The architecture of Permian glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive organs

McLoughlin, S. & Prevec, R. 20 September 2019. The architecture of Permian glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive organs. Alcheringa XX, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

A historical account of research on glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive structures reveals starkly contrasting interpretations of their architecture and homologies from the earliest investigations. The diversity of interpretations has led to the establishment of a multitude of genera for these fossil organs, many of the taxa being synonymous. We identify a need for taxonomic revision of these genera to clearly demarcate taxa before they can be used effectively as palaeobiogeographic or biostratigraphic indices. Our assessment of fructification features based on extensive studies of adpression and permineralized fossils reveals that many of the character states for glossopterids used in previous phylogenetic analyses are erroneous. We interpret glossopterid fertiligers to have been borne in loose strobili in which individual polysperms represent fertile cladodes of diverse morphologies subtended by a vegetative leaf or bract. Polysperms within the group are variously branched or condensed with ovule placement ranging from marginal to abaxial, in some cases occurring on recurved branchlets or in cupule-like structures. Glossopterid polysperms of all types are fringed by one or two ranks of wing-like structures that may represent the remnants of megasporophylls that were, ancestrally, developed on the fertile axillary shoot. Glossopterid fertiligers have similarities to the condensed bract/ovuliferous scale complexes of conifer cones, but comparisons with Mesozoic seed-ferns are hindered by insufficient data on the arrangement and homologies of the ovule-bearing organs of the latter group. Nevertheless, glossopterid polysperms differ from the ovuliferous organs of Mesozoic seed-ferns by longitudinal versus transverse folding, respectively.

Stephen McLoughlin* [steve.mcloughlin@nrm.se], Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden; Rose Prevec [r.prevec@am.org.za], Department of Earth Sciences, Albany Museum, 40 Somerset Street, Makhanda, 6139, Eastern Cape, South Africa, and Department of Botany, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Makhanda, 6140, Eastern Cape, South Africa.     

Neogene crinoids of southeast Asia: preservation,systematics and significance

Donovan, S.K. &; Helwerda, R.A., August 2016. Neogene crinoids of southeast Asia: preservation, systematics and significance. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The Cenozoic record of fossil crinoids is poor. In part, this is because the stalked taxa have moved into deep water (>100–150 m water depth) since the Cretaceous, but also results from the propensity for the crinoid endoskeleton to disarticulate soon after death. Despite this, we report two new, small crinoid faunas of moderate diversity from the Pliocene of East Kalimantan and the Philippines. Included taxa are columnals of the isocrinid Metacrinus? sp.; a bourgueticrinid cup and columnal, Democrinus? sp.; and cirral and brachial ossicles (isocrinids and comatulids). The preservation of these Pliocene crinoids is not conducive to classification to the level of species, although some taxa are easier to determine than others, but the precise reason for this dearth of complete specimens remains uncertain. Because of our knowledge of extant crinoids, this Cenozoic ‘gap’ has been poorly appreciated. Rather than denigrating the Pliocene crinoids documented herein for being fragmentary and difficult to accurately determine, we instead report them as a rare set of data points, filling, in part, the Cenozoic ‘gap’.

Stephen K. Donovan [steve.donovan@naturalis.nl] and Renate Helwerda [renate.helwerda@naturalis.nl], Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. Received 03.05.2016; revised 16.06.2016; accepted 21.6.2016.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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 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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

New species of Tanyderidae (Diptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation of China

Dong, F., Shih, C.K., Skibińska, K., Krzemiński, W. & Ren, D., 10.4.2015. New species of Tanyderidae (Diptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation of China. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Two new tanyderid species of Praemacrochile Kalugina, 1985 (P. dryasis, P. ovalum) and one new tanyderid species of Protanyderus Handlirsch, 1909 (P. astictum) are described and illustrated from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. These species are circumscribed using well-preserved fossil specimens with bodies and complete wings. We also collected and identified new material of two species of Praemacrochile (P. ansorgei Lukashevich & Krzemiński and P. chinensis, Krzemiński & Ren) and one species of Protanyderus (P. vulcanium Zhang) from the same locality.

Fei Dong [123dongfeifei@163.com], Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn] and Chungkun Shih [chungkun.shih@gmail.com], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing, PR China 100048; Kornelia Skibińska [yukisiak@gmail.com] Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland; Wies?aw Krzemiński [wieslawk4@gmail.com] Pedagogical University of Cracow, Faculty of Geography and Biology, Institute of Biology, ul. Podchor??ych 2, 30-084 Kraków, ma?opolskie, Poland.     

Progiraffa (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia: Giraffidae) from the Lower Siwalik Subgroup (Miocene) of Pakistan

Aftab, K., Khan, M.A., Ahmad, Z. & Akhtar, M., February 2016. Progiraffa (Artiodactyla: Ruminantia: Giraffidae) from the Lower Siwalik Subgroup (Miocene) of Pakistan. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Previously, Progiraffa exigua has been reported only from the Kamlial Formation (ca 18.3–14.2 Ma) of the Siwalik Group. We record Progiraffa exigua from the Lower Siwalik Subgroup at five localities: Jaba, Chinji Rest House, Rakh Wasnal, Dhok Bun Amir Khatoon and Ghungrila, Pakistan, thus extending the range of P. exigua to the Chinji Formation of the Siwalik Group (ca 14.2–11.2 Ma).

Kiran Aftab [kiranaftab2012@gmail.com], Zaheer Ahmad [dr.zaheerahmed11@yahoo.com], Zoology Department, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan; Muhammad Akbar Khan [akbaar111@yahoo.ca], Muhammad Akhtar [drakhtarfdrc@hotmail.com], Dr Abu Bakr Fossil Display & Research Centre, Zoology Department, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.     

A benign bone-forming tumour (osteoma) on the skull of a fossil balaenopterid whale from the Pliocene of Chile

Hampe, O., Witzmann, F. & Asbach, P., 2014. A benign bone-forming tumour (osteoma) on the skull of a fossil balaenopterid whale from the Pliocene of Chile. Alcheringa 38, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311–5518.

A pathology of the fossil baleen whale ‘Megaptera’ hubachi from the early Pliocene of Chile is described. It is a bony outgrowth on the left side of the supraoccipital, which is interpreted as a benign bone-forming tumour (osteoma). This diagnosis is based on X-ray imaging and CT scans of the abnormal bone, revealing a homogeneously dense internal structure with no evidence for lytic areas. The osteoma described here in ‘Megaptera’ hubachi is the first unequivocal evidence of a bone tumour in a cetacean, fossil or extant.

Oliver Hampe [oliver.hampe@mfn-berlin.de] and Florian Witzmann [florian.witzmann@mfn-berlin.de], Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany; Patrick Asbach [patrick.asbach@charite.de], Institut für Radiologie, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany. Received 28.8.2013, revised 7.11.2013, accepted 12.11.2013.     

A Permian Barycrinus? Wachsmuth (Crinoidea,Cladida) from Timor

Donovan, S.K. &; Webster, G.D. December 2015. A Permian Barycrinus? Wachsmuth (Crinoidea, Cladida) from Timor. Alcheringa 40, 216–218. ISSN 0311-5518.

A crinoid pluricolumnal from Noil Simaam, Timor, is identified as Barycrinus? sp., the youngest member of this otherwise Mississippian genus. Identifying features of this robust specimen include a moderately broad, pentastellate lumen and pentamerism. Although likely a new species, preservation is too poor to warrant erection of a nominal taxon. The only coeval barycrinid, probably also Barycrinus?, was described from the Carnavon Basin, Western Australia.

Stephen K. Donovan [steve.donovan@naturalis.nl], Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Postbus 9517, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Gary D. Webster [webster@wsu.edu], School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2812, USA.     

First report of Cixiidae insect fossils from the Miocene of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and their palaeoenvironmental implications

Li, Y., Liu, X., Ren, D., Li, X. & Yao, Y., June 2016. First report of Cixiidae insect fossils from the Miocene of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and their palaeoenvironmental implications. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new insect species, Cixius discretus (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha), from the Lower Miocene Garang Formation of Zeku County, Qinghai Province (northeastern Tibetan Plateau) is described. This species can be assigned to Cixiidae and represents the first fossil representative of this family from Qinghai Province. Based on the recent single-origin hypothesis and the distribution of tectonic plates in the Cretaceous, we consider that ancient Cixius had dispersed globally prior to the Cretaceous. Through analysis of the habitats of extant Cixius, the palaeoclimate and fossil flora of the Zeku area during the Miocene, we interpret the climate of Zeku in the early Miocene to have been warm-temperate and mildly arid. The new species constitutes evidence of wooded and shrubby habitats in Zeku during the Miocene.

Yi Li [liy0124@sina.com], XiaoHui Liu [liuxh8917@163.com], Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn] and YunZhi Yao [yunzhi@cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China; XiangChuan Li [lzulixiangchuan@163.com], College of Earth Sciences and Resources & Key Laboratory of Western Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, PR China.     

Remarks on the pattern of septal insertion in rugose corals

Wang, G., Percival, I.G. & Li, R., 25.2.2015. Remarks on the pattern of septal insertion in rugose corals. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Well-preserved specimens of the Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) rugose coral Lambeophyllum? corniculum He from the Yangtze Platform of South China, clearly show how catasepta (minor septa) are inserted, confirming the model proposed by Weyer in the 1970s. Our observations indicate the insertion of counter lateral septa and their neighbouring catasepta on the counter side takes place in exactly the same manner as that of the subsequent metasepta and catasepta. We propose abandoning the use of the term counter lateral septa. Therefore, exclusion of the pair of counter lateral septa reduces the number of protosepta from six to four.

Guangxu Wang [gxwang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Ian G. Percival [ian.percival@trade.nsw.gov.au], Geological Survey of New South Wales, 947–953 Londonderry Road, Londonderry, NSW 2753, Australia; Rongyu Li [lir@brandonu.ca], Department of Geology, Brandon University, Manitoba R7A 6A9, Canada.     

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.     

How diverse were early animal communities? An example from Ediacara Conservation Park,Flinders Ranges,South Australia

Coutts, F.J., Gehling, J.G. & García-Bellido, D.C., August 2016. How diverse were early animal communities? An example from Ediacara Conservation Park, Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Fossils of the Ediacara biota record the earliest evidence of animal communities and, as such, provide an invaluable glimpse into the abiotic and biotic processes that helped shape the evolution of complex life on Earth. A diverse community of Ediacaran macro-organisms is preserved with high resolution in a fossil bed recently excavated from north Ediacara Conservation Park (NECP) in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Many of the commonly described Ediacaran taxa from the Flinders Ranges are represented on the bed surface and include: Parvancorina, Rugoconites, Spriggina, Dickinsonia, Tribrachidium, Kimberella, Charniodiscus and Yorgia, including two new taxa. Numerous additional fossil-bed fragments from the same locality were analysed that preserve a similar suite of taxa and shared sedimentology. On all surfaces, preserved microbial mat appeared complex, both in topography and in texture, and the unique combination of fine grainsize, high diversity and trace fossils provide insights into the palaeoecology of the ancient organisms that lived during the Ediacaran Period some 550 Ma. Several trace fossils are overlapped by body fossils, indicative of successive events, and complex organismal behaviour. The complexity of this fossil surface suggests that the primordial community was relatively mature and possibly at late-stage succession.

Felicity J Coutts [felicity.coutts@adelaide.edu.au], School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, South Australia, Australia. James G Gehling [jim.gehling@samuseum.sa.gov.au], South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia. Diego C. García-Bellido [diego.garcia-bellido@adelaide.edu.au], South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.     

Two new fossil caddisflies (Amphiesmenoptera: Trichoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China

Zhang, W.T., Shih, C.K. &; Ren, D., May 2016. Two new fossil caddisflies (Amphiesmenoptera: Trichoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China. Alcheringa XX, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two new species, Acisarcuatus locellatus (Necrotauliidae) and Liadotaulius limus (?Philopotamidae) are described. They were collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou Village, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China. In addition, we interpret Karatauliodes to be a junior synonym of Necrotaulius and propose Necrotaulius minutus (Sukatsheva, 1968) comb. nov. We propose transferring Necrotaulius korujensis and Necrotaulius shewjensis to Liadotaulius as Liadotaulius korujensis (Sukatsheva, 1990) comb. nov. and Liadotaulius shewjensis (Sukatsheva, 1990) comb. nov. Based on newly described taxa and the new combinations proposed, we summarize seven known genera with 24 species within Necrotauliidae and provide a key to the genera of this family.

Weiting Zhang [zhangweitinghao@163.com], Geoscience Museum, Hebei GEO University, 136 Huaiandonglu, Shijiazhuang, 050031, PR China; Chungkun Shih [chungkun.shih@gmail.com] and Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China; Chungkun Shih, Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.