A late Jurassic pterosaur (Reptilia, Pterodactyloidea) from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina

A small to medium-sized pterodactyloid pterosaur (wingspan approximately 1.10 m) from the Upper Jurassic (middle-late Tithonian) marine deposits of the Vaca Muerta Formation of Patagonia (Los Catutos area, central Neuquén Province, Argentina) is reported. The specimen lacks the skull but constitutes a nearly complete postcranial skeleton, which includes cervical and dorsal vertebrae; a few thoracic ribs; both pectoral girdles; the left pelvic girdle; a proximal right wing (humerus, ulna, and radius) and metacarpal IV; a left wing that lacks only wing phalanx four; and both hindlimbs, the right one without the foot. Ontogenetic features suggest that the new fossil corresponds to a relatively mature individual, probably a subadult. Observed characters support its assignment to the Archaeopteroactyloidea, a basal clade within the Pterodactyloidea. This specimen is the second pterosaur from Los Catutos and the most complete Jurassic pterosaur so far known from South America.     

Tethyan-to-boreal correlation in the Kimmeridgian using high-resolution sequence stratigraphy (Vocontian Basin,Swiss Jura,Boulonnais, Dorset)

Ammonite biostratigraphy plays a central role in the definition of Jurassic stratigraphy. Nevertheless, the strong provincialism of European ammonite species during the Kimmeridgian is a long-standing problem in correlation attempts between the boreal and Tethyan faunal realms. Moreover, the sequence-stratigraphic interpretations for northern and southern Europe given in the Jurassic chronostratigraphic chart of Hardenbol et al. in SEPM Publ. 60 (chart) (1998) are different. The present study aims to resolve this correlation problem in order to better understand the connections between the boreal and the Tethyan realms during the Kimmeridgian. A sedimentological and high-resolution sequence-stratigraphic interpretation is presented for two unpublished sections (Cras d’Hermont and Roche de Mars) in the northern Swiss Jura, where recently discovered ammonites display both boreal and Tethyan influences. Then, these sections are correlated with the same time interval in the central Swiss Jura and Vocontian Basin, which belong to the Tethyan realm. Lastly, a long-distance transect is constructed between the Vocontian Basin, Swiss Jura, northern France, and southern England, the last two areas being part of the sub-boreal realm. The main results of this work are that: (1) third-order depositional sequences, and also higher-frequency sequences, can be correlated from the Tethyan to the boreal realm; (2) the sequence-stratigraphic interpretation given by Hardenbol et al. in SEPM Publ 60 (chart) (1998) for northern Europe seems to be accurate and agrees with the sequence-stratigraphic framework established in the Swiss Jura; (3) the Late Kimmeridgian of the Swiss Jura displays boreal influences; (4) integrated high-resolution sequence-stratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic studies are a valuable approach for bridging the correlation gap between northern and southern Europe.     

A New Rhamphorhynchid Pterosaur (Pterosauria) from the Middle Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Western Liaoning, China

A new Sordes-like pterosaur Jianchangopterus zhaoianus gen. et sp. nov. is erected based on a almost complete skeleton with skull preserved. It is characterized by the following characters: seven and six pairs of upper jaw and lower jaw teeth respectively; the development of a recess on maxilla; the evenness of the dental margin in lateral view; a distinct central ridge along dorsal surface of the mandibular symphysis; wing phalanx 4 with strongly curved shaft approximately 96% the length of the wing phalanx 1. The discovery of a Sordes-like pterosaur Jianchangopterus, and other taxa from the same formation indicates that pterosaurs reached great diversities during the Middle to Upper Jurassic period.     

Facies, cycles, and controls on the evolution of a keep-up carbonate platform (Kimmeridgian, Swiss Jura)

During the Late Jurassic, accelerated ocean-floor spreading and associated sea-level rise were responsible for a worldwide transgression, which reached its maximum in the Late Kimmeridgian. In many Western European basins, this major sea-level rise led to the formation of marly and condensed sections. In the Swiss Jura, however, a shallow carbonate platform kept growing and only subtle changes in the stratigraphic record suggest an increasingly open-marine influence. Field observations and thin-section analyses reveal that the central Swiss Jura was at that time occupied by tidal flats and by more or less open marine lagoons where shoals and bioherms developed. The evolution through time of sedimentary facies and bed thicknesses permits the definition of small-, medium-, and large-scale depositional sequences. The diagnostic features of these sequences are independent of scale and seem largely controlled by the Kimmeridgian second-order transgression. A high-resolution sequence-stratigraphic correlation with biostratigraphically well-dated hemipelagic and pelagic sections in the Vocontian Basin in France reveals that: (i) The most important increase in accommodation recorded in the Kimmeridgian of the central Swiss Jura occurs in the Eudoxus ammonite zone (Late Kimmeridgian) and corresponds to the second-order maximum flooding recognized in many sedimentary basins. (ii) The small- and medium-scale sequences have time durations corresponding to the first and second orbital eccentricity cycle (i.e. 100 and 400 ka, respectively), suggesting that sedimentation on the platform and in the basin was at least partly controlled by cyclic environmental changes induced by insolation variations in the Milankovitch frequency band. The comparison of the high-resolution temporal framework defined in the Swiss Jura and Vocontian Basin with the sequence-stratigraphic interpretation realized in other Western European basins shows that the large-scale sequence boundaries defined in the Kimmeridgian of the Swiss Jura appear in comparable biostratigraphic positions in most Western European basins. Discrepancies that occur are probably because of local or regional tectonics.     

A Baby Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Yixian Formation of Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia, China

A new baby pterodactyloid pterosaur with soft tissue preserved.Ningchengop terus liuae gen. et sp.nov.,is erected based on a nearly complete skeleton with a skull.It was characterized by the skull, slightly longer than the combined length of the dorsal and sacral vertebrae;50 teeth(including upper and lower jaws);short mid-cervical vertebrae;the humerus and the scapula, equal to that of the wing metacarpal in length;the ulna and the femur, equal to that of the first and third wing phalanx in length, respectively.The similar ratio of the wing phalanx 2 to wing phalanx 1 of Ningchengopterus and Eosipterus implies that Ningchengopterus may be close to the ctenochasmatid pterosaur.However, it may also imply that the isometrically growing of the first two wing phalanges exists among some pterosaurs.     

Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) ostracods from Highway A16 (NW Switzerland): taxonomy, stratigraphy, ecology, and biogeography

Ostracods are a common microfaunal element of the Kimmeridgian of the Jura Mountains in NW Switzerland. The stratigraphical subdivision within the Kimmeridgian can as clearly be inferred from ostracods as it is the case from the ammonite biozonation. This proves the utiliy of the ostracod biozonation, especially where ammonites are not available or rare. The ostracod-bearing layers of the sequence under study (middle part of the Reuchenette Formation = Banné Member, Courtedoux Member and Lower Virgula Marls) have been deposited in waters with highly brackish to marine salinities (high in the pliohaline range to—predominanttly—brachyhaline according to the Venice System, Oertli 1964). From the base of the section (base of the Banné Member, high brachyhaline in average), salinities slowly decreased, with lowest salinities in the lower dinosaur track levels of Courtedoux Member (high pliohaline on average). They then increased again to higher salinities (high brachyhaline on average) above the upper dinosaur track levels of the Courtedoux Member and the Lower Virgula Marls (lowermost A. eudoxus Zone). These trends perfectly correlate with the increased occurence of ammonites above the upper dinosaur track levels. In terms of Kimmeridgian ostracod palaeobiogeography, the fauna of the NW Swiss Jura Mountains described in this work is most similar to the Aquitan and Paris Basins, a little less to Northern Germany, and even less (with not even half of the species in common) to Southern Germany. The NW Swiss Jura Mountains still belong to a largely boreally influenced “Western and Central European subprovince”, whereas Southern Germany (though located more to the north) was subjected to an enhanced tethyan influence.     

A Baby Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Yixian Formation of Ningcheng,Inner Mongolia,China

A new baby pterodactyloid pterosaur with soft tissue preserved, Ningchengopterus liuae gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on a nearly complete skeleton with a skull. It was characterized by the skull, slightly longer than the combined length of the dorsal and sacral vertebrae; 50 teeth (including upper and lower jaws); short mid-cervical vertebrae; the humerus and the scapula, equal to that of the wing metacarpal in length; the ulna and the femur, equal to that of the first and third wing phalanx in length, respectively. The similar ratio of the wing phalanx 2 to wing phalanx 1 of Ningchengopterus and Eosipterus implies that Ningchengopterus may be close to the ctenochasmatid pterosaur. However, it may also imply that the isometrically growing of the first two wing phalanges exists among some pterosaurs.     

德国北部盆地晚侏罗世沉积环境及古气候分析*

德国北部盆地上侏罗统广泛发育,但野外露头地层普遍出露不全。Hildesheimer Wald地区Wendhausen 6井和Süntel山地区Eulenflucht 1井完整钻遇了上侏罗统牛津阶和启莫里阶地层,为分析该区晚侏罗世沉积演化过程及其所反映的古环境变化规律提供了丰富的资料。通过岩心描述和岩石薄片镜下观察,根据不同层段的颗粒成分、生物组合特征、沉积结构和构造等特征,在2口井的岩心中共划分出14个岩石类型,分别形成于碳酸盐岩斜坡和三角洲环境。建立了该区牛津阶和启莫里阶垂向沉积演化序列,垂向上由Heersum组到Süntel组,沉积环境逐步由外陆棚、内陆棚、临滨过渡到了开阔台地、潮坪环境,表现出了相对海平面降低的进积过程。同时对不同沉积相中保存较好的以低镁方解石为主要成分的牡蛎壳进行原位Mg/Ca值(古温度指标)测试,得出该区牛津期至启莫里期总体表现出了古气候变暖的趋势,且共有3次气候变暖过程。这一古气候变化与由沉积相分析得出的古气候变化一致,且同苏格兰、俄罗斯台地古温度变化趋势有很好的对应关系,表明古气候是控制该区沉积演化的一个重要因素,且牡蛎壳Mg/Ca值可以做为一个古气候指示指标应用于其他地区的古气候分析中。     

New marine reptile fossils from the Late Jurassic of Poland with implications for vertebrate faunas palaeobiogeography

A new marine vertebrate assemblage from the Late Jurassic (late Kimmeridgian) at Krzy?anowice near I??a in the NE margin of the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland is described. This new locality is rich in fossils of coastal and pelagic reptiles. The most frequent fossils are plesiochelyid turtle shell fragments and pliosaurid skull bones and teeth. The Krzy?anowice vertebrate assemblage is similar to the Late Jurassic Boreal/Sub-Boreal localities of the Kimmeridge Clay in Great Britain and Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic, in the presence of pliosaurids and long-necked plesiosaurids. However, plesiochelyid turtles and crocodylomorphs are similar to those from the Mediterranean/Sub-Mediterranean sites of the northern border of the Tethys Ocean, as, for example, in the Swiss Jura Mountains and Southern Germany. This unique composition of the Krzy?anowice vertebrate fauna demonstrates that, during the Late Jurassic this new locality was located in the transitional palaeobiogeographic line referred to in this paper as the “Matyja-Wierzbowski Line”. The new palaeobiogeographical reconstructions of Late Jurassic of Europe are based on the composition of the Krzy?anowice locality and other sites with similar turtle-pliosaurid faunas which formed a long-term, stable ecological sympatry in marine ecosystems of the European Archipelago.     

A New Boreopterid Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, Northeastern China

<正>A new boreopterid pterosaur:Zhenyuanopterus longirostris gen.et sp.nov.from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning is erected,based on the complete skeleton with a skull and lower jaws preserved.It is characterized by:a large boreopterid pterosaur with a high number of teeth,where the anterior teeth are much larger than posterior ones;the length of the dorsal + sacral vertebrae is nearly half the length of the skull;ratio of the length of the humerus to metacarpal IV is approximately 91%and the,humerus,femur and third wing phalanx are all equal in length and the feet are specially small.It represents the largest boroepterid pterosaur discovered from western Liaoning and its surrounding areas so far     

The fish fauna of the Late Jurassic Solothurn Turtle Limestone (NW Switzerland)

The surroundings of Solothurn (NW Switzerland) have been known for their fossil marine turtles since the beginning of the nineteenth century. In more recent history, access to the fossil bearing layers i.e. the Rätschenbank (Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic) has not been possible until 1986 when one of the old quarries in the area re-opened. A series of excavations from 1986 to 1989 provided new material and a unique opportunity to re-investigate the fish fauna of the Solothurn Turtle Limestone that has not been dealt with since Agassiz (1833–1844). Examination and classification of the Solothurn specimens, mainly jaw fragments and teeth, furnished 11 species in 6 major groups: chimaeras (Ischyodus), selachians (Hybodus, Paracestracion, Asteracanthus), semionotids (Lepidotes), pycnodontids (Gyrodus, Proscinetes), caturids and oligopleurids (Caturus, Callopterus, Ionoscopus), and aspidorhynchids (Belonostomus).     

Palynology of Triassic–Jurassic boundary sections in northern Switzerland

A first palynostratigraphic scheme of Upper Triassic deposits in northern Switzerland was established based on spore-pollen associations and dinoflagellate cyst records from the upper part of the Upper Triassic Klettgau Formation and the lower part of the Lower Jurassic Staffelegg Formation. Drill cores from the Adlerberg region (Basel Tabular Jura) and from Weiach (northern part of Canton Zurich) as well as from an outcrop at the Chilchzimmersattel (Basel Folded Jura) were studied and five informal palynological associations are distinguished. These palynological associations correlate with palynological association of the Central European Epicontinental Basin and the Tethyan realm and provide a stratigraphic framework for the uppermost Triassic sediments in northern Switzerland. Throughout the uppermost Triassic to Jurassic palynological succession a remarkable prominence of Classopollis spp. is observed. Besides Classopollis spp. the three Rhaetian palynological associations A to C from the Upper Triassic Belchen Member include typical Rhaetian spore-pollen and dinoflagellate taxa (e.g., Rhaetipollis germanicus, Geopollis zwolinskae, Rhaetogonyaulax rhaetica, and Dapcodinium priscum). Association B differs from association A in a higher relative abundance of the sporomorph taxa Perinopollenites spp. and the consistent occurrence of Granuloperculatipollis rudis and Ricciisporites tuberculatus. Spore diversity is highest in the late Rhaetian palynological association C and includes Polypodiisporites polymicroforatus. A Rhaetian age for the Belchen Member is confirmed by palynological associations A–C, but there is no record of the latest Rhaetian and the earliest Jurassic. In contrast to the Rhaetian palynological associations the Early Jurassic associations W and D include Pinuspollenites spp., Trachysporites fuscus (in association W), and Ischyosporites variegatus. In the view of the end-Triassic mass extinction and contemporaneous environmental changes the described palynofloral succession represents the pre-extinction phase (associations A and B) including a distinct transgression, the extinction phase (association C) associated with a regression, and the post-extinction phase (association W).     

Astronomical time scale for the Middle Oxfordian to Late Kimmeridgian in the Swiss and French Jura Mountains

Detailed investigation of facies and sedimentary structures reveals that, during the Middle Oxfordian to Late Kimmeridgian, the shallow carbonate platform of the Swiss and French Jura Mountains recorded high-frequency sea-level fluctuations quite faithfully. The cyclostratigraphic analysis within the established biostratigraphic and sequence-chronostratigraphic framework implies that the resulting hierarchically stacked depositional sequences formed in tune with the orbital cycles of precession (20 kyr) and eccentricity (100 and 400 kyr). The astronomical time scale presented here is based on the correlation of 19 platform sections and 4 hemipelagic sections from south-eastern France where good biostratigraphic control is available. The cyclostratigraphic interpretation suggests that the interval between sequence boundaries Ox4 and Kim1 (early Middle Oxfordian to earliest Kimmeridgian) lasted 3.2 myr and that the Kimmeridgian sensu gallico has a duration of 3.2 to 3.3 myr. The astronomical time scale proposed here is compared to time scales established by other authors in other regions and the discrepancies are discussed. Despite these discrepancies, there is a potential to estimate the durations of ammonite zones and depositional sequences more precisely and to better evaluate the rates of sedimentary, ecological and diagenetic processes. Editorial handling: Hanspeter Funk, Helmut Weissert, Stefan Bucher     

Sr-isotope stratigraphy of the Upper Jurassic of central Portugal (Lusitanian Basin) based on oyster shells

Strontium isotope stratigraphy was performed on oyster shells from the Late Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin (central Portugal). This represents the first approach to obtain numerical ages for these strata. The new chronostratigraphic data provide a more precise age determination of several units. After a basin-wide hiatus sedimentation in the Late Jurassic is proven in the Cabo Mondego and Cabaços formations to resume as early as the Middle Oxfordian. The Alcobaça formation can be placed in the latest Late Oxfordian to Late Kimmeridgian, while data from the upper part of the Abadia Formation indicate an Early to Late Kimmeridgian age. The Farta Pao formation ranges from the latest Kimmeridgian to the latest Tithonian. The largely synchronous Sobral, Arranhó I, and Arranhó II members are overlain by the late Early to Late Tithonian Freixial Member. The brief, local carbonate incursion of the Arranhó I member marks the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian boundary. Oysters are shown once more to be suitable for strontium isotope studies. Their calcitic shells are often unaffected by diagenesis. In particular for marginal marine Jurassic and Cretaceous strata, where belemnites are usually absent, oysters may serve as a valuable tool for isotope stratigraphy.     

Radiolarians from Upper Jurassic (Middle Oxfordian and Upper Kimmeridgian) deposits of Yaroslavl oblast

The middle Oxfordian and late Kimmeridgian radiolarian assemblages from Upper Jurassic deposits of Yaroslavl oblast are studied for the first time. The middle Oxfordian assemblage is dominated by stauraxonic morphotypes of genera Paronaella and Pseudocrucella occurring in association with discoid forms. Nassellarian radiolarians are very rare in this assemblage of extremely low taxonomic diversity, which is lacking spheroidal morphotypes. The late Kimmeridgian assemblage is more diverse in morphological and taxonomic aspects. It includes spheroidal forms, those of the family Pantanelliidae Pessagno inclusive, and more frequent nassellarian species, but stauraxonic radiolarians are less abundant in its composition. This assemblage is comparable to a considerable extent with the Kimmeridgian radiolarians from Moscow oblast, being of the South Boreal type according to its composition.     

记辽宁一新翼龙化石（喙嘴龙亚目）

记述了辽宁北票四合屯炒米甸子组中一新翼龙化石,该翼龙个体极小,两翼展开仅约４０ｃｍ。化石具有同形齿、长尾、极短的翼掌骨和非常发育的后肢第Ⅴ趾等特征,因而无疑可归入喙嘴龙亚目喙嘴龙科（Ｒｈａｍｐｈｏｒｈｙｎｃｈｉｄａｅ）,并代表一新属种弯齿树翼龙（Ｄｅｎｄｒｏｒｈｙｎｃｈｕｓｃｕｒｖｉｄｅｎ－ｔａｔｕｓｇｅｎ．ｅｔｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．）。该化石是我国及东亚晚侏罗世喙嘴龙类翼龙的首次记录,它的发现有力地表明包括中华龙鸟和孔子鸟在内的辽西四合屯化石层的地质时代应为晚侏罗世。     

Jurassic lagoonal environments and quasi-abiotic platy limestone accumulation: microbial interventions

Within the regressive sequence (eustatic sea-level fall) that characterizes the French Southern Jura carbonate platform during the Kimmeridgian, a succession of three facies (called here units 1–3) may be observed in a palaeolagoon near Orbagnoux. Unit 1 is a shallow-water, intensely burrowed, carbonate deposit; unit 2 (consisting of laminated, organic matter-rich carbonate) represents a shallow lagoonal environment, prone to stromatolite development and organic matter accumulation; unit 3 consists of platy limestones almost devoid of identifiable biota. Trace element distributions indicate that depositional and early diagenetic conditions must have been reducing during deposition of unit 1 and, especially, unit 2, whereas they were much less reducing during deposition of unit 3. However, the latter does not contain body or trace fossils, with the exception of structures interpreted as calcified bacteria. The reasons why the apparently normal marine environment of unit 3 did not allow a normal biota to develop are explored and lead us to propose that: (i) unit 2 may be a Jurassic counterpart of modern kopara deposits (stromatolites of French Polynesian atolls); and (ii) unit 3 may be the result of palaeokopara reworking. This model invokes the extensive intervention of microbes in the formation of these carbonate deposits.     

A New Non‐Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from Qinglong County,Hebei Province of China

A new basal non-pterodactyloid pterosaur, Changchengopterus pani gen. et sp. nov., is erected, on the basis of a nearly complete postcranial skeleton. The new taxon is distinguished by relatively short extensions of the prezygapophyses, postzygapophyses and haemal arches of the caudal vertebrae; a humerus that has a subtriangular deltopectoral crest; limb elements that decrease in length in the following order: ulna> wing-phalange 2 > wing-phalange 3 = wing-phalange 1>humerus >tibia>femur>wing-metacarpal. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Changchengopterus is a basal member of rhamphorhynchoids, and more closely related to Dorygnathus than to other rhamphorhychoids. The geological age of the Changchengopterus -bearing sediments is no latter than the end of the Late Jurassic and it is possible Middle Jurassic.