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The fossils described here were collected from the Lower Triassic (Olenekian) at two Majiashan sections in Chaohu City, Anhui Province, East China. Nine species belonging to live genera are introduced, including a new genus, Chaohuichthys, and some undetermined or unnamed fish specimens are discussed. The fish assemblage from Majiashan covers most of the Lower Triassic marine bony fish taxa known from China.

Latest Permian gastropod faunas are relatively poorly known, limiting our understanding of the behavior of the group during the end-Permian mass extinction. Here we describe an assemblage of silicified microgastropods from the Heshan Formation of Guangxi Province, China, as well as some related Permian gastropods from elsewhere in south China. This is the youngest described Permian gastropod assemblage, and demonstrates that gastropod diversity remained high until the latest Changhsingian stage, immediately before the mass extinction. A total of 73 species are described, including one new family, nine new genera and 51 new species. The new family is the Plicatusidae. New genera are: Naticasinus, Zhonghuaspira, Microlampra, Propupaspira, Laxella, Plicatus, Luoguella, and Ninglangella. The new species are: Bellerophon (B.) yochelsoni, Retispira sinensis, Naticasinus sinus, Peruvispira jucunda, Manzanospira turrita, Porcellia paucituberculata, Microlampra heshanensis, M. orcula, Glyptospira pinna, Anomphalus fusuiensis, Straparella rotella, Holopea bacca, H.? teres, Aclisina multicarinata, Platyzona pulchella, P. nitella, P. luculenta, Goniasma fusuiensis, Straparollus minutus, Naticopsis (N.) shizishanensis, N. (N.) ninglangensis, N. (N.) heshanensis, N. (Jedria) quangxiensis, Trachydomia minuta, Trachyspira quangxiensis, T. heshanensis, Ploceozyga (Plocezyga) yunnanensis, P. (P.) varica, Pseudozygopleura micra, Microptychis charma, Palaeostylus fusuiensis, Soleniscus micidus, S. pactus, Leptoptygma laetus, Propupaspira eleganta, Girtyspira delicata, Ninglangella ninglangensis, Donaldina heshanensis, D. eleganta, D. quinquecarina, Streptacis regularis, S. fragilis, S. pravis, Laxella micra, Plicatus scalaris, P. multifilaris, Luoguispira micra, L. lineata, L. multilinea, Luoguella elegantula, and L. diana.

A diverse Upper Triassic tropical marine fauna from northwestern Sonora, Mexico, includes 31 taxa of tropical invertebrates including scleractinian corals, spongiomorphs, disjectoporoids, 'hydrozoans,' thalamid and nonthalamid sponges, spiriferid and terebratulid brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, coleoids, and anomuran microcoprolites. They occur within the late Karnian to Norian part of the Antimonio Formation (Antimonio terrane), which is juxtaposed against a fragmented portion of the North American craton. Most of the fauna is also known from the Tethys region. Sixteen Sonoran taxa co-occur in the western Tethys and five have never been known outside this region. Four additional taxa (one identified only at genus level) are geographically widespread. Some taxa occur in displaced terranes of North America, especially in west-central Nevada (Luning Formation). A weak link exists with the California Eastern Klamath terrane but stronger ties exist with Peru. Among Sonoran sponges, Nevadathalamia polystoma was previously recognized only from the Luning Formation, western Nevada. Sponges Cinnabaria expansa, Nevadathalamia cylindrica, and a coral, Astraeomorpha sonorensis n. sp., are also known from Nevada. The corals Distichomeandra austriaca, Chondrocoenia waltheri, Pamiroseris rectilamellosa, and Alpinophyllia flexuosa co-occur in central Europe. Two new taxa, a spongiomorph hydrozoan, Stromatoporidium lamellatum n. sp., and a disjectoporoid, Pamiropora sonorensis n. sp., have distinct affinities with the Tethys. The geographically widespread North American brachiopod, Spondylospira lewesensis, and Pseudorhaetina antimoniensis n. gen. and sp. are among the Sonoran fauna. The Sonoran coleoid (aulacocerid) Dictyoconites (Dictyoconites) cf. D. reticulatum occurs in the Tethys realm and Calliconites cf. C. drakei is comparable with a species from the Eastern Klamath terrane. Calliconites milleri n. sp. is the first occurrence of the genus outside Sicily. The bivalves Myophorigonia jaworskii, M. salasi, and Palaeocardita peruviana are known from Sonora and Peru. Eight gastropod taxa include Guidonia cf. G. intermedia and G. cf. G. parvula, both previously known from Peru, and Eucycloscala subbisertus from the western Tethys. The gastropods are unlike those already known from other North American terranes.

The life of paleontologist Charles R. Marshall is discussed, focusing on his professional contributions in stratigraphic geological research. Charles R. Marshall received the Charles Schuchert Award in October 1999.

Describes an assemblage of silicified microgastropods from the Heshan formations in China. Demonstration of gastropod diversity; Inclusion of the latest family of gastropods; Implications for understanding gastropod extinction patterns.

The fossils described here were collected from the Lower Triassic (Olenekian) at two Majiashan sections in Chaohu City, Anhui Province, East China. Nine species belonging to five genera are introduced, including a new genus, Chaohuichtys, and some undetermined or unnamed fish specimens are discussed. The fish assemblage from Majiashan covers most of the Lower Triassic marine bony fish taxa known from China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]