A global analysis of distribution and endemism within Late Llandovery (Telychian) brachiopods

Cocks, L.R.M. & Jiayu, R. 10 July 2019. A global analysis of distribution and endemism within Late Llandovery (Telychian) brachiopods. Alcheringa 43, 406–422. ISSN 0311–5518

The genera of brachiopods of early Silurian (late Llandovery: Telychian) age have been critically reviewed and are listed from the major continental areas: South China, Avalonia-Baltica, Laurentia, Siberia and adjacent areas, and Gondwana (including the adjacent Kazakh terranes, Southwest Tien Shan and Iran). All those continents lay within tropical latitudes, apart from the South American sector of Gondwana, which hosted the Clarkeia Fauna, the earliest constituent of the largely high-latitude Devonian Malvinokaffric Province in the southern hemisphere. Additionally, the then northern (today’s southern) part of the Siberian continent, which included parts of Mongolia and North China, was at temperate latitudes in the northern hemisphere so that it hosted the Tuvaella Fauna, which was also dominated by endemic brachiopod genera. Of the 202 genera listed, 50 are endemic to one of the six regions, and a further eight must have lived during Telychian times since they are known from both the underlying Aeronian and the overlying Sheinwoodian.

L. Robin M. Cocks [rcocks@nhmacuk], Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Rong Jiayu [jyrong@nigpasaccn], State Key Laboratory, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China.     

Late Silurian pentameride brachiopods from Yass and Molong,New South Wales

The five known species of pentameride brachiopods from the Yass Syncline Ludlow (LateSilurian) succession, belonging to the superfamilies Pentameroidea, Gypiduloidea and Clorindoidea, are fully revised; no new species are recognised. The pentameroids Conchidium sp. cf. hospes and Aliconchidium yassi are confined to the Bowspring Limestone Member (Silverdale Formation). The gypiduloid Ascanigypa glabra and externally homeomorphic clorindoids Barrandina wilkinsoni and Clorinda minor replace them in the overlying Barrandella Shale Member, the last two extending into the Yarwood Siltstone Member (Black Bog Shale). Clorinda minor is also possibly present in the Rainbow Hill Member (Rosebank Shale). All except C. minor are uncommon to rare components of the Yass brachiopod fauna. Clorinda molongensis, a species of uncertain mid- to late Silurian age from the Molong Limestone, is also revised. Aliconchidium and Barrandina are known only from Yass, whereas Clorinda is cosmopolitan. Conchidium alsois widespread, but C. hospes is a species from the Prague Basin probably also known from the Urals and the Tien Shan. Ascanigypa is another Prague Basin taxon, recently recognised in Arctic Canada.     

Early Silurian (Llandovery) trilobites from the Cotton Formation,near Forbes,New South Wales,Australia

A trilobite fauna from the upper part of the Cotton Formation (late Llandovery, Spirograptus turriculatus Zone) in central west New South Wales includes the new species Raphiophorus sandfordi, Odontopleura (Sinespinaspis) markhami and Aulacopleura pogsoni. Species of Odontopleura and Aulacopleura have not previously been documented in Australasia. The association of these genera is observed in offshore biofacies in the Llandovery/Wenlock on several palaeocontinents. Affinities of the species are with congeners from Bohemia and northwestern Canada (Odontopleura, Aulacopleura) and Tarim and South China (Aulacopleura, Raphiophorus).     

New,early ostracods from the Ordovician (Tremadocian) of Iran: systematic,biogeographical and palaeoecological significance

New Tremadocian ostracod material from the Alborz Mountains of Iran confirms the early and widespread occurrence of the Ordovician genus Nanopsis, and the apparently simultaneous first appearance of ostracods in the fossil record at the level of the P. deltifer conodont biozone (485.5 Ma) from China to Argentina. Nanopsis pairidaeza sp. nov. adds to the pool of species diversity for the Early Ordovician, though documented Tremadocian ostracod generic diversity remains low, with only four genera. The presence of Early Ordovician ostracods in Alborz, their occurrence elsewhere in palaeocontinental Gondwana, Baltica and China coupled to their marked absence from the Tremadocian of Laurentia and Siberia, supports the notion of the earliest occurrence of ostracods centred on Gondwana/Baltica.     

A new Late Silurian plant with complex branching from Xinjiang,China

Wang Yi, Fu Qiang, Xu Honghe, & Hao Shougang, June, 2007. A new Late Silurian plant with complex branching from Xinjiang, China. Alcheringa 31, 111-120. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new fossil plant is described from the middle part of the Wutubulake Formation (late Pridoli) of Xinjiang, China. This plant demonstrates at least two orders of branching. The first-order axis has pseudomonopodial branching with alternately attached second-order axes. Fertile units are alternately inserted along the second-order axis, and consist of a branching system and two sporangia at each tip. Sporangia are narrowly obovate with rounded apex and tapering base. This plant is characterized by more complex branching than other Silurian and Early Devonian plants, and is named Wutubulaka multidichotoma gen. et sp. nov., and placed under open higher-order nomenclature.     

Ordovician biostratigraphy of the Canning Basin,Western Australia

Six biostratigraphically distinct faunas based largely on trilobites and graptolites are defined from the Lower to Middle Ordovician limestone, sandstone and shale sequence of the Canning Basin. They range in age from the Tremadoc (fauna 1), through the Arenig (faunas 2, 3) to the Llanvirn (faunas 4–6).     

A new early Silurian brachiopod genus,Thulatrypa, from Norway and South China,and its palaeobiogeographical significance

Huang, B., Baarli, B.G., Zhan, R.B. & Rong, J.Y., October 2015. A new early Silurian brachiopod genus, Thulatrypa, from Norway and South China, and its palaeobiogeographical significance. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The smooth atrypoid brachiopod Thulatrypa gen. nov. incorporates two species, a younger (T. gregaria) from Norway, and an older (T. orientalis) from South China, which collectively span the middle Rhuddanian through Aeronian. In Baltica, the genus thrived just below the storm wave base in a tropical BA4 setting extending slightly into BA3 and BA5 respectively, whereas in South China, its representative occurs in a much shallower assemblage (BA2–3). Their palaeobiogeographical implications are carefully investigated. This study supports the arguments that Thulatrypa may have originated in South China in the middle Rhuddanian and extended its range to eastern Baltica in the late Rhuddanian. Larvae may have drifted along a channel from the east to the southwest of Baltica, which supports the reconstructions of palaeocurrents in the early Silurian in previous palaeogeographical studies.

Bing Huang [bhuang@nigpas.ac.cn], Ren-bin Zhan [rbzhan@nigpas.ac.cn] and Jia-yu Rong [jyrong@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; B. Gudveig Baarli [gudveig.baarli@williams.edu], Department of Geosciences, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA.     

A phosphatic stromatolite (Ilicta cf. composita Sidorov) from the Middle Cambrian,northern Australia

Phosphatic stromatolites from the early Middle Cambrian (Ordian) of the Georgina Basin are described and identified as Ilicta cf. composita Sidorov. Based on Öpik's interpretation of the early Middle Cambrian, the age of the Georgina Basin specimens is similar to that of the type specimens described from the late Early Cambrian of Eastern Siberia. Phosphatic stromatolites occur at the base of dolomitized and partially silicified bioherms up to 4 m thick. The phosphatic forms overlie impermeable, cemented pavement surfaces which were covered by stratiform stromatolites from which rose columnar forms up to 5 cm in height. The stromatolites were phosphatized by penecontemporaneous diagenetic reactions that took place just below the sediment water interface and above the impermeable substrates.     

Trilobite faunas and palaeoenvironmental setting of the Silurian (early Ludlow) Melbourne Formation,central Victoria

Trilobites are common faunal elements in the Melbourne Formation, a unit of early Ludlow (upper nilssoni Biozone) age, which crops out extensively in the Darraweit Guim Province of the Melbourne Zone, central Victoria. New diagnoses are given for species previously described, including Maurotarion euryceps (McCoy, 1876; = Cyphaspis spryi Gregory, 1901), Raphiophorus jikaensis (Chapman, 1912; = Ampyx yarraensis Chapman, 1912), Cromus simpliciculus (Talent, 1964), Cromus spryi (Chapman, 1912), Sthenarocalymene kilmorensis (Gill, 1945; = Gravicalymene hetera Gill, 1945) and Trimerus harrisoni (McCoy, 1876). A new phacopid genus, Orygmatos is described, represented by the species O. yanyeani gen. et sp. nov. Other species newly described include Cromus melbournensis sp. nov., Arcticalymene australis sp. nov., “Ananaspis” woiwurrungi sp. nov. and Kettneraspis hollowayi sp. nov.

Species composition of the trilobite fauna varies spatially, and a number of distinct assemblages can be defined. Abundant trilobite moult configurations are conclusive for interpretation of the benthic fauna as autochthonous, inferring depth estimations based on benthic community distribution to be valid. A depth-related succession of communities is recognised and indicate the Melbourne Formation was deposited at relatively shallow depths on a broad, eastwardly deepening shelf, with deposition dominated by storm processes. The palaeoenvironment comprised a BA-1 community including the Arcticalymene australis trilobite assemblage, restricted to very shallow depths (～20 m) on the SW coastal margin of the shelf and preserved in proximal tempestite lithologies; and a BA-5 community group containing three distinct trilobite assemblages dominated by species of Cromus and a deeper water fauna, preserved in distal tempestite lithologies and ranging widely over the shelf at depths in the range of maximum storm wave base (～50 – 80 m).     

Asteropygine trilobites from the Late Devonian of the Kerman region,Iran

The discovery of two new Frasnian species of the subfamily Asteropyginae, Bradocryphaeus kermanensis and Radiopyge hamedii, in the Haruz section north of Kerman, east-central Iran, demonstrates for the first time the presence of North Gondwanan trilobites in this region. The two new species provide a link between faunas from Afghanistan to the east and the Alborz Mountains in north Iran. The recognition of R. hamedii confirms the validity of Radiopyge Farsan, hitherto known only from Afghanistan, as well as the presence in some Frasnian Asteropyginae of six pairs of lateral pygidial spines.     

Late Silurian trace fossils from the Melbourne Formation,Studley Park,Victoria, southeastern Australia

An ichnoassemblage of 10 ichnospecies is described for the first time from the Late Silurian Melbourne Formation at Studley Park, Victoria, southeastern Australia. The ichnofauna is preserved in a typical deep-water turbidite succession of alternating thin- to thick-bedded sandstone and thin- to medium-bedded mudrocks. Trace fossils observed within the study site have been assigned to three main ichnofacies. Ichnofacies 1 is best developed on the linguoid-rippled upper surface of thin sandstone beds and includes Laevicyclus, Aulichnites, Nereites, Helminthoidichnites, small Chondrites and possible Zoophycos. Ichnofacies 2 is very similar to Ichnofacies 1 in ichnospecies composition but instead contains large forms of Chondrites together with other thin burrow types usually poorly preserved and in very low abundance compared with Ichnofacies 1. Ichnofacies 3 is preserved mainly as casts on the underside of medium- to thick-bedded turbiditic sandstones, and has a very low diversity, with Planolites being the most common trace. A detailed analysis of the ichnofabrics and tiering structures of these ichnofacies suggest that Ichnofacies 1 and 3 represent ‘simple tiering’, in contrast to Ichnofacies 2, which is more characteristic of ‘complex tiering’. Despite the differences in ichnospecies composition and ichnofabrics between the three recognized ichnofacies, the collective ichnoassemblage from the study site can be assigned confidently to the Nereites ichnofacies and is, therefore, interpreted to have formed in a distal submarine fan environment of lower bathyal to abyssal depth. Further, it is possible to recognize two main subenvironments within this deep-sea setting to account for the differences between the ichnofacies. Ichnofacies 1 and 2 are interpreted to represent a typical Nereites ichnofacies located on a level basin floor subenvironment of relatively low energy conditions at the distal end of a submarine fan deposit. In comparison, Ichnofacies 3 is dominated by Planolites with rare other facies-crossing trace fossil forms, and lacks Nereites. It is, therefore, best interpreted as representing a relatively high-energy environment, possibly a distributary channel near the distal end of the submarine fan system.     

A new assemblage of graptolites,rhabdopleuran hemichordates and chitinous hydroids from the late Arenig (Ordovician) of the Banestan area,east-central Iran

A rich benthic and planktonic graptolite fauna is associated with encrusting rhabdopleuran hemichordates and chitinous hydrozoans in the late Arenig (Ordovician) part of the Katkoyeh Formation at Banestan, east-central Iran.

New taxa described here are the dendroid graptolites Callograptus huckriedei sp. nov. and Dictyonema bitubulata sp. nov. Other dendroid graptolites Dendrograptus sp. cf. D. flexuosus J. Hall, 1865; Acanthograptus divergens Skevington, 1963; and Thallograptus ?succulentus Ruedemann, 1904 are described. The tuboid graptolite Galeograptus sp., the rhabdopleuran hemichordates Rhabdopleura sp. aff. R. primaevus (Kozlowski, 1967) and Kystodendron sp., and the chitinous hydroid Palaeotuba sp. are also described. Graptoloid graptolites described here are Aulograptus? sp., Didymograptus incertus Perner, 1895, Undulograptus formosus (Mu & Lee, 1958), and Yutagraptus sp. cf. Y. mantuanus Riva, 1994. All but two species-level taxa are described from Iran for the first time.

The fauna is confirmed as being late Arenig or, less likely, early Llanvirn and thus probably correlates with the early part of the Darriwilian stage. It resembles the Atlantic cold water faunas in lacking isograptids and sinograptids.     

Rariellidae,a new family of Rhynchoporoidea (Brachiopoda) with a restudy of the type genus Rariella Zhang 1981, from the Emsian (Early Devonian) of Inner Mongolia,north China

Rong Jla-yu & Zhang Yan. 1994:03:28. Rariellidae, a new family of Rhynchoporoidea (Brachiopoda) with a restudy of the type genus Rariella Zhang 1981. from the Emsian (Early Devonian) of Inner Mongolia, north China. Alcheringa 18. 135–146. ISSN 0311-5518

Reinvestigation of the type material of Rariella Zhang 1981, from the late Emsian (Early Devonian) of western Inner Mongolia, north China, shows that it should be attributed to the rhynchoporoids rather than the retziids since it possesses a punctate shell without laterally directed spiralia and lacks evidence for the brachiophore supports being in the fonn of a loop, as in the terebratuloids. A new family Rariellidae based on Rariella as the type genus is characterized by a spondylium apically in the pedicle wlve and a cardinal process on a septalium in the brachial valve. The fauna containing Rariella is mainly endemic to Inner Mongolia and developed at depths within Benthic Assemblage 2 to inner BA 3.     

A new Triassic Palaeolimnadiopsis (Crustacea: Conchostraca) from the Sydney Basin,New South Wales

Palaeolimnadiopsis bassi sp. nov. is described from the mid-Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales. It is distinguished from other species of the genus by its paired growth lines, moderately large size, nonterminal umbo, and small larval valve. Macrolimnadiopsis, Pteriograpta, and Limnadia (Falsisca) are considered to be synonymous with Palaeolimnadiopsis, and Belgolimnadiopsis with Euestheria.     

Hammams and the contemporary city: the case of Isfahan,Iran

Hammams, or public baths, are an essential part of the social life in urban Islam. Often, they have a rich and inspiring architecture. In Iran and, in particular, in Isfahan – a large and historic city in central of Iran – numerous hammams were built since the Safavid dynasty (1501–1722). Social and urban changes have resulted in a significant decline in the number of hammams over the years. This paper starts by describing the multiple dimensions of hammams, such as their main architecture features, their role in health, society and culture. This is followed by an analysis of hammams in Isfahan, using a modified version of Büyükdigan categories for Ottoman baths: (i) ‘baths in ruins’; (ii) ‘baths continuing their original functions’; and (iii) ‘baths readjusted for new uses’. Anecdotal evidence from a survey conducted in 15 hammams is used throughout this paper. The main conclusions relate to the rapid deterioration of hammams in daily life, coupled with the lack of detailed documentation, which would allow proper planning and development, and the deficient use of some of these magnificent buildings and places for tourism development.     

Organic residue analysis of Iron Age ceramics from the archaeological site of Kani-zirin,western Iran

Organic residue analysis of potshards excavated from the Iron Age archaeological site of Kani-zirin, western Iran, was achieved with acidified methanol extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS data showed plant and animal commodities incorporated in the shards. Also, the investigations confirmed the presence of plant resin together with a tartrate ion within a group of the shards, suggesting a probable use of grape-related products. Evidence of resins from the Pinaceae family, as an exotic species in Iran, was evinced in several of the shards.     

A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) fauna from the Zhongzhai section,southwestern Guizhou Province,South China

Zhang, Y., He, W.-H., Shi, G.R. & Zhang, K.-X., 2013. A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) fauna from the Zhongzhai section, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China. Alcheringa 37, 221–245. ISSN 0311-5518.

This paper describes 20 species (including three undetermined species) of Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) in an upper offshore fauna from the Permian–Triassic Boundary Zhongzhai section, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China. New taxa are Tethyochonetes sheni, Tethyochonetes cheni, Neochonetes (Huangichonetes) archboldi, Neochonetes (Sommeriella) waterhousei, Neochonetes (Sommeriella) rectangularis and Neochonetes semicircularis.

Yang Zhang [zyan@deakin.edu.au] and G.R. Shi [guang.shi@deakin.edu.au] (corresponding author), School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia; Weihong He [whzhang@cug.edu.cn] (corresponding author) and Kexin Zhang [kx_zhang@cug.edu.cn], State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China. Received 8.6.2012; revised 19.9.2012; accepted 7.10.2012.     

First appearance datum of the Silurian graptolite Oktavites spiralis,and its evolution on the northern margin of South China

Wang, X., Wang, J. & Zhang, J., May 2016. First appearance datum of the Silurian graptolite Oktavites spiralis, and its evolution on the northern margin of South China. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

Xin Wang [wx200315046@163.com], Early Life Institute and State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xian 710069, PR China & Research Center for Orogenic Geology, Xian Geological Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Xian 710054, PR China; Jian Wang [332891824@qq.com], Ju Zhang [710726657@qq.com], Research Center for Orogenic Geology, Xian Geological Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Xian 710054, PR China.

Graptolites represent the standard tools for biozonation and correlation of Ordovician and Silurian strata. Oktavites spiralis, one of the index graptolite species of the Telychian Age (late Llandovery, Silurian), is of great significance in biostratigraphy. However, the broad definition of the species and the lack of data on its evolutionary changes have led to controversies regarding its stratigraphic range and, consequently, to difficulties in regional correlations. Recent investigations in multiple Telychian profiles in the Ziyang–Langao area, along the northern margin of South China, reveal that the first appearance datum of Oktavites spiralis is located at the base of the Spirograptus turriculatus Zone, and its last appearance datum lies at the top of the Cyrtograptus lapworthi Zone (Telychian stage). The thecae vary markedly up-section and such change is consistent across all studied sections. This morphological change can be used as the basis for accurate stratigraphic subdivision and, hence, for effective regional correlation. In addition, this species has a wide range in population size and population density relative to other coexisting graptolite species, and can be better distinguished by using a more precise set of criteria.