Fossil coniferous wood from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota in western Liaoning,NE China: New material and palaeoclimate implications

The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, one of the most important Mesozoic lagerstätten in East Asia, is especially well-known for occurrences of fossil feathered dinosaurs and early angiosperms. However, the terrestrial biodiversity, especially the fossil wood record, is poorly known. In this study, several structurally preserved coniferous wood specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation are investigated, based on collections from the Heichengzi Basin in Beipiao of western Liaoning, Northeast China. Four species referred to four genera of fossil wood are described, including Taxodioxylon heichengziense sp. nov., Thujoxylon beipiaoense sp. nov., Sciadopityoxylon liaoningense Ding and Protocedroxylon shengjinbeigouense sp. nov. These new records enlarge the fossil wood diversity of the Yixian Formation up to 10 species in 9 genera, and provide further insights into the forest vegetation composition of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. Systematic analysis of the floral constitution indicates that the petrified forests of the Yixian Formation are dominated by conifers, represented by Araucariaceae, Podocarpaceae, Sciadopityaceae, Pinaceae and Cupressaceae in the western Liaoning region. Palaeoclimatical analysis of the fossil wood assemblage implies that the western Liaoning region was dominated by a cool temperate, wet and seasonal climate with variable interannual water supply in the western Liaoning region during the Early Cretaceous.     

Protophyllocladoxylon jingyuanense sp.nov.,a Gymnospermous Wood of the Serpukhovian (Late Mississippian) from Gansu,Northwest China

<正>A new species of gymnospermous fossil wood,Protophyllocladoxylon jingyuanense sp.nov., is described from the lower part of the Tsingyuan Formation(Serpukhovian/Late Mississippian),near the coal mine of Ciyao,Gansu,northwestern China.The specimen is preserved only in silicified secondary xylem,while growth rings are absent.Pits in radial tracheidal walls are araucaroid in type, uniseriate,occasionally biseriate.Xylem rays are homogeneous,uniseriate,occasionally biseriate. Cross-field pits are simple,large,one to two in number.Axial parenchyma is absent.The anatomical characters and geographic distribution of Protophyllocladoxylon woods through geological ages are documented.Those species with axial parenchyma and without growth rings live in warm climate, whereas the species without axial parenchyma and with growth rings are present either in warm or cool climate.The ideal living climate for Protophyllocladoxylon woods is warm and wet.Our new species,as a fossil wood of Early Carboniferous,is likely the earliest known species of Protophyllocladoxylon.     

Fossil wood flora from the Siwalik Group of Arunachal Pradesh,India and its climatic and phytogeographic significance

The plant fossil records from the Siwalik Group of Arunachal Pradesh, India are far from satisfactory due to remoteness and dense vegetation of the area. We report seven fossil woods of which three belong to the Middle Siwalik (Subansiri Formation), while the rest are from the Upper Siwalik (Kimin Formation). The modern analogues of the fossils from the Middle Siwalik are Lophopetalum littorale (Celastraceae), Afzelia-Intsia and Sindora siamensis (Fabaceae) and from the Upper Siwalik are Miliusa velutina (Annonaceae), Calophyllum tomentosum and Kayea (Calophyllaceae) and Diospyros melanoxylon (Ebenaceae). The dominance of diffuse porosity in the fossil woods indicates a tropical climate with low seasonality (little variation) in temperature, while a high proportion of large vessels and simple perforation plates in the assemblage infer high precipitation during the deposition of the sediments. The aforesaid inference is in strong agreement with the previous quantitative reconstruction based on fossil leaves. Several modern analogues of the fossil taxa are now growing in low latitudes possibly due to an increase in seasonality (increased variation) in temperature caused by the rising Himalaya.     

Late Triassic climate in southernmost Parana Basin (Brazil): evidence from dendrochronological data

Dendrochronological methods were used to study a fossil wood assemblage identified as Sommerxylon spiralosus Pires et Guerra-Sommer from outcropping sandstone fluvial sequences (Late Triassic of southernmost Parana Basin, Brazil). The climate signal from fossil woods, supported by sedimentary evidence, indicates a seasonal climate. Analysis of preserved growth rings has yielded information about the peridiodicity of growth related to seasonal cycles. The growth phase in each cycle developed at a slow rate, and the growing period was relatively uniform; in contrast, the periodic phases of growth restriction were not very extensive. These seasonal cycles were interrupted by occasional droughts during the growth season, reflected by the presence of false growth rings. These data match recent global climate patterns from the Late Triassic.     

吉林省中东部晚中生代含煤地层中的木化石

通过对吉林省晚中生代含煤地层中木化石的系统调查，共采集162块木化石，均属裸子植物，共5属8种。其中出现频率最高者为异木属，其次为落羽杉型木属等，Taxadiorylon albertense，T．pseudonlbertense两种在中国为首次发现。笔者将木化石称Xenoxylon latiporosum-Taxodioxylon pseudoalbeltense组合。研究表明，异木属主要生长在温湿的温带气候环境；据目前的资料还不能证明该属是适应能力极强的树种。本文还记述了上述木化石产出的地质概况，并探讨了其地质意义和古环境。     

Turonian-Santonian echinoids from Wadi Qena,Eastern Desert,Egypt; a new arrangement of apical disc plating in spatangoids

Eighteen echinoid species (seven regular and eleven irregular) belonging to twelve genera have been described from the Turonian-Santonian succession of two sections located in the northern part of Wadi Qena, Eastern Desert. The diversity of the recorded species is low in the Turonian (six species), but comparatively high in the Coniacian-Santonian (twelve species). Of the recorded species, Most of these species (72%) are recorded for the first time from Wadi Qena area, one left in open nomenclature, Mecaster sp., represents a new species, and two, Phymosoma microtuberculatum and Thylechinus (T.) said, represent new records for Egypt. The taxonomic rank of Parapygus sudrensis has been changed. Phymosoma microtuberculatum which is known from the ‘Senonian’ of southwest Europe is recorded herein in the lower Turonian. Two echinoid assemblage zones are recognizable in each of the studied two sections. They are correlated with other fossil assemblage zones in Egypt. Faunal affinity and paleobiogeography of the species are discussed. A new arrangement of apical disc plating in spatangoids is described and discussed.     

Cyclic terpenoids of contemporary resinous plant detritus and of fossil woods, ambers and coals

Cyclic terpenoids present in the solvent extractable material of fossil woods, ambers and brown coals have been analyzed. The sample series chosen consisted of wood remains preserved in Holocene to Jurassic sediments and a set of of ambers from the Philippines (copalite), Israel, Canada and Dominican Republic. The brown coals selected were from the Fortuna Garsdorf Mine and Miocene formations on Fiji.The fossil wood extracts contained dominant diterpenoid or sesquiterpenoid skeletons, and aromatized species were present at high concentrations, with a major amount of two-ring aromatic compounds. Tricyclic diterpenoids were the predominant compounds in the ambers. Aromatized derivatives were the major components, consisting of one or two aromatic ring species with the abietane and occasionally pimarane skeletons. The saturated structures were comprised primarily of the abietane and pimarane skeletons having from three to five carbon (C₁, C₂, etc.) substituents. Kaurane and phyllocladane isomers were present in only minor amounts. Bicyclic sesquiterpenoids as saturated and partial or fully aromatized forms were also common in these samples, but only traces of sesterterpenoids and triterpenoid derivatives were found.The brown coal extracts were composed of major amounts of one- and two-ring aromatized terpenoids, with a greater proportion of triterpenoid derivatives than in the case of the woods and ambers. This was especially noticeable for the German coal, where the triterpenoids were predominant. Open C-ring aromatized structures were also present in this coal. Steroid compounds were not detectable, but some hopanes were found as minor components in the German brown coal.An overview of the skeletal structure classes identified in each sample, as well as the general mass spectrometric characteristics of the unknown compounds are included in the present paper. It can be concluded from these structural distributions that aromatization is the main process for the transformation of terrestrial cyclic terpenoids during diagenesis, constituting a general pathway for all terpenoids.     

Dinosaur eggshells from the Santonian Milk River Formation of Alberta,Canada

The North American fossil record of dinosaur eggshells for the Cretaceous is primarily restricted to formations of the middle (Albian–Cenomanian) and uppermost (Campanian–Maastrichtian) stages, with a large gap in the record for intermediate stages. Here we describe a dinosaur eggshell assemblage from a formation that represents an intermediate and poorly fossiliferous stage of the Upper Cretaceous, the Santonian Milk River Formation of southern Alberta, Canada. The Milk River eggshell assemblage contains five eggshell taxa: Continuoolithus, Porituberoolithus, Prismatoolithus, Spheroolithus, and Triprismatoolithus. These ootaxa are most similar to those reported from younger Campanian–Maastrichtian formations of the northern Western Interior than they are to ootaxa reported from older middle Cretaceous formations (i.e., predominantly Macroelongatoolithus). Characteristics of the Milk River ootaxa indicate that they are ascribable to at least one ornithopod and four small theropod species. The taxonomic affinity of the eggshell assemblage is consistent with the dinosaur fauna known based on isolated teeth and fragmentary skeletal remains from the formation, although most ornithischians and large theropods are not represented by eggshell. Relative to the Milk River Formation eggshell, similar oospecies occurring in younger Cretaceous deposits tend to be somewhat thicker, which may reflect an increase in body size of various dinosaur lineages during the Late Cretaceous.     

Middle Eocene vertebrates from the sabkha of Gueran,Atlantic coastal basin,Saharan Morocco,and their peri-African correlations

The sabkha of Gueran in the Southwest Moroccan Sahara has yielded a rich and diverse fauna of late middle Eocene vertebrates that include the world's richest Bartonian age archaeocete assemblage. Archeocete remains were described previously and here we report on the rest of the vertebrate fauna. The Gueran fauna includes abundant chondrichthyan species belonging to Lamniformes, Carcharhiniformes and Rhinopristiformes, and actinopterygian assemblage consisting of Cylindracanthus, of a siluriform, and of Perciformes. Turtles are represented by at least two marine taxa referred to as Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae. Crocodylian remains belong to at least two longirostrine species, including gavialoid remains. Snakes are represented by Pterosphenus cf. schweinfurthi (Palaeophiidae). Seabirds are represented by a pseudo-toothed bird (Pelagornithidae). The avian fossil belonged to a gigantic soaring bird and constitutes the earliest occurrence of the genus Pelagornis. The presence of proboscideans is attested by dental fragments. This fossil assemblage from Gueran shows affinities with those of the Eocene beds of Egypt and Libya. The numerous shared taxa support a close biogeographical connection between faunas from southeastern and southwestern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.     

A combined polarizing microscope,XRD, SEM,and specific gravity study of the petrified woods of volcanic origin from the Çamlıdere-Çeltikçi-Güdül fossil forest,in Ankara,Turkey

The fossil forest in the Çaml?dere-Çeltikçi-Güdül region of the province of Ankara in Turkey has a large number of petrified coniferous and oak tree remains. Petrification occurred in volcanic ashes and tuffs with permineralization, and Fe, Mg, Ca and Ni ions played important roles in the substitution of Si for C. However, the petrified wood samples are heterogeneous in colouration, weight, toughness, and durability, despite being obtained from the same source. Those features are very important for end-users because petrified woods, if cut and polished, are used widely as both decorative indoor tiles and gemstone objects, but heterogeneous materials suffer large wastage while they are being worked and used.Chemical analyses, specific gravity measurements, polarizing microscope studies, X-ray diffraction patterns, and scanning electron image evaluations were performed to classify and identify the homogenous material of the petrified woods relating to its physical and mineralogical characteristics.The different characteristics of the petrified wood samples are due to their varying inner structures, which depend on the replacement silica-building phases and their ratios, and silica particle sizes. Thin sections and XRD patterns revealed that petrified woods in the region were silicified by replacement with both chalcedonic quartz components, including chalcedony (length-fast quartz), moganite and orthorhombic-silica (length-slow quartz), and opalline quartz components including opal-CT and opal-C (length-slow quartz). The scanning electron microscope images were shown that the internal structures of the petrified woods consist of mostly submicron-sized (100–800 nm), and partially nano-sized (60–120 nm) silica-building particles.So, the petrified wood samples can be firstly classified into five main-groups based on their colourations and specific gravity values, then, into three sub-groups based on the principal chalcedonic and opalline quartz silica-building phases and related particle sizes, and also weighing, toughness, and durability. In the first group (samples 1, 2, and 3), the crystallinity gradation of the petrified woods can be classified as quasi-coarse crystalline because they include mainly chalcedony and moganite phases with 800–200 nm ranging in particle size. They are heavy, tough, and resistance as a material, as shown by specific gravity values of 2.60, 2.56, and 2.54, respectively. In the second group (sample 4), the crystallinity gradation of the petrified wood can be classified as quasi-fine crystalline because it includes mainly o-silica and moganite phases with 400–100 nm ranging in particle size. It is medium-heavy, semi-tough and quasi-resistance as a material, as shown by a specific gravity value of 2.42. In the third group (sample 5), the crystallinity gradation of the petrified wood can be classified as quasi-nano-crystalline because it includes mainly opal-CT and opal-C phases with 120–60 nm ranging in particle size. The material is slight, brittle, and weak as a material, as shown by a specific gravity value of 2.18.Ultimately, in the petrified wood found in the Çaml?dere-Çeltikçi-Güdül region of Ankara province in Turkey, it is revealed that samples 1, 2, and 3 represent flint and chalcedony quartz mineral species, samples 4 and 5 represent chalcedony and opal quartz mineral species.     

Distribution of an arctic ostracod fauna in space and time

A fossil locality on the Pembina Upland, in southern Manitoba (L. D. Delorme, Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper9, 301–304, 1971), contains three ostracod species near the base of the deposit. Two of these ostracods, Candona rectangulata and Cyclocypris globosa, are found alive only in the northern parts of the Northwest and Yukon territories of Canada. Both species are indicative of subarctic forest tundra and alpine tundra. Their position in the lower 69 cm of the deposit indicates that, as the glacier ice thinned over the upland and retreated from the Lake Agassiz basin, an arctic-subarctic environment could have existed with the potential for tundra vegetation to develop. A reverse situation occurred in the Northwest Territories based on seven fossil ostracod species from a peaty marl deposit. As reported by L. D. Delorme, S. C. Zoltai, and L. L. Kalas. (Canadian Journal of Earth Science14, 2029–2046, 1977) for other similar sites, the striking element is the absence of true arctic ostracods. The majority of the species live very successfully further south in Manitoba and Saskatchewan at present. At both sites, the fossil assemblage is different than the modern assemblage. This indicates a dislocation in space and time which is the basis for the change in paleoenvironmental interpretation.     

A remarkable example of a Late Jurassic shallow-water ophiuroid assemblage from the Swiss Jura Mountains

Although much effort has been put into attempts to unravel the Mesozoic ophiuroid fossil record, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the geological history of family-level compositions of brittle star assemblages. Here, we describe new ophiuroid material from the Late Oxfordian Bure Member as exposed in a construction site along the federal Highway A16 (Transjurane Highway) near Boncourt–Queue au Loup (Swiss Jura Mountains). The remains are exceptionally well preserved and partially articulated, enabling detailed morphological observations at a level comparable to Recent material. Three species are identified; they are here shown to display unequivocal affinities with extant ophiuroid lineages. The assemblage comprises a new ophiacanthid genus and species, Juracantha hottingeri, which is closely related to extant Ophientrema, an ophiolepidid close to extant Ophiozonella described here as a new genus and species, Eozonella bergeri, and a species previously described as Ophiacantha? francojurassica, which is here reassigned to the extant ophionereidid genus Ophiodoris. The assemblage was found in association with Nanogyra oyster buildups encrusted by serpulids and associated with partially-articulated crinoids, deposited in a shallow subtidal setting. Its family level composition is highly unusual with respect to modern equivalents, and instead is reminiscent of modern bathyal assemblages.     

浙江宁海早上新世枫香树属和栎属化石木及其古环境意义*

对发现于浙江省宁海县茶园乡道士桥村附近的上新统嵊县群中的多个化石木材料进行了解剖研究,并对其分类和系统位置进行了讨论。根据解剖特征鉴定出2种化石木。一种为久内枫香树（Liquidambar hisauchi）,属于金缕梅科枫香树属,其组合特征为：生长轮明显;散孔材;梯状穿孔板具横隔10～23条;螺纹加厚仅出现在导管末端;导管直径在50～100μm之间;射线宽1～3列。另一种为岛仓栎（Quercus shimakurae）,属于壳斗科栎属,其组合特征为：生长轮极明显;环孔材;单管孔;晚材管孔火焰状径列;早材管孔直径最大达300μm,明显比晚材管孔大;单穿孔;轴向薄壁组织星散聚合状和离管带状;射线具单列和极宽2种类型。本研究从大化石角度进一步证明栎属和枫香树属为当时植被的重要组成成分。     

Zalesskioxylon xiaheyanense sp. nov., a gymnospermous wood of the Stephanian (Late Pennsylvanian) from Ningxia, northwestern China

A new Late Pennsylvanian species of gymnospermous fossil wood, Zalesskioxylon xiaheyanense sp. nov. is described from the Lower Taiyuan Formation (Stephanian B-C) near the village of Xiaheyan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The specimen consists only of silicified secondary xylem. The tracheids are pycnoxylic with 2–3 seriate bordered pits, arranged in subcircular or hexagonal alternate (araucaroid) pattern. The pores of the pits are small, linear, and regularly tilted. Xylem rays are homogeneous, uniseriate, 1–25 cells high. Cross-fields are filled with numerous mixed simple pits of various sizes. Growth rings, axial parenchymatous elements and resin canals are absent. The geographic distribution of Zalesskioxylon woods is reviewed. Zalesskioxylon xiaheyanense sp. nov. grew at low latitudes, and because of the lack of growth rings, probably lived under relatively uniform climatic conditions. Our new species supplements the poorly known distribution of Carboniferous wood in China.     

Estimation of Natural Radionuclides and Exhalation Rate in Surface Soils of Four Districts of Haryana,India

A fossil wood of Lagerstroemia L. from the Upper Siwalik sediments of Arunachal Pradesh is described. The genus is recorded for the first time from this state. The modern analog of the fossil species i.e. L. tomentosa C. Presl is not found in the fossil locality at present.. The most plausible reason for the disappearance of the species from the fossil locality is an increase in temperature seasonality caused by the upheaval of the Himalaya during the Pleistocene.     

内蒙古科尔沁右翼中旗协和尔斯德中生代火山沉积地层时代研究

内蒙古科尔沁右翼中旗协和尔斯德一带出露一套中生代地层,岩石组合主要为酸性火山碎屑岩、火山碎屑沉积岩夹碎屑沉积岩及酸性火山熔岩。1∶50000区调依据在该套地层上部层位发现的木化石组合确定其时代为中—晚侏罗世,结合岩石组合,将该套地层划分为上侏罗统满克头鄂博组。为了准确厘定该套地层时代,为木化石延限研究及区域生物地层划分对比提供依据,本次研究在低于产木化石层位的酸性火山碎屑岩中采取了锆石测年样品(LA-ICP-MS),获得锆石U-Pb年龄(165±1)Ma,时代为中侏罗世。同时采取了侵入该套地层的斑状细晶闪长岩测年样品,获得锆石年龄(131±1)Ma,限定了地层形成的上限年龄。根据岩性组合的区域对比、测年结果、木化石组合时限、地层产状特征,认为该套地层应划为中侏罗统新民组,是突泉火山-沉积盆地充填物的一部分。     

Evidence for geographic variation in the diets of late Pleistocene and early Holocene Bison in North America, and differences from the diets of recent Bison

During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, Bison was widely dispersed across North America and occupied most regions not covered by ice sheets. A dietary study on Bison paleopopulations from Alaska, New Mexico, Florida, and Texas was performed using two methods that relate dental wear patterns to diet, mesowear analysis and microwear analysis. These data were compared to a mixed sample of extant Bison from the North American central plains, extant wood Bison from Alberta (Canada) and a variety of other modern ungulates. Mesowear relates macroscopic molar facet shape to levels of dietary abrasion. The mesowear signature observed on fossil Bison differs significantly from the hyper-abrasive grazing diet of extant Bison. Tooth microwear examines wear on the surface of enamel at a microscopic scale. The microwear signal of fossil samples resembles to modern Bison, but the fossil samples show a greater diversity of features, suggesting that fossil Bison populations regularly consumed food items that are texturally inconsistent with the short-grass diet typical of modern plains Bison. Mesowear and microwear signals of fossil Bison samples most closely resemble a variety of typical mixed feeding ungulates, all with diets that are substantially less abrasive than what is typical for modern plains Bison. Furthermore, statistical tests suggest significant differences between the microwear signatures of the fossil samples, thus revealing geographic variability in Pleistocene Bison diets. This study reveals that fossils are of value in developing an understanding of the dietary breadth and ecological versatility of species that, in recent times, are rare, endangered, and occupy only a small remnant of their former ranges.     

Organic geochemistry of silicified wood,Petrified Forest National Park,Arizona

Lignin derivatives have been isolated for the first time from carbonaceous sections of the silicified (~90% SiO₂) conifer Araucarioxylon arizonicum. The products released by sequential high vacuum pyrolysis and identified by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) include a wide variety of alkyl-substituted, phenolic and condensed aromatic compounds.Brauns spruce lignin was pyrolized and analyzed by GC-MS as a comparison for the fossil wood data. The primary pyrolyzates at the 300°C step were CO₂, H₂O, ethanol and propanol. The main product at 450°C was 4-methyl-2-methoxyphenol (methyl guaiacol), but at 600°C the pyrolyzates were similar both in product composition and in relative abundance to those from silicified wood. The results suggest that the fossil wood experienced a mild thermal event during which the ether bonds were ruptured and loss of oxygen occurred along with the rearrangement of the original wood into a highly stable polymer.     

Aptian–Albian Cupressaceae (sensu stricto) woods from Cañadón Asfalto Basin,Patagonia Argentina

This paper describes the first macrofloristic record from Los Adobes Formation (Chubut Group) in Cañadón Asfalto Basin (Patagonia, Chubut Province, Argentina). The studied fossils were recovered from the Aptian–Albian Bardas Coloradas Member, and consist of silicified woods preserved in fluvial channel deposits. One wood shows homocellular rays with smooth radial and tangential walls, diffuse axial parenchyma, tracheid pitting of the abietinoid type and cross-field pitting cupressoid usually ordered in rows and columns indicating placement within Cupressinoxylon hallei Kräusel. This fossil tree resembles some members of the extant Cupressaceae s.s., as Austrocedrus chilensis (D. Don) Pic. Serm. & Bizzarri, Pilgerodendron uviferum (D. Don) Florin, Fitzroya cupressoide (Molina) I. M. Johnst. and Libocedrus plumosa (D. Don) Druce. Due to poor preservation the other fossil wood specimen was assigned to cf. Cupressinoxylon Göppert 1850 nom. cons. prop. This is the first unequivocal record of C. hallei from the Cretaceous of South America and the oldest reliable record of the Callitroideae, indicating that this subfamily was well established since the mid-Cretaceous in the Southern Hemisphere.