Re-evaluation of the fossil penguin Palaeeudyptes gunnari from the Eocene Leticia Formation,Argentina: additional material,systematics and palaeobiology

Acosta Hospitaleche, C. & Olivero, E., April 2016. Re-evaluation of the fossil penguin Palaeeudyptes gunnari from the Eocene Leticia Formation, Argentina: additional material, systematics and palaeobiology. Alcheringa 40, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518

Eocene penguins are known mostly from Antarctic specimens. A previously documented partial skeleton consisting of a pelvis, femur, tibiotarsus and fibula, from the middle Eocene Leticia Formation, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, has been prepared and re-described. Re-analysis favours assignment to Palaeeudyptes gunnari, a species widely recorded in the Eocene of Antarctica. A new isolated coracoid belonging to an indeterminate species reveals new information about diving kinematics and swimming abilities. Palaeobiological attributes and morphology of the fossils indicate that both specimens belonged to large penguins with poor diving capability and wing propulsion systems similar to those of extant taxa. These penguin remains are the only vertebrate fossils thus far recorded from the Leticia Formation, and provide important insights into the relationships of South American and Antarctic penguins during the Paleogene. The presence of Palaeeudyptes in Argentina supports an Eocene connection between the South American and Antarctic penguin faunas.

Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche [acostacaro@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar], CONICET. División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, UNLP, Argentina; Eduardo Olivero [emolivero@gmail.com], CONICET. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), B. Houssay 200, 9410 Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.     

Two new skeletons of the enigmatic,rail-like avian taxon Songzia Hou, 1990 (Songziidae) from the early Eocene of China

Sachs, S. &; Kear, B.P. November 2018. A rare new Pliensbachian plesiosaurian from the Amaltheenton Formation of Bielefeld in northwestern Germany. Alcheringa 42, 487-500. ISSN 0311-5518.

We describe a new plesiosaurian from the upper Pliensbachian Amaltheenton Formation of Bielefeld in northwestern Germany. The taxon is based upon an incomplete associated skeleton comprising part of the right mandibular ramus, several teeth, a series of cervical, pectoral, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, as well as ribs, limb girdle elements including a nearly complete right scapula, and various distal limb bones. A unique character state combination serves to distinguish the Amaltheenton Formation remains from other previously documented Early Jurassic plesiosaurians. The most important features are the presence of a longitudinal notch incising the posterior rim of the glenoid fossa and retroarticular process, and a pronounced ventrolateral shelf on the scapula, both of which constitute derived states otherwise shared with Early Cretaceous leptocleidians. However, phylogenetic analysis using a ‘total group’ Plesiosauria data-set that specifically accommodates for Pliensbachian taxa unanimously placed the Amaltheenton Formation plesiosaurian among Early–Middle Jurassic pliosaurids. This discovery is significant because it reveals unexpected homoplasy, but also because it establishes what is only the third formally named plesiosaurian taxon thus far documented from Pliensbachian strata worldwide.

Sven Sachs^* [sachs.pal@gmail.com], Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany and Im Hof 9, 51766 Engelskirchen, Germany; Benjamin P. Kear [benjamin.kear@em.uu.se] Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, Uppsala SE-752 36, Sweden.     

A new species of triplinerved Laurophyllum from the Eocene of Nerriga,New South Wales

A new fossil triplinerved dicotyledon leaf, Laurophyllum acrocryptocaryoides Conran & Christophel (Lauraceae) from Eocene deposits at Nerriga is described. The fossil is similar to the previously described L. acrodromum Hill, also from this site, but differs in leaf shape and cuticular features. L. acrocrytocaryoides also resembles some members of the extant genus Cryptocarya and its relationship to extant taxa is discussed.     

Oldest meiolaniid turtle remains from Australia: evidence from the Eocene Kerosene Creek Member of the Rundle Formation,Queensland

Poropat, S.F., Kool, L., Vickers-Rich, P. &; Rich, T.H., September 2016. Oldest meiolaniid turtle remains from Australia: evidence from the Eocene Kerosene Creek Member of the Rundle Formation, Queensland. Alcheringa 41, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518.

Fossil meiolaniid turtles are known only from South America and Australasia. The South American record is restricted to the Eocene, and comprises two genera: Niolamia and Gaffneylania. The Australasian meiolaniid record is more diverse, with three genera known (Ninjemys, Warkalania and Meiolania); however, the oldest known specimens from this continent are significantly younger than those from South America, deriving from upper Oligocene sediments in South Australia and Queensland. Herein, we describe the oldest meiolaniid remains found in Australasia to date. The specimens comprise a posterior peripheral, a caudal ring, and an osteoderm, all of which derive from the middle–upper Eocene Rundle Formation of The Narrows Graben, Gladstone, eastern Queensland. Despite their fragmentary nature, each of these specimens can be assigned to Meiolaniidae with a high level of confidence. This is particularly true of the partial caudal ring, which is strongly similar to those of Niolamia, Ninjemys and Meiolania. The extension of the Australasian meiolaniid record to the Eocene lends strong support to the hypothesis that these turtles arose before South America and Australia detached from Antarctica, and that they were consequently able to spread across all three continents.

Stephen F. Poropat*^? [stephenfporopat@gmail.com], Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum, The Jump-Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia; Lesley Kool*^? [koollesley@gmail.com] and Thomas H. Rich [trich@museum.vic.gov.au], Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson St, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia; Patricia Vickers-Rich [pat.rich@monash.edu], Monash University, Wellington Rd, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. *These authors contributed equally to this work. ^?Also affiliated with Monash University, Wellington Rd, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.     

The first fossil record of Nandeva Wiedenbrug,Reiss & Fittkau (Diptera: Chironomidae) in early Eocene Fushun amber from China

Gi?ka, W., Zakrzewska, M., Baranov, V., Wang, B. &; Stebner, F., May 2016. The first fossil record of Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss &; Fittkau (Diptera: Chironomidae) in early Eocene Fushun amber from China. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

The first fossil representative of the extant chironomid genus Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss &; Fittkau, 1998 Wiedenbrug, S., Reiss, F. &; Fittkau, E.J., 1998. Nandeva, gen. nov., a new genus of Chironomini (Insecta, Diptera, Chironomidae). Spixiana 21, 59–68. [Google Scholar] is described based on a specimen found in early Eocene (50–53 Ma) Fushun amber from China. The adult male of Nandeva pudens sp. nov. has the long RM vein as a continuation of M and R₄₊₅, the bare squama, the strongly reduced anal area of the wing and hypopygial characters typical of extant species of the genus. Following the systematic concept based on adult male morphology and characters examinable in fossil specimens, we present N. pudens as a possible member of the Tanytarsini, arguing that Nandeva is part of this tribe or a possible sister group to the tribe. This is the first record of Nandeva from the Palaearctic region.

Wojciech Gi?ka [wojciech.gilka@biol.ug.edu.pl] University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; Marta Zakrzewska [marta.zakrzewska@biol.ug.edu.pl] University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; Viktor Baranov* [baranov@igb-berlin.de] Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany; Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Frauke Stebner [frauke.stebner@uni-bonn.de] University of Bonn, Steinmann-Institute, Section Palaeontology, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany. *Also affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Geography Department, Rudower Chaussee 16, 12489 Berlin, Germany. ?Also affiliated with Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Beijing 100101, PR China.     

Paracordyline aureonemoralis (Lomandraceae): an Eocene monocotyledon from South Australia

A monocotyledonous leaf macrofossil taxon from Golden Grove in Adelaide, South Australia is recognised as being close to several extant Australasian species of Cordyline, especially those in the C. stricta (Sims) Endl. / C. fruticosa (L.) A. Chev. complex. The fossil is assigned to the form genus Paracordyline, known previously from the Oligocene Kerguélen Islands. However, as the Golden Grove taxon differs markedly from the Kerguélen species, it is considered to be a new species, P. aureonemoralis Conran & Christophel.     

The sponge genus Brachiaster (Pachastrellidae,Demospongiae) and its first known fossil representative,from the late Eocene of southwestern Australia

Pisera, A. & Bitner, M.A., December, 2007. The sponge genus Brachiaster (Pachastrellidae, Demospongiae) and its first known fossil representative, from the late Eocene of southwestern Australia. Alcheringa 31, 365‐373. ISSN 0311-5518.

The pachastrellid genus Brachiaster Wilson (Pachastrellidae, Demospongiae, Porifera) has had until now no known fossil representatives. Here we describe its first known fossil representative from the late Eocene of southwestern Western Australia, assigned to Brachiaster claudelevii sp. nov. Brachiaster claudelevii has well-developed axial canals in the mesotriders, which points to it being intermediate in character between the typical tetraxial desmas of lithistids, and tetraxial spicules of non-lithistid demosponges. This further supports the position of Brachiaster among the Pachastrellidae. The geographic and bathymetric distribution of the extant and newly described fossil representatives of Brachiaster indicates that the Eocene sponge described here is important in understanding the evolution of Indo-West Pacific sponges because it points to a long evolutionary history and complex biogeographic distribution of this lineage of pachastrellid sponges.

Andrzej Pisera [apis@twarda.pan.pl], Maria Aleksandra Bitner [bitner@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Twarda 51/55, 00‐818 Warszawa, Poland; received 24.3.2006; revised 14.6.2006.     

Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia,Argentina

Brea, M., Zamuner, A.B., Matheos, S.D., Iglesias, A. & Zucol, A.F., December, 2008. Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa 32, 427–441. ISSN 0311-5518.

An anatomically preserved mature stem from the Salamanca Formation (early Paleocene) at Palacio de Los Loros, central Patagonia, Argentina, is described and assigned to Paracacioxylon frenguellii sp. nov. The material was preserved by siliceous permineralization and shows features of the secondary xylem typical of subfamily Mimosoideae. This species represents the oldest record of the genus and of the Leguminosae along the western border of Gondwana, and is the world's second oldest record of Leguminosae wood. The species is characterized by ring-porous to semi-ring-porous vessels that are solitary, in multiples of 2–4 and clustered, simple perforation plates, alternate and vestured inter-vessel pitting, homocellular 1–6 seriate rays, tyloses, crystals and diffuse apotracheal, vasicentric paratracheal and confluent axial parenchyma. Paracacioxylon frenguellii has anatomical similarities to Acacia Miller. The presence of Paracacioxylon frenguellii associated with pulvinate leaves suggests that the legumes might have been a component of mesothermal forests developed along the western margin of the Golfo San Jorge Basin during the early Paleocene.     

The Role of Bubo virginianus magellanicus as Rodent Bone Accumulator in Archaeological Sites: A Case Study for the Atuel River (Mendoza,Argentina)

Micromammalian bone assemblages from modern pellets of the strigiform Bubo virginianus magellanicus, from the upper Atuel River (southern Mendoza, Argentina), were taphonomically analysed. The results allow us to place B. v. magellanicus in the category of intermediate modification (Category 2). This sample has also been compared with results from other members of this genus, in order to classify B. v. magellanicus as a taphonomic agent. The participation of the Bubo species in archaeological accumulations has been documented, but in Argentina, the role of B. v. magellanicus has been reported up to the present. It is partly because of the sequence of one archaeological site in the south of Mendoza Province called Laguna El Sosneado‐3 (LS‐3). However, considering the absence of a current taphonomic model of this owl, this participation was mentioned as a hypothesis. In the current investigation, archaeological and modern samples have been compared. The results indicate that the skeletal element assemblages recovered from LS‐3 were accumulated by strigiform birds. Taphonomical evidence of light modifications on units I and IV indicates that Tyto alba (Category 1) was probably the main species involved in these units, whereas the taphonomical evidence on skeletal element assemblages recovered from units II and III suggests the action of a strigiform with a major category of modification such as B. v. magellanicus. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Eocene moncotyledon from Nelly Creek,Central Australia,with affinities to Hemerocallidaceae (Lilianae: Asparagales)

A monocotyledonous partial leaf macrofossil from Eocene beds at Nelly Creek near Lake Eyre in Central Australia is described. It is recognised as being close to several extant Australasian species of Dianella Lam. ex Juss. (Hemerocallidaceae), especially the D. odorata Blume / D. bambusifolia Hallier f. complex. However, because it has unique cuticular features relative to extant Hemerocallidaceae, the fossil is assigned to the new genus and species Dianellophyllum eocenicum Conran, Christophel & Cunningham.     

Adaptations to life in freshwater for Mioceratodus gregoryi,a lungfish from Redbank Plains,an Eocene locality in southeast Queensland,Australia

Kemp, A., December 2017. Adaptations to life in freshwater for Mioceratodus gregoryi, a lungfish from Redbank Plains, an Eocene locality in southeast Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa 42, 306–311. ISSN 0311-5518

Few Cenozoic lungfish fossils consist of articulated, associated bones and tooth plates. Mioceratodus gregoryi from the Paleogene (Eocene) deposit of the Redbank Plains Formation in southeast Queensland is unusual in this respect because the fossil includes tooth plates and elements of the skull. An analysis of the material and reconstruction of the skull and associated skeletal material provides new insights into the fish and its environment. The fish has a mandible with a wide separation between the lower tooth-bearing bones, and a strong ceratohyal bone. This suggests that, like the extant Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, the fossil fish had a moveable basihyal that could be inserted between the prearticular bones to seal the oral cavity. This would have allowed the fish to draw food, air and water into the mouth, and dig holes by sucking mud into the oral cavity and blowing it out again, all useful attributes for a fish that lived in a shallow freshwater lake. The living Australian lungfish has similar structures in the mandible and hyoid apparatus, and performs comparable actions. The occipital ribs, also preserved in the Redbank Plains fossil, are embedded in hypaxial muscles and not moveable. It is unlikely that these ribs have any influence on the suctorial process in these two species.

Anne Kemp [a.kemp@griffith.edu.au] Environmental Futures Centre, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia.     

Humeral morphology of the early Eocene mekosuchine crocodylian Kambara from the Tingamarra Local Fauna southeastern Queensland,Australia

Stein, M., Salisbury, S.W., Hand, S.J., Archer, M. & Godthelp, H., December 2012. Humeral morphology of the early Eocene mekosuchine crocodylian Kambara from the Tingamarra Local Fauna southeastern Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa 36, 473–486. ISSN 0311-5518.

Mekosuchines (Crocodylia; Crocodyloidea) were a clade of crocodylians endemic to Australia and the South Pacific that underwent radiation during the Cenozoic. Numerous questions about mekosuchine palaeoecology remain unanswered. Tantalizing among these is the possibility that some mekosuchines were primarily terrestrial. To date, studies of mekosuchines have focused mainly on the cranium. However, the morphological signal for terrestriality is more likely to be found in the postcranial skeleton. Here, we present a comparative morphological study of fossil humeri referable to Kambara from the early Eocene Tingamara Local Fauna, Murgon, southeastern Queensland. The humeri of Kambara do not show the torsion between the proximal and distal extremity seen in extant crocodylians, illustrated here with Crocodylus porosus and Crocodylus johnstoni. They also differ in the structure of the medial and lateral condyles of the distal extremity. When the effects of these features on musculature and articulation are considered, it appears that the forelimb of Kambara could have facilitated a greater force at the glenohumeral joint and possibly swung the lower forelimb faster with a greater arc of motion than Australia's extant crocodylians. This is conducive to an improved capacity for both terrestrial locomotion and paraxial swimming. Although the former case suggests that Kambara may not have been as closely tied to water as extant crocodylians, it is unusual given the typically broad rostra of the cranium. Among crocodylians this is a common characteristic of semi-aquatic ambush predators. This study shows the utility of the postcranial skeleton in interpreting crocodylian palaeoecology.

Michael Stein [michael.stein@student.unsw.edu.au] (corresponding author), Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au] and Henk Godthelp [h.godthelp@unsw.edu.au], School of Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia; and Steven W. Salisbury [s.salisbury@uq.edu.au], School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, 4072, Australia. Received 13.1.2012, revised 24.2.2012, accepted 28.2.2012.     

The early bivalve radiation in the Ordovician Gondwanan basins of Argentina

The Ordovician diversification is marked by an increase in both marine diversity and ecospace occupation. Bivalves, like other groups, underwent a remarkable diversification in the Early Ordovician. The early phases of such a bivalve diversification took place in the Gondwanan basins of western Argentina. In the Northwestern Argentina (NWA) Basin, three clades originated during late Tremadocian–Floian times. In the Floian successions of the Famatina Basin, a probable basal arcoid is recorded. Genera from these two basins belong to 13 families. Phylogenetic analysis of the NWA heteroconchian bivalves indicates that redoniids and coxiconchinids may have originated during this radiation event. This taxonomic radiation also implies an ecological diversification. Ten guilds are recognized on the basis of bauplan, mode of life, and feeding types. Lifestyles included free endofaunal, free semi-endofaunal, semi-endobyssate, and epibyssate; feeding types included suspensivorous and detritivorous habits. Physiological changes imposed by colonization of low-salinity environments also account for guild definitions. Recent discoveries of Tremadoc to early Darriwilian bivalves from the NWA and Famatina basins indicate that the dominance of higher groups (e.g. Heteroconchia, Pteriomorphia) deviates from the patterns evident in other Gondwanan basins. This agrees with previous ideas supporting the importance of local radiations during the Ordovician diversification. Two new taxa are described, Eoredonia orientalis gen. et sp. nov. and Babinka notica sp. nov., and Coxiconchia sellaensis Sánchez & Babin is first reported from the NWA Basin.     

Sex identification from the auricular surface of the adult human ilium

The sacro-iliac joint has largely been excluded in studies of sex identification from the adult human skeleton. Yet this is a joint involved in the transmission of body weight and as such would be expected to exhibit sexual dimorphism. In addition, the auricular surface of the ilium tends to persist even in fragmented remains by virtue of its close proximity to the acetabulo-cristal buttress. The aim of this investigation was to assess the accuracy with which sex could be predicted from dimensions of the auricular surface of the ilium. Significant sex differences were found in the size and shape of the auricular surface. However, these differences were of insufficient magnitude to permit discrimination between the sexes with any acceptable degree of accuracy. Therefore, the auricular surface of the ilium is not recommended for the purpose of sex identification.     

Remains of an Eocene skink from Queensland

Azurduya gen. nov. (Brachiopoda: Camarotoechiidae) is described from Early Carboniferous sequences in the Argentine Precordillera and northern Chile. Marine assemblages and the palynoflora associated with this genus suggest a Tournaisian age. The type species Azurduya chavelensis (Amos, 1958) is reviewed and redescribed from material from the type locality. Additional material from equivalent localities in the Rio Blanco Basin (La Rioja and San Juan provinces, Argentine Precordilera) has been used to understand ontogenetic changes as well intraspecific variation. Azurduya cingolanii sp. nov. is proposed.     

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 palaeo-opportunistic brachiopod from the Early Permian of Argentina

Neochonetes sp. (Brachiopoda, Chonetoidea) is recorded from the middle to upper part of the early Permian Río del Peñón Formation, Río Blanco Basin, La Rioja, Argentina. It can be recognised as an r-strategist based on distribution, facies, morphological and ontogenic data which agree with the criteria proposed by Levinton and Alexander for recognising palaeo-opportunistic brachiopods. The new record of an opportunistic chonetid suggests that the group may have evolved this adaptative strategy during the late Palaeozoic.     

Oldest record of the scale-leaved clade of Podocarpaceae,early Paleocene of Patagonia,Argentina

A new podocarpaceous conifer is described from the early Danian Salamanca Formation (southern Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina) based on compressions of leafy branches with cuticular remains. Kirketapel salamanquensis gen. et sp. nov. has amphistomatic, scale-like leaves with marginal frills distinguishable at the apex; stomata oriented randomly in relation to the major axis of the leaf with four to five subsidiary cells and extremely reduced Florin rings; and irregularly shaped epidermal cells. We compare K. salamanquensis with extant and extinct members of the imbricate-leaved podocarps, among which it closely resembles Florin’s Dacrydium group C genera (i.e., Lagarostrobos, Manoao, Lepidothamnus and Halocarpus). Among these genera, only Lepidothamnus has a living representative in South America, the Chilean L. fonkii, whose leaf macro- and micromorphological characters are described in detail for comparison. Overall, the Patagonian fossil species is most similar to the extant and extinct members of Lagarostrobos in its cuticular micromorphology; however, macromorphological characters, such as the leaf size, apex curvature and mode of flattening, clearly differentiate it from all four genera of Dacrydium group C. We include Kirketapel salamanquensis in a combined molecular and morphological phylogenetic analysis conducted under the maximum parsimony criterion. The new, early Paleocene fossil taxon is confidently recovered as part of the scale-leaved clade as defined herein, which also includes Halocarpus, Phyllocladus, Lepidothamnus, Parasitaxus, Lagarostrobos and Manoao, and it constitutes the oldest record known for the group by at least 17 million years as well as its first fossil occurrence outside Australasia, establishing a widespread Gondwanan history. Furthermore, based on its oldest locality of occurrence, K. salamanquensis shows that the divergence of the total group of the scale-leaved podocarps occurred by at least 65 million years ago, adding to the growing systematic knowledge of earliest Cenozoic macrofloras in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ana Andruchow-Colombo [aandruchow@mef.org.ar] and Ignacio Escapa [iescapa@mef.org.ar] CONICET, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio Av. Fontana 140, Trelew 9100, Chubut, Argentina; Raymond J. Carpenter* [raymond.carpenter@adelaide.edu.au] School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia; Robert S. Hill [bob.hill@adelaide.edu.au] School of Biological Sciences and Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia; Ari Iglesias [ari_iglesias@yahoo.com.ar] CONICET, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente INIBIOMA-CONICET, Universidad Nacional del COMAHUE, Quintral 1250, San Carlos de Bariloche 8400, Río Negro, Argentina; Ana Abarzua [anaabarzua@uach.cl] Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Av. Rector Eduardo Morales Miranda 23, Valdivia 5090000, Región de los Ríos, Chile; Peter Wilf [pwilf@psu.edu] Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. *Also affiliated with: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. Received 28.2.2018; revised 22.8.2018; accepted 24.8.2018.