A New Species of Gobiconodon (Mammalia) from Western Liaoning, China and its Implication for the Dental Formula of Gobiconodon

A new species of Gobiconodon from the Early Cretaceous in the Lujiatun locality of western Liaoning is erected based on an almost complete skull and lower jaw. It has a flatten skull roof, the lambdoidal crest is strongly curved forward, and the sagittal crest is short and low. There is a protuberance near the anterior base of the zygoma. The preservation of the upper teeth is very rare in all known Gobiconodon, and this provides important information for the study on the formula of Gobiconodon. The new species is the fifth primitive mammal unearthed from the Lujiatun locality, and is of great value for the study of the geological age of the stratigraphy at Lujiatun by primitive mammal material.     

New Tapejarid Pterosaur from Western Liaoning, China

A new tapejarid pterosaur Huaxiapterus jii gen. et sp. nov. is erected based on a nearly complete skeleton with a skull. The skull morphology of Huaxiapterus jii gen. et sp. nov. appears transitional between the skulls of Sinopterus and Tapejara. The skull morphology （low crest） of Huaxiapterusjii indicates that Huaxiapterus is more closely related to Sinopterus than to Tapejara, which has a high crest. The relatively long and shallow skull of Sinopterus indicates that it is a primitive form. Huaxiapterus is more derived than Sinopterus but more primitive than Tapejara.     

An Adult Specimen of Hongshanosaurus houi (Dinosauria: Psittacosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Liaoning Province, China

A new specimen consisting of a complete skull and lower jaw was discovered from the Lujiatun bed of the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation in the Lujiatun site, Beipiao, western Liaoning Province. It represents an adult specimen of Hongshanosaurus houi. Comparative studies show that Hongshanosaurus is distinguishable from its sister taxon Psittacosaurus by having the preorbital portion about half of the basal skull length, and the elliptical external naris,orbit, and a lower temporal fenestra oriented caudodorsally.     

New information on the giant Devonian lobe-finned fish Edenopteron from the New South Wales south coast

Abstract

Edenopteron, with a lower jaw some 48?cm long, and total length perhaps exceeding 3 m, is the largest Devonian lobe-fin known from semi-articulated remains. New material described from the type locality (Boyds Tower, south of Eden) includes three slightly smaller articulated skulls and jaws, and additional bones of the shoulder girdle. Another articulated skull roof, shoulder girdle and palate is described from a second locality (Hegarty Bay), about 10?km south of Boyds Tower. Both localities represent the upper part of the Worange Point Formation, of late Famennian age (uppermost Upper Devonian). The new morphological evidence supports a close relationship to the tristichopterids Mandageria and Cabonnichthys, from the slightly older (Frasnian, Upper Devonian) fossil fish assemblage at Canowindra, New South Wales. Features of the shoulder girdle (supracleithrum, anocleithrum) suggest that Edenopteron is more closely related to Mandageria than Cabonnichthys. Eight characters are used to define a tristichopterid subfamily Mandageriinae, to which Notorhizodon from the Middle Devonian of Antarctica is also referred. The Mandageriinae is endemic to East Gondwana (Australia–Antarctica). In combination with possibly the most primitive tristichopterid, Marsdenichthys from the Frasnian of Victoria, these distributions implicate East Gondwana as a likely place of origin for the entire group. This relates to the major but unresolved question of a possible Gondwana origin for all the land vertebrates (tetrapods).

• An endemic Gondwanan sub-group (Mandageriinae) of the Devonian fishes closest to land animals (tetrapodomorph tristichopterids) is confirmed.

• Retention of primitive features (e.g. accessory vomers) points to an earlier origin of the Mandageriinae in East Gondwana, consistent with the Victorian occurrence of another primitive tristichopterid (Marsdenichthys).

• Edenopteron is confirmed from a second south coast fossil site, and new characters indicate its closest relative is Mandageria from Canowindra, NSW.

• Congruent evidence of older Gondwanan occurrences in other groups (basal tetrapodomorphs, rhizodontids, canowindrids), and previously dismissed trace fossil evidence (Grampians trackways), implicate South China and East Gondwana as the likely place of origin for all land vertebrates.

     

New Species of Enantiornithes (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Qiaotou Formation in Northern Hebei,China

<正>We report on a new species of enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous Qiaotou Formation of northern Hebei,China.The new taxon,Shenqiornis mengi gen.et sp.nov.,possesses several enantiornithine synapomorphies but is unique from other known species.The specimen has a well-preserved skull that reveals new information about enantiornithine cranial morphology.The new taxon possesses a large postorbital with a long tapering jugal process indicating that some enantiornithines may have had a fully diapsid skull,as in Confuciusornis.The tooth morphology of the specimen is unique and likely represents a previously unknown trophic specialization within Enantiornithes.     

Largest Toothed Pterosaur Skull from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Western Liaoning,China, with Comments on the Family Boreopteridae

A new pterosaur Moganopterus zhuiana gen. et sp. nov. is erected based on a complete skull with lower jaws and anterior cervical vertebrae. It is characterized by much elongated upper and lower jaws with at least 62 total, long, curved teeth with sharp tips, a well developed parietal crest extending posterodorsally, forming an angle of 15 degrees with the ventral margin of the skull, the ratio of length to width of cervical vertebrae greater than 5:1. The skull length is 750 mm, and it is the largest toothed pterosaur found so far in the world. Based on this new pterosaur, the Boreopteridae can be divided into two subgroups: Boreopterinae sub-fam. nov. and Moganopterinae sub-fam. nov., which is also confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mesopithecus</Emphasis> (Primates: Cercopithecoidea) from Villafranca d’Asti (Early Villafranchian; NW Italy) and palaeoecological context of its extinction

Remains of the cercopithecid Mesopithecus monspessulanus are relatively rare. Two previously unpublished mandibles of M. monspessulanus (housed in the Basel Naturhistorisches Museum), from the Italian locality of Villafranca d’Asti are described. These remains belong to the assemblage of the Triversa Faunal Unit, dated to the Early Villafranchian, that is to the unit MN16a (Middle Pliocene) of the European mammal biochronology. According to this recently revised biochronological attribution, Villafranca d’Asti records the last Mesopithecus occurrence in Europe. The NOW (Neogene Old World) database has been used as a basis to evaluate both the mammalian faunal and the palaeoenvironmental context at the time surrounding this last occurrence of Mesopithecus. The comparison (taxonomical composition and ungulate hypsodonty), between the Villafranca d’Asti assemblage and other Plio-Pleistocene mammal communities of Europe, shows that the extinction of Mesopithecus is related to a faunal turnover and a change toward more open landscapes during the Early–Middle Villafranchian transition. This is consistent with the “Elephant-Equus event”, that occurred in Europe at 2.5 Ma. Furthermore, the co-occurring but more terrestrial cercopithecid Macaca crossed this faunal turnover. This strengthens the assumption that the latest Mesopithecus species, M. monspessulanus, had woodland-oriented adaptations. Editorial handling: J.-P. Billon-Bruyat & M. Chiari (Guest)     

A new species of Gladiopycnodus (Coccodontoidea,Pycnodontomorpha) from the Cretaceous of Lebanon provides new insights about the morphological diversification of pycnodont fishes through time

The Coccondontoidea is a distinctive superfamily of pycnodont fishes characterized by a series of derived characters, including thick and well-ossified cranial bones supporting horns and spines and a hypertrophied pectoral girdle sutured to the skull forming a sort of cephalo-torax. A new distinctive coccodontoid species, Gladiopycnodus byrnei n. sp., is described from the Cenomanian locality of Hjoûla, Lebanon. This new species exhibits a unique combination of features that clearly support its inclusion within the coccodontoid family Gladiopycnodontidae, including an extremely elongate snout forming a sword-shaped rostrum, thick dermal bones ornamented with rounded tubercles, large supracleithrum and cleithrum extensively sutured to the skull, and irregularly imbricated scales covering the entire body. The new taxon differs from type species G. karami by having different meristic counts and body proportions, dermal bones strongly ornamentated, skull roof with partially fused bones, scales ornamented with small tubercles, and rounded scales covering the caudal peduncle absent. The presence of pectoral fins in our exquisitely well-preserved specimen allowed us to redefine the morphology of the genus Gladiopycnodus, also modifying the diagnosis of the family. In order to interpret the patterns of morphospace occupation and quantify the morphological diversification of pycnodonts through time, the geometric morphometric approach was used. The morphospace analysis revealed that a significant increase in morphological disparity of pycnodonts during the Late Cretaceous was related, at least in part, to the appearance of the representatives of the superfamily Coccodontoidea. The rapid evolutionary radiation of these well-armored pycnodonts was interpreted as an adaptive solution in response to the large predatory-prey escalation in the context of the Mesozoic Marine Revolution.     

A New Species of Liadotaulius (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou,Inner Mongolia

Diverse caddis flies are recently collected from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou fauna in Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, northern China, and different types of caddis cases have been reported in the same locality. A new species of caddisfly, Liadotaulius daohugouensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated; the establishment is based on a well-preserved isolated forewing collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou. The family status of Liadotaulius is discussed on the basis of new material and is referred to the family Philopotamidae. The Daohugou fauna continues to provide new data for studying the early evolution of Trichoptera.     

A new mammal track from the Laramie Formation (Maastrichtian) at the Fossil Trace locality,Golden, Colorado

A previously unknown and morphologically distinct pentadactyl mammal track was recovered from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Laramie Formation at the Fossil Trace site, a National Natural Landmark which is the type locality for Schadipes crypticus, the only named mammal track known from North America. The track is different, and larger than S. crypticus, and thus is evidence of a diversity of mammal trackmakers at this site. Although Cretaceous mammal tracks are very rare, preliminary indications are that those currently known are all morphologically distinct and therefore indicative of a global diversity of different trackmakers, as the body fossil record suggests. Lack of well-preserved mammal trackways with morphologically distinct manus and pes footprints hampers efforts to name diagnostic ichnotaxa.     

Kaikaifilu hervei gen. et sp. nov., a new large mosasaur (Squamata,Mosasauridae) from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica

We present a large, fragmentary skull and the humerus of a mosasaur (Squamata, Mosasauroidea) recovered from upper Maastrichtian beds of the López de Bertodano Formation in Marambio (=Seymour) Island, Antarctica. The material belongs to a large, adult individual with marked heterodonty as well as unusual humeral features. Different phylogenetic analyses returned the studied specimen within the Tylosaurinae, while the distinctive features of the skull and humerus allow distinguish it from the unique Antarctic known tylosaurine species, Taniwhasaurus antarcticus (Novas et al., 2002), as well as from other known Late Cretaceous mosasaurids from the Southern Hemisphere, thus, justifying the erection of a new taxon, Kaikaifilu hervei gen. et. sp. nov. The different dental types documented in the specimen studied have been previously recorded through isolated teeth from the same locality and were subsequently referred to several genera. This new find is relevant for assessing the previously known fragmentary records of Antarctic mosasaurids, suggesting that its local diversity could be more reduced than previously interpreted. The new material represents the youngest occurrence of tylosaurines in Antarctica.     

辽西早白垩世义县组燕子沟辽角龙(Liaoceratops yanzigouensis)新材料

报道了一件产自辽西北票地区早白垩世义县组陆家屯层中的燕子沟辽角龙(Liaoceratops yanzigouensis)化石标本。该标本保存了燕子沟辽角龙的一些典型特征:前颌齿3颗;较大的三角形的眶前窝,外颧骨不发育;前齿骨上翘呈钩状;下颌后腹缘的边棱脊发育,并在其后部发育瘤状结节。根据对化石的CT扫描和三维图像重建,笔者对燕子沟辽角龙吻骨的形态特征进行了补充,包括吻骨前缘呈龙骨脊状,后侧发育一棱柱状纵脊等。此外,首次对燕子沟辽角龙的头后骨骼进行了描述,其中,股骨第四转子的特征可能对基干新角龙类的分类有一定意义。     

Earliest record of rhinocerotoids (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Switzerland: systematics and biostratigraphy

Earliest rhinocerotoids from Switzerland are reviewed on the basis of dental remains from the earliest Oligocene north-central Jura Molasse localities of Bressaucourt (MP21/22) and Kleinblauen (top MP22). The record in Bressaucourt is restricted to Ronzotherium and Cadurcotherium, representing Switzerland’s oldest, well-dated post-“Grande Coupure” large mammal association, the only occurrence of Cadurcotherium, and the earliest occurrence of rhinocerotoids in Switzerland. The correlation with high-resolution stratigraphy of this locality permitted a dating of the fauna to ca. 32.6 Ma, less than a million years after the “Grande Coupure” event. The rhinocerotoids of Kleinblauen are represented by Epiaceratherium, Ronzotherium and Eggysodon. With the presence of Plagiolophus ministri, they are the only well-dated Swiss post-“Grande Coupure” large mammal assemblage with the persistence of an endemic pre-“Grande Coupure” taxon. Moreover, the coexistence of Epiaceratherium magnum and E. aff. magnum could indicate a new speciation within the Epiaceratherium lineage around the top of MP22. The rhinocerotoid associations of Bressaucourt with Ronzotherium – Cadurcotherium on the western side of the southernmost Rhine Graben area, and Kleinblauen with Epiaceratherium – Ronzotherium – Eggysodon on the eastern side, respectively, reveal a possible environmental barrier constituted by the Early Oligocene Rhenish sea and its eventual connection with the Perialpine sea. This one could have separated an arid area in central-eastern France from a humid area in Switzerland and Germany. These results, combined with the repartition of similar rhinocerotoid associations in Western Europe, also give new insights into an alternative earliest Oligocene dispersal route of rhinocerotoids from Asia towards Western Europe via North Italy.     

Early Jurassic Coleopterans from the Mintaja Insect Locality,Western Australia

<正>Beetles(Coleoptera)are the most common insects recovered from the Lower Jurassic Mintaja insect locality of Western Australia,with over half of the fossils recorded from this site being isolated coleopteran elytra. A range of partial beetle bodies and other isolated beetle sclerites have also been recovered from the locality; much of this material is taxonomically unidenitifiable due to its disarticulation and poor preservation.A number of the Mintaja coleopterans are assigned to the archostematan family Ommatidae,including Zygadenia westraliensis(Riek,1968)comb.nov,previously placed in the morphogenus Mesothoris,and an unnamed species of Tetraphalerus.Also recorded is a new species of elaterid,Lithomerus wunda sp.nov.,along with other fragments likely attributable to the same family.The remaining material is assigned into morphospecies, separated primarily on preserved body parts—specifically,there are three morphospecies based on partially articulated coleopteran bodies,two morphospecies based on isolated head capsules,three morphospecies based on isolated thoracic sclerites,three morphospecies based on isolated abdominal sclerites,and 13 morphospecies based on isolated elytra.Overall,the ecology of these fossils is difficult to interpret due to poor preservation, although some of the beetles were likely aquatic,and the Ommatidae and Elateridae were both likely xylophilous. There is a strong similarity between the Mintaja coleopterans and those from the Late Triassic Denmark Hill locality of Queensland,though many of these similarities are based on morphotaxa and may be superficial in nature.Of the species that have been assigned to named taxa,all are generally typical of the Late Mesozoic worldwide,with Zygadenia,Tetraphalerus and Lithomerus all long-ranging,cosmopolitan genera.     

New Stigmaphronidae and Megaspilidae (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea) from Canadian Cretaceous amber

Three new species within the stigmaphronid genus TagsmiphronEngel and Grimaldi, 2009, and one new species within the megaspilid genus ConostigmusDahlbom, 1858 are described from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) amber originating at the Grassy Lake locality in Alberta, Canada. New taxa include Tagsmiphron spiculum sp. nov., Tagsmiphron leucki sp. nov., Tagsmiphron exitorum sp. nov., and Conostigmus cavannus sp. nov. The new Conostigmus species is a rare discovery. It is the third megaspilid species to be found in Cretaceous amber, with the two specimens described herein effectively doubling the number of known Mesozoic exemplars for the family. We provide the first comprehensive report of known Ceraphronoidea within Canadian amber, and contrast this against other Cretaceous amber assemblages, discussing the potential palaeobiogeographic and palaeoenvironmental implications of the Canadian amber assemblage.     

A diverse rodent fauna from the middle Bartonian (Eocene) of Les Alleveys,Switzerland: snapshot of the early theridomyid radiation

A fossiliferous fissure filling at Les Alleveys, Mormont (Canton de Vaud, Switzerland), sampled in 1986 and representing part of the same fissure system as that excavated by Chavannes and Morlot in 1852, contains an Eocene mammal fauna of 27 species-group taxa, dominated by micromammals. Unlike the 1852 collection, thanks to screenwashing techniques, there is an abundance of rodents, especially theridomyids, which provide new information on the early radiation of the family. The homogeneity of the new assemblage suggests that the Les Alleveys fauna is entirely Bartonian in age and not as previously thought mixed with Priabonian elements. Bartonian faunas rich in a diversity of micromammals are relatively uncommon in Europe outside the Quercy region of France and this is the first such fauna from Mormont and from Switzerland. The rodents are here treated systematically and a new species of Elfomys, E. engesseri sp. nov. is described. A few teeth of an undescribed species tentatively referred to ‘Protadelomys’ provide an archaic element, whereas a single milk premolar of Patriotheridomys? suggests a considerable range for the genus prior to the middle Priabonian. The Les Alleveys theridomyids, together with a range of other early family members are analysed cladistically. The analysis confirms both the distinctness of the subfamily Remyinae and that the genus Estellomys is a primitive theridomyine; it shows Paradelomys to be a primitive member of the Columbomyinae, but finds no dental synapomorphies to support the Issiodoromyinae as represented by Elfomys and Pseudoltinomys.     

A New Species of Huaxiapterus （Pterosauria： Tapejaridae） from the Early Cretaceous of Western Liaoning, China

A new species of Huaxiapterus： H. benxiensis sp. nov. is erected based on the new specimen. The diagnostic characters of Huaxiapterus benxiensis are well-developed premaxillary crest and parietal spine, the crest and spine parallel and extending posterodorsally, and a shallow groove present on the dorsal surface of the anterior portion of the mandibular symphysis. The different skull morphologies of Chinese tapejarid pterosaurs indicate that they are much more diverse than the previous thought.     

A New Specimen of Liaoceratops yanzigouensis (Dinosauria:Neoceratopsia) from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China

A new specimen of basal neoceratopsian dinosaur Liaoceratops yanzigouensis is described. The specimen comes from the Lujiatun Bed of the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation in Beipiao City of western Liaoning Province, and is represented by a very well preserved three-dimensional partial skull and mandible. It is also the smallest among the three specimens of L. yanzigouensis, and several features in the new specimen, such as the short preorbital length and the round rostroventral orbital rim, can be ontogenetically-related. The superb exposure of the palatal complex may be caused by the removing of its brain by a small predator in the contemporary Jehol Biota.