Invertebrate trace fossils from the Alveley Member,Salop Formation (Pennsylvanian,Carboniferous), Shropshire,UK

The late Carboniferous–early Permian was a period of major environmental change, with the rainforests that covered the equatorial zone during the Carboniferous disappearing due to increasing aridification. This environmental transition had significant impacts on the terrestrial biota, including a major extinction event among plant and vertebrate groups. A rich and unique ichnofauna from the Alveley Member (Moscovian: Westphalian D) of the Salop Formation at Alveley in Shropshire (England) has yielded important insights into late Carboniferous terrestrial communities. However, research to date has focused entirely on the vertebrate footprints. Abundant invertebrate ichnofossils also occur at Alveley, typically on the rippled upper surfaces of beds assigned to a floodplain facies that preserve the vertebrate tracks in hyporelief on their base. We provide the first detailed examination of the invertebrate ichnofauna from Alveley, identifying six ichnospecies within five ichnogenera (Diplichnites, Gordia, Paleohelcura, Palmichnium, Protichnites), including a new species of the common arthropod ichnogenus Diplichnites. This moderately diverse invertebrate ichnofauna is dominated by arthropod repichnia. There is no evidence of infaunal bioturbation and the single example of Gordia indicates limited sediment grazing activity. The Alveley ichnofauna is typical of Euramerican continental ichnoassemblages from the very latest Carboniferous, and indicates a moderate diversity of arthropods (crustaceans, arachnids and chelicerates) living alongside the marginal freshwater to terrestrial assemblage of temnospondyl amphibians, and basal synapsid, diadectomorph and captorhinomorph amniotes.     

Global geoheritage significance of Ordovician stratigraphy and sedimentology in the Cliefden Caves area,central western New South Wales

Globally significant geoheritage features of the Cliefden Caves area, in the Belubula River Valley between Orange and Cowra in central western New South Wales, comprise a richly fossiliferous shallow-water limestone succession of Late Ordovician age (the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup) overlain by deep-water laminites and allochthonous limestones of the Upper Ordovician Malongulli Formation. Key features of the Ordovician geology of the Cliefden Caves area that have been identified using the Geoheritage Toolkit as being of international significance are the abundance of unique and exceptionally diverse fossils in the Fossil Hill Limestone (forming the lower part of the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup), which supplement detailed interpretation of carbonate-dominated deposition within an Ordovician volcanic island setting. The fossiliferous limestones preserve biostromes and local small bioherms of stromatoporoids and corals, and recurrent in situ and disarticulated/imbricated Eodinobolus shell beds formed in shallow, quiet-water, dominantly muddy carbonate sediments that passed up-sequence to clay-free carbonate environments. These mud-dominated carbonate sediments are interspersed with higher-energy conditions, represented by skeletal, lithoclastic and calcrete-ooid grainstones overlying disconformities, leading to the identification of subaerial disconformities and associated diagenesis in the Fossil Hill Limestone. The Fossil Hill Limestone is succeeded by massive limestones in the middle part of the Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup and then, in turn by the Vandon Limestone and the deeper-water graptolitic laminites of the Malongulli Formation—this completes a succession that is rarely preserved in the geological record, further enhancing the geoheritage significance of the Cliefden Caves area.     

Stratigraphic Implications of Skeletal Microfossils from the Cambrian of Korea: A Preliminary Report

Diverse small shelly fossils and other associated fossils were recently recovered from the Cambrian Hanaeri section, southwestern Mungyeong, Korea. The fauna includes conoidal problematica, poriferans (sponge spicules), coeloscleritophorans (chancelloriids), brachiopods, monoplacophorans, trilobite (?) fragments, echinoderms, and conodonts. A preliminary assessment of faunal associations, stratigraphic implications, and the correlation of these skeletal fossils is given, based on occurrences of Actinotheca cf. mira (He), Microcornus sp., Torellela laevigata (Linnarsson), Torellela sp., Archiasterella quadratina Lee, Chancelloria sp., Lingulella sp., Prototreta sp., Phakelodus tenuis (Müller), Phakelodus elongates (An), Hertzina sp., and Furnishina sp.     

西峡盆地含恐龙蛋化石剖面磁性地层学结果及其构造地质意义

通过对河南南阳西峡盆地含恐龙蛋化石的阳域-丹水剖面的岩石磁学与古地磁学研究表明,该陆相沉积地层的特征剩磁载体以赤铁矿与磁铁矿为主,特征剩磁通过了倒转检验,表明其很可能为岩石形成时期获得的原生剩磁.结合该剖面古生物资料,磁性地层学结果表明,剖面上部2973~3023 m处年代为83~79 Ma;该剖面蛋化石所在最高层位年龄不晚于83 Ma,暗示该地区大型爬行动物的绝灭可能与西峡地区当时的气候、环境变化有关.此外,自晚白垩世以来,该剖面所处位置相对华北和华南地块发生了约18°的顺时针旋转,可能由该地区的局部构造活动引起.     

北京及邻区青白口纪化石生物相研究

笔者综合新元古界青白口系典型剖面－北京西山芹峪剖面和北京昌平十三陵剖面新发现的宏观藻类化石及邻区相应层位中的化石资料,通过生物相分析认为,北京西山青白口、芹裕的宏观藻类化石可能产于静水泻湖相中;而北京昌平十三陵的宏观藻类化石组合则反映出具有水下冲积型环境的特色;在河北怀来所发现的极完整又丰富的化石可以代表正常的滨海潮坪环境。因此,笔者认为青白口纪微古植物和宏观藻类化石在区域丰度和形态变化方面与水深     

藏北比如中侏罗世马里组遗迹化石的发现及其意义

描述了藏北比如地区中侏罗统马里组的遗迹化石8属8种（其中包括1个新遗迹属和2个新遗迹种）：表面光滑无饰、具有较薄管壁和密集新月形回填构造的不分枝水平潜穴Beaconites biruensis ichnosp.nov.,沿层面分布的哑铃形潜穴Bifungites cf. hanyangesis Yang,圆柱状厚管壁的分枝并构成假网状的潜穴Biruichnus maliensis ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov.,窄长的、内肢抓痕的二叶形遗迹Cruziana ichnosp.,以垂直于层面的圆管为中央放射出排列不规则且粗细变化较大细管的多分枝潜穴系统Micatuba cf. verso Chamberlain,平行或微斜交于层面的圆柱状微弯曲或弯曲的潜穴Palaeophycus ichnosp.,栖管段有规律地交替向两侧分叉呈Z字形或锯形的三维潜穴系统Treptichnus cf. bifurcus Miller,平行层面的、具有蹼状构造的简单U形潜穴Rhizocorallium ichnosp.。西藏比如地区中侏罗统马里组有大量的波状层理、透镜状层理和脉状层理等潮汐层理,发育侵蚀构造,上部紫红色含砾粗砂岩、长石砂岩发育,为滨岸相沉积。马里组的遗迹化石以浅层内生迹的爬行觅食潜穴和居住滤食性潜穴占有优势,也见有节肢动物的爬行迹和系统觅食潜穴,且产遗迹化石的层位见小型干涉波痕,为近海浅水中至低能的沉积环境。     

中国东部晚白垩世恐龙化石集群埋藏特征及国内外对比

运用埋藏学与沉积地质学的研究方法与手段,对中国东部晚白垩世具有恐龙化石集群埋藏盆地中恐龙骨骼化石的埋藏地层层序与年代、埋藏骨骼化石特征、骨骼化石埋藏类型及其埋藏成因等进行了分析与总结,并将其产出时代、埋藏相、埋藏特征与国外进行了对比研究。研究认为:中国东部与国外相比,虽然化石产出的具体时期有所差异,但从恐龙种群、埋藏相及沉积地层学等方面均具有相似性,反映了晚白垩世全球古环境、古生态及古气候的相似性。(1)中国晚白垩世恐龙骨骼化石埋藏事件可分为早期与晚期2个阶段:早期的Cenomanian期与晚期的Santonian-Maastrichtian期。而国外晚白垩世恐龙骨骼化石埋藏事件只发生在晚期,在美洲及蒙古国发生在Campanian晚期,在欧洲则为Campanian-Maastrichtian期的过渡时期及Maastrichtian期。(2)中国埋藏骨骼化石种属以鸟脚类鸭嘴龙科与兽脚类恐龙为主,它们埋藏于紫红色地层中,埋藏环境主要为冲积扇与河流环境;美洲以鸭嘴龙科为主,欧洲与蒙古国的种群各地不相同,都埋藏于紫红色岩石地层中,埋藏环境主要为河流—泛滥平原。骨骼在不同沉积相组合地层中埋藏学特征各异,与古地理、古生态及古环境密切相关。(3)结合盆地中的化石埋藏学特征与盆地演化特征,总结了恐龙化石埋藏类型主要有原地埋藏与异地埋藏,盆地古地理格局变动、火山活动、古温度升高及古地震等事件的综合作用是可能的埋藏成因,并提出了恐龙化石的埋藏模式。此研究为揭示中国东部乃至全球晚白垩世的古地理、古气候及古生态环境及恐龙灭绝原因的探讨提供了新的材料与证据。     

辽东湾LDD7孔晚更新世以来的沉积层序与古环境演化

对取自渤海辽东湾中部LDD7孔的300个沉积物样品进行了微体古生物分析,对196个样品进行了粒度分析,并选取8个层位的底栖有孔虫混合种进行了AMS¹⁴C测年,利用线形插值方法建立了该孔的年代地层框架。研究结果表明:自晚更新以来辽东湾中部保持了相对连续的沉积序列,LDD7孔记录了该区约60.85 cal.kaBP以来的沉积环境演化过程。根据垂向上微体化石组合和岩性的变化,将全长50.1 m的沉积物柱状样划分为9个沉积单元,分别代表晚更新世冰期旋回中随着海平面的变化,辽东湾中部区域在不同阶段分别处于海相、陆相或海陆过渡相沉积环境;LDD7孔中共识别出两次主要的海侵过程,分别对应着渤海中部Bc-1孔所记录的献县海侵与黄骅海侵;此次测年结果进一步明确了辽东湾中部两次海侵持续的确切时间,分别是45.84~27.66 cal.kaBP和10.64~0 cal.kaBP。此外,几个相关岩心的年代框架计算结果表明,献县海侵过程中辽东湾南部沉积速率低于中部,而献县海侵之后辽东湾南部的沉降总量和平均沉积速率都明显高于中部。     

Diagenetic transformations and silcrete–calcrete intergrade duricrust formation in palaeo‐estuary sediments

The Boteti palaeo‐estuary in northern Botswana is located where the endoreic Boteti river, an overflow from the regional Okavango river system, enters the Makgadikgadi pans. The present work considers diagenetic silica and calcium carbonate dominated transformations. The aims are to help identify precursor conditions for the origin of microcrystalline silcrete–calcrete intergrade deposits while developing insight into pene‐contemporaneous silica and calcite matrix formation. General precursor conditions require the presence of cyclical endoreic freshwater inflow into a saline pan. The pan should be deep enough to sustain a permanent watertable under climatic conditions sufficient to cause carbonate fractionation within the groundwater. Freshwater inflow into a saline pan drives the geochemistry of the system (from freshwater to saline, from neutral to high pH). The geochemistry is controlled by the periodicity of inflow relative to salinity levels of phreatic groundwater in the receptor saline pan. The source of most silica and localized CaCO₃ is derived from the dissolution and precipitation of micro‐fossils, while more general CaCO₃ enrichment stems from saline pan based carbonate fractionation. Diagenetic change leads to colloidal then more consolidated bSiO₂/CaO aggregate formation (amorphous silica) followed by transformations into opaline silica over time. Irregular zones of siliceous sediment forming in otherwise calcareous deposits may relate to the irregular occurrence of biogenic silica in the source sediments, inferring a source for local silica mobilization in intergrade deposits. The distribution of calcareous micro‐fossils may have a similar converse effect. Diagenetic evidence from an intergrade deposit with a low SiO₂/CaO ratio suggests that transformation occurred more into the pan, while an intergrade deposit with a high SiO₂/CaO ratio more likely formed closer to a land margin and was frequently inundated by freshwater. Pene‐contemporaneous silcrete–calcrete intergrade formation under the above conditions may take place where dissolved silica crystallizes out in the vicinity of calcite crystals due to local decreases in pH. The continuing consolidation of bSiO₂/CaO aggregates may be facilitated by the presence of increasing amounts of calcite. It appears that CaCO₃ may act as a catalyst leading to pene‐contemporaneous bSiO₂/CaO aggregate formation. However the processes involved require further work. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.