Foraminiferal linings and other organic walled microfossils from the Devonian of the Tamworth Belt,northern New South Wales,Australia

Early to Late Devonian (Emsian to late Famennian) organic walled microfossils were recovered from nineteen localities throughout the Tamworth Belt, northern New South Wales. The microfossil assemblages included poorly preserved chitinozoans and scolecodonts, spores and moderately well preserved foraminiferal linings. Fourteen species of foraminiferal linings from six genera are documented. At least three species of foramininferal linings (Inauris tubulata, Saccammina mea and Thurammina pustulosa) show potential for global correlation. Saccammina sp. cf. S. ampullacea and Thurammina mirrka may have application for correlation within Australia.     

A new Late Devonian acanthodian fish from the Hunter Formation near Grenfell,New South Wales

The ischnacanthid acanthodian Grenfellacanthus zerinae gen. et sp. nov. is described on the basis of two large jaw bones from the Late Devonian (late Famennian) Hunter Formation, near Grenfell, N.S.W. The new species is the youngest known ischnacanthid, and the largest ischnacanthid from Gondwana. As for many ischnacanthids, the structure of the jaws and teeth indicate that Grenfellacanthus was probably an ambush predator.     

Significance of Claraia from the Late Permian of South Guizhou,China

Recently collectée material of two Claraia taxa, Claraia zhiyunica Yang et al, 2001 and Claraia sp. nov. from the Late Permian of South China, are described. Late Permian Claraia species are compared with those from the Early Triassic, and the survival of Claraia across the mass extinction period across the Permian- Triassic boundary (PTB) is discussed.     

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

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

A second incisoscutid arthrodire (Pisces,Placodermi) from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation,Western Australia

Long, J. A., 1994:03:28. A second incisoscutid arthrodire (Pisces, Placodermi) from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation. Western Australia. Alcheringa 18. 59–69. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new incisoscutid arthrodire is described from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of Western Australia as Gogosteus sarahae gen. et sp. nov. It is characterised by its narrow headshield with cheek unit firmly attached to skull roof, crushing gnathal plates, deep postnasal plates, elongate anterior lateral plate with deeply embayed postbranchial notch and squarely cut posterior margin, and fine dermal ornamentation. The family Incisoscutidae Denison 1984 is redefined to include Incisoscutum ritchiei Dennis & Miles 1981 and Gogosteus gen. nov., and the superfamily Incisoscutoidea nov. defined to include Incisoscutidae and Camuropiscidae.     

A new temnospondyl amphibian from the Lower Triassic of South America

A new temnospondyl from the Early Triassic Buena Vista Formation (Paraná Basin) in Uruguay is described. The specimen is represented by a skull table fragment which includes the left orbit, and, although fairly incomplete, shows close affinities with the basal temnospondyl clade (Dvinosaurus + Tupilakosauridae). Previously, members of this clade were only known from Upper Permian and Lower Triassic deposits from the Northern Hemisphere. The new specimen described herein together with a recent record from the Lower Triassic of South Africa (Karoo Basin), support the hypothesis of an invasion of members of the basal (Dvinosaurus + Tupilakosauridae) clade into Gondwana as early as the Late Permian.     

Late Devonian thelodonts (Agnatha) from the Gneudna Formation,Carnarvon Basin,Western Australia

Dermal denticles of two thelodont agnathans, Australolepis seddoni gen. et sp. nov., and a possible nikoliviid gen. et sp. indet. are described from the Gneudna Formation, a marine sequence of interbedded limestone and shale exposed on the eastern edge of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The age and significance of these new forms are discussed. The Gneudna Formation is Late Devonian, probably early Frasnian, which, if confirmed, makes these the youngest thelodonts known to date.     

Late Devonian (Famennian) brachiopod Yunnanella from the Junggar Basin,northern Xinjiang,China

The Late Devonian (Famennian) brachiopod Yunnanella is reported from the western Junggar Basin, northern Xinjiang, on the basis of Yunnanella hanburii (Davidson) and Yunnanella sp.     

Algae from Early and Middle Devonian limestones,tamworth belt,New South Wales,Australia

Eighteen genera of cosmopolitan marine algae are reported from Emsian and Eifelian limestones of New South Wales. Couvinianella, Paralitanaia, Perrierella, Pseudopalaeoporella and Renalcis are the most abundant taxa. Three distinctive floras are recognized: a prolific dasycladale-coccoid assemblage; a diverse udoteacean assemblage; and an undiversified udoteacean assemblage. None of these floras has a precise stratigraphic significance, although they indicate a latest Silurian-Middle Devonian age. Maslovina australense sp. nov. is described.     

Ordovician stromatoporoids from Tasmania

The Hunter Siltstone near Grenfell, New South Wales, contains a rich Upper Devonian fish fauna including the sinolepid Grenfellaspis and the new antiarchs Bothriolepis grenfellensis sp. nov. and Remigolepis redcliffensis sp. nov. Bothriolepis grenfellensis sp. nov. is the first bothriolepid species described from N.S.W., and R. redcliffensis sp. nov. is the first species of Remigolepis described from Australia. Traditionally, the Hunter Siltstone was considered to be uppermost Famennian or earliest Carboniferous in age based on the presence of Grenfellaspis, and the related taxon Sinolepis, which is known from the Wutung and Sanmentan formations of southeastern China. However, available data indicates the Hunter Siltstone may be early Famennian in age. Ongoing work suggests that all Famennian Bothriolepis from N.S.W., including B. grenfellensis, possess a trifid preorbital recess, but differ in other aspects of headshield morphology. In North China, the Famennian Zhongning Formation contains six species of Remigolepis and a species of Sinolepis. However, R. redcliffensis does not show any similarity to these species beyond those of Remigolepis as a whole.     

Non-marine ?Late Silurian-Early Devonian trace fossils,Darling Basin,western New South Wales

An ichnofauna consisting of four types of trackways and five types of traces, largely made by arthropods, was discovered in the ?Late Silurian-Early Devonian Mt Daubeny Formation in western New South Wales. The trackways include forms of Diplichnites gouldi, Merostomichnites strandi (most common) and Palmichnium antarticum (form A), and the traces include Cruziana sp. Didymaulichnus lyelli, Didplodichnus biformis, Planolites sp. and Rusophysus sp. The formation, >6 km thick, was deposited during semi-arid and humid climates in a terminal fan environment. The discovery of Palmichnium antarticum (form B) from the Givetian Gum Creek beds at Moona Vale Station is also reported.     

Late Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) brachiopods from the western Daba Mountains,central China

Qiao L. & Shen S.Z., September 2012. Late Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) brachiopods from the western Daba Mountains, central China. Alcheringa 36, 287–309. ISSN 0311–5518.

Fifteen brachiopod species in 12 genera are described for the first time from four intervals in the middle and upper parts of the Zhanpo Formation at the Huoyanxi section near Zhenba in the western Daba Mountains, southern Shaanxi, central China. The Zhenba brachiopod fauna is dominated by diverse and abundant species of Productida, together with some species of Athyridida, Orthida, Orthotetida and Spiriferida. It ranges from late Viséan to Serpukhovian in age based on the presence of Gigantoproductus species in association with diagnostic foraminifera and conodonts. This fauna generally shows palaeobiogeographical links with the palaeoequatorial realm, including Western Europe, the Moscow Basin, the Ural Mountains, Japan, eastern Tibet and South and North China. Its closest palaeobiogeographical affinity is with South China assemblages rather than those of North and Northwest China, therefore, indicating that the Zhenba area was palaeogeographically close to the South China Block and relatively far from the blocks in Northwest China (e.g., the Qilian Mountains and Qaidam Basin, Kunlun Mountains, Tarim Basin and Tianshan Mountains) during the late Viséan–Serpukhovian.     

New data on the structure of the Early Devonian lungfish,Dipnorhynchus

A skull of a young specimen of Dipnorhynchus sussmilchi (Etheridge Jr), from the base of the Bloomfield Limestone Member (mid-Emsian, probably perbonus Zone) at Taemas, has both sides of the skull roof preserved, but the cheeks are missing. The posterior end of the endocranium, up to its dorsal extremity, provides new data on the endolymphatic sacs, and the attachment of the epaxial muscles. The endolymphatic region is compared with that of Chirodipterus australis. The palate is not fully formed and the marginal ridges are not fully developed. The fine structures around the dermopalatines and the pterygoids are preserved, indicating the manner in which the plates grew. The position of the parasphenoid is clearly outlined against the pterygoids, and confirms the view that this primitive genus of dipnoans did not have the pterygoids divided by the parasphenoid. All these features provide new information and comparison with Dipterus valenciennesi, the next oldest genus on which the same regions are preserved. In addition, a new mandible from a horizon low in the Cavan Bluff Formation is well preserved and provides information on the external bones of Dipnorhynchus.     

Graptolite fauna of the Hungshihyen Formation (Early Ordovician), eastern Yunnan,China

Ordovician graptolite-bearing strata in eastern Yunnan were deposited in nearshore, shallow-water environments. Graptolites are systematically described from three sections through the Hungshihyen Formation in eastern Yunnan Province, China: (1) Hongshiya section near Ercun village, Kunming; (2) Liujiang section, Luquan; and (3) Guihuaqing Reservoir section, Luquan. The graptolite fauna, characterized by the predominance of deflexed forms, includes ten species in two genera: Baltograptus turgidus (Lee), B. varicosus (Wang), B. yunnanensis (Li), B. calidus (Ni), B. enshiensis (Ni), Baltograptus sp. cf. B. deflexus (Elles & Wood), Baltograptus sp. cf. B. bolivianus (Finney & Branisa), Baltograptus sp. A, Baltograptus sp. B and Corymbograptus v-fractus minor (Li). A detailed morphological study of these southern Chinese graptolite faunas suggests that Baltograptus wudingensis (Li) is a junior synonym of B. turgidus (Lee); Baltograptus kunmingensis (Ni) is a junior synonym of B. varicosus (Wang); and Baltograptus triangulatus (Ni) is a junior synonym of B. yunnanensis (Li). The B. varicosus Biozone is newly recognized within the middle part of the Hungshihyen Formation, replacing the former Didymograptus deflexus Biozone. This interval is well correlated to the Baltograptus jacksoni Biozone in Britain, the Tetragraptus akzharensis, ‘Baltograptus cf. deflexus’ and Didymograptus bifidus (lower part) biozones in NW Argentina (eastern Cordillera), and the Acrograptus filiformis and Didymograptellus eobifidus biozones in northern Guizhou, South China. Accordingly, the interval is of mid-Floian age, rather than late Floian as previously proposed.     

Palaeobiological features of the coralomorph Amsassia from the Late Ordovician of South China

Lee, M., Elias, R.J., Choh, S.-J. & Lee, D.-J., May 2018. Palaeobiological features of the coralomorph Amsassia from the Late Ordovician of South China. Alcheringa XXX, X–X. ISSN 0311-5518.

Amsassia yushanensis sp. nov. occurs in the Late Ordovician Xiazhen Formation at Zhuzhai, Jiangxi Province of southeastern China. This species is characterized by typical phacelocerioid organization of modules comparable with the other Amsassia species described in recent literature. Bipartite fission, in which a parent module divided into two parts, is by far the most common type of increase in this species; tripartite and quadripartite types of axial fission do occur but are relatively uncommon. Processes of module division are similar to those of A. shaanxiensis and A. koreanensis, and also occurred in tetradiids. In A. yushanensis, restoration of coralla was occasionally accompanied by recovery of a damaged or injured module or group of modules probably following an influx of sediment, as observed in some favositoid corals. Amsassia superficially resembles Lichenaria, a representative genus of the most primitive stock of tabulate corals of Ordovician age, and has likely been mistakenly identified as Lichenaria in the North China Platform. Available information suggests that the validity of a reported occurrence of Lichenaria in the South China Platform is also questionable.

Mirinae Lee [mirinae.lee@kopri.re.kr] Division of Polar Earth-System Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, 21990, Incheon, Republic of Korea; Robert J. Elias [Robert.Elias@umanitoba.ca] Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada; Suk-Joo Choh [sjchoh@korea.ac.kr] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea; Dong-Jin Lee [djlee@anu.ac.kr] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Andong National University, Andong, 36749, Republic of Korea and College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, PR China.     

Metaceratodus kaopen comb. nov. and M. wichmanni comb. nov., two Late Cretaceous South American species of an austral lungfish genus (Dipnoi)

Cione, A.L. & Gouiric-Cavalli, S., June 2012. Metaceratodus kaopen comb. nov. and M. wichmanni comb. nov., two Late Cretaceous South American species of an austral lungfish genus (Dipnoi). Alcheringa 36, 203–216. ISSN 0311-5518.

Metaceratodus wollastoni, an Australian species, was reported from Upper Cretaceous beds of Patagonia in 1997. Later, three new species (Ceratodus wichmanni, Ptychoceratodus kaopen and Ptychoceratodus cionei), based on scarce material, were described from the same region. Two of these species were later referred to Ferganoceratodus. After examining much more abundant and better-preserved material, we conclude that neither the occurrence of Metaceratodus wollastoni nor those of Ptychoceratodus and Ferganoceratodus in the Cretaceous of South America are supported. We consider that C. wichmanni and P. cionei are synonyms and we reassign the three putative species to Metaceratodus under two new combinations: M. kaopen comb. nov. and M. wichmanni comb. nov. Both differ from the other species of the genus in having pits over most of the occlusal surface and a different occlusal profile of the tooth plate, and most have four ridges in the lower and upper tooth plates. Metaceratodus wichmanni differs from M. kaopen in oclussal profile, inner angle, and symphysis development among other features. Metaceratodus kaopen is known from the upper Santonian–lower Campanian Anacleto Formation of Río Negro province and M. wichmanni from upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian units of Chubut, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza provinces, Argentina. The occurrence of Metaceratodus in southern South America corroborates a close biogeographical relationship with Australia in the latest Cretaceous.

Alberto Luis Cione [acione@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar] and Soledad Gouiric-Cavalli [sgouiric@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, W1900FWA La Plata, Argentina. Received 23.11.2010, revised 11.7.2011, accepted 7.8.2011.

     

A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) fauna from the Zhongzhai section,southwestern Guizhou Province,South China

Zhang, Y., He, W.-H., Shi, G.R. & Zhang, K.-X., 2013. A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) fauna from the Zhongzhai section, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China. Alcheringa 37, 221–245. ISSN 0311-5518.

This paper describes 20 species (including three undetermined species) of Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) in an upper offshore fauna from the Permian–Triassic Boundary Zhongzhai section, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China. New taxa are Tethyochonetes sheni, Tethyochonetes cheni, Neochonetes (Huangichonetes) archboldi, Neochonetes (Sommeriella) waterhousei, Neochonetes (Sommeriella) rectangularis and Neochonetes semicircularis.

Yang Zhang [zyan@deakin.edu.au] and G.R. Shi [guang.shi@deakin.edu.au] (corresponding author), School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia; Weihong He [whzhang@cug.edu.cn] (corresponding author) 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. Received 8.6.2012; revised 19.9.2012; accepted 7.10.2012.     

A new Early Devonian lungfish from Guangxi,China, and its palaeogeographic significance

Qiao, T. & Zhu, M., 13.4.2015. A new Early Devonian lungfish from Guangxi, China, and its palaeogeographic significance. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

A new species of Cathlorhynchus (Dipnorhynchidae, Dipnoi) is described based on a mandible from the marine Yukiang Formation (early Emsian, Early Devonian) of Guangxi, southern China. It resembles the type species of Cathlorhynchus, C. trismodipterus, in that the anterior portion of the internal median septum terminates abruptly and does not contact dermal bones ventrally. The new Chinese form, together with Erikia jarviki from the Emsian of Yunnan, southern China, confirms the occurrence of the Dipnorhynchus lineage outside Australia. Coupled with the distribution of Westollrhynchus, Ichnomylax and Jessenia, we propose that the Dipnorhynchus lineage was dispersed widely during the early Emsian, corroborating the trans-Panthalassic distribution of early sarcopterygians.

Tuo Qiao [qiaotuo@ivpp.ac.cn] and Min Zhu [zhumin@ivpp.ac.cn], Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, PR China.     

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.     

China's Emergence and Impact on Technology in East Asia: The Case of Machinebuilding

Two Taiwan-based economists estimate the technology content of exports by the machinebuilding industry of the East Asia region during 2004-2008, using comparative analysis to clarify changes in the relative competitiveness of four East Asian nations (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) accompanying the formation of a regional trading bloc and production networks. In particular, they examine the technology content of these countries' machinebuilding sub-industries' exports within the Southeast Asian market (documenting the rise of the machinebuilding industry in China) as well as the penetration of Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese sub-industries into China's market. The results point to areas of emerging competition among China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan for East Asian markets, which can only be expected to intensify in the future. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F14, F15, F36, O14, P23. 7 tables, 36 references.