Recent and fossil resins from New Zealand and Australia

The carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of fossil resins from New Zealand and Australia have been compared with those of modern and semifossilized materials. The great majority of the fossilized samples have strong spectral similarities to modern Agathis resins and to North American fossil resins, which have been attributed to Agathis. The Agathis-related spectra are different from those of modern Hymenaea and Araucaria. A small subgroup of Late Cretaceous resins from Australia and Papua New Guinea appears to derive from a different botanical source and shows strong resemblances to Claiborne amber from Arkansas. The spectral resonances of the exomethylene carbons degrade over time and on average provide an approximate measure of the geological age of Agathis-related fossil resins. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The latest record of the extinct subfamily Eoptychopterinae (Diptera: Ptychopteridae) from Upper Cretaceous amber of North Carolina

A new genus and species of female phantom midge Neuseptychoptera carolinensis gen. et sp. nov. in the fossil subfamily Eoptychopterinae is described and illustrated; this ptychopterid is from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) amber of North Carolina. This is the first member of Eoptychopterinae from North America and the first found in Campanian age amber. We propose to treat the extinct subfamily Eoptychopterininae Lukashevich, 1995, as a junior synonym of the subfamily Eoptychopterinae Handlirsch, 1906, syn. nov. The elongated mouthparts of the new species have broad labella, and these are functionally interpreted as feeders for honeydew, fermenting plant juices, and nectar rather than for biting.     

A ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America,and implications for dinosaur biogeography

Tyrannosaurs and hadrosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America (Appalachia) are distinct from those found in western North America (Laramidia), suggesting that eastern North America was isolated during the Late Cretaceous. However, the Late Cretaceous fauna of Appalachia remains poorly known. Here, a partial maxilla from the Campanian Tar Heel Formation (Black Creek Group) of North Carolina is shown to represent the first ceratopsian from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America. The specimen has short alveolar slots, a ventrally projected toothrow, a long dentigerous process overlapped by the ectopterygoid, and a toothrow that curves laterally, a combination of characters unique to the Leptoceratopsidae. The maxilla has a uniquely long, slender and downcurved posterior dentigerous process, suggesting a specialized feeding strategy. The presence of a highly specialized ceratopsian in eastern North America supports the hypothesis that Appalachia underwent an extended period of isolation during the Late Cretaceous, leading the evolution of a distinct dinosaur fauna dominated by basal tyrannosauroids, basal hadrosaurs, ornithimimosaurs, nodosaurs, and leptoceratopsids. Appalachian vertebrate communities are most similar to those of Laramidia. However some taxa-including leptoceratopsids-are also shared with western Europe, raising the possibility of a Late Cretaceous dispersal route connecting Appalachia and Europe.     

Jurassic and Cretaceous Geological History of Cuba

The Mesozoic rocks of Cuba are a key element in reconstructing the geological history of the Mesoamerican (Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean) area. Four different Jurassic-Cretaceous sections are recorded in Cuba, including three from tectonostratigraphic terranes. From north to south they include the following: (1) a portion of the Mesozoic passive margin of North America, with outstanding zonality, especially in the Middle Cretaceous of central Cuba; (2) the Northern Ophiolitic Belt, also with Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous rocks, which is a huge melange; all members of the ophiolitic suite are tectonically mingled along the northern part of Cuba; (3) the Volcanic Arc Terrane, mainly composed of Cretaceous volcanics, with older, primarily tholeiitic lavas (Aptian-Albian) and younger (Cenomanian-Campanian) calc-alkaline pyroclastics and lavas, with many sedimentary interbeds; Albian-Cenomanian deposits with a few volcanics separate both sequences, and an Upper Jurassic-Neocomian amphibolitic basement of the volcanic arc is present in some places; and (4) the Southern Metamorphic Terranes that contain rocks of a Mesozoic passive margin that experienced several metamorphic episodes during the Cretaceous.

The welding of these terranes occurred during the Cretaceous, and ended in the late Campanian and Maastrichtian. In the south, the volcanic terrane was emplaced upon the Southern Metamorphic Terranes, while in the north the volcanics and ophiolites were thrust over the Mesozoic margin of North America. In western Cuba, the beds are strongly deformed and thrust to the north or northwest. Nappes also are present in north-central Cuba, but an essentially Bahamian platform stratigraphy is present. Although the passive paleomargin of North America was deformed in the latest Cretaceous, this event is masked by the early Tertiary Cuban orogeny.

It is suggested that the Jurassic stratigraphy of the Southern Metamorphic Terranes shares features with the southern North American passive margin in western Cuba. The position of the Southern Metamorphic Terranes south of the ophiolite and arc terrane therefore does not support the idea of a Pacific origin for the Cretaceous island arcs of the Greater Antilles, but instead suggests that a proto-Caribbean genesis is more plausible.     

西藏南部下鲁硅岩晚侏罗世罩笼虫(放射虫)新材料

下鲁硅岩为藏南日喀则地区雅鲁藏布蛇绿岩南侧的晚侏罗世—早白垩世硅质岩系。本文补充描述了该岩系中 4块标本的罩笼虫亚目放射虫化石 1 6属 2 3种 ,包括 8个新种。加上这些标本原已描述过的 1 8属 3 3种 ,共有 3 4属 56种。所有的属和近一半的种见于北美西部 ,可与那里的晚侏罗世放射虫分带很好地对比 ,它们分别相当于那里牛津期的 2 γ亚带和晚启莫里期—早提索期的 3 β亚带。动物群具特提斯生物地理区特征 ,但与西特提斯的地中海地区同期动物群显然不同 ,可能当时东特提斯与太平洋联系密切。     

白垩纪四足动物足印的生物地层学、生物年代学与遗迹相

从全球范围来看,白垩纪四足动物的足印多数是非鸟恐龙与鸟类留下的痕迹;少量足印来自翼龙、鳄鱼、龟、哺乳动物和其他四足动物。白垩纪的足迹化石以东亚(尤其是中国和朝鲜)和北美西部的最为人所知。南美(主要是阿根廷和巴西)也有一定数量广泛分布的足迹化石,欧洲、非洲与澳大利亚的白垩纪足迹组合则鲜为人知。以白垩纪四足动物的足印记录为基础,我们对两个全球足印生物年代重新进行了检查。早白垩世生物年代以蜥脚类与鸟脚类的足迹为特征。晚白垩世生物年代中的蜥脚类足迹较少,但是鸭嘴龙、暴龙和角龙的足迹增多了。另外,白垩纪足印化石的记录中记载了许多重要的生物地层学信息,如北美白垩纪中期蜥脚类恐龙的消失,以及白垩纪末恐龙的绝灭。越来越多来自东亚的白垩纪足印记录使我们对更精细的地方性白垩纪足印生物年代学有了初步印象。因此,以地方性四足恐龙(包括鸟类)遗迹属的地层分布为基础,可以识别出三个或四个足印生物年代。种类丰富并具有地方性特色的东亚的白垩纪鸟类动物的遗迹群,可能指示白垩纪时东亚存在着一个独特而繁盛的鸟类动物群。以足印化石为基础的这一假说有待进一步的验证。     

Les continents péri-atlantiques au crétacé supérieur: Migrations des faunes continentales et problèmes paléogéographiques

Terrestrial vertebrates offer possibilities of reconstructing the migrations by land-routes followed during the late Cretaceous on the peri-Atlantic continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa). South America and Africa were not separated before the Aptian. Later, migrations could still have occurred between Africa and South America during the late Cretaceous by a land-route (probably discontinuous) situated on the Rio Grande Rise-Walvis Ridge barrier; it is not impossible that some amphibia used this route. In Laurasia, two provinces were largely separated during the early part of the late Cretaceous: Euramerica and Asiamerica in the terminology of Cox (1974), (that is, Europe plus eastern North America and Asia plus western North America). During the latest Cretaceous, western North America became connected with Euramerica, but probably separated from Asia. During the latest Cretaceous, a route, probably terrestrial, permitted important faunal exchanges between South America and Laurasia; this connection was situated in the Caribbean region, perhaps where Central America is today. Limited faunal exchange occurred between Euramerica and North Africa.     

Palynology of seafloor samples collected by the 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic expedition: Implications for the geology of coastal East Antarctica

Fifty‐three sea‐floor samples close to Antarctica collected by Douglas Mawson during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911–1914 have beeen analysed for recycled palynomorphs. The distribution of the recycled microfossils provides a broad guide to the position of hidden sedimentary sequences on the Antarctic continental margin.

The samples were dredged off the East Antarctic coast between 91°E and 146°E. In three distinct ‐areas, concentrations of recycled palynomorphs suggest the presence nearby of eroding sedimentary sequences. Near the western edge of the Shackleton Ice Shelf the recycled suite suggests Early to Late Permian, Late Jurassic to mid‐Cretaceous, and Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary sediments, with evidence for marine influence only in the Tertiary. Samples from the outer edge of the continental shelf and slope east of Cape Carr indicate Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary sequences, and the same age span is suggested by samples from the western side of the Mertz Glacier Tongue; in this area radio echosounding has suggested that inland sedimentary basins intersect the coast.

The sedimentary sequence predicted for the Shackleton Ice Shelf area probably faced the open Indian Ocean, at least since the Mesozoic. Cretaceous sequences predicted for the other localities occur at points on the Antarctic coast where they would be expected on the basis of most reconstructions. The area east of Cape Carr has as its conjugate’ coast part of the Great Australian Bight Basin; that off the Mertz Glacier, the area west of the Otway Basin. At both these areas on the southern Australian margin thick Cretaceous rift‐valley sequences occur.     

The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere. XII. Investigation of C-ring aromatic diterpenoids in Raritan amber by pyrolysis-GC-matrix isolation FTIR-MS

Upper Cretaceous amber from the Raritan Formation (Sayerville, New Jersey) has been investigated by Pyrolysis-GC-MS and Pyrolysis-GC-matrix isolation FTIR-MS. Results establish the existence of two distinct forms of amber in this deposit. Both forms are Class Ib ambers, but they are unambiguously differentiated on the basis of their (intact) diterpenoid composition. The presence of callitrisate in both forms, and cupraene in samples designated form 1, strongly suggest that both derive from related-but-distinct species within the Cupressaceae.     

An abelisaurid from the latest Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) of Morocco,North Africa

During the latest Cretaceous, distinct dinosaur faunas were found in Laurasia and Gondwana. Tyrannosaurids, hadrosaurids, and ceratopsians dominated in North America and Asia, while abelisaurids and titanosaurians dominated in South America, India, and Madagascar. Little is known about dinosaur faunas from the latest Cretaceous of Africa, however. Here, a new abelisaurid theropod, Chenanisaurus barbaricus, is described from the upper Maastrichtian phosphates of the Ouled Abdoun Basin in Morocco, North Africa on the basis of a partial dentary and isolated teeth. Chenanisaurus is both one of the largest abelisaurids, and one of the youngest known African dinosaurs. Along with previously reported titanosaurian remains, Chenanisaurus documents the persistence of a classic Gondwanan abelisaurid-titanosaurian fauna in mainland Africa until just prior to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. The animal is unusual both in terms of its large size and the unusually short and robust jaw. Although it resembles South American carnotaurines in having a deep, bowed mandible, phylogenetic analysis suggests that Chenanisaurus may represent a lineage of abelisaurids that is distinct from those previously described from the latest Cretaceous of South America, Indo-Madagascar, and Europe, consistent with the hypothesis that the fragmentation of Gondwana led to the evolution of endemic dinosaur faunas during the Late Cretaceous.     

柏科扁柏属(Chamaecyparis，Cupressaceae)的生物地理演化历史

现生扁柏属(Chamaecyparis)植物仅有5个种零星分布在北美东西部、日本和我国台湾地区,其现代分布区形成的原因一直是植物学家关注的问题。以往的研究利用现代分子生物学方法或化石记录对该属的分布区演化进行过一些探讨,但尚有争议。本文结合扁柏属最新的化石证据以及现代分子生物学的研究结果,对其生物地理演化历史进行了详细的分析。化石证据显示,地史时期该属种类较现在丰富,自早白垩世以来广泛地分布在北半球的中高纬度地区。根据化石记录推测扁柏属植物很可能在早白垩世起源于东亚地区,晚白垩世时已通过白令陆桥传播至北美西部并进一步传播至北美高纬度地区,北美东部目前尚缺少化石记录,该区域的扁柏植物可能是从欧洲或者北美高纬度地区迁徙而来。欧洲扁柏可能在渐新世由北美通过北大西洋陆桥传播而来,或从东亚地区传播而来。新近纪气候持续变冷以及受第四纪冰期的影响,使扁柏属在欧洲、亚洲中西部以及北美中部局部灭绝,东亚大陆的种不断向南迁移至日本岛和台湾岛,最后在亚洲大陆消失,最终形成了该属在北美东西部、日本和台湾局限分布的地理格局。     

The timing of kimberlite magmatism in North America: implications for global kimberlite genesis and diamond exploration

Based on a compilation of more than 100 kimberlite age determinations, four broad kimberlite emplacement patterns can be recognized in North America: (1) a northeast Eocambrian/Cambrian Labrador Sea province (Labrador, Québec), (2) an eastern Jurassic province (Ontario, Québec, New York, Pennsylvania), (3) a Cretaceous central corridor (Nunavut, Saskatchewan, central USA), and (4) a western mixed (Cambrian-Eocene) Type 3 kimberlite province (Alberta, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Colorado/Wyoming). Ten new U–Pb perovskite/mantle zircon and Rb–Sr phlogopite age determinations are reported here for kimberlites from the Slave and Wyoming cratons of western North America. Within the Type 3 Slave craton, at least four kimberlite age domains exist: I-a southwestern Siluro-Ordovician domain (450 Ma), II-a SE Cambrian domain (540 Ma), III-a central Tertiary/Cretaceous domain (48–74 Ma) and IV-a northern mixed domain consisting of Jurassic and Permian kimberlite fields. New U–Pb perovskite results for the 614.5±2.1 Ma Chicken Park and 408.4±2.6 Ma Iron Mountain kimberlites in the State Line field in Colorado and Wyoming confirm the existence of at least two periods of pre-Mesozoic kimberlite magmatism in the Wyoming craton.

A compilation of robust kimberlite emplacement ages from North America, southern Africa and Russia indicates that a high proportion of known kimberlites are Cenozoic/Mesozoic. We conclude that a majority of these kimberlites were generated during enhanced mantle plume activity associated with the rifting and eventual breakup of the supercontinent Gondwanaland. Within this prolific period of kimberlite activity, there is a good correlation between North America and Yakutia for three distinct short-duration (10 my) periods of kimberlite magmatism at 48–60, 95–105 and 150–160 Ma. In contrast, Cenozoic/Mesozoic kimberlite magmatism in southern Africa is dominated by a continuum of activity between 70–95 and 105–120 Ma with additional less-prolific periods of magmatism in the Eocene (50–53 Ma), Jurassic (150–190) and Triassic (235 Ma). Several discrete episodes of pre-Mesozoic kimberlite magmatism variably occur in North America, southern Africa and Yakutia at 590–615, 520–540, 435–450, 400–410 and 345–360 Ma. One of the surprises in the timing of kimberlite magmatism worldwide is the common absence of activity between about 250 and 360 Ma; this period is even longer in southern Africa. This >110 my period of quiescence in kimberlite magmatism is likely linked to relative crustal and mantle stability during the lifetime of the supercontinent Gondwanaland.

Economic diamond deposits in kimberlite occur throughout the Phanerozoic from the Cambrian (Venetia, South Africa; Snap Lake and Kennady Lake, Canada) to the Tertiary (Mwadui, Tanzania; Ekati and Diavik in Lac de Gras, Canada). There are clearly some discrete periods when economic kimberlite-hosted diamond deposits formed globally. In contrast, the Devonian event, which is such an important source of diamonds in Yakutia, is notably absent in the kimberlite record from both southern Africa and North America.     

First report of turtle tracks from the Lower Cretaceous of Korea

A partial trackway of a turtle from the Jinju Formation (Sindong Group) is the first report of Mesozoic turtle tracks from Korea and the first report of traces of an aquatic tetrapod from Korea. Six tracks show a partial trackway configuration inferred to represent a partially buoyant trackmaker, possibly engaged in “bottom walking” behavior. Although turtle tracks often co-occur with crocodylian tracks in Cretaceous coastal plain facies in other regions, especially North America, to date there are no such co-occurrences in east Asia. This suggests that in Asia paleoenvironments suitable for turtles were quite widespread, but paleoenvironments were not suitable for crocodylians.     

Chemical characteristics of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary layer at Gubbio, Italy

Platinum metals (Pd, Ir, Pt) and Au were determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) on Cretaceous-Tertiary (K---T) boundary samples collected at Gubbio, Italy. In addition, about thirty elements were determined by instrumental NAA (INAA) for both the Cretaceous and the Tertiary layer samples, as well as the boundary clay samples. Iridium and other Pt metals were observed to be similarly enriched, relative to CI-chondrite, in the boundary layers, i.e., they occur in chondritic ratios. On the other hand, correlations among the metals are not very good, suggesting that Pt metals were not incorporated into clay materials in a single phase, but rather, they behaved separately according to their own solution chemistries. In the Gubbio section, the chemical composition does not change so much across the K---T boundary layer, except for Ir (and possibly other Pt group elements) and is very similar to that of the “North American shale composite (NASC)”. Arsenic and Sb were observed not to be anomalously enriched in the Gubbio K---T boundary layers. This implies that their abundances cannot be a clue in elucidating an event which must have happened at the K---T boundary period. NASC-normalized REE abundance patterns for the boundary samples show characteristic features due to some REE precipitation out of seawater. REE abundances are not variable among the Cretaceous, the Tertiary, and the boundary samples, suggesting that conditions for precipitation and sedimentation were similar across the K---T boundary at Gubbio.     

Mineralogy of fossil resins in Northern Eurasia

The investigation is focused on identification and origin of fossil resins from the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments of Northern Eurasia on the basis of detailed study of their physical and chemical characteristics: morphology; size; mass; density; optical, mechanical, and thermal properties; chemical composition; etc. The composition of amorphous organic minerals with polymeric structure, fossil resins included, is studied with IR spectrometry, the EPR method, derivatography at low heating rates, XRD, chemical analysis, emission spectrometry, etc. The results of investigation summarized for the Baltic-Dnieper, North Siberian, and Far East amber-bearing provinces show some similarity of fossil resins in combination with specific features inherent to each province. Resins from the Baltic-Dnieper province should be termed as amber (succinite). Their variety is the most characteristic of Northern and Eastern Europe. Amber-like fossil resins from the North Siberian and Far East provinces are irrelevant to succinite. They usually occur as brittle resins, namely, retinite and gedanite, without jewelry value. Viscous fossil resin rumänite with an expected high economic value occurs in the Far East, on the shore of Sakhalin Island.     

How global are the Jurassic–Cretaceous unconformities?

The reality of the global‐scale sedimentation breaks remains controversial. A compilation of data on the Jurassic–Cretaceous unconformities in a number of regions with different tectonic settings and character of sedimentation, where new or updated stratigraphic frameworks are established, permits their correlation. Unconformities from three large reference regions, including North America, the Gulf of Mexico, and Western Europe, were also considered. The unconformities, which encompass the Jurassic‐Cretaceous, the Lower–Upper Cretaceous and the Cretaceous–Palaeogene transitions are of global extent. Other remarkable unconformities traced within many regions at the base of the Jurassic and at the Santonian–Campanian transition are not known from reference regions. A correlation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous global‐scale sedimentation breaks and eustatic curves is quite uncertain. Therefore, definition of global sequences will not be possible until eustatic changes are clarified. Activity of mantle plumes is among the likely causes of the documented unconformities.     

Discovery of the oxyporine rove beetle in the Mesozoic amber and its evolutionary implications for mycophagy (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Oxyporinae is a distinct staphylinid subfamily characterized by a large body, remarkably long and projecting mandibles, and large, crescent-shaped terminal labial palpomeres. Previously, only three compression fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation in China were known for the subfamily from the Mesozoic Era. This study describes a remarkable new species, Oxyporus cretaceous sp. nov., based on a single specimen in Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. This finding is the earliest record of Oxyporinae preserved as amber inclusion. The well preserved mouthparts suggest that mycophagous feeding habits had already been acquired by the mid-Cretaceous.     

琥珀的激光拉曼光谱特征研究

采用激光拉曼光谱仪对波罗的海、多米尼加、缅甸三个地区的琥珀样品进行了拉曼光谱测试分析,描述了拉曼光谱的位置、形态、相对强度,分析了振动模式,同时对某些分子基团如ν（C-H）,ν（C-O）做了谱带归属。结果表明,琥珀结构中碳链骨架振动是导致其拉曼光谱形成的主要原因,同一产地不同品种琥珀的拉曼谱峰特征基本一致,不同产地琥珀的拉曼谱峰仅在个别拉曼位移处存在较小差异。另外,对前人提出的用拉曼光谱中ν（C=C）和δ（CH2）的强度比值N（I1645cm-1／I 1450cm-1）来确定天然树脂成熟度的初步设想进行了验证分析。拉曼光谱对于琥珀真伪及其产地的鉴定有一定的辅助作用,但不能作为鉴别产地的唯一指示性依据。     

Distribution and character of upper mesozoic subduction complexes along the west coast of North America

Structurally complex sequences of sedimentary, volcanic, and intrusive igneous rocks characterize a nearly continuous narrow band along the Pacific coast of North America from Baja California, Mexico to southern Alaska. They occur in two modes: (1) as complexly folded but coherent sequences of graywacke and argillite that locally exhibit blueschist-grade metamorphism, and (2) as melanges containing large blocks of graywacke, chert, volcanic and plutonic rocks, high-grade schist, and limestone in a highly sheared pelitic, cherty, or sandstone matrix. Fossils from the coherent graywacke sequences range in age from late Jurassic to Eocene; fossils from limestone blocks in the melanges range in age from mid-Paleozoic to middle Cretaceous. Fossils from the matrix surrounding the blocks, however, are of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and rarely, Tertiary age, indicating that fossils from the blocks cannot be used to date the time of formation of the melangesBoth the deformation of the graywacke, with accompanying blueschist metamorphism, as well as the formation of the melanges, are believed to be the result of late Mesozoic and early Tertiary subduction. The origin of the melanges, particularly the emplacement of exotic tectonic blocks, is not understood.