Genetic interpretation of fish swimming trails and calculation of fish-body length in Late Triassic Hengshan, Shannxi Province, China

The fish swimming trail fossils are rare and, therefore, precious. The specimen described abroad are generally smaller or more poorly preserved. The specimens used in the present study and derived from the Mesozoic strata in Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province, China, are rare because of their completeness (with the length of the specimen reaching 4 m), exquisiteness and largeness in trace body. These specimens, classified as four ichnospecies, including two new ones, show the morphological pattern of the fish swimming trails. The trace fish bodies are calculated to be 32-92 cm long.     

Pioneer organisms after F-F mass extinction in Dushan region, Guizhou Province, and their significance in establishing new ecosystem

After bio-mass extinction, the ecosystems in most areas were damaged seriously and may become an “ecologically barren area” lacking or even without ecosystems. To know what the pioneer organisms would be and their development, and to trace the es- tablishment process of the ecosystems are of great importance for the study of the biological evolution and recovery in aftermath. As one of the “big five” mass extinctions in the geological history, the Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian (F-F) e…     

Significance of ichnofossils to genetic stratigraphy--Examples from the Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada

Trace fossils represent both sedimentological and paleontological entities, representing a unique blending of potential environmental indicators in the rock record. Trace fossils and trace fossil suites can be employed effectively to aid in the recognition of various discontinuity types and to assist in their genetic interpretation. Ichnology may be employed to resolve surfaces of stratigraphic significance in two main ways: 1) through the identification of discontinuities using substrate-controlled ichnofacies, and 2) through careful analysis of vertical softground (penecontemporaneous) ichnologic successions (analogous to facies successions). Ichnological analysis is a valuable tool in genetic stratigraphic studies. Integrating the data derived from substrate-controlled ichnofacies with paleoecological data from vertical ichnologic successions greatly enhances the recognition and interpretation of a wide variety of stratigraphic surfaces. When this is coupled with conventional facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy, a powerful approach to the interpretation of the rock record is generated.     

Microbial and molecular fossils from the Permian Zoophycos in South China

The trace fossil Zoophycos was enriched in the lower part of the Guadalupian Maokou Formation of Permian in Laibin, Guangxi of South China, and characterized by observable lamellae within its spreiten. Associated with these lamellae are the prolific coccus- and spirillum-shaped microbe fossils. These microbes morphologically identified are 0.4―3.0 μm in diameter or length. Molecular fossils, including normal alkanes (dominated by C18, without an odd-over-even predominance), acyclic isoprenoids (such as pristane (Pr) and phytane (Ph)), extended tricyclic terpanes, pentacyclic triterpanes, steranes, al-kylcyclohexanes, dibenzothiophenes, benzonaphthothiophenes, benzobisbenzothiophenes, were in-strumentally identified in the wackestone characterized by the occurrence of abundant Zoophycos (composite ichnofabric indices are 4) and crowded microbial fossils. The value of the Pr/Ph ratio is less than 1, indicative of a dysoxic condition. The identification of abundant sulfur compounds (the thio-phene series) related to the contribution of reductive sulfur favors the occurrence of sulphate-reducing bacteria. The association of abundant microbial colonies with microbial molecular fossils within the spreiten suggests that trace fossils Zoophycos would be a multifunctional garden carefully constructed by the Zoophycos-producer, where different microbial colonies were orderly and carefully planted and cultured in different minor lamellae within spreiten. Hence, it is proposed that the Zoophycos-producer symbiosed with microbial colonies on the mutual basis of food supply and the redox conditions.     

安徽省重要古生物化石资源及其意义

安徽省地处华北、华南板块的交变地带,沉积单元和生物群落均非常复杂,自晚太古代以来的各时代地层发育较全并含有丰富的无脊椎动物、脊椎动物、植物化石和遗迹化石等。该省的古生物化石资源以分布广泛,类型众多,保存完好,科学意义重大为主要特征。本文重点探讨了安徽省古生物化石资源的分布特征、赋存特征及具有地方特色的古生物化石类型,对该省古生物化石资源的意义进行了初步评价,并对安徽省古生物化石资源的深入研究和合理开发利用的方向进行了述评。     

Radiolarian fauna from the Chiungchussuan Shuijingtuo Formation(Cambrian Series 2) in Western Hubei Province,South China

Little is known regarding characteristics and evolution of radiolarian fossils in the early Cambrian due to its rarity and poor preservation. Here we report a new radiolarian fauna from the Cambrian Shuijingtuo Formation corresponding to the Chiungchussuan Stage(Cambrian Series 2) in western Hubei, China. It contains over 300 radiolarian tests and these fossils belong to 4 morphotypes, including Paraantygopora porosa gen.et sp. nov., Braunosphaera sinensis gen.et sp. nov., Tetrasphaera? sp. and incertae spherical radiolarians. In taxonomy, Spumellaria predominates in the fauna and comprises 92% of the total. In shell structure, about 73% of all specimens are similar to the early Ordovician radiolarian fossils, with the shell walls characterized by perforated plate structures. The spherical radiolarians with latticed shells constitute another feature of the early Cambrian radiolarian fauna. The radiolarian fauna reported here contains many fossil specimens and covers different taxonomical taxa. These specimens usually consist of distinctive concentric multi-layers with complex structure. These characteristics indicate that Radiolaria had already thrived during the Cambrian Chiungchussuan Stage(Series 2, Stage 3), which may have occurred synchronously with the explosion and prosperity of macrobiota recorded in the strata deposited in shallower water condition.     

Summary of taxa and morphological adaptations of the Desmostylia

Abstract Desmostylians from the Pacific coasts of Japan and North America are compared and taxonomy and adaptations in the mammalian order Desmostylia discussed. The taxonomy is based mainly on teeth and skulls. Feeding adaptations and habitat are discussed using teeth and restored skeletons, respectively. In the extinct order two families, six genera and 10 species can now be recognized. Each genus is distinguished by a set of tooth characters. The three species of the genus Paleoparadoxia have different body sizes. Two species of the genus Desmostylus can be distinguished on morphological differences in the cranium. As a result it is clear that both species, D. hesperus , which had long been recognized only in North America, and D. japonicus , which has hitherto been recognized only in Japan, inhabited both coasts of the Pacific. All genera of the Order Desmostylia share a common and distinctive body form, interpreted by Inuzuka as having a laterally placed limb posture. Based on this body form, the optimum habitat is thought to have been an intertidal sandy beach. The dental morphology is variable, and derived species show an adaptation for wear by an abrasive diet. In conclusion, we theorize that the Order Desmostylia was adapted for a coastal habitat from its inception, with each genus adapting to a different sort of herbivorous diet.     

Preferred orientation of the trace fossil Entradichnus meniscus in eolian dune strata (Djadokhta Formation) at Tugrikiin Shiree,southern Mongolia and its paleoecological implications

Eolian sand dune deposits of the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation at Tugrikiin Shiree, southern Mongolia, yield not only dinosaur skeletal remains but also numerous trace fossils produced by invertebrates. This paper describes the trace fossil Entradichnus meniscus, a long unlined and unbranched trail that is filled with meniscate laminae and occurs characteristically in positive epirelief. The trail is straight to gently meandering, parallel to the foreset laminae of the eolian dunes, and exhibits a significant preferred orientation parallel to the depositional dip of the cross‐stratification laminae. In addition, almost all the crescentic internal laminae of the trail show concave down‐dips. These features indicate that the trails were produced beneath the slipface of eolian dunes by the downward burrowing of the trace‐makers. This occurrence mode of E. meniscus of the Mongolian Cretaceous is very similar to that described from the Jurassic eolian dune deposits in North America. Hence, the downward burrowing of the E. meniscus animal might be a common feature in arid eolian dune deposits at least during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and possibly reflecting a behavioral response to the morphology of large sand dunes under an arid climate.     

Discovery of branched tubular algae and microscopic tubes with annular-helical thickening from the Mesoproterozoic Ruyang Group of Shanxi,North China

~~Discovery of branched tubular algae and microscopic tubes with annular-helical thickening from the Mesoproterozoic Ruyang Group of Shanxi, North China~~     

Magnetostratigraphic dating of Early Miocene deep-sea fossils from the Morozaki Group in central Japan

Early Miocene sediments of the Morozaki Group in central Japan contain deep-sea fossils that have been dated using biostratigraphic and radiometric data. In this study, we utilize magnetostratigraphy to provide a more precise age for mudstones from just below the layer containing the fossils. Rock magnetic experiments suggest that both magnetic iron sulfide and Ti-poor titanomagnetite carry the remanent magnetization of the mudstones. Two different stratigraphic sites have normal polarity directions with a northeastern declination, which can be correlated with Chronozone C5Dn. Given their magnetostratigraphic position near the C5Dn/C5Dr chronozone boundary (17.466 Ma) and a high sedimentation rate, the estimated age for both the sites and the deep-sea fossils is ~17.4 Ma. The northeasterly-directed site-mean directions suggest clockwise tectonic rotation, most likely due to the Early Miocene clockwise rotation of Southwest Japan associated with the back-arc opening of the Japan Sea. The deep-sea fossils, dated at ~17.4 Ma, represent organisms deposited within a submarine structural depression formed by crustal extension during the back-arc opening stage.     

Fossil nothofagaceous leaves from the Eocene of western Antarctica and their bearing on the origin, dispersal and systematics of Nothofagus

Fossil leaves resembling Nothofagaceae have been investigated from the Eocene of western Antarctica and a new form genus Nothofagofolia is proposed for these kinds of fossils. Some new specimens belonging to this form genus are described. They were collected from the Fossil Hill locality of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, western Antarctica. Two new species, two new combinations and an unnamed species are reported. A number of published Nothofagus leaf fossils from the same locality are discussed and revised. As a result of these studies of Nothofagus leaf morphology, we conclude that (1) Nothofagus probably originated in high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the middle-late Late Cretaceous and diversified, dispersed gradually to the lower latitudes of the same hemisphere; (2) leaf morphological characters are significant for the systematics of the family Nothofagaceae, especially at the intrageneric level; and (3) extant species of Nothofagus known from southern temperate areas have more primitive leaf morphological characters and lower leaf ranks than those from tropical mountains as well as those of the Fagaceae and Betulaceae. Supported by the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology & Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaoentology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 013106), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30670159) and the Fund of Innovation Program by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences     

The Pleistocene vermicular red earth in South China signaling the global climatic change: The molecular fossil record

The widespread (with a distribution area of 2.2?06 km2) Pleistocene red earth is believed to be one of the most detailed records of the environmental and climatic changes in South China. However, the previous research mainly covers the rough dating, pedo…     

Millennium‐scale recurrent uplift inferred from beach deposits bordering the eastern Nankai Trough,Omaezaki area,central Japan

A flight of Holocene marine terraces on the southwestern coast of Cape Omaezaki of central Japan provides evidence of recurrent millennium‐scale uplift events. We reconstructed the uplift history of these terraces by using facies analysis of drill core and geoslicer samples, environmental analysis of trace fossils, and ¹⁴C age determinations. Coastal uplift can be identified by the displacement of beach deposits such as foreshore deposits, which represent the intertidal swash zone of a wave‐dominated sandy coast. Three levels of former beach deposits facing the Nankai Trough were identified near the coast in the Omaezaki area. The highest of these, dated at about 3020–2880 BC, records a maximum of 2.2–2.7 m of emergence. The middle beach surface, of minimum age 370–190 BC, shows 1.6–2.8 m of emergence. The lowest beach surface, which is older than 1300–1370 AD, records 0.4–1.6 m of emergence. Our analysis of vertical crustal deformation data during the Holocene in this region suggests that rapid and strong uplift was restricted to the southwestern coast of the Omaezaki area and was probably caused by high‐angle thrusting on subsidiary faults branching from the underlying plate boundary megathrust.     

Earliest microbially mediated pyrite oxidation in ~ 3.4 billion-year-old sediments

Pyrite (FeS₂) oxidation in modern sedimentary environments is neither a purely chemical nor purely microbial process, but it is significantly enhanced by the activity of microorganisms that use reduced forms of iron and sulphur in their metabolisms. On the early Earth, where oxygen levels were thought to be < 10^?5 of the present atmospheric level and chemical oxidants scarce, such biological mediation may have been critical in the redox cycles of iron and sulphur. Here, we show that detrital sedimentary pyrite grains in a ~ 3.4 billion-year-old sandstone were colonised by microbial communities. The detrital pyrite comes from the basal quartz arenite member of the 3.43–3.35 Ga Strelley Pool Formation (SPF) in the East Strelley greenstone belt of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Rock chips and petrographic thin sections of black sandstones occurring on two ridges close to the SPF type locality of Strelley Pool were investigated using optical microscopy, SEM, TEM, laser Raman and NanoSIMS. The detrital pyrite grains exhibit laminated carbonaceous coatings of early Archean age, with localised enrichments of nitrogen that are interpreted as the in situ remains of biofilms growing on these nutrient-rich minerals. Pyrite surfaces contain spherical pits, chains of pits and channels that are morphologically distinct from abiotic alteration features. The pits and channels are widespread, have a clustered distribution typical of microbial colonisation, and are closely comparable to biologically mediated microstructures in the younger rock record and those created by extant Fe- and S-oxidising microbes in the laboratory. They are thus interpreted as trace fossils formed by the attachment of bacteria to the pyrite surfaces. A nano-layer and discreet nano-grains of secondary mineral precipitates, namely Fe-oxides belonging to the magnetite-maghaemite group, attest to pyrite oxidation. These are intimately associated with the biofilms and trace fossils, and are interpreted to represent the fossilised mineral products of biologically mediated pyrite oxidation. These data extend the geological range of microbes capable of metabolising reduced Fe and/or S compounds back to the early Archean and indicate that pyrite-rich sedimentary rocks provide promising targets in the search for extraterrestrial life.     

Periodic anoxic shelf in the Early-Middle Ordovician transition: ichnosedimentologic evidence from west-central Utah, USA

Ichnosedimentologic evidence of periodic anoxic shelf in the Early-Middle Ordovician transition includes lower ichnodiversity, shallower bioturbation and burrowing depth (&lt;4 cm), rare domichnia, tinyChondrites occupying shallower or shallowest tiering, widely distributed nodules of limonite pseudomorphs after pyrite, occurrence of trace fossils being closely associated with the storm event layers, and stratigraphic successions with orbital cyclostratigraphic architecture. It is suggested that lower atmospheric oxygen level during the Early Paleozoic, the Ordovician radiation, dramatic transgression and warmer temperatures would result in the periodic anoxia in the Early-Middle Ordovician transition. This episode began at the later Early Ordovician and lasted about 3.4 Ma on the basis of orbital cyclostratigraphy.     

Geochemical evidence for non-marine depositional environment of foraminiferal fossils from the Nihewan Basin, China

From the first finding in 1970s, the findings of foraminiferal fossil assemblages in inland basins have been reported from time to time, especially in recent years. The debates on the depositional environment of foraminiferal fossils have become the hot spot of researches again in China. Based on the researches of trace element geochemistry and electron scanning microscope of shells of Quaternary foraminiferal fossils from the Xiaodukou section in the inland Nihewan basin, the original ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and other geochemical information of shells were believed to be preserved well and could be used to rebuild the geochemistry of contemporary waters where foraminifera deposited, although there existed some effects of burial diagenesis on the geochemistry of shells to a certain extent. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of well-preserved Xiaodukou foraminiferal shells were measured, giving a range of 0.711190±25–0.712018±14, apparently higher than the value of contemporary seawater (0.709087–0.709147) and similar to that of the Sanggan River, proving that it represented the value of the ancient lacustrine water. The hyperbolic mixing models of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-palaeosalinity and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-Sr/Ca indicated that the contemporary waters where Xiaodukou foraminifera inhabited was an inland lake and there was no seawater input to the depositional environment.     

甘肃陇中盆地会宁关公滩剖面磁性地层年代学研究

本文对陇中盆地会宁含小哺乳动物化石的关公滩剖面河湖相沉积序列进行了详细的岩石磁学和磁性地层学研究,磁化率各向异性结果表明关公滩剖面沉积物记录了典型的原生沉积组构,沉积物沉积以后几乎没有受到后期的扰动.最大磁化率主轴方向与现今的古水流流向基本一致,表明区域西高东低的地貌至少在中更新世早期已经形成.磁滞回线、等温剩磁获得曲线的矫顽力谱分析、三轴等温剩磁退磁曲线等岩石磁学结果显示：关公滩剖面河湖相沉积物的磁性矿物有磁铁矿、磁赤铁矿和赤铁矿,其中磁铁矿和赤铁矿是主要的剩磁载体,但其特征剩磁载体以赤铁矿为主.系统退磁结果显示,在大部分样品中,磁铁矿和赤铁矿均记录了几乎相同的特征剩磁的方向,整个剖面呈现单一的正极性.另外,关公滩剖面底部河湖相沉积物中产出丰富的小哺乳动物牙齿化石,经初步研究包括复齿鼠兔（Ochotonoides complicidens）、丁氏鼢鼠（Myospalax tingi）、方氏鼢鼠（Myospalax fontanieri）、变异仓鼠（Cricetinus varians）、大林姬鼠（Cricetinus varians）、复齿旱獭（Marmota complicidens）等六个种类,其中丁氏鼢鼠和复齿鼠兔是相对原始的种类,其时代跨越早更新世至中更新世早期,其他都是我国北方中、晚更新世常见的种类,该小哺乳动物化石组合性质表明其时代很可能为中更新世早期.因此,综合磁性地层学和小哺乳动物生物年代学结果,关公滩剖面记录了布容正极性时的沉积,剖面底部堆积及其哺乳动物群的时代应为中更新世早期.

     

Depositional model of Early Permian reef-island ocean in Eastern Kunlun

Many fusulinid fossils have been found in thin- to middle-bedded limestones which are distributed between the Early Permian limestone hills and formerly considered as Early Triassic. The fusulinid fossils, identified asNeoshwagerina sp.,Verbeekina sp. andSchwagerina sp., can also be found in massive limestone hills. At the same time, Early Permian radiolarian chert of deep basin facies was discovered in Animaqing. All the above show that the massive limestone hills, thin- to middle-bedded limestones and radiolarian chert belong to syndeposits in Early Permian ocean. The sediments in the study area can roughly be divided into three types: shallow facies, basin facies and transitional facies. The carbonate buildup can be subdivided into massive bioclastic limestone and reef framestone. Basin facies contains thin- or middle-bedded limestone, abyssal red mudstone or ooze, blue-green mudstone and radiolarian chert. Transitional facies includes reef talus and platformal skirt facies. The Early Permian ocean in Eastern Kunlun is recognized as a kind of reef-island ocean environment according to distribution and composition of different facies. The reef-island ocean in Eastern Kunlun is characterized by reef islands (or carbonate buildups) alternating with basins, complicated sea-floor topography, sharp facial change and well-developed reefs.     

Application of radiolarians and other fossils in non-Smith strata--Exemplified by the A'nyêmaqên melange belt in East Kunlun Mts

The main character of melange strata in an orogenic belt is the integration of mixed materials due to the superposition, displacement or loss of various tectonic slices (blocks) of different origins and environments, different scales, different grades of deformation and metamorphism, and different stages of tectonic evolution. The approach to non-Smith strata in an orogenic belt is to focus on the understanding of the age, facies, tectonic setting of the original formation and the process of deformation-metamorphism of each tectonic slice, reconstruct the history of dispersal and integration of these tectonic slices in time and space, i.e. 4-dimensional. This paper studies the age and facies of the original formation of tectonic slices in the A'nyêmaqên melange belt based on new data of radiolarians, sporo-pollen and trace fossils, and cast new lights on the research of the evolution process of that belt.     

PARTIAL COHERENCE MATCHING OF SYNTHETIC SEISMOGRAMS WITH SEISMIC TRACES*

A crucial step in the use of synthetic seismograms is the estimation of the filtering needed to convert the synthetic reflection spike sequence into a clearly recognizable approximation of a given seismic trace. In the past the filtering has been effected by a single wavelet, usually found by trial and error, and evaluated by eye. Matching can be made more precise than this by using spectral estimation procedures to determine the contribution of primaries and other reflection components to the seismic trace. The wavelet or wavelets that give the least squares best fit to the trace can be found, the errors of fit estimated, and statistics developed for testing whether a valid match can be made. If the composition of the seismogram is assumed to be known (e.g. that it consists solely of primaries and internal multiples) the frequency response of the best fit wavelet is simply the ratio of the cross spectrum between the synthetic spike sequence and the seismic trace to the power spectrum of the synthetic spike sequence, and the statistics of the match are related to the ordinary coherence function. Usually the composition cannot be assumed to be known (e.g. multiples of unknown relative amplitude may be present), and the synthetic sequence has to be split into components that contribute in different ways to the seismic trace. The matching problem is then to determine what filters should be applied to these components, regarded as inputs to a multichannel filter, in order to best fit the seismic trace, regarded as a noisy output. Partial coherence analysis is intended for just this problem. It provides fundamental statistics for the match, and it cannot be properly applied without interpreting these statistics. A useful and concise statistic is the ratio of the power in the total filtered synthetic trace to the power in the errors of fit. This measures the overall goodness-of-fit of the least squares match. It corresponds to a coherent (signal) to incoherent (noise) power ratio. Two limits can be set on it: an upper one equal to the signal-to-noise ratio estimated from the seismic data themselves, and a lower one defined from the distribution of the goodness-of-fit ratios yielded by matching with random noise of the same bandwidth and duration as the seismic trace segment. A match can be considered completely successful if its goodness-of-fit reaches the upper limit; it is rejected if the goodness-of-fit falls below the lower one.