Oviraptorosaurian Eggs (Dinosauria) with Embryonic Skeletons Discovered for the First Time in China

Two elongatoolithid dinosaur eggs from the Upper Cretaceous of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province and the embryonic skeletons they bear are described. They represent the first oviraptorosaurian eggs with embryonic skeletons in China and provide the first example that an oospecies can be correlated to certain dinosaur taxon/taxa. The two eggs are the same as the pair of the eggs inside a female oviraptorosaurian pelvis from the same horizon of the same area in both macro- and micro-structures of the egg shells, and can he referred to the oospecies, Macroolithus yaotunensis Zhao, 1975. The morphology of the preserved part of the embryonic skeletons indicates that they may have been laid by an oviraptorid, Heyuannia huangi from Guangdong Province or a closely related oviraptorosaurian, which may have been lived in the Ganzhou area too in the Late Cretaceous. The embryonic skeletons of the two eggs are not in the same developing stage. In one of the eggs, the postzygapophysis of the preserved vertebrae are well ossified, indicating that it was just hatched.     

Environmental Redox Changes of the Ancient Sea in the Yangtze Area during the Ordo-Silurian Transition

Extensive organic-matter （OM） rich facies （black shales） occur in the Ordo-Silurian boundary successions in the Yangtze area, South China. To investigate the redox changes of the Yangtze Sea during the Ordo-Silurian transition, two OM sections （Wangjiawan in Yichang, Hubei Province, and Sanjiaguan in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province） straddling the Ordo-Silurian boundary are studied. The measurements finished in this study include contents of the total organic carbon （TOC）, pyrite sulphur, and different species of Fe, including dithionite-extractable Fe （FED）, pyrite Fe （FeP）, HCl-extractable Fe （FeH）, and total Fe （FeT）, in black shales, as well as other redox proxies, such as the SIC ratio, the ratio between highly reactive Fe （FeHR = FeD ＋ FeP） and FeT, and the FeP/（FeP ＋ FeH） ratio, known as the degree of pyritization （DOP）. In the Wangjiawan section, the Middle Ashgill sediments have high FeHR/FeT ratios （0.20-0.77; avg. 0.45）, high DOP values （0.21-0.72; avg. 0.54）, and a relatively constant sulfur content independent of the organic carbon content. By the contrast, the mid-early Hirnantian deposits generally have low FeHR/FeT ratios （0.10-0.35; avg. 0.21）, low DOP values （0.11- 0.40; avg. 0.28）, and SIC values are clustering on the normal marine value （SIC = 0.36）. The late Hirnantian and early Rhuddanian deposits, similar to those of the Middle Ashgill deposits, are characterized by high FeHR/FeT ratios （0.32-0.49; avg. 0.41）, high DOP values （0.46-0.68; avg. 0.53） and fairly constant sulfur contents. These data suggest the occurrences of marine anoxia on the Yangtze Sea shelf during intervals of the Mid Ashgill, Late Hirnantian and Early Rhuddanian, and ventilated and oxygenated marine conditions during the mid-early Hirnantian time. The mid-early Hirnantian ventilated event was concomitant with the global glacial period, likely resulted from the glacio-eustatic sea-level fall and subsequent circulation of cold, dense oxygenated waters     

Late Cenozoic Stratigraphy and Paleomagnetic Chronology of the Zanda Basin, Tibet, and Records of the Uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The characteristics of Late Cenozoic tectonic uplift of the southern margin of the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau may be inferred from fluvio-lacustrine strata in the Zanda basin, Ngari, Tibet. Magnetostratigraphic study shows that the very thick fluvio-lacustrine strata in the basin are 5.89- 0.78 Ma old and that their deposition persisted for 5.11 Ma, i.e. starting at the end of the Miocene and ending at the end of the early Pleistocene, with the Quaternary glacial stage starting in the area no later than 1.58 Ma. Analysis of the sedimentary environment indicates that the Zanda basin on the southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau began uplift at -5.89 Ma, later than the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Presence of gravel beds in the Guge and Qangze Formations reflects that strong uplift took place at -5.15 and -2.71 Ma, with the uplift peaking at -2.71 Ma.     

鄂尔多斯地块早白垩世构造-热事件:杭锦旗玄武岩的Ar-Ar年代学证据

在鄂尔多斯地块北部杭锦旗黑石头沟,于下白垩统砂岩之上发现了一层玄武岩。其SiO2(46.93%)较低而碱含量(K2O+Na2O=6.21%)较高,组合指数σ=8.0,含标准矿物Ne,属于碱性橄榄玄武岩。Ar-Ar激光阶段加热定年结果表明,该玄武岩具有126.2±0.4Ma的Ar-Ar年龄。年龄数据表明杭锦旗黑石头沟玄武岩形成于早白垩世,反映鄂尔多斯地块在早白垩世发生了一次构造-岩浆-热事件,这与华北、乃至整个中国东部在早白垩世发生了较普遍的构造-岩浆-热事件具有一致性。这次构造-岩浆-热事件可能引起深部流体自地下深部上涌及在地块内部运移,为各种成矿元素的迁移、沉淀、富集和成矿创造了合适条件。     

辽宁北票早白垩世义县组松柏类金钱松属（Pseudolarix）的发现及其起源与演化意义

报导辽宁北票下白垩统义县组尖山沟层松柏类金钱松属一新种Pseudolarix gaoi sp. nov. 和一个新联合种Pseudolarix chilitica (Sun et Zheng) Zheng, comb. nov.,前者是一个保存较好的带叶小枝,具长枝和短枝,长枝又可分为主枝和侧枝, 侧枝长短不一,其上着生有许多呈螺旋状排列的桶状短枝;叶在短枝上簇生,线形或披针状线形,扁平,上表面中脉不隆起,下表面沿隆起的中脉有两条气孔带;气孔为单唇式,极副卫细胞为伸长的长方形.后者是以分散保存的Schizolepis式的雌球果和果鳞、Pityospermum 式的翅籽、着生于短枝末端上的雄球果以及 Pityocladus 式的带叶小枝为代表.上述两种松柏类化石可能代表仅幸存于中国南方现生金钱松属单型种Pseudolarix amabilis (Nelson) Rehd. 的先驱分子.有一部分Schizolepis式的雌球果可能与金钱松属的起源与演化有关.     

四川义敦地区早中三叠世义敦群岩相古地理

经过对四川义敦地区中下三叠统党思组、列衣纽涉及到的9幅1：5万区调图幅和18条剖面、沉积等厚线的综合分析研究,认为该区主体部分在早中三叠世沉积环境经历了深海盆地海底扇中-外扇相→深海盆地浊流相→下斜坡相→上斜坡相→外陆棚相→外陆棚-上斜坡相的演化。岩相古地理图上的沉积等厚线显示,该区有上麻绒盆地和义敦盆地等2个沉积中心,在拉纳山一带还出出现有拗陷盆地。     

河南西峡地区晚白垩世介形虫的发现及其地层意义

2005年在河南西峡含恐龙蛋层中首次发现介形虫化石,产自红山水库-丹水剖面上白垩统赵营组下段64层,是以Eucypris-Mongolocypris-Cypridea-Talicypridea为特征的介形虫化石组合,由12属20余种组成.其中Talicypridea是中国、蒙古和东亚晚白垩世最典型的化石,在非洲刚果及南美阿根廷的晚白垩世地层中也有分布,因此赵营组的时代无疑应归属为晚白垩世.赵营组介形虫化石的新发现,为地层的划分对比、沉积环境的演变和盆地的演化研究提供了重要的依据.     

福建仙游园庄地区南园组新层型剖面的建立 及时代的重新厘定

在福建省闽侯县鹅宅-南园村层型剖面所划分的南园组被证实为早白垩世石帽山群后,原鹅宅-南园村割面已失去层型剖面的意义.通过125万周宁县幅、福州市幅、莆田市幅、泉州市幅的区域地质调查和系统研究,在福建省仙游县园庄建立了南园组的新层型剖面,重新厘定了南园组的地层层序和岩石组合,根据地层叠覆关系、同位素测年和古生物资料的系统研究结果,将南园组的时代重新厘定为晚侏罗世-早白垩世初期.     

山东莒南地质公园发现小型兽脚类恐龙 足迹化石Minisauripus

在山东省莒南地质公园内发现6个小型恐龙足迹化石,被归入足迹属Minisauripus。化石产于下白垩统大盛群田家楼组．时代为早白垩世巴列姆（Barremian）-阿普特期（Apdan）。5个较大,长约6cm,产于下部“主”层面上,其中4个组成2节行迹：1个较小,长约3cm,位于“主”层面30cm之上的上部层面上。山东Minisauripus的特征是：足迹个体小（长3．1～5．6cm,宽2．0～3．7cm）,三趾型,略不对称;足迹纵长,各趾近平行,趾垫较清晰;趾末端较钝,但爪迹较尖。Ⅲ趾比Ⅳ趾略长,而Ⅳ趾比Ⅱ趾略长且窄。此外,步幅较长,足长与步长之比约为10：1。与四川、韩国Minisau却淞不同之处是：足迹个体较大,长约是它们的2倍。继中国四川和韩国之后,山东是Minisau而淞在全球的第三个发现点。     

燕山构造带中段早白垩世盆地特征

燕山构造带中段主要包含3个早白垩世盆地,即滦平盆地、凤山盆地、石人沟盆地.通过对盆地的沉积相分析、古水流的恢复以及盆地构造-沉积演化研究,认为燕山构造带中段早白垩世盆地发育分为三个阶段,即早期火山喷发阶段、中期强烈断陷阶段和晚期填平阶段.早期发育强烈的火山作用,形成以酸性火山岩为主的张家口组;中期盆地主体呈半地堑状,受单一边界主断层控制,盆地相互独立,盆地边缘以冲积扇砾岩和扇三角洲砂岩、砾岩沉积为主,盆地中心为湖泊细粒沉积.古流向和物源恢复结果证明,盆地沉积物主体来自于北部和/或西部的变质岩基底.盆地构造沉降和沉积充填过程主要受边界正断层的控制,断层下盘基底岩石的抬升与盆地边界正断层活动相关,从而成为盆地主要的物源区.