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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The mandible and dentition of the Early Cretaceous monotreme Teinolophos trusleri

Rich, T.H., Hopson, J.A., Gill, P.G., Trusler, P., Rogers-Davidson, S., Morton, S., Cifelli, R.L., Pickering, D., Kool, L., Siu, K., Burgmann, F.A., Senden, T., Evans, A.R., Wagstaff, B.E., Seegets-Villiers, D., Corfe, I.J., Flannery, T.F., Walker, K., Musser, A.M., Archer, M., Pian, R. & Vickers-Rich, P., June 2016. The mandible and dentition of the Early Cretaceous monotreme Teinolophos trusleri. Alcheringa 40, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The monotreme Teinolophos trusleri Rich, Vickers-Rich, Constantine, Flannery, Kool & van Klaveren, 1999 Rich, T.H., Vickers-Rich, P., Constantine, A., Flannery, T.F., Kool, L. & van Klaveren, N., 1999. Early Cretaceous mammals from Flat Rocks, Victoria, Australia. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery 106, 1–34. [Google Scholar] from the Early Cretaceous of Australia is redescribed and reinterpreted here in light of additional specimens of that species and compared with the exquisitely preserved Early Cretaceous mammals from Liaoning Province, China. Together, this material indicates that although T. trusleri lacked a rod of postdentary bones contacting the dentary, as occurs in non-mammalian cynodonts and basal mammaliaforms, it did not share the condition present in all living mammals, including monotremes, of having the three auditory ossicles, which directly connect the tympanic membrane to the fenestra ovalis, being freely suspended within the middle ear cavity. Rather, T. trusleri appears to have had an intermediate condition, present in some Early Cretaceous mammals from Liaoning, in which the postdentary bones cum ear ossicles retained a connection to a persisting Meckel’s cartilage although not to the dentary. Teinolophos thus indicates that the condition of freely suspended auditory ossicles was acquired independently in monotremes and therian mammals. Much of the anterior region of the lower jaw of Teinolophos is now known, along with an isolated upper ultimate premolar. The previously unknown anterior region of the jaw is elongated and delicate as in extant monotremes, but differs in having at least seven antemolar teeth, which are separated by distinct diastemata. The dental formula of the lower jaw of Teinolophos trusleri as now known is i2 c1 p4 m5. Both the deep lower jaw and the long-rooted upper premolar indicate that Teinolophos, unlike undoubted ornithorhynchids (including the extinct Obdurodon), lacked a bill.

Thomas H. Rich [trich@museum.vic.gov.au], Sally Rogers-Davidson [srogers@museum.vic.gov.au], David Pickering [dpick@museum.vic.gov.au], Timothy F. Flannery [tim.flannery@textpublishing.com.au], Ken Walker [kwalker@museum.vic.gov.au], Museum Victoria, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; James A. Hopson [jhopson@uchicago.edu], Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago,1025 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Pamela G. Gill [pam.gill@bristol.ac.uk], School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, U.K. and Earth Science Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Peter Trusler [peter@petertrusler.com.au], Lesley Kool [koollesley@gmail.com], Doris Seegets-Villiers [doris.seegets-villiers@monash.edu], Patricia Vickers-Rich [pat.rich@monash.edu], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Steve Morton [steve.morton@monash.edu], Karen Siu [karen.siu@monash.edu], School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Richard L. Cifelli [rlc@ou.edu] Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072, USA; Flame A. Burgmann [flame.burgmann@monash.edu], Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy, 10 Innovation Walk, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; Tim Senden [Tim.Senden@anu.edu.au], Department of Applied Mathematics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia; Alistair R. Evans [alistair.evans@monash.edu], School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Barbara E. Wagstaff [wagstaff@unimelb.edu.au], School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; Ian J. Corfe [ian.corfe@helsinki.fi], Institute of Biotechnology, Viikinkaari 9, 00014, University of Helsinki, Finland; Anne M. Musser [anne.musser@austmus.gov.au], Australian Museum, 1 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010 Australia; Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Rebecca Pian [rpian@amnh.org], Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA. Received 7.4.2016; accepted 14.4.2016.     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lower Ordovician trilobites from the Septembersø formation,North-East Greenland

McCobb, L.M.E., Boyce, W.D., Knight, I. & Stouge, S., 2014. Lower Ordovician trilobites from the Septembersø formation, North-East Greenland. Alcheringa 38, 575–598. ISSN 0311-5518.

The informally named Septembersø formation is a 76 m thick succession of microbial and peritidal shelf carbonates deposited on the North-East Greenland shelf of Laurentia. The formation, assigned to the lower part of the Cape Weber Formation in all previous studies, lies disconformably upon the Skullrockian Antiklinalbugt Formation (revised) and conformably below the Tulean to Blackhillsian Cape Weber Formation (revised) in the Fimbulfjeld Group. With the exception of Randaynia, the modest trilobite fauna recovered from the Septembersø formation consists exclusively of bathyurids, and all represent new species. Both Chapmanopyge knudseni sp. nov. and Punka adamsi sp. nov. are represented by sufficient material to merit specific names. The remaining taxa, belonging to Bolbocephalus, Peltabellia, Randaynia and Chapmanopyge are left in open nomenclature. The trilobite genera present suggest that the Septembersø formation is referable to the Tulean Stage of the Ibexian Series, latest Tremadocian/earliest Floian in Global Standard terms.

Lucy M. E. McCobb [lucy.mccobb@museumwales.ac.uk], Department of Natural Sciences, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP, UK; W. Douglas Boyce [dougboyce@gov.nl.ca] and Ian Knight [ianknight@gov.nl.ca], Geological Survey, Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources, PO Box 8700, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1B 4J6; Svend Stouge [svends@snm.ku.dk], Natural History Museum of Denmark (Geological Museum), Øster Voldgade 5–7, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark.     

First bryozoan fauna from the middle Miocene of Central Java,Indonesia

Di Martino, E., Taylor, P.D., Fernando, A.G.S., Kase, T. & Yasuhara, M. 3 June 2019, 2019. First bryozoan fauna from the middle Miocene of Central Java, Indonesia. Alcheringa 43, 461–478. ISSN 0311-5518.

Despite the publication of several taxonomic studies during the last few years, our knowledge of bryozoans from the diversity hotspot of the Indo-West Pacific remains seriously deficient. Here we describe 11 bryozoan species, comprising two anascan- and nine ascophoran-grade cheilostomes, from the middle Miocene (Langhian–Serravallian) of Sedan in Central Java, Indonesia. Three ascophoran-grade cheilostomes, Characodoma multiavicularia sp. nov. Di Martino & Taylor, Stenosipora? cribrata sp. nov. Di Martino & Taylor and Lacrimula patriciae sp. nov. Di Martino & Taylor, are described as new species. All of the three extant species have an Indo-Pacific distribution today and two are here reported as fossil for the first time. Four species are left in open nomenclature, either because of the scarcity of available material or the absence of crucial morphological features. Two of these, placed in Cosciniopsis and Actisecos, are likely to be new, while Discoporella sp. represents the easternmost known record for this common free-living genus. A single species, Lacrimula asymmetrica Cook & Lagaaij, was already known from the early Miocene of the same region, although from a site further to the east.

Emanuela Di Martino* [e.di-martino@nhm.ac.uk], Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Paul D. Taylor [p.taylor@nhm.ac.uk], Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Allan Gil S. Fernando [agsfernando@yahoo.com], National Institute of Geological Sciences, The University of Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; Tomoki Kase [neritopsis@gmail.com], National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan; Moriaki Yasuhara [yasuhara@hku.hk], School of Biological Sciences, Swire Institute of Marine Science, University of Hong Kong, Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, PR China     

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.     

Ammonite dating of latest Cretaceous mosasaurid reptiles (Squamata,Mosasauroidea) from Jordan—preliminary observations

Jagt, J.W.M., Jagt-Yazykova, E.A., Kaddumi, H.F. & Lindgren, J., April 2017. Ammonite dating of latest Cretaceous mosasaurid reptiles (Squamata, Mosasauroidea) from Jordan—preliminary observations. Alcheringa 42, 587-596. ISSN 0311-5518

Newly collected ammonoid material from the uppermost Cretaceous portion of the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation exposed some 30 km southeast of the Qasr Al’Harrana area (east-central Jordan) includes medium-sized baculitids (Baculites ovatus auctorum, non Say), the sphenodiscid Libycoceras acutodorsatus (Noetling) and the pachydiscids Menuites fresvillensis (Seunes) and Pachydiscus (Pachydiscus) dossantosi (Maury). Of the two last named taxa, the former is a good marker species for the upper Maastrichtian, with records from Europe, central Chile, South India, Baluchistan (Pakistan), Australia, Madagascar and South Africa. The latter is known from the United Arab Emirates/Oman border area, from strata of (late) early to early late Maastrichtian age, as well as from more poorly constrained Maastrichtian levels in Brazil and Nigeria. A comparison with ammonoid assemblages from the Maastrichtian type area (southeast Netherlands/northeast Belgium) suggests correlation of the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation with the middle/upper Maastricht Formation (Emael and Nekum members, ca 66.5–66.1 Ma) and the upper part of the coeval Kunrade Formation. However, associated ‘tegulated’ inoceramids of the Tenuipteria argentea group from the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation favour equivalence with a higher level of the Maastrichtian type area, i.e., the Meerssen Member. From the upper Maastricht Formation and the equivalent upper part of the Kunrade Formation, the following mosasaur genera are currently known: Mosasaurus, Prognathodon, Plioplatecarpus and Carinodens. Interestingly, coeval strata of the Muwaqqar Chalk Marl Formation in east-central Jordan have yielded remains of a largely comparable suite comprising Prognathodon, Mosasaurus, Carinodens and an unnamed, highly derived plioplatecarpine.

John W.M. Jagt* [john.jagt@maastricht.nl], Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, de Bosquetplein 6–7, 6211 kJ Maastricht, the Netherlands; Elena A. Jagt-Yazykova [eyazykova@uni.opole.pl], Opole University, Department of Biosystematics, Oleska 22, 45-052 Opole, Poland; Hani F. Kaddumi [blossom_trail@yahoo.com], Eternal River Museum of Natural History, Maroof Al’Rusafi Street, PO Box 11395, Amman 11123, Jordan; Johan Lindgren [johan.lindgren@geol.lu.se], Lund University, Department of Geology, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden.     

Editorial

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

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

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

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

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

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

A 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.     

First record of Homoctenus (Tentaculitoidea,Homoctenida) from the Late Devonian of northwest Peninsular Malaysia

Meor, H.A.H., Yong, A.M., Zakaria, M.Z.Z. & Ghani, A.A., 2.6.2015. First record of Homoctenus (Tentaculitoidea, Homoctenida) from the Late Devonian of northwest Peninsular Malaysia. Alcheringa 39, 550–558. ISSN 0311-5518.

The homoctenid tentaculitoid genus Homoctenus is reported for the first time from Peninsular Malaysia. The fossils derive from the Upper Devonian Sanai Limestone, exposed in the state of Perlis, northwest Peninsular Malaysia. The fossils are closely related to Homoctenus tenuicinctus tenuicinctus and are described as Homoctenus sp. cf. H. tenuicinctus. The homoctenids were recovered from an interval containing a rich conodont assemblage, indicating a Frasnian age (Palmatolepis linguiformis Zone).

Meor Hakif Amir Hassan [meorhakif@um.edu.my], Yong Adilah Mustafa [yongadilah@gmail.com], Mohamad Z.Z. Zakaria [zulhafiszariq@siswa.um.edu.my], Azman A. Ghani [azmangeo@um.edu.my], Geology Department, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Received 12.4.2015; revised 27.5.2015; accepted 2.6.2015.     

A new Miocene carnivorous marsupial,Barinya kutjamarpensis (Dasyuromorphia), from central Australia

Binfield, P., Archer, M., Hand, S.J., Black, K.H., Myers, T.J., Gillespie, A.K. & Arena, D.A., June 2016. A new Miocene carnivorous marsupial, Barinya kutjamarpensis (Dasyuromorphia), from central Australia. Alcheringa 41, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new dasyuromorphian, Barinya kutjamarpensis sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial dentary recovered from the Miocene Wipajiri Formation of northern South Australia. Although about the same size as the only other species of this genus, B. wangala from the Miocene faunal assemblages of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, it has significant differences in morphology including a very reduced talonid on M₄ and proportionately wider molars. Based on the structural differences and the more extensive wear on its teeth, the central Australian species might have consumed harder or more abrasive prey in a more silt-rich environment than its congener, which hunted in the wet early to middle Miocene forests of Riversleigh.

Pippa Binfield [pippa.binfield@outlook.com], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Karen H. Black [k.black@unsw.edu.au], Troy J. Myers [t.myers@unsw.edu.au] Anna K. Gillespie [a.gillespie@unsw.edu.au] and Derrick A. Arena [rick@sitc.net.au], PANGEA Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales 2052, Sydney, Australia.     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gazella (Bovidae,Ruminantia) remains from the Siwalik Group of Pakistan

Khan, M.A., Babar, M.A., Akhtar, M., Iliopoulos, G., Rakha, A. & Noor, T., November 2015. Gazella (Bovidae, Ruminantia) remains from the Siwalik Group of Pakistan. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

New gazelle fossils are described from the Siwalik Group of Pakistan. The material includes horncores, maxilla and mandible fragments, and isolated teeth. The available samples are assigned to three Gazella species: Gazella sp. in the Lower Siwalik Subgroup (ca 14.2–11.2 Ma), and G. lydekkeri and G. superba in the Middle Siwalik Subgroup (ca 10.2–3.4 Ma). Based on a review of the Siwalik Group gazelles, G. padriensis is synonymized with G. lydekkeri. Gazella superba Pilgrim, 1939 sensu stricto is a large form and is a valid species of the genus in the Siwalik Group.

Muhammad Akbar Khan [akbaar111@yahoo.ca], Muhammad Adeeb Babar [babar_fcc2005@yahoo.com], Muhammad Akhtar [drakhtarfdrc@hotmail.com], Allah Rakha [babar.441@googlemail.com], Tuba Noor [akbar.zool@pu.edu.pk], Abu Bakr Fossil Display & Research Centre, Department of Zoology, Quid-e-Azam Campus, Punjab University (54590), Lahore, Pakistan; George Iliopoulos [borelakias@gmail.com], Geology Department of the University of Patras, Patras, Greece.     

New Jurassic predatory cockroaches (Blattaria: Raphidiomimidae) from Daohugou,China and Karatau,Kazakhstan

Liang, J., Shih, C. &; Ren, D., October 2017. New Jurassic predatory cockroaches (Blattaria: Raphidiomimidae) from Daohugou, China and Karatau, Kazakhstan. Alcheringa 42, 101–109. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two new species and a new combination in a new genus of predatory cockroaches, Falcatusiblatta gracilis and F. qiandaohua from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, China and F. karatavica (Vishniakova) comb. nov. from the Upper Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Karatau, Kazakhstan are described within Raphidiomimidae. The new taxa are distinguished by the presence of a very long ovipositor (plesiomorphy) and elongate cerci with heteronomous articles and forewing markings with irregular patch-like shapes of light and dark patterns (autapomorphies).

Junhui Liang [liangjh0602@126.com], Tianjin Natural History Museum, 31 Youyi Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300203, PR China; Chungkun Shih? [chungkun.shih@gmail.com], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, PR China; Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing, 100048, PR China. ?Also affiliated with: Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA.     

Palaeoecological insights into the Changhsingian–Induan (latest Permian–earliest Triassic) bivalve fauna at Dongpan,southern Guangxi,South China

Yang, T.L., He, W.H., Zhang, K.X., Wu, S.B., Zhang, Y., Yue, M.L., Wu, H.T. & Xiao, Y.F., November 2015. Palaeoecological insights into the Changhsingian–Induan (latest Permian–earliest Triassic) bivalve fauna at Dongpan, southern Guangxi, South China. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Talung Formation (latest Permian) and basal part of Luolou Formation (earliest Triassic) of the Dongpan section have yielded 30 bivalve species in 17 genera. Eight genera incorporating 11 species are systematically described herein, including three new species: Nuculopsis guangxiensis, Parallelodon changhsingensis and Palaeolima fangi. Two assemblages are recognized, i.e., the Hunanopecten exilis–Euchondria fusuiensis assemblage from the Talung Formation and the Claraia dieneri–Claraia griesbachi assemblage from the Luolou Formation. The former is characterized by abundant Euchondria fusuiensis, an endemic species, associated with other common genera, such as Hunanopecten, which make it unique from coeval assemblages of South China. A palaeoecological analysis indicates that the Changhsingian bivalve assemblage at Dongpan is diverse and represented by various life habits characteristic of a complex ecosystem. This also suggests that redox conditions were oxic to suboxic in deep marine environments of the southernmost Yangtze Basin during the late Changhsingian, although several episodes of anoxic perturbations and declines in palaeoproductivity saw deterioratation of local habitats and altered the taxonomic composition or population size of the bivalve fauna.

Tinglu Yang [yang@geology.so], School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China; Weihong He* [whzhang@cug.edu.cn] and Kexin Zhang [kx_zhang@cug.edu.cn], State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China; Shunbao Wu [shbwu@cug.edu.cn], Yang Zhang [zhangy05@163.com], Mingliang Yue [812182779@qq.com], Huiting Wu [ht_wu415@163.com] and Yifan Xiao [shadowyi@sohu.com], School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China.