There are a growing number of Early Cretaceous avian tracks and trackways from around the world, with Asia (China and Korea) having the largest reported number and diversity of Mesozoic avian traces to date, and these new discoveries are increasing the Early Cretaceous avian ichnodivesrity of Laurasia. Here we report on a new Lower Cretaceous avian track locality in the Guanshan area, Yongjing County, Gansu Province, northwest China, and on a novel ichnospecies of Koreanaornis, Koreanaornis lii ichnosp. nov. Koreananornis lii is distinct from other Koreanaornipodidae in that it possesses a consistently wider digit divarication than previously described tridactyl tracks, and possess a short, small, posteromedially oriented hallux that displays a different orientation than that seen in Koreanaornis hamanensis. The lack of linear and angular data reported for digit I traces of many avian ichnotaxa has the potential to give misleading results in multivariate statistical analyses. Also, the wide divarication of Koreanaornis lii causes the ichnotaxon to not group with other Koreanornipodidae in multivariate analyses, but with Ignotornidae. Despite the results of the analyses, K. lii is morphologically distinct from these ichnotaxa. The results demonstrate that relying solely on multivariate statistical analyses without careful examination of footprint morphology will result in erroneous ichnospecies groupings. While new vertebrate ichnotaxa discoveries from Asia may support the hypotheses of the presence of a unique and endemic Asian vertebrate ichnofauna during the Cretaceous, the recent discovery of skeletal remains interpreted to be of a volant wading bird from the Early Cretaceous, and recent reports of tracks from volant avians, could suggest that flighted avians of the shore- and wading bird ecotypes could have had a Laurasian-wide distribution during the Early Cretaceous. However, strong convergence in foot morphology of shore- and wading birds suggests that avian ichnotaxa found in both present-day Asia and North America may have been made by birds endemic to eastern and western Laurasia during the Early Cretaceous. 相似文献
The Neoproterozoic Ikorongo Group, which lies unconformably on the late Archaean Nyanzian Supergroup of the Tanzania Craton, is comprised of conglomerates, quartzites, shales, siltstones, red sandstones with rare flagstones and gritstones and is regionally subdivided into four litho-stratigraphic units namely the Makobo, Kinenge, Sumuji and Masati Formations.We report geochemical data for the mudrocks (i.e., shales and siltstones) from the Ikorongo basin in an attempt to constrain their provenance and source rock weathering. These mudrocks are compositionally similar to PAAS and PS indicating derivation from mixed mafic–felsic sources. However, the siltstones show depletion in the transition elements (Cr, Ni, Cu, Sc and V) and attest to a more felsic protolith than those for PAAS and PS. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA: 52–82) reveal a moderately weathered protolith for the mudrocks. The consistent REE patterns with LREE-enriched and HREE-depleted patterns ((La/Yb)CN = 7.3–38.3) coupled with negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.71 on average), which characteristics are similar to the average PAAS and PS, illustrate cratonic sources that formed by intra-crustal differentiation.Geochemical considerations and palaeocurrent indications suggest that the provenance of the Ikorongo Group include high-Mg basaltic-andesites, dacites, rhyolites and granitoids from the Neoarchaean Musoma-Mara Greenstone Belt to the north of the Ikorongo basin. Mass balance calculations suggest relative contributions of 47%, 42% and 11% from granitoids, high-magnesium basaltic-andesites and dacites, respectively to the detritus that formed the shales. Corresponding contributions to the siltstones detritus are 53%, 43% and 4%. 相似文献
The present study examines the provenance of the Jurassic Ashikita Group distributed in south‐west Japan, which is composed of the Idenohana, Kyodomari and Sakamoto Formations. Two geochemical diagrams for provenance analysis were utilized, which incorporate full consideration of compositional modifications resulting from weathering (MFW diagram) and hydraulic sorting processes (SiO2/Al2O3–Na2O/K2O diagram). The MFW diagram delineates weathering trends of sedimentary rocks and allows estimation of the original source rock composition by tracing the weathering trends backwards to an unweathered domain. Weathering trends of the Idenohana and Kyodomari Formations extend backward to the domain of intermediate and felsic igneous rocks. In contrast, sediments of the Sakamoto Formation do not fit into a linear weathering trend, indicating that the source rock cannot be approximated to igneous rocks. On the SiO2/Al2O3–Na2O/K2O diagram, sediments are organized into compositional trends, in which the range reflects compositional variations induced by the hydraulic sorting effect. On this diagram, sediments derived from the igneous and recycled sedimentary provenances can be distinguished by reading the inclination of the trend. By utilizing this principle, source rocks of the Idenohana and Kyodomari Formations are interpreted as igneous rocks and those of the Sakamoto Formation are interpreted as recycled sedimentary rocks. Therefore, these diagrams concurrently estimate the source rock composition through quantifying and adjusting the weathering and sorting effects, and reveal a systematic transition in the provenance of the Ashikita Group. The Idenohana and Kyodomari Formations were supplied chiefly from an igneous provenance, which shifted from intermediate to felsic compositions in stratigraphic order. Whereas, sediments of the Sakamoto Formation were sourced primarily from a recycled sedimentary provenance. 相似文献
The Rb-Sr and U-Pb systematics are studied in carbonate deposits of the Satka and Suran formations corresponding to middle horizons of the Lower Riphean Burzyan Group in the Taratash and Yamantau anticlinoria, respectively, the southern Urals. The least altered rock samples retaining the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of sedimentation basin have been selected for analysis using the original method of leaching the secondary carbonate phases and based on strict geochemical criteria of the retentivity (Mn/Sr < 0.2, Fe/Sr < 5 and Mg/Ca < 0.024). The stepwise dissolution in 0.5 N HBr has been used to enrich samples in the primary carbonate phase before the Pb-Pb dating. Three (L-4 to L-6) of seven consecutive carbonate fractions obtained by the step-wise leaching are most enriched in the primary carbonate (in terms of the U-Pb systematics). In the 206Pb/204Pb-207Pb/204Pb diagram, data points of these fractions plot along an isochron determining age of 1550 ± 30 Ma (MSWD = 0.7) for the upper member of the Satka Formation. The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the least altered limestones of this formation is within the range of 0.70460–0.70480. Generalization of the Sr isotopic data published for the Riphean carbonates from different continents showed that 1650–1350 Ma ago the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the world ocean was low, slightly ranging from 0.70456 to 0.70494 and suggesting the prevalent impact of mantle flux. 相似文献
We describe two well-preserved and articulated fossil anurans excavated from the Lower Cretaceous Sasayama Group in Hyogo Prefecture, Western Honshu, Japan, as new taxa on the basis of unique combinations of character states. We performed a phylogenetic analysis that included these new taxa, as well as Mesozoic and archaic anurans. This analysis strongly supports the monophyly of each of the two new taxa, both of which are placed in more derived positions than extant leiopelmatids or Liaobatrachus from the Lower Cretaceous in China. Anuran specimens from the Tetori Group of Japan are not assigned to the two new taxa, suggesting that at least three anuran taxa were present in Japan during the Early Cretaceous. These Japanese representatives are not closely related to known fossil anurans from Eastern Eurasia, unlike recently described Cretaceous lizards from these two regions. 相似文献
The Mullaley Sub-basin of the Gunnedah Basin extends from Quirindi in the southeast, to north of Narrabri, to west of Dunedoo in northern New South Wales. There have been more than 100 boreholes sunk to basement investigating the (lower Permian) Cisuralian coal and coal seam gas resources of the Mullaley Sub-basin since the early 1990s. A desktop review of this open file information has allowed the formal correlation and naming of six Cisuralian coal members attaining a maximum 35 m of cumulative thickness within an upward coarsening sedimentary package totalling no more than 150 m. In ascending order, the coal members are: Bibblewindi (0–10 m), Bohena (3–18 m), Collygra (0.5–3 m), Coxs (1.5–4 m), Tullamullen (0.5–4 m) and Mooki (0.5–3 m).
Cisuralian coal seams in the Maules Creek Formation of the southern Mullaley Sub-basin are here correlated with those of the Greta Coal Measures at Werris Creek and Muswellbrook. It is apparent that basement paleotopography played a significant role in the Cisuralian coal development as coals are best developed where the sedimentary sequence is greater than 60 m thick, as there the thick seams (Bohena and Bibblewindi coal members) occur towards the base of the sequence. The maximum western limit of the Cisuralian coals (Rocky Glen Ridge) is further east than previously inferred with new drilling information showing the Porcupine Formation directly overlying the barren pelletoidal claystones of the Leard Formation or the underlying volcanics (Boggabri Volcanics/Werrie Basalt). Early marine transgressions at the top of the Maules Creek Formation have stopped development of the Mooki, Tullamullen and Coxs coal members in the northern and eastern Mullaley Sub-basin and allowed the development of localised paraconglomerate (diamictite) intervals up to 10 m thick. Thick (>20 m cumulative) coal occurrences are localised to the Jacks Creek and Pilliga East State Forest areas southwest of Narrabri. The coal resource potential of the Mullaley Sub-basin is estimated at 13–28 billion tonnes. 相似文献