First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae,Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy,palaeogeography and chronological range

Vezzosi, R.I., June 2012. First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae, Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy, palaeogeography and chronological range. Alcheringa, 157–169. ISSN 0311-5518.

New records of Procariama simplex in central and northwestern Argentina are reported. The fossil material includes mandibular bones, cervical vertebrae and several elements of the fore and hindlimbs. After an exhaustive comparison of anatomical characters and morphometric analysis, the fossil specimens are assigned to the psilopterine Procariama simplex. The specimen from La Pampa Province represents the first record of a psilopterine in this central region of Argentina and derives from upper Miocene sediments of the Cerro Azul Formation. Lithological features and biostratigraphical data allow the host bed to be assigned to the Huayquerian faunal stage (late Miocene). The La Pampa record broadens the geographical distribution of Procariama simplex, which was previously restricted to northwestern Argentina.

Raúl Ignacio Vezzosi [vezzosiraul@gmail.com], Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción CICYTTP-CONICET, Materi y España s/n (3105), Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina. Received 1.4.2011, revised 28.5.2011, accepted 14.6.2011.     

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.     

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.     

New Late Permian rugose corals from Pahang,peninsular Malaysia

Aye Ko Aung, Ng Tham Fatt, Kyaw Kyaw Nyein & Myo Htut Zin, 2013. New Late Permian rugose corals from Pahang, peninsular Malaysia. Alcheringa 37, 422–434. ISSN 0311-5518.

Late Permian rugose corals are described from a limestone unit of the Gua Musang Formation at Selborne Estate, Padang Tengku area, Pahang, peninsular Malaysia. These include one genus, Iranophyllum, which is reported for the first time from Malaysia, with two new species Iranophyllum aequabilis and I. pahangense belonging to Waagenophyllidae. A Late Permian age is confirmed by a Paleofusulina–Colaniella–Reichelina foraminiferal fauna co-preserved with the corals.

Aye Ko Aung [akaung.mm@gmail.com], Ng Tham Fatt [thamfatt@gmail.com], Kyaw Kyaw Nyein [konyein@gmail.com], Department of Geology, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Myo Htut Zin [myohtutgreat@googlemail.com], Lab. Services, Pte. Co. Ltd., Singapore. Received 16.10.2012; revised 5.1.2013; accepted 17.1.2012.     

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.     

Elasmosaurs (Sauropterygia,Plesiosauria) from the La Colonia Formation (Campanian–Maastrichtian), Argentina

O’Gorman, J.P., Salgado, L., Varela, J., & Parras, A., 2013. Elasmosaurs (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the La Colonia Formation (Campanian–Maastrichtian), Argentina. Alcheringa 37, 257–265. ISSN 0311-5518.

Elasmosaur postcranial remains from the La Colonia Formation (Campanian–Maastrichtian), Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina, are described. The new material has small dimensions and caudal vertebrae with parapophyses strongly projected laterally—characters shared with some Elasmosauridae indet. from the coeval Allen Formation, Río Negro Province, Argentina. These features reinforce the similarities between the plesiosaur faunas to the north and south of the Somún Curá Plateau. The small size of these elasmosaurs may be palaeoecologically related to the marginal marine depositional environment of the sedimentary host rocks.

José P. O’Gorman [joseogorman@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 and [CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas)]; Leonardo Salgado [salgadoleito@yahoo.com.ar], Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Isidro Lobo y Belgrano, 8332 General Roca, Argentina and [CONICET]; Julio Varela [julioadrianvarela@hotmail.com], and Ana Parras [aparras@exactas.unlpam.edu.ar], INCITAP (CONICET-UNLPam), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina. Received 27.7.2012; revised 19.10.2012; accepted 27.10.2012.     

First report of Cixiidae insect fossils from the Miocene of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and their palaeoenvironmental implications

Li, Y., Liu, X., Ren, D., Li, X. & Yao, Y., June 2016. First report of Cixiidae insect fossils from the Miocene of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and their palaeoenvironmental implications. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new insect species, Cixius discretus (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha), from the Lower Miocene Garang Formation of Zeku County, Qinghai Province (northeastern Tibetan Plateau) is described. This species can be assigned to Cixiidae and represents the first fossil representative of this family from Qinghai Province. Based on the recent single-origin hypothesis and the distribution of tectonic plates in the Cretaceous, we consider that ancient Cixius had dispersed globally prior to the Cretaceous. Through analysis of the habitats of extant Cixius, the palaeoclimate and fossil flora of the Zeku area during the Miocene, we interpret the climate of Zeku in the early Miocene to have been warm-temperate and mildly arid. The new species constitutes evidence of wooded and shrubby habitats in Zeku during the Miocene.

Yi Li [liy0124@sina.com], XiaoHui Liu [liuxh8917@163.com], Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn] and YunZhi Yao [yunzhi@cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China; XiangChuan Li [lzulixiangchuan@163.com], College of Earth Sciences and Resources & Key Laboratory of Western Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, PR China.     

Holothuroidea: new records from the Lower Cretaceous of the Agrio Formation,Neuquén Basin,Argentina. An integrated study with foraminifers and calcareous nannofossils

CaramÉs, A., Martinez, M., Concheyro, A., RemÍrez, M. & Adamonis, S., 6 August 2019 2019. Holothuroidea: new records from the Lower Cretaceous of the Agrio Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina. An integrated study with foraminifers and calcareous nannofossils. Alcheringa XX, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518

New records of holothurian ossicles (Echinodermata) from the Lower Cretaceous Agrio Formation, Mendoza Group, in the northern Neuquén Basin, west-central Argentina, represent, excepting some general mention of ossicles, the first collection from the Lower Cretaceous of South America. The discovery is one of the few worldwide records of holothurian remains from this age. The analysed skeletal elements are associated with other microfauna and nannoflora retrieved from washed residues of claystones and marlstones of the lower strata of the Pilmatué Member, in Área 3000 and Puerta Curaco sections. The calcareous microfossil assemblage is composed almost exclusively of the foraminifera Epistomina loncochensis, suggesting quiet marine environments and low levels of dissolved oxygen in the bottom/water interface. A late Valanginian age is confirmed by the nannofossil assemblage found together with the holothurian ossicles. Analysis of ossicle shapes allows their attribution to molpadiids (Molpadida: Molpadiidae): one two-armed racquet-like single ossicle that remains as an indeterminate molpadiid and a new genus and species proposed for the abundant cross-shaped and star-shaped ossicles. The latter, owing to the presence of four holes and the lack of a spire or some elevation projecting well out from surface in the centre of the plates, resemble two known species of the genus Cruxopadia Reich, but they differ in their arm morphology.

Andrea Caramés [carames@gl.fcen.uba.ar], IDEAN—Instituto de Estudios Geológicos Andinos ‘Don Pablo Groeber’, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria Pabellón II, Intendente Güiraldes 2160-C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mariano Martinez [mmartinez@macn.gov.ar], Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, CONICET, A. Gallardo 470-C1405DJR Buenos Aires, Argentina; Andrea Concheyro [andrea@gl.fcen.uba.ar], IDEAN—Instituto de Estudios Geológicos Andinos ‘Don Pablo Groeber’, CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria Pabellón II, Intendente Güiraldes 2160-C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Instituto Antártico Argentino, Argentina; Mariano Remírez [mremirez@cig.museo.unlp.edu.ar], CIG—Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Diagonal 113 N° 275-B1904DPK, La Plata, Argentina; Susana Adamonis [suad@gl.fcen.uba.ar], Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IDEAN. Ciudad Universitaria Pabellón II, Intendente Güiraldes 2160-C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

Evolutionary morphological changes in the new genus Duoforisa: implication for classification and habitat of the unilocular Foraminifera

Qianyu Li & Brian Mcgowran, 1994:03:28. Evolutionary morphological changes in the new genus Duoforisa: implication for classification and habit of the unilocular Foraminifera. Alcheringa 18, 121–134. ISSN 0311-5518.

Unlike other unilocular foraminifera, the new genus Duoforisa from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene possesses a kidney-shaped test with two apertures on its distal ends. It contains two distinct and successional species, both new, and differentiated by their apertural details. In Duoforisa rima the apertures are slit-like, and become radial in the descendant D. diducta. Intermediate forms have transitional apertural configurations between the slit type and radial type, accompanied also by a change of the test outline from subtriangular to compactly U-shaped. The evolution of the lineage occurred during a period of enhanced upwelling in the Early Miocene and it was terminated just before the global warming at the Early-Middle Miocene boundary. This example suggests evolution of the unilocular foraminifera through successional morphological changes in test shape and in the aperture. Unilocular taxa have tended to flourish or speciate in cool or upwelling environments. Their contraction in the latest Early Miocene to early Middle Miocene was probably due to global warming and well oxygenated conditions which were widespread in the neritic domains of southern Australia.     

First records of Geinitziidae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina (Mendoza)

Lara, M.B. & Aristov, D., August 2016. First records of Geinitziidae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina (Mendoza). Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

A new grylloblattid (Permoshurabia argentina sp. nov.: Geinitziidae) is described and illustrated from the Upper Triassic of Argentina. The material represents the first record of this family from Argentina and expands the geographic distribution of this group during the Triassic.

María Belén Lara [lara.maria.belen@live.com.ar], Area Paleontología (Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral-Universidad Nacional del Nordeste-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Casilla de Correo 128, 3400 Corrientes, Argentina; Danil Aristov [danil_aristov@mail.ru], Borissak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya str. 123, Moscow, 117997, Russia.     

A new species of Scirrotherium Edmund & Theodor, 1997 (Xenarthra,Cingulata, Pampatheriidae) from the late Miocene of South America

Góis, F., Scillato-Yané, G.J., Carlini, A.A. & Guilherme, E. 2013. A new species of Scirrotherium Edmund & Theodor, 1997 (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Pampatheriidae) from the late Miocene of South America. Alcheringa 37, 175–186. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new species of Scirrotherium Edmund & Theodor (Pampatheriidae) is described: S. carinatum. This genus was previously represented by a single species, S. hondaensis Edmund & Theodor, 1997, recorded from the middle Miocene (Laventan) of Colombia. Pampathere remains are common in the ‘Conglomerado osífero’ (late Miocene) of the Ituzaingó Formation in the Paraná River cliffs of Entre Ríos, Chubut (Argentina) and Acre (Brazil). All of them were referred to Kraglievichia paranense, and they are mostly osteoderms. However, only a few of these specimens are strictly consistent with that species. The new species described herein differs from S. hondaensis in having very thin osteoderms with more elaborate ornamentation. The movable band (or imbricate) osteoderms have a sculptured exposed surface and a single transverse row of anterior foramina; the lateral margins are wider and also bear foramina, and the longitudinal central elevation is long and proximally wide, and forms a posteriorly raised crest. This elevation is delimited by a fairly broad and shallow depression on each side, separating the marginal elevation from the longitudinal central one. The exposed surfaces of fixed (or fused) osteoderms bear large and deep anterior foramina, the longitudinal central elevation and delimiting depressions are very pronounced. This new species increases the known diversity of the pampatheres from the ‘Conglomerado osífero’. Additionally, a new nomenclatural scheme for Pampatheriidae osteoderms is proposed.

Flávio Góis [goisf@fcnym]unlp.edu.ar], Gustavo Juan Scillato-Yané [scillato@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], Alfredo Armando Carlini [acarlini@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, s/n, 1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina and CONICET; Edson Guilherme [guilherme@ufac.br], Universidade Federal do Acre, Laboratório de Pesquisas Paleontológicas (LPP), BR 364, Km 04, 69.915-900. Rio Branco, AC, Brazil. Received 11.5.2012; revised 31.7.2012; accepted 4.9.2012 .     

First record of a fossil selenariid bryozoan in South America

López-Gappa, J., Pérez, L.M. & Griffin, M. February 2017. First record of a fossil selenariid bryozoan in South America. Alcheringa XX, xxx-xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

Selenariidae Busk 1854 (Bryozoa) is considered endemic to Australia and New Zealand. Here we describe a new species of Selenaria Busk 1854 from the lower Miocene Monte León Formation (Patagonia, Argentina). Selenaria lyrulata sp. nov. is characterized by autozooids with a lyrula-like, anvil-shaped cryptocystal denticle, opesiular indentations and lateral condyles, as well as avicularia with a shield of fused costae. This is the first record of a selenariid bryozoan in South America.

Juan López-Gappa [lgappa@macn.gov.ar] CONICET—Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Leandro Martín Pérez [pilosaperez@gmail.com] and Miguel Griffin [patagonianoyster@gmail.com], CONICET—División Paleozoología Invertebrados, Museo de La Plata. Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina.     

Fixation of the type species of the genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 (Bryozoa,Fenestrata)

Wyse Jackson, P.N., Reid, C.M. & McKinney, F.K., iFirst article, 2011. Fixation of the type species of the genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 (Bryozoa, Fenestrata). Alcheringa, 1–2. ISSN 0311-5518.

The type species of the Palaeozoic bryozoan genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 was originally fixed as Fenestella ampla Lonsdale in Darwin, 1844, but this taxon has been shown to belong to the bryozoan genus Parapolypora Morozova & Lisitsyn, 1996 Morozova, I. P. and Lisitsyn, D. V. 1996. Revision of the genus Polypora. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal, 1996(4): 38–47. [English translation: Paleontological Journal30(5), 530–541] [Google Scholar]. The original type species designation for Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 is set aside, and in accordance with Article 70.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4th edition, 1999) the nominal species Protoretepora crockfordae Wyse Jackson, Reid & McKinney, 2011 from the Permian of Tasmania, Australia is herein fixed as the type species.     

Emwadea microcarpa gen. et sp. nov.—anatomically preserved araucarian seed cones from the Winton Formation (late Albian), western Queensland,Australia

Dettmann, M.E., Clifford, H.T., Peters, M., June 2012. Emwadea microcarpa gen. et sp. nov.—anatomically preserved araucarian seed cones from the Winton Formation (late Albian), western Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa, 217–237. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new genus and species, Emwadea microcarpa Dettmann, Clifford & Peters, is established for ovulate/seed cones with helically arranged cone scales bearing a centrally positioned, inverted ovule from the basal Winton Formation (late Albian), Eromanga Basin, Queensland. The cones are small, prolate ellipsoidal (9.5–14 mm vertical axis, 6.3–8.7 mm transverse axis) with wedge-shaped cone scales bearing winged seeds attached adaxially to the scale only by tissues surrounding the vasculature entering the ovule. Ovuliferous tissue that is free from the cone scale extends distally from the chalaza; the seeds' lateral wings are derived from the integument. Foliage attached to the cones is spirally arranged, imbricate and with spreading and incurved bifacial blades with acute tips; stomata are arranged in longitudinal files and are confined to the adaxial surface. The cone organization testifies to placement within the Araucariaceae, and is morphologically more similar to Wollemia and Agathis than to Araucaria.

Mary Dettmann [mary.dettmann@qm.qld.gov.au] and Trevor Clifford, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Q 4101, Australia; Mark Peters, PO Box 366 Gumeracha, SA 5233, Australia. Received 31.3.2011; revised 23.8.2011; accepted 5.9.2011.

     

Large freshwater plesiosaurian from the Cretaceous (Aptian) of Australia

Benson, R.B.J., Fitzgerald, E.M.G., Rich, T.H. & Vickers-Rich, P., 2013. Large freshwater plesiosaurian from the Cretaceous (Aptian) of Australia. Alcheringa 37, 1–6. ISSN 0311-5518

We report a large plesiosaurian tooth from the freshwater early–middle Aptian (Early Cretaceous) Eumeralla Formation of Victoria, Australia. This, combined with records of smaller plesiosaurian teeth with an alternative morphology, provides evidence for a multitaxic freshwater plesiosaurian assemblage. Dental and body size differences suggest ecological partitioning of sympatric freshwater plesiosaurians analogous to that in modern freshwater odontocete cetaceans. The evolutionarily plastic body plan of Plesiosauria may have facilitated niche differentiation and helped them to exclude ichthyosaurs from freshwater environments during the Mesozoic. However, confirmation of this hypothesis requires the discovery of more complete remains.

Roger B.J. Benson [roger.benson@earth.ox.ac.uk], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK; Erich M.G. Fitzgerald [efitzgerald@museum.vic.gov.au], Thomas H. Rich [trich@museum.vic.gov.au], Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich [pat.rich@monash.edu], School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. Received 30.10.2012; revised 27.1.2013; accepted 31.1.2013.     

An unusual theropod frontal from the Upper Cretaceous of north Patagonia

Paulina-Carabajal, A. & Coria, R.A. 15.4.2015. An unusual theropod frontal from the Upper Cretaceous of north Patagonia. Alcheringa 39, 514–518. ISSN 0311-5518

We report an isolated left frontal (MCF-PVPH 320) corresponding to a medium-sized theropod dinosaur from the Portezuelo Formation (Coniacian) of northern Patagonia. It shows a unique combination of traits that are not present in any other known Cretaceous theropod from South America. MCF-PVPH 320 is robust and anteroposteriorly short, with a flat and smooth dorsal surface largely excavated by the supratemporal fossa. Endocranially, the olfactory bulb impression is elongate, and the olfactory tract impression is markedly shortened anteroposteriorly. MCF-PVPH 320 differs greatly from the frontals of Late Cretaceous theropods, such as abelisaurids, megaraptorines and carcharodontosaurids. In contrast, character states including the thickness of the bone, V-shaped frontoparietal suture, reduced participation on the orbital margin and markedly short olfactory tract impression suggest the presence of an unknown mid-sized to large allosauroid for the Portezuelo Formation.

Ariana Paulina-Carabajal [a.paulinacarabajal@conicet.gov.ar], CONICET-Museo Carmen Funes, Av. Córdoba 55 (8318), Plaza Huincul, Neuquén, Argentina; Rodolfo A. Coria [rcoria@unrn.edu.ar], CONICET-Instituto de Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Av. Roca 1242 (8332), Gral. Roca, Río Negro, Argentina.     

The United Nations as the ‘Parliament of Man’

Abstract

Paul Kennedy. The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations. Toronto, ON: HarperCollins, 2006. Pp. xvii, 361. $36.95 (CDN); Ronald St John Macdonald and Douglas M. Johnston, eds. Towards World Constitutionalism: Issues in the Legal Ordering of the World Community. Leiden: Brill, 2005. Pp. xviii, 968. €235.00; $317.00 (US); S. Neil MacFarlane and Yuen Foong Khong. Human Security and the UN: A Critical History. Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 2006. Pp. xix, 346. $35.00 (US), paper; David M. Malone. The International Struggle over Iraq: Politics in the UN Security Council, 1980–2005. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xiv, 398. $59.95 (CDN); Michael J. Matheson. Council Unbound: The Growth of UN Decision Making on Conflict and Postconflict Issues after the Gold War. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2006. Pp. xvi, 422. $19.95 (US), paper; Ramesh Thakur. The United Nations, Peace, and Security: From Collective Security to the Responsibility to Protect. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xvi, 388. $32.99 (US), paper.     

First fossil record of amiid fishes (Halecomorphi,Amiiformes, Amiidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Uberaba,Minas Gerais State,Brazil

Martinelli, A.G., Bogan, S., Agnolin, F.L., Ribeiro, L.C.B., Cavellani, C.L., Ferraz, M.L.F. & Teixeira, V.P.A., iFirst article. First fossil record of amiid fishes (Halecomorphi, Amiiformes, Amiidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Uberaba, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Alcheringa, 1–9. ISSN 0311-5518.

The first fossil amiid fishes (Halecomorphi, Amiiformes) from the Late Cretaceous Marília Formation (Bauru Group) at Uberaba County, Triângulo Mineiro region (Minas Gerais State, Brazil), are described. The material includes some partial maxillae, a dermopterotic, a cleithrum, several vertebral centra and teeth. Features such as the absence of a supramaxillary notch on the dorsal edge of the maxilla, a wide and deep pit on the maxilla for the articulation of the premaxilla, anterior portion of the maxilla with a sub-circular cross-section, teeth with acrodine cup with strong mesial and distal keels, among others, permit confident referral of the material to the Subfamily Vidalamiine (Amiidae), previously recognized in Lower Cretaceous strata of northeasthern Brazil. These specimens constitute the first Late Cretaceous record of this group in Brazil and one of the few in South America.

Agustín G. Martinelli [agustín_martinelli@yahoo.com.ar], Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Llewellyn Ivor Price, Complexo Cultural e Científico Peirópolis (CCCP/UFTM), BR-262, Km 784, Bairro Peirópolis, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Sergio Bogan [sergiobogan@yahoo.com.ar], Fundación de Historia Natural ‘Félix de Azara’, Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Antropología, CEBBAD—Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775 piso 7 (1405BDB), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Federico Agnolín* [fedeagnolin@yahoo.com.ar], Sección Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, Av. Ángel Gallardo 470 (C1405BDB), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Luiz Carlos Borges Ribeiro [lcbrmg@terra.com.br], Camila Lourencini Cavellani [camila@patge.uftm.edu.br], Mara Lúcia da Fonseca Ferraz [mara@patge.uftm.edu.br] and Vicente de Paula Antunes Teixeira [vicente@patge.uftm.edu.br], Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Llewellyn Ivor Price, Complexo Cultural e Científico Peirópolis (CCCP/UFTM), BR-262, Km 784, Bairro Peirópolis, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil. *Also affiliated with: Fundación de Historia Natural ‘Félix de Azara’, Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Antropología, CEBBAD—Universidad Maimónides, Valentín Virasoro 732 (C1405BDB), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Received 15.4.2012; revised 11.6.2012; accepted 20.6.2012.