Fire in a Weichselia-dominated coastal ecosystem from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of the Kurnub Group in NW Jordan

Large intervals of the Cretaceous are considered as a ‘high-fire’ period in Earth's history. However, so far most studies dealing in greater detail with the fossil evidence of palaeo-wildfires, i.e. fossil charcoal, originate from the northern hemisphere (i.e. North America, Europe, Asia) whereas there are large stratigraphic and geographic gaps on the Cretaceous southern continents. The present paper deals with the fossil contents (plant macro-remains, palynomorphs and charcoal) of a lignite lens from the lower part of the Lower Cretaceous Kurnub Group near King Talal Dam in Jordan. The data provide evidence for the repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires in coastal ecosystems on the northern margin of Gondwana during the Barremian. The fossil content of the lens indicates that the vegetation, which was repeatedly affected by fire, has been dominated by the matoniaceous tree fern Weichselia reticulata. Palynological data from the lignite, as well as the repeated occurrence of wildfires point to an at least seasonally dry (or at least less humid) climate during deposition of the lignite.     

Evidence of palaeo-wildfire from the upper Lower Cretaceous (Serra do Tucano Formation,Aptian–Albian) of Roraima (North Brazil)

Wood fossil charcoal is identified from the upper Lower Cretaceous (Serra do Tucano Formation, Aptian–Albian) of Roraima (North Brazil). The presence of charcoal demonstrates the occurrence of Early Cretaceous palaeo-wildfires for the first time in this region and only the third time for the entirety of South America. A gymnospermous taxonomic affinity can be established for the charred woods and a relationship with conifers is likely, thus providing additional evidence for the taxonomic composition of Early Cretaceous floras in this region.     

An Ichthyornis-like bird from the earliest Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of European Russia

Ornithuromorph birds (the clade which includes modern avian radiation) first appeared in the Early Cretaceous in Asia and achieved a great diversity during the latest ages of the Late Cretaceous (Campanian and Maastrichtian). The evolutionary history of orithuromorphs during the first 17 MYAs of the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Santonian ages) remains very poorly known, as the fossil record for this time interval is largely restricted to several isolated finds of the classic avian genus Ichthyornis in North America. Here we describe an isolated distal tibiotarsus of an evolutionary advanced bird, morphologically similar to Ichthyornis, from the middle Cenomanian of Saratov Province, European Russia. This is the first documentation of an Ichthyornis-like bird in the Old World. The find further constitutes only the second pre-Campanian record of the Late Cretaceous Ornithuromorpha in Eurasia, the second record of Cenomanian birds in Russia. This discovery shows that Ichthyornis-like birds enjoyed a wide geographical distribution as early as the beginning of the Late Cretaceous. Given that the earliest and the most primitive ornithuromorph birds are known from Asia, the new find supports a Eurasian origin for Ichthyornithidae.     

辽西义县下白垩统九佛堂组木化石的发现

首次发现产自辽西义县皮家沟下白垩统九佛堂组保存有解剖构造的木化石,利用木化石切片法对木化石解剖特征进行研究。当前木化石均为硅化保存,其中一块标本保存有髓、初生木质部、次生木质部等解剖构造。其髓部主要由薄壁细胞构成,初生木质部为内始式,次生木质部为Protophyllocladoxylon型。部分木化石标本表面密布大小不一的孔洞,推测为昆虫幼虫的觅食痕迹。此外,木化石产出层位还发现有大量丝碳化石,表明义县地区早白垩世九佛堂组沉积时期存在野火事件,而频发的火山喷发活动可能是野火事件的诱因。     

Dinosaur eggshells from the Santonian Milk River Formation of Alberta,Canada

The North American fossil record of dinosaur eggshells for the Cretaceous is primarily restricted to formations of the middle (Albian–Cenomanian) and uppermost (Campanian–Maastrichtian) stages, with a large gap in the record for intermediate stages. Here we describe a dinosaur eggshell assemblage from a formation that represents an intermediate and poorly fossiliferous stage of the Upper Cretaceous, the Santonian Milk River Formation of southern Alberta, Canada. The Milk River eggshell assemblage contains five eggshell taxa: Continuoolithus, Porituberoolithus, Prismatoolithus, Spheroolithus, and Triprismatoolithus. These ootaxa are most similar to those reported from younger Campanian–Maastrichtian formations of the northern Western Interior than they are to ootaxa reported from older middle Cretaceous formations (i.e., predominantly Macroelongatoolithus). Characteristics of the Milk River ootaxa indicate that they are ascribable to at least one ornithopod and four small theropod species. The taxonomic affinity of the eggshell assemblage is consistent with the dinosaur fauna known based on isolated teeth and fragmentary skeletal remains from the formation, although most ornithischians and large theropods are not represented by eggshell. Relative to the Milk River Formation eggshell, similar oospecies occurring in younger Cretaceous deposits tend to be somewhat thicker, which may reflect an increase in body size of various dinosaur lineages during the Late Cretaceous.     

A review of Late Cretaceous fossil birds from Hungary

We review the previously described Late Cretaceous (Santonian) bird remains from the Csehbánya Formation in the Bakony Mountains of Hungary, augmenting initial work by Ősi ( 2008 ), and add a number of newly collected fossils. All together, the eight fossil specimens so far collected from this site are important to our understanding of avian evolution because they document a large range of taxon body sizes from at least one major lineage (Enantiornithes) and come from a critically undersampled time period in the Cretaceous. Globally, very little fossil bird material has been collected from the middle stages of the Late Cretaceous, the Coniacian and Santonian; most known taxa are either Early Cretaceous (ca. 120 Ma) in age or are from the terminal Campanian and Maastrichtian (ca. 70–65 Ma). Indeed, one of the Csehbánya Formation fossil birds is recognized as a new taxon of large enantiornithine, an avisaurid apparently similar in its largely unfused foot morphology to the Argentine Soroavisaurus and to the North American Avisaurus. The Central European records reviewed in this paper highlight the wide distribution of some Late Cretaceous fossil birds, particularly avisaurid enantiornithines, and lead us to a brief discussion of avian biogeography at the end of the Mesozoic. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北美内陆西部白垩纪脊椎动物生物年代学

北美西部内陆白垩纪的脊椎动物生物年代学的研究始于19世纪90年代。前人建议的期,即陆生脊椎动物"期"或陆生哺乳动物"期"名已过十二个,但其中具有精确的定义者甚少,仅有少量的建议受到广泛认可和使用。本文定义或重新定义了10个陆生脊椎动物"期",包括了西部内陆从最老至最新的全部白垩纪—Comobluffian期(～提塘期至欧特里沃期)、Buffalogapian期(～巴列姆期至早阿普特期)、Cashenranchian期(～早阿普特期至晚阿尔布期)、Mussentuchian期(～晚阿尔布期至塞诺曼期)、Fencelakean期(土伦期至晚塞农期)、Aquilan期(～晚塞农期至早坎潘期)、Judithian期(～中坎潘期)、Kirtlandian期(～晚坎潘期)、Edmontonian期(～坎潘期末期至早马斯特里赫特期)以及Lancian期(～早马斯特里赫特期晚期)。每一个"期"的开始由一种恐龙或哺乳动物种类的首现来定义,而其结束由后续的"期"的开始来定义。这样定义的脊椎动物生物年代代表了完整的白垩纪时间表。但有些时间段(尤其是Neocomian(尼欧克姆期)的大部分以及部分"中"白垩世的一部分)缺乏足够的脊椎动物化石特征。这些白垩纪陆生脊椎动物"期"构成了一个能使北美西部内陆的脊椎动物的演化历史得以序和解释年代表。     

Late Cretaceous stratigraphy,sediments and structure: Gems of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site (Jurassic Coast), England

Extraordinary, long-distance litho-marker beds such as the Lewes and Shoreham Tubular Flints and associated marl seams and fossils, recognised in cliff exposures and cliff-fall boulders, are keys to unlocking the stratigraphy and tectonic structures in the Late Cretaceous of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site (Jurassic Coast). Durdle Cove is a special gem exposing the Lewes and Seaford Chalk stratigraphy where new marker beds are identified and sediments and tectonic structures provide clues to timing of movements that produced a Late Cretaceous pericline which grew into a Miocene monocline along the line of the underlying Purbeck Reverse Fault. During ‘inversion’ along this fault some Late Cretaceous Chalk formations were in part or completely ‘lost’ (e.g. Middle Turonian New Pit Chalk Formation) and others were condensed (e.g. Late Santonian and Early Campanian Newhaven Chalk Formation). Excavation of the A354 road cutting at the Lower Bincombe Farm, has greatly added to the stratigraphical records of Late Cretaceous fossils in South Dorset, especially Coniacian and Early Campanian inoceramid bivalves and the various stratigraphically specific forms of the Late Santonian to Early Campanian echinoid fossil Echinocorys scutata spp. not recorded before in this coastline. The very large bivalve fossil Platyceramus sp. provides clues to chalk sea-floor environments.     

古炭屑与古森林火?

森林火普遍发生在地质历史时期中，它对自然植被系统的演替起着重要作用。不同强度和频率的森林火培育出不同类型的植被：频繁的森林火导致草甸的形成，而热带雨林形成的原因之一是森林火的缺乏。古炭屑作为古森林火的遗迹，具有分布广泛、细胞结构保存完好以及原地埋藏等特点，为研究古森林火发生的强度和频率提供了宝贵的材料。古炭屑的出现与当时的气候因素、植被类型和地理状况有密切关系：干旱、少雨的气候常常伴随高频率森林火的发生，表现出古炭屑的数量增多；易燃物种组成的植被易发生森林火，古炭屑的出现也会增多，而耐火树种会降低森林火的强度，古炭屑则出现少。因此，从古炭屑的数量和种类的变化，可探讨古森林火的发生规律，进而推断长期地质历史时期的气候、植被、地理状况的演变。     

The latest record of the extinct subfamily Eoptychopterinae (Diptera: Ptychopteridae) from Upper Cretaceous amber of North Carolina

A new genus and species of female phantom midge Neuseptychoptera carolinensis gen. et sp. nov. in the fossil subfamily Eoptychopterinae is described and illustrated; this ptychopterid is from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) amber of North Carolina. This is the first member of Eoptychopterinae from North America and the first found in Campanian age amber. We propose to treat the extinct subfamily Eoptychopterininae Lukashevich, 1995, as a junior synonym of the subfamily Eoptychopterinae Handlirsch, 1906, syn. nov. The elongated mouthparts of the new species have broad labella, and these are functionally interpreted as feeders for honeydew, fermenting plant juices, and nectar rather than for biting.     

Dentaries of a caenagnathid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Nemegt Formation of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia

A symphyseal region of the fused dentaries of a caenagnathid theropod is described from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation at the Bugin Tsav locality in the Mongolian Gobi Desert. In contrast to the high diversity of Caenagnathidae in the upper Campanian to Maastrichtian in North America, only specimens of a single caenagnathid, Elmisaurus raurus, have been reported in the coeval strata in Asia. Although dentaries are commonly-found bones in the fossil record of Caenagnathidae, the present specimen is the first discovery of caenagnathid dentaries from the upper Campanian to Maastrichtian in Asia. The Nemegt Formation is unique for its diverse oviraptorosaurian fauna that includes both Caenagnathidae and Oviraptoridae as well as the non-caenagnathoid Avimimus portentosus. Hypothesized coexistence of eolian and fluvial environments in the Gobi Basin during the deposition of the Nemegt Formation might explain such co-occurrence of Caenagnathidae and Oviraptoridae.     

Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Atractosteus (Actinopterygii,Lepisosteidae) remains from Hungary (Iharkút,Bakony Mountains)

Lepisosteid fishes are well known from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe, but only by fragmentary remains from some Cenomanian and Campanian–Maastrichtian deposits. Here we report various cranial and postcranial remains of gars, discovered in the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation of Iharkút (Bakony Mountains, Hungary). These remains represent one of the most diverse assemblages of lepisosteid fish material from Upper Cretaceous continental deposits of Europe. Based on tooth morphology, scale-microstructure and the features of the supracleithrum we refer these remains to the genus Atractosteus. Besides some uncertain remains from the Cenomanian of France and Spain, the Santonian aged fossils from Iharkút represent the oldest undisputable occurrence of the family Lepisosteidae in the European continental Cretaceous. Using tooth crown morphology, the surface microstructure of the ganoid scales and the anatomy of the supracleithrum a review of the Late Cretaceous lepisosteid record suggests the occurrence of both Atractosteus and Lepisosteus in the European archipelago.     

A diverse,high-latitude ichnofauna from the Late Cretaceous Wapiti Formation,Alberta, Canada

The Wapiti Formation in west-central Alberta preserves one of the most diverse Late Cretaceous terrestrial track records yet identified in Canada. At least seven morphotypes are recognized and attributed to mammals, small reptiles or amphibians, tyrannosaurids, medium-sized theropods, hadrosaurids, and ankylosaurs. Most tracks occur isolated on slump blocks associated with latest Campanian (Wapiti Formation unit 4) exposures found along Pipestone Creek and Red Willow River. With the possible exception of hadrosaurids, tracks provide some of the most compelling evidence for the occurrence of such taxa within the Wapiti Formation ecosystem. The apparent absence of ceratopsian tracks is surprising considering their bones are abundantly preserved in nearby monodominant bonebeds. The overall faunal signal represented by the Wapiti Formation trackmakers is typical of and consistent with other coeval assemblages in similar environments. The Wapiti Formation tracks, combined with the known fossil bone record, provide another data point in a growing palaeobiogeographical picture of the dinosaur faunas of high-latitude northwestern North America during the Late Cretaceous.     

内蒙古巴彦满达呼的上白垩统及动物群垂直分布特征

内蒙古巴彦满达呼与蒙古国前阿尔泰戈壁的上白垩统，同属于 Ｃａｍｐａｎｉａｎ时期的沉积，为同一个沉积盆地。可划分为滨线－浅湖、辫河 浅湖－深湖和风积三种沉积形态。原角龙个体化石具有下层大，上层较小 的垂直分布特征。     

Penecontemporaneous folding, sedimentation and erosion in Campanian Chalk near Portsmouth, England

Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Chalk exposed in a quarry near Portsmouth is unusual in the occurrence of a contemporaneous anticlinal fold, probably diapiric in origin. Hardgrounds and local slumps developed over the structure, and part of the chalk succession thins considerably over its crest. Erosional channels, sometimes containing bioclastic lag deposits, formed at two levels. Movement on the anticline occurred three times during the part of the Lower Campanian represented in the section; the third phase resulted in extensive fracturing of the crestal region of the fold. Burial of the structure and the onset of normal chalk deposition concluded the Cretaceous phase of its history.     

An integrated stratigraphic study across the Santonian/Campanian boundary at Bocieniec,southern Poland: A new boundary stratotype candidate

An integrated biostratigraphic (foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils, crinoids), chemostratigraphic (stable carbon isotopes) and magnetostratigraphic study of the Bocieniec section (southern Poland) is presented here. The section presents a continuous and lithologically monotonous sedimentary record across the Santonian–Campanian boundary transition. A large number of macrofossil, foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil bioevents along with several well-identified carbon-isotope excursions of the upper Santonian and lowermost Campanian are documented. The base of the Campanian is well-constrained by the last occurrence (LO) of the crinoid Marsupites testudinarius, and correlates to the onset of the first δ¹³C positive peak of the Santonian–Campanian Boundary Event (SCBE peak a). A presumable primary Cretaceous paleomagnetic signal highlights the potential presence of the C34N/C33R magnetic reversal although its exact position remains uncertain between peaks a and b of the SCBE. The planktic foraminifer Dicarinella asymetrica is very rare at Bocieniec but a potential LO of this important marker may be recorded in coincidence with peak b of the SCBE. The first occurrence (FO) of calcareous nannofossil Broinsonia parca parca coincides with the lower part of chron C33R and with the early Campanian pilula zone event. A large set of additional nannofossil events and benthic foraminifer events further constrain the stratigraphy of the section and along with the carbon isotopes, allows for correlation with other important sections of the Boreal realm. Although the Bocieniec section is relatively thin and condensed (5.5 m), the successive order of events and presence of all past proposed stratigraphic criteria for the Santonian-Campanian boundary makes it the most complete reference section for this interval at the European and at the global scale. Moreover, this section allows for a precise correlation of the Tethyan and Boreal domains. The Bocieniec section fulfils the geological criteria to be a potential boundary stratotype candidate for the base of the Campanian Stage.     

A new pipid frog from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia and early evolution of crown-group Pipidae

Pipid frogs are fully aquatic frogs that today inhabit freshwater environments of southern continents on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, with a fairly good fossil record dating back to the Cretaceous. Here I report on fossils from the Allen Formation (upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian), Río Negro Province, Argentina, that are ascribed to a new genus and species of pipid. In order to assess the evolutionary relationships of the new taxon, which is represented by sphenethmoids, otic capsules, ilia, humeri, and vertebrae, cladistic analyses of a data matrix of 165 osteological characters scored for 36 taxa were performed. The results are congruent with previous hypotheses of pipoid interrelationships and consistently place the new taxon as part of the lineage today represented by the African xenopodines. Temporal calibration of the phylogenetic tree based on the fossil record imply that the origin and early diversification of crown-group Pipidae might have occurred during the Early Cretaceous, prior to the final breakup of western Gondwana. This study highlights the importance of including fossils, even fragmentary ones, directly in phylogenetic analyses in order to disentangling how, when, and where pipid frogs diversified.     

Skeletal remains of Tyrannosauroidea (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Bissekty Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Turonian) of Uzbekistan

There exists a major gap in the fossil record of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs spanning the early part of the Late Cretaceous. We report on skeletal remains referable to Tyrannosauroidea indet. from the Turonian Bissekty Formation at Dzharakuduk in the central Kyzylkum Desert of Uzbekistan. Phylogenetic analysis of the hypodigm places the Bissekty tyrannosauroid as a non-tyrannosaurid tyrannosauroid more basal than the Campanian tyrannosauroids Appalachiosaurus and Bistahieversor from North America.     

An Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) actinopterygian fish assemblage from the marginal marine Adaffa Formation of Saudi Arabia

Actinopterygian remains have been recovered from Upper Cretaceous (lower Campanian to lower Maastrichtian) marginal marine deposits of the Adaffa Formation in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The fossils comprise gars (Lepisosteidae), pachycormids (cf. Protosphyraena sp.), indeterminate pycnodontiforms, enchodontid teleosts (cf. Enchodus sp.) and other indeterminate Teleostei. This assemblage is significant because it includes a novel occurrence for the Middle East (Pachycormidae) together with taxa (Lepisosteidae, Pycnodontiformes, Enchodontidae) that have been previously recorded from Late Cretaceous faunas elsewhere in the Mediterranean Tethyan region.