Early Cretaceous polar biotas of Victoria,southeastern Australia—an overview of research to date

Poropat, S.F., Martin, S.K., Tosolini, A.-M.P., Wagstaff, B.E, Bean, L.B., Kear, B.P., Vickers-Rich, P. &; Rich, T.H., May 2018. Early Cretaceous polar biotas of Victoria, southeastern Australia—an overview of research to date. Alcheringa 42, 158–230. ISSN 0311-5518.

Although Cretaceous fossils (coal excluded) from Victoria, Australia, were first reported in the 1850s, it was not until the 1950s that detailed studies of these fossils were undertaken. Numerous fossil localities have been identified in Victoria since the 1960s, including the Koonwarra Fossil Bed (Strzelecki Group) near Leongatha, the Dinosaur Cove and Eric the Red West sites (Otway Group) at Cape Otway, and the Flat Rocks site (Strzelecki Group) near Cape Paterson. Systematic exploration over the past five decades has resulted in the collection of thousands of fossils representing various plants, invertebrates and vertebrates. Some of the best-preserved and most diverse Hauterivian–Barremian floral assemblages in Australia derive from outcrops of the lower Strzelecki Group in the Gippsland Basin. The slightly younger Koonwarra Fossil Bed (Aptian) is a Konservat-Lagerstätte that also preserves abundant plants, including one of the oldest known flowers. In addition, insects, crustaceans (including the only syncaridans known from Australia between the Triassic and the present), arachnids (including Australia’s only known opilione), the stratigraphically youngest xiphosurans from Australia, bryozoans, unionoid molluscs and a rich assemblage of actinopterygian fish are known from the Koonwarra Fossil Bed. The oldest known—and only Mesozoic—fossil feathers from the Australian continent constitute the only evidence for tetrapods at Koonwarra. By contrast, the Barremian–Aptian-aged deposits at the Flat Rocks site, and the Aptian–Albian-aged strata at the Dinosaur Cove and Eric the Red West sites, are all dominated by tetrapod fossils, with actinopterygians and dipnoans relatively rare. Small ornithopod (=basal neornithischian) dinosaurs are numerically common, known from four partial skeletons and a multitude of isolated bones. Aquatic meiolaniform turtles constitute another prominent faunal element, represented by numerous isolated bones and articulated carapaces and plastrons. More than 50 specimens—mostly lower jaws—evince a high diversity of mammals, including monotremes, a multituberculate and several enigmatic ausktribosphenids. Relatively minor components of these fossil assemblages are diverse theropods (including birds), rare ankylosaurs and ceratopsians, pterosaurs, non-marine plesiosaurs and a lepidosaur. In the older strata of the upper Strzelecki Group, temnospondyl amphibians—the youngest known worldwide—are a conspicuous component of the fauna, whereas crocodylomorphs appear to be present only in up-sequence deposits of the Otway Group. Invertebrates are uncommon, although decapod crustaceans and unionoid bivalves have been described. Collectively, the Early Cretaceous biota of Victoria provides insights into a unique Mesozoic high-latitude palaeoenvironment and elucidates both palaeoclimatic and palaeobiogeographic changes throughout more than 25 million years of geological time.

Stephen F. Poropat*? [sporopat@swin.edu.au; stephenfporopat@gmail.com], Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia; Sarah K. Martin*? [sarah.martin@dmirs.wa.gov.au; martin.sarahk@gmail.com] Geological Survey of Western Australia, 100 Plain St, East Perth, Western Australia 6004, Australia; Anne-Marie P. Tosolini [a.tosolini@unimelb.edu.au] and Barbara E. Wagstaff [wagstaff@unimelb.edu.au] School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; Lynne B. Bean [lynne.bean@anu.edu.au] Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2001, Australia; Benjamin P. Kear [benjamin.kear@em.uu.se] Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, Uppsala SE-752 36, Sweden; Patricia Vickers-Rich§ [prich@swin.edu.au; pat.rich@monash.edu] Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia; Thomas H. Rich [trich@museum.vic.gov.au] Museum Victoria, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia. *These authors contributed equally to this work. ?Also affiliated with: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Lot 1 Dinosaur Drive, PO Box 408, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia. ?Also affiliated with: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6101, Australia. §Also affiliated with: School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia.     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reappraisal of Austrosaurus mckillopi Longman, 1933 from the Allaru Mudstone of Queensland,Australia’s first named Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur

Poropat, S.F., Nair, J.P., Syme, C.E., Mannion, P.D., Upchurch, P., Hocknull, S.A., Cook, A.G., Tischler, T.R. &; Holland, T. XX.XXXX. 2017. Reappraisal of Austrosaurus mckillopi Longman, 1933 Longman, H.A., 1933. A new dinosaur from the Queensland Cretaceous. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 10, 131–144. [Google Scholar] from the Allaru Mudstone of Queensland, Australia’s first named Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur. Alcheringa 41, 543–580. ISSN 0311-5518

Austrosaurus mckillopi was the first Cretaceous sauropod reported from Australia, and the first Cretaceous dinosaur reported from Queensland (northeast Australia). This sauropod taxon was established on the basis of several fragmentary presacral vertebrae (QM F2316) derived from the uppermost Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) Allaru Mudstone, at a locality situated 77 km west-northwest of Richmond, Queensland. Prior to its rediscovery in 2014, the type site was considered lost after failed attempts to relocate it in the 1970s. Excavations at the site in 2014 and 2015 led to the recovery of several partial dorsal ribs and fragments of presacral vertebrae, all of which clearly pertained to a single sauropod dinosaur. The discovery of new material of the type individual of Austrosaurus mckillopi, in tandem with a reassessment of the material collected in the 1930s, has facilitated the rearticulation of the specimen. The resultant vertebral series comprises six presacral vertebrae—the posteriormost cervical and five anteriormost dorsals—in association with five left dorsal ribs and one right one. The fragmentary nature of the type specimen has historically hindered assessments of the phylogenetic affinities of Austrosaurus, as has the fact that these evaluations were often based on a subset of the type material. The reappraisal of the type series of Austrosaurus presented herein, on the basis of both external morphology and internal morphology visualized through CT data, validates it as a diagnostic titanosauriform taxon, tentatively placed in Somphospondyli, and characterized by the possession of an accessory lateral pneumatic foramen on dorsal vertebra I (a feature that appears to be autapomorphic) and by the presence of a robust ventral mid-line ridge on the centra of dorsal vertebrae I and II. The interpretation of the anteriormost preserved vertebra in Austrosaurus as a posterior cervical has also prompted the re-evaluation of an isolated, partial, posterior cervical vertebra (QM F6142, the ‘Hughenden sauropod’) from the upper Albian Toolebuc Formation (which underlies the Allaru Mudstone). Although this vertebra preserves an apparent unique character of its own (a spinopostzygapophyseal lamina fossa), it is not able to be referred unequivocally to Austrosaurus and is retained as Titanosauriformes indet. Austrosaurus mckillopi is one of the oldest known sauropods from the Australian Cretaceous based on skeletal remains and potentially provides phylogenetic and/or palaeobiogeographic context for later taxa such as Wintonotitan wattsi, Diamantinasaurus matildae and Savannasaurus elliottorum.

Stephen F. Poropat* [sporopat@swin.edu.au; stephenfporopat@gmail.com] Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia; Jay P. Nair [j.nair@uq.edu.au; jayraptor@gmail.com] School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Caitlin E. Syme [caitlin.syme@uqconnect.edu.au] School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Philip D. Mannion [philipdmannion@gmail.com] Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Paul Upchurch [p.upchurch@ucl.ac.uk] Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK; Scott A. Hocknull [scott.hocknull@qm.qld.gov.au] Geosciences, Queensland Museum, 122 Gerler Rd, Hendra, Queensland 4011, Australia; Alex G. Cook [alex.cook@y7mail.com] School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Travis R. Tischler [travisr.tischler@outlook.com] Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Lot 1 Dinosaur Drive, PO Box 408, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia; Timothy Holland [drtimothyholland@gmail.com] Kronosaurus Korner, 91 Goldring St, Richmond, Queensland 4822, Australia. *Also affiliated with: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Lot 1 Dinosaur Drive, PO Box 408, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia.     

Macrofossil evidence of early sporophyte stages of a new genus of water fern Tecaropteris (Ceratopteridoideae: Pteridaceae) from the Paleogene Redbank Plains Formation,southeast Queensland,Australia

Rozefelds, A.C., Dettmann, M.E., Clifford, H.T. & Lewis, D., August 2015. Macrofossil evidence of early sporophyte stages of a new genus of water fern Tecaropteris (Ceratopteridoideae: Pteridaceae) from the Paleogene Redbank Plains Formation, southeast Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa 39,. ISSN 0311-5518.

Water fern foliage is described from the Paleogene Redbank Plains Formation at Dinmore in southeast Queensland. The material, which is based upon leaf impressions, records early sporophyte growth stages. The specimens occur at discrete levels in clay pits at Dinmore, and the different leaf stages present suggest that they represent colonies of young submerged plants, mats of floating leaves, or a mixed assemblage of both. The leaf material closely matches the range of variation evident in young sporophytes of Ceratopteris Brongn., but in the complete absence of Cenozoic fossils of the spore genus Magnastriatites Germeraad, Hopping & Muller emend. Dettmann & Clifford from mainland Australia, which are the fossil spores of this genus, it is referred to a new genus, Tecaropteris. The record of ceratopterid-like ferns adds significantly to our limited knowledge of Cenozoic freshwater plants from Australia. The geoheritage significance of sites, such as Dinmore, is discussed briefly.

Andrew C. Rozefelds [andrew.rozefelds@qm.qld.gov.au], Queensland Museum GPO Box 3300, South Brisbane, 4101, Queensland, Australia and School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, Queensland, Australia; Mary Dettmann [mary.dettmann@qm.qld.gov.au], H. Trevor Clifford [trevor.clifford@qm.qld.gov.au] and Debra Lewis [debra.lewis@qm.qld.gov.au], Queensland Museum, GPO Box 3300, South Brisbane, 4101, Queensland, Australia.     

Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum gen. et sp. nov., a new short-snouted,early Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) from the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) in South Australia

Chamberlain, P.M., Travouillon, K.J., Archer, M. & Hand, S.J., November 2015. Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum gen. et sp. nov., a new short-snouted, early Miocene bandicoot (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia) from the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) in South Australia. Alcheringa 40, XX–XX. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new bandicoot species, Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum gen. et sp. nov. (Peramelemorphia), is described here from the Leaf Locality, Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (LF), Wipajiri Formation (South Australia). The age of the fossil deposit is interpreted as early Miocene on the basis of biocorrelation between multiple species in the Kutjamarpu LF and local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area (WHA). Kutjamarcoot brevirostrum is represented by isolated teeth and three partial dentaries and appears to have been short-snouted with an estimated mass of 920 g. Phylogenetic analyses place K. brevirostrum in a clade with extant Australian bandicoots and the extinct Madju, but potentially exclude the extant New Guinean bandicoots. Morphometric analysis infers close similarity between K. brevirostrum and species of Galadi in both size and rostral length. They, thus, potentially occupied compatible ecological niches with competitive exclusion perhaps explaining geographical segregation between these broadly coeval lineages.

Philippa M. Chamberlain [philippa.chamberlain@uq.net.au], School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; Kenny J. Travouillon [kenny.travouillon@museum.wa.gov.au; kennytravouillon@hotmail.com], Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA, 6986, and School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia; Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au] and Suzanne J. Hand [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, 2052, Australia.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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

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

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

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

A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the Talbragar Fish Bed,New South Wales,Australia

Nel, A., Frese, M., McLean, G. & Beattie R., May 2017. A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica from the Talbragar Fish Bed, New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 41, 532–535. ISSN 0311-5518.

The discovery of a well-preserved dragonfly forewing in the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed near Gulgong and attributed to Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel allows this taxon to be placed in Protolindeniidae. It extends the palaeogeographical distribution of this family, previously known only from the Jurassic of Europe, to Australia.

André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], CNRS UMR 7205, CP 50, Entomologie, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005, Paris, France; Michael Frese [michael.frese@canberra.edu.au], University of Canberra, Institute for Applied Ecology and Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Mathematics, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia; Graham McLean [mcleangg@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Robert Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.     

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

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

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

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

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.     

Pteruchus (microsporophyll): part 2 of a reassessment of Gondwana Triassic plant genera and a reclassification of some previously attributed

Anderson, H.M., Barbacka, M., Bamford, M.K., Holmes, W.B.K. & Anderson, J.M., 3 July 2019. Pteruchus (microsporophyll): part 2 of a reassessment of Gondwana Triassic plant genera and a reclassification of some attributed previously. Alcheringa XXX, X–X. ISSN 0311-5518

The microsporophyll genus Pteruchus, belonging to the pteridosperms (seed ferns) in the family Umkomasiaceae (Corystospermaceae), is reassessed comprehensively worldwide and emended. All records are analysed, and some fertile structures previously attributed are reclassified. The Lower Jurassic record of Pteruchus from Germany is ascribed to a new genus as Muelkirchium septentrionalis. Pteruchus is shown to be restricted to the Triassic of Gondwana and is clearly affiliated with the megasporophyll genus Umkomasia and the vegetative leaf genus Dicroidium. It is well represented from Argentina, Antarctica, Australia and southern Africa; the Molteno Formation of southern Africa is by far the most comprehensively sampled, yielding three species and 425 specimens from 22 localities. Nomenclatural problems with the species of Pteruchus are addressed. A key to Pteruchus species is provided; geographic and stratigraphic distributions are tabulated.

Heidi M. Anderson [hmsholmes@googlemail.com], Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 20150, South Africa; Maria Barbacka [mariabarbacka@gmail.com], W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland; Hungarian Natural History Museum, Botanical Department, H-1431 Budapest, Pf. 137, Hungary; Marion K. Bamford [marionbamford@witsacza], Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 20150, South Africa; W.B. Keith Holmes* [wbkholmes@hotmail.com], 46 Kurrajong Street, Dorrigo, NSW 2453, Australia; John M. Anderson [jmandersongondwana@googlemail.com], Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 20150, South Africa. *Also affiliated with: University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.     

An early Miocene ant (subfam. Amblyoponinae) from Foulden Maar: the first fossil Hymenoptera from New Zealand

Kaulfuss, U., Harris, A.C., Conran J.G. & Lee, D.E., 2014. An early Miocene ant (subfam. Amblyoponinae) from Foulden Maar: the first fossil Hymenoptera from New Zealand. Alcheringa 38, 568–574. ISSN 0311-5518.

The ant subfamily Amblyoponinae is presently represented in New Zealand by one endemic species in the cosmopolitan genus Stigmatomma and an introduced Australian species of Amblyopone. The fossil record of the group is restricted to two species of Stigmatomma from late Eocene Baltic Amber. Here, we describe the third fossil record, an Amblyopone-like specimen from the early Miocene of Otago, southern New Zealand, based on a winged male that resembles the extant A. australis Erichson in size, general habitus and characters of wing venation, but also shares features with the African amblyoponine genus Zymmer. This represents the first fossil record of Amblyoponinae from the Southern Hemisphere and the first example of Hymenoptera among the few pre-Quaternary insect fossils known from New Zealand. It suggests a long history of Amblyoponinae in New Zealand and Australia.

Uwe Kaulfuss [uwe.kaulfuss@otago.ac.nz] and Daphne E. Lee [daphne.lee@otago.ac.nz], Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand; Anthony C. Harris [anthony.harris@otagomuseum.govt.nz], Otago Museum, PO Box 6202, Dunedin 9059, New Zealand; John G. Conran [john.conran@adelaide.edu.au], ACEBB & SGC, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Benham Bldg, DX 650 312, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia. Received 18.3.2014; revised 15.5.2014; accepted 23.5.2014.     

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.     

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

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

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

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

A new 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.