Early Permian Jakutoproductus (Productida: Brachiopoda) from Patagonia,Argentina

The productid brachiopod genus Jakutoproductus, dominant in the Early Permian marine faunas of northeastern Siberia, is described for the first time from the southern hemisphere. Jakutoproductus australis sp. nov. is described from the Rio Genoa Formation, Chubut Province (Patagonia), Argentina. The age of the Patagonian species is considered to be Sakmarian (Early Permian), possibly Sterlitamakian.     

Spiriferoidea (Brachiopoda) from the Early Permian Del Salto Formation of Argentina

The fossil lycopod Pleuromeia longicaulis (Burges) comb. nov. and its supposed cone Cyclostrobus sydneyensis (Walkom) Helby &; Martin 1965 are common in the Scythian to Anisian Garie and Newport Formations north of Sydney, N.S.W. P. longicaulis probably lived in extensive monodominant stands in the interdistributary bays of the ‘Gosford delta’ system, bordering a large coastal lagoon or lake. C. sydneyensis was borne as a single erect terminal cone. It was shed intact and may have floated some distance before breaking up and releasing its heterospores.

Austrostrobus ornatum Morbelli and Petriella 1973 from southern Patagonia is now included as a further species of Cyclostrobus.

The Pleuromeiaceae appear to have been facultative coastal halophytes. They probably originated in Eurasia and migrated along early Triassic shorelines, reaching eastern Australia by the mid-Scythian. The coastal habitat of the Pleuromeiaceae and other Triassic lycopods explains the biostratigraphic usefulness of the spores Aratrisporites spp., Nathorstisporites hopliticus Jung 1958, and Banksisporites pinguis (Harris) Dettmann 1961 compared with coexisting fully terrestrial fossil floras. These opportunistic lycopods appear to have expanded in times of recovery from global life crises.     

Permian brachiopods from the Tupe Formation,San Juan Province,Precordillera, Argentina

The brachiopod fauna from the Tupe Formation at La Herradura Creek, located on the west flank of Perico Hill, San Juan Province, Argentina, palaeogeographically belongs to the western sector of the Paganzo basin (‘Guandacol embayment’). The stratigraphical section of the Tupe Formation at La Herradura Creek is the stratotype of the Tivertonia jachalensis-Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus biozone, was previously regarded as being of Late Carboniferous age but here is assigned to the earliest Permian (Asselian). We describe and review the biozone assemblage, which consists of Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus, Tivertonia jachalensis, Kochiproductus sp., Costatumulus sp., Coronalosia argentinensis, Tupelosia paganzoensis, Trigonotreta pericoensis, Septosyringothyris sp. aff. Septosyringothyris jaguelensis and Crurithyris? sp. This brachiopod assemblage is related to Indian and Australian Early Permian faunas and its presence in the La Herradura Creek section provides new evidence in support of an Asselian (Early Permian) age for the Tivertonia jachalensis-Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus biozone. This assemblage is also important for intra- and inter-basinal correlation because several of its characteristic species have been identified from other sections of the Paganzo basin and the Río Blanco basin. The proposed age for this biozone is consistent with the age of palynological data from slightly above the marine faunas from the stratotype locality.     

Carboniferous and Permian Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) from West Spitsbergen

The rugosochonetid brachiopod species Lissochonetes geinitzianus from the Kazimovian of the Nordenskioldbreen Formation, and Dyoros (Dyoros) mucronata sp. nov., Dyoros (Dyoros) spitzbergianus and Lissochonetes superba from the Artinskian to latest Permian Kapp Starostin Formation in West Spitsbergen are described and figured. Dyoros is generally restricted to the Boreal Realm, whereas Lissochonetes is mostly distributed in the Boreal Realm, but occasionally present in the Palaeoequatorial and Gondwanan Realms.     

An Early Permian brachiopod fauna of Gondwanan affinity from the Baoshan block,western Yunnan,China

The present paper describes and illustrates an Early Permian brachiopod fauna collected from two localities from the upper part of the type Dingjiazhai Formation near Youwang, 30 km south of Baoshan in the Baoshan block, western Yunnan, China. The brachiopod fauna is dominated by Stenoscisma sp. and Elivina yunnanensis sp. nov. and exhibits strong generic and some specific links with faunas from the Bisnain assemblage of Timor and the Callytharra Formation of Western Australia and, to a lesser extent, faunas from the Jilong Formation of southern Tibet, the Tashkazyk Formation of southeastern Pamir, the lower Toinlungkongba Formation of northwestern Tibet, the upper Pondo Group of central Tibet, and the Jimba Jimba Calcarenite of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. Based on these correlations, a Late Sakmarian (Sterlitamakian) age is preferred for the Dingjiazhai brachiopod fauna. Two new species are proposed: Globiella youwangensis sp. nov. and Elivina yunnanensis sp. nov.     

Chonetoidea (Brachiopoda) from the Lopingian (Late Permian) of South China

Ten species of the superfamily Chonetoidea from the Lopingian (Late Permian) of South China are described or revised. A review of all recorded Chonetoidea species from the Lopingian (Late Permian) of South China indicates that some 22 species of five genera can be recognised. Species of Tethyochonetes and Neochonetes are characteristic in the lithofacies dominated by mudstone, siltstone or siliceous rocks in the Lopingian and some argillaceous limestone and clay rock facies near the Permian-Triassic boundary. New taxa are Neochoneles (Zhongyingia) subgen. nov., Neochonetes (Huangichonetes) subgen. nov. and Tethyochonetes flatus sp. nov.     

Organic-walled microfossils from the Early Cambrian of South Australia

Microfossils which are hollow, possess a two-layered vesicle wall, and occur as single elements or, more rarely, as compound forms, have been recovered from the Early Cambrian Heatherdale Shale, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. The microfossils, which range in size from 4 to 14.5 μm, are informally and tentatively assigned to the genus Sphaerocongregus Moorman 1974. Superficially they resemble forms assigned to Pyritosphaera Love 1958 and its probable junior synonym, Bavlinella Shepeleva 1962. Topotypes of these genera, however, have yet to be studied using SEM techniques, and their morphologic details remain uncertain. The organic composition of the present microfossils is supported by energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. Samples of the Heatherdale Shale were also analysed using pyrolysis techniques; the organic matter is, however, over-mature with respect to petroleum generation, and no geochemical assessment of original kerogen type is possible.     

Late Carboniferous to Early Permian brachiopod faunas from the Bachu and Kalpin areas,Tarim Basin,NW China

Terrestrial reptile remains are very rare in the Lower Cretaceous of South Australia, but include the holotype of the small theropod Kakuru. Here, we review this taxon and other archosaur specimens collected from the Bulldog Shale (Aptian) of Andamooka and Coober Pedy. Kakuru possesses no unique characters or character state combinations and is regarded as a nomen dubium, representing an indeterminate tetanuran theropod. Two other specimens (a left metatarsal and astragalus) can be referred to Dinosauria, but the identity of several other specimens (phalanges and a centrum) can only be resolved to the level of an indeterminate archosaur.     

Early Carboniferous Bivalvia from western Argentina

González, C. R., Early carboniferous Bivalvia from western Argentina. Alcheringa 18, 169–185. ISSN 0311-5518.

Lower Carboniferous deposits of western Argentina yield invertebrates and plant remains. In the Tournaisian epoch, a transgression from the ‘Pacific’ flooded the Rio Blanco Basin, forming a semi-restricted inland sea. Marine invertebrates of this age comprise the Malimanian fauna, which is based on the Protocanites-Rossirhynchus Assemblage. Eleven species of Bivalvia are here described Palaeoneilo subquadratum sp. nov., Malimania triangularis gen. et sp. nov., Phestia sp., Volsellina? sp. Posidoniella malimanensis sp. nov., Leptodesma? sp., Schizodus sp., Cypricardinia? sp., Edmondia? sp., Sanguinolites punillanus sp. nov., and Vacunella? sp. nov. They are accompanied by gastropods, trilobites, conularids and corals. The Malimanian fauna is regarded as a poorly to moderately varied assemblage that was influenced by some basinal restrictions. It was probably connected to faunas of Chile and Peru, and lived during a stage of mild climate before the beginning of the Late Palaeozoic ice age.     

A new Late Permian brachiopod fauna from Tanggula,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its palaeogeographical implications

Weihong He, Jianjun Bu, Zhijun Niu & Yang Zhang, June, 2009. A new Late Permian brachiopod fauna from Tanggula, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its palaeogeographical implications. Alcheringa 33, 113–132. ISSN 0311-5518.

A brachiopod fauna described from the Late Permian of the Gongri and Lizai villages, northwest of the Qoima Co Lake, Tanggula area, southern Qinghai, northwest China, includes ten species in nine genera. This fauna from the (Qiangtang Block) has a strong affinity to coeval faunas of South China, sharing 74% of its species. In addition, the Late Permian Tanggula brachiopod assemblages also demonstrate a clear link with the Middle Permian brachiopod faunas of neighbouring microcontinents including the Indochina block (Malaysia and Cambodia) and the Shan-Thai block (Thailand), as suggested by the presence of Caricula sp. cf. C. salebrosa, Transennatia termierorum and Strophalosiina. This phenomenon indicates that there were relatively narrow seaways between these microcontinents to enable ready interchange of brachiopods during the Permian, and that brachiopods tended to retreat towards the palaeoequatorial region throughout the period.     

A late Changhsingian (latest Permian) deep-water brachiopod fauna from Guizhou,South China

O’Gorman, J.P. &; Gasparini, Z., 2013. Revision of Sulcusuchus erraini (Sauropterygia, Polycotylidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa 37, 161–174. ISSN 0311-5518.

Sulcusuchus erraini, from the upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian of Patagonia, Argentina, is the only polycotylid from the Southern Hemisphere for which the skull and mandible are known. The diagnosis of the species and genus is emended based on new observations. Sulcusuchus is characterized by the following autapomorphies: (1) deep and broad rostral and mandibular grooves and (2) a wide notch on the posterior margin of the pterygoids that are combined with a part of the body of the basioccipital, forming a wide plate. Several hypotheses about the identity of the structures that could have been housed in the rostral and mandibular grooves are evaluated. Only two of several hypotheses were not discarded. The first is that the grooves may have accommodated oral glands (supralabial and sublabial), but the biological role of such glands could not be inferred. The second hypothesis is the presence of special structures of an electrosensitive and/or mechanosensitive nature, which might allow the detection of infaunal or semi-infaunal food in soft substrates, as is represented in modern analogues, such as dolphins.

José P. O’Gorman [joseogorman@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar] and Zulma Gasparini [zgaspari@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n., B1900FWA La Plata, Argentina. Also affiliated with Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina and CONICET: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina Received 5.6.2012; revised 31.7.2012; accepted 4.9.2012.     

A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) brachiopod fauna from the Zhongzhai section (South China) Part 3: Productida

Zhang, Y., He, W.H., Shi, G.R., Zhang, K.X. & Wu, H.T., 26.2.2015. A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) brachiopod fauna from the Zhongzhai section (South China) Part 3: Productida. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

As the third and last part of a systematic palaeontological study of the brachiopod fauna from the Permian–Triassic boundary section at Zhongzhai in Guizhou Province (South China), this paper reports 15 species (including three new species: Tethyochonetes minor sp. nov., Neochonetes (Zhongyingia) transversa sp. nov., Paryphella acutula sp. nov.) in Order Productida. In addition, the morphological features and definitions of several key Changhsingian brachiopod taxa (e.g., Paryphella and Oldhamina interrupta) are clarified and revised.

Yang Zhang* [zhangy05@163.com] and G.R. Shi [guang.shi@deakin.edu.au], School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia; Weihong He [whzhang@cug.edu.cn] 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; Huiting Wu [ht_wu415@163.com], Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China. *Also affiliated with: Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China.     

Trace fossils on penguin bones from the Miocene of Chubut,southern Argentina

Several traces of biological interaction were found on penguin bones from the basal levels (Aquitanian) of the Miocene Gaiman Formation in the lower Chubut valley of the Provincia del Chubut, Argentina. The fossil-bearing beds were deposited in littoral to sublittoral environments within sediments of mostly pyroclastic origin. We interpret many traces to have been produced by predators and/or scavengers while the penguins were still in a breeding area. Many bones show cracking marks due to aerial exposure. The material is disarticulated as is usual in recent breeding areas. Potential predators were coeval terrestrial mammals, most probably marsupial carnivores. After a marine transgression, these bones were buried or exposed on the sea bottom where they could be colonized by algae, sponges, cnidarians, and other benthic organisms. We identified sponge borings in several bones. Other traces are interpreted to have been produced by echinoderms feeding on sponges or algae. No evidence of other invertebrate predators such as muricid or naticid gastropods, or decapods was found. Finally, other traces appear to have been generated by shark and possibly teleostean vertebrates feeding on epibionts. One coracoid is interpreted to have been marked by a shark that is common in the Gaiman Formation, the carcharhiniform Galeocerdo aduncus. From an ethological (Seilacherian) classification, traces on bones from the Gaiman Formation include Domichnia (sponge perforations), Praedichnia (terrestrial marsupials, sharks, teleosteans) and Pasichnia (echinoderms). Remarkably, remains of marine organisms with skeletons made of calcium carbonate are very poorly preserved in the Gaiman Formation. Only large oysters, sparse shell fragments, skeletal moulds, and bioturbation is evident. The fossil assemblage is mainly composed of phosphatic (e.g. teeth, bones, crustacean parts) and siliceous (sponge spicules, diatoms) remains.     

Late Oligocene to Early Miocene planktic Foraminiferida from Ashmore Reef No. 1 Well,northwest Australia

Forty-eight species and subspecies, belonging to 13 genera of planktic foraminiferids have been identified from the ‘Cartier Beds’ and unnamed calcarenite in Ashmore Reef No. 1 Well. The assemblages indicate that the units correlate with planktic Zones N.3/4 to N.6–7 (Late Oligocene to Early Miocene). One new species, Subbotina cartieri, is described.     

The Late Palaeozoic brachiopod genus Jakutoproductus Kashirtsev 1959 and the Jakutoproductus verchoyanicus Zone,northern Yukon Territory,Canada

Shi, Guang R., 1994:03:28. The Late Palaeozoic brachiopod genus Jakutoproductus Kashirtsev 1959 and the Jakutoproductus verchoyanicus Zone, northern Yukon Territory, Canada. Alcheringa 18, 103–120. ISBN 0311-5518.

The familial and subfamilial position, species composition, and geographic distribution of the Late Palaeozoic productid genus Jakutoproductus Kashirtsev 1959 are reviewed. Jakutoproductus is placed in the subfamily Plicatiferinae Muir-Wood & Cooper 1960 of the family Plicatiferidae. Eighteen described species from the Russian Arctic. Mongolia, northeast China, and northern Yukon Territory, Canada are assigned to Jakutoproductus. The Jakutoproductus verchoyanicus Zone of late Sakmarian to Artinskian age, most likely early Artinskian (Aktastinian), here established is based on material from the Jungle Creek Formation, northern Yukon Territory, Canada, and is correlated with the following horizons in Russia: the Osennin Horizon in the Verchoyan Mountains, the lower Munugudjak Horizon of the Kolyma-Omolon Massif, the Hipkhoshin Suite of east Zabaikal, the lower Bhang Horizon of Taimyr, and an unnamed sandstone-shale unit on the north island of Novaya Zemlya.     

Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia,Argentina

Brea, M., Zamuner, A.B., Matheos, S.D., Iglesias, A. & Zucol, A.F., December, 2008. Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa 32, 427–441. ISSN 0311-5518.

An anatomically preserved mature stem from the Salamanca Formation (early Paleocene) at Palacio de Los Loros, central Patagonia, Argentina, is described and assigned to Paracacioxylon frenguellii sp. nov. The material was preserved by siliceous permineralization and shows features of the secondary xylem typical of subfamily Mimosoideae. This species represents the oldest record of the genus and of the Leguminosae along the western border of Gondwana, and is the world's second oldest record of Leguminosae wood. The species is characterized by ring-porous to semi-ring-porous vessels that are solitary, in multiples of 2–4 and clustered, simple perforation plates, alternate and vestured inter-vessel pitting, homocellular 1–6 seriate rays, tyloses, crystals and diffuse apotracheal, vasicentric paratracheal and confluent axial parenchyma. Paracacioxylon frenguellii has anatomical similarities to Acacia Miller. The presence of Paracacioxylon frenguellii associated with pulvinate leaves suggests that the legumes might have been a component of mesothermal forests developed along the western margin of the Golfo San Jorge Basin during the early Paleocene.     

Early Permian Foraminifera from Eastern Himalaya and their palaeobiogeographic significance

Foraminiferal assemblage from Permian rocks of Eastern Himalaya, India are recorded for the first time. Twenty-two genera and twenty-eight species are documented from the Garu Formation, Eastern Himalaya. The foraminiferal assemblage supports previous age determinations based on megafauna. The distinctive foraminiferal assemblage from India supports the recognition of Australian and Afghanistan-Indian provinces in the Early Permian Austral realm. An appreciable number of common species in these provinces is indicative of close geographic links.     

First record of Permianella He & Zhu, 1979 (Permianellidae; Brachiopoda) from Peninsular Malaysia

The first record of a permianellid species from the Leptodus shales of the Gua Musang Formation, northwest Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia is documented. The specimen is assigned to Permianella typica He & Zhu, 1979 and is most likely late Guadalupian in age based on its association with Vediproductus Sarytcheva (in Ruzhentsev & Sarytcheva 1965). This new record is the most southerly occurrence of the genus Permianella.     

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.