A New,Well-Preserved Species of Glaresidae (Coleoptera:Scarabaeoidea) from the Jehol Biota of China

<正>Glaresis orthochilus sp.nov.(Scarabaeoidea:Glaresidae),the best preserved glaresid fossil,is described and illustrated from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning province,north-east China.Glaresidae, the sister group of all extant Scarabaeoidea was established in the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous and contained larger species than those found today.     

Paleophytochemical Constituents from the Pliocene Fossil Wood of Pinus Armandii from Longling,Yunnan

Specimens of fossil wood preserved lignified in Pliocene brown coal and identified as Pinus armandii Francher come from an opencast coalmine at Longling in western Yunnan Province, China. Phytochemical investigation of the fossil wood isolated using liquid column chromatography seven compounds （1-7） including a new fluorene derivative named 11,11-dimethyl-11H-benzo[b]fluorene. A further 28 volatiles were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. Spectroscopic investigation methods, including MS and 1D and 2D-NMR techniques elucidated the structure of the seven compounds. Two types of natural products, isopimara and stilbene commonly occuring in extant and Pliocene fossil P. armandii indicate phytochemical fidelity during burial under certain circumstances in sediments. Discovery of stilbenes that can inhibit the activities of wood-destroying fungi in the Pliocene P. armandii prompts the assumption that the chemical preservation of this Pliocene fossil wood of P. armandii in brown coal might contribute to the presence of inner natural inhibitors against wood-destroying fungi.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pterospermumocarpon</Emphasis>, a new malvalean fruit from the Sindhudurg Formation (Miocene) of Maharashtra,India, and its phytogeographical significance

Pterospermumocarpon (Type: P. kalviwadiensis), a new morphogenus of fossil fruits showing resemblance with fruits of extant Pterospermum Schreb. (Malvaceae s.l.), is described from the Sindhudurg Formation (Miocene) at the Kalviwadi Village, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra, India. Diagnostic feature of the fossil taxon is the dehiscent pentalocular capsule with five distinct sutures and imprints of winged seed-like structures in the locules. Recent modifications in the systematics of the Malvales, their fossil record, and the distribution and migration of Pterospermum and other malvalean taxa in the context of the Indian subcontinent are discussed.     

A New Material of Lindera (Lauraceae) of the Late Pliocene from Tengchong, Yunnan and the Genus' Biogeography Significance

Lindera is a large genus of graceful, pleasantly scented and common native trees and shrubs of southern China and neighboring regions of SE Asia. There is a well-documented Cenozoic fossil record not only in these regions but also from elsewhere. A new fossil leaf record has been found in diatomite beds from the Upper Pliocene Mangbang Formation of Tuantian, Tengchong County, Yunnan. The leaves are identified and assigned to Lindera acuminatissima K. Q. Dao et B. N. Sun sp. nov., by comparing their leaf architecture and epidermal characteristics with those of 51 extant Lauraceae species and with 15 known fossil Lindera taxa. The specimens have well-preserved cuticles, with typical leaf architecture and epidermal characteristics of the Lauraceae, including entire leaf margin, intramarginal veins, basal ternate acrodromous primary veins, one-cell trichome base, paracytic stomatal apparatus, sunken guard cells, subsidiary hardly staining cells and presence of oil cells. These characteristics are consistent with Lindera sect. Daphnidium but are different from reported fossil and extant species of Lindera. The cuticles of Lindera are fragile and delicate with only three Lindera fossils reported based on this tissue. In terms of paleobiogeography, the fossil record indicates that Lindera is distributed in high- to mid-latitude regions of the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene northern hemisphere. Coincidentally, the records of Lindera located on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge possibly support the hypothesis that ancient plants extended via transcontinental exchanges through the Bering Corridor. In the Eocene, ancient Lindera spread to Europe through the Northern Degeer Route and the Southern Thulian Route. At the same time, ancient Lindera spread into Central Asia. Climatic changes and tectonization since the Neogene prevented the propagation of Lindera throughout Asia, North America and Europe, and hence the distribution areas have just regressed to the low-latitude regions in Asia and North America. From the Paleogene to the Neogene, Lindera has changed its distribution by surviving extreme climate changes. Quaternary glaciations ultimately led to Lindera becoming extinct in Europe. The new record from Tengchong, Yunnan, with its lower latitude located in tropical and subtropical regions, indicates that Lindera has lived in those regions since the late Pliocene.     

2Passalopalpidae,a new family from the Cretaceous Burmese amber,as the possible sister group of Passalidae Leach (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea)

A new family of Scarabaeoidea is revealed from the Cretaceous amber of Myanmar (earliest Cenomanian, near 100 Ma), on a series of males and females, most in perfect condition. Passalopalpidae fam. nov., Passalopalpus cheni gen. et sp. nov., are probably extinct since a long time. Observations were made on the whole body (head, thorax, abdomen) and appendages (mouthparts, antennae, legs, wings). Most characters are remarkable and plesiomorphic, compared to Passalidae Leach, as well as to some other Scarabaeoidea. Morphological characteristics demonstrate that the fossil species is typically « passaloid », but that it cannot belongs to Passalidae. Passalopalpidae and Passalidae are clearly distinct families, with strong assumption to be sister groups. The systematic interpretation of the fossil could fill a historic gap: the sister group of Passalidae had been established previously never in a solid way. Passalids are Gondwanian, whereas passalopalpids lived on former eastern Laurasia. Vicariance of both taxa, each on one of the super-continents, seems to support recent hypotheses of phylogeny and paleobiogeography for Passalidae. Other preliminary notes are given on the morphology, biology and phylogenetic relationships of passalopalpids.     

A Fresh Look at Dickinsonia： Removing It from Vendobionta

The Ediacaran Dickinsonia is well-known for being the only fossil to be assigned to many phyla, ranging from lichens, Cnidaria, Piatyheiminthes, Annelida, and a phylum of its own to a nonmetazoan kingdom. A new specimen from the Ediacaran fine-grained sandstone on the Winter Coast of the White Sea in northern Russia, which has an age of -555 million years ago, preserved convincing internal anatomies of definite animals, comparable with meridionai canals of extant ctenophores （comb jellies）. Additionally, we reconsidered Dickinsonia as a biradiaily symmetrical animal rather than a bilateral one as previously thought. The animal nature of Dickinsonia is, thus, well established and its affinities are most probably allied to ctenophores. This research is not only removing Dickinsonia from Vendobionta, but also bringing the fossil record of ctenophores forward to 20 million years before the Cambrian ＂explosion＂.     

Evidence for geographic variation in the diets of late Pleistocene and early Holocene Bison in North America, and differences from the diets of recent Bison

During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, Bison was widely dispersed across North America and occupied most regions not covered by ice sheets. A dietary study on Bison paleopopulations from Alaska, New Mexico, Florida, and Texas was performed using two methods that relate dental wear patterns to diet, mesowear analysis and microwear analysis. These data were compared to a mixed sample of extant Bison from the North American central plains, extant wood Bison from Alberta (Canada) and a variety of other modern ungulates. Mesowear relates macroscopic molar facet shape to levels of dietary abrasion. The mesowear signature observed on fossil Bison differs significantly from the hyper-abrasive grazing diet of extant Bison. Tooth microwear examines wear on the surface of enamel at a microscopic scale. The microwear signal of fossil samples resembles to modern Bison, but the fossil samples show a greater diversity of features, suggesting that fossil Bison populations regularly consumed food items that are texturally inconsistent with the short-grass diet typical of modern plains Bison. Mesowear and microwear signals of fossil Bison samples most closely resemble a variety of typical mixed feeding ungulates, all with diets that are substantially less abrasive than what is typical for modern plains Bison. Furthermore, statistical tests suggest significant differences between the microwear signatures of the fossil samples, thus revealing geographic variability in Pleistocene Bison diets. This study reveals that fossils are of value in developing an understanding of the dietary breadth and ecological versatility of species that, in recent times, are rare, endangered, and occupy only a small remnant of their former ranges.     

Paliurus (Paliureae,Rhamnaceae) from the Miocene of East China and its Macrofossil-based Phylogenetic and Phytogeographical History

The extant genus Paliurus Miller is divided into P. ramosissimus and P. spina-christi groups and is diagnostically characterized by distinctive orbicular-winged fruits with a trilocular （or often bilocular） ovary and basally triveined leaves with a subentire to serrate margin. Here, structurally preserved winged fruits and associated compressed leaves of Paliurus （Paliureae, Rhamnaceae） are reported from the Middle-Upper Miocene Shengxian Formation of Tiantai, Zhejiang, eastern China. The fruits can be identified as Paliurus microcarpa Xiang-Chuan Lisp. nov., the diagnostic characters of external morphology and anatomy of which differ from those of both extant and fossil generic members; the leaves can be designated as Paliurus sp. The species based on winged fruits, P. microcarpa, might represent an ancient intermediate link exclusively known across the P. ramosissimus and P. spina-christi groups, showing a closer affinity to the P. ramosissimus group based on the resemblant smaller fruits with a narrower wing, and to the P. spina-christi group based on the similar wing structure and texture, respectively. Morphological analyses of the present and previous fossil fruit records around the world indicate that diversification of Paliurus had begun in northern transpacific regions by the Late Eocene. The macrofossil records, i.e., fruits and leaves of Paliurus globally when projected on paleoenvironmental maps in view of changing continental positions through time （from Eocene to Miocene） display that the past distribution of the genus was much wider than the present and belongs to a tropical and warm temperate realm of the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, the modern restricted disjunction in tropical and warm temperate regions of East Asia and South Europe （even eastwards West Asia） might represent glacial refugia for some of the generic ancient lineages to survive severe cold at least since the terminal Pliocene.     

云南临沧晚中新世一种水龙骨科植物化石的修订及其生物学意义

云南现代真蕨类植物资源丰富,蕨类植物多样性的地史起源,必须从化石记录入手。在云南临沧上中新统邦卖组植物化石采集中发现了槲蕨属1块不育叶和2块腐殖叶的新材料,这些标本为修订Drynaria propinqua Wen et al.,2013,以及揭示该种不育叶和腐殖叶的特征提供了新的材料。通过与槲蕨属国内外报道的化石种和现生种的详细比较,将其重新定名为Drynaria cf.propinqua。Drynaria cf.propinqua的发现,表明云南临沧晚中新世的气候与现今中国西南地区温暖湿润的气候类似,这些附生植物的生活习性表明,临沧地区复杂分层的森林生态系统至少在晚中新世已经确立。     

Buxus Leaves from the Oligocene of Guangxi, China and Their Biogeographical Signi?cance

The present paper reports two new species of Buxus from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China, on the basis of several compressed fossil leaves. Buxus ningmingensis sp. nov. is characterized by an elliptic to ovate shape; pinnate venation with marginal secondary, long hairs on the adaxial side of the midvein base; and amphistomatic, anomocytic stomata with a prominent outer ring. All of these characteristics suggest a closest af?nity to the living Buxus microphylla subsp. sinica. Another new species identi?ed as Buxus preaustro-yunnanensis sp. nov. is characterized by the diagnostic formation of its admedially branched tertiaries, the trunks of which are often strongly thickened by sclereides. This species is most similar to the extant Buxus austro-yunnanensis. The co-occurrence of Buxus ningmingensis sp. nov. and Buxus preaustro-yunnanensis sp. nov. suggests that these two Buxus lived during the Oligocene under a warm, tropical to subtropical climate, similar to the current climate of Ningming. Our ?ndings provide the earliest fossil evidence of Buxus leaves with detailed illustrations of leaf architectural and cuticular features. The occurrence of these two species indicates that Buxus began to diversify in Guangxi no later than the Oligocene.     

A New Species of Cupressinocladus from the Lower Cretaceous of Guyang Basin, Inner Mongolia, China and Cluster Analysis

Cupressinocladus Seward is a fossil genus of conifers and conifer fossils with reproductive organs are very rare. In general, it is difficult to understand the natural affinities with other conifers. In this paper, a new species, Cupressinocladus guyangensis P.H. Jin et B.N. Sun sp. nov., is reported based on branches with immature female cones from the Lower Cretaceous Guyang Formation of the Guyang Basin in Inner Mongolia, northern China. The foliage shoots are decussate. Leaves are decussate, imbricate, scale-like, weakly dimorphic, and bear longitudinal glands on the abaxial view. Stomata complexes are haplocheilic, monocyclic, irregularly arranged, and spread along the leaf margin. Immature female cones are subglobose with 6–8 cone scales, and three subglobose ovules arranged in a row at the base of the cone scales. Moreover, we performed cluster analysis using a statistics and machine learning toolbox for 23 fossils and extant species based on 16 morphological characters. The result implies that the new species bears a close resemblance to the extant Cupressus funebris Endl. and might have nearest systematic affinities to it.     

The first fossil Compsocidae from Cretaceous Burmese amber (Insecta, Psocoptera, Troctomorpha)

The first fossil record of the Compsocidae, Burmacompsocus perreaui gen. et sp. nov., is described from Late Albian Burmese amber. Its strong similarity to the two extant compsocid genera suggests a remarkable morphological stability within this group of 100 Ma. This family, now known only in Central America, was certainly more widespread in the past.     

A fossil aardvark (Mammalia, Tubulidentata) from the lower Pliocene of Chad

The Mission Paléoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne (MPFT) found a new species of Orycteropodidae (Mammalia, Tubulidentata) in the Kollé fossiliferous sector, northern Chad. After Orycteropus abundulafus [Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (1) (2000) 205–209; Lehmann, T., Vignaud, P., Likius A., Brunet M., in press. A new Orycteropodidae (Mammalia, Tubulidentata) in the Mio-Pliocene of Northern Chad. Zool. J. Linnean Soc.], this specimen is the second complete skeleton of fossil aardvark found in the Djurab desert. It is the first complete representative of an Orycteropus species found in the Pliocene of Africa. In regard to the Miocene fossil aardvarks, this new taxon, Orycteropus djourabensis nov. sp., shows more affinities with the extant O. afer. The main differences are the larger teeth and the shorter hand in the fossil form. Kossom Bougoudi and Kollé represent a chronological series that gives a unique opportunity for studying the evolution of the African Tubulidentata around the Mio-Pliocene boundary (5.5-4 My). The new species is distinct from the older Chadian Orycteropodid from KB and it embodies the taxonomic turnover that took place within the order Tubulidentata around this boundary in Africa. Moreover, this new species is the oldest known Orycteropus species that clearly belongs to the modern forms including the extant aardvark.     

New Genus of the Subfamily Geotrupinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Geotrupindae) from the Jehol Biota

Parageotrupes incanus gen. et sp. nov. (Scarabaeoidea: Geotrupidae: Geotrupinae) is described and illustrated from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning province, China.     

Discovery of antler from a new site in the Pinjor Formation (Pleistocene) of Pakistan

Partially complete right antler from the Pinjor Formation (Pleistocene) of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup is identified, described and its phylogenetic relationship is discussed. The fossil antler is compared with other known fossil records of family Cervidae as well as with the extant species, on the basis of which it can be attributed to Axis punjabiensis. This species has not been reported previously from this fossil site.     

New Mesozoic Mesopsychidae(Mecoptera)from Northeastern China

<正>The Mesozoic family Mesopsychidae Tillyard,1917 presently consists of seven described genera and 13 species from the mid-Triassic to the Early Cretaceous of Australia,South Africa and Eurasia.In the present paper one new genus and three new species of fossil mesopsychids are described that add significant distributional and stratigraphic extensions to the family.This finding documents the first formal record of fossil Mesopsychidae in China.Both Lichnomesopsyche gloriae gen.et sp.nov.and L.daohugouensis gen.et sp.nov. were found from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia,whereas Vitimopsyche kozlovi sp. nov.,of mid Early Cretaceous age,was collected from the Jehol Biota of northern Hebei Province.This new,well-preserved material from China reveals complete and previously unknown body features,including head, antennae,mouthparts,legs and abdomen.The delicate and long proboscides of these new taxa indicate that they were feeding on externally exposed,nutrient-rich fluids of gymnospermous ovulate fructifications,and incapable of piercing surface epidermis-attributable principally to the absence of stylets.These proboscides originated, perhaps multiply,among basal Mecoptera and are functionally and structurally convergent with equivalent mouthparts borne by fossil and extant Diptera,Lepidoptera,Neuroptera and Coleoptera.     

A New Family of Moths from the Middle Jurassic (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

<正>Three lepidopteran species,from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds(inner Mongolia,China),are described in a new family,Mesokristenseniidae,and new genus,Mesokristensenia,which could represent the sister group of the Micropterigidae.Mesokristensenia differs from all extant Lepidoptera,but one genus(Agathiphaga, Agathiphagidae),in retaining four median veins in the forewing,a plesiomorphy also present in many Trichoptera. Evidence for placing Mesokristensenia in the Lepidoptera includes four traits,notably a previously unrecorded autapomorphy of this insect order:beyond stem M1+2,vein M1 is bent and connected to cross-vein r-m(in both wing pairs).Among 24 characters taken into account to assess the systematic position of Mesokristensenia,12 are considered informative for a cladistic analysis involving this fossil taxon and the four suborders recognized in present-day Lepidoptera(Zeugloptera,Aglossata,Heterobathmiina,and Glossata).     

二纺蛛总科（蜘蛛目：新蛛下目）蜘蛛化石研究进展

二纺蛛总科包括5个现生科、5个化石科以及一些科级位置未定的化石物种,是蜘蛛目中较为古老的一个类群。目前已知最早的二纺蛛总科化石记录可以追溯到早侏罗世,但分子系统发育研究推测其起源时间为二叠纪。二纺蛛总科蜘蛛在中生代最为繁盛,化石物种相对较多,是蜘蛛化石类群的重要组成部分。而现生二纺蛛总科蜘蛛十分稀少,且主要分布在热带和亚热带地区。近年来的系统发育研究认为二纺蛛总科可能是复杂生殖器类的姐妹群,是蜘蛛演化研究的关键类群。因此,本文对二纺蛛总科分类系统的研究历史进行了回顾,总结了二纺蛛总科化石类群在不同地质历史时期的组成和分布,统计了二纺蛛总科蜘蛛化石的名录。目前,二纺蛛总科蜘蛛化石分类研究基础薄弱,部分化石类群的系统位置存疑,二纺蛛总科内部系统发育关系尚不清晰。在将来的研究中,需要利用多种技术手段获取化石材料的形态学信息,打好分类学基础;结合化石类群和现生类群进行系统发育分析;进而联系古地理、古生态、生物学行为等研究,全方位分析二纺蛛总科的自然演化历史。     

A New Species of Ginkgo with Male Cones and Pollen Grains in situ from the Middle Jurassic of Eastern Xinjiang, China

Well-preserved Ginkgo pollen organs are analyzed from the Middle Jurassic Xishanyao Formation of the Turpan–Hami Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China, and are described as a new species, Ginkgo hamiensis Z.X. Wang et B.N. Sun sp. nov. The immature male cones are cylindrical and catkin-like, with two longitudinal stripes on the stalk. The pollen sacs are shaped like a long oval with two pollen sacs fused together for each microsporophyll, and the microsporophyll tip is a triangular cystidium. The pollen grains are oblong or fusiform and monocolpate; both ends are blunt or sharp. By comparison with previously reported fossil records of Ginkgo plants, we determined that the current fossils are different from all other reported species; thus, the present fossil is referred to as a new species of Ginkgo. The reproductive organs of the Ginkgo fossils described herein can provide valuable information for the study of Ginkgo plants. Further, there are two probable evolutionary trends in the Ginkgo pollen cones. One trend is that the number of pollen sacs changed from three or four during the Jurassic and Cretaceous to two at the present day; the other is that the number of pollen sacs has remained two from the Middle Jurassic to the present day. In addition, the pollen cones described herein are similar to the pollen cones of the extant Ginkgo, which strongly indicates that the morphology of Ginkgo plants may have remained highly conserved over millions of years.     

二纺蛛总科（蜘蛛目：新蛛下目）蜘蛛化石研究进展

二纺蛛总科包括5个现生科、5个化石科以及一些科级位置未定的化石物种,是蜘蛛目中较为古老的一个类群。目前已知最早的二纺蛛总科化石记录可以追溯到早侏罗世,但分子系统发育研究推测其起源时间为二叠纪。二纺蛛总科蜘蛛在中生代最为繁盛,化石物种相对较多,是蜘蛛化石类群的重要组成部分。而现生二纺蛛总科蜘蛛十分稀少,且主要分布在热带和亚热带地区。近年来的系统发育研究认为二纺蛛总科可能是复杂生殖器类的姐妹群,是蜘蛛演化研究的关键类群。因此,本文对二纺蛛总科分类系统的研究历史进行了回顾,总结了二纺蛛总科化石类群在不同地质历史时期的组成和分布,统计了二纺蛛总科蜘蛛化石的名录。目前,二纺蛛总科蜘蛛化石分类研究基础薄弱,部分化石类群的系统位置存疑,二纺蛛总科内部系统发育关系尚不清晰。在将来的研究中,需要利用多种技术手段获取化石材料的形态学信息,打好分类学基础;结合化石类群和现生类群进行系统发育分析;进而联系古地理、古生态、生物学行为等研究,全方位分析二纺蛛总科的自然演化历史。