A slender new archaic beetle in Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Archostemata)

Jarzembowski, Edmund A., Wang, B. &; Zheng, D., October 2017. A slender new archaic beetle in Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Archostemata). Alcheringa 42, 110–114. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new archostematan beetle, Clessidromma palmeri gen. et sp. nov. (Insecta: Coleoptera) is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from northern Myanmar. It has a uniquely specialized body form for which a new stem tribe, Clessidromatini trib. nov., is proposed in the subfamily Ommatinae of the family Cupedidae sensu lato.

Edmund Jarzembowski* [jarzembowski2@live.co.uk] Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] and Daran Zheng? [darzheng@connect.hku.hk] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Rd, Nanjing 210008, PR China. *Also affiliated with: Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. ?Also affiliated with: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, PR China. ?Also affiliated with: Daran Zheng, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China.     

A new saucrosmylid lacewing (Insecta,Neuroptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou,Inner Mongolia,China

Liu, Q., Zhang, H.C., Wang, B., Fang, Y., Zheng, D.R., Zhang, Q. & Jarzembowski, E.A., 2014. A new saucrosmylid lacewing (Insecta, Neuroptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Alcheringa 38. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new genus and new species of Saucrosmylidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) are described (Daohugosmylus castus) based on a well-preserved hindwing from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Daohugosmylus gen. nov. is distinguished by a large and nearly semi-circular hindwing, relatively wide R1 space possessing several rows of cells, anteriorly bent Rs, dense crossveins over the entire wing, and smooth outer margin.

Qing Liu (corresponding author) [qingliu1029@gmail.com], Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn], Bo Wang [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn], Yan Fang [yanfang@nigpas.ac.cn], Daran Zheng [dranzheng@gmail.com], Qi Zhang [zhqi1105@126.com] and Edmund A Jarzembowski [jarzembowski2@live.co.uk], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; secondary address of Daran Zheng & Qi Zhang, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; and Ed Jarzembowski, Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. Received 13.11.2013; revised 20.1.2014; accepted 21.1.2014.     

A new damsel-dragonfly (Odonata: Anisozygoptera: Campterophlebiidae) from the earliest Jurassic of the Junggar Basin,northwestern China

Zheng, D., Wang, H., Nel, A., Dou, L., Dai, Z., Wang, B. & Zhang, H. 27 June 2019. A new damsel-dragonfly (Odonata: Anisozygoptera: Campterophlebiidae) from the earliest Jurassic of the Junggar Basin, northwestern China. Alcheringa XX, X–X. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new genus and species of campterophlebiid damsel-dragonfly, Jurassophlebia xinjiangensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Jurassic Badaowan Formation in the Junggar Basin, northwestern China. Jurassophlebia differs from all other campterophlebiid genera in having PsA in the same orientation as the distal branch of AA, and in its uniquely open subdiscoidal cell with very acute apical angle in the hind wing. The new discovery adds to the Asian diversity of damsel-dragonflies in the earliest Jurassic.

Daran Zheng* [dranzheng@gmail.com], He Wang [hwang@nigpas.ac.cn], Bo Wang [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn], and Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China; André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB-UMR 7205-CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, Entomologie, F-75005, Paris, France; Longhui Dou [345317122@qq.com], Comprehensive Geology Exploration Team, Xinjiang Coalfield Geology Bureau, West Mountain Road, Ürümqi 830000, PR China; Zhenlong Dai [286321388@qq.com], No.9 Geological Team, Xinjiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Ürümqi 830011, PR China; Daran Zheng also affiliated with Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China.     

New damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera: Hemiphlebiidae,Dysagrionidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Zheng, D., Zhang, Q., Nel, A., Jarzembowski, E.A., Zhou, Z., Chang, S.-C. &; Wang, B., May 2016. New damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera: Hemiphlebiidae, Dysagrionidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Alcheringa XX, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Two damselflies, Burmahemiphlebia zhangi gen. et sp. nov. and Palaeodysagrion cretacicus gen. et sp. nov., are described from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Burmahemiphlebia zhangi is the first record of Hemiphlebiidae from this amber, although the family was cosmopolitan during the Mesozoic. It can be readily distinguished from all other members of Hemiphlebiidae in having very short MP and CuA veins, and in its rectangular discoidal cell. The new fossils support the view that hemiphlebiid damselflies were one of the dominant groups of Zygoptera during the Mesozoic. Palaeodysagrion cretacicus is the first dysagrionid damselfly from Burmese amber and the second Mesozoic representative of this predominantly Paleogene group. It differs from other members of Dysagrionidae in having a unique elongate discoidal cell. These new finds increase the diversity of damselflies in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.

Daran Zheng* [dranzheng@gmail.com], Su-Chin Chang [suchin@hku.hk], Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China; Qingqing Zhang [qqzhang@nigpas.ac.cn], Edmund A. Jarzembowski? [edj@nigpas.ac.cn], Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China; André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB-UMR 7205-CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, Entomologie, F-75005, Paris, France; Zhicheng Zhou [172692308@qq.com], The PLA Information Engineering University, 62 Kexue Ave, Gaoxin District, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, PR China. *Also affiliated with State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China. ?Also affiliated with Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. ?Also affiliated with Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China.     

A new species of Aboilus (Insecta,Orthoptera) from the Jurassic Daohugou beds of China,and discussion of forewing coloration in Aboilus

Wang, H., Li, S., Zhang, Q., Fang, Y., Wang, B. & Zhang, H., 13.02.2015. A new species of Aboilus (Insecta, Orthoptera) from the Jurassic Daohugou beds of China, and discussion of forewing coloration in Aboilus. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

He Wang* [wanghe0701@163.com], Sha Li* [lisha.paleo@gmail.com], Qi Zhang* [zhqi1105@126.com], Yan Fang [yanfang@nigpas.ac.cn], Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] and Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China.*Also affiliated with University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China. ?Also affiliated with Steinmann Institute, University of Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany.

A new species of Aboilinae (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae), Aboilus perbellus, is described and illustrated based on three well-preserved forewings recovered from the Middle–Upper Jurassic Daohugou beds of Inner Mongolia, China. The new species differs from all congeneric forms in its special forewing coloration and features of its wing venation. To date, three types of forewing coloration have been found among different species of Aboilus at Daohugou, suggesting that these taxa inhabited different ecotopes.     

Palaeoenvironmental implications of the giant crocodylian Mourasuchus (Alligatoridae,Caimaninae) in the Yecua Formation (late Miocene) of Bolivia

Tineo, D.E., Bona, P., Pérez, L.M., Vergani, G.D., González, G., Poiré, D.G., Gasparini, Z.N. & Legarreta, P., 1.10.2014. Palaeoenvironmental implications of the giant crocodylian Mourasuchus (Alligatoridae, Caimaninae) in the Yecua Formation (late Miocene) of Bolivia. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Outcrops of the Yecua Formation (late Miocene) are exposed for approximately 230 m along the La Angostura section of the Piraí River (50 km southwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra). These reveal massive (argillic palaeosols) and laminated (quiet-water lacustrine and marsh settings) mudstones interbedded with thin sandstones containing microfossils, molluscs and vertebrate remains. Significantly, the succession hosts a giant crocodylian, Mourasuchus (Alligatoridae, Caimaninae), which is represented by both skull and postcranial fragments found in association with freshwater turtles and fishes. Mourasuchus was distributed widely from the middle Miocene of Colombia to upper Miocene of Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina, suggesting connections between major fluvial systems and an active mechanism for dispersal of South American freshwater vertebrates during the Miocene.

David Eric Tineo [tineo.d.e@gmail.com] and Daniel Gustavo Poiré [dgpoire@yahoo.com.ar], CONICET—Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Calle 1 (644), B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina; Paula Bona [paulabona26@gmail.com] and Zulma Gasparini [zgaspari@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], CONICET—División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata. Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina; Leandro Martín Pérez [pilosaperez@gmail.com] CONICET—División Paleozoología Invertebrados, Museo de La Plata. Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina; Gustavo Dardo Vergani [gvergani@pluspetrol.net]—Pluspetrol S.A. Lima (339), C1073AAG, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Gloria González Rigas [ggonzalez@pluspetrol.net]—Pluspetrol Bolivia Corporation SA, Av. Grigotá esq. Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia; Pablo Legarreta [plegarreta@pluspetrol.net]—Pluspetrol S.A. Lima (339), C1073AAG, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

The first palaeontinid from the Late Jurassic of Australia (Hemiptera,Cicadomorpha, Palaeontinidae)

Chen, J., Beattie, R., Wang, B., Jiang, H., Zheng, Y. & Zhang, H., 12 April 2019. The first palaeontinid from the Late Jurassic of Australia (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha, Palaeontinidae). Alcheringa 43, 449–454. ISSN 0311-5518.

Palaeontinidae, an extinct group of large arboreal insects, has the most diverse record among the Mesozoic Hemiptera, but only a few taxa have been reported from the Southern Hemisphere. Herein, Talbragarocossus jurassicus Chen, Beattie & Wang gen. et sp. nov., one of the earliest representatives of ‘late’ Palaeontinidae, is described and illustrated from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed in New South Wales, Australia. This new taxon constitutes the first representative of Palaeontinidae in Australia and the first Jurassic example in Gondwanaland, providing significant distributional and stratigraphic extensions to the family.

Jun Chen*? [rubiscada@sina.com] and Yan Zheng? [zhengyan536@163.com], Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Shuangling Road, Linyi 276000, China. Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn], Hui Jiang [huijiang@nigpas.ac.cn] and Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China. Robert Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com], Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia. ?Also affiliated with: State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China. ?Also affiliated with: Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Minerals, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong 266590, China.     

First fossil thaneroclerid beetle from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Cleroidea: Thanerocleridae)

Cai, C. & Huang, D., January 2018. First fossil thaneroclerid beetle in Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Cleroidea: Thanerocleridae). Alcheringa 42, 115–119. ISSN 0311-5518.

Thanerocleridae is a small family of Cleroidea with no fossil representatives to date. Here we describe and figure the first fossil representative of Thanerocleridae, Cretozenodosus fossilis gen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. Cretozenodosus is referred to the extant subfamily Zenodosinae as evidenced by its open procoxal cavities and transverse procoxae. Cretozenodosus has close affinities with the North American Zenodosus Wolcott, suggesting that modern Zenodosinae is probably a relict group. Our discovery of a new thaneroclerid genus from Burmese amber suggests that Thanerocleridae originated no later than the mid-Cretaceous.

Chenyang Cai [cycai@nigpas.ac.cn] Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Diying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China.     

New Chinese psocids from Eocene Fushun amber (Insecta: Psocodea)

Zhang, Q., Nel, A., Azar, D. & Wang, B. April 2016. New Chinese psocids from Eocene Fushun amber (Insecta: Psocodea). Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Two new Psocodea, Sinopsyllipsocus fushunensis gen. et sp. nov. and Eotriplocania sinica gen. et sp. nov., are described from Eocene amber of Fushun City, China. They are distinctly different from all known Psocodea from Fushun amber in their three-segmented tarsi. Sinopsyllipsocus fushunensis is the second unequivocal fossil of Psyllipsocidae. Eotriplocania sinica is the first Asiatic and oldest representative of the Neotropical family Ptiloneuridae, and reveals a formerly global distribution of the family. The discovery of these two families in Eocene Fushun amber suggests a rather warm palaeoclimate for the Fushun amber locality.

Qingqing Zhang [qqzhang@nigpas.ac.cn] and Bo Wang* [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China^; Qingqing Zhang also affiliated with University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China; André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB—UMR 7205—CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 50, Entomologie, F-75005, Paris, France; Dany Azar [azar@mnhn.fr], Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences II, Department of Natural Sciences, Fanar, Fanar—Matn—PO Box 26110217, Lebanon. *Also affiliated with: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, PR China.     

Spondylodendron pranabii—the dominant lycopsid of the late Mississippian vegetation of the Kashmir Himalaya

Cleal, C.J., Bhat, G.M., Singh, K.J., Dar, A.M., Saxena, A. & Chandra, S., February 2016. Spondylodendron pranabii—the dominant lycopsid of the late Mississippian vegetation of the Kashmir Himalaya. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Sepukhovian fossil floras of the northern margins of Gondwana, on the shores of the Palaeotethys, are dominated by remains of an eligulate, mainly monopodial lycopsid with persistent leaves. The stems show considerable morphological and preservational variation that has historically resulted in the fossils having been assigned to many fossil-species and -genera. However, there is now clear evidence that this simply reflects variation within a single fossil-species, reflecting biological variation and the effects of variable taphonomy, for which the correct taxonomic name is Spondylodendron pranabii (Pal) comb. nov. Part of this morphological variation might have been due to variations in growth rate during the life of the individual plants, which in turn might reflect stressed growing conditions in a wetland habitat. The systematic position of Spondylodendron remains uncertain, owing to the lack of unequivocal evidence of reproductive structures, but it might have affinities with the Sublepidodendraceae.

Christopher J. Cleal [chris.cleal@museumwales.ac.uk], Department of Natural Sciences, National Museum Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP, UK; G.M. Bhat [bhatgm@jugaa.com] and A.M. Dar, Department of Geology, University of Jammu, Jammu, India; Kamal Jeet Singh, [kamaljeet31@hotmail.com] and Anju Saxena [anju_saxena2002@yahoo.co.in], Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53 University Road, Lucknow-226007, (U.P.) India; Shaila Chandra, Flat Number 105, Beverly Park Apartment 422, New Hyderabad, Lucknow-226007, (U.P.) India.     

First artematopodid beetle in Mexican amber and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera,Artematopodidae)

Wu, H., Coty, D. & Ding, M., 10.4.2015. First artematopodid beetle in Mexican amber and its biogeographic implications (Coleoptera, Artematopodidae). Alcheringa 39, xxx-xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Artematopodidae is a small polyphagan family forming one of the basal lineages of Elateroidea. Fossil artematopodids are rare and thus far confined to Eocene Baltic amber. Here, we report the first artematopodid, Electribius palaeomexicanus sp. nov., from Mexican amber. The fossil is placed in Electribius as supported by the following combination of characters: the presence of a setose cavity between the antennal insertion and eye, a shallow groove at the base of the pronotum connecting a pair of cavities, the elytral sutural stria deepened at the apex, and having an indistinct median part of suture between abdominal ventrites 3–5. Electribius palaeomexicanus is compared with all known Electribius species, and it is easily distinguished by its body colour, intercoxal process shape, and length of the longitudinal median ridge on ventrite 5. The new discovery suggests that the modern Central American endemic Electribius has survived in this region at least since the mid-Miocene. It provides new insights into the origin and evolution of Electribius through the Cenozoic.

Hao Wu [mason007343@163.com] and Ming Ding [dijanet@163.com], Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, No. 6 of West Lake Culture Plaza, Hangzhou, 310014, PR China; David Coty [coty.david@gmail.com], Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, UMR 7205 CNRS UPMC EPHE, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France.     

Progiraffa (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia: Giraffidae) from the Lower Siwalik Subgroup (Miocene) of Pakistan

Aftab, K., Khan, M.A., Ahmad, Z. & Akhtar, M., February 2016. Progiraffa (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia: Giraffidae) from the Lower Siwalik Subgroup (Miocene) of Pakistan. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Previously, Progiraffa exigua has been reported only from the Kamlial Formation (ca 18.3–14.2 Ma) of the Siwalik Group. We record Progiraffa exigua from the Lower Siwalik Subgroup at five localities: Jaba, Chinji Rest House, Rakh Wasnal, Dhok Bun Amir Khatoon and Ghungrila, Pakistan, thus extending the range of P. exigua to the Chinji Formation of the Siwalik Group (ca 14.2–11.2 Ma).

Kiran Aftab [kiranaftab2012@gmail.com], Zaheer Ahmad [dr.zaheerahmed11@yahoo.com], Zoology Department, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan; Muhammad Akbar Khan [akbaar111@yahoo.ca], Muhammad Akhtar [drakhtarfdrc@hotmail.com], Dr Abu Bakr Fossil Display & Research Centre, Zoology Department, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.     

Editorial

Kear, Benjamin P., 11 November 2019. Editorial. Alcheringa 43, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518.

Benjamin P. Kear [benjamin.kear@em.uu.se], Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.     

A new species of the aphid family Burmitaphididae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aphidomorpha) from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber

Liu, X., Qiao, G.X., Yao, Y. & Ren, D., 28 March 2019. A new species of the aphid family Burmitaphididae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aphidomorpha) from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Alcheringa 43, 455–460. ISSN 0311-5518

A new species of extinct aphids is reported based on a fossil specimen with a relatively complete body and broken wings from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Vasteantenatus reliquialaus sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aphidomorpha: Burmitaphididae) differs from other burmitaphidids in having antennae distinctly longer than the body. The diagnosis of Burmitaphididae is emended, and a key to all species of the family is provided

Xue Liu [katharina0521@foxmail.com], Key Lab of Insect Evolution and Environmental Change, College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, China; Gexia Qiao [qiaogx@ioz.ac.cn], Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China; Yunzhi Yao* [yaoyz100@126.com], Key Lab of Insect Evolution and Environmental Change, College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China; Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], Key Lab of Insect Evolution and Environmental Change, College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China.     

The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera,Monotomidae)

Cai, C.-Y., ?lipiński, A. & Huang, D.-Y., 31.3.2015. The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera, Monotomidae). Alcheringa 39,488–493. ISSN 0311-5518.

Jurorhizophagus alienus gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil root-eating beetle, is described and figured based on an exceptionally well-preserved impression fossil from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (ca 165 Ma), Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. It represents the earliest fossil Monotomidae known to date. Jurorhizophagus can not be assigned to either of two subfamilies Monotominae or Rhizophaginae based on the unique combination of many unusual characters, including an 11-segmented antenna with a 3-segmented club, the presence of a distinct frontoclypeal suture and transverse pronotum with a median longitudinal groove. The discovery of a new genus from the Middle Jurassic highlights the antiquity of Monotomidae and provides new information about the phylogenetic relationships between Monotomidae and its allied families.

Chen-Yang Cai [caichenyang1988@163.com], Di-Ying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn] (corresponding author), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Adam ?lipiński [adam.slipinski@csiro.au], Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Collections Australia, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.     

A preliminary report on new Ediacaran fossils from Iran

Vickers-Rich, P., Soleimani, S., Farjandi, F., Zand, M., Linnemann, U., Hofmann, M., Wilson, S.A., Cas, R. &; Rich, T.H. November, 2017. A preliminary report on new Ediacaran fossils from Iran. Alcheringa 42, 231–244. ISSN 0311-5518.

Recent exploratory field mapping of marine sedimentary sequences in the Koushk Mine locality of the Bafq region in Central Iran, and on the northern slopes of the Elborz Mountains south of the Caspian Sea, has yielded large complex body and trace fossils of Neoproterozoic–early Cambrian age. The recovered specimens resemble the previously documented Precambrian discoidal form Persimedusites, and a the tubular morphotype Corumbella, which is a novel occurrence for Iran and otherwise only recorded before from Brazil and the western USA. Additional enigmatic traces can not yet be interpreted unequivocally, but suggest that future work may uncover more unusual Ediacaran fossils from various localities in Central Iran.

Patricia Vickers-Rich* [prich@swin.edu.au, pat.rich@monash.edu], Faculty of Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne (Hawthorn), Victoria 3122, Australia; Sara Soleimani [sara_soleimani@yahoo.com], Palaeontology Department, Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Farnoosh Farjandi [farnooshfarjandi@gmail.com], Department of Geochemical Exploration, Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Mehdi Zand [zand.mehdi.geo@gmail.com], Geology Department, Bafq Mining Company, Koushk Mine, Yazd, Iran. Ulf Linnemann [ulf.linnemann@senckenberg.de], and Mandy Hofmann [mandy.hofmann@senckenberg.de], Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen, Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Sektion Geochronologie, Koenigsbruecker Landstrasse 159, D-01109, Dresden, Germany; Siobhan A. Wilson [sasha.wilson@monash.edu], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; Raymond Cas [ray.cas@monash.edu], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; Thomas H. Rich? [trich@museum.vic.gov.au], Museum Victoria, Exhibition Gardens, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001 Australia. *Also affiliated with: School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; School of Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne (Burwood), Victoria, Australia 3125; Palaeontology Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton Gardens, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia. ?Also affiliated with: School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; Faculty of Science, Swinburne University of Science and Technology, Melbourne (Hawthorn), Victoria 3122, Australia.     

Small and common: the oldest tropical Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the lower Eocene Cambay amber of India

Nadein, K.S. & Perkovsky, E.E. 2 July 2019. Small and common: the oldest tropical Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the lower Eocene Cambay amber of India. Alcheringa XXX, X–X. ISSN 0311-5518.

Three new genera and species of flea beetles (Chrysomelidae: Alticini) are described from the lowermost Eocene Cambay amber: Cambaltica paleoindica Nadein, gen. et sp. nov., Protorthaltica setosella Nadein, gen. et sp. nov., and Davidaltica cambayensis Nadein, gen. et sp. nov. These taxa share a zoogeographic affinity with extant Oriental and Afrotropical flea beetle faunas, with similarities to Afrotropical elements interpreted to be a result of Neogene migrations from Laurasia to Africa. The flea beetles within the Cambay amber are characterized by their small body size (1.2–1.9?mm), and the absence or rarity of larger flea beetles in the Cambay amber forest is assumed to be evidence for a progressive increase in the average body size of tropical flea beetles beginning in the early Eocene.

Konstantin S. Nadein [k.nadein@gmail.com], University of Kiel, Zoological Institute, Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Am Botanischen Garten 1–9, Kiel, Germany; Evgeny E. Perkovsky [perkovsk@gmail.com], Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Bogdana Khmelnitskogo Str. 15, Kiev, Ukraine, Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str. 123, Moscow, 117997, Russia.     

Middle Ordovician brachiopods from the Stairway Sandstone,Amadeus Basin,central Australia

Jakobsen, K.G., Brock, G.A, Nielsen, A.T., Topper, T.P. & Harper, D.A.T., 2013. Middle Ordovician brachiopods from the Stairway Sandstone, Amadeus Basin, central Australia. Alcheringa. ISSN 0311–5518.

Middle Ordovician brachiopod faunas from the Amadeus Basin, central Australia are poorly known. The Darriwilian Stairway Sandstone was sampled stratigraphically for macrofossils in order to provide new information on marine benthic diversity in this clastic-dominated, shallow-water palaeoenvironment along the margin of northeastern Gondwana. The brachiopods from the Stairway Sandstone are of low diversity and represent ca 9% of the entire shelly fauna. Five brachiopod taxa are described from the Stairway Sandstone; all are endemic to the Amadeus Basin at species level. Two new species, Amadeuphyla joanae gen. et sp. nov. and Paralenorthis luritjaorum sp. nov., are described. Unweighted cladistic analysis based on 20 characters places the new genus Amadeuphyla within the Taffinae.

Kristian G. Jakobsen [kgjakobsen@snm.ku.dk] Geological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark & Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia. Glenn A. Brock [glenn.brock@mq.edu.au] Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia. Arne T. Nielsen [arnet@snm.ku.dk] Geological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. Timothy P. Topper [timothy.topper@snm.ku.dk] Geological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. David A. T. Harper [david.harper@durham.ac.uk] Geological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark & Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham, UK. Received 14.6.2013; revised 25.9.2013; accepted 8.10.2013.     

A new diminutive euphyllophyte from the Middle Devonian of West Junggar,Xinjiang, China and its evolutionary implications

Xu, H.-H., Wang, Y., Tang, P. & Wang, Y., May 2017. A new diminutive euphyllophyte from the Middle Devonian of West Junggar, Xinjiang, China and its evolutionary implications. Alcheringa 41, 524–531. ISSN 0311-5518.

A diminutive euphyllophyte, Douaphyton levigata gen. et sp. nov., is described from the upper Middle Devonian (Givetian) Hujiersite Formation of West Junggar, Xinjiang, China. The plant consists of more than three orders of axis branching, each axis being less than 2 mm wide. The second-order axes are short, laterally and alternately attached to the main axis. The third-order axes are paired and anisotomously divided, bearing the vegetative appendages or the fertile units. The fertile unit consists of a short recurved axis giving off up to four short pedicels along one side, each of which bears one to four pairs of terminal sporangia. Douaphyton has a three-dimensional branching system that has an intermediate form in the evolutionary context of euphyllophytes and lignophytes. It is also proposed that complex branching developed in multiple groups in the Middle Devonian.

*Hong-He Xu [hhxu@nigpas.ac.cn], Yao Wang [yaowang@nigpas.ac.cn], Peng Tang [pengtang@nigpas.ac.cn], Yi Wang [yiwang@nigpas.ac.cn] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210,008, PR China. Yao Wang [yaowang@nigpas.ac.cn] University of Science and Technology of China. 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui Province, 230,026, PR China.     

Exceptional fossils and biotas of Gondwana: the fortieth anniversary issue of Alcheringa

McLoughlin, S., September 2016. Exceptional fossils and biotas of Gondwana: the fortieth anniversary issue of Alcheringa. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

Stephen McLoughlin [steve.mcloughlin@nrm.se], Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Box 50007, S-104 05, Sweden. Submitted 22.8.2016.