The oldest known metriorhynchid crocodylian from the Middle Jurassic of North-eastern Italy: Neptunidraco ammoniticus gen. et sp. nov.

Metriorhynchidae is a clade of marine-adapted crocodilians known from several Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous specimens collected predominantly in South America and Europe, but poorly known in the northern margin of Gondwana. The “Portomaggiore crocodile” is the most complete specimen of an Italian metriorhynchid to date: it consists of a partial skeleton that has been provisionally referred to an unnamed species of Late Jurassic Metriorhynchus or Geosaurus. The specimen is preserved in the reddish, nodular limestone of the Rosso Ammonitico Veronese Formation (Bajocian–Tithonian); new data on microfossil associations constrain the age of the metriorhynchid to the late Bajocian–earliest Bathonian. On the basis of cranial synapomorphies, the “Portomaggiore crocodile” falls as the closest sister-taxon of the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous geosaurines, and is referred to Neptunidraco ammoniticus gen. et sp. nov. It is unique among Middle Jurassic metriorhynchids in showing an incipient streamlining of the skull, shared with Late Jurassic and Cretaceous taxa. Since Neptunidraco is the oldest known member of Metriorhynchidae, its phylogenetic position supports the hypothesis that the timing of the initial metriorhynchid and geosaurine diversifications should start in the Bajocian.     

中国首次发现真正会飞的“恐龙”——中华神州鸟(新属新种)

记述了辽宁义县早白垩世九佛堂组的一件初鸟类(Avialae)化石,其嘴里无牙,前肢明显长于后肢,尾巴由20多节尾椎组成,叉骨呈U字形,飞行羽毛超过了身体的长度。各种特征表明,新发现的初鸟类真正具有了飞行能力,代表了恐龙向鸟类演化过程中的又一中间环节。正式将其命名为中华神州鸟(Shenzhouraptorsinensisgen.etsp.nov.)。     

中国发现世界上最原始的鸟类化石：华美金凤鸟（新属、新种）

始祖鸟的发现被认为是19世纪最重要的科学发现之一,迄今为止共发现了7枚保存骨骼、羽毛印痕的化石标本和1枚单根羽毛化石标本。由于始祖鸟既显示了明显的爬行动物的特征又保存了精美的羽毛,140多年来人们一直将其作为介于恐龙与鸟类之间的“中间环节”(“missing link”),但更倾向认为它是世界上最古老的鸟,或鸟类的始祖。由于始祖鸟化石稀少,加之地理分布十分局限,长期以来国际上一直围绕鸟类起源问题展开了激烈的争论,提出了各种各样的假说。直到20世纪90年代,在中国辽西晚中生代地层中发现了大量长羽毛的恐龙和原始鸟类化石,有力地支持了鸟类起源于小型兽脚类恐龙的学术观点,使赫 140多年前提出的“假说”成为当今国际科学界占主流地位的学说和理论,基本解决了长期困扰国际科学界的鸟类起源问题,遗憾的是,在过去的几年中,中国一直没有发现与德国始祖鸟十分接近或与德国始祖鸟处于同样进化水平的原始鸟类化石,这种缺憾使我们难以对鸟类定义问题进行深入的研究和探讨,2002年,笔者等在中国辽西早白垩世断层中发现了2种初鸟类化石,即中华神州鸟和东方吉祥鸟。通过比较解剖学研究和支序分析,这2种初鸟类要比始祖鸟略微进步一些,在研究鸟类的早期演化方面具有重要意义;但仍然难以对鸟类定义问题作进一步研究。本文首次报道了一件采自中国河北省丰宁县龙凤山桥头组的初鸟类化石——华美金凤鸟（新属、新种）(Jinfengopteryx elegans gen.et sp.nov),与其共生的化石有Lycoptera davidi,Peipiaosteus pani,yanosteus longidorsalis（鱼类）;Jibeinia luanhera,Protopteryx fengningensis(鸟类）;Ephemeropsis trisetalis(昆虫）及少量植物。支序分析表明,华美金凤鸟处于初鸟类谱系树的基部,比始祖鸟略微原始,与后者为姊妹群关系。奔龙等兽脚类恐龙是它们的外类群。金凤鸟、始祖鸟是中华神州鸟等原始鸟类的外类群。这说明华美金凤鸟处在恐龙向鸟类演化过程中一个非常关键的位置,是世界上迄今所发现的最原始的初鸟类。华美金凤鸟的发现在研究鸟类起源、恐龙-鸟类的系统关系等方面具有重要的科学意义。     

An exotic insect Aethiocarenus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. (Aethiocarenodea ord. nov., Aethiocarenidae fam. nov.) from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber

An exotic wingless female insect in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber is described as Aethiocarenus burmanicus sp. et gen. nov. in the order Aethiocarenodea ord. nov. and family Aethiocarenidae fam. nov. The distinguishing feature of Aethiocarenus burmanicus sp. et gen. nov. is its unique head, the dorsum of which is shaped like an isosceles right triangle with the hypotenuse at the top and vertex positioned at the base of the neck. While insects with triangular-shaped heads are common today, the hypotenuse of the triangle is always located at the base of the head and attached to the neck, with the vertex at the apex of the head. Other features of the fossil are the long narrow, flat body, long slender legs, especially the hind pair that are twice the length of the abdomen, lack of wings, protruding eyes, paired ocelli, secretory glands located on the dorsum of the neck and swollen abdomen bearing paired segmented cerci.     

A New Genus of Fossil Cycads Yixianophyllum gen. nov. from the Late Jurassic Yixian Formation, Western Liaoning, China

A new genus of fossil Cycads, Yixianophyllum gen. nov., is reported here. The specimens were collected from the southern hill of Jinjiagou village, Toudaohezi Town, Yixian County, western Liaoning Province, China. The fossil plant-beating bed belongs to the lower part, the Zhuanchengzi bed, of the Upper Jurassic Yixian Formation （Yixianian）. The new genus in leaf shape, venation and epidermal structure shows a transitional form between Mesozoic Cycads （Ctenis, Nilssonia） and modem Cycads （Stangeria and Encephalartos）. Since the features of these specimens differ from any known genera of Cycads, a new generic name Yixianophyllum is proposed for these leaves. Typical species, Yixianophyllum jinjiagouense gen. et sp. nov. is described here. A supposed evolutionary tendency of Cycadean leaf-forms with Taeniopteris-type is discussed.     

Santaisaurus yuani gen. et sp. nov., ein neues Reptil aus der unteren Trias von China

Das dieser Arbeit zugrunde liegende Material wurde von Herrn Prof. P. L.Yuan von der Tsing Hua Universitat, Peiping, wahrend der Sino-SchwedischenExpedition (1925-1931), die von Herrn Dr. Sven Hedin geleitet wurde, gesammelt.Es handelt sich dabei um die Reste von drei Individuen cines kleinen Reptils, das inder Provinz Sinkiang gefunden und mir von Herrn Prof. Yuan zu Bearbeitunguberwiesen wurde. Zusammen mit diesen Resten kam ein Menge von knochen von     

Shark and ray faunas in the Middle and Late Eocene of the Fayum Area, Egypt

The Eocene rocks exposed in the Fayum Area, Egypt, are well known for their fossil vertebrates but in recent times the sharks and rays have been largely neglected. Extensive surface collecting, supplemented with bulk samples, has produced large collections from the Midawara, Gehannam, Birket Qarun and Qasr el-Sagha formations, spanning the Bartonian and Priabonian stages and from palaeoenvironments varying from open muddy shelf to very shallow estuarine systems. In total about 90 species of sharks and rays are recorded, many of them previously unrecognised, resulting in some of the most diverse fossil chondrichthyan assemblages known from the Tertiary. Teeth of these species suggest that they occupied a wide range of ecological niches from top predator to tiny benthic invertebrate feeder to planktivore. Many of the species are limited in their stratigraphical range and show potential to be used, at least locally, as biostratigraphical indicators for stratigraphically poorly constrained vertebrate sites elsewhere in North Africa. Distinctly different faunas from different sedimentary environments indicate a strong environmental control on the distribution of many species.     

A new Triassic pterosaur from Switzerland (Central Austroalpine, Grisons), Raeticodactylus filisurensis gen. et sp. nov.

A new basal non-pterodactyloid pterosaur, Raeticodactylus filisurensis gen. et sp. nov., is reported. It has been discovered in shallow marine sediments from the Upper Triassic of the lowest Kössen beds (late Norian/early Rhaetian boundary) in the central Austroalpine of Canton Grisons (Switzerland). The disarticulated specimen is comprised of an almost complete skull and a partial postcranial skeleton. A high and thin bony, sagittal cranial crest characterizes the anterodorsal region of the skull. The large mandible, with an additional keel-like expansion at the front, partly matches the enlarged sagittal cranial crest. A direct and close relationship to Austriadactylus cristatus, the only known Triassic pterosaur with a bony cranial crest so far, cannot be established. The teeth of the premaxilla are monocuspid and exhibit very strongly bowed enamel wrinkles on the lingual side whereas the enamel is smooth on the labial side. These monocuspid teeth are large and fang-like. The numerous smaller teeth of the maxilla show three, four and five cusps. These are very similar to the teeth of the Triassic pterosaur Eudimorphodon ranzii. The humerus shows a thinner construction than that seen in other Triassic pterosaurs. The femur is quite unusual with a caput femoris perpendicular to the shaft. The bones of the extremities are almost twice as long as the ones from the largest Triassic specimen E. ranzii (MCSNB 2888). The newly described pterosaur is an adult, with a wingspan of approximately 135 cm. A morphofunctional analysis suggests that R. filisurensis was a highly specialized piscivore and possibly a skim-feeder.     

A new weevil,Aepyceratus hyperochus gen. et sp. nov., Aepyceratinae subfam. nov., (Coleoptera; Nemonychidae) in Burmese amber

A new weevil, Aepyceratus hyperochus gen. et sp. nov., Aepyceratinae subfam. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new subfamily differs from the previous Mesozoic subfamilies Brenthorrhininae, Eobelinae, Cretonemonychinae and Paleocartinae by the short lateral pronotal carina, stark convex eyes and basal antennal insertion. From the subfamilies Rhinorhynchinae and Cimberidinae, it is distinguished by the short lateral pronotal carina, exodontous mandibles and basal antennal insertion. The new subfamily differs from the subfamily Idiomacerinae by the distinct clypeolabral suture, elliptical protruding eyes, short antennomere 1, wide tarsi, short lateral carina on the pronotum, and exodontous mandibles.     

Qitianniu zhihaoi gen. et sp. nov.: The first cerambycid beetle found in Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea)

A new cerambycid beetle (Qitianniu zhihaoi gen. et. sp. nov.) is described on the basis of a single specimen embedded in Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma). Unusual characteristics are hairy antennae and large lateral eyes, a pronotum with lateral margin, and sinuate protibiae. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, the systematic position of Qitianniu is still uncertain and we provisionally place it as Cerambycidae incertae sedis.     

Yunnanosaurus huangi Young(gen.et sp.nov.), a New Prosauropoda from the Red Beds at Lufeng,Yunnan

正 From the "Red Beds" at Lufeng, Yunnan, two forms of Saurischia, Lufengosaurus huenei and Gyposaurus sinensis, have been described heretofore: Recently, a well-preserved skeleton of an undoubtedly new type of another     

New cyathealean tree fern,Yavanna chimaerica gen. et sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous of Livingston Island,Antarctica

A new genus and species of cyathealean fern, Yavanna chimaerica gen. et sp. nov., is erected for several permineralized stems recovered from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Cerro Negro Formation, which crops out at the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The new species is characterized by solenostelic erect stems with medullary bundles traversing the pith, and surrounded by persistent petiole bases and adventitious roots. Proximal petiole bases present a one-parted modified omega-shaped trace, which becomes three-parted distally. The anatomy of the new fern show similarities with both Thyrsopteris elegans Kunze and with the Cyatheaceae s.s., suggesting that it is a representative of an extinct lineage among the Cyatheales.     

Gondwanasuchus scabrosus gen. et sp. nov., a new terrestrial predatory crocodyliform (Mesoeucrocodylia: Baurusuchidae) from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Basin of Brazil

Baurusuchids are among the most common and diverse crocodyliform fossils from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Basin of Brazil. This inland continental basin was the habitat of a rich crocodyliform fauna containing five mesoeucrocodylian families, of which the Baurusuchidae represents highly specialized predatory crocodyliforms of terrestrial habits as indicated by their dental, cranial, and postcranial features. The large size they achieved, together with likely predatory adaptations, would suggest they competed and occupied theropod ecological niches in the Bauru Basin. Here we describe Gondwanasuchus scabrosus gen. et sp. nov., a medium-sized baurusuchid with a strongly laterally compressed skull, bearing unique dentition with deep apicobasal sulci and probably well-developed binocular vision. The cranial and dental features in Gondwanasuchus suggest that this active predator would have fed on small vertebrates and took the role of small theropods in terrestrial guild. Gondwanasuchus is the most distinctive baurusuchid known to date and enriches the knowledge on these important Gondwanan terrestrial predatory crocodyliforms.     

Electrodysagrion lini gen. et sp. nov., the oldest Dysagrionini (Odonata: Zygoptera: Dysagrionidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

The dysagrionid damselflies are relatively diverse in Burmese amber, with two genera already recorded. A new dysagrionid damselfly, Electrodysagrion lini Zheng, Nel and Wang, gen. et sp. nov., corresponding to the oldest record of the tribe Dysagrionini, is described herein. It has the unique ‘sieblosiid-dysagrionine’ type of discoidal cell. It differs from other genera of Dysagrionini in having no antenodal crossveins distal of Ax2, Arc aligned with Ax2, and only one row of cells in the cubito-anal area below the nodus. This find puts the origin of Dysagrionini back to at least the mid-Cretaceous.     

Strontium and carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Late Jurassic shallow marine limestone in western Palaeo-Pacific,northwest Borneo

Strontium and carbon isotope stratigraphy was applied to a 202 m-thick shallow marine carbonate section within the Late Jurassic Bau Limestone at the SSF quarry in northwest Borneo, Malaysia, which was deposited in the western Palaeo-Pacific. Strontium isotopic ratios of rudist specimens suggest that the SSF section was formed between the latest Oxfordian (155.95 Ma) and the Late Kimmeridgian (152.70 Ma), which is consistent with previous biostratigraphy. The δ¹³C_carb values of bulk carbonate range from −0.10 to +2.28‰ and generally show an increasing upward trend in the lower part of the section and a decreasing upward trend in the upper part of the section. A comparable pattern is preserved in the δ¹³C_org isotope record. Limestone samples of the SSF section mainly preserve the initial δ¹³C_carb values, except for the interval 84–92 m, where an apparent negative anomaly likely developed as a result of meteoric diagenesis. Comparing with the Tethyan δ¹³C_carb profile, a negative anomaly in the lower SSF section can be correlated with the lowered δ¹³C values around the Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian boundary. In addition, δ¹³C_carb values of the Bau Limestone are generally ∼1‰ lower than the Tethyan values, but comparable with the values reported from Scotland and Russia, located in Boreal realm during the Late Jurassic. This suggests that either the Tethyan record or the other records have been affected by the δ¹³C values of regionally variable dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The Late Jurassic δ¹³C_DIC values are thought to have been regionally variable as a result of their palaeoceanographic settings. This study shows that δ¹³C chemostratigraphy of the Palaeo-Pacific region contributes to an improved understanding of global carbon cycling and oceanography during this time period.     

Kaikaifilu hervei gen. et sp. nov., a new large mosasaur (Squamata,Mosasauridae) from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica

We present a large, fragmentary skull and the humerus of a mosasaur (Squamata, Mosasauroidea) recovered from upper Maastrichtian beds of the López de Bertodano Formation in Marambio (=Seymour) Island, Antarctica. The material belongs to a large, adult individual with marked heterodonty as well as unusual humeral features. Different phylogenetic analyses returned the studied specimen within the Tylosaurinae, while the distinctive features of the skull and humerus allow distinguish it from the unique Antarctic known tylosaurine species, Taniwhasaurus antarcticus (Novas et al., 2002), as well as from other known Late Cretaceous mosasaurids from the Southern Hemisphere, thus, justifying the erection of a new taxon, Kaikaifilu hervei gen. et. sp. nov. The different dental types documented in the specimen studied have been previously recorded through isolated teeth from the same locality and were subsequently referred to several genera. This new find is relevant for assessing the previously known fragmentary records of Antarctic mosasaurids, suggesting that its local diversity could be more reduced than previously interpreted. The new material represents the youngest occurrence of tylosaurines in Antarctica.     

辽宁义县组禽龙类恐龙一新属种——义县薄氏龙Bolong yixianensis gen. et sp. nov.

在辽西义县组新发现了一具近完整的禽龙类化石骨架.据头骨和牙齿特征建立了一新属、新种--义县薄氏龙(Bolong yixianensis gen.et sp.nov.).它的自近裔性状包括:上颌骨与泪骨之间有一凹坑;在眼眶之上,前额骨后部发育有一前后延长的凹陷;前额骨后侧边缘发育一厚嵴,在厚嵴之上有一前后延长的凹陷;前齿骨腹突向后延伸并与前齿骨腹缘平行;齿骨背侧的前齿骨关节面高度不足齿骨高度的2/3,齿骨前尖位于齿骨自下向上1/3高处;上颌骨牙齿主脊位于牙齿颊面后1/3处,并向后弯曲.与同样在辽西义县组发现的锦州龙Jinzhousaurus的头骨和牙齿相比较,薄氏龙至少有14处不同.包括上颌骨前端不下弯、前齿骨腹突分叉和上颌骨齿齿冠有多条副脊等.它也是迄今在亚洲发现的几种最原始的禽龙类之一.     

中国辽宁早白垩世义县组一新的伤齿龙类化石——柯氏辽宁猎龙(Liaoningvenator curriei gen. et sp. nov.)

本文描述了产自中国辽宁省北票市早白垩世义县组一新的伤齿龙类化石——柯氏辽宁猎龙(Liaoningvenator curriei gen. et sp. nov.)。它具有伤齿龙类以下特征: 数量众多且密集的上颌齿与下颌齿; 牙齿的齿冠与齿根之间显著收缩; 齿骨侧表面具有一沟, 营养孔位于该沟内; 远端尾椎背部的神经棘减弱为一个沟。它不同于其它伤齿龙类的特征主要为坐骨靴大, 侧面观近乎三角形, 坐骨闭孔突细长; 尾椎形态转变点位于第7尾椎。系统发育分析表明柯氏辽宁猎龙与短羽始中国羽龙(Eosinopteryx brevipenna)构成姊妹群, 位于同一分支内。它们具有如下共同特征: (1)上颌骨和下颌骨前面部分的牙齿前隆无锯齿; (2)颈肋较其相关节的椎体长; (3)肠骨前缘直。辽宁猎龙代表了辽西同等层位发现的第5个伤齿龙类。骨组织研究显示辽宁猎龙的骨骼已接近成熟, 死亡时至少4岁。它为该地区的基干伤齿龙类恐龙提供了新的解剖学信息, 并丰富了目前中国已知早白垩世伤齿龙类的多样性。     

The first record of a bryophyte in Upper Cretaceous amber from Taimyr,northern Siberia: Taimyrobryum martynoviorum gen. et sp. nov. (Bryopsida)

Cretaceous bryophyte fossils are known only from a few localities and only a few are known in ultrastructural fidelity. We describe a fossil moss gametophyte from Upper Cretaceous Taimyr amber and place it in the fossil genus Taimyrobryum martynoviorum gen. et sp. nov. (Bryopsida). Its unbranched, somewhat zig-zagged stems with distantly spaced, spreading, narrowly lanceolate leaves and the unbranched costa match the gross morphology of Dicranidae; however, the uniformly prosenchymatous leaf cells contradict an affiliation to this subclass. The Yantardakh in the Taimyr Peninsula is the fourth and northernmost Cretaceous amber locality yielding inclusions of bryophytes.