Mid‐Holocene vegetation dynamics in the Tejo River estuary based on palaeobotanical records from Ponta da Passadeira (Barreiro–Setúbal,Portugal)

This paper presents the results of pollen and charcoal analyses carried out in the sedimentary formation of Ponta da Passadeira, south of the Tejo River estuary, Portugal. The data provide information regarding the evolution of the coastline and ecosystem of the estuary during the mid and late Holocene. The study focuses on a group of upright woody fossilized tree remains that, together with those identified earlier by García‐Amorena et al. (2007), form part of the fossil forest of Ponta da Passadeira. Eight remains were identified as Pinus pinaster, four as Pinus pinea and one as Pinus sp. Two specimens of these species were dated to 6523 and 5805 cal. a BP. Pollen analysis was undertaken in a clay layer located at the same point as the fossil forest, which is currently below sea level; the base of the clay layer was dated to 4906 cal. a BP. The pollen spectra reflect the dynamics of the vegetation that grew on this deposit, whereas the sporopollinic input masks the contribution of the regional vegetation. Wood charcoal remains recovered at an adjacent Final Neolithic settlement were also analysed, and a Pinus sp. specimen was radiocarbon dated to 5050 cal. a BP. The correlation amongst the three records provides key ecological markers for the understanding of the evolution of coastline ecosystems, and helps to clarify and understand the Holocene sea rise on the Atlantic seaboard of Iberia. The geographical location of Ponta da Passadeira is strategic because it enables a more clear definition of the configuration of landscapes that show an inflection point in this area of central Portugal.     

New Mesozoic earwigs from England,with a catalogue of fossil Dermaptera

Earwigs (Dermaptera) are scarce in the fossil record. Over a hundred fossil dermapterans have been described to date, the oldest undisputed fossils dating back to the Late Triassic. Here, two new species, Phanerogramma kellyi sp. nov. and Brevicula teres sp. nov., are described from the Rhaetian and Sinemurian of England, respectively, from isolated tegmina. The features that distinguish fossil earwig fragments from other insect remains are discussed. A catalogue of fossil and subfossil Dermaptera is appended.     

东喀喇昆仑北坡三叠纪复理石中遗迹化石及地质意义

新疆喀喇昆仑山东北侧的中下三叠统河尾滩群是形成于海底浊积扇中外扇环境的浊积岩,其薄层和中厚层砂岩中发育了一套半深水-深水遗迹化石,共有11属12种:Bergaueria sp.;Chondrites sp.;Cosmorhaphe lobata;Glockeria sp.;Gordia sp.;Helminthopsis sp.;Muensteria sp.;Palaeophycos striatus;P.tubularis;Spirophycos sp.;Thalassinoides sp.和简单型Zoophycos sp该遗迹群落不能简单地归入Seilacher的深海Nereites遗迹相。根据共生关系,该遗迹群落可以划分为3个组合。组合1包括Bergaueria sp.,Muensteria sp.,Palaeophycos striatus和Thalasinoides sp.;组合2只有Zoophycos组成;组合3由深水类型遗迹化石组成,包括Chondrites sp.,Cosmorhaphe lobata,Gordia sp.,Helminthopsis sp.,Palaeophycos tubularis,Spirophycos sp..遗迹组合的生态分析表明其形成水深在300-2000m。遗迹化石产出岩层未见浅水沉积标志支持这一推论。该套遗迹化石在青海省的果洛、玉树地区相同时代的复理石沉积中亦有产出, 表明喀喇昆仑以北在三叠纪时有一个延伸范围较大的深海盆或洋盆。     

Subsistence practices in western Mediterranean Europe during the Final Gravettian. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of faunal remains from level D of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, NE Iberian Peninsula)

During the Final Gravettian, the Reclau Caves (northeast Iberia) were intensively occupied by hunter-gatherer communities. The study of residential level D (c. 25.4–19.7 kyr bp ) of Arbreda Cave offers a new view of subsistence strategies of communities which inhabited the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, a transition region between the steppe-tundra and the Iberian wooded steppe biomes, during Greenland Stadial 3. Presented here are the results of the zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of ungulate and carnivore remains recovered from level D. The study confirms that the faunal assemblage of this level was mainly brought there by humans. The zooarchaeological analysis indicates selective hunting based on the exploitation of familial groups of horses and deer, while other ungulate taxa appear to be infrequent. Hunter-gatherers frequented the site throughout the year, but more intensive use in spring is indicated by subadult sensu lato horses. There was extensive exploitation of ungulate carcasses: various butchery activities, marrow extraction, the use of bone as fuel and ‘less elaborate tools’ are documented. Carnivore canines were exploited to produce ornaments. The great dominance of horses reveals cold conditions and the expansion of open environments related to the chronology span of Greenland Stadial 3.     

The last 30,000 years of faunal history within the Grand Canyon, Arizona

The vertebrate fauna of the last 30,000 radiocarbon years in the Grand Canyon is reviewed. Faunas accompanied with 92 ¹⁴C dates have been analyzed from nine cave sites (four systematically excavated) and 50 packrat middens. Reasonably precise chronological and environmental data of late Pleistocene and Holocene age were obtained through dung studies in Rampart, Muav, and Stanton's Caves; from the numerous packrat middens; and from a ringtail refuse deposit in Vulture Cave. The desert tortoise, 8 species of lizards, 12 species of snakes, 68 species of birds, and 33 species of mammals are identified. Extinct animals include the avian carrion feeder, Teratornis merriami, and the mammalian herbivores, Oreamnos harringtoni, Camelops cf. hesternus, Equus sp., and Nothrotheriops shastense. There is no apparent abrupt end to the late Pleistocene as observed in the Grand Canyon fossil faunal or floral record. Animal and plant taxa of the Grand Canyon responded individually to the changes in climate of the last 30,000 yr. Both animal and plant fossil assemblages indicate that a pre-full glacial, a full glacial, and a late glacial woodland community with many less dominant desert taxa were slowly replaced by a Holocene desert community. All woodland taxa were absent from the lower elevations of the Grand Canyon by 8500 yr B.P.     

Two Early Cretaceous fishes discovered from the most northern area of China: implications for the palaeobiogeography of the Jehol Biota

From a newly discovered Early Cretaceous fossil site at the Sanlianhe Coal Mine in Tahe County, Heilongjiang Province, the most northern area in China, two freshwater fossil fish had been recovered. This paper reports their classifications and implications regarding the palaeobiogeography of the Jehol Biota. The fish assemblage consists of Yanosteus sp. (Acipenseriforms) and Sinamia sp. (Amiiformes). Both are important members of the well known Jehol Biota, and their occurrence supports the correlation of the Yiliekede Formation at Sanlianhe Coal Mine site with the Jiufotang Formation of West Liaoning. The remains of the Yanosteus sp. from this locality is the first known record of the genus other than in the Yan‐Liao area of China, and the specimens of Sinamia sp. is quite similar to what may be a new species of Sinamia from West Liaoning. The new fossil site represents the most northern site that is undoubtedly part of the extent of the Jehol Biota as currently understood. The northern Great Xing'an Range area is an important region that may link correlations between the Early Cretaceous continental biotas of China, Mongolia and Russia. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terrestrial arthropods from the Late Pleistocene of Jamaica: systematics,palaeoecology and taphonomy

The Red Hills Road Cave, Jamaica, is the most important site for terrestrial arthropods in the post‐Miocene of the Greater Antilles. Its fauna includes millipedes, isopods, crabs and insects, in addition to land snails and vertebrates. Arthropods are preserved in three dimensions and delicate structures such as limbs can be recognized. This unusual preservation was favoured by acidic groundwater rich in dissolved calcium carbonate; periods of high rainfall during which the bottle‐shaped cave was filled with water; and any arthropod washed in would have drowned. The absence of spiders, centipedes and most insects is due to the absence of carbonate in their exoskeletons. Millipedes and isopods possess a potential for preservation by carbonate mineralization that does not occur in other groups; they secrete calcium carbonate in the exoskeleton which hardens the cuticle and is water permeable, bringing about mineral replacement of the original structures. Within the cave, fossil millipede taxa include Rhinocricus sp. or spp., Chondrotropis sp., Caraibodesmus verrucosus (Pocock) and Cyclodesmus sp. cf. C. porcellanus Pocock. The isopod fauna includes Pseudarmadillo sp., Venezillo boonae Van Name, and Philoscia spp. 1 and 2. Crab claws belong to Sesarma sp. cf. S. cookei Hartnoll. Millipedes and isopods are particularly complete, representing drowned individuals fossilized soon after death; land crabs occur as fingers and rare chelae, suggesting that they may be exuviae. Only the most robust parts of insects have been discovered, but are particularly rare, consisting of three taxa of fly puparia and one possible beetle elytra. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selachian fishes from Bhuban Formation,Surma Group,Aizawl, Mizoram

An interesting selachian fish assemblage having stratigraphic and palaeoecological significance is being described from the two intraformational calcareous conglomeratic horizons within the Upper Bhuban unit of Bhuban Formation, Surma Group (Lower to Middle Miocene). The assemblage consists of eighteen species of selachian fishes including two new ones (Carcharhinus bhubanicus and Hemipristis unidenticulata) belonging to thirteen genera and another thirteen forms have been identified up to generic level. It is dominated by the families Carcharhinidae and Lamnidae, and is one of the most diversified Miocene assemblages from the Indian subcontinent. The fish fauna and the associated mega-invertebrates suggest Lower Miocene (Aquitanian - Burdigalian) age for the Upper Bhuban unit of Bhuban Formation. These further suggest that the fish yielding horizons were deposited under a warm shallow marine set-up near to the shoreline in a high-energy environment.     

Cenomanian florule of Nammoura, Lebanon

The mid-Cenomanian fish beds of Nammoura, Mont-Liban district, Lebanon contain a diverse fauna of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, a few crustaceans and moderately well-preserved plant remains of which a single species,Sapindopsis anhouryi , was previously described by Dilcher & Basson (1990). We add 11 species of ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms of which Nammouria cretacea gen. et sp. nov, Nupharanthus cretacea gen. et sp. nov., Sapindopsis libanensis sp. nov. and Nammourophyllum altingioides gen. et sp. nov. are new taxa. The florule differs markedly from both Early Cretaceous and Turonian plant assemblages of the Middle East, thereby representing a distinct stage of the regional floristic evolution. Its phytogeographic affinities are with contemporaneous floras of North America, Central Europe and the Crimea. A combination of such features as xeromorphism, the prevalence of compound leaves, and the presence of deciduous angiosperm components and gymnosperms may indicate climatic conditions similar to those of the present day Mediterranean.     

Early Cretaceous choristoderes (Diapsida,Choristodera) from Siberia,Russia

There are ten known Lower Cretaceous localities for skeletal remains of choristoderes in Siberia (Russia). Choristoderan remains at all these localities are represented by isolated bones, usually by isolated vertebrae of Choristodera indet. Three choristoderan taxa in two geological units were identified: the non-neochoristodere Khurendukhosaurus sp. (possibly closely related to the long-necked Sino-Japanese hyphalosaurids) from the Murtoi Formation, Transbaikalia; cf. Khurendukhosaurus sp. and the “Shestakovo choristodere” with possible neochoristoderan affinities from the Ilek Formation, Western Siberia. All these three choristoderan taxa had a microanatomical organization of vertebrae similar to that of in advanced large neochoristoderes (vertebral centra with tight spongiosa). The Siberian fossil record includes the westernmost (Shestakovo locality, Ilek Formation) and the northernmost (Teete locality, the Sangarian Group) occurrences of the Early Cretaceous choristoderes in Asia. Like in other regions of Asia, Siberian localities are characterized by the absence of neosuchian crocodyliforms.     

中国南方泥盆系发现颗石藻

颗石藻作为一种超微远洋浮游生物,出现于侏罗纪里阿斯世(Lias),繁盛于晚白垩世至第三纪。最近又有所进展。哈克(Hag,1981)面告,最老的颗石藻出现于石炭纪和二叠纪。本文所报道之颗石藻发现于晚泥盆世,是截至目前为止最老的颗石藻化石。 颗石藻演化迅速,分布广泛,形态特征明显,而且数量众多,对划分对比海相地层有一定的意义。本文只对研究区所采标本的颗石藻进行鉴定、描述和分类。     

A middle Cambrian shallow water trilobite fauna from the Comstock Formation,near Queenstown,western Tasmania

A limestone lens within the Comstock Formation, from low in the Tyndall Group near the Lyell Comstock Mine near Queenstown, western Tasmania, contains a small trilobite fauna. The trilobites include Ammagnostus cf. laiwuensis, Kootenia sp., Sudanomocarina? sp. and a possible member of the Monkaspidae. These suggest an age somewhere in the range from the upper Ptychagnostus atavus Zone to the Lejopyge laevigata Zone, with regional stratigraphic correlations suggesting the latter zone. This is only the second Tasmanian Cambrian fossil assemblage described from limestone; almost all previously described Tasmanian Cambrian faunas are found in siltstones and shales.     

Echinoids as hard substrates: varied examples from the Oligocene of Antigua,Lesser Antilles

A collection of unremarkably preserved fossil irregular echinoids from the Upper Oligocene (Chattian) Antigua Formation of Antigua, Lesser Antilles, nonetheless provides evidence of a range of palaeoecological interactions. A dead test of the heart urchin Eupatagus sp. formed a hard substrate for the attachment of gregarious Thecidellina? sp., a thecidoid brachiopod. Although obligate encrusters, these brachiopods more commonly occur as disarticulated valves free of the substrate in the Antillean fossil record. Elongate pits in test fragments were formed, variously, before and after the death of the host echinoids. These depressions on the external surface were formed either by invertebrates excavating domiciles or by claws or teeth; the echinoid later reclaimed the pits and grew new tubercles in the base. Post-mortem pits lack such new tuberculation. A test of Eupatagus sp. bears the boring Oichnus isp., formed either by a predator (gastropod?) or after the death of the echinoid (domicile), and a serpulid worm tube which grew on the test subsequent to the echinoid’s death. The echinoid fauna of the Antigua Formation has been easy to collect and specimens are to be found in many museums; they now await re-examination to reveal palaeosynecological data analogous to that determined from the fragments discussed herein.     

Pleistocene vertebrates with boreal affinities in the Georgia Piedmont

Pleistocene alluvium along Little Kettle Creek in east-central Georgia contains a unique record of vertebrate life in the Appalachian Piedmont during a colder phase of the late Quaternary. The small fauna includes fishes and the following mammals: Synaptomys cooperi, the southern bog lemming; Clethrionomys sp., a redback vole; Mammut americanum, the American mastodon; a mammoth, Mammuthus sp.; Odocoileus cf. virginianus, a deer; and Bison sp. Both Synaptomys and Clethrionomys are primarily boreal genera of rodents which today reach their southern limits at higher elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains about 175 km north of the fossil locality. The American mastodon is also commonly associated with Pleistocene spruce bogs in eastern North America. Catfish (Ictalurus (?) sp.) vertebrae from the deposit show well-defined annual rings in contrast with the weakly marked annuli produced by fish living in the same area today. The total aspect of the fauna is one of considerably lower temperatures than those prevailing in the Georgia Piedmont now. The joint occurrence of bison and proboscideans indicates an age no older and no younger than late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) for the assemblage. Because no pollen was found in the sediments and there was insufficient organic matter present for ¹⁴C dating, no more precise age can yet be assigned to the fauna.     

The first fossil mayfly nymph (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from the British Isles

Mayflies are very rare in the British fossil record. The first nymph to be found, Schistonotorum wallisi gen. et sp. nov., is described from the non-marine Lower Cretaceous of southeast England. This Early Barremian find is from the Upper Weald Clay Formation at Smokejacks brickworks, Surrey. It is preserved as an adpression in concretionary sideritic ironstone from the upper insect bed exposed in the northeast face of the pit. The palaeoecological significance of this record is discussed.     

New species of fossil oribatid mites (Acariformes,Oribatida), from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Spain

Mites are relatively common and diverse in fossiliferous ambers, but remain essentially unstudied. Here, we report on five new oribatid fossil species from Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber, including representatives of three superfamilies, and five families of the Oribatida. Hypovertex hispanicus sp. nov. and Tenuelamellarea estefaniae sp. nov. are described from amber pieces discovered in the San Just outcrop (Teruel Province). This is the first time fossil oribatid mites have been discovered in the El Soplao outcrop (Cantabria Province) and, here, we describe the following new species: Afronothrus ornosae sp. nov., Nothrus vazquezae sp. nov., and Platyliodes sellnicki sp. nov. The taxa are discussed in relation to other fossil lineages of Oribatida as well as in relation to their modern counterparts. Some of the inclusions were imaged using confocal laser scanning microscopy, demonstrating the potential of this technique for studying fossil mites in amber. A table, including all the known Mesozoic oribatid mites preserved in amber, is included.     

Antiquity and long-term morphological stasis in a group of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae): Description of the oldest Octavius species from Cretaceous Burmese amber and a review of the “Euaesthetine subgroup” fossil record

The Staphylinine group of rove beetle subfamilies is a significant animal radiation, and one subordinate monophyletic clade – the ‘Euaesthetine subgroup’ – includes around 3000 species in subfamilies Euaesthetinae and Steninae and has a fossil record dating to the Early Cretaceous. Detailed morphological study of a new well-preserved Cretaceous Burmese amber fossil revealed strong evidence consistent with its taxonomic placement in the euaesthetine genus Octavius. We thus describe Octavius electrospinosus sp. nov., the first Cretaceous record of the genus and of the tribe Euaesthetini. Previously, the oldest records of Octavius and Euaesthetini were from the Eocene (Baltic amber) and discovery of O. electrospinosus sp. nov. therefore nearly doubles the minimum lineage age of Octavius, increasing it by 50 million years. We also briefly review the known Euaesthetine subgroup fossil record and tabulate summary data for all previously described fossils. All are placed in extant genera, and have visible diagnostic generic-level characters including some putative synapomorphies as judged by recent phylogenetic work. Including O. electrospinosus sp. nov., there are now four known Cretaceous species, all of which belong to either Octavius, Nordenskioldia, or Stenus. To explain the long-term morphological stasis in this group of rove beetles, we suggest that the continuous presence of mesic habitats may have buffered these lineages from strong selection for morphological change. Considering the fossils along with phylogenetic hypotheses we suggest the Euaesthetine subgroup originated in the Late Jurassic– Early Cretaceous and the Staphylinine group in the Early Jurassic. We emphasize the derived status of Cretaceous fossils in assessing possible divergence times and the significance of the pre-Cretaceous taphonomic bias for restricting more robust estimates. Further detailed morphological study of available fossils in a phylogenetic framework is badly needed to clarify the phylogenetic positions of these taxa.     

Perinates of a new species of Iguanodon (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the lower Barremian of Galve (Teruel,Spain)

Although Iguanodon is one of the most abundant and well-known of Europe's dinosaur genera, fossils of young specimens are very rare. Indeed, the fossil record contains very few examples of the young of any non-hadrosaurid iguanodontian. Here we report the discovery of 13 Iguanodon perinates from the Lower Cretaceous of Galve (Teruel, Spain). The characteristics of an adult and juvenile found nearby show these perinates to belong to a new species: Iguanodon galvensis sp. nov. The histological and osteological features of these young animals indicate them to have been in their first year of life. The taphonomic features of their remains, plus the finding of clearly embryonic vertebrae alongside them, suggest the perinates of this species remained in the vicinity of their nests for some time, possibly congregating in nursery areas.     

Neoselachians and Chimaeriformes (Chondrichthyes) from the latest Cretaceous–Paleogene of Sierra Baguales,southernmost Chile. Chronostratigraphic,paleobiogeographic and paleoenvironmental implications

This paper discusses a well-represented fossil record of cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes) from southern South America. The recovered samples allow the recognition of three assemblages with chronostratigraphic and paleogeographic value: i) typical Maastrichtian sharks and rays with affinities to eastern Pacific fauna, including the taxa Ischyrhiza chilensis, Serratolamna serrata, Centrophoroides sp. associated to Carcharias sp., and Dasyatidae indet.; ii) a scarce reworked assemblage of Paleocene–Early Eocene age including the taxa Otodus obliquus and Megascyliorhinus cooperi; iii) a rich assemblage with reworked taxa of Early to Middle Eocene age, together with autochthonous deposited Middle to Late Eocene taxa with close affinities to paleoichthyofaunas recovered from the North Atlantic, represented by Carcharias ‘hopei’, Odontaspis winkleri, Carcharoides catticus, Macrorhizodus praecursor, Carcharocles auriculatus, Striatolamia sp., Striatolamia macrota, Hexanchus agassizi, Notorhynchus sp., Myliobatis sp., Abdounia sp., Pristiophorus sp., Squatina sp., cf. Rhizoprionodon sp., Ischyodus sp., and one new species, Jaekelotodus bagualensis sp. nov. The studied samples include for the first time taxa with well established chronostratigraphic resolutions as well as taphonomic information that help clarifying the age of the fossil-bearing units. In addition, they provide relevant information about the evolution of the Magallanes (=Austral) Basin from the Upper Cretaceous to the Paleogene, suggesting a probable connection with the Quiriquina Basin of south-central Chile during the latest Cretaceous. Finally, the studied assemblages indicate a latitudinal pattern of distribution that provides valuable data on the environmental evolution and temperature of southern South America during the Paleogene.     

Solenites (Czekanowskiales) from the Late Mesozoic Jehol Biota of Southeastern Jilin, China and its Paleoclimatic Implications

Situated at the easternmost area of the Late Mesozoic Jehol Biota, China, abundant fossils, including invertebrates, vertebrates and plants, were collected from the Early Cretaceous Yingzuilazi Formation of the Baishan Basin, southeastern Jilin. The faunal remains from this formation distinctly belong to the Early Cretaceous Lycoptera–Ephemeropsis–Eosestheria assemblage of the Jehol Biota. Based on the gross leaf morphology and epidermal structures, two new species and one indeterminate species of genus Solenites(Czekanowskiales), S. baishanensis sp. nov., S. gracilis sp. nov. and S. sp. are described in this paper. This is the first fossil plant of Czekanowskiales reported from this new fossil locality of the easternmost area of the Late Mesozoic Jehol Biota, China. The new discovery contributes to improve our knowledge for understanding of leaf morphology, epidermal characters and diversity of this genus during the Early Cretaceous time, and extends geologic and geographic distribution of Solenites in northern China and Eurasia. Along with consideration of associated plant and faunal assemblages and sedimentology, we suggest that the regional climate was warm and moderately humid with seasonal temperature and precipitation variations in warm–temperate zone during the Early Cretaceous.