Salviniales from the Late Cretaceous of the Golfo San Jorge Basin

The freshwater ferns (Salviniales) are well represented in the Maastrichtian deposits of Cerro de los Fragmentos in the headwaters of the Río Chico, Golfo San Jorge Basin. The fossil material of Salviniaceae includes complete megaspore apparatuses with attached microspore massulae and dispersed megaspores, float systems and microspore massulae of Azolla. The new species Azolla colhuehuapensis displays distinctive morphological characters including relative small megaspore apparatuses with easily detached floats and usually attached eglochidiate massulae. The Marsileaceae are represented by the megaspore Molaspora lobata, microspores of Crybelosporites and vegetative remains of Marsileaceaephyllum sp. The assemblage also includes zygospores of the green filamentous algae Zygnemataceae, spores of Marchantiophyta and Monilophyta (Schizaeales), megaspores of Isoetalean affinity and Palm-type angiosperm pollen grains. All these organic microfossils and the associated palynomorphs indicate the presence of a freshwater environment where abundant water ferns were developing and reproducing.     

Permian megaspores from Kuraloi Area,Ib-River coalfield,Mahanadi Basin,Orissa

Heterogenous megaspores recovered from the Upper Permian sediments of Kuraloi Area, Ib-River coalfield, have been systematically described. The megaspore assemblage includes seven genera with seventeen species viz. Bokarosporites rotundus, Banksisporites indicus, B. utkalensis, Biharisporites spinosus, Biharisporites sp.A, Biharisporites sp.B, Jhariatriletes baculosus, J. srivastavae, J. damudicus, Manumisporites distinctus, Singhisporites baculatus, S. radialis, S. surangei, Ramispinatispora indica, R. nautiyalii and Ramispinatispora sp. Additionally, a new species of Ramispinatispora viz. R.mahanadiensis has been identified. Associated spore pollen assemblages are suggestive of a Late Permian age corresponding to Raniganj/Kamthi Formation. Raniganj megaspores are known from Damodar and Godavari Basins. The newly recorded megaspore assemblage from the Ib-River coalfield is comparable to that of Raniganj/Kamthi Formation of Godavari Graben. The diversity in exosporium ornamentations indicates structural diversity. Moreover, their prolific presence ultimately points towards occurrence of heterosporous source vegetation in the area.     

Early Cretaceous megaspore assemblages from southeastern Australia

Twenty-nine megaspore species including six new taxa (Bacutriletes otwayensis sp. nov.,Erlansonisporites cerebrus sp. nov., Erlansonisporites decisum sp. nov., Hughesisporites coronatus sp. nov., Hughesisporites dettmanniae sp. nov., and Verrutriletes depressus sp. nov.) are documented from Aptian and Albian strata of the Gippsland and Otway basins, southeastern Australia. Together with six taxa known only from underlying Neocomian strata, these megaspores are used to establish four provisional biozones for the Lower Cretaceous that complement existing biostratigraphic schemes based on miospores and plant macrofossils. Megaspores are best represented in silty floodbasin facies and it is likely that the parent plants predominantly occupied moist understorey to fully aquatic habitats on the floodplain. Megaspores are sparsely represented in most other fluvial facies chiefly due to reworking of floodbasin sediments into higher energy channel and crevasse deposits. The relatively high diversity of lycophyte and fern megaspores contrasts with the scarcity of these plant groups in macrofossil assemblages. The megaspore record suggests that heterosporous cryptogams may have been significantly more prominent in the vegetation of this region than previously suggested. Several megaspores from southeastern Australia are closely comparable to forms from India and Argentina indicating broad similarities between Early Cretaceous heterosporous fern and lycophyte communities across Gondwana. These similarities also suggest that megaspores may be useful for inter-continental biostratigraphic correlation.     

西藏申扎和改则地区早石炭世地层及腕足类研究

西藏申扎和改则地区早石炭世地层发育,腕足类及珊瑚类化石丰富。腕足类化石计有34属45种,共建立3个组合;申扎大塘阶下部巴日阿郎寨组Ovatia-Unispirifer组合;大塘阶上部永珠组Balakhonia-Productus组合;改则大塘阶上部Latiproductus-Striatifera组合。本文系统讨论了各腕足类组合的时代及与国内外同期地层的对比,将西藏境内早石炭世的沉积物及生物群划分为3个类型。根据生物群及沉积物在空间上的分布特点,笔者认为在早石炭世时,班公湖至怒江断裂南北生物群及沉积物具有明显的差异,即南部申扎和珠峰地区生物群及沉积物特征与冈瓦纳大陆相似,而北部改则地区与扬子地台的生物群及沉积物特征相同,其间可能有宽阔的海域隔离。     

The early Vendian microfossils first found in the Russian plate: Taxonomic composition and biostratigraphic significance

The microfossils studied are discovered for the first time in the Riphean-Lower Vendian deposits, which have been recovered in 2002 by the Kel’tminskaya-1 deep parametric borehole in the Vychegda depression, the northeastern margin of the East European platform. The sampled interval of core section (4825–2347 m) consists of three units: the lower (depth range 4825–3995 m, 5 samples) and middle (depth range 3687–2961 m, 17 samples) carbonate successions overlain by sandstone-siltstone beds (depth range 2907–2347 m, 58 samples). Based on lithological criteria and/or composition of stromatolites, the carbonate successions are correlative with the Yshkemes and Vapol formations of the Upper Riphean of the Timan ridge succession, while the overlying, mostly siltstone succession was correlated with the Vychegda Formation of the southern Timan according to similarity in lithology and mineral composition. Microfossils found in 56 samples occur at 20 microphytological levels and represent different microbiotas. The Yshkemes and Vapol microbiotas of low diversity characterize six lower levels and represent one assemblage, while the diverse and abundant Vychegda microbiota typical of fourteen upper levels is divisible into three successive assemblages. The Vapol stromatolites Inzeria djejimii and Poludia polymorpha along with giant Chuaria and Navifusa present in the Yshkemes-Vapol assemblage suggest that their host deposits correspond to the upper Upper Riphean. The Vychegda assemblages, each of peculiar biostratigraphic specifics and unique in composition, consist of different morphotypes, primarily of large acanthomorphic acritarchs Cavaspina, Polyhedrosphaeridium, Cymatiosphaeridium, Asterocapsoides, and Tanarium, which are known in Scandinavia, Siberia, China, Australia, and India only in the Lower Vendian microbiotas of the Perthatataka type. The comprehensive microphytological characterization of the Lower Vendian in the Vychegda depression and earlier data on the Middle-Upper Riphean microbiotas from the adjacent Mezen syneclise enable a high-resolution biostratigraphic subdivision of the Riphean and Vendian successions in the vast region under consideration.     

Bolorian and Kubergandian stages of the Permian in the Sanandaj-Sirjan zone of Iran

Sections and fusulinids of the Bolorian (presumably) and Kubergandian (lower part) stages in the Sanandaj-Sirjan tectonic zone are described. Two fusulinid assemblages are distinguished in a most complete section near Sirjan. The lower one is represented by Skinnerella, Paraleeina, and relatively primitive Misellina forms, whereas Armenina, Kubergandella, and Yangchienia species appear in the upper assemblage and suggest its early Kubergandian age. Accordingly, the lower assemblage is attributed to the Bolorian Stage, although it is lacking fusulinids typical of this stage except for the primitive Misellina morphotypes. Fusulinids from the Tange-Darchaleh section near Qomsheh (Shahreza) are typical of the Kubergandian Stage. The described three new species of the genus Skinnerella are close to morphotypes known from younger (Murgabian) deposits and represent their ancestral forms most likely.     

The Darriwilian acritarch assemblage from Ordovician deposits of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, the northern Russian Plate

Borehole 2506 drilled in the northern area of the Arkhangelsk Oblast penetrated through the Paleozoic sedimentary block isolated in the Vendian thick sequence. A diverse acritarch assemblage has been established within the depth interval of 119.9–217.5 m. The assemblage comprises more than 70 taxa, including species characteristic of the boundary interval between the Volkhov and Kunda horizons of the East European Platform (the graptolite Didymograptus hirundo Zone). Stratigraphic position of host deposits was established within the Darriwilian Stage of the Middle Ordovician. The described assemblage of microphytofossils is similar to coeval assemblages from NW Russia, Baltic region, and Scandinavia, being typical of the Baltic phytoplankton province of temperate latitudes. A great number of species in common suggests that the assemblage under consideration is correlative with coeval assemblages of southern China thus offering a possibility of remote correlation.     

Early Triassic palynomorphs from Kuraloi Block,Belphar area,Ib-River coalfield,Mahanadi basin,Odisha

A rich assemblage of palynomorphs including miospores and megaspores has been recorded from the bore core no. IBKAN-2 drilled at a depth of 17.80m in Kuraloi Block-A, south-west part of the Ib-River Coalfield, Jharsuguda district, Odisha. The miofloral assemblage recovered shows prominence of cingulate, zonate, taeniate, non-striate and non saccate palynotaxa which indicate an early Triassic age and is comparable with the palynoassemblages of the same age known from the Damodar basin, India. The megaspore assemblage includes eight genera and fifteen species namely, Banksisporites karanpuraensis, B. indicus, B. utkalensis, Banksisporites sp., Barakarella pantii, Barakarella sp., Biharisporites spinosus, Biharisporites sp., Erlansonisporites triassicus, Erlansonisporites cf. erlansonii, Erlansonisporites sp. Jhariatriletes sp., Singhisporites sp., Ramispinatispora sp. and Talchirella trivedii. Records of megaspores are sparse in the early Triassic of Gondwana basins of India. The present study records the first occurrence of miospores and megaspores from the early Triassic of Mahanadi basin besides substantiating the earlier data.     

Palynoassemblages associated with a theropod dinosaur from the Snow Hill Island Formation (lower Maastrichtian) at the Naze,James Ross Island,Antarctica

The Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation at The Naze on the northern margin of James Ross Island, east of the Antarctic Peninsula, yielded a theropod dinosaur recovered near the middle of a 90 m thick section that begins at sea level, ends below a basalt sill, and is composed of interbedded green–gray massive and laminated fine-grained sandstones and mudstones. Sixteen palynoassemblages were recovered from this section, which yielded moderately diverse assemblages with a total of 100 relatively well-preserved species. The principal terrestrial groups (32%) are represented by lycophytes (8 species), pteridophytes (15 species), gymnosperms (13 species), angiosperms (21 species) and freshwater chlorococcaleans (3 species). Marine palynomorphs (68%) belong to dinoflagellates (61 species), chlorococcaleans (6 species), and one acritarch. The vertical distribution of selected species allows the distinction of two informal assemblages, the lower Odontochitina porifera assemblage from the base to its disappearance in the lower part of the section, and the remaining section characterized by the Batiacasphaera grandis assemblage. The global stratigraphic ranges of selected palynomorphs suggest an early Maastrichtian age for this section and the entombed dinosaur that is also supported by the presence of the ammonoid Kitchinites darwinii. These assemblages share many species with latest Campanian–early Maastrichtian palynofloras from Vega and Humps Islands, New Zealand, and elsewhere in the Southern Ocean, establishing a good correlation among them. The dominance or frequent presence of dinoflagellates throughout the section supports the general interpretation of a shelf marine depocenter. The consistent presence of terrestrial palynomorphs suggests contributions from littoral/inland environments.     

Neogene diatoms from the Sandy Ridge section, Alaska Peninsula: Significance for stratigraphic and paleogeographic reconstructions

Fossil diatoms from the Milky River Formation of the Sandy Ridge section, Alaska Peninsula are analyzed. Data on stratigraphic distribution of diatoms and silicoflagellates are presented. Based on presence of stratigraphically important forms (Neodenticula kamtschatica, Thalassiosira oestrupii, Cosmiodiscus insignis), the assemblages studied are correlated with the North Pacific Cenozoic diatom zones. An assemblage similar to that of subzone “b” of the Neodenticula kamtschatica Zone (Barron and Gladenkov, 1995) indicates the latest Miocene-initial early Pliocene (5.5-4.8 Ma) age of its host deposits. Additional species of biostratigraphic importance (Thalassiosira temperei, Th. latimarginata, and others) refine ages of different parts of the section. In particular, age of stratigraphically lowest beds bearing Astarte (mollusks valuable for establishing the Bering Strait opening) were dated at 5.5-5.4 Ma. Some paleogeographic inferences are made from analysis of composition of the diatom assemblages.     

Sedimentology of the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation (Late Permian), Lower Karoo Group,mid-Zambezi Valley Basin,southern Zambia

Sediments of the Upper Carboniferous to Lower Jurassic Karoo Supergroup (∼ 4.5 km thick) were deposited in the mid-Zambezi Valley Basin, southern Zambia. The Upper Palæozoic Lower Karoo Group in this area ends with a Late Permian sedimentary unit called the Madumabisa Mudstone Formation. The formation is 700 m thick and comprises four lithofacies grouped into two facies assemblages, collectively interpreted as lacustrine deposits. Sediments of a massive mudrock facies assemblage were deposited from suspension, probably from sediment-laden rivers entering a lake. Concretionary calcilutite beds probably mark the positions of palæosediment-water interfaces where calcite was precipitated. A laminated mudrock facies assemblage is attributed to lacustrine deposition from inflowing rivers at the lake margins and shallow parts of the lake. Repeated thickening-upward cycles are evidence of upward shallowing, interrupted by events of more abrupt deepening. Sandstone interbeds are interpreted as fluvial deposits laid down during low lake stands, with cross-lamination and asymmetrical ripples indicating current rather than wave deposition. A fossil assemblage of ostracods, bivalves, gastropods, fish scales, the alga Botryococcus sp. and fossil burrows is consistent with a lacustrine origin for the formation.     

Conodont-based stratigraphy of the Mosolovian Regional Stage (Eifelian,Middle Devonian) of the Voronezh Anteclise

Conodonts from the deposits of the Mosolovian Regional Stage (Middle Devonian) of the Voronezh Anteclise are studied on the basis of the data from six boreholes. Three assemblages are recognized. The index species of the lowermost assemblage is Icriodus formosus Naz. The index species of the middle assemblage are I. formosus Naz. and Pseudobipennatus ziegleri Kon. et Kim, as well as I. arkonensis Stauff. and I. jejunus Naz. This assemblage is the most diverse and is recognized in all boreholes. The deposits containing this assemblage correspond to the maximum of the Nara transgression. The upper assemblage is also recognized in all the studied boreholes. Its index species is Ps. ziegleri Kon. et Kim. The Mosolovian Regional Stage is assigned to the kockelianus Zone. The distribution diagrams of species in the most diverse middle assemblage support the hypothesis that, in the southeastern regions of the Voronezh anteclise, the depth was greater than in its western part. The characteristic conodont species are shown in the plates.     

Radiolarians of the upper Cenomanian and lower Turonian from deposits of the Ananuri Formation, the western Caucasus (Lazarevskoe area)

Diverse radiolarians (over 70 species) are detected in cherty rocks above the bituminous shale horizon, the marker of anoxic event OAE-2 recorded across the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary in the upper part of the Ananuri Formation of flyschoid deposits, the Lazarevskoe area of the western Caucasus. The radiolarian assemblages studied are comparable in composition with radiolarians from concurrent Cenomanian-Turonian boundary strata in other Mediterranean regions (e.g., in the Crimea and Turkey). The lower radiolarian assemblage includes index species Dactyliosphaera silviae of synonymous Cenomanian zone. Alievium superbum present in the upper assemblage is index species of the relevant Turonian zone. Within the studied flyschoid sequence, sediments indicative of the above event (bituminous shales and cherts) are confined to upper elements of flysch rhythms.     

新疆吐鲁番—哈密盆地托克逊凹陷早侏罗世孢粉植物群及其意义

吐鲁番—哈密盆地托克逊凹陷早侏罗世地层中产孢粉化石共53属74种。通过对纵向上典型属种及优势组分含量变化规律的分析可划分为两个孢粉组合：Osmundacidites-Protopinus-Cycadopites组合和Cyathidites-Piceaepollenites-Cycadopites组合，它们分别产自八道湾组和三工河组。根据孢粉组合特征及与国内外有关化石群进行比较，八道湾组的时代应属早侏罗世早期；三工河组的时代应为早侏罗世晚期。托克逊地区当时的植被是由银杏、苏铁类和松柏类等乔木．并伴有真蕨类等草本植物组成。古气候应属亚热带气候。     

New data on diatoms from the marine Paleogene of Western Kamchatka

Diatom assemblages from the marine Paleogene of Western Kamchatka (the Kovachina, Viventek, and Kuluven formations) are studied. The shallow-water neritic assemblage from the Kovachina Formation of the Pyatibratskii Cape section is tentatively attributed to the middle Eocene, as it is lacking zonal index species. A high abundance and great taxonomic diversity are characteristic of diatoms from the upper part of the Viventek Formation in the Kovran River section. The zonal index species Cavitatus rectus identified here among the diatoms suggests that the respective assemblage is macerated from the synonymous diatom zone of the middle Oligocene (29.6?28.2 Ma). According to its taxonomic composition and structure, this assemblage is indicative of transgression environments and the presumable influence of the middle Oligocene climatic optimum. The Rocella gelida (upper part) and Thalassiosira praefraga diatom zones of the Oligocene-Miocene transition are established in the Kuluven Formation sediments of the Mt. Uvuch section in Kovachina Bay.     

Taxonomic composition,paleoecology and biostratigraphy of Late Cretaceous diatoms from Devon Island,Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic

Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Kanguk Formation exposed in Eidsbotn and Viks Fiord grabens on Devon Island, Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic, yielded 91 fossil marine diatom species and varieties (including indeterminate taxa), representing 41 genera. Excellent preservation of the assemblages was aided by shallow burial, protection in downfaulted linear grabens, and the presence of abundant volcanic material. Planktonic species and resting spores comprise nearly 70% of the diatom assemblage, and provided abundant food resources for the Late Cretaceous Arctic ecosystem. Deposition of the approximately 225 m-thick stratigraphic sequence was predominantly in a shallow marine neritic setting, with an upward progression to interbedded terrestrial deposits of the Expedition Fiord Formation, reflecting a regression and eventual persistence of terrestrial facies into the Early Cenozoic. The Kanguk Formation is widespread across the Canadian Arctic, and diatom biostratigraphy indicates a Santonian–Campanian age for the sequences reported herein, based on the presence of Gladius antiquus in the lowermost strata and occurrence of Costopyxis antiqua throughout the succession. However, Amblypyrgus sp. A and Archepyrgus sp. aff. A. melosiroides, encountered in the lower part of the succession, are known exclusively from the Lower Cretaceous. This may suggest a slightly older age. New information on shallow shelf diatom assemblages from this study is compared to reports on two other Late Cretacous Arctic diatom assemblages. These three sites represent an environmental transect from shallow to distal shelf settings and into the oceanic realm.     

Lower and Middle Cambrian acritarchs from Northeastern Poland

Acid-resistant, organic-walled microfossils (acritarchs) are reported from Lower and Middle Cambrian rocks penetrated by borehole Okuniew IG-1 in the western Podlasie depression. The study showed the presence of 11 acritarch species previously known from coeval rocks in northeast Poland. The assemblage from the Okuniew borehole is compared with characteristic assemblages from other parts of the East European platform.     

The stratigraphical distribution of mid-Cretaceous Foraminifera near Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Ventnor No. 2 Borehole, located near Ventnor, Isle of Wight, penetrated the basal part of the Chalk Group and the Selborne Group before terminating in the upper part of the Lower Greensand Group (Sandrock Formation). The borehole was examined for Foraminifera, and although they were not seen in the Sandrock Formation and Monks Bay Sandstone Formation, the remainder of the borehole yielded moderately low diversity assemblages dominated by agglutinated species. Foraminiferal zones 3-6 (H dentatus to M. fallax/M. rostratum macrofaunal zones) were identified in the Gault Formation and zones 6 (lower) to 6a (M. fallax/M. rostratum to A. briacensis macrofaunal zones) were identified in the Upper Greensand Formation. Assemblages from the overlying West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation were used to identify foraminiferal zones BGS1-BGS3 (M. mantelli and M. dixoni macrofaunal zones).     

New data on stratigraphy (palynomorphs,ostracods, paleomagnetism) of Cenozoic continental deposits of the Ishim plain,Western Siberia

New micropaleontological and paleomagnetic data were obtained by studying core samples of Cenozoic continental deposits from two boreholes drilled in the south of Tyumen oblast (Western Siberia). Palynological assemblages in deposits of the Tavda (upper part), Novomikhailovka, Turtas, Abrosimovka, Tobolsk, Smirnovka, and Suzgun formations were described. Deposits of these formations are enriched in spore-pollen assemblages, which can be correlated with assemblages of regional palynozones of the West Siberian Plain. Ostracods were described in Quaternary deposits. On the basis of biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic data, the Late Eocene (Priabonian)–Holocene age of deposits was substantiated. For the first time, beds with dinocysts of genus Pseudokomewuia were identified in deposits of the Turtas Formation (Upper Oligocene) of the Ishim lithofacial area. In total, nine regional magnetozones were distinguished in the paleomagnetic section. On the basis of palynological and paleomagnetic data, sections of two boreholes were correlated, and hiatuses in sedimentation were revealed. A large hiatus is at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary (Western Siberia): the Lower Oligocene Atlym Horizon and Miocene–Pliocene and Eopleistocene sediments are missing. The Oligocene interval of the section is represented in a reduced volume.