A long-necked pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea,Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Valencia,Spain

Fragmentary remains, including cervical vertebrae and limb bones, of a large pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Tous, province of Valencia (Spain), are described. The material was recovered from lacustrine beds in the upper part of the Calizas y Margas de Sierra Perenchiza Formation, which is probably Maastrichtian in age. Six fragments of vertebrae allow a reconstruction of the anatomy of the mid-series cervicals of the animal. The general morphology of the cervical vertebrae is closely similar to that of the long-necked Azhdarchidae. Compared to other azhdarchids, the Valencia pterosaur shows minor differences from the genera Azhdarcho and Quetzalcoatlus, and is here provisionally referred to as Azhdarchidae indet. A wingspan of about 5.5 m is calculated by comparison with other known azhdarchids. This is the second azhdarchid pterosaur described from the Iberian peninsula. It confirms the wide distribution of this group of large pterosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous.     

Preservation of borings: contrasting examples from the type Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous), southern Limburg,the Netherlands

The taphonomy of trace fossils and their substrates remains an understudied facet of sedimentary geology. Contrary to common prejudice, trace fossils are not invariably preserved in situ, but may be exhumed and reworked following lithification. The trace fossils most commonly found ex situ are borings in mobile shelly substrates. Two notable, but contrasting, examples of post-mortem transport of borings are described from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of southern Limburg, the Netherlands. A long, unusually straight and complete calcareous tube assigned to Teredolites longissimus Kelly and Bromley is an organically secreted internal mould, produced by a teredinid or pholadid bivalve boring in wood and lining their tube. Strictly, this is part of the body fossil of the producing bivalve, but it is also an organically generated internal mould of the boring. A flint steinkern of a right valve of Crassatella bosquetiana d’Orbigny preserves a suite of silicified borings. Caulostrepsis taeniola Clarke is a U-shaped boring with a vane connecting the parallel limbs. Talpina isp. is a slender, simple, branched tunnel. Most unexpected, Spirichnus spiralis Fürsich et al. is a spiral ‘worm’ boring hitherto only known from the Upper Jurassic. This stratigraphic gap is likely an artefact; only mouldic preservation of the bored substrate would expose the distinctive Spirichnus boring. These ichnofossils are united in their occurrence in unusual preservational systems.     

A new mawsoniid coelacanth (Actinistia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Southern France

Axelrodichthys megadromos sp. nov. is a coelacanth described based on a single specimen collected in the lower Campanian site of Ventabren motorway, Southern France. The new species is referred to the mawsoniids because of the ornamentation of the skull roof and of the proportionally wide supraorbital series. The specimen belongs to the Mawsonia-Axelrodichthys complex based on features present on the lower jaw and on the basisphenoid. The new species is referred to the genus Axelrodichthys because of proportions of its parietonasal shield and because of the arrangement of the posterior parietals relative to the supraorbitals. Autapomorphic characters, in particular on the parasphenoid, justify the inclusion of the specimen in a new species. The occurrence of a mawsoniid in the Ibero-Amorican Island that formed part of the European Archipelago in the terminal Cretaceous is an evidence of a dispersal event from the southern land masses. The occurrence of A. megadromos in the Campanian-Maastrichtian represents the last occurrence of mawsoniids worldwide, after a gap in the fossil record of about 30 million years. This belated occurrence of Axelrodichthys extends the time range of this genus to approximately 40 myr and suggests that this genus, together with its sister genus Mawsonia, were organisms with a slow morphologic evolution.     

Chert occurrences in carbonate turbidites: examples from the Upper Jurassic of the Betic Mountains (southern Spain)

In Upper Jurassic carbonate turbidites of the Betic mountains (southern Spain), chert occurs in three morphologies: bedded chert, nodular chert and mottled chert. The last refers to a weak dispersed and selective silification which gives a speckled appearance to the rock. The three types of chert are formed by replacement of limestones and are associated with different calcareous facies. Turbidite packstones of Saccocoma and peloids, and turbidite lime mudstones of pelagic material contain bedded and nodular cherts. The silicification textures are mainly micro- and cryptocrystalline quartz, with local chalcedonic quartz (both length-fast and length-slow) which is more common in the packstones. Only mottled chert is produced where calcareous breccia beds are silicified. Mottled chert consists of micro- and cryptocrystalline quartz, length-slow chalcedonic quartz and mosaics or individual crystals of euhedral megaquartz. Beds and nodules are the result of early diagenetic silicification, with silica derived from the calcitization and dissolution of radiolarians and, subordinately, sponge spicules, whereas mottled chert is the consequence of later silicification in a probably Mg-rich environment. Early silicification is mainly confined to turbidite beds and only rarely occurs in the interbedded pelagic limestones. Turbidite sedimentation favours silicification because rapid burial of the transported siliceous tests prevents silica from the dissolution of tests passing into overlying sea water. A silica-rich interstitial fluid develops in the turbidite layer and this migrates to more permeable zones giving rise to bedded and nodular chert.     

A new titanosaur (Dinosauria,Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Lo Hueco (Cuenca,Spain)

The upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain) has provided a set of well-preserved partial skeletons in anatomical connection or with a low dispersion of their skeletal elements. One partial skeleton is herein described and a new titanosaurian sauropod is established, Lohuecotitan pandafilandi. This titanosaur is diagnosed by eight autapomorphic features: dorsally and ventrally widened or bifurcated posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior and middle dorsal vertebrae; short postspinal lamina with a transversely expanded distal end represented by smooth scars in the dorsal vertebrae; anteriormost caudals with the medial spinoprezygapophyseal and medial spinopostzygapophyseal laminae ventrally connected with the prespinal and postspinal laminae, respectively; anterior caudal neural spines with a dorsal projection of the prespinal and postspinal laminae; anterior caudal neural spines bears a “greek-cross”-like cross-section; middle caudal centra having two round and rough structures in the dorsal edge of the posterior articulation, which extends to the dorsal surface of the centrum; the articular ends of the rami of the haemal arches are divided in two articular surfaces; and tuberosity between the anterior and the lateral trochanter of the fibula. The herein performed phylogenetic analysis considered L. pandafilandi as a member of Lithostrotia more derived than Malawisaurus. The known palaeodiversity of the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican titanosaurs is increasing, and further analyses focused on this group will be necessary to better understand the evolutionary history of European titanosaurs and to clarify their relationships within Titanosauria.     

A new protacanthopterygian fish from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of the Pelotas Basin,southern Brazil

The Turonian age in the Pelotas Basin is represented by the Atlântida Formation, which consists mainly of marine dark shales and siltstones with intervening layers of carbonates. It has yielded a neritic fish assemblage that includes lamniform, pycnodontid, cladocyclid, clupeomorph, basal euteleostean, dercetid, enchodontid and holocentrid remains. In this assemblage there is a small fish, here described as Parawenzichthys minor gen. et sp. nov. It is characterized by having a low and elongate body, prominent snout, drop-shaped nasal, smooth dermal bones, toothless jaws, a mandible-suspensorium joint placed at the posterior portion of the orbit, very small pleural ribs, and at least 50 smooth vertebrae. Although superficially very similar to Santanasalmo elegans, known from the Albian of the Araripe Basin, it is separated by a combination of features of skull and, particularly, in the caudal endoskeleton. The first uroneural shows reduced anterior outgrowth and is fused to the compound centrum (first preural + ural centra), and the second uroneural is very long. There are six hypurals, the first of which is the largest. Taking into account the presence of derived conditions in the skull and caudal endoskeleton, the fish is assigned to Protacanthopterygii, sharing certain derived features with the argentinoid Wenzichthys congolensis from the non-marine Lower Cretaceous of Gabon (Africa).     

Diagenesis of plattenkalk: examples from the Solnhofen area (Upper Jurassic,southern Germany)

The Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) plattenkalk successions in the Solnhofen/Eichstätt area consist of alternations of thin‐bedded, laminated, fine‐grained, very pure limestones (so‐called ‘flinz beds’) and softer interlayers with slightly lower carbonate contents that are also laminated and show a foliaceous weathering appearance (‘fäule beds’). These successions are world famous for their exceptionally well‐preserved fossils. In contrast to the well‐studied wealth of fossils, little is known about the origin and diagenesis of the host rock. The reason for this discrepancy might lay in the monotonous appearance of these fine‐grained mudstones that require electron microscopical examination. Study of samples from the Solnhofen–Eichstädt area implies that flinz and fäule beds have undergone differential diagenesis. The ultrastructure of the flinz beds is characterized by interlocking microspar crystals, whereas the fäule beds show smaller and less interlocking crystals. The ratios of diagenetically inert trace elements lack clear differences between the two interlayered lithologies. While most authors agree that the flinz–fäule rhythm reflects rhythmically changing environmental conditions, primary rhythms can be taken as proven only where statistically significant differences in diagenetically resistant proxies are found. The absence of clear primary differences between flinz and fäule beds, however, leaves the question of primary differences unsolved. It is concluded that diagenesis has had a strong influence on the genesis of the lithological rhythm, and that any primary rhythm underlying the diagenetically mature rhythm is less clear than generally assumed.     

Exploration for dimensional stone — implications and examples from the Precambrian of southern Finland

Dimension stone is a natural rock that must fulfil high qualitative standards defined by both geology-based factors and non-geological factors. The stone itself (appearance/soundness) and the market demand are the two most important aspects in the quality assessment. The process of geological dimension stone exploration is a systematic and stepwise procedure, including individual steps of desk study, field mapping, detailed examination, geo-radar survey, and core drilling. The location of all economically feasible dimension stone deposits is strictly controlled by geological factors. Knowledge of these factors is fundamental in identifying new sites with potential for dimension stone. In this work the geological constraint on the occurrence of dimension stone in three areas, in the Precambrian of southern Finland, has been investigated. The deposits are localized to part of an area in which different geological features in combination have produced rock of good dimension stone quality. The study shows that, for example, vertical movements in the crust, magmatic evolution of an intrusion, and metamorphic grade define the location of rocks suitable for dimension stone.     

Pelvic elements of the giant bird Gargantuavis from the Upper Cretaceous of Cruzy (southern France), with remarks on pneumatisation

A synsacrum fragment and an incomplete ilium of the giant bird Gargantuavis philoinos are described from the upper Campanian/lower Maastrichtian Montplo-Nord locality at Cruzy (Hérault, southern France). The ilium provides new information about the pelvic morphology of Gargantuavis. Both the synsacrum and ilium are extensively pneumatised. This extensive pneumatisation may be a plesiomorphic feature, but may also have had a weight-reduction function in a large flightless bird.     

Paleoclimatic implications (Late Cretaceous–Paleogene) from micromorphology of calcretes,palustrine limestones and silcretes,southern Paraná Basin,Uruguay

Sedimentologic and petrographic analyses of outcroping and subsurface calcretes, palustrine carbonates, and silcretes were carried out in the southern Paraná Basin (Uruguay). The aim of this work is to describe the microfabric and interpret the genesis of these rocks through detailed analyses, since they contain significant paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic evolution information.The main calcrete and silcrete host rock (Mercedes Formation) is represented by a fluvial thinning upward succession of conglomerate and sandstone deposits, with isolated pelitic intervals and paleosoils. Most of the studied calcretes are macroscopically massive with micromorphological features of alpha fabric, originated by displacive growth of calcite in the host clastic material due to evaporation, evapotranspiration and degassing. Micromorphologically, calcretes indicate an origin in the vadose and phreatic diagenetic environments. Micrite is the principal component, and speaks of rapid precipitation in the vadose zone from supersaturated solutions. The abundance of microsparite and secondary sparite is regarded as the result of dissolution and reprecipitation processes.Although present, brecciated calcretes are less common. They are frequent in vadose diagenetic environments, where the alternation between cementation and non-tectonic fracturing conditions take place. These processes generated episodes of fragmentation, brecciation and cementation. Fissures are filled with clear primary sparitic calcite, formed by precipitation of extremely supersaturated solutions in a phreatic diagenetic environment. The micromorphological characteristics indicate that calcretes resulted from carbonate precipitation in the upper part of the groundwater table and the vadose zone, continuously nourished by lateral migration of groundwater.The scarcity of biogenic structures suggests that they were either formed in zones of little biological activity or that the overimposed processes related to water table fluctuations produced intense recrystallization completely obliterating the biogenic fabric.Limestone beds containing terrestrial gastropods are geographically restricted. Situated at the top of the calcrete successions, they exhibit brecciated and peloidal-intraclastic textures but lack lamination, edaphic structures, aggregates and vertical rhizoliths. This indicates they correspond to low-energy palustrine deposits, generated in shallow, local and ephemeral ponds developed in topographic depressions. When water table levels dropped, the palustrine deposits were exposed. This favours the presence of terrestrial gastropods, seeds and insect nests. The combination of calcretes and palustrine carbonates indicates periods and areas with a reduced clastic input and a predominantly semiarid climate, with well-defined humid and dry seasons.Characteristics of the later developed massive and nodular horizons of silcretes, such as, preservation of the internal structure of the host rock, the small areal extent, the formation of massive lenses, the complex pore infillings and the lack of a columnar upper section, indicate that they were generated from groundwaters. Every silcretized horizon shows different positions of the groundwater table and relates to the dissection of landscape.The age of calcretization and silcretization is bracketed between the Late Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) and the Early Eocene. Paleoclimate indicates changing conditions from warm and humid at the end of the Cretaceous (Mercedes Formation) to semiarid and seasonal during Paleocene (groundwater calcretes and palustrine deposits) and subtropical and seasonal in the early Eocene (Asencio Formation).     

The thoracican cirripede genus Concinnalepas Gale, 2014 (Crustacea) from the Middle and Upper Jurassic of southern England and northern France

New material of the cirripede genus Concinnalepas is described from the Kimmeridge Clay (Tithonian) of Dorset (UK) and the Marnes de Port (Bathonian) of Port-en-Bessin in Normandy (France). Articulated specimens of C. costata (Withers, 1928), attached to driftwood from Kimmeridge, provide hitherto unknown details of tiered lateral plate formation in the species, and Concinnalepas bessinensis sp. nov. and C. rugosa sp. nov. are described from Normandy and Dorset, respectively. Concinnalepas bessinensis sp. nov. is the oldest calcite-shelled cirripede known to date. A review of the distribution of Jurassic calcareous cirripedes demonstrates that pre-Kimmeridgian records are very sparse and scattered and the early evolutionary history of the group is poorly known. The late Kimmeridgian and Tithonian saw a radiation of the Family Zeugmatolepadidae and a great increase in abundance of cirripedes that mostly lived as epiplankton, attached to driftwood and ammonite shells.     

The U-Pb age dating of detrital zircons from Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits of Stolbovoy Island (New Siberian Islands)

The results of the U-Pb (SIMS and LA-ICPMS) age dating of detrital zircons from Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous sandstones of Stolbovoy Island show that these deposits contain zircons of a wide age range, from Archean to Lower Cretaceous. Precambrian gneisses and granites, as well as Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic plutonic and volcanic complexes, are considered to be the main source areas of clastic material of Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous formations of Stolbovoy Island. The U-Pb age dating of detrital zircons from sandstones without making a selection on any basis yields the most complete information about source areas of clastic material in a sedimentary basin. In some cases the data on euhedral (idiomorphic) and transparent zircon crystals can be useful to clarify the lower age boundary of sedimentation.     

Carbonate platform depositional sequences, Upper Cretaceous, south-central Pyrenees (Spain)

The Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Maastrichtian) of the south-central Pyrenees shows five carbonate platform sequences where the major parameters are tectonism, relative sea-level fluctuations and inherited depositional profile. Depositional geometries and basin analysis permit an understanding of the depositional history.Five depositional sequences have been recognized: (1) The Santa Fe sequence (Middle-Upper Cenomanian), a ramp to a skeletal rimmed shelf with an escarpment bypass margin. The lower boundary is an angular unconformity and the upper one records a sea-level drop. The platform location of the margin was determined by a listric normal fault. (2) An abrupt sea-level rise drowned the former platform. The Congost sequence (Turonian-Lower Coniacian), a distally steepened ramp with erosional distal deep slope. The depositional model was largely controlled by pre-existing basin morphology. Cessation of platform development was due to a relative sea-level drop. (3) The Sant Corneli sequence (Upper Coniacian-Lower Santonian), a mixed terrigenous-skeletal homoclinal ramp with upright margin, deep slope and dysaerobic basin. The slope results from the backstepping by 24 km of the previous margin and gentle basin tilting. The platform margin remained more or less at the same position, and relief between platform and slope increased indicating continuous relative sea-level rise. The upper boundary is an angular unconformity at the platform margin produced by an abrupt sea-level rise and platform drowning, and by listric normal faulting. (4) The Vallcarga sequence (Upper Santonian-Campanian), a distal-steepened skeletal homoclinal ramp, erosional escarpment and turbidite basin, which corresponds to the Mesozoic maximum marine expansion. A listric normal fault created two depositional areas: a more or less flat footwall block with a north-northwest prograding carbonate ramp.     

Carbonate banks and slump beds in the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Turonian-Santonian) of Haute Normandie, France

Large scale sedimentary structures present in the Upper Turonian to Santonian chalks of Haute Normandie (northern France) represent the remains of a carbonate bank complex which formerly extended over an area of at least 1500 km². Cliff exposures along the Channel coast from St Valéry-en-Caux to Cauville and along the Seine from Sandouville to Lillebonne show sections of banks up to 50 m high and 1500 m across, their internal structures picked out by hardgrounds, nodular chalks and horizons of burrow flint. Associated with banks are slump sheets up to 20 m thick, slump scars, sedimentary breccias, injection phenomena and faults contemporaneous with sedimentation. Later diagenetic features include extensive dolomitization and silicification. These structures compare closely with the Waulsortian banks of the Palaeozoic, and bryozoan bioherms known from the Upper Cretaceous and Palaeocene of Denmark. Frame-building, sediment trapping and stabilizing organisms are absent, and bank development and stabilization was probably due to a plant covering, either algal or of marine angiosperms. Banks generated much of their own sediment, whilst a pelagic constituent (calcareous nannofossils and Foraminiferida) is also present. The distribution of the bank complex is related to a basement controlled swell area, whilst the life of the complex was limited to a relatively shallow water, regressive episode in the predominantly transgressive Upper Cretaceous history of the region. Les falaises littorales du Pays de Caux comprises entre Antifer et St Valèry-enCaux, et les affleurements de la basse vallée de la Seine permettent d'observer des formations du Turonien supérieur-Sénonien inférieur qui présentent des stratifications irrégulières soulignées par de nombreux hardgrounds, des horizons de craie noduleuse et des cordons de silex. Ces structures sont identifiées à des accumulations de calcilutite et calcarénite sous forme de bancs sous-marins dont la hauteur peut atteindre 50 m et qui couvrent une surface supérieure à 1500 km²; ils apparaissent au-dessus de hardgrounds subhorizontaux qui indiquent un haut-fond régional stable. Des glissements sous-marins sont associés à ces bancs et engendrent des niveaux avec des déformations souples atteignant 20 m d'épaisseur. Des brèches apparaissent localement et contiennent des blocs basculés de hardgrounds fragmentés lors du glissement; on y observe aussi de petites failles intrasédimentaires et des phénomènes d'injection. Aucun organisme constructeur ou capable de piéger et retenir le sédiment n'a été observé. La stabilisation de ces bancs serait due à une couverture végétale (algues ou angiospermes marines) dont on sait qu'elle peut disparâitre sans laisser de trace lors de la fossilisation. La croissance de ces bancs serait réalisée par un apport de sédiment comprenant une part de nourrissage autochtone comme cela existe pour les bancs récents en eau peu profonde, associée au dépôt d'une fraction pélagique.     

Cretaceous–Tertiary tectonic inversion of the Cotiella Basin (southern Pyrenees,Spain)

The Cotiella Nappe includes one of the most important Mesozoic basins of the southern Pyrenees, which was subsequently inverted during the Tertiary compression. The Late Cretaceous Cotiella Basin is here interpreted as the western sector of the Cretaceous Cotiella-Bóixols basin (100᎜ km wide), located in the central part of the southern Pyrenees. The present-day complex structure of the Cotiella Nappe is the result of the inversion process, linked to the emplacement of basement thrust sheets of the Axial zone. In its western sector, the Cotiella Nappe consists of several superimposed thrust sheets, with complex geometry, becoming simpler towards the east, with a single thrust surface and smaller displacements. The Cotiella-Bóixols basin underwent strong subsidence during the Early Cretaceous at its eastern sector, and its depocentre migrated westward during the Late Cretaceous. The reconstruction of the sedimentary basin to the pre-compressional stage shows that during the Mesozoic the Cotiella-Bóixols basin was located to the south of a basement high, which later became the Pyrenean Axial Zone. From a balanced cross section, it can be inferred that the Cotiella, north-verging extensional system was connected with the north-Pyrenean rift by means of a 10-km deep horizontal detachment. The compressional Tertiary detachment within the upper crust was shallower than the extensional detachment, and individualised four basement thrust sheets, which form the Axial Zone antiform.     

柴达木盆地旺尕秀地区上侏罗统-下白垩统风成砂的发现及其意义*

本次研究在柴达木盆地旺尕秀地区上侏罗统红水沟组上覆地层中,首次发现了风成沉积。地层主体为一套棕黄色细-中砂岩,由分选、磨圆好的石英砂组成;扫描电镜下可见风成砂特有的碟形撞击坑和新月形撞击坑等特征;层内普遍发育风成大型高角度板状交错层理,层系厚度巨大,风成沙丘前积层特征明显;发育液化作用产生的牵引褶曲、倒转褶曲等常见的风成沙丘同沉积变形构造。根据岩性和沉积构造特征共在地层中识别出4种沉积亚相: 沙丘亚相、丘间亚相、旱谷亚相和沙漠湖亚相,其中沙丘亚相以风成大型交错层理为显著特征,丘间、旱谷和沙漠湖亚相则以水成沉积为主。风成砂沉积的存在丰富了柴达木盆地中生代的沉积类型,为区域地层对比及西北地区晚中生代古气候和古环境研究提供了新的证据和材料。     

Upper Cretaceous marine‐continental transition (Leonese Area,NW Spain) defined from integrated outcrop and seismic stratigraphy

The Upper Cretaceous succession of the Leonese Area (NW Spain) comprises mixed clastic and carbonate sediments. This succession is divided into two lithostratigraphic units, the Voznuevo Member and the Boñar Formation, which represent fluvial, shoreface, intertidal, subtidal and open‐shelf sedimentary environments. Regional seismic interpretation and sequence stratigraphic analysis have allowed the study of lateral and vertical changes in the sedimentary record and the definition of third‐order levels of stratigraphic cyclicity. On the basis of these data, the succession can be divided into two second‐order depositional sequences (DS‐1 and DS‐2), incorporating three system tracts in a lowstand to transgressive to highstand system tract succession (LST–TST–HST). These sequences are composed of fluvial systems at the base with palaeocurrents that flowed westward and south‐westward. The upper part of DS‐1 (Late Albian–Middle Turonian) shows evidence of intertidal to subtidal and offshore deposits. DS‐2 (Late Turonian–Campanian) comprises intertidal to subtidal, tidal flat, shallow marine and lacustrine deposits and interbedded fluvial deposits. Two regressive–transgressive cycles occurred in the area related to eustatic controls. The evolution of the basin can be explained by base‐level changes and associated shifts in depositional trends of successive retrogradational episodes. By using isobath and isopach maps, the main palaeogeographic features of DS‐1 and DS‐2 were constrained, namely coastline positions, the existence and orientation of corridors through which fluvial networks were channelled and the location of the main depocentres of the basin. Sedimentation on the Upper Cretaceous marine platform was mainly controlled by (i) oscillations of sea level and (ii) the orientation of Mesozoic faults, which induced sedimentation along depocentres. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.