Distinctive azhdarchoid pterosaur jaws from the mid-Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand of eastern England and the Kem Kem Group of Morocco

An isolated jaw fragment from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Cambridge Greensand Member of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation previously identified as a cestraciontid shark fin spine is referred to the pterosaur clade Azhdarchoidea on account of its lateral and occlusal foramina and edentuly. The specimen differs from the azhdarchoid Ornithostoma sedgwicki from the same deposit in having flat lateral surfaces and an acute dorsal/ventral apex. The specimen is similar in overall morphology to CAMSM B40085 from the same horizon and probably represents the corresponding jaw but from a different individual. Likely these specimens represent a new taxon but are considered too fragmentary to diagnose at present. A remarkably similar and distinctive morphology is found in unnamed pterosaur jaws from the Kem Kem Group (?Albian-Cenomanian) of Morocco, supporting the idea of faunal similarity between these two distant localities.     

Edentulous pterosaurs from the Cambridge Greensand (Cretaceous) of eastern England with a review of Ornithostoma Seeley, 1871

A re-examination of fossil material from the Late Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand Member (CGM) of the West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation revealed a number of new specimens of edentulous pterosaur jaw fragments previously identified as shark fin spines and fish jaws and accessioned under the epithet ‘cestraciontid finray’ and ‘jaws of fish’. These are now recognised as pterosaurian jaw tips and referred to Ornithostoma sedgwicki Seeley, 1891 and Azhdarchoidea indet. This material increases the diversity of edentulous pterosaurs from the CGM.The edentulous pterosaur Ornithostoma sedgwicki Seeley, 1891 from the Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand of eastern England is reviewed. The holotype specimen is confirmed as a fragment of a premaxilla/maxilla of a non-tapejarid azhdarchoid on account of the conspicuous curvature of the dorsal and occlusal margins posteriorly and the presence of small neural foramina on the lateral margins. Neural foramina are not seen on jaws of members of the Pteranodontia, a group to which O. sedgwicki was included previously. The referral of O. sedgwicki to Azhdarchoidea eliminates the single known Lower Cretaceous occurrence of Pteranodontidae, restricting the temporal range of this taxon to the Upper Cretaceous. Postcranial material referred to O. sedgwicki from the type horizon is regarded as indeterminate Pterosauria.     

Stratigraphical evidence for the terrestrial age of australites

Australites in an excellent state of preservation are common (up to 1 specimen per 300 m²) in lag gravels flooring corridors between seif dunes in the Motpena and Myrtle Springs areas of the Lake Torrens plain, South Australia. A study of the Quaternary stratigraphy of the region indicates that late Wisconsinan relict dunes (Lake Torrens Formation) are the most likely source of the australites. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the Lake Torrens Formation was deposited between about 24,000 and 16,000 years B.P. As the excellent preservation of most of the australites indicates that they have undergone negligible transport since their infall, it is concluded that the australites fell into the dune field sometime between about 24,000 and 16,000 years B.P.     

Foraminiferal evidence of basin submergence in part of Sundarban mangrove delta,India

Sundarban is a largest mangrove forest delta developed along the NE-SW direction covering parts of India and Bangladesh. Little work has been done on Indian part of Sundarban in respect of heterogeneity in channel morphology which could be mostly due to the effect of tilting and basin subsidence. These changes might have played a major role on development of high marshes, which offers a congenial environment for survival of Haplophragmoides wilberti, Jadammina macrescens, Trochammina inflata, and Miliammina fusca. These marsh benthonic foraminiferal assemblages provide a direct evidence of recent past sea level changes. To establish the depositional pattern and their effects rendered by merciless changing environment, 11 pit sections have been excavated along three E-W transects from Indian Sundarban. Depth of these pit sections varies from 2 to 3 m. Generally, top 20 cm sediment (in pit section W-1 to W-11) deposited under the intertidal environment, as indicated by the presence of Ammonia tepida. However, sediment below 20 cm in some of the pit sections (W-3 and W-5) exhibits fresh water signatures as indicated by the presence of Charophytes algae. In other pit sections (W-1, W-2, W-6, W-7, W-8, W-9 and W-11), the intertidal assemblage is noticed just above the upper marshes assemblage and vice versa, signifying that depositional environment is in proximity to the mangrove dominated area as indicated by the presence of marsh benthonic foraminiferal assemblage containing T. inflata, H. wilberti, Haplophragmoides sp., J. macrescens and M. fusca. Bottom sediment in most of the pit sections from south to north have different depositional environment with alternate presence of intertidal to subtidal faunal assemblages. The peculiar presence of intertidal assemblage above the upper marshes assemblages in recent sediment points towards the theory of submergence due to relative rise in the sea level. But the effect of relative sea level rise is not uniform throughout the area because of differential subsidence due to varied rate of sediment supply (0.5 to 3.3 cm/year) and eastward tilting of the basin. Based on the upper marshes benthonic foraminiferal assemblage and radiocarbon age (in W-1 at 100 cm ~?150 years age), the average subsidence rate as recorded is approximately 0.3 to 0.5 cm/year. Hence, such depositional sequence conjectures that the Indian part of Sundarban is undergoing a phase of submergence concomitant to basin subsidence.     

Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Devils Hole Area,Central North Sea: Foraminiferal and amino-acid evidence

A detailed study of the foraminiferal assemblages from the 229.1-m-deep core 81/34 in the central North Sea has been combined with a series of measurements of the isoleucine epimerisation of foraminiferal tests. A total of 17 foraminiferal zones have been established and both the faunal compositions and the amino-acid values suggest that a major part of the sequence represents deposits of early and middle Pleistocene age. Only the uppermost zone is referred to the late Pleistocene. The sequence mainly comprises a series of marine zones from cold periods, but with some barren, possibly non-marine intervals in between. Only two of the foraminiferal zones can be referred to interglacial periods. The oldest one of these, defined here as the Devils Hole Interglacial, may belong to the latter part of the Cromerian Complex, while the upper warm interval is correlated with the Holsteinian of northwest Europe on the basis of its amino-acid values. A detailed stratigraphical correlation between core 81/34 and the neighbouring core 81/29 is suggested on the basis of their foraminiferal content, palaeomagnetic evidence and amino-acid measurements from both cores. A characteristic feature of both sequences is that most of the Quaternary record is missing. Similar episodic patterns of deposition and erosion have been reported previously from the North Sea area.     

New evidence for the age of the Gubik Formation Alaskan North Slope

At several Alaskan North Slope localities south of the shore of the Arctic Ocean the Gubik Formation, herein regarded as latest Pliocene and Pleistocene in age, contains a marine unit at its base. Near Ocean Point and near Teshekpuk Lake this basal unit, or the lowest exposed marine unit, of the Gubik contains unusual, relatively warm-water marine mammals. Although these mammals have poorly known fossil histories, consideration of what is known suggests that the basal marine unit near Ocean Point is of latest Pliocene age, between 2.2 and 1.7 my old, and that the marine unit near Teshekpuk Lake is probably late Pleistocene, most likely correlating with the Sangamon Interglaciation and about 120,000 yr old.     

Radiometric evidence for the age of emplacement and cooling of the Murrumbidgee Batholith

Most of the rocks of the Murrumbidgee Batholith have a Rb‐Sr age of 424 ± 2 m.y. This is considered to be the time of emplacement. A small difference in the ages (4 ± 2 m.y.) between the northern and southern parts of the batholith is attributed to thermal effects caused by a slightly later time of emplacement of some of the intrusions or to a short cooling interval. Final intrusive activity ended by 414 ± 4 m.y. Younger mineral ages for some intrusions are related to later local meta‐morphic effects.     

羌塘盆地唢呐湖组时代归属新证据

<正>唢呐湖组湖相地层广泛发育于羌塘地块北部、可可西里地块和昆仑地块南部。最初唢呐湖组由西藏区调队建立,创名剖面位于唢呐湖东面,其岩石组合特征为紫红色砾岩、含砾砂岩、砂岩、粉砂岩、泥岩夹多层石膏组合,偶夹少量火山岩及沉凝灰岩。区域上,唢呐湖组角度不整合于侏罗系之     

Palaeobotanical and geochronological evidence for the Alpine age of the metamorphism in the Sesia-Zone

For a long time the age of the last metamorphism of the Sesia-zone was considered to be Hercynian or older. Basement inclusions in basic volcanics were the main argument for this interpretation. The Trachyandesites — Andesites of the Sesia-zone were regarded as Permian, analogoues to the widespread Permian volcanics of the Southern Alps. Recently, plant remnants have been found in tuffitic interlayers of the Sesia volcanics. These fossils have been described as palaeozoic plants, in contradiction to structual observations and to the numerous radiometric data acquired in the region. To check the age of the fossils a detailed palaeobotanical study was carried out. Our samples contained a very modern flora of definitely Tertiary age. Not one palaeozoic fossil was detected. The Tertiary age found on palaeobotanical evidence proved to be between 29 and 33 m. y. on the basis of total rock K-Ar ages. The last high pressure metamorphism of the Sesia-zone occurred between 90 and 60 m. y. as has been shown by radiometric ages on micas. The external part of the zone was overprinted by the Lepontine phase of metamorphism in greenschist facies 38 m. y. ago.     

冲绳海槽末次冰消期以来的浮游有孔虫群落变化及5种古温度转换函数对比

通过对冲绳海槽中部A7孔的浮游有孔虫定量分析,对该区18 ka以来的海洋环境变化进行了探讨.浮游有孔虫群落表现出非常明显的冰消期-全新世阶段变化:在18~15 ka的冰消期早期,浮游有孔虫群落以冷水种Neogloboquadrina dutertrei和Neogloboquadrina pachyderma等为主;在15~9.4 ka,浮游有孔虫冷水种含量迅速降低;9.4 ka以来的全新世则以暖水种有孔虫Pulleniatina obliquiloculata,Globigerinoides ruber和Globigerina glutinata等为主.此外,浮游有孔虫群落对千年尺度的气候变化如Heinrich 1、博令-阿罗德暖期(B?lling-Aller?d)和新仙女木事件(Younger Dryas)都有明显反映,在全新世还记录了一系列的冷事件(约2.3~4.6、5.3、6.2、7.3和8.2 ka).9.4 ka前后浮游有孔虫冷暖种群的变化可能对应了黑潮暖流的突然加强.采用5种不同浮游有孔虫转换函数对表层海水温度进行了估算,通过与Mg/Ca和U₃₇k'温度估算结果对比,对不同转换函数的可靠性进行了评估.结果发现SIMMAX没有明显的冰消期-全新世变化.另两种基于现代类比技术的转换函数MAT和RAM,其估算结果较类似,13 ka以来的温度波动较小,对新仙女木事件没有明显反映.基于Imbrie-Kipp转换函数(FP-12E和IKM-Chen)的估算结果表现出了较大的冰消期-全新世变化,然而对于博令-阿罗德暖期变暖和新仙女木降温事件没有反映,研究发现这主要由Globigerina bulloides的含量变化造成.通过消除与生产力水平密切相关的G. bulloides的含量变化影响,修正后的两种转换函数FP-12E和IKM-Chen较好地反映了末次冰消期以来的表层海水温度波动,与该区Mg/Ca和U₃₇k'方法重建的古温度有较好的可比性.因此,我们认为修正后的转换函数FP-12E和IKM-Chen更适合冲绳海槽中部的古温度估算.      

河北邢台地区晚古生代有孔虫动物群研究

通过对邢台沙巴沟太原组实测剖面有孔虫动物群进行研究,在太原组灰岩地层中鉴定出有孔虫11科15属23种,建立了Nodosaria-Multidiscus-Glomospira组合带。与国内不同地区晚古生代的有孔虫动物群进行对比后,确定有孔虫动物群的时代为晚石炭世晚期。