Deciduous Nothofagus leaves from the Miocene of Cornish Head,New Zealand

Pole, M.S., 1994:03:28. Deciduous Nothofagus leaves from the Miocene of Cornish Head, New Zealand. Alcheringa 18, 79–83. ISSN 0311-5518.

Nothofagus leaves with plicate vernation, indicating a deciduous habit, are recorded from the Late Miocene of New Zealand. This is the first unequivocal record in New Zealand of deciduous Nothofagus, deciduous species now being restricted to Tasmania and South America.     

A probable ankylosaurian (Dinosauria,Thyreophora) from the Early Cretaceous of New South Wales,Australia

Bell, P.R., Burns, M.E. & Smith, E.T. October 2017. A probable ankylosaurian (Dinosauria, Thyreophora) from the Early Cretaceous of New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 42, 120–124. ISSN 0311-5518.

We describe an isolated osteoderm from the Albian Griman Creek Formation where it is exposed near the town of Lightning Ridge in central-northern New South Wales, Australia. Several lines of evidence allow referral of this element to the Ankylosauria—a group that epitomises body armour and ubiquitous osteodermal coverage among dinosaurs. Despite the abundant record of fossil vertebrates from this interval, ankylosaurians have not been previously reported, although, they have been described from penecontemporaneous deposits in western Queensland and Victoria. This discovery, therefore, provides an important link between the northerly faunas (including the Griman Creek Formation) that flourished at the edge of the epeiric Eromanga Sea, with those from the sub-polar rift-valley system of Victoria during the mid-Cretaceous.

Phil R. Bell [pbell23@une.edu.au], School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale 2351, NSW, Australia; Michael E. Burns [mburns3@jsu.edu], Department of Biology, Jacksonville State University, 700 Pelham Rd N., Jacksonville, AL 36265-2138, USA; Elizabeth T. Smith [elizabethtsmith@exemail.com.au], Australian Opal Centre, Lightning Ridge 2834, NSW, Australia.     

Revision of the Early Devonian tabulate coral Pleurodictyum bifidum from New South Wales

Plusquellec, Y. &; Wright, A.J., October 2017. Revision of the Early Devonian tabulate coral Pleurodictyum bifidum from New South Wales. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The tabulate coral Pleurodictyum bifidum Jones, 1944 Jones, O.A., 1944. Tabulata and Heliolitida from the Wellington district, N.S.W. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 77, 33–39. [Google Scholar], from the Early Devonian (Pragian or lower Emsian) Garra Formation of central New South Wales, Australia is revised on the basis of the holotype and three other specimens. It is selected as the type species of the new monotypic genus Bifidomeria (Family Roemeriidae), which differs from Roemeria in its strictly cerioid corallum, its bifid septal spines and aspects of its microstructure. Study of the detailed microstructure of two other tabulate corals from the Devonian of New South Wales has led to the following revised generic assignments: Michelinia progenitor Chapman, 1921 Chapman, F., 1921. New or little known fossils in the National Museum. Part XXV—some Silurian tabulate corals. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 33, 212–225. [Google Scholar], previously assigned to Roemeripora, is assigned to Roemeria, and Holacanthopora clarkei Wright &; Flory, 1980 Wright, A.J. &; Flory, R.A., 1980. A new Early Devonian tabulate coral from the Mount Frome Limestone, near Mudgee, New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 104, 211–219. [Google Scholar] is assigned to Michelinia.

Yves Plusquellec [yves.plusquellec@univ-brest.fr], Université de Bretagne Occidentale, CNRS-UMR 6538 ‘Domaines océaniques’, Laboratoire de Paléontologie, UFR Sciences et Techniques, 6 avenue Le Gorgeu, CS 98837, F-29283 Brest, France; Anthony Wright [tony.wright@optusnet.com.au], GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth &; Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia.     

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.     

Graptolite faunas and monaxonid demosponges of the Cyrtograptus lundgreni event (late Wenlock,Silurian) interval from the Orange district,New South Wales

Muir, L.A. & Botting, J.P., December, 2007. Graptolite faunas and monaxonid demosponges of the Cyrtograptus lundgreni event (late Wenlock, Silurian) interval from the Orange district, New South Wales. Alcheringa 31, 375-395. ISSN 0311-5518.

Three monograptid and five retiolitid graptoloids, and one species of sponge, are described from late Wenlock sections (Cyr. lundgreni and Co. ludensis biozones) at Spring Creek and Wallace Creek, near Orange, New South Wales, Australia. The sponge Janussenia orangense gen. et sp. nov. is the first monaxonid demosponge to be described from the Australian Silurian. An object containing broken Testograptus testis, and interpreted as the faecal pellet of a predator or scavenger on graptoloids, is described.

Lucy A. Muir [l.muir@nhm.ac.uk], Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. Joseph P. Botting [joe@asoldasthehills.org], 2C Roslyn Close, Mitcham CR4 3BB, UK. Received 28.4.2006; Revised 10.10.2006.     

Conodonts and tabulate corals from the Upper Ordovician Angullong Formation of central New South Wales,Australia

Zhen, Y.Y., Wang, G.X. &; Percival, I.G., August 2016. Conodonts and tabulate corals from the Upper Ordovician Angullong Formation of central New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Angullong Formation is the youngest Ordovician unit exposed in the Cliefden Caves area of central New South Wales. Its maximum age is constrained by a Styracograptus uncinatus graptolite Biozone fauna at the very top of the underlying Malongulli Formation, but the few fossils previously reported from higher in the Angullong Formation are either long-ranging or poorly known. From allochthonous limestone clasts in the middle part of the formation, we document a conodont fauna comprising Aphelognathus grandis, A. solidum, Aphelognathus sp., Aphelognathus? sp., Belodina confluens, Drepanoistodus suberectus, Panderodus gracilis, Panderodus sp., Phragmodus undatus, Pseudobelodina inclinata and Pseudobelodina? sp. aff. P. obtusa, which supports correlation with the Aphelognathus grandis Biozone (late Katian) of the North American Midcontinent succession. The species concepts of Aphelognathus and Pseudobelodina are reviewed in detail. Associated corals are exclusively tabulates, dominated by agetolitids, including Agetolites angullongensis sp. nov., Heliolites orientalis, Hemiagetolites breviseptatus, Hemiagetolites sp. cf. H. spinimarginatus, Navoites sp. cf. N. circumflexa, Plasmoporella bacilliforma, P. marginata, Quepora sp. cf. Q. calamus and Sarcinula sp. Affinities of the coral fauna from the Angullong Formation are closer to faunas from northern NSW and northern Queensland than to the locally recognized Fauna III of late Eastonian age in central NSW. We propose a subdivision of Fauna III to account for this difference, with the late Katian Fauna IIIB characterized by the incoming of agetolitid corals. The currently known distribution of representatives of this group with adequate age constraints suggests that agetolitids possibly originated in North China, subsequently migrating to Tarim, South China and adjacent peri-Gondwanan terranes while also spreading eastward to northern Gondwana, where they progressively moved through eastern Australia to reach the central NSW region by the early Bolindian.

Yong Yi Zhen* (yong-yi.zhen@industry.nsw.gov.au) and Ian G. Percival (ian.percival@industry.nsw.gov.au), Geological Survey of New South Wales, W.B. Clarke Geoscience Centre, 947–953 Londonderry Road, Londonderry, NSW 2753, Australia; Guangxu Wang (gxwang@nigpas.ac.cn), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, 39 East Beijing Road Nanjing 210008 PR China.     

Fruits and leaves with cuticle of Laurelia otagoensis sp. nov. (Atherospermataceae) from the early Miocene of Otago (New Zealand)

Conran, J.G., Bannister, J.M. & Lee, D.E., 2013. Fruits and leaves with cuticle of Laurelia otagoensis sp. nov. (Atherospermataceae) from the early Miocene of Otago (New Zealand). Alcheringa 37, 496–509. ISSN 0311-5518.

Laurelia otagoensis sp. nov. Conran, Bannister & D.E. Lee (Laurales: Atherospermataceae) is described from the earliest Miocene Foulden Maar diatomite deposit, Otago, New Zealand. The new species is represented by mummified fossil leaves with well-preserved cuticle and associated clusters of achenes bearing persistent, long plumose styles. This basal angiosperm family is of significance because of its classic southern disjunctions and ecological importance in extant Gondwana-type rainforests, but has a very sparse fossil record. The present study describes one of very few convincing leaf fossils for Atherospermataceae and the only definitive fossil fruits. The presence of fossil Laurelia in Oligo–Miocene New Zealand combined with fossil leaf impressions from the late Eocene, Miocene dispersed cuticle and pollen from the Oligocene to Holocene shows that the family has had a long history in Cenozoic New Zealand. These new fossils also support palaeoclimatic data suggesting warmer conditions in the earliest Miocene of New Zealand.

John G. Conran [john.conran@adelaide.edu.au], Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity and Sprigg Geobiology Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Benham Bldg DX 650 312, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005 Australia; Jennifer M. Bannister [jennifer.bannister@xtra.co.nz], Department of Botany, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand; Daphne E. Lee [daphne.lee@otago.ac.nz], Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. Received 17.12.2012; revised 9.4.2013; accepted 15.4.2013.     

An early Miocene ant (subfam. Amblyoponinae) from Foulden Maar: the first fossil Hymenoptera from New Zealand

Kaulfuss, U., Harris, A.C., Conran J.G. & Lee, D.E., 2014. An early Miocene ant (subfam. Amblyoponinae) from Foulden Maar: the first fossil Hymenoptera from New Zealand. Alcheringa 38, 568–574. ISSN 0311-5518.

The ant subfamily Amblyoponinae is presently represented in New Zealand by one endemic species in the cosmopolitan genus Stigmatomma and an introduced Australian species of Amblyopone. The fossil record of the group is restricted to two species of Stigmatomma from late Eocene Baltic Amber. Here, we describe the third fossil record, an Amblyopone-like specimen from the early Miocene of Otago, southern New Zealand, based on a winged male that resembles the extant A. australis Erichson in size, general habitus and characters of wing venation, but also shares features with the African amblyoponine genus Zymmer. This represents the first fossil record of Amblyoponinae from the Southern Hemisphere and the first example of Hymenoptera among the few pre-Quaternary insect fossils known from New Zealand. It suggests a long history of Amblyoponinae in New Zealand and Australia.

Uwe Kaulfuss [uwe.kaulfuss@otago.ac.nz] and Daphne E. Lee [daphne.lee@otago.ac.nz], Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand; Anthony C. Harris [anthony.harris@otagomuseum.govt.nz], Otago Museum, PO Box 6202, Dunedin 9059, New Zealand; John G. Conran [john.conran@adelaide.edu.au], ACEBB & SGC, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Benham Bldg, DX 650 312, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia. Received 18.3.2014; revised 15.5.2014; accepted 23.5.2014.     

A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the Talbragar Fish Bed,New South Wales,Australia

Nel, A., Frese, M., McLean, G. & Beattie R., May 2017. A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica from the Talbragar Fish Bed, New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 41, 532–535. ISSN 0311-5518.

The discovery of a well-preserved dragonfly forewing in the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed near Gulgong and attributed to Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel allows this taxon to be placed in Protolindeniidae. It extends the palaeogeographical distribution of this family, previously known only from the Jurassic of Europe, to Australia.

André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], CNRS UMR 7205, CP 50, Entomologie, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005, Paris, France; Michael Frese [michael.frese@canberra.edu.au], University of Canberra, Institute for Applied Ecology and Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Mathematics, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia; Graham McLean [mcleangg@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Robert Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.     

A new trilobite species from the upper Rhuddanian (lower Silurian) of South China,and its biogeographical implications

Anacaenaspis yanpingensis sp. nov., from the lower Niuchang Formation (upper Rhuddanian, lower Llandovery, lower Silurian), is the first record of this genus from South China. The biogeographical distribution of Anacaenaspis and some other trilobite genera from South China (e.g., Gaotania, Hyrokybe, Aulacopleura and Raphiophorus) in the Llandovery evidences faunal exchanges between Avalonia–Baltica, Laurentia, Australia and South China. We attribute these dispersals to prevailing ocean currents, and especially equatorial countercurrents, which would have propagated dispersals during the Rhuddanian, shortly after the end-Ordovician mass extinction.     

New fossil helorid wasps (Hymenoptera,Proctotrupoidea) from the Early Cretaceous of China

Li, L., Shih, C. & Ren, D., February 2017. New fossil helorid wasps (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from the Early Cretaceous of China. Alcheringa 41, 474–486. ISSN 0311-5518

Two new genera with two new species, Bellohelorus fortis and Novhelorus macilentus, and one new species, Protocyrtus parilis, within an established genus are described. Laiyanghelorus erymnus is re-described based on well-preserved specimens from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at Huangbanjigou Village, Beipiao City, Western Liaoning Province, China. Three taxonomic changes are proposed: Liaoropronia Zhang & Zhang is transferred from Roproniidae to Heloridae, and Novhelorus saltatrix (Shi, Zhao, Shih & Ren) and Spherogaster beipiaoensis (Shi, Zhao, Shih & Ren) are recombined. In addition, Gurvanhelorus mongolicus Rasnitsyn is tentatively considered a synonym of Protocyrtus validus Zhang & Zhang. A key to all genera of Heloridae is provided. All described helorid fossils with their distribution and geological age are summarized. Key forewing characters are compared for all fossil species to show the interspecific venational differences, which highlight a high level of genus-level diversity among Mesozoic helorids.

Longfeng Li [fenger4499@163.com], Chungkun Shih* [chungkun.shih@gmail.com] and Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, PR China. *Also affiliated with Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA. Received 20.4.2016; revised 19.9.2016; accepted 11.11.2016.     

Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum gen. et sp. nov., a new short-snouted,early Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) from the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) in South Australia

Chamberlain, P.M., Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., November 2015. Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum gen. et sp. nov., a new short-snouted, early Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) from the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) in South Australia. Alcheringa 40, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new bandicoot species, Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum gen. et sp. nov. (Peramelemorphia), is described here from the Leaf Locality, Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (LF), Wipajiri Formation (South Australia). The age of the fossil deposit is interpreted as early Miocene on the basis of biocorrelation between multiple species in the Kutjamarpu LF and local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area (WHA). Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum is represented by isolated teeth and three partial dentaries and appears to have been short-snouted with an estimated mass of 920 g. Phylogenetic analyses place K. brevirostrum in a clade with extant Australian bandicoots and the extinct Madju, but potentially exclude the extant New Guinean bandicoots. Morphometric analysis infers close similarity between K. brevirostrum and species of Galadi in both size and rostral length. They, thus, potentially occupied compatible ecological niches with competitive exclusion perhaps explaining geographical segregation between these broadly coeval lineages.

Philippa M. Chamberlain [philippa.chamberlain@uq.net.au], School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Kenny J. Travouillon [kenny.travouillon@museum.wa.gov.au; kennytravouillon@hotmail.com], Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA, 6986, and School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia; Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au] and Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, 2052, Australia.     

Record of the deep marine Clinocythereis australis Ayress and Swanson, 1991 (Ostracoda) from the upper Miocene Tambo River Formation,Gippsland Basin,Australia: Palaeo-oceanographic and biostratigraphic implications

A new species of Tertiary lungfish, Neoceratodus djelleh, is based on two well-preserved upper tooth plates, from Duaringa, Queensland. Both specimens are elongate and have curved mediolingual faces and poorly defined ridges, with little trace of crests or clefts on the flat occlusal surface. Each ridge is supported by a bony base which extends into a peak. Enameloid is present, showing growth lines without associated cusps on the labial surface. Another specimen from Billeroo Creek, South Australia, is referred to Neoceratodus cf. N. djelleh.     

Zooarchaeological perspectives on the Chinese Early and Late Paleolithic from the Ma’anshan site (Guizhou,South China)

Ma’anshan is a Paleolithic cave site in the Guizhou province of southern China. The total area of the excavations is ca. 48 m², and the cultural deposit is divided into two layers representing the Chinese Late Paleolithic and the later part of the Early Paleolithic. The upper layer dates between 19,295  BP and 31,155 BP by AMS technique, and the lower layer is dated to around 53,000 BP by U-Series technique. Thousands of bone fragments were recovered from the two layers. Species abundance, bone surface modifications, skeletal element representation, and mortality patterns were studied in an investigation of assemblage formation history and patterns of prey selection and meat consumption by hominins. Interpretations of the faunal data are strengthened by reference to experimental studies and ethnoarchaeological data. The zooarchaeological data indicate that the later occupants of Ma’anshan Cave hunted mainly medium and small game animals, while the earlier occupants tended to prey upon larger animals. In the later period, hominins also made fuller use of the carcasses. The breadth of the meat diet increased with time, due to the inclusion of quick small animals (bamboo rats and birds) in the later period. The differences between the two faunal assemblages are consistent with the chronologic boundary currently drawn between the Chinese Early and Late Paleolithic ca. 30–27 ka BP, based on technological and other evidence.     

A fossil sea turtle (Testudines: Pan-Cheloniidae) from the upper Oligocene Pomahaka Formation,New Zealand

Gard, H.J.L. & Fordyce, R.E., August 2016. A fossil sea turtle (Testudines: Pan-Cheloniidae) from the upper Oligocene Pomahaka Formation, New Zealand. Alcheringa 41, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518.

An isolated turtle xiphiplastron similar to that of Puppigerus sp. is described from the upper Oligocene (27.3–25.2 Ma) Pomahaka Formation near Tapanui, Otago, New Zealand. The bone is unlike any previously described turtle from the Cenozoic of New Zealand and is from a newly recognized estuarine vertebrate locality. It represents the first Oligocene cheloniid turtle bone described from the southwest Pacific.

Henry J. L. Gard [henrygard@hotmail.com] and R. Ewan Fordyce, [ewan.fordyce@otago.ac.nz], Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, Otago, New Zealand.     

Multiple agents,blame games and public policy-making: the case of local government reform in New South Wales

Politicians often use ‘independent experts’ to avoid blame for contentious public policy. The use of multiple agents, however, has attracted relatively little attention. We extend the blame-avoidance literature to identify additional opportunities and risks that arise when multiple agents are used to support/oppose particular public policies. We then test our propositions using evidence from recent local government reforms in New South Wales. The picture which emerges is largely one of confusion whereby independent agents provide contradictory opinions, attempt to shift blame to one another, and dispute interpretations of earlier advice. We conclude our analysis with a discussion of the salient factors for successful pursuit of the multiple-agent variant of the blame games.     

Thelodont fish and conodonts from the Early Devonian of Reefton,New Zealand

Thelodont scales and associated fragments of conodont elements identified as Turinia sp. cf. Turinia australiensis and Ozarkodina sp. cf. Ozarkodina buchanensis respectively are described for the first time from the Early Devonian Murray Creek Formation of Reefton, New Zealand. The conodont and thelodont components of the fauna suggest a late Pragian to early Emsian age for the assemblage.     

Locational Disadvantage and Household Locational Decisions: Changing Contexts and Responses in the Cessnock District of New South Wales,Australia. 1964–1999

Following the rapid demise of local coalmining in the 1950s and early 1960s, the former coal towns of the Cessnock area have survived in their newfound dormitory role, with cheap serviced housing acting as a major constraint on out–migration and an incentive for in–migration for low–income householders, mainly engaged in external commuting or outside the workforce. Behavioural responses to widening local job deficits in the early 1960s were reported in this journal (Holmes, 1965). From household surveys and other sources, Holmes examined the interplay between individual, household and locality variables and presented a spectrum of projected future outcomes for localities, according to accessibility, size and service provision, either attached to the Newcastle–Maitland labour market as low–income outer suburbs or experiencing varying rates of decline while providing low–cost welfare housing. While these broad trends have continued over the last 35 years, significant variants, not predictable in 1965 have emerged, notably: the increased residential attractiveness of some small localities; the strengthening of welfare migration, notably from Sydney; the increase in non–workforce households; and, some evidence of emerging socio–economic polarisation in larger towns. In these respects, Cessnock localities can be viewed as a microcosm of wider trends in Australian society, trends which are most fully revealed in disadvantaged metropolitan peripheral localities.