Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) sea lilies (Echinodermata, Crinoidea) from Poland

Valanginian strata in central epicratonic Poland have recently yielded crinoids, not previously recorded from the area. The fauna comprises isocrinids (Balanocrinus subteres, B. gillieroni, “Isocrinus?” lissajouxi), millericrinids (Apiocrinites sp.) and comatulids (Comatulida indet.). For comparison, a few samples of isocrinids from Valanginian strata of Hungary (Tethyan province) were also analysed. The isocrinids, cyrtocrinids and roveacrinids (sensu Rasmussen 1978 inclusive of Saccocoma sp.) were already known from the Valanginian of the southernmost Tethyan regions of Poland (Pieniny Klippen Belt and Tatra Mountains). The current study demonstrates their occurrence in central epicratonic Poland, and suggests that many Jurassic to Cretaceous stalked crinoid taxa (mainly isocrinids) predominated in the shallow-water settings of this area. Thus, the hypothesis of migration (at least from mid-Cretaceous onwards) to deep-water areas, as a response to an increase of the number of predators during the Mesozoic marine revolution, seems not to be universally applicable.     

Middle Jurassic radiolarian fauna from Rotti Island,Indonesia

A well-preserved Middle Jurassic radiolarian fauna was discriminated from calcareous shale of the Wai Luli Formation on Rotti Island, Indonesia. This fauna is characterized by the presence of Tricolocapsa plicarum, Tricolocapsa ? fusiformis, Stichocapsa japonica, S. convexa, Cyrtocapsa mastoidea, Protunuma turbo, Transhsuum maxwelli, Eucyrtidiellum sp., Archaeodictyomitra sp. A. and others. These radiolarians represent the T. plicarum Assemblage reported from Bajocian and early Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) sequences in Japan and southeastern Europe. Based on accumulated micropaleontological evidence in Timor Island contributed by the present authors, Rotti Island was probably positioned within a warm water current system originating in the low latitude Tethyan realm through the Middle Jurassic. Fifteen species belonging to seven genera are systematically investigated. Among them, Tricolocapsa multispinosa and Tricolocapsa matsuokai are described as new.     

Ammonites (Phylloceratina,Lytoceratina and Ancyloceratina) and organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts from the Late Barremian in Boljetin,eastern Serbia

Late Barremian ammonite fauna from the epipelagic marlstone and marly limestone interbeds of Boljetin Hill (Boljetinsko Brdo) of Danubic Unit (eastern Serbia) is described. The ammonite fauna includes representatives of three suborders (Phylloceratina, Lytoceratina and Ancyloceratina), specifically Hypophylloceras danubiense n. sp., Lepeniceras lepense Rabrenović, Holcophylloceras avrami n. sp., Phyllopachyceras baborense (Coquand), Phyllopachyceras petkovici n. sp., Phyllopachyceras eichwaldi eichwaldi (Karakash), Phyllopachyceras ectocostatum Drushchits, Protetragonites crebrisulcatus (Uhlig), Macroscaphites perforatus Avram, Acantholytoceras cf. subcirculare (Avram), Dissimilites cf. trinodosus (d'Orbigny) and Argvethites? sp. The taxonomic composition and percent abundance of the identified ammonites indicate that their taxa are predominantly confined to the Tethyan realm. Ammonites with smooth and slightly sculptured shells predominate among the studied fauna. The ammonite-bearing succession from Boljetin represents the lower part of the Upper Barremian, ranging in ammonite zonation from the Toxancyloceras vandenheckei Zone to the lower part of the Imerites giraudi Zone. The associated organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts confirm the Late Barremian age of the ammonite-bearing levels.     

A Rhuddanian (Silurian,lower llandovery) pelmatozoan fauna from south-west Wales

Only two crinoid faunas of Rhuddanian or early Aeronian age have been described hitherto, both from North America. A Rhuddanian pelmatozoan fauna from Haverfordwest, Dyfed, south-west Wales includes the cheirocrinid rhombiferan cystoid Homocystites? sp., plus the following crinoid species: the calceocrinid disparids Calceocrinus turnbulli sp. nov. and Calceocrinus? sp.; the dendrocrinid cladid Dendrocrinus? gasworksensis sp. nov.; the patelliocrinid monobathrid Macrostylocrinus? sp. indet.; columnals of the rhodocrinitid(?) diplobathrid Floricolumnus (col.) sp. cf. F. (col.) girvanensis Donovan and Clark; the rhodocrinitid diplobathrid Chaosocrinus ornatus sp. nov.; and two indeterminate crinoid species. At the familial level this fauna shows strong similarities with coeval, but more diverse, crinoid assemblages from North America, suggesting that endemism did not develop until later in the Silurian.     

Ammonoids (Desmoceratoidea and Silesitoidea) from the Late Barremian of Boljetin,eastern Serbia

The subject of the study was the taxonomy of the ammonite fauna from the Upper Barremian marls and marly limestones of the Donji Milanovac Formation outcropped at the Boljetin Hill (Danubicum Unit). These sediments yielded a rich ammonite fauna which included also representatives of two superfamilies, Desmoceratoidea and Silesitoidea. The Desmoceratoidea include the family Barremitidae to which belong Plesiospitidiscus boljetinensis n. sp., Barremites balkanicus, Montanesiceras breskovskii n. sp., Barremitites strettostoma strettostoma and B. panae, Torcapella serbiensis n. sp., Pseudohaploceras tachthaliae, P. portaeferreae, Melchiorites haugi and Patruliusiceras cf. crenelatum. The Silesitoidea are represented by the family Silesitidae with Silesites trajani and S. seranonis. With the exception of the new, possibly endemic species, Plesiospitidiscus boljetinensis n. sp., Montanesiceras breskovskii n. sp., and Torcapella serbiensis n. sp., these taxa are common in the Tethyan regions. The studied deposits with ammonites belong to the lower part of the Late Barremian, in particular to the upper part of the Toxancyloceras vandenheckii ammonite Zone up to the lower part of the Imerites giraudi Zone.     

Shallow marine ostracode turnover in response to environmental change during the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum in northwest Tunisia

Two outcrop sections spanning the Paleocene–early Eocene boundary in the Sidi Nasseur–Wadi Mezaz area in northwest Tunisia provided rich ostracode assemblages, yielding 26 species of which three are newly described: Reymenticosta bassiounii, Reymenticosta nasseurensis and Buntonia? tunisiensis. The recorded ostracode fauna and associated foraminifera reflect deposition in a coastal to inner neritic environment. Many of the recorded taxa have a wide geographic distribution throughout the Middle East and North Africa. A correspondence is also observed with West African faunas, especially in the early Eocene fauna. These taxa seem to have originated in West Africa during the Paleocene and migrated northwards during the late Paleocene to early Eocene. Sea-level change and decrease in oxygenation associated with the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) caused the local disappearance of the South Tethyan Paleocene fauna represented by Paracosta kefensis (morphotype-A), Paracosta aff. paleomokattamensis, Paracypris sp. B Esker, Loxoconcha saharaensis, Buntonia sp. 3 Donze et al., Protobuntonia nakkadii, and probably Reymenticosta bassiounii and R. nasseurensis. Simultaneously, a new but poorly diverse Afro-Tethyan fauna, mainly represented by Alocopocythere attitogonensis and Buntonia? tunisiensis, settled in the studied part of the basin. After the PETM, diversity increased again as various taxa (e.g. Bairdia aegyptiaca, Reticulina lamellata and Aegyptiana duwiensis) (re)appeared. Although detailed records across the P/E boundary are still sparse, it appears that the PETM exerted significant influence on the paleobiogeography and composition of Tethyan ostracode faunas.     

First crinoid crown from the Permian Khuff Formation (Wordian) of Oman

Crinoidal debris is common from the basal parts of the open marine Khuff Formation in Oman; yet, little is known about the diversity and affinities of this fauna. Exallocrinus khuffensis n. gen., n. sp. is described from this unit, and is the first crinoid crown from outcrops of the Wordian, Lower Khuff Member, in the northern Huqf region of Oman. This new crinoid is among the youngest Paleozoic crinoids known, yet it has a combination of more stemward and crownward characters. Because of the uncertainties concerning the latest Paleozoic and earliest Mesozoic crinoid phylogeny, Exallocrinus n. gen. is questionably assigned to the Ampelocrinidae.     

Upper Jurassic record of Polyphylloseris (Egypt, Northern Sinai)

Genus Polyphylloseris is a scleractinian colonial coral that has been established by d’Orbigny (1849) from the Neocomian of Yonne, France. The genus is characterized by having elevated domal calices that are mammillar or craterlike in shape and with porous confluent septa. Columella is absent or rudimentary, and the lower surface of the corallum is covered with a thick and wrinkled holotheca. Specimens having the above-mentioned characteristics have been collected from the Upper Jurassic Arousiah Member of the Masajid Formation (Callovian–Oxfordian) of Gebel Maghara, Northern Sinai, Egypt. They are characterized by having a cupolate colonial form and porous pennulate septa which reach 40–50 in number. Based on these characters and other characters such as density of septa, height, and width of mammillar calices, the studied material is attributed to a new species named Polyphylloseris magharensis. The new species is a first undoubted record of Polyphylloseris in the Jurassic. Previously recorded undoubted ages of the genus are Early and Late Cretaceous. The fewer number of septa and the smaller-sized and closer mammillar calices allow differentiation of the species from other species such as Polyphylloseris icaunensis d’Orbigny and Polyphylloseris convexa d’Orbigny.     

Late Cretaceous scleractinian corals from the rocky shore of Ivö Klack, southern Sweden, including some of the northernmost zooxanthellate corals

A relatively low diversity coral fauna comprising eight zooxanthellate, three azooxanthellate, and one unidentified species is described from a Late Cretaceous rocky shore at Ivö Klack, southern Sweden. All species, except the solitary azooxanthellate Paracyathus? sp., are represented by one or two specimens only, indicating low preservation potential similar to the aragonite-shelled gastropod fauna from the same locality. The fauna comprises one out of two northernmost zooxanthellate forms known and adds important environmental information to the fauna and depositional conditions of the rocky shore at Ivö Klack.     

Dienerian (Early Triassic) ammonoids from the Candelaria Hills (Nevada, USA) and their significance for palaeobiogeography and palaeoceanography

A well-preserved ammonoid fauna of Early Dienerian age has long been known from the lower portion of the Candelaria Formation in the old Candelaria silver mining district in Mineral and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada, but for a number of reasons, this fauna has never been studied in detail nor illustrated. Previous authors assigned this ammonoid fauna to the Early Dienerian Proptychites candidus Zone of Canada. In reality, it more closely resembles the Tethyan faunas than the higher palaeolatitude Canadian faunas, thus indicating the presence of some degree of equatorial faunal exchange between opposite sides of the Panthalassic Ocean during Early Dienerian time. It also indicates the onset of a provincialism, which contrasts with the cosmopolitan Griesbachian faunas. A rigorous taxonomic analysis of the Candelaria fauna allows us to differentiate the following ten species, which include two new species and one new genus (Mullericeras nov. gen.) belonging to the new family Mullericeratidae: Ambites lilangensis (Krafft, 1909), Ambites aff. radiatus (Brühwiler, Brayard, Bucher and Guodun, 2008), Ussuridiscus sp. indet., ??Koninckites?? aff. kraffti Spath, 1934, Mullericeras spitiense (Krafft, 1909), Mullericeras fergusoni nov. sp., Mullericeras sp. indet., Proptychites haydeni (Krafft, 1909), Proptychites pagei nov. sp., Vavilovites sp. indet. and Parahedenstroemia kiparisovae Shigeta and Zakharov, 2009. This Early Dienerian fauna correlates with the Ambites fauna known from the base of the Ceratite Marls in the Salt Range and from the base of the ??Meekoceras?? beds in Spiti (northern Gondwanian margin). The fauna also permits the precise dating of a shelfal anoxic episode on the equatorial North American margin. This anoxic event correlates in time with similar palaeoceanographic changes in the southern Tethys, which indicates that the Early Triassic biotic recovery was at least partly shaped by such discrete, short events rather than by pervasive and lingering adverse environmental conditions.     

Ammonites from the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Deshayesites</Emphasis> genus from Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) sediments in the Mountainous Crimea

Stratigraphically important ammonites Deshayesites ex gr. deshayesi (d’Orbigny, 1840), Deshayesites sp. juv., and Paradeshayesites aff. callidiscus [Casey, 1961] from lower Aptian pelagic sediments at the Verkhorech’e Village have been described and depicted. The new finds and revision of previously found ammonites allow the recognition of ammonite zones Deshayesites volgensis and Deshayesites deshayesi in the Southwestern Crimea.     

Crinoid columns as hard substrates: Salthill Quarry (Mississippian,lower Carboniferous), Clitheroe,Lancashire, UK

Salthill Quarry, Clitheroe, Lancashire (Mississippian, Visean) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in part based on its diverse fauna of invertebrates, particularly echinoderms. A small collection of crinoid pluricolumnals are described herein, collected from muddy horizons in the Hodder Mudstone Formation to typify the diversity and frequency of their encrusting and boring fauna. These specimens are infested by a range of episkeletozoans, namely a single occurrence of Sutherlandia parasitica (Phillips), four occurrences of Cladochonus sp. and eight of Oichnus paraboloides Bromley. Two variants of the pit (boring or embedment or both) O. paraboloides are recognised: those in which a living crinoid showed a growth reaction to pit formation; and those that did not and which were presumably dead at the time of infestation. The epizoozoan tabulate coral Cladochonus sp. is also common, including specimens intergrown between and within the columnals. Sutherlandia parasitica is relatively uncommon; the only specimen likely infested a dead pluricolumnal on the sea floor. A comparative collection of pluricolumnals infested by Cladochonus beecheri Grabau from the Mississippian Borden Group of the Midwest, USA, showed superior preservation to the Clitheroe Cladochonus sp. Cladochonus beecheri in the Borden Group infested platycrinitid crinoid stems, an association not noted from Salthill Quarry. Similar suites of borings-episkeletozoans, from two other sites – the Visean of Feltrim, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and the Permian of Timor – suggest that these were persistent associations for much of the Late Palaeozoic.     

Lower Bathonian Belemnites and Biostratigraphy of the Central and Southern Parts of the East European Platform: Part 2. Cylindroteuthididae and Belemnotheutididae

Belemnites from the lower Bathonian deposits of the Russian Plate are revised and discussed on the basis of study of the two reference sections—Pletnyovka and Sokur quarries. This is the second part of the investigation dealing with representatives of the family Cylindroteuthididae, and “rostrum-less” belemnites of the family Belemnotheutididae, while members of the family Megateuthididae were discussed in detail in the first part (Ippolitov, 2018). The cylindroteuthidids are found only in the Sokur Quarry and comprise four species all assigned to the genus Pachyteuthis, including a new species, Pachyteuthis mittai sp. nov. For Belemnotheutididae, the presence of a single species Acanthoteuthis foliorostris sp. nov. is recorded, which is the first confirmed record of the genus Acanthoteuthis in the pre-Callovian strata. The study of morphological changes within Cylindroteuthididae across the succession allowed two biohorizons to be recognized and the existing belemnite-based scheme for the lower Bathonian of the Volga Region and its correlation with sections in the Pechora River basin to be updated. As the result of the revision, a complex zonal and infrazonal belemnite-based stratigraphic scheme of the lower Bathonian of the Volga Region is introduced. The presence of an endemic genus deriving from Arctic-Boreal immigrants in the lower Bathonian of the Middle Russian Sea allows the belemnite fauna of this age to be interpreted as the first isolated episode of differentiation of the Boreal-Atlantic Province in belemnites. The study of the development of the cephalopod fauna in the early Bathonian of the Russian Plate indicates a biphase formation of the meridional strait connecting the Middle Russian Sea with the Arctic basins and also supports the hypothesis of a short-term opening of a sublatitudinal Pripyat Strait during the maximum highstand.     

Lytoceratid ammonites from the Inferior Oolite Formation (Middle Jurassic,Aalenian and Bajocian) of Dorset (United Kingdom)

Ammonites of the family Lytoceratidae from the Middle Jurassic Inferior Oolite Formation, Aalenian to lowermost Bathonian, of Dorset are rarely described, perhaps because the macroconchs are often very large and difficult to collect intact and the microconchs are very small and easily overlooked. Detailed stratigraphical collecting over several years has shown them to be a minor part of the ammonite fauna but more common at certain horizons. Four genera, Lytoceras, Megalytoceras Nannolytoceras and Pleurolytoceras have been shown to have different stratigraphical ranges and abundances in the Aalenian and Bajocian but they have not been found in the Lower Bathonian of Dorset. The taxonomic basis of several of the well-known species is poorly described in the literature and is remedied here.     

New Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) ammonite assemblages from Kutch,India

The Bathonian ammonite assemblages have been previously poorly recorded in Kutch. The present study has unearthed a rich array of ammonite taxa ranging from the Middle to Upper Bathonian. While Oxycerites Rollier (1909) is a new record from Kutch, the oldest occurrence of Choffatia Siemiradzki (1898) has been found from the Middle Bathonian horizon. Oxycerites cf. orbis (Giebel) is a zonal index of the Late Bathonian in other areas and thus facilitates interprovincial correlation. Besides, palaeobiogeographic and stratigraphic distribution of many species have been modified based on new information. For example, macrocephalitin species, i.e., Kamptokephalites cf. etheridgei Spath (1928), Macrocephalites bifurcatus transient intermedius Spath (1928), M. cf. mantataranus Boehm (1912) were previously known from West Pacific, Indonesia have been now found in Kutch. Gracilisphinctes Buckman (1920) has been previously known to occur during the Middle Bathonian time, the present work extends its stratigraphic distribution up to the definite Upper Bathonian horizon. Procerites hians (Waagen) an endemic species in Kutch previously known from the Upper Bathonian beds, its stratigraphic range has been extended down to the Middle Bathonian.Detail taxonomy of the newly obtained taxa has been done and in many cases sexual dimorphism has been recognized.     

Lower Cretaceous Mesoeucrocodylians from Scandinavia (Denmark and Sweden)

The crocodyliform faunas of the lowermost Cretaceous Rabekke and Jydegård Formations on the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark, and the Annero Formation of Skåne, southernmost Sweden, are represented by isolated teeth, osteoderms, and vertebrae. The rich Berriasian assemblage of the Rabekke Formation includes at least three distinctive taxa: Bernissartia sp., Theriosuchus sp., and Goniopholis sp., an association that is also known from several other contemporaneous European vertebrate localities. In contrast to this fauna, the Jydegård and Annero Formations have yielded only rare mesoeucrocodylian remains, which are assigned to Theriosuchus sp. and an undetermined mesoeucrocodylian taxon, possibly Pholidosaurus. Geographically, the Scandinavian localities represent the easternmost and northernmost distribution of typical continental Jurassic-Cretaceous crocodyliform communities in Europe.     

Lower Bathonian Belemnites and Biostratigraphy of the Central and Southern Parts of the East European Platform: Part 1. Megateuthididae

Belemnites from the lower Bathonian of the Russian Plate are revised on the basis of the study of two reference sections—Pletnyovka and Sokur quarries. The first part of the study deals with the members of the family Megateuthididae. They include eight species of the genus Barskovisella gen. nov., neoendemic to the territory of the Russian Plate and originating from high Boreal taxa—species of the genus Paramegateuthis Gustomesov, 1960, which immigrated to the Middle Russian Sea in the early Bathonian via a short-lived meridional strait. The new genus includes six new species described in the present paper—Barskovisella pseudoishmensis sp. nov., B. issae sp. nov., B. variabilis sp. nov., B. barskovi sp. nov., B. gracilis sp. nov., and B. renegata sp. nov. The beds with Barskovisella, a new belemnite-based unit, corresponding to the Oraniceras besnosovi ammonite zone and including four successive phylogenetic biohorizons well comparable in resolution with ammonite-based infrazonal subdivisions, are introduced.     

Valanginian perisphinctid ammonites from the Kisújbánya Basin (Eastern Mecsek Mts., Hungary)

The most complete Hungarian Valanginian perisphinctid ammonite fauna of the Mecsek Mountains (South Hungary) consists of 14 species is reported. Thurmanniceras sp. aff. otopeta, Fuhriella michaelis, F. cf. hoheneggeri, Sarasinella cf. ambigua, Neocomites (Neocomites) subtenuis, Neocomites (Eristavites) platycostatus are reported for the first time from Hungary. The fauna comprises 23 ammonite species and is reported from Valanginian tuffaceous marl, alternating marl–limestone beds and loose limestone blocks. Two studied sections represent the Lower Valanginian Thurmanniceras pertransiens and partly the Busnardoites campylotoxus Zones while ammonites from loose blocks indicate the latter and possibly the Upper Valanginian Saynoceras verrucosum Zone. Variations in the faunal composition of the marl beds and the limestone blocks respectively, refer to the contrast between the ammonite ecological demands. Phylloceratid and lytoceratid ammonites prevail the marl beds, while olcostephanid and neocomitid ammonites prevail the shallower platform-like limestones. Sediment accumulation rate in that palaeo volcano related environment was high and bottom currents frequently washed together ammonite shells or filled their body chambers with smaller ammonite shell fragments. Due to the fast sedimentation the sections represent only partially the recognized ammonite zones therefore long-term or even infra-regional correlation was not possible. Palaeobiogeographically, the ammonite fauna has Mediterranean character and it shows close relationships to the Valanginian faunas of the Bakony Mts. (Hungary), Western Carpathians (Slovakia), Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria), and SE Spain. The presence of Fuhriella species is remarkable and enlarges our knowledge on the distribution of this enigmatic ammonite taxon adding new data to its Valanginian stratigraphic position and geographic distribution.     

Thoracican cirripedes (Crustacea) from the Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) of Hannover,northern Germany

Diverse thoracican cirripedes from the Hauterivian of the Hannover district of northern Germany are described, including seven species, belonging to five genera. Of these, a new genus belonging to the Scalpellidae, Jaegerscalpellum, includes one Hauterivian species, J. elegans sp. nov., an Aptian species, J. comptum (Withers, 1910) and an Albian species, J. politum (Darwin, 1851) are also referred to it. A new Cretiscalpellum, C. mutterlosei sp. nov. is described from the Hauterivian, and C. matrioni sp. nov. is described from the Middle Albian of France. The oldest record of the Unilatera Gale, 2018, Pedupycnolepas pulcher sp. nov. is described from the Hauterivian; this displays typical shell structure of the group, retained by living Verrucidae. Finally, four species of Zeugmatolepadidae, subfamily Martillepadinae, are recorded from the Hauterivian, including Martillepas hausmanni (Koch and Dunker, 1836), M. decoratus sp. nov., M. auriculum sp. nov. and Etcheslaepas borealis (Collins, 1990). The Hauterivian fauna from Hannover shows affinities both with Late Jurassic and later Cretaceous (Aptian-Cenomanian) forms, and includes the earliest scalpellids, unilateran (Pedupycnolepas) and Cretiscalpellum species known. It constrains the age of the Cretaceous cirripede evolutionary radiation to the earliest Cretaceous.