The first trichomyiine from Burmese Cretaceous amber (Diptera,Psychodidae, Trichomyiinae)

A new genus and species of Trichomyiinae (Axenotrichomyia boisteli) is described herein from Burmese Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) amber. This new taxon is characterized, illustrated, and its taxonomic position is discussed. This discovery sheds new light for the understanding of the palaeobiodiversity of this group.     

山西天镇晚白垩世蜥脚类恐龙一新科

发现于山西省天镇县上白垩统灰泉堡组中的一种新的大型（长约２０ｍ,高近５ｍ蜥脚类恐龙－不寻常华北龙（新属新种）Ｈｕａｂｅｉｓａｕｒｕｓ ａｌｌｃｔｕｓ（ｇｅｎ．ｅｔ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．）以其较粗壮的钉状牙齿,齿冠长与齿根长之比为３：１,颈椎椎体较长,神经棘分叉,背椎神经棘较高、不分叉,尾椎双凹型,神经弧位于椎体的前半部,神经棘和脉弧远端均不分叉,股骨直长,窄而扁,胫骨、腓骨长而扁平等特征明显地不同于与其     

A new Burmese amber hawker dragonfly helps to redefine the position of the aeshnopteran family Burmaeshnidae (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnoidea)

The new genus and species Angustaeshna magnifica of Burmaeshnidae is described on the basis of a new fossil from Burmese amber. The genus Cretaeshna from the same amber is transferred from the Telephlebiidae into the Burmaeshnidae. We redefine this last family, no longer considered as the sister group of the Late Cretaceous Enigmaeshnidae, but as putative sister group of the Telephlebiidae in the Aeshnoidea. No known fossil belongs to the Telephlebiidae.     

Forty‐Nine Major and Trace Element Concentrations Measured in Soil Reference Materials NIST SRM 2586, 2587, 2709a, 2710a and 2711a Using ICP‐MS and Wavelength Dispersive‐XRF

Excellent agreement was noted in the concentration of major and trace elements in five NIST (National Institute for Science and Technology) soil reference materials (NIST SRM 2586, 2587, 2709a, 2710a and 2711a) between measurement results from wavelength dispersive‐XRF and ICP‐MS from two independent laboratories, and NIST certificate of analysis and literature data. We describe the variability in concentrations of up to forty‐nine elements (plus loss on ignition) and provide values for up to twenty‐one elements previously uncharacterised by NIST in these soil RMs. The additional characterisation provided in this investigation can be utilised to reduce the measurement bias of custom calibration routines and improve the quality of control checks developed using these NIST RMs.     

Zalesskioxylon xiaheyanense sp. nov., a gymnospermous wood of the Stephanian (Late Pennsylvanian) from Ningxia, northwestern China

A new Late Pennsylvanian species of gymnospermous fossil wood, Zalesskioxylon xiaheyanense sp. nov. is described from the Lower Taiyuan Formation (Stephanian B-C) near the village of Xiaheyan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The specimen consists only of silicified secondary xylem. The tracheids are pycnoxylic with 2–3 seriate bordered pits, arranged in subcircular or hexagonal alternate (araucaroid) pattern. The pores of the pits are small, linear, and regularly tilted. Xylem rays are homogeneous, uniseriate, 1–25 cells high. Cross-fields are filled with numerous mixed simple pits of various sizes. Growth rings, axial parenchymatous elements and resin canals are absent. The geographic distribution of Zalesskioxylon woods is reviewed. Zalesskioxylon xiaheyanense sp. nov. grew at low latitudes, and because of the lack of growth rings, probably lived under relatively uniform climatic conditions. Our new species supplements the poorly known distribution of Carboniferous wood in China.     

A new genus and species of snipe fly (Diptera: Rhagionidae) in Lebanese Cretaceous amber

The rhagionid Lebanoleptis huangi gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Lebanon. It is characterized, illustrated, and compared with the recent and fossil genera having the same particular absence of wing vein M3. Other Mesozoic flies with similar venation and currently attributed to the Rhagionidae are briefly discussed and should be revised.     

Suitability of Mn‐ and Fe‐Rich Reference Materials for Microanalytical Research

Manganese‐ and iron‐rich materials are of major geoscientific and economic interest, many of which contain microscopic features that provide valuable information. To obtain accurate results, a homogeneous microanalytical reference material for calibration is needed. Several researchers have used the Mn‐ and Fe‐rich RMs, JMn‐1, NOD‐A‐1, NOD‐P‐1 and FeMn‐1, for this purpose; therefore, they were tested in this study to determine their suitability for microanalysis. Their homogeneity was investigated by laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) with two different types of lasers (nano‐ and femtosecond), with spot and line scan analyses and with different operating parameters, such as spot size, pulse repetition rate and fluence. As the established manganese nodule RMs revealed inhomogeneities for picogram to microgram test portions, we also investigated the new synthetic Fe‐ and Mn‐rich RM, FeMnOx‐1. FeMnOx‐1 was found to be homogeneous for large (ø 40 μm: 2% RSD repeatability) and small (ø 8–10 μm: 10% RSD repeatability) spot sizes. This homogeneity is in the range of the homogeneous NIST SRM 610 and GSE‐1G reference glasses. Furthermore, FeMnOx‐1 revealed a large‐scale homogeneity within uncertainties of a few per cent, using test portions in the ng range, when measuring four individual mounts of this material.     

梭菌对含镁方解石形态的控制及其可能机理

在 Mg/Ca 摩尔比为 4∶1 的 Lagoa Vermelha 培养基中对一株分离自青海湖底沉积物的梭菌 SN-1（Clostridium sp.）进行了为期 55 d 的碳酸盐矿物培养实验,同时还完成了一组无菌对照实验。利用扫描电子显微镜对沉淀物进行了系统的观察,用 X- 射线衍射仪对沉淀物的矿物成分进行了测定。结果表明：（1）SN-1 可以促进特殊形态含镁方解石的形成,而无菌对照实验产物中仅见不规则状的碳酸盐矿物;（2）特殊形态的含镁方解石可能是在细菌表面成核和生长的结果,它们的演化趋势是（杆状）→哑铃形→花菜状→球形。作者认为这是因为梭菌两端的带负电基团比菌体中间丰富,易聚集更多的 Ca²⁺和 Mg²⁺,Ca²⁺和 Mg²⁺离子作为“阳离子桥”吸引 CO32-,其结果是两端的晶体生长相对较快、中间生长相对较慢,进而形成哑铃形含镁方解石;“哑铃”继续生长,其两端会长成两个“花菜”或半球;若两个半球相接并闭合则发展为球状矿物。     

A New Basal Titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of China

A new dinosaur of Early Cretaceous age was recently discovered from the Mazongshan area of northwestern Gansu Province, China. The new dinosaur represents a new genus and species of Sauropoda, and is among the most basal members of Titanosauria. Its finding also suggests that titanosaurs might have originated in Asia no later than the Early Cretaceous.     

La compression pré-campano-maastrichtienne dans le Mésozoïque des Andes de Bolivie : l’exemple de Tica Tica (20°01’lat. S et 66°17’ long. W)

Résumén

Dans la Cordillère Orientale des Andes de Bolivie, le Mésozoïque est eonservé le plus souvent dans des synclinaux discontinus, fréquemment chevauchés par des écailles de Paléozoïqne. Les sédiments mésozoïques, marins et continentaux de plateforme d’arrière-arc, ont jusqu’à présent été considérés comme déposés en régime extensif. Ils recouvrent en discordance le Paléozoïque plissé et l’aillé à l’Hercynien et, postérieurement, profondément érodé avant la sédimentation mésozoïque. Des paléofailles majeures N-S, NW-SE et NE-SW, héritées de structurations antérieures, ont influencé l’évolution géodynamique du bassin mésozoïque depuis la lin du Jurassique.

Dans la partie méridionale de la Cordillère Orientale, la région de Tica Tica présente de nombreux indices de serrage synsédimentaire depuis le début des dépôts mésozoïques jusqu’à la discordance campano-maastriehtienne (phase « péruvienne »). Le domaine de la Cordillère Orientale, avant-pays du bassin d’arrière-arc chiléno-péruvien, peut être ainsi interprété comme un secteur en compression sur lequel les transgressions successives, au Cénomanien, au Turonien et au Campano-Maastrichtien. soulignent divers instants d’un processus pratiquement continu de déformation.

Pendant le Tertiaire, les chevauchements andins réactivent les accidents majeurs préexistants : ils en inversent le mouvement, ou les déforment, ou bien les utilisent comme zones de coulissage. Ainsi, contrairement à ce qui a pu être proposé, le raccourcissement de la chaîne des Andes boliviennes, initié à la fin du Jurassique et faisant intervenir des fractures profondes, implique une participation, non seulement de la totalité de la pile séilimeutaire, mais très vraisemblablement aussi de son substratum précambrien comme c’est le cas dans le Nord-Ouest argentin.