Aeschnidiid nymphs from the Jehol biota (latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous), China, with a discussion of the family Aeschnidiidae (Insecta, Odonata)

Undoubted fossil nymphs of the family Aeschnidiidae within the Aeschnidioidea of the Anisoptera, Odonata are identified and described and their phylogenetic relationship and bioecological characteristics are deduced. The nymphs discovered previously in China, Mongolia and Russia and considered to be aeschnidiids are, in fact, unrelated to this group. All nine Chinese species in six genera can be merged into one alone, Aeschnidium heishankowense. It is the first animal from the ‘Jehol biota’ of East Asia to be linked with the species known from the Lower Tithonian of Germany. The geological age of the oldest strata bearing the fossil nymphs is debatable; it could be latest Jurassic rather than Early Cretaceous.     

关岭生物群产出地层的岩石微相和环境意义

关岭生物群产于中国贵州关岭县新铺乡,在贵州省会贵阳以西约188km的晚三叠世早期地层小凹组底部。化石群主要门类有海生爬行类(鱼龙、海龙、鳍龙、盾齿龙等)、海百合、菊石、双壳、腕足、牙形刺、鱼类和植物。以保存完整精美、数量巨大的海生爬行类和棘皮动物海百合为标志。化石产出地层岩石为(微含泥质)含生物屑泥晶灰岩,其上下地层的岩石还有(含泥质)含粉砂质不等晶灰岩和含生物屑泥晶灰岩。根据岩石组成、结构、构造、微相特征提出关岭生物群生活环境离岸较近、沉积作用以悬浮方式为主,少牵引流影响、水体总体比较安静。     

华南伊迪卡拉纪"庙河生物群"的属性分析

我国南方伊迪卡拉(震旦)系陡山沱组页岩中,保存了以"庙河生物群"为代表的宏体碳质压膜化石群,以大量底栖固着的多细胞藻类为主,还包含推测的后生动物和海绵动物、可疑的遗迹化石等多门类生物化石,化石类型多样、分异显著,代表着新元古代"雪球"冰期之后和寒武纪早期后生动物大爆发前夕地球早期多细胞生物的一次大规模的进化辐射事件。本文通过比较湖北秭归庙河和贵州江口翁会两个典型产地的宏体化石优势属种的形态特征,以及两地所处的沉积古环境,分析探讨了这些优势类别与现生多细胞生物(包括红藻、褐藻和绿藻三大高级藻类)的亲缘关系。研究表明,寒武纪之前大约35~10Ma间,各门类多细胞藻类广泛发育,与后生动物的先驱分子构成独特的古生态群落。     

A Fresh Look at Dickinsonia： Removing It from Vendobionta

The Ediacaran Dickinsonia is well-known for being the only fossil to be assigned to many phyla, ranging from lichens, Cnidaria, Piatyheiminthes, Annelida, and a phylum of its own to a nonmetazoan kingdom. A new specimen from the Ediacaran fine-grained sandstone on the Winter Coast of the White Sea in northern Russia, which has an age of -555 million years ago, preserved convincing internal anatomies of definite animals, comparable with meridionai canals of extant ctenophores （comb jellies）. Additionally, we reconsidered Dickinsonia as a biradiaily symmetrical animal rather than a bilateral one as previously thought. The animal nature of Dickinsonia is, thus, well established and its affinities are most probably allied to ctenophores. This research is not only removing Dickinsonia from Vendobionta, but also bringing the fossil record of ctenophores forward to 20 million years before the Cambrian ＂explosion＂.     

晚中生代地球表层重大地质事件的陆地环境剧变与生物群演替响应

晚中生代时期华北东北部发育燕辽生物群、热河生物群和阜新生物群陆地生物群。它们的快速演变过程和华北克拉通上同时期发育的岩石圈减薄、大面积强烈岩浆活动、变质核杂岩及伴随的伸展盆地等地球表层重大地质事件并行发生,表现着地壳表层系统圈层间的相互作用和响应。生物群的繁盛与灭绝与地球表层大规模岩浆-火山活动(髫髻山组—张家口组和大北沟组—义县组)发育时代高度协同一致。地球表层重大地质事件直接或间接地控制或改造着地球表层古地理和古生态环境,生物群只得调整自身去适应环境和生态背景的改变。火山-岩浆活动改变着地质-生态环境,生物群都紧密联系多期次火山-岩浆活动,化石也都被埋葬在沉积-火山碎屑岩中。华北克拉通破坏重大地质事件发生响应于全球变化和统一地球表层系统。盆地沉积充填序列、特殊陆相环境沉积建造、特殊环境沉积物等记录了响应的古地理、古环境变化与响应。陆地生物群分布、演化、更替与精确定年,脊椎-无脊椎生物(化石)埋葬特征,生物演化速率、消长关系和生物群(组合)更替的形式和性质,以及脊椎动物骨骼、牙齿的常量、微量元素、H-B-C-N-O-S和C-O-Sr等地球化学特征的研究可以恢复和重建古地理、古生态环境和古生态系统。     

黔东南凯里生物群研究现状综述

产于黔东南剑河八郎的凯里生物群是一个含有10个大门类120多属动物化石的布尔吉斯页岩型的生物群,是全球寒武纪第3世生物多样化、生态复杂化的窗口,对早期后生生物研究具有十分重要的科学意义。丹寨南皋和镇远竹坪等新产地的发现,将凯里生物群产地扩大至整个黔东南地区,其研究取得了突破性的进展,也为凯里生物群进一步研究提供了新材料。     

Guanling Biota: A Rare Biota in Sea Early Late Triassic

Guanling biota has been found at the bottom of Wayao Formation of Upper Triassic (Carnic stage) near Xinpu town, Guanling County, Guizhou Province, China. There are a lot of crinoids and marine reptiles, which is a characteristic of Guanling biota, including ammonites, bivalve, brachiopod, fish, conodont and plant. These fossils are featured not only with the large quantity, but also with their extraordinary perfect forms. This paper explores the meaning, geological background, present situation of study and scientific significance of Guanling biota.     

Neogene Paleoseismic Events and the Shanwang Biota’s Burial in the Linqu Area, Shandong Province, China

Several paleoseismic events are recorded in the Neogene Linqu Group, exposed in the Linqu area, Shandong Province, China. The events were interpreted on the basis of fieldwork and laboratory analysis, which showed the presence of seismites with plastically deformed soft-sediment deformation structures in the Shanwang Formation, and of seismic volcanic rocks in the Yaoshan Formation which show brittle deformation. The earthquake-triggered soft-sediment deformations in the seismites include load structures, ball-and-pillow structures, flame structures, pillow-like beds, boudinage structures, slump folds, syn-depositional faults, veins of liquefied sand, and dikes of liquefied sandy lime-mud. The seismic activity is also reflected in what might be called ‘brittle seismites'; these originated when, under the influence of seismic vibrations, semi-consolidated conglomerate was shattered. Moreover, volcanic activity is related to intense earthquakes that affected basalts intercalated with sand layers; these successions are known as ‘seismic volcanic rocks', which are characterized by veins of liquefied sand intruding the basalts. All above traces of paleoseismic activity were left from one single time span of 4 Ma with active seismicity that took place 14–10 Ma. This time span is known as ‘the Linqu Neogene Paleoseismic Active Period', which is divided into four paleoseismic episodes, which were responses to tectonic extension and basin rifting in this area. It even includes the activity of the Yishu Fault Zone during the Miocene and the Neogene. The ratios of trace elements in the seismites, w(La)/w(Sc) and w(La)/w(Th) are higher than the average value of the upper crust, but w(Th)/w(Sc) is lower; this is geochemical evidence for the basin rifting that resulted in a high sedimentation rate. The intense and frequent paleo-earthquakes are held responsible for the rapid burial of the Shanwang Biota. Secondary earthquake-induced processes(e.g. slumping of a lake shore and the strongly increased lacustrine sedimentation rate) contributed to the rapid burial of the biota.     

New Data of Macrofossils in the Ediacaran Wenghui Biota from Guizhou, South China

The abundance and diversity of macrofossils in the Ediacaran have attracted much attention. The upper Doushantuo macrobiotas in South China, including the Miaohe biota from Hubei and the Wenghui biota from Guizhou, are mainly preserved as the carbonaceous compressions and dominated by macroscopic algae and metazoans. Here, we describe 10 genera and 10 species (including 6 new genera and species) of macrofossils from the Wenghui biota. At present, the Wenghui biota yields macrofossils in more than 31 genera and 33 species, excluding those given no image and established on a few unascertained specimens. Based on the occurrence and distribution of macrofossils in both Miaohe and Wenghui areas, the middle-late Ediacaran (back shales of the upper Doushantuo Formation) in South China can be subdivided into two assemblage biozones in biostratigraphy: (i) the Protoconites–Linbotulitaenia–Eoandromeda–Anomalophton assemblage biozone characterized by abundant and diverse macrofossils and by the ranges of Protoconites, Linbotulitaenia and Anomalophton; and (ii) the Baculiphyca–Gesinella–Cucullus–Beltanelliformis assemblage biozone characterized by the acme of the longer macrofossils Baculiphyca and Gesinella, and by few shorter and discoidal macrofossils.     

A correlation between the Large Igneous Provinces and mass extinctions: constraint on the end-Guadalupian mass extinction and the Emeishan LIP in South China,eastern Tethys

ABSTRACT

Well-documented outcrops around the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) in South China, eastern Tethys, encompassing the end-Guadalupian mass extinction have been investigated. Correlatable sections recording the event exhibit very similar lithological characters, positive-then-negative C isotope excursions and massive biotic demise. Detailed analyses of the fossil record and carbon isotopic variations were carried out on the Guadalupian–Wuchiapingian Boundary sections over the inner, middle, outer zones of the ELIP and its margin. Due to a pronounced decrease in marine habitat area and the environmental and ecological change over this part of the Tethys, the biota crisis records show the loss of numerous tropical invertebrate taxa, and exhibit fewer genera and smaller testing sizes and low productivity. The biota crisis was a sustainable and gradual reduction in diversity over the Capitanian. The associated carbon isotopic data reveal unusually high δ¹³C(carb) values before the late Capitanian, representing higher primary productivity (or buried rate) and more ¹³C-enriched CO₂ released by hydrothermal carbonate breakdown from the upper crust into the sediments at that time. Subsequently, an accelerated negative excursion across the boundary and the gradual excursion with low carbon isotope amplitude favours an increased influx of light ¹²C sourced by the volcanism around the eastern Tethys. The very similar time–space relation between the biota crisis and the Emeishan volcanism confirms that volcanic eruptions may have triggered the biota crisis event in South China. Intensive volcanism could result in detrimental environmental and ecological stresses, habitat loss, organic material splitting, or the emission of light carbon and thermal fluid (or aerosol), implying that the losses of the shallow-marine invertebrates either occurred geologically instantaneously or in a series of closely spaced crises coinciding with the initial phase of ELIP formation. These findings in South China may reveal the causal relation between mass extinctions and LIPs in a global context.