone includes Sirenites s.s., in particular, Sirenites ovinus Tozer species, known in the upper zone of the Lower Carnian of British Columbia (Sirenites nanseni), which allows comparison of the armiger and nanseni zones and, through it, with the upper part of the Alpine Austrotrachyceras austriacum Zone.     

Smaller foraminifers from the Permian of Central Iran

Six assemblages of smaller foraminifers are first distinguished and described from sections of the Kalmard tectonic block, Central Iran. The assemblages that have been studied are correlated with concurrent assemblages from the East European platform, Cis-Urals, Darvaz, Northern Pamir, and some other regions of the Tethyan Realm. The results of correlation and available data on fusulinids and conodonts occurring in association with smaller foraminifers are used for dating the assemblages whose distribution ranges span the stratigraphic interval from the early Sakmarian (lower assemblage) up to the Kubergandian (uppermost assemblage). New species Frondina iranica sp. nov. discovered in the study region is described.     

First record of true conulariids from the Upper Devonian of Poland

Phosphatized remains indisputably belonging to conulariids have been found in the lower Famennian (Upper Devonian) deposits at the Kowala quarry in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland for the first time. The ornamentation patterns and characteristics of the exoskeleton indicate that the conulariids, represented by at least two incomplete specimens, belong to a single species within the genus? Paraconularia. Some Polish Ordovician fossils previously described as conulariids either do not possess morphological characters seen in conulariids, or are too fragmentary to be confidently assigned to conulariids. Therefore, the fossils reported here not only represent the first documented record of conulariids in the Devonian of Poland, but the first true conulariids ever reported and illustrated from Poland. The exoskeleton of one specimen possesses at least three sublethal injuries. As the host deposit of marly shale originated in deep water, it is possible that the injuries did not result from purely physical factors, but rather from attempted predation. This interpretation is consistent with the fact that the lower Famennian deposits at Kowala preserve other predation-related structures such as fish coprolites, fragmented arthropod cuticle and regurgitated remains.     

New records of Dorcatherium guntianum (Tragulidae), stratigraphical framework, and diphyletic origin of Miocene European tragulids

Seven hitherto unpublished Dorcatherium guntianum teeth from the Early Miocene of Germany are described. Morphology and size of the teeth are documented in detail and taxonomic affiliation is assessed based on comparisons to type materials of European tragulids. The fossils represent one of the earliest European Dorcatherium records and the oldest unequivocal evidence of D. guntianum from Germany. A review of the European Dorcatherium occurrence pattern suggests that a bunoselenodont and a selenodont lineage immigrated into Europe simultaneously from the East or Southeast, and corroborates the interpretation of the genus as being diphyletic. Moreover, our data add support to immigration scenarios that have been linked with the emerging freshwater wetlands, which formed as a result of the regression in the Western Paratethys.     

The Olduvai buffalo Pelorovis and the origin of Bos

The origin of the genus Bos is a debated issue. From ∼ 0.5 Ma until historic times, the genus is well known in the Eurasian large mammal assemblages, where it is represented by Bos primigenius. This species has a highly derived cranial anatomy that shows important morphological differences from other Plio-Pleistocene Eurasian genera of the tribe Bovini such as Leptobos, Bison, Proamphibos-Hemibos, and Bubalus. The oldest clear evidence of Bos is the skull fragment ASB-198-1 from the middle Pleistocene (∼ 0.6-0.8 Ma) site of Asbole (Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia). The first appearance of Bos in Europe is at the site of Venosa-Notarchirico, Italy (∼ 0.5-0.6 Ma). Although the origin of Bos has traditionally been connected with Leptobos and Bison, after a detailed anatomical and morphometric study we propose here a different origin, connecting the middle Pleistocene Eurasian forms of B. primigenius with the African Late Pliocene and early Pleistocene large size member of the tribe Bovini Pelorovis sensu stricto. The dispersal of the Bos lineage in Western Europe during middle Pleistocene times seems to coincide with the arrival of the Acheulean tool technology in this continent.     

Representatives of the Neocosmoceras (Neocomitidae, Ammonoidea) genus from the Berriasian of the Crimean Mountains and their stratigraphic significance

The genus Euthymiceras is considered as the junior synonym of the genus Neocosmoceras. Four species N. euthymi, N. cf. transfigurabilis, N. minutus sp. nov., and N. giganteus sp. nov. from the Berriasian deposits of the Crimean Mountains are described for the first time. The biostratigraphic unit formerly termed the “Euthymiceras-Neocosmoceras Beds” is ranked now as the Neocosmoceras euthymi Subzone with a synonymous index species. The subzone is correlated to the following biostratigraphic units: the synonymous subzone of the northern Caucasus, the Neocosmoceras-Septaliphoria semenovi (upper part) and Buchia volgensis local zones of Mangyshlak, the upper part of the Riasanites rjasanensis Zone in the East European platform, and the paramimounum Subzone of the boissieri Zone in the standard zonation of the Tethyan ammonites.     

Late Cretaceous radiolarians of the genera Cuboctostylus Bragina and Hexacromyum Haeckel: Their stratigraphic and paleobiogeographical distribution

Recently, representatives of the genus Cuboctostylus Bragina (order Entactinaria) were included in the Upper Cretaceous radiolarian regional stratigraphic scale of Sakhalin. The Late Cretaceous species Hexacromyum pergamenti Bragina (order Spumellaria) has morphological similarity to representatives of the genus Cuboctostylus. Peculiar features of H. pergamenti internal structure are considered. Collections of Upper Cretaceous radiolarians from southern Cyprus, Serbia, northern Turkey, Crimean Mountains, East European Platform, northwestern Kamchatka, eastern slope of the Sredinnyi Range in Kamchatka, and Shikotan Island (Lesser Kurile Range) were used for the analysis of the taxonomic composition of Late Cretaceous representatives of the genera Cuboctostylus Bragina and Hexacromyum Haeckel as well as their stratigraphic and paleobiogeographic distribution. It is established that Cuboctostylus is distributed from tropical to south boreal realms. This genus is shown to exist through almost the entire Late Cretaceous: from the middle Cenomanian to initial Maastrichtian. Hexacromyum Haeckel populated both the south boreal realm and marginal areas of the Tethys Ocean in the Late Cretaceous. The new data presented may be used for distant interregional correlations. Cuboctostylus stellatus sp. nov. and several other Cuboctostylus taxa identified in open nomenclature are described; some morphological features of Hexacromyum pergamenti are specified.     

The bivalve Anopaea (Inoceramidae) from the Upper Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous of Mexico

In Mexico, the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous La Casita and coeval La Caja and La Pimienta formations are well-known for their abundant and well-preserved marine vertebrates and invertebrates. The latter include conspicuous inoceramid bivalves of the genus Anopaea not formally described previously from Mexico. Anopaea bassei (Lecolle de Cantú, 1967), Anopaea cf. stoliczkai (Holdhaus, 1913), Anopaea cf. callistoensis Crame and Kelly, 1995 and Anopaea sp. are rare constituents in distinctive Tithonian–lower Berriasian levels of the La Caja Formation and one Tithonian horizon of the La Pimienta Formation. Anopaea bassei was previously documented from the Tithonian of central Mexico and Cuba, while most other members of Anopaea described here are only known from southern high latitudes. The Mexican assemblage also includes taxa which closely resemble Anopaea stoliczkai from the Tithonian of India, Indonesia and the Antarctic Peninsula, and Anopaea callistoensis from the late Tithonian to ?early Berriasian of the Antarctic Peninsula. Our new data expand the palaeogeographical distribution of the high latitude Anopaea to the Gulf of Mexico region and substantiate faunal exchange, in the Late Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous, between Mexico and the Antarctic Realm.     

The first findings of fusulinids in the sections of the Sabzevar tectonic block (Iran)

The first fusulinids have been recorded from the eastern part of the Sabzevar tectonic block (Kuh-e-Ahuban Mountains, to the north of the town of Kashmar). The fusulinids have been grouped into two complexes. The first complex is represented by several species of the genus Rauserites, of probable Gzhelian age. The second complex is represented by numerous representatives of the Asselian genera Sphaeroschwagerina and Pseudoschwagerina, as well as species of the genera Schubertella, Rugosofusulina, Rugosochusenella and Praepseudofusulina. The age of these complexes is similar to that of complexes previously described from sections of Anarak (the Yazd block) and Zaladou (the Tabas block), but differ in the species composition. Many of the species present in these complexes are similar or identical to species from standard sections of Gzhelian and Asselian Stages of the Moskovian syncline and the Urals, which indicates that there were free connections between the East European and Iranian basins in Gzhelian and Asselian Stages.     

A new hangingfly (Insecta,Mecoptera, Bittacidae) from the Purbeck Limestone Group (Lower Cretaceous) of southern England and a review of Cretaceous Bittacidae

Rapid radiation of the Bittacidae during the Jurassic resulted in high diversity within this family of Mecoptera. More than 40 species within 23 genera have been described from this period. However, around the end of the Jurassic the abundance and diversity of Bittacidae decreased and only seven species in five genera are known to date from the Cretaceous. A new specimen from the basal Cretaceous of England, Tytthobittacus jarzembowski sp. nov., described here, represents the eighth species and the second fossil representative of this family from the European Cretaceous. This hangingfly belongs to an extant and relictual genus previously known only from Australia. The paper also includes a review of all known Cretaceous bittacids and a re-examination of European species Antiquanabittacus nanus Petrulevičius and Jarzembowski, 2004.     

The status of Dollodon and other basal iguanodonts (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe

Dollodon bampingi was recently named based upon a specimen from the Bernissart Quarry that had previously been referred to Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis. The initial diagnosis of Dollodon did not adequately distinguish it from Mantellisaurus or from other basal iguanodonts, necessitating a reassessment of the material. Firsthand examination of the holotypes of the two taxa and numerous other basal iguanodont specimens, as well as a principal components analysis of basal iguanodont dentaries, did not find any morphological features to justify the distinction of Dollodon from Mantellisaurus. D. bampingi is thus best considered a junior synonym of M. atherfieldensis. Furthermore, the recent referral of the species Iguanodon seelyi to the genus Dollodon is not supported; I. seelyi is indistinguishable from Iguanodon bernissartensis, and is considered a junior synonym of that species. Finally, the recently named taxon Proplanicoxa galtoni, also based upon a specimen formerly attributed to M. atherfieldensis, is considered a nomen dubium and probable junior synonym of M. atherfieldensis. Thus, only two species of large-bodied basal iguanodont should be recognized from the Barremian-Aptian of England and Belgium: M. atherfieldensis and I. bernissartensis.     

A new ornithomimid dinosaur with North American affinities from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation in Henan Province of China

A partial skeleton of the ornithomimid dinosaur, discovered from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan County, Tantou Basin, Henan Province, China, is described here and assigned to a new genus and species, Qiupalong henanensis, with unique features (a notch on the lateral surface of the lateral posterior process of the proximal end of tibia and a small pit at the contact between astragalus and calcaneum). A phylogenetic analysis in this study suggests that it is a derived ornithomimid and form a monophyly with North American ornithomimids (Struthiomimus altus and Ornithomimus edmontonicus), sharing two characters (straight pubic shaft and large acute angle between pubic shaft and boot). Some characters (small anterior process of the pubic boot and curved pedal unguals) are seen in basal ornithomimosaurs as well, but these features in Q. henanensis are reversal. Qiupalong is the first definitive ornithomimid from outside of the Gobi Desert and is the southern-most occurrence of Late Cretaceous ornithomimid from eastern Asia, demonstrating southern extension of ornithomimid distribution in Asia.     

The Early Callovian genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Сadochamoussetia</Emphasis> (Ammonoidea,Cardioceratidae) in the lower reaches of the Anabar River,Northern Central Siberia

The species Cadochamoussetia aff. subpatruus (Nik.), Cadochamoussetia surensis (Nik.), and Cadoceras cf. simulans Spath are found for the first time in the lower reaches of the Anabar River. The first two species are characteristic of the Lower Callovian Cadochamoussetia subpatruus Subzone of Central Russia, which is equivalent to the Siberian Cadochamoussetia tschernyschewi Zone. Species of the genus Cadochamoussetia, found for the first time in the Arctic, are described. Shells of Siberian representatives of Cadochamoussetia are distinguished from the typical East European species by their larger umbilicus, which is similar to that of the ancestral genus Cadoceras. It is suggested that the Siberian taxa belong to the oldest representatives of this genus, which appeared in the early Callovian Arctic seas and later migrated to seas of Central Europe and England.     

The intensification of the East Asian winter monsoon contributed to the disappearance of Cedrus (Pinaceae) in southwestern China

Climate change during the Quaternary played an important role in the distribution of extant plants. Herein, cone scales of Cedrus (Pinaceae) were uncovered from the Upper Pliocene Sanying Formation, Longmen Village, Yongping County of Yunnan Province in southwestern China. Detailed comparisons show that these fossils all belong to the genus Cedrus (Pinaceae), and a new species is proposed, Cedrus angusta sp. nov. This find expands the known distribution of Cedrus during the Late Pliocene to Yunnan, where the genus no longer exists in natural forests. Based on the analysis of reconstructed Neogene climate data, we suggest that the intensification of the East Asian winter monsoon during the Quaternary may have dramatically increased seasonality and given rise to a much drier winter in Yunnan. Combined with information on Cedrus fossil records and its seed physiology, we conclude that the intensification of a drier climate after the Late Pliocene may have prevented the survival of Cedrus seedlings, leading to the eventual disappearance of Cedrus in western Yunnan. This study indicates that the topography in southwestern China acted as a vital refuge for many plants during the Quaternary, but that other species gradually disappeared due to the intensification of the monsoonal climate.     

Description of a new species of Offneria (Hippuritida,Caprinidae) from the lower Aptian of southeast Spain. Stratigraphic,evolutionary, palaeobiogeographic and palaeoenvironmental implications

A new species of Offneria (Caprinidae) Offneria prebetica nov. sp., is described from the Murcia region (Prebetic zone, SE Spain). Its type level is the upper Bedoulian. The key diagnostic character of the new species is the presence on the ventral side of the left valve of an inner row, or double row, of polygonal canals flanked by outer piriform canals with one or two orders of bifurcations. Offneria prebetica nov. sp. is the most advanced species of the genus. Cluster analysis shows the placement of the new species in the monophyletic group of European species, in agreement with its geographic location. Offneria appears to be the most prolific genus of the Caprinidae with species having contrasting ages and palaeobiogeographic distributions. Stratigraphic data from SE Spain indicate that the Offneria lineage was resilient to the environmental perturbations recorded during the late Bedoulian, Offneria prebetica nov. sp. may be used as a time marker for this interval, and its last occurrence was coeval with the “Mid-Aptian extinction event”.     

Taxonomy and stratigraphy of Early Cretaceous species of Debrunia Masse and Fenerci-Masse (Hippuritida,Monopleuridae) of the Mediterranean region

The genus Debrunia is characterized by its myophoral organisation: the left valve posterior myophore is an erect plate, the anterior is a bulge or a crest, myophores of right valve are on shell wall, the ligament groove is inconspicuous and the cardinal apparatus tends to be shifted posteriorly. Shell habit varies from low conical to elongated cylindrical, and the shape of the left valve ranges from capuloid to flat. The taxonomic revision of Debrunia species of the Mediterranean regions reveals the presence of thirteen species, among which seven are described as new. Multiple Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis document the existence of five groups of species in correspondence with the height of the left valve and the commissural diameter. The longevity of Debrunia is high, 32 Myr, whereas its species have shorter durations which account for a significant biostratigraphic potential within the Valanginian–Albian time span. Debrunia has its FO (First occurrence) in the lower Valanginian and its LO (Last occurrence) in the Albian. Its developmental phase starts in the Hauterivian, marked by an increasing species diversity and a biogeographic expansion; and peaks in the late Barremian, followed by a collapse in diversity and a specific turnover, coeval with the “Agriopleura extinction event”. The mid-Aptian crisis is expressed by a drastic decline in species diversity, controlled by the overall restriction or demise of carbonate platforms in European regions. As elevators, Debrunia species tend to build dense monospecific aggregations and some of them possess a remarkable bioconstructional potential. The contribution of Debrunia to rudist communities is significant throughout the history of the genus.