A new dysagrionid damselfly (Odonata: Zygoptera: Palaeodysagrion) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

AUTHOR, N. &; AUTHOR, P. December 2017. Article title. Alcheringa 42, 301-305. ISSN 0311-5518. Dysagrionidae are common in Paleogene sedimentary rocks, but rarely recorded in the Mesozoic. This family, however, is diverse in Burmese amber. A new dysagrionid damselfly, Palaeodysagrion youlini Zheng, Chang &; Chang sp. nov., is described here based on a well-preserved specimen (holotype) in Burmese amber. The new damselfly provides wing apex and body characters for Palaeodysagrion. It differs from Palaeodysagrion cretacia in having Arc slightly distal of Ax2, the midfork slightly basal of the nodus, Cr and Sn almost perpendicular to RA and RP and in having a simple wing system. This is the fourth dysagrionid damselfly described from the Burmese amber.

Daran Zheng* [dranzheng@gmail.com], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210,008, PR China; Su-Chin Chang [suchin@hku.hk]*, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China; 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 210,008, PR China. *Also affiliated with: Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China. ?Also affiliated with: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100,101, PR China.     

A slender new archaic beetle in Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Archostemata)

Jarzembowski, Edmund A., Wang, B. &; Zheng, D., October 2017. A slender new archaic beetle in Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Archostemata). Alcheringa 42, 110–114. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new archostematan beetle, Clessidromma palmeri gen. et sp. nov. (Insecta: Coleoptera) is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from northern Myanmar. It has a uniquely specialized body form for which a new stem tribe, Clessidromatini trib. nov., is proposed in the subfamily Ommatinae of the family Cupedidae sensu lato.

Edmund Jarzembowski* [jarzembowski2@live.co.uk] Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] and Daran Zheng? [darzheng@connect.hku.hk] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Rd, 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 Science, Beijing 100101, PR China. ?Also affiliated with: Daran Zheng, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China.     

First fossil thaneroclerid beetle from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Cleroidea: Thanerocleridae)

Cai, C. & Huang, D., January 2018. First fossil thaneroclerid beetle in Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Cleroidea: Thanerocleridae). Alcheringa 42, 115–119. ISSN 0311-5518.

Thanerocleridae is a small family of Cleroidea with no fossil representatives to date. Here we describe and figure the first fossil representative of Thanerocleridae, Cretozenodosus fossilis gen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. Cretozenodosus is referred to the extant subfamily Zenodosinae as evidenced by its open procoxal cavities and transverse procoxae. Cretozenodosus has close affinities with the North American Zenodosus Wolcott, suggesting that modern Zenodosinae is probably a relict group. Our discovery of a new thaneroclerid genus from Burmese amber suggests that Thanerocleridae originated no later than the mid-Cretaceous.

Chenyang Cai [cycai@nigpas.ac.cn] Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Diying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn] State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China.     

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.     

Protodammara reimatamoriori,a new species of conifer (Cupressaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous Tupuangi Formation,Chatham Islands,Zealandia

Mays, C. & Cantrill, D.J., January 2018. Protodammara reimatamoriori, a new species of conifer (Cupressaceae) from the Upper Cretaceous Tupuangi Formation, Chatham Islands, Zealandia. Alcheringa XXX, X–X. ISSN 0311-5518.

Isolated conifer female reproductive structures are common fossil elements from Cenomanian (ca 99–94 Ma) charcoal- and resin-rich beds of the Tupuangi Formation, Chatham Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Recent findings have proposed that these are the oldest fossil evidence of serotiny, a highly successful fire-adaptive reproductive strategy common among tree species living in fire-prone areas today. Herein, we systematically describe the external morphological and anatomical features of these fossils, by employing a combination of manual extraction and neutron tomography techniques. We propose a new species of conifer, Protodammara reimatamoriori, and a re-examination of fossil material of the Protodammara type species facilitated an emendation of the genus. Protodammara shares numerous features with extant Cunninghamia, Taiwania, Athrotaxis, and several extinct taxa of Cupressaceae, and is interpreted as an extinct lineage of the early-divergent ‘taxodioid Cupressaceae’ stem group.

Chris Mays [chris.mays@nrm.se] Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Frescativägen 40, Stockholm 114 18, Sweden; School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, 9 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; David J. Cantrill [david.cantrill@rbg.vic.gov.au] Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Private Bag 2000, South Yarra, VIC 3141, Australia; School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.     

A new fossil sinoalid species from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cercopoidea)

Fu, Y., Cai, C. & Huang, D., October 2017. A new fossil sinoalid species from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cercopoidea). Alcheringa 42, 94–100. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new fossil species, Luanpingia daohugouensis sp. nov., belonging to the family Sinoalidae is described from the Middle to Upper Jurassic Daohugou beds of Inner Mongolia, China, on the basis of two well-preserved complete specimens. The described species of Sinoalidae are reviewed and Jiania gracila is considered a junior synonym of Jiania crebra. The new discovery increases the palaeodiversity of sinoalids from the Daohugou beds. It also indicates stratigraphic correlation between the Daohugou beds, the Haifanggou Formation at Haifeng, Beipiao City, West Liaoning Province, and the Jiulongshan Formation at Zhouyingzi, Luanping County, Hebei Province. All of these units host the ‘early assemblage’ of the Yanliao biota.

Yanzhe Fu [yzfu41@163.com], Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, PR China; Chenyang Cai [cycai@nigpas.ac.cn], Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Diying Huang* [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China.     

A new species of Loricera Latreille from Eocene Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Loricerinae)

Cai, C., Liu Y. & Huang, D., February 2017. A new species of Loricera Latreille from Eocene Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Loricerinae). Alcheringa xx, xxx-xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

Loricerinae is a small, distinctive subfamily of ground beetles, comprising only one genus Loricera Latreille. Only one fossil species is known to date. Here, we describe a new species, Loricera groehni sp. nov., belonging to Loricera based on a well-preserved adult in Eocene Baltic amber. Loricera groehni is tentatively attributed to the obsoleta group of the subgenus Loricera s.str. based on the relatively long antennomere 3 and punctate elytral interval 7. The discovery of a new species morphologically close to the extant Loricera species from western China and northern India suggests that the obsoleta group was more widespread in the Eocene than it is at present. The distribution pattern of Chinese Loricera is probably relictual. The fossil species, possessing conspicuous stiff setae on the basal antennomeres, was probably a specialized predator of springtails.

Chenyang Cai [cycai@nigpas.ac.cn], Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Ye Liu [liuye198282@126.com], Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China; Diying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China.     

South polar greenhouse insects (Arthropoda: Insecta: Coleoptera) from the mid-Cretaceous Tupuangi Formation,Chatham Islands,eastern Zealandia

Stilwell, J.D., Vitacca, J. & Mays, C., April 2016. South polar greenhouse insects (Arthropoda: Insecta: Coleoptera) from the mid-Cretaceous Tupuangi Formation, Chatham Islands, eastern Zealandia. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Rare insect body fossils have been discovered for the first time after 175 years of research on the Chatham Islands, eastern ‘Zealandia’. The coleopteran (beetle) insects, dated to ca 95 Ma and extracted from fine-grained, upper delta plain facies in the lower Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian–lowermost Turonian) Tupuangi Formation at Waihere Bay on the remote Pitt Island, represent the most southern, polar-latitude (ca 70–80°S) faunal assemblage from the Cretaceous recorded to date. Three species are represented in the insect fauna: a portion of a segmented abdomen of a probable carabid? ground beetle and two distinct coleopteran elytra, one preserved with a brilliantly iridescent carapace upon discovery, comparable with Cretaceous taxa within the Buprestidae (metallic wood borers), but identification with the Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles) or Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles) can not be discounted entirely. Another specimen has more weakly preserved greenish iridescence and has a morphology consistent with Carabidae; given the preservational deficiencies and rarity of material, the specimens are attributed to Buprestidae? genus et species indeterminate and Carabidae? genus et species indeterminate A and B, respectively. These coleopteran fossils represent the only recorded iridescence in Mesozoic invertebrates from Zealandia. Importantly, these mid-Cretaceous insects existed in South Polar forests near the height of the ‘hothouse’ phase of relatively warm, alternating intervals of full daylight in the summer months and total darkness during the winter, before eastern Zealandia diverged at ca 83 Ma from the Marie Byrd Land region of West Antarctica, as part of the final break-up of Gondwana.

Jeffrey D. Stilwell* [jeffrey.stilwell@monash.edu], Jesse V. Vitacca [jesse.vitacca@gmail.com] & Chris Mays [chris.mays@monash.edu], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3800, Australia. *Also affiliated with the Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.     

A new record of an aristonectine elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia,Plesiosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of New Zealand: implications for the Mauisaurus haasti Hector, 1874 hypodigm

O’Gorman, J.P., Otero, R.A. & Hiller, N., 2014. A new record of an aristonectine elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of New Zealand: implications for the Mauisaurus haasti Hector, 1874 Hector, J., 1874. On the fossil Reptilia of New Zealand. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 6, 333–358. [Google Scholar] hypodigm. Alcheringa 38, 504–512. ISSN 0311-5518

An indeterminate aristonectine elasmosaurid is recorded from a lower Maastrichtian bed of the Conway Formation, Waipara River, South Island, New Zealand. The described specimen (CM Zfr 104), previously considered part of the hypodigm of Mauisaurus haasti, came from the upper part of the Alterbidinium acutulum biozone, the same zone from which the only well-known aristonectine from New Zealand, Kaiwhekea katiki, is recorded. The cervical vertebrae of CM Zfr 104 have the same distinctive features (i.e., with extremely broad rather than long centra) as those from previously recorded juvenile aristonectines from Argentina, Chile and Antarctica. This new record is congruent with the biogeographic relationships of Cretaceous marine amniotes from the Weddellian Palaeobiogeographic Province (i.e., Patagonia, western Antarctica, New Zealand and southeastern Australia). Therefore, this type of vertebra is regarded as a distinctive feature of the Weddellian aristonectine elasmosaurids.

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; [CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas)]; Rodrigo A. Otero [paracrioceras@gmail.com], Red Paleontológica U-Chile. Laboratorio de Ontogenia y Filogenia, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Av. Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago, Chile; Norton Hiller, [norton.hiller@canterbury.ac.nz], Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, PB 4800, Christchurch, 8001, New Zealand and Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch, New Zealand, 8013.     

Small and common: the oldest tropical Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the lower Eocene Cambay amber of India

Nadein, K.S. & Perkovsky, E.E. 2 July 2019. Small and common: the oldest tropical Chrysomelidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the lower Eocene Cambay amber of India. Alcheringa XXX, X–X. ISSN 0311-5518.

Three new genera and species of flea beetles (Chrysomelidae: Alticini) are described from the lowermost Eocene Cambay amber: Cambaltica paleoindica Nadein, gen. et sp. nov., Protorthaltica setosella Nadein, gen. et sp. nov., and Davidaltica cambayensis Nadein, gen. et sp. nov. These taxa share a zoogeographic affinity with extant Oriental and Afrotropical flea beetle faunas, with similarities to Afrotropical elements interpreted to be a result of Neogene migrations from Laurasia to Africa. The flea beetles within the Cambay amber are characterized by their small body size (1.2–1.9?mm), and the absence or rarity of larger flea beetles in the Cambay amber forest is assumed to be evidence for a progressive increase in the average body size of tropical flea beetles beginning in the early Eocene.

Konstantin S. Nadein [k.nadein@gmail.com], University of Kiel, Zoological Institute, Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Am Botanischen Garten 1–9, Kiel, Germany; Evgeny E. Perkovsky [perkovsk@gmail.com], Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Bogdana Khmelnitskogo Str. 15, Kiev, Ukraine, Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str. 123, Moscow, 117997, Russia.     

A new genus and species of Steninae from the late Eocene of France (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae)

Cai, C., Clarke, D.J., Huang, D. & Nel, A., 2014. A new genus and species of Steninae from the late Eocene of France (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). Alcheringa 38, 557–562. ISSN 0311-5518.

A remarkable new genus and species of rove beetle, Eocenostenus fossilis gen. et sp. nov., is described and figured based on one well-preserved specimen from the late Eocene of Monteils (near Alès, Gard, France). Eocenostenus is definitively placed in the extant subfamily Steninae, based on the combination of dense and coarse body punctation, globular and protruding eyes, exposed and closely spaced antennal insertions on the vertex, and six visible abdominal terga. Eocenostenus differs from the two extant stenine genera Stenus and Dianous most notably in the structure of the prothorax, which is strongly transverse and with unusual anterolateral projections, and in the anteriorly placed antennal insertions. This new discovery highlights the palaeodiversity of a genus-poor subfamily and suggests that the early diversification of Steninae is probably complicated.

Chenyang Cai [caichenyang1988@163.com] and Diying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Rd., Nanjing 210008, PR China; Dave J Clarke [dclarke@fieldmuseum.org], Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA; and André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, UMR 7205 CNRS UPMC EPHE, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France. Received 23.1.2014; revised 2.5.2014; accepted 12.5.2014.     

A new Early Jurassic damselfly from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Odonata: Campterophlebiidae)

Nel, A. & Weis, R. March 2017. A new Early Jurassic damselfly from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Odonata: Campterophlebiidae). Alcheringa 00, 000–000. ISSN 0311-5518.

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-75,005, Paris, France; Robert Weis [rweis@mnhn.lu], Musée national d’histoire naturelle, Luxembourg, Section Paléontologie, 25, rue Münster L-2160 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.

Gallodorsettia kronzi gen. et sp. nov., the first representative of the damselfly family Campterophlebiidae from the Toarcian of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is described herein. Its closest relative is the genus Dorsettia, known from the early Lower Jurassic of UK and China. The Campterophlebiidae seem to be rare in the Early Jurassic of Western Europe, despite being one of the most diverse odonatan families at that time, especially in Asia.     

A hairy-bodied tettigarctid (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea) from the latest Middle Jurassic of northeast China

Liu, X.H., Li, Y., Yao, Y.Z. & Ren, D., April 2016. A hairy-bodied tettigarctid (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea) from the latest Middle Jurassic of northeast China. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Extant tettigarctids are also known as hairy cicadas because they are covered by long and abundant hairs. This character had not been reported in fossil species of Tettigarctidae because previous examples were poorly preserved or lacked long hairs. Hirtaprosbole erromera gen. et sp. nov. (Tettigarctidae) with a hairy body, from the latest Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China, is described here. This new species provides evidence that tettigarctids with long dense hairs had appeared by the latest Middle Jurassic and lived at high altitudes.

Xiao-hui Liu [liuxh8917@163.com], Yi Li [liy0124@sina.com], Yun-zhi Yao*[Corresponding author: yaoyz100@gmail.com] and Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105 Haidian District, Beijing, PR China 100048.     

Revision of the damsel-dragonfly family Campterophlebiidae (Odonata) from the Early Jurassic of England reveals a new genus and species

Kelly, R.S. & Nel, A., October 2017. Revision of the damsel-dragonfly family Campterophlebiidae (Odonata) from the Early Jurassic of England reveals a new genus and species. Alcheringa 42, 87–93. ISSN 0311-5518.

Historical fossil insect collections from England were re-examined and the taxa revised. Lateophlebia gen. nov. is erected for Liassophlebia anglicanopsis (Zeuner) in Campterophlebiidae. Petrophlebia anglicana Tillyard is confirmed in this family and Archithemis liassina (Strickland) is transferred to this family. Lastly, Archithemis brodiei (Geinitz), Archithemis Handlirsch, and Architemistidae Tillyard (reduced to this sole species) are transferred to the Heterophlebioidea.

Richard Kelly [richard.kelly@bristol.ac.uk], School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK; Department of Natural Sciences, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF, UK. 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.     

A new dragonfly,Austroprotolindenia jurassica (Odonata: Anisoptera), from the Upper Jurassic of Australia

Beattie, R.G. & Nel, A., June 2012. A new dragonfly, Austroprotolindenia jurassica (Odonata: Anisoptera), from the Upper Jurassic of Australia. Alcheringa, 189–193. ISSN 0311-5518.

Austroprotolindenia jurassica gen. et sp. nov., a new Mesozoic Australian dragonfly, is described from the Talbragar Fossil Fish Bed (Upper Jurassic) of eastern Australia. It shows some similarities with the Eurasian Mesozoic petalurid family Protolindeniidae, but its incomplete state of preservation prevents us assigning it to a particular anisopteran clade.

Robert G. Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com] PO Box 320, Berry 2535, NSW, Australia. André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr] CNRS UMR 7205, CP 50, Entomologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France. Received 6.4.2011; revised 8.6.2011; accepted 15.6.2011.     

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.     

Non-destructive analysis of amber artefacts from the prehistoric Cioclovina hoard (Romania)

Amber beads from the Cioclovina hoard (Hunedoara County, Romania), dating from the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy – variable angle reflectance (FTIR-VAR) and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman). The aim was to determine if the raw material came from the shores of the Baltic Sea, on the Amber Route which crosses Central Europe, or if it originated from the area of the main amber occurrences in Romania, in Buz?u County, around the village of Col?i. All applied analyses strongly suggest that a large part of the amber from the Cioclovina deposit has a Romanian origin, and thus no connection with the Amber Route.     

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.     

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.     

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.