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Paraguay's first geopark began in 2017 and work is ongoing. The project is managed by a committee comprised of key stakeholders from state and municipal entities, universities, and local communities, to promote and generate sustainable local development strategies. Paraguay has significant geodiversity, particularly in the eastern region, with rocks ranging from the Paleoproterozoic to Quaternary sediments. Appreciation of this extensive geodiversity only began a decade ago with a focus on heritage value and preservation of certain geological sites. The methodology presented here involves a qualitative inventory of geosites and geodiversity sites (GS) with scientific, educational, and tourist value. Additionally, it considers their fragility and vulnerability within the territory of the Geoparque ÑandeYvytykuera, covering the departments of Central, Cordillera, and Paraguarí. The GS with the highest scientific value is the columnar sandstones of Cerro Koi. Those with superior educational qualities include the GS Ñemby Hill, Perõ Hill, and Yaguarón Hill. Tourism value is highest at the GS San Bernardino Beach. As for fragility and vulnerability, the Itauguá Fossiliferous Shales GS stands out due to the deterioration and loss of its geodiversity, attributed to a diverse array of unique marine fossils. In conclusion, we recommend adding more locations as a geoconservation strategy, and expanding studies that incorporate quantitative methodologies to provide more precise data and further these and other investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One great challenge in understanding the history of life is resolving the influence of environmental change on biodiversity. Simulated annealing and genetic algorithms were used to synthesize data from 11,000 marine fossil species, collected from more than 3000 stratigraphic sections, to generate a new Cambrian to Triassic biodiversity curve with an imputed temporal resolution of 26 ± 14.9 thousand years. This increased resolution clarifies the timing of known diversification and extinction events. Comparative analysis suggests that partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) is the only environmental factor that seems to display a secular pattern similar to that of biodiversity, but this similarity was not confirmed when autocorrelation within that time series was analyzed by detrending. These results demonstrate that fossil data can provide the temporal and taxonomic resolutions necessary to test (paleo)biological hypotheses at a level of detail approaching those of long-term ecological analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eocene sedimentary units in the Kocaeli and Armutlu peninsulas and İznik-Geyve region (northwest Turkey) consist of marine siliciclastic and carbonate deposits, locally intercalated with volcaniclastic rocks and tuffs (Middle Eocene Magmatic Rocks-MEMR). The record of larger benthic fauna (LBF) and pelagic microfossils, such as planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton, combined with lithological description, indicate a wide spectrum of depositional environments ranging from shallowto deep-marine. These deposits contain in situ and/or allochthonous assemblages of orthophragminids, nummulitids, subordinate rotaliids, and sparse alveolinids. The in situ assemblages (mainly orthophragminids) point to several episodes of shallow marine depositional conditions during a) early Ypresian (SBZ 5-7 and 7-9), b) late Ypresian (SBZ 10-11), c) early Lutetian (SBZ 13), and d) middle Lutetian (SBZ 14-15). Upper Ypresian (Cuisian) deposits with rich LBF accumulations are the most ubiquitous, recognized across a wide region from the Thrace Basin to Central Anatolia. Lower Lutetian deposits, on the other hand, occur in a limited area only near the town of Şile, on the coast of the Black Sea. Orthophragminids immediately below the first volcaniclastic beds of the MEMR constrain the initiation of the volcanism to the latest Ypresian or around the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary. The LBF assemblages from the clastic intercalations of the MEMR are referred to SBZ 14-15 and indicate that the marine realm in the Armutlu and Kocaeli peninsulas persisted until middle Lutetian. Since then, continental conditions have prevailed in the region, while a marine realm has developed in the Thrace Basin during the late Middle to Late Eocene and Oligocene. The deep-marine Eocene deposits with pelagic microfossils and allochthonous LBF are mostly confined to the Ypresian. The allochthonous orthophragminids in these deep-marine deposits are also presented here to give a broader picture of their occurrence in NW Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term effects of climate change on biodiversity and biogeographic patterns are uncertain. There are known relationships between geographic area and both the number of species and the number of ecological functional groups—termed the species-area relationship and the functional diversity–area relationship, respectively. We show that there is a positive relationship between the number of species in an area, the number of ecological functional groups, and oceanic temperature in the shallow-marine fossil record of New Zealand over a time span of ~40 million years. One implication of this relationship is that functional redundancy increases with temperature. This reveals a long-lived and persistent association between the spatial structuring of biodiversity, the temperature-dependence of functional redundancy, and shallow-marine biodiversity in mid-latitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeoecology uses the numerical abundance and the occurrence of species to evaluate the dynamics of past communities, but biomass – the quantity of soft tissue – is the critical currency needed to capture the flow and role of nutrients in modern ecosystems. Acquiring biomass data from fossil assemblages has, however, remained challenging, thus limiting the analysis of net secondary production in palaeocommunities. Prior models relate shell size or shell biovolume to fossil biomass. These models neglect shell fragments and, moreover, use units of biovolume (cm3) that are not directly related to those of biomass (g), making the models difficult to tune and the coefficients highly specific. To remedy these shortcomings, I evaluate skeletal mass as a means of estimating the soft tissue biomass of fossil taxa, using ratios among biomass, skeletal mass and the total wet mass of living representatives of extant species, so that skeletal mass alone can be used to estimate grams of organic biomass. Data on total wet mass, organic carbon mass, and shell mass were acquired from more than 80 live‐collected individuals from eight families in three major, shelly macrobenthic groups (Mollusca, Brachiopoda, Arthropoda) and supplemented with counterpart data from the literature to increase taxonomic breadth. This new shell‐mass model provides more accurate and precise biomass estimates than models based on the linear dimensions of shells, expanding our ability to examine the interplay between organisms and their environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migration of invertebrates at each step of the treatment process in four waterworks with advanced treatment in eastern China was investigated for the first time. Raw water quality and water temperature had a strong effect on invertebrate abundance and species. A combination of sedimentation with pretreatment, ozonation, and disinfection was able to remove or inactivate the invertebrates. Enhanced sand filtration combined with chlorine or micro-coagulation effectively promoted the removal of invertebrates by filtration. Invertebrates colonized both down-flow and up-flow biological activated carbon (BAC) filters; thus, fixation of a BAC filter as the penultimate process before disinfection was inadequate. The addition of a persistent disinfectant before the clear water tank and regular flushing and washing of the clear water tank were essential. The total abundance of invertebrates in the clear water tank could be as high as 103-104 ind:=m3; rotifers and nematodes were the dominant species and accounted for 85.9-100% of total invertebrates. As a result, future studies should focus on the removal and control of rotifers and nematodes in waterworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isoxys Walcott, 1890 is a large bivalved arthropod taxon, commonly occurring in the Cambrian Series 2-3. Here, we report on a new group of Isoxys from the Balang Fauna (Cambrian Stage 4) of Guizhou, South China. It is composed of five species: Isoxys acutangulus (Walcott, 1908), I. auritus (Jiang, 1982), I. jianheensis sp. nov., I. globulus sp. nov., and Isoxys sp. Isoxys first appeared in the Chengjiang Biota (Cambrian Stage 3) located in the shallow-water Yangtze Platform in Yunnan, South China, and ranged to the Guanshan Biota (Cambrian Stage 4) above the Chengjiang Biota. The Balang Fauna of Guizhou Province is located in the transitional slope area of the deeper-water environments and is equivalent to the Guanshan Biota in age. The discovery of Isoxys in the Balang Fauna suggests that the genus, originally present in the shallow platform of Yunnan, migrated eastward to the deeper water shelf of Guizhou during the early Cambrian (Stage 4), becoming suited to a new ecological environment. The Isoxys assemblage of the Balang Fauna not only adds new taxa record for this genus but also provides new information for its palaeoecology, evolution, and geographic distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostracods are an abundant but long undervalued component of the fossil associations occurring in the Králův Dvůr Formation (Prague Basin; Czech Republic) of the mid Katian to the earliest Hirnantian (Late Ordovician) age. It has been known that they are abundant but it is first evincibly shown that they were also extraordinary diversified. Twenty-eight (plus two dubious) species are described, with only seven (plus the two dubious) having been recorded in the formation before. Ten species are newly established, one established in another area, and ten are kept in open nomenclature. The stratigraphic distribution of the taxa throughout the formation was observed below, inside and above the Perník Bed, the layer of the carbonaceous mudstone interpreted as a response to climatic changes. The taxa from the Perník Bed are described for the first time and those from the interval above this unit have not been studied in detail yet. The pattern of stratigraphic ranges of the species in the Králův Dvůr Formation shows a decreasing diversity toward the top, and a strong but temporary influence by the taxa which appeared in the Prague Basin during the sedimentation of the Perník Bed in the upper part of the formation. It is significant that only several taxa ranging throughout the formation survived above the Perník Bed. They are interpreted as opportunistic, based on such a distribution pattern. All taxa first appeared in the Perník Bed interval (supposed immigrants), and a part of the basin dwellers prior to the sedimentation of the Perník Bed sedimentation disappeared. Such a distribution pattern is interpreted by cooling accompanied by fluctuations in the latest Katian, which is in agreement with the generally accepted model of strong climatic changes in this stratigraphic interval. Analysis of the genera distribution clearly demonstrates the very close relationship of ostracod associations recorded in the Králův Dvůr Formation to Baltica and noticeably weaker migration among the Prague Basin, Avalonia and Laurentia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ichnogenus Helminthorhaphe is a meandering trace fossil valuable to the study of movement behaviours of the trace-making marine invertebrates. In this work, we studied systematically the morphology of selected examples of Helminthorhaphe from the Upper Cretaceous to Miocene by means of primary morphological constructs, morphometrics, and theoretical morphological models. Eleven morphological constructs encompassing meander arrangement, meander tip, and meander course properties are established to illustrate the essential morphological features of meanders, which cover key aspects of the motion and navigation capacities of Helminthorhaphe makers. Tunnel diameter, meander width, and meander length are extracted to explore the size range of Helminthorhaphe , from which an exceptionally large end member is recognised, H . magna ichnosp. nov. Meander width versus tunnel diameter ratio and the fractal dimension of Helminthorhaphe are two prominent morphometric parameters that characterise the average closeness and space usage of the meanders, respectively, which aid differentiation between ichnospecies. Helminthorhaphe miocenica , H . magna , H . flexuosa , and H . japonica generally conform to a series of increasing closeness and space usage of the meanders. Theoretical morphogenetic analysis of the meander-generating process of Helminthorhaphe based on the bilateral phobo-thigmotactic robot car model reveals that the tempo and hierarchy of bilateral movement differentiation contribute to the formation of primary terminal U-turn at the meander tip, as well as lower-level meander-course undulations. The meander tip property proves to be an important morphological feature with biomechanical and neurobiological implications on the body flexibility and lateralisation in the nervous system of Helminthorhaphe producers. Larger-scale meander arrangement styles suggest that Helminthorhaphe makers potentially possessed certain radial or concentric spatial cognition of the environment. With an emphasis on theoretical morphogenetic analysis, this study provides a preliminary attempt in linking ichnology with behavioural, neurobiological, and intelligence sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most relevant characteristics of the Pennsylvanian shallow-water carbonates of the Amazonas Basin is its diverse and well preserved invertebrate fossiliferous assemblages. In order to better understand the origin of these fossil concentrations, taphonomic data were obtained along well exposed areas of the uppermost part of the Monte Alegre Formation and basal part of the Itaituba Formation, which, based on conodonts, fusulinids and palynomorphs is of Atokan age. The taphonomic data focused on invertebrate organisms were supported by petrographic analysis. The understanding of the stacking pattern of the strata in the studied section allowed the identification of five type taphofacies, which contributed in the development of regional palaeoecological models, expressed as block-diagrams. These characterize the distribution of the environmental parameters, the composition of the faunal associations and the distribution and amplitude of the taphonomic processes that created the taphonomic signatures of the bioclastic elements throughout the supratidal to lower intertidal/deep subtidal depositional environments pertinent to the studied depositional environment. The regional palaeoecological models here presented are related to the particularities of the depositional environments of the studied rocks and are exclusive for the characterization of this intracratonic basin set influenced by high frequency climatic variations. Lithofacies, biofacies and taphofacies associations also reflect depositional conditions pertinent to the studied regional context, differing from the elements observed in modern intracratonic contexts analogous to the one studied, from different sedimentary basins around the world. Therefore, invertebrate taphonomy, supported by the analysis of sedimentary facies, fulfills the purposes recommended in this work, demonstrating its potential as a tool for palaeoecological analysis in the Pennsylvanian outcropping section in the southern platform of the Amazonas Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study concerns high-resolution sea surface temperature (SST) changes for the Eemian interglacial period reconstructed from the southern coast of Hainan Island, China. The lower marine unit in the sediment core is composed of monotonous mud (31 m thick), dated to be from the Eemian interglacial period or lower part of marine isotope stage 5 (MIS 5), determined by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The high sedimentation rate and the richness of organic matter and marine fossils provide good opportunity for the study of palaeo-environments in the northern margin of the South China Sea (SCS). Sediment grain-size, foraminifer, sediment color index and long-chain alkenone were used to reveal the near-shore sedimentary environments and temperature at millennial-scale. Specifically, a high-resolution U K′ 37 -SST record was reconstructed for the Eemian interglacial period. The new evidence in northwestern margin of SCS shows that the maximum value of SST during the Eemian interglacial is approximately 29 °C and the lowest is 26.5 °C. The trend of decreasing SST from 29 °C throughout the marine sequence is consistent with the variations in sediment grain size, reflecting the cooling trend of SST and sea-level lowering tendency during the last interglacial period. This new Eemian SST result agrees with other records in the region of SCS, showing a coherent descending trend, but spatial heterogeneity exists in timing and amplitude. The insolation changes might be the main force for initiating the SST evolution during the penultimate interglacial period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approximately 600 m interval of Cambrian strata is exposed near the town of San José de Gracia, Sonora, Mexico. This succession is divided into four formations, one of which is proposed here as a new formal stratigraphic unit: El Gavilán Formation, following the rules of the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature. The new nomenclature reflects substantial lithologic differences, particularly in the middle Cambrian strata in comparison with other Cambrian rocks exposed in other parts of the state. The Proveedora Formation consists of bioturbated, fine-grained quartz arenite with ichnofossils; the Buelna Formation consists of interbedded limestone and sandstone, with abundant trilobites of either the ?Bristolia mohavensis or ?Bristolia insolens Zone (Series 2?, Stage 4?); the Cerro Prieto Formation is a highly recrystallized oolitic limestone with fragments of ?Amecephalus arrojosensis at the base, suggesting the A. arrojosensis Biozone (Series 2?; Stage 4?); and the El Gavilán Formation consists of interbedded limestone and intensely fractured red shale, with abundant fauna of the upper part of the Mexicella mexicana Zone, Albertella highlandensis Subzone, Ptychagnostus praecurrens Zone (open shelf) (Series 3?, Stage 5?). The Cambrian rocks of Sonora were deposited in the occidental part of the North American craton during the early and middle Cambrian, when Laurentia must have been constituted by terrestrial masses near the paleoequator, aligned in an east–west direction, providing the right conditions for an abundant invertebrate marine fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonate skeletons of fossil marine organisms are widely used to reconstruct palaeoceanographic parameters. Specifically, the geochemistry of Jurassic and Cretaceous belemnite rostra is traditionally interpreted to represent near sea-surface seawater properties. More recently, an increasing number of workers, have reported significant scatter in geochemical data (e.g., δ 18 O, δ 13 C, element/Ca ratio) when comparing rostra from the same stratigraphic level or within a single belemnite rostrum. This scatter is not explained by differential diagenetic overprint alone. Here we report petrographic evidence on the primary ultrastructure of rostra of Megateuthis (Middle Jurassic) and Belemnitella and Gonioteuthis (Late Cretaceous). The biogenic ultrastructure consists of a filigree framework of triaxial branches and tetrahedrons of variable size forming a honeycomb-like network. Data presented here suggest that these rostra yielded as much as 50 to 90% primary pore space. On the level of a working hypothesis – and in analogy with modern cephalopods – we propose that the pore space was formerly filled with body fluid and/or organic compounds during the life time of these organisms. Intra-rostral porosity was post mortem occluded by earliest diagenetic isopachous calcite cements of a non-biogenic origin. These may have been precipitated due to increased alkalinity related to the decay of organic matter. If this holds true, then the resulting fabric represents a composite biogenic/abiogenic structure. In order to optically separate the two calcite phases forming a single calcite fibre, we employed a wide range of state-of-the-art analytical tools to thin sections and ultra-thin sections of well-preserved specimens. Pending a verification of these well-supported ultrastructural data by means of high-resolution geochemical analyses from biogenic and abiogenic phases, we suggest that these findings have significance for those using belemnite rostra as archives of their palaeoenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estuaries are defined by change; both on a diurnal basis, balancing tidal inflow with riverine outflow, and over hundreds or thousands of years through geomorphic evolution and sea level variability. However, contemporary management and protection underpinned by international agreements, such as the Ramsar Convention, presume that wetlands change within only limited ranges based on their contemporary conditions. Adaptive management strategies for cyclic or even directional change are more robust if underpinned by evidence from longer-term records, such as those obtained from palaeoecological records preserved in sediment cores. Such is the case for the Coorong lagoon in southern Australia; here analysis of assemblage changes of key invertebrates and algae preserved in the sediments reveals the variability of natural conditions well before the instrumental record. During the mid-Holocene to late Holocene and up until the mid-twentieth century, assemblage changes in microfauna and flora indicate variable salinity and water clarity associated with both fresh continental and marine water inputs. By contrast, in the south lagoon, the proxies indicate periodically enhanced salinity. The most significant changes in ecology and sedimentation are apparent after the 1950s; hydrological modifications have changed the influence of both continental and tidal water, producing conditions that are unusual in the long-term history of the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graptolite fauna containing 13 species in seven genera is described from the basal part of the Middle Member of the Kalpintag Formation, in the Kalpin region of Xinjiang Province, northwestern China. The taxa are Avitograptus sp. aff. A avitus (Davies), Hirsuto graptus jideliensis (Koren' & Mikhailova), Korenograptus laciniosus (Churkin & Carter), K. jerini (Koren' & Melchin), K. aff. K. magnus (Churkin & Carter), Metabolograptus wangjiawanensis (Mu & Lin), M. parvulus (Lapworth), Normalograptus ajjeri (Legrand), N. angustus (Perner), N. mirnyensis (Obut & Sobolevskaya), Paramplexograptus madernii (Koren' & Mikhailova), Par.? sp., and Persculptograptus sp. Approximately half of the species described have not been previously recorded from the Kalpin region. An early Silurian (Rhuddanian) age is indicated by H. jideliensis and K. jerini. The graptolite fauna recovered from the four sections in the Kalpin region shares numerous common species with faunas from the Yangtze region of China and from southern Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new retiolitid genus Virgellograptus, with a single species V. perrarus from the upper Wenlock, Cyrtograptus ellesi Biozone from Poland is described. Unlike all other retiolitids, the new form has the virgella, an axis of the sicula, connected into lateral wall of the ancora sleeve. Virgella attaches the mid-lateral list of the ancora sleeve, from which the horizontal lists are going to pleural lists and lateral apertural rods. The connection is on the obverse side of tubarium. Virgellograptus gen. nov. has a free nema, which is not preserved, at the same time it has well developed genicular lists of thecae, regarded as advanced feature. The new form is the most similar to Sokolovograptus; the key difference is a development of the proximal end - the connection of the sicula to the lateral wall of the ancora sleeve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad over the Allegheny Mountains. For thirty years it connected canals in central and western Pennsylvania, hauling canal boats operating between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh over the mountains, allowing uninterrupted travel from eastern population centers to the continental interior. Edward Miller, a young Philadelphia engineer, became Principal Assistant Engineer at twenty-one. He was later Chief Engineer and/or President of numerous canals and railroads, and even served as Principal Assistant Engineer of the great Pennsylvania Railroad. Miller performed the first geological exploration of the Allegheny Mountains and, in his 1835 report, included a cross section and a box of specimens illustrating his stratigraphic units. Some of the more famous scientists of the day reported on specimens of rocks, economic minerals, and fossils found at various places along the railroad. Timothy Abbott Conrad's report of marine fossils is historically important because it was the first published report of Pennsylvanian invertebrate fossils from North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a summary of the author's lecture on the Silurian Herefordshire Lagerstätte marine invertebrate fossils, which was presented at the Geo-Materials Sample Preparation for Microscopy Workshop held in September 2014 at the Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences. Topics cited include assemblages of the fossils and innovative methods for reconstructing the fossils including the use of the SPIERS paleontological image editing software.

Echinoderms are a major group of invertebrate deuterostomes that have been an important component of marine ecosystems throughout the Phanerozoic. Their fossil record extends back to the Cambrian, when several disparate groups appear in different palaeocontinents at about the same time. Many of these early forms exhibit character combinations that differ radically from extant taxa, and thus their anatomy and phylogeny have long been controversial. Deciphering the earliest evolution of echinoderms therefore requires a detailed understanding of the morphology of Cambrian fossils, as well as the selection of an appropriate root and the identification of homologies for use in phylogenetic analysis. Based on the sister-group relationships and ontogeny of modern species and new fossil discoveries, we now know that the first echinoderms were bilaterally symmetrical, represented in the fossil record by Ctenoimbricata and some early ctenocystoids. The next branch in echinoderm phylogeny is represented by the asymmetrical cinctans and solutes, with an echinoderm-type ambulacral system originating in the more crownward of these groups (solutes). The first radial echinoderms are the helicoplacoids, which possess a triradial body plan with three ambulacra radiating from a lateral mouth. Helicocystoids represent the first pentaradial echinoderms and have the mouth facing upwards with five radiating recumbent ambulacra. Pentaradial echinoderms diversified rapidly from the beginning of their history, and the most significant differences between groups are recorded in the construction of the oral area and ambulacra, as well as the nature of their feeding appendages. Taken together, this provides a clear narrative of the early evolution of the echinoderm body plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a proposal for a taxonomic approach to the classification of the Pterobranchia (Cephalodiscida and Graptolithina) to be adopted for the revision of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part V (Hemichordata), currently in preparation. A combination of traditional Linnaean taxonomy, supported by cladistic analyses in some groups is proposed herein as a practical solution for the classification of the Graptolithina as for many groups a cladistic analysis has never been attempted and is unlikely to be undertaken in the near future. The number of ranked taxa has been kept as low as possible, with all genus level taxa referred to a family. All families and higher taxonomic units are discussed, but new taxa have not been introduced. Paraphyletic (but not polyphyletic) taxa are accepted as useful units in this classification. A number of recently introduced taxonomic units, based on cladistic analyses (e.g. Eugraptoloida, Pan-Reclinata, Pan-Bireclinata), are discussed in the context of this classification and the usefulness of these taxa is critically evaluated. The solution proposed here opts not to name a number of nodes from the published cladistic analyses that potentially could be named and in some cases have been named - not to inflate the hierarchy of the used taxonomic system. Taxa are kept as close as possible to their original definition and not unnecessarily expanded or restricted. The taxonomy proposed here for the Graptolithina indicates that the extensive use of higher level taxa, e.g. orders for small groups of genera as has been done for many benthic graptolite groups in the past is unnecessary and should be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A comparative record of morphological change of fossil specimens through geologic time can provide insights into the rates and patterns of microevolution and speciation. However, questions concerning the extent to which environmental conditions influence skeletal morphology, and potentially confound recognition of genetic change, can be most meaningfully addressed with living taxa. The marine encrusting bryozoan, Electra pilosa (L.), was used to assess the magnitude of environmental effects on zooecium-level skeletal morphology at different spatial scales. The latter included environmental effects or factors ranging in level from (1) micro-environmental (variation within and among immediately adjacent colonies), (2) meso-environmental (small-scale colony positional effects among colonies within a common habitat), and (3) macro-environmental (morphological variation among colonies from recognizably different environmental settings). Macro-environmental influence on zooecial morphology for colonies among localities (10km-scale) can be detected by comparison of colonies from wave-protected/tidal-dominated versus open coast/wave-dominated settings, and this accounted for ~7.5% of the observed morphological variation. Meso-environmental variation – that is, small-scale (101 to 102 m) systematic (nonrandom) differences that would go undetected in a geologic setting – had a minimal deterministic influence on zooecial morphology, and accounted for ~2.5% of observed variation. Variation among colonies from the same site was highly significant. Much of this morphologic variation (~30%) is attributable to genotypic variation among colonies, but micro-environmental sources cannot be excluded (101 to 102 cm-scale). Variation within colonies, accounting for ~60% of the observed morphological variation, can be further partitioned into Micro-environmental differences, ~40% (101 to 102 mm-scale) associated with spatiotemporal position, and the Life History of individual modules (~20%). Environmental levels (factors) that are associated with significant morphological effects can also be recognized by their sedimentological properties, which can be preserved in the geologic record. Thus, results from this and similar studies have relevance for and can potentially be directly applied to studies of fossil organisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two important geological issues have a long history of debate in the Xingmeng area. The first concerns the final closure of the North China plate, Siberia plate and several intermediate massifs in the area, and the other concerns the folding and lifting of the Xingmeng Trough. Disagreements arise because of issues involving the tectonic-palaeogeographical environment of the Upper Permian deposits of the Linxi Formation. The Linxi Formation (Upper Permian) is generally considered to be either an exclusively continental deposit or separated into marine-terrigenous facies deposited during the Lower to Middle Linxi Period and continental deposits in the Upper Linxi Period. However, in this study, large numbers of bryozoan and sponge spicule fossils were discovered for this first time in the thick limestone layers and lenses of the upper part of the Linxi Formation found in the Guandi section of Linxi county in eastern Inner Mongolia. At the same time, abundant bryozoan fossils were also found in sedimentary tuff slices that were collected from the upper part of the Taohuayingzi Formation from the Taohuayingzi section in Ar Horqin Banner, and abundant small connecting body crinoid stem fossils were found in the dark shale of the Yangjiagou Formation from the Yangjiagou section of Jiutai county, Jilin Province. These marine fossils provide the first evidence that the Xingmeng area was still a marine or mainly marine environment at the end of the late Permian. This not only provides conclusive evidence for the recognition of the above two major geological issues but also promotes changes in the approach towards research, exploration and development of oil and gas, shale gas (oil), and other mineral resources that are preserved in the late Permian layers of the Northeast-Xingmeng area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Documenting extinction phenomena remains a vital topic in palaeontology, especially in the context of the marine fossil record. It has been widely assumed that the methods that have been developed in these studies are of universal application throughout palaeontology, but there have been few attempts to test them with plant fossils. We explored the adequacy of the most common methods for documenting extinction events and the associated loss of diversity through time by exploring the monographic knowledge of tracheophytes, especially the record of non-flowering seed-plants. The measure of extinctions was addressed by evaluating diversity fluctuations and the corresponding sampling biases, by measuring levels of taxonomic extinctions, and by exploring disruptions to similarity patterns between time units. Results revealed a strong relationship between diversity and sampling effort based on various different sampling proxies. This suggests that it is vital to take into account the effect of sampling bias when trying to use palaeobotanical diversity dynamics to quantify the real scale of extinction. After testing 16 metrics in two different temporal frameworks, by using criteria like the adjustment between the descriptive extinction metric and the derived probabilistic profile, the interpretation of extinction intensity was overall improved by using normalized metrics that discounted short-lived taxa. Results also revealed that sample size has a significant effect on such analyses and must be evaluated independently for each study before data interpretation. Complementarily, the results showed how the main disturbances of diversity curves generally attributed to extinction events are reflected as abrupt reductions of similarity coefficients between successive time units, which are clearly revealed using clustering methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The geographic population patterns of Lingula anatina across the Indo-West Pacific region are analyzed based on mitochondrial COI and nuclear EF-1a gene sequences. Compared with the remarkable morphological stasis, genetic evidence of extant Lingula species displays deep genetic divergence. Three distinct COI lineages were detected for L. anatina, one of which is from Qinhuangdao (Hebei, China, Bohai Sea), the other two from Beihai (Guangxi, China, Gulf of Tonkin). Individuals from South Japan have a very close relationship with one of the two COI lineages found in Beihai, which is also supported by EF-1a results, suggesting a relatively recent migration between South China Sea and East China Sea. Genetic distances between the three lineages of L. anatina are rather high (8.9%, 8.6%, and 2.7%), and those between L. anatina and L. adamsi is much higher (44.5%), compared to other marine invertebrates. Both tectonic evolution and the repeated Quaternary glaciations have contributed to the complex phylogeographic pattern found in these recent Lingula anatina populations. I [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This dataset inventories occurrence records of fossil echinoid specimens collected in the Calcaires à Spatangues Formation (CSF) that crops out in the southeast of the Paris Basin (France), and is dated from the Acanthodiscus radiatus chronozone (ca. 132 Ma, early Hauterivian, Early Cretaceous). Fossil richness and abundance of the CSF has attracted the attention of palaeontologists since the middle of the nineteenth century. This dataset compiles occurrence data (referenced by locality names and geographic coordinates with decimal numbers) of fossil echinoids both collated from the literature published over a century and a half, and completed by data from collection specimens. The dataset also gives information on taxonomy (from species to order and higher taxonomic levels), which has been checked for reliability and consistency. It compiles a total of 628 georeferenced occurrence data of 26 echinoid species represented by 22 genera, 14 families, and 9 orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feather-shaped Plumalina Hall, 1858 is revised on the basis of new and reexamined specimens from New York. Previously described from Givetian through Famennian deposits, a single compression of P. tenera n. sp. from the Rochester Shale extends the range into the Wenlock, and provides new information regarding Plumalina's biology. We assess the utility of morphologic characters in diagnoses of taxa, and present the first quantitative analysis of fossil hydroids to distinguish P. brevis n. sp. (Frasnian) from other Devonian species. Plumalina has been compared to plants, graptolites, and octocorals. Some interpretations have proposed affinities among hydrozoans based on colony form and the presence of putative polyp bases. Our analysis shows that, like extant thecate hydrozoans, Plumalina had a delicate, chitinous hydrocaulus with weakly articulated hydrocladia. An assemblage of in situ specimens, steeply inclined relative to the bedding plane in an Ithaca Formation (Frasnian Stage) turbidite, indicates that Devonian species produced sessile, erect colonies attached to a hard substrate, comparable to extant hydroids that feed in currents. Morphometric comparisons between putative Plumalina polyp bases and polyp bases of modern analogues reveal similarities to hydroids in the superfamily Plumularioidea McCrady, 1859. Plumalina is the most abundant fossil hydroid so far reported, and is pertinent to interpretations of the hydrozoan record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acrotretideAcrotreta socialisvon Seebach, 1865 has suffered a long and tumultuous history since its original description from the middle Cambrian (Guzhangian Stage) Andrarum Limestone of Bornholm, Denmark. Uncertainties regarding key morphological characters have resulted in numerous revisions and redescriptions of the species with much of the taxonomic shuffling occurring before the mid-20thcentury. A major problem with the early documentation of acrotretide brachiopods is that many species were described in the days before the advent of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), resulting in dubious interpretations of significant morphological characteristics, like the position of the pedicle foramen and the internal morphology of both valves. A detailed revision ofAcrotretaspecies resulted in the proposal that the genus is restricted solely to the Ordovician with the Bornholm acrotretide species subsequently left floating in taxonomic limbo. Recent taxonomic suggestions have been provisional, awaiting morphological information based on type or topotype material. The examination of topotype material in addition to supplementary material collected from southern Sweden has elucidated many of the previous ambiguous morphological characteristics of the species confirming that the original description was based on more than one brachiopod species. The new morphological information acquired here has resulted in the erection of a new acrotretid genus,Clupeafumosusgen. nov., to accommodate the material previously described asAcrotreta socialis. Co-occurring withClupeafumosus socialisin southern Sweden is another new acrotretide brachiopod,Monophthalma andersonisp. nov., which is additionally described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Jurassic to Cretaceous strata of Sverdrup Basin contain both marine and nonmarine fossils that serve to date interlayered sandstone and mudstone units and interpret paleoenvironments and paleoclimates. Applying a multi-variate statistical approach to long-ranging spore and pollen types typical for this time interval, we define four palynoassemblages within an Aalenian to Albian succession preserved in the Hoodoo Dome H-37 oil and gas well located on southern Ellef Ringnes Island near the centre of Sverdrup Basin. We propose an association between palynoassemblages and Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous pan-hemispherical climate events. The largest palynoassemblage shift occurs when an assemblage containing Classopollis classoides pollen is replaced by an assemblage dominated by pollen of the Taxodiaceae–Cupressaceae–Taxaceae in the late Valanginian or early Hauterivian. We interpret this vegetation change to a shift from a seasonally arid climate to cooler and more humid conditions in high latitude regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Machari Formation ranges from the 'upper Series 3' (Middle Cambrian) to Furongian (Upper Cambrian) in the Yeongwol area, Korea. It has been known to yield relatively diverse invertebrate fossils. Particularly, the trilobite biozones of the formation have been well defined. On the other hand, little has hitherto been studied on conodont microfossils for the formation. This paper reports a diverse and well-preserved protoconodonts and paraconodonts of Series 3 from the formation in the Eodungol Section, exposed along a southern mountain trail of Mt. Sambangsan, Yeongwol, Korea. Five of the 13 samples collected for conodont contain a rich protoconodont and paraconodont assemblage and numerous shelly fossils including trilobites, brachiopods, sponge spicules, hyolithids, and incertae sedis. Sample Eo 5 is extremely fossiliferous (465 elements, 96.5% of total collection), and the most abundant species was Phakelodus elongatus (236 elements, 62% of the Eo 5 collection). The preservation is relatively good, but some specimens are corroded and fragmentary. Some of the protoconodonts are exfoliated. Relatively larger ones were commonly preserved as phosphatized internal molds, particularly in specimens of Furnishina bigeminata, Furnishina leei n. sp., Muellerodus pomeranensis, Nogamiconus sinensis, and westergaardodids. Phakelodids were commonly preserved as clusters. Among 20 species referable to nine genera, Furnishina bigeminata, Furnishina leei n. sp., Nogamiconus sinensis, Huayuanodontus tricornis, Proscandodus obliquus, and Westergaardodina grandidens were previously undescribed species in Korea. This assemblage is named herein as the Westergaardodina matsushitai Zone, which is a new biozonal name replacing the old one, i.e., Gapparodus bisulcatus-Westergaardodina matsushitai-Westergaardodina moessebergensis Assemblage. The W. matsushitai Zone corresponds to the Lejopyge armata trilobite Zone and is well correlated with the upper Series 3 conodont biozones of the Westergaardodina matsushitai-Westergaardodina grandidens Zone of South China and the Westergaardodina matsushitai Zone of North China, respectively. The present data allow a useful correlation to China and Baltica in relation to new subdivision of the Cambrian. Furnishina leei n. sp. is newly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We reconstructed the environmental changes recorded in the Lower Cretaceous Miyako Group via facies analysis and delineated the relationship between depositional facies and the occurrence of diverse marine invertebrate macrofossils. The Miyako Group consists of deposits from alluvial bay-head delta, bay-head delta front, central bay, and lower shoreface to inner shelf depositional settings. Fossil bivalve assemblages responded to shifts in these sedimentary environments. We defined three fossil bivalve assemblages from the central bay and lower shoreface to inner shelf deposits. The assemblages in the inner shelf and central bay deposits are clearly different, even though they occur within similar depositional facies. This contrast in assemblages results from environmental differences between closed and open settings; this interpretation is supported by the occurrence of stenohaline crinoids. We defined a fourth bivalve assemblage in a tsunami deposit intercalated within the bay-head delta front deposits. It consists of polygenic allochthonous shells, some that were derived from an estuarine environment or the shallow seafloor and others that were torn from small reefs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two new species of ostracods, Conchoprimitia cassidula n. sp. and Sorornanopsis avalonensis n. gen. n. sp., represent the first described Middle Ordovician ostracods from western Avalonia. They were recovered as phosphatized carapaces dissolved out of a late early Darriwilian (ca. 467 Ma) limestone boulder from the Triassic Lepreau Formation of New Brunswick, Canada. The ostracods form a low-diversity component of a higher energy, near-shore, shelf marine fauna dominated by the trilobites Neseuretus and Stapleyella and by the conodonts Drepanoistodus and Baltoniodus. The low diversity of this Avalonian ostracod fauna contrasts with more diverse (tens of species), coeval ostracod faunas from Laurentia and Baltica. The association of Darriwilian ostracods and trilobites from New Brunswick demonstrates continuing exchange of open marine, cool water biota between Avalonia, Baltica, and West and North Gondwana that began in the late early Cambrian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Macrostratigraphy uses packages of continuous sedimentation that are bound by hiatuses of non-deposition, erosion, or alternations between environments/lithologies to characterize spatiotemporal patterns of sedimentation. Previous work has linked the macrostratigraphy of marine shelf environments to many different macroevolutionary patterns in the marine animal fossil record. Here we use an improved macrostratigraphic database for North America, combined with fossil occurrence data in the Paleobiology Database, to show that macroevolutionary and macrostratigraphic patterns are correlated more strongly in marine environments than in non-marine environments. We also test the hypothesis that the temporal distribution of lithological diversity (measured as evenness, similar to ecological evenness based on the number of lithostratigraphic units with a given lithologic type within each time interval) has a relationship to genus-level taxonomic diversity in both the marine and non-marine realms. Uneven sampling of lithologies and their corresponding depositional environments can bias our perception of taxonomic diversity by causing taxa from poorly sampled environments to be underrepresented in the fossil record. Our results show a negative correlation between lithologic evenness and marine vertebrate generic richness — less even sampling of lithologies corresponds to a higher observed taxonomic richness, and no correlation with lithologic evenness and non-marine diversity measures. This suggests a difference in the relationship between biologic and sedimentary processes at work in the marine and non-marine realms, and possibly differences in the magnitude of the bias imposed by the rock record on the underlying biologic patterns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ediacaran (635-542?million years ago) fossils have been regarded as early animal ancestors of the Cambrian evolutionary explosion of marine invertebrate phyla, as giant marine protists and as lichenized fungi. Recent documentation of palaeosols in the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite of South Australia confirms past interpretations of lagoonal-aeolian deposition based on synsedimentary ferruginization and loessic texture. Further evidence for palaeosols comes from non-marine facies, dilation cracks, soil nodules, sand crystals, stable isotopic data and mass balance geochemistry. Here I show that the uppermost surfaces of the palaeosols have a variety of fossils in growth position, including Charniodiscus, Dickinsonia, Hallidaya, Parvancorina, Phyllozoon, Praecambridium, Rugoconites, Tribrachidium and 'old-elephant skin' (ichnogenus Rivularites). These fossils were preserved as ferruginous impressions, like plant fossils, and biological soil crusts of Phanerozoic eon sandy palaeosols. Sand crystals after gypsum and nodules of carbonate are shallow within the palaeosols, even after correcting for burial compaction. Periglacial involutions and modest geochemical differentiation of the palaeosols are evidence of a dry, cold temperate Ediacaran palaeoclimate in South Australia. This new interpretation of some Ediacaran fossils as large sessile organisms of cool, dry soils, is compatible with observations that Ediacaran fossils were similar in appearance and preservation to lichens and other microbial colonies of biological soil crusts, rather than marine animals, or protists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high temporal resolution of the marine microfossil record makes it possible to explore how microbial communities responded to abrupt climate changes in the past. We analysed changes in species richness and total abundance of marine diatoms in sedimentary records from the Mauritanian upwelling system and the Panama Basin spanning the last 100 000 years. The analysis shows instances of community change and recovery linked to episodes of rapid, sub-millennial scale climate change (e.g. Heinrich events). The probability of sampling a given species during the perturbation increased with the mean abundance of the species in the database, indicating that (i) dominant species were persistent through long periods of time and (ii) rare species, with low population densities, accounted for much of the variability in species richness. To the extent that contemporaneous climate change falls within the range of climate variability analysed here, our results point to important changes in the structure of marine diatom communities, yet these changes will be reversible. These results highlight the importance of integrating fossil data and ecological theories to understand the effect of climate change on the ecological and biogeochemical functioning of marine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Modern biodiversity peaks in the tropics and declines poleward, a pattern that is potentially driven by climate. Although this latitudinal biodiversity gradient (LBG) also characterizes the marine invertebrate fossil record, distributions of ancient terrestrial faunas are poorly understood. This study utilizes data on the dinosaur fossil record to examine spatial patterns in terrestrial biodiversity throughout the Mesozoic. Location We compiled data on fossil occurrences across the globe. Methods We compiled a comprehensive dataset of Mesozoic dinosaur genera (738), including birds. Following the utilization of sampling standardization techniques to mediate for the uneven sampling of the fossil record, we constructed latitudinal patterns of biodiversity from this dataset. Results The dominant group of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates did not conform to the modern LBG. Instead, dinosaur diversity was highest at temperate palaeolatitudes throughout the 160 million year span of dinosaurian evolutionary history. Latitudinal diversity correlates strongly with the distribution of land area. Late Cretaceous sauropods and ornithischians exhibit disparate LBGs. Main conclusions The continuity of the palaeotemperate peak in dinosaur diversity indicates a diminished role for climate on the Mesozoic LBG; instead, dinosaur diversity may have been driven by the amount of land area among latitudinal belts. There is no evidence that the tropics acted as a cradle for dinosaur diversity. Geographical partitioning among major clades of herbivorous dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous may result from the advanced stages of continental fragmentation and/or differing responses to increasing latitudinal climatic zonation. Our results suggest that the modern-day LBG on land was only established 30 million years ago, following a significant post-Eocene recalibration, potentially related to increased seasonality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the reappraisal of Gwawinaptrus beardi from the late Campanian marine strata of the Northumberland Formation of Hornby Island, British Columbia. The specie, which was considered as an istiodactylid pterosaur, regarded as the latest known toothed pterosaur in the world, however, its identification as pterosaur is erroneous and that it rather belongs to a saurodontid fish. It notes that the present interpretation of the specie is based on several anatomical observations and comparisons and further supported by the stratigraphic context of the fossil.

Modern climate change has a strong potential to shift earth systems and biological communities into novel states that have no present-day analog, leaving ecologists with no observational basis to predict the likely biotic effects. Fossil records contain long time-series of past environmental changes outside the range of modern observation, which are vital for predicting future ecological responses, and are capable of (a) providing detailed information on rates of ecological change, (b) illuminating the environmental drivers of those changes, and (c) recording the effects of environmental change on individual physiological rates. Outcrops of Early Miocene Newport Member of the Astoria Formation (Oregon) provide one such time series. This record of benthic foraminiferal and molluscan community change from continental shelf depths spans a past interval environmental change (∼20.3-16.7 mya) during which the region warmed 2.1-4.5°C, surface productivity and benthic organic carbon flux increased, and benthic oxygenation decreased, perhaps driven by intensified upwelling as on the modern Oregon coast. The Newport Member record shows that (a) ecological responses to natural environmental change can be abrupt, (b) productivity can be the primary driver of faunal change during global warming, (c) molluscs had a threshold response to productivity change while foraminifera changed gradually, and (d) changes in bivalve body size and growth rates parallel changes in taxonomic composition at the community level, indicating that, either directly or indirectly through some other biological parameter, the physiological tolerances of species do influence community change. Ecological studies in modern and fossil records that consider multiple ecological levels, environmental parameters, and taxonomic groups can provide critical information for predicting future ecological change and evaluating species vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the early diversification of graptolites at familial, generic and specific levels through small-scale and high-resolution patterns. A total of ten graptolite zones were examined. It points out a rapid increase in generic and specific diversities in the Tetragraptus approximatus zone. It notes that there are different time intervals in factors causing significant changes in generic and specific diversities in the Jiangnan slope in South China.

The most common forms of Late Ordovician dalmanellid brachiopods from the Cincinnatian type area, previously treated as either Dalmanella or Onniella, are assigned to Cincinnetina gen. nov. The new genus differs from Dalmanella and Onniella in having a consistently developed primary medial costa in the dorsal valve, a larger cardinal process that tends to develop a trilobed myophore, strongly differentiated fine and coarse punctae, and sparse aditicules. Cincinnetina can be distinguished from the closely related Paucicrura and Diceromyonia in its smaller trilobed cardinal process (when developed) that does not have a dominant medial lobe and does not extend into the delthyrial cavity of the ventral valve. Globally, Dalmanella and Onniella occur most commonly in deposits of relatively deep- or cool-water palaeoecological settings, whereas in North America, Cincinnetina, Paucicrura and Diceromyonia are found mainly in carbonate-rich deposits in warm-water depositional environments, with Cincinnetina and Paucicrura most common in pericratonic settings and Diceromyonia in palaeoequatorial inland seas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of fossil Triviidae are described: Ellatrivia goudeyi sp. nov. from the Pleistocene of Flinders Island, Tasmania, and Trivellona felixlorenzi sp. nov. from the Fyansford Formation, Balcombian of Batesford Quarry, Victoria, Australia. The Pleistocene E. goudeyi sp. nov. fi lls the gap between the Miocene and Recent taxa of the genus and T. felixlorenzi sp. nov. fi lls the gap between the small sized Miocene species (about 10 mm in length) and the large sized Balcombian taxa (larger than 20 mm in length). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerged, Quaternary, marine terrace sequence has been investigated near Trabzon, Turkey, along a ∼20-km-bug stretch of the coast of the southeastern Black Sea. The sequence includes seven principal marine terraces. The terraces are frequently compound and include up to three second-order marine terraces. The upper shoreline angles of the main terraces were found at the following maximum elevations above mean sea level: 3 ± 0.5 m (T1), 12± 3 m (T1), 36± 2 m (T2), 79 ± 9 m (T3), 120 ± 3 m (T4), 138 ± 10 m (T5), and 260 ± 25 m (T6). Fossil bivalves and gastropods from the TH, T1, T2, and T3 deposits have been dated by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR). The results show that the ages of the deposits from the TH, T1, T2, and T3 terraces are 5.141 ± 0.294 ka, 124.8 ± 26.0 ka, 292.5 ± 49.8 ka, and 407.998 ± 67.475 ka, respectively. Consequently, we correlate TH, T1, T2, and T3 to marine isotope stage (MIS) 1, 5e, 9, and 11, which correspond to ∼5, ∼123, ∼321, and ∼400 ka highstands, respectively. Estimated uplift rates deduced from the elevations of TI, T2, and T3 are 0.07 ± 0.05, 0.10 ± 0.02,0.17 ± 0.03 mm/y or m/ka. These results show nonsteady, long- term uplift rates. Extrapolation of the oldest uplift rate (i.e., determined on the highest dated terrace) shows that in the region of Trabzon, Turkey, coastal, positive, vertical deformations are recorded at ∼2 Ma, which corresponds to the extrapolated age of the highest terrace in the sequence. Comparison with other sequences on the Black Sea coast reveals a rather weak uplift in this zone, which can be considered significative for the recent uplift of the Eastern Pontides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biostratigraphical ranges, geographical distribution and taxonomy of 45 dinoflagellate cyst species are described based on the analysis of 99 samples from the Upper Cenomanian–Lower Turonian outcrop sections of Puentedey, Fuentetoba, Condemios and Tamajón in northern Spain. A specific rank for Coronifera hebospina (formerly Coronifera oceanica subsp. hebospina) and the new combination Exochosphaeridium majus are proposed. The generic assignment of Implestosphaeridium? clavulum and Implestosphaeridium? polytrichum are questioned. Early Turonian range tops for Coronifera albertii, Cyclonephelium vannophorum and Palaeohystrichophora palaeoinfusa are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This contribution presents the first description of crinoids from western margin of ParnaIba Basin. It also presents their first description in the Pimenteira Formation (Devonian of the Parnaiba Basin, state of Tocantins, Brazil). The material is represented by hundreds of columnals. pluricolumnals, as well as isolated calyx plates. Columnal and pluricolumnal morphology allowed the identification of Laudonomphalus aff. L. tuherosus, and Exaesiodiscus dimerocrinosus n. sp. Based upon calyx plate morphology a new Rhodocrinitidae species was erected, %Ionstrocrinus incognitus n. sp. The genera Exaesiodiscus, Laudonomphalus. and th)ns!roerinus were previously described from the Devonian of Amazonas Basin. Exaesiodiscus dimerocrinosus is also identified from the northwest margin of Paraná Basin. The Monstrocrinus occurrence is rare in the Middle Devonian, until now known in Germany, Spain, and Algeria Lower Devonian (upper Emsian) and only in northern Brazil in the Middle Devonian (Eifelian.) These facts provide valuable arguments for paleogeographic interpretations regarding the pattern of distribution of invertebrates in this region of Gondwana and suggest potential migration routes in northern Gondwana during the Devonian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]