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“Pan-dichoporites” (new informal term) is proposed to unite Cambrian blastozoans, such as Cambrocrinus, Ridersia, and Sanducystis, glyptocystitoid and hemicosmitoid rhombiferans, coronates, blastoids, and Lysocystites. Pan-dichoporite ambulacra have double biserial main axes with brachiole facets shared by pairs of floor (glyptocystitoids), side (blastoid) or trunk (hemicosmitoids, coronates) plates. These axial plates are the first two brachiolar plates modified to form the ambulacral axes. In glyptocystitoids the first brachiole facet in each ambulacrum is shared by an oral and another plate. Hence, these are also two modified brachiolar plates and part of the axial skeleton under the Extraxial Axial Theory (EAT). Pan-dichoporites are also characterized by thecae composed of homologous plate circlets. The unique glyptocystitoid genus Rhombifera bears ambulacral facets on five radial plates, which alternate with five orals. The oral area of Lysocystites (blastoid sensu lato) is very similar, which suggests that rhombiferan radials are homologous with “ambulacrals” of Lysocystites and hence with blastoid lancet plates. This implies derivation of blastoids from glyptocystitoids and suggests that blastoid and coronate radials and deltoids are homologous with rhombiferan infralaterals and laterals. Thus, homologous plate circlets occur in all pan-dichoporites, which strengthens the validity of a pan-dichoporite clade. Under Universal Elemental Homology (UEH), deltoids were homologized with rhombiferan orals, but this is inconsistent with the EAT. Deltoids bear respiratory pore structures and so are perforate extraxial skeletal plates, whereas rhombiferan orals are axial skeleton. The new plate homologies also explain why only five plates form the oral frames of coronates, blastoids and Lysocystites, whereas glyptocystitoids (except Rhombifera) have six oral frame plates; all glyptocystitoids have only five laterals. Hemicosmitoids arose by paedomorphic ambulacral reduction, but the paedomorphosis also affected the thecal plates and stem. Paedomorphosis poses special problems for cladistic character analysis, since the new characters often appear to be plesiomorphic.

Two marine invertebrate fossil assemblages from the Late Triassic Cassian Formation (Dolomites, northern Italy) were examined to assess their diversity and palaeoecology. Surface and bulk samples from the localities Misurina Landslide and Lago Antorno were taken and analysed separately. Both benthic assemblages are relatively similar in taxonomic composition. Gastropods form the most abundant and diverse group, followed by bivalves. Disarticulated echinoderm ossicles are also common in the bulk sample from Misurina Landslide, but they are rare at Lago Antorno. The Misurina Landslide outcrop has yielded two echinoderm Palaeozoic holdovers, the ophiocistioid Linguaserra triassica and plates of putative proterocidarids, supporting the earlier hypothesis that such basins acted as refugia. The gastropod species Coelostylina conica, Prostylifer paludinaris, and Ampezzopleura hybridopsis are characteristic elements of both assemblages. The gastropod Jurilda elongata, however, is the most abundant species at Misurina Landslide, whereas juveniles of the gastropod species Dentineritaria neritina dominate the assemblage from Lago Antorno. Newly described gastropod taxa are Angulatella bizzarinii Nützel and Hausmann gen. et sp. nov., Bandellina compacta Nützel and Hausmann sp. nov., and Ampezzogyra angulata Nützel and Hausmann sp. nov. Fifty-seven invertebrate species were found in the bulk sample from Misurina Landslide and 26 species were recovered from the bulk sample from Lago Antorno. However, sample size from Lago Antorno was much smaller than that from Misurina. Diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson, Berger-Parker) show similar moderate diversities in both assemblages. Rarefaction curves and rank-abundance distributions also point to very similar diversities and ecological structures of the fossil assemblages. Both assemblages are autochthonous or parautochthonous, stemming from basinal, soft-bottom habitats. Their taxonomic composition differs significantly from that of other faunas known from the Cassian Formation. The tropical marine Cassian palaeoecosystem was highly complex and its diversity is still far from being fully explored.

This paper describes a sclerobiont association from the Paso Hondo Formation (Roadian, middle Permian), Chiapas, Mexico. Different marine invertebrates such as hederelloids, microconchids, bryozoans, and crinoids (represented by holdfasts) encrusted brachiopod shells belonging to Athyridida and Rhynchonellida. This association is similar to those recorded in different Devonian localities, especially by the co-occurrence of microconchids, hederelloids, and bryozoans. Paleoecological analysis revealed that bryozoans were the most abundant sclerobionts, whereas crinoid holdfasts were uncommon. Likewise, hederelloids and microconchids often settled on hosts previously colonized by bryozoans. Most microconchids encrusted rhynchonellid shells. A positive correlation between the size of the hosts and abundance/diversity of sclerobionts was recorded. The distribution analysis suggests that sclerobiont colonization could have been influenced either by inhalant currents of brachiopods, time of exposure, position of hosts, or by combination of all these factors. Moreover, most of commissures and foramens of brachiopods were not covered by epibionts, suggesting that there was a live interaction. Thus, studied brachiopods were likely encrusted syn vivo, and the interaction between sclerobionts and their brachiopod hosts was likely commensal since there is no damage to the brachiopod valves in the form of malformations or borings. On the contrary, the epibiont cover might have served as a natural shield against predators and parasites. The Roadian age of the association is based on the stratigraphic distribution of host brachiopods. The studied association inhabited open waters on a homoclinal carbonate ramp in the Chicomuselo region. Although encrusted brachiopods belong to the biotic Grandian Province, similar sclerobiont communities have not been previously recorded from the Permian of North America or beyond. The described community represents the youngest record of co-occurring microconchids, hederelloids, and bryozoans, as all previously known similar communities originate from the Late Devonian.

Remingtonocetid cetaceans are a group of stem whales known from the Indo-Pakistan and North African Tethys Ocean. An unusual tooth was discovered by Peter J. Harmatuk in 1973 in the middle Eocene Superior Stone Quarry (now the Martin Marietta Quarry) near Castle Hayne, North Carolina, USA. Here we identify this tooth as a premolar of a possible member of the Remingtonocetidae, which would extend the range of this family across the Atlantic to eastern North America. This partial tooth includes most of the crown (missing the mesial end) and the posterior root. The tooth bears a single central cusp and a worn accessory cusp on the posterior end. This tooth most closely resembles premolars of Remingtonocetus and is rather dissimilar to premolars of other archaeocetes known from the middle Eocene of North America, such as the families Protocetidae and Basilosauridae. This new record potentially expands the geographic distribution of the amphibious cetacean family Remingtonocetidae across the Atlantic.

Marine reptiles from the Upper Jurassic of Central Europe are rare and often fragmentary, which hinders their precise taxonomic identification and their placement in a palaeobiogeographic context. Recent fieldwork in the Kimmeridgian of Krzyżanowice, Poland, a locality known from turtle remains originally discovered in the 1960s, has reportedly provided additional fossils thought to indicate the presence of a more diverse marine reptile assemblage, including giant pliosaurids, plesiosauroids, and thalattosuchians. Based on its taxonomic composition, the marine tetrapod fauna from Krzyżanowice was argued to represent part of the “Matyja-Wierzbowski Line”—a newly proposed palaeobiogeographic belt comprising faunal components transitional between those of the Boreal and Mediterranean marine provinces. Here, we provide a detailed re-description of the marine reptile material from Krzyżanowice and reassess its taxonomy. The turtle remains are proposed to represent a “plesiochelyid” thalassochelydian (Craspedochelys? sp.) and the plesiosauroid vertebral centrum likely belongs to a cryptoclidid. However, qualitative assessment and quantitative analysis of the jaws originally referred to the colossal pliosaurid Pliosaurus clearly demonstrate a metriorhynchid thalattosuchian affinity. Furthermore, these metriorhynchid jaws were likely found at a different, currently indeterminate, locality. A tooth crown previously identified as belonging to the thalattosuchian Machimosaurus is here considered to represent an indeterminate vertebrate. The revised taxonomy of the marine reptiles from Krzyżanowice, as well as the uncertain provenance of the metriorhynchid specimen reported from the locality, cast doubt on the palaeobiogeographic significance of the assemblage.

Over the last 25 years, researchers, mostly paleontologists, have developed a system of rank-free, phylogenetically defined names for the primary clades of turtles. As these names are not considered established by the PhyloCode, the newly created nomenclatural system that governs the naming of clades, we take the opportunity to convert the vast majority of previously defined clade names for extinct and extant turtles into this new nomenclatural framework. Some previously defined names are converted with minor adjustments. We also define a number of new clade names to close apparent nomenclatural gaps. In total, we establish 113 clade names, of which 79 had already received phylogenetic definitions and 34 are new.

Dinocephalians (Therapsida), some of the earliest amniotes to have evolved large body size, include the carnivorous Anteosauria and mostly herbivorous Tapinocephalia. Whilst the palaeoneurology of the Tapinocephalia has been investigated in Moschognathus whaitsi, that of the Anteosauria remains completely unknown. Here we used X-ray micro-Computed Tomography to study, for the first time, the palaeoneurology of Anteosaurus magnificus. Compared to Moschognathus, we reconstruct Anteosaurus as an agile terrestrial predator based on the enlarged fossa for the floccular lobe of the cerebellum and semicircular canals of the inner ear. A major difference between the two genera resides in the orientation of the braincase, as indicated by the angle between the long axis of the skull and the plane of the lateral semicircular canal. This angle is 25 degrees in Anteosaurus, whereas it is 65 degrees in Moschognathus, which suggests that the braincase of the latter was remodelled as an adaptation to head-butting. This is consistent with less cranial pachyostosis and the retention of a large canine in Anteosauria, which suggests that dentition may have been used for intraspecific fighting and display in addition to trophic interactions. The evolution of a thick skull, horns, and bosses in tapinocephalids parallels the evolutionary reduction of the canine, which lead to a shift of the agonistic function from the mouth to the skull roof, as observed in extant social ungulates. Similarly, tapinocephalians may have developed complex social behaviour.

Larvae of lacewings (Neuroptera) are known to be fierce predators. According to the morphology of fossil forms thisseems to have been the case already in the Early Cretaceous. While being predators, lacewing larvae are also food itemsfor other organisms. Here we report two pieces of amber from Myanmar providing instances of such cases. In one amberpiece several isolated stylets of lacewing larvae are preserved closely associated together. The most likely interpretationis that a predator preying on lacewing larvae has regurgitated or defecated these non-digestible pieces, yet the identityof the predator remains unclear. The other amber piece preserves a larva resembling modern day larvae of split-footedlacewings (Nymphidae). The larva has projections on its trunk, allowing it to wear a camouflaging cloak. In the headregion, a mite (Acari) is attached to the larva; more precisely, the entire anterior body region of the mite is apparentlyinserted into the lacewing larva. The mite is smaller than the larva. It is known from the modern fauna that stage 1 larvaeof Ascalaphidae can be attacked also by rather small predators, such as ants. The mite can therefore well be interpretedas a true predator instead of a parasite, especially considering the unusual mode of attachment. We briefly review interactionsof lacewing larvae with other organisms represented in amber from Myanmar and add two new pieces to thepuzzle of reconstructing the trophic interactions in the 100-million-year old amber forest.

Paleogene dermochelyid species richness far exceeded that of today. Leatherback sea turtles were most species rich in the Paleogene, but their richness declined sharply during the Neogene with only one species existing today, Dermochelys coriacea. We describe the fossil remains of three leatherback genera (Natemys, Psephophorus, and Egyptemys) from the upper Oligocene Chandler Bridge Formation and two (Natemys and Psephophorus) from the lower Oligocene Ashley Formation of South Carolina, USA. The fossils consist of isolated and some associated carapacial ossicles. Several ossicles are referred to Natemys sp. because their scalloped edges are indicative of the carapacial sunflower pattern specific to this genus. Additionally, two Natemys morphotypes (Natemys sp. 1 and 2) are distinguished based on differences in ossicle thickness and internal structure. We refer two ossicles to cf. Psephophorus because of their internal diploic structure and because one has a dorsal radial pattern while the other has a prominent ridge that exhibits strong visceral concavity. Finally, we refer one ossicle to cf. Egyptemys because it has a shallow keel that shows little expression on the visceral surface, although we also acknowledge the ossicle’s similarity to some ridged ossicles of the genus Psephophorus. These ossicles represent the first multispecies assemblage of leatherback fossils reported worldwide. Furthermore, the specimens fill both temporal and geographic gaps for extinct leatherback genera and represent the first formally described dermochelyids from South Carolina and the Oligocene of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

In the last years, a murine identified as Paraethomys aff. abaigari has been repeatedly recognized in several early Pliocene localities of the Iberian Peninsula. We have revised these occurrences, as well as other samples of similar morphology, and propose that all these records correspond to a new species. We diagnose Paraethomys baeticus sp. nov. based on a large sample from the early Ruscinian site of Baza-1 (Guadix-Baza Basin, Spain). It is a medium-sized representative of the genus, with relatively well-developed longitudinal connections both in upper and lower molars, but incomplete stephanodonty. M1 displays high tubercles t6-t9 and low t4-t8 connections. M1 and, to a lesser extent, M2 have posterior spurs on t1 and t3. The t9 and t12 are absent in M2. In m1, a round islet of enamel between the anteroconid and the protoconid-metaconid is regularly observed, as well as a general lack of medial anteroconid, moderate labial cingulum with large posterior accessory cuspid, and longitudinal spur. The new species differs from other European representatives of the genus Paraethomys mainly in its size, which is intermediate between that of the small-sized Paraethomys meini and the large-sized Paraethomys abaigari. In addition, both the size and relative width are smaller than those of Paraethomys jaegeri. The frequency of posterior spurs on t1 and t3 of M1 and M2 is higher than that of P. meini and lower than that of P. jaegeri. The new species here described represents a key biochronological and biostratigraphic marker, since it is restricted to levels of late early Ruscinian age. Thus, this species is useful for establishing divisions within the early Ruscinian, and becomes a characteristic taxon for the early Pliocene in the terrestrial record of the Iberian Peninsula. Magnetobiostratigraphic correlations suggest a chronological range for P. baeticus sp. nov. between ca. 4.6 and 4.3 Ma. Fil: Piñero García, Pedro. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados. Sección de Mastozoología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Verzi, Diego Hector. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados. Sección de Mastozoología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Fossil plant macroremains preserved in laminated diatomites from Łysa Góra near Rębiszów, Lower Silesia, have been documented for the first time. The fossil assemblage consists mostly of leaves, but fruits, seeds and sporadic flowers also occur. Forty-three identified taxa represent nineteen plant families: Aceraceae, Berberidaceae, Betulaceae, Cornaceae, Cupressaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Ericaceae, Fagaceae, Lauraceae, ?Leguminosae, ?Meliaceae, Magnoliaceae, Pinaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Salicaceae, Tilioideae, Ulmaceae, Vitaceae, and one incertae sedis. The prevalence of entire margined leaves, mostly represented by Majanthemophyllum basinerve and Daphnogene cinnamomifolia, and a significant presence of Calocedrus suleticensis and Liriodendron haueri, are characteristic features of the Rębiszów flora. The composition of the plant assemblage points to a mesophytic forest with some riparian elements and suggests favourable, warm climatic conditions. Radiometrically dated basalts overlying fossiliferous layers and composition of palynoflora suggest at least Chattian (late Oligocene) age. The lithology and floristic composition link the Rębiszów flora with the so-called volcanic floras of the Nerchau-Flörsheim or Kleinsaubernitz floristic complex (Oligocene) from Germany and Czech Republic with Suletice-Berand flora being especially close.

Valves of a thoracican cirripede belonging to a new species of the Neolepadidae, Ashinkailepas indica Gale sp. nov. are described from a Late Pleistocene cold seep (52.6 ka), cored in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, offshore from the eastern coast of India. This constitutes the first fossil record of the genus, and its first occurrence in the Indian Ocean. Other fossil records of the Neolepadidae (here elevated to full family status) are discussed, and it is concluded that only Stipilepas molerensis from the Eocene of Denmark, is correctly referred to the family. Cladistic analysis of the Neolepadidae supports a basal position for Ashinkailepas, as deduced independently from molecular studies, and the Lower Cretaceous brachylepadid genus Pedupycnolepas is identified as sister taxon to Neolepadidae. Neolepadids are not Mesozoic relics as claimed, preserved in association with the highly specialised environments of cold seeps and hydrothermal vents, but are rather an early Cenozoic offshoot from the clade which also gave rise to the sessile cirripedes.

We sectioned a permineralized stem preserved in marine calcareous concretions from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) of James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula using the cellulose-acetate peel technique. The material is a slender stem displaying a combination of characters such as: (i) absence of vessels and axial parenchyma, (ii) presence of a cambial variant which produces axial vascular elements in segments (AVES pattern), and (iii) elongated upright ray cells. This character combination allows us to assign this fossil to family Chloranthaceae and to relate it to an extant genus Sarcandra. Consequently we describe Sarcandraxylon sanjosense gen. et sp. nov., representing the first vegetative fossil of Chloranthaceae—a basal angiosperm family with a fossil record extending back into the Early Cretaceous and dominated by pollen grains and a limited number of reproductive mesofossils. Besides doubtfully assigned leaves, there are no reported Cretaceous macrofossils of Chloranthaceae, which hinders our understanding of the overall pattern of morphological evolution for the family. The new fossil constitutes the first fossil occurrence of the Sarcandra clade in high latitudes of Western Gondwana. The particular wood anatomy and small diameter suggest a new plant habit (sub-shrub) for the physiognomy of the Cretaceous Antarctic floras. Fil: Pipo, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina Fil: Iglesias, Ari. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina Fil: Bodnar, Josefina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Área Paleobotánica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Oligochaetes, despite their important role in terrestrial ecosystems and a tremendous biomass, are extremely rare fossils. The palaeontological record of these worms is restricted to some cocoons, presumable trace fossils and a few body fossils the most convincing of which are discovered in Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata. The Olenekian (Lower Triassic) siliciclastic lacustrine Petropavlovka Lagerstätte of the southern Cis-Urals yields a number of extraordinary freshwater fossils including an annelid. The segmented body with a secondary annulation of this fossil, a subtriangular prostomium, a relatively thick layered body wall and, possibly, the presence of a genital region point to its oligochaete affinities. Other fossil worms which have been ascribed to clitellates are reviewed and, with a tentative exception of two Pennsylvanian finds, affinities of any pre-Mesozoic forms to clitellate annelids are rejected. The new fossil worm allows tracing of a persuasive oligochaete record to the lowermost Mesozoic and confirms a plausibility of the origin of this annelid group in freshwater conditions.

Fossils of Osmylinae are rare, currently only one fossil genus of this subfamily is known, Lithosmylus which is recorded from the late Eocene Florissant Formation of USA. Herein, we report a new Osmylinae genus with two new species, Vetosmylus tentus gen. et sp. nov. and Vetosmylus maculosus gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China, The new genus shares many apomorphic characters with extant osmyline relatives, e.g., forked subcostal veinlets in forewing; dense cross-veins present in radial sector, usually forming one complete outer gradate series in forewing; the region between MA and MP significantly broadened in hind wing, but with only one row of cells, implying a likely morphological stasis during the evolution of Osmylinae. The new genus Vetosmylus, the first and earliest record hitherto of Osmylinae from the Mesozoic, enhances our understanding of the early stages of their evolution.

The orthopteran fauna of the Paleocene of Menat Formation (France) is revised. It comprises at least 12 species in the following clades: Grylloidea (an undescribed species, Menatgryllus longixiphus gen. et sp. nov.); Tettigoniidae (Prophasgonura lineatocollis); Elcanidae (Cenoelcanus menatensis gen. et sp. nov.); two Eumastacoidea (Paleochina duvergeri gen. et sp. nov. and Paleochina minuta sp. nov., tentatively placed in the extant family Chorotypidae). These two last taxa are compared to the other described fossil Eumastacoidea. As all these Eumastacoidea are represented by tegmina or hindwings, their previous attributions to the Eumastacidae sensu stricto are questionable. All previously described fossil Caelifera from Menat are considered of uncertain position. Those that were previously considered as Acridoidea are excluded from this clade. In consequence, the oldest described Acridoidea are Oligocene, at the time of diversification of the grasses on which these insects predominantly live, in accordance with the most recent molecular dating of the Acrididae. Cenoelcanus menatensis is the youngest and first Cenozoic representative of the Mesozoic Elcanidae, showing that this family survived the Cretaceous–Paleocene extinction and became extinct during the Paleogene.

Neuroptera is one of the smaller ingroups of Holometabola, the ingroup of Insecta characterised by “complete” metamorphosis. Neuroptera comprises about 6000 species in the modern fauna, but appears to have been more diverse in the past. While adults distantly resemble certain moths or damselflies, the larval forms of Neuroptera are mostly fierce predators with prominent venom-injecting stylets. The most well-known of these larvae are probably those of antlions. Antlions and their closer relatives (silky lacewings, split-footed lacewings, ribbon-winged lacewings, spoon-winged lacewings, and owlflies) form a distinct monophyletic ingroup of Neuroptera, Myrmeleontiformia, hence the antlion-like forms. The fossil record of antlion-like larvae dates back far into the Cretaceous; many forms are known by exceptionally wellpreserved specimens entrapped in amber. The oldest fossil record of a neuropteran larva (not an antlion-like form) comes from Lebanese amber. Interestingly, the supposedly oldest record of an antlion-like larva is preserved in rock and comes from the famous Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation. We re-evaluate this fossil based on high-resolution composite photography. Due to the non-availability of many key characters, standard procedures for identifying the specimen to a more narrow ingroup remains challenging. Therefore, we used a morphometric approach. A combination of non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), parallel coordinate plots and discriminant function analysis indicates that the fossil is a representative of the group Ascalaphidae (owlflies) + Myrmeleontidae (antlions). We discuss implications of this result for the fossil record of neuropteran larvae. These include the rather derived morphology of the oldest fossil larva of Myrmeleontiformia in contrast to previous expectations. Furthermore, fossils from soil dwellers can not only be expected to be found in amber, but also as compression fossils.

Sieve-type normal pore canals (StPC) occur commonly in living and fossil cytheroid ostracods but their biological function(s) and evolutionary history are poorly known. The new genus Minyocythere and its four species: Minyocythere macroporosa sp. nov., M. angulata sp. nov., M. maculosa, and M. tuberculata from the Middle Jurassic have StPC prominently developed, display a range of normal pore canals, and provide a context for review of the geological record and palaeobiological potential of these structures, and their application as a taxonomic tool compared with classical approaches. The related Cretaceous genus Dolocythere is reviewed and Dolocythere amphistiela sp. nov. described. The significance of StPC for comparative morphology, systematics, palaeobiology and environmental interpretation are discussed. The range of normal pore canals observed, including StPC, is greater than previously described and several types can occur on one animal implying different life functions. The potential of normal pore canals especially StPC for systematic use is established although good preservation is essential. The functional significance of normal pore canals and their setae must be verified with living material before their evolutionary history can be deduced and their application to palaeoenvironmental interpretation and modern environmental monitoring enhanced.

Funding Information: We would like to thank the Museu da Lourinhã for providing specimens and facilities, especially: Carla-Alexandra Tomás, Bruno Pereira, Alexandre Audigane, and Carla Abreu. To Jesper Milàn (Geomuseum Faxe, Denmark) and Micael Martinho (ML) who found and prepared some of the specimens. We also thank the Sociedade de Historia Natural (Torres Vedras, Portugal) and in particular Bruno Camilo Silva and Joana Ferreira for providing access and assistance to the holotype of Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis. Cristiano Dal Sasso (Museu di Storia Naturale di Milano, Italy) provided comparison material and William Harcourt-Smith (American Museum of Natural History, New York City, USA) for helping with the morphometric analysis. We also thank all the members of the Lourinhã Paleoteam for their inputs in earlier versions of this manuscript. We thank the editor Stephen Brusatte (School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK) and the reviewers Tom Hübner (Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha, Germany) and Peter Galton (University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) for their comments, which greatly improved the quality of this manuscript. A special thanks to Vincent J. Cheng (ML) who proof-read this manuscript. FMR is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (Grant SFRH/BD/146230/2019). MMA is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (Grant SFRH/BPD/113130/2015). The research here presented has been supported by grants (GeoBioTec-NOVA and UIDB/04035/2020). Made available in DSpace on 2021-11-11T23:38:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020 publishersversion published

Previous studies on enamel microstructure in Ornithischia have focused on derived lineages of this clade based on species from the northern hemisphere. Here we describe the enamel microstructure of Manidens condorensis from the late Early Jurassic of Argentina that belongs to Heterodontosauridae (interpreted as the basal-most clade of Ornithischia). Enamel microstructure in the cheek teeth lacks a basal unit layer, presents incipient divergent crystallite as the dominant enamel type and parallel crystallite enamel type (with or without incrementing lines). Enamel of maxillary and dentary teeth differs from each other in enamel distribution (asymmetric vs. symmetric), structure (presence vs. absence of tubules, and less vs. more abundant parallel crystallite enamel with incrementing lines) and ordering (regular ordering of enamel types vs. in patches). The enamel microstructure of Manidens is the simplest of all known Ornithischia, and is more similar to that of the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus than to the one reported for the basal theropod Coelophysis. Similarities within Ornithischia are present with pachycephalosaurids and, to a lesser extent, with ankylosaurs. Phylogenetic optimization of enamel characters in Ornithischia allows the inference of new ancestral states for the internal nodes of the major lineages and to highlight evolutionary transformations: (i) absence of a basal unit layer and presence of parallel crystallite and incipient divergent columnar enamel as the ancestral state for Ornithischia; (ii) the shared presence of incipient divergent columnar units or poorly developed divergent columnar enamel in Pachycephalosauridae and Thyreophora represents a retention of the plesiomorphic ornithischian condition; (iii) the wavy enamel of Dryomorpha evolved from the ancestral incipient divergent columnar units present in Ornithopoda and; (iv) enamel thickness and asymmetry has independently evolved at least four times in Ornithischia.

Fleas are highly specialized holometabolic insects. So far, only 16 species of fossil fleas in five families have been reported due to the rare fossil records. At present, the earliest flea fossils are reported from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Northeastern China. The descriptions of these earliest species pushed back the origin of Siphonaptera by at least 40 million years. It is generally accepted that saurophthirids are the “transitional” taxa from stem Jurassic fleas to living crown groups. Herein, we described a new “transitional” flea species, Saurophthirus laevigatus Zhang, Shih, Rasnitsyn, and Gao sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Northeastern China, assigned to Saurophthiridae. The new species provides new evidence to support saurophthirids as a “transitional” group. Sexual dimorphism suggests significant differences in biology of opposite sexes in Saurophthirus. Analysis of described Mesozoic species demonstrates the body size reduction from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Smaller body size was likely advantageous in reducing the probability of being detected and removed by the host and in minimizing flea’s demand for blood intake and energy input, indicating the adaptation of the ectoparasitic lifestyle of fleas in their early stage of evolution.

Despite today’s controversy regarding several aspects of his legacy, Swiss-born Harvard Professor Louis Agassiz (1807–1873) was one of the most eminent scientists of his time. After his death, Washington-based photographer and amateur naturalist, Henry Ulke (1821–1910), honored his ‘esteemed friend’ which is clear from his personal letter of condolence addressed to Agassiz’s eldest son Alexander, and a posthumous portrait (oil on canvas) dated 1876. In 1877, his portrait was purchased by the United States Capitol, but it was not accepted by the Joint Committee on the Library. Thereafter, it soon went missing and remained unnoticed for nearly 150 years, until the same portrait (or at least a second, original version) was brought to auction in 2013 by heirs of the Ulke family. The painting is based on a rare carte-de-visite photograph, which bears the 1876 backstamp of Henry’s brother, Julius Ulke (1833–1910). Both the painting and the card, undoubtedly depicting Agassiz, were once mislabeled as General Francis E. Spinner, United States Treasurer (1802–1890), probably by Henry’s son, Titus Ulke (1866–1961) or another descendent. The rediscovery of the painting is of major historic and artistic importance. It is now on display in the library of Elasmobranch Research, Belgium.

A block of stromatolitic limestone found on the Angara River shore near Kodinsk, Siberia, derived from the exposed nearby Ust-kut Formation, has yielded a sample of 146 ellesmeroceratid nautiloid specimens. A minor contribution to the fossil assemblage from bellerophontid and hypseloconid molluscs suggests a restricted abnormal salinity environment. The associated shallow-water low diversity assemblage of the conodonts Laurentoscandodus triangularis and Utahconus(?) eurypterus indicates an age close to the Furongian–Tremadocian boundary. Echinoderm sclerites, trilobite carapaces, and hexactinellid sponge spicules were found in another block from the transitional strata between the Ust-kut and overlying terrigenous Iya Formation; these fossils indicate normal marine salinity. The conodont L. triangularis is there associated with Semiacontiodus iowensis and Cordylodus angulatus. This means that the stromatolitic strata with cephalopods are older than the early Tremadocian C. angulatus Zone but not older than the Furongian C. proavus Zone. The sample of nautiloid specimens extracted from the block shows an unimodal variability in respect to all recognizable aspects of their morphology. The material is probably conspecific with the poorly known Ruthenoceras elongatum from the same strata and region.

We report the discovery of Maculaferrum blaisi gen. et sp. nov, the first occurrence of the family Tettigarctidae, informally known as hairy cicadas, in North America. Maculaferrum blaisi is part of a new collection assembled during recent fieldwork in the Redmond Formation, Labrador, Canada, near Schefferville. It consists in a single isolated forewing whose venational characters allow a classification to Tettigarctinae at the subfamily level. Classification at a higher level remains uncertain since it displays a combination of characters supposedly unique to tribes Protabanini, Meunierini, and Tettigarctini. Thus, this discovery adds credence to suggestions of a revision of the definitions of these tribes since they seem to be based on many convergent or plesiomorphic characters. Remnants of a spotted pattern on the wing membrane and probable setae along some veins are also preserved. Observations of the holotype’s fine anatomical characters have been facilitated by the use of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), an emerging method for the visualization of compression and impression fossils. Considering that the estimated age of the Redmond Formation is the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous), the discovery of M. blaisi contributes to a very recent expansion of the tettigarctid fossil record that fills a gap between Early Cretaceous and Cenozoic genera. It suggests that hairy cicadas maintained a global distribution and thrived in a variety of climate regimes well into the Late Cretaceous, and that their competitive exclusion by singing cicadas occurred definitely closer to the end of the Cretaceous, or even during the Cenozoic. This discovery is only the start of a thorough description of the recently expanded entomofauna in the Cretaceous of Labrador.

The fuxianhuiid arthropod Guangweicaris spinatus, from the lower Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4), Guanshan Biota (Wulongqing Member, Canglangpu Formation), located in the vicinity of Kunming (Yunnan Province, southwest China), is redescribed based on new specimens and a re-examination of previously described material. A more complete overview of its morphology is given. Newly recognised features include: (i) a medial cephalic bulge; (ii) a tripartite hypostome; (iii) a pair of specialized post-antennal appendage (SPA); (iv) a putative telson; (v) two pairs of spines on the posteroventral margin of the terminal abdominal segment. This information is used to provide an emended diagnosis of the family Fuxianhuiidae, and the genus Guangweicaris.

For the first time gastropods from the Besano Formation (Anisian/Ladinian boundary) are documented. The material was collected from three different outcrops at Monte San Giorgio (Southern Alps, Ticino, Switzerland). The taxa here described are Worthenia (Humiliworthenia)? aff. microstriata, Frederikella cf. cancellata, ?Trachynerita sp., ?Omphaloptycha sp. 1 and ?Omphaloptycha sp. 2. They represent the best preserved specimens of a larger collection and document the presence in this formation of the clades Vetigastropoda, Neritimorpha and Caenogastropoda that were widespread on the Alpine Triassic carbonate platforms. True benthic molluscs are very rarely documented in the Besano Formation, which is interpreted as intra-platform basin sediments deposited in usually anoxic condition. Small and juvenile gastropods could have been lived as pseudoplankton attached to floating algae or as free-swimming veliger planktotrophic larval stages. Accumulations of larval specimens suggest unfavorable living conditions with prevailing disturbance in the planktic realm or mass mortality events. However, larger gastropods more probably were washed in with sediments disturbed by slumping and turbidite currents along the basin edge or storm activity across the platform of the time equivalent Middle San Salvatore Dolomite.

We here describe turtle remains from the late Miocene (Tortonian) of Cessaniti (Calabria, southern Italy), an area that recently has been palaeogeographically reconstructed as being, at that time of the Neogene, directly connected (or at least rather proximate) to northern Africa, instead of Europe. The material pertains to three different turtle clades, i.e., pan-trionychids, pan-cheloniids, and pan-geoemydids. Although the material is incomplete, it nevertheless permits a more precise identification for the pan-trionychid specimens, which are referred to the speciesTrionyx pliocenicus, as well as the pan-geoemydid, which is attributed to the genusMauremys. Especially for the case ofT. pliocenicus, the new Cessaniti specimens expand its geographic and stratigraphic distribution and further comprise the sole existing material known for this species, considering that its holotype and so far only known material is currently lost. Overall, besides its taxonomic significance, the Cessaniti chelonian assemblage affords the potential for important biogeographic implications, attesting that the lineages ofTrionyxandMauremyscould have potentially used the Sicily–Calabria arch for their dispersal from Europe to Africa during the Tortonian. The new turtle specimens further complement the associated mammal remains in envisaging the Cessaniti assemblage as a mosaic of both African and Eurasian (Pikermian) faunal elements.

International audience; For the understanding of the evolution of jawed vertebrates and jaws and teeth, 'placoderms' are crucial as they exhibit an impressive morphological disparity associated with the early stages of this process. The Devonian of Morocco is famous for its rich occurrences of arthrodire 'placoderms'. While Late Devonian strata are rich in arthrodire remains, they are less common in older strata. Here, we describe a large tooth-bearing jaw element of Leptodontichthys ziregensis gen. et sp. nov., an eubrachythoracid arthrodire from the Middle Devonian of Morocco. This species is based on a large posterior superognathal with a strong dentition. The jawbone displays features considered synapomorphies of Late Devonian eubrachythoracid arthrodires, with one posterior and one lateral row of conical teeth oriented postero-lingually. μCT-images reveal internal structures including pulp cavities and dentinous tissues. The posterior orientation of the teeth and the traces of a putative occlusal contact on the lingual side of the bone imply that these teeth were hardly used for feeding. Similar to Compagopiscis and Plourdosteus, functional teeth were possibly present during an earlier developmental stage and have been worn entirely. The morphological features of the jaw element suggest a close relationship with plourdosteids. Its size implies that the animal was rather large.

Exceptional fossil preservation is required to conserve soft-bodied fossils and even more so to conserve their behaviour. Here, we describe a fossil of a co-occurrence of representatives of two different octobrachian coleoid species. The fossils are from the Toarcian Posidonienschiefer of Ohmden near Holzmaden, Germany. The two animals died in the act of predation, i.e. one had caught the other and had begun to nibble on it, when they possibly sank into hypoxic waters and suffocated (distraction sinking). This supports the idea that primitive vampyromorphs pursued diverse feeding strategies and were not yet adapted to being opportunistic feeders in oxygen minimum zones like their modern relative Vampyroteuthis.

Erythrosuchidae is a clade of early archosauriform reptiles that were large-bodied, hypercarnivorous, possibly apex predators in late Early and Middle Triassic ecosystems following the Permo-Triassic mass extinction. Chalishevia cothurnata from the late Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of Russia, is the stratigraphically youngest known erythrosuchid species, but the holotype and referred material of this taxon has received little study. Here, we provide the first detailed anatomical description of C. cothurnata, including comparisons to other erythrosuchids. Although known from relatively fragmentary material, the anatomy of C. cothurnata is distinctive, including an autapomorphic strongly slanted ventral border of the antorbital fossa. The presence of a large accessory opening (the “accessory antorbital fenestra”) in the skull between the premaxilla, nasal and maxilla, together with the inferred presence of a narrow postnarial process of the premaxilla that articulated with a slot on the nasal, provides strong evidence for a sister taxon relationship between C. cothurnata and the erythrosuchid Shansisuchus shansisuchus from the early Middle Triassic (Anisian) of China. The inferred basal skull length of C. cothurnata was approximately 80 cm, making it one of the largest erythrosuchids known. Fil: Butler, Richard. University of Birmingham; Reino Unido Fil: Sennikov, Andrey. Kazan Federal University. Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies; Rusia Fil: Ezcurra, Martin Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina Fil: Gower, David. Natural History Museum; Reino Unido

Sauropterygia, one of the main clades of Mesozoic marine reptiles, diversified shortly after the Permo-Triassic biotic crisis and afterwards remained one of the major components of Early Triassic and later Mesozoic marine ecosystems. On the other hand, actual specimens of marine reptiles of Olenekian age are still rare in the fossil record, coming only from a few localities worldwide. Here we describe associated remains of a larger marine reptile of around 4 m body length, with nothosauroidean affinities from the Sulphur Mountain Formation exposed at the L cirque locality of Wapiti Lake area in British Columbia. Although the specimen records only scattered parts of the posterior vertebral column, some gastral ribs and most notably, the proximal portion of one hind limb together with a fan-shaped ischium, it represents one of the oldest records of Sauropterygia and larger representatives of aff. Nothosauroidea specifically, as well as the northernmost occurrence of such animals in the Triassic. As such, the new specimen is important for understanding the biogeography and early evolution of the group and that of Sauropterygia, in general.

Archaeorthoptera is a high rank insect taxon comprising Orthoptera as well as the extinct orders Titanoptera and Caloneurodea, and several other late Paleozoic groups formerly assigned to polyphyletic Protorthoptera. Synapomorphies defining Archaeorthoptera and some fossil subordinate taxa are exclusively based on wing venation. This study presents a detailed description of two new archaeorthopteran genera and three new species from the Pennsylvanian of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Poland. These new taxa provide new insights into the wing venation disparity of this remarkable and insufficiently studied insect group. Omaliella polonica sp. nov. is based on a well preserved forewing, including the wing base, which allows a thorough discussion and comparison with other archaeorthopterans. Surprisingly, it is the first complete wing for this group of related genera (Omaliella, Omalia, Coselia and Paleomastax). Owadpteron dareki gen. et sp. nov. has an unusual arrangement of cubital veins. The marked resemblance of the venation of Owadpteron to that of some members of the gerarid line, such as Nacekomia, supports its placement within the family Geraridae (stemgroup Orthoptera). Finally, the venation of Parapalaeomastax dariuszi gen. et sp. nov. strikingly resembles that of the genus Palaeomastax, differing only in the distally branched media. Discovery of these three new archaeorthopterans from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin fits well with that of closely related taxa known from other deposits in Euramerica, such as Mazon Creek Lagerstätte, Avion in Pas-de-Calais Basin and others. Furthermore, a new re-examination of the earliest archaeorthopteran from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin confirms doubtful assignment of this fragmentary fossil to Archaeorthoptera or even to Pterygota.

Despite being reported from various localities and stratigraphic intervals, knowledge of the siliceous sponges from the Cenozoic of Eastern Europe remains surprisingly limited. Studies assessing their diversity are almost exclusively in Russian and rather hard to obtain. The most comprehensive elaboration of the sponge spicules from the Paleogene of the East European Platform was published in 2003 and deals with material from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania. However, the classification in that paper is purely artificial and extremely difficult to interpret according to modern biological criteria. A reassessment of this material is carried out, with the aim of revising all morphotypes of spicules, and identifying them to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Results suggest that the assemblage is much more diverse than previously thought, including members of 24 demosponge families (class Demospongiae), one homoscleromorph (class Homoscleromorpha), and at least one hexactinellid (class Hexactinellida). Our improved understanding of the diversity of Paleogene sponge fauna of the East European Platform will have implications for the interpretation of the past and future ecological and paleobiogeographic studies.

Conellae, enigmatic cone-shaped structures which can be found on the surface of internal moulds of cephalopod shells (predominantly of ammonoids), are regarded herein as the product of remote (biologically induced) biomineralization formed in closed-off cavities during lifetime and might be primarily composed of vaterite, aragonite, or calcite. To date conellae have been interpreted in many different ways: (i) as organisms (gastropods, cirriped crustaceans, or disciniscid brachiopods), (ii) pre-diagenetic syn vivo features, i.e., biologically controlled or induced, the product of remote biomineralization, (iii) and diagenetic, i.e., abiogenic origin and post-mortem. The proposed processes of conellae formation seem insufficient to explain conellae related phenomena. Further, their assumed primary aragonitic or calcitic mineralogy are reviewed and based on new material critically assessed. The stratigraphic range of conellae extends from the Middle Ordovician and probably to modern Nautilus. Predominantly, conellae can be found on internal moulds along the keel, ribs or nodes, umbilical shoulder, at the transition between phragmocone and body chamber, and can be associated with repaired scars. However, conellae are also common on the smooth body chambers of large macroconchs of Jurassic ammonites. Conellae, which are located on ammonite body chambers, are filled with the same material found in the body chamber and can contain small burrows, sand grains, or coprolites. Some of these conellae are partially covered with nacreous shell material. Limonitic conellae were also found on the limonitic internal moulds of orthocone nautiloids. Moreover, disciniscid brachiopods found on inoceramid bivalves were re-identified herein as conellae. A short guide for conellae identification has been provided herein.

The early/middle Eocene Palaeotis weigelti is a flightless bird, which occurs in the fossil localities Messel and Geiseltal (Germany). The species is assigned to the Palaeognathae and some authors considered it to be a stem group representative of the Struthionidae (ostriches). Even though several partial skeletons have been found, the osteology of P. weigelti is incompletely known. In the present study, new details of the hindlimb morphology of the species are reported based on unpublished and previously described fossils from the Geiseltal. These data show that the recently described Galligeranoides boriensis from the early Eocene of southern France is another representative of the Palaeotididae and the oldest record of the taxon. It is further noted that Palaeogrus princeps from the middle Eocene of Italy, which was previously assigned to the Gruidae (cranes), may be another representative of the Palaeotididae. Galligeranoides was before assigned to the North American Geranoididae, a taxon mainly known from hindlimb elements. The Geranoididae are usually considered to be closely related to the Asian Eogruidae and both taxa are currently classified in the Gruiformes (cranes and allies). However, as detailed in the present study, derived similarities suggest close affinities between the Palaeotididae and Geranoididae. Eogruids were identified as stem group representatives of the palaeognathous Struthionidae by some earlier authors, and if close affinities between Palaeotididae and Geranoididae are corroborated in future analyses, palaeognathous affinities of the Eogruidae need to be critically revisited.

Colonies of the rugose corals Nemistium liardense sp. nov. and Heritschioides simplex sp. nov. were collected from limestone in the upper member of the Mattson Formation in the Liard Range in the Northwest Territories and are the only known identifiable coral species from the Mattson Fm. The Mattson Fm., deposited in the Liard Basin west of the syndepositional Bovie reverse fault, comprises sandstone with subordinate shale and carbonates deposited during several delta cycles. The close morphological similarity and identical mode of offsetting in N. liardense colonies from the Mattson Fm. and the allochthonous Stikine Terrane of British Columbia indicate they belong in the same species. This and the morphological similarity between H. simplex and the late Serpukhovian to early Bashkirian H. columbicum allow assignment of the coral-bearing part of the upper Mattson Fm. to Bashkirian Foraminiferal Biozone 20. Widespread occurrence of the genus Nemistium confirms open communication between the Liard Basin region and the western European and northern African seas.

Fossil turtles are one of the least studied clades in regard to endocranial anatomy. Recently, the use of non-invasive technologies, such as radiographic computed tomography (CT), increased the knowledge of the neuroanatomy of several extinct and extant taxa. Here, we provide the description of the nasal cavity, cranial endocast, and inner ear of the stem turtle Naomichelys speciosa based on digital 3D reconstructions. This terrestrial form is characterized by a nasal cavity with anteroposteriorly elongated vestibulum and a large cavum nasi proprium, traits typically related to terrestrial habits. The large olfactory region of the cavum nasi proprium suggests that olfaction was probably the most important sense for this species. Our description of N. speciosa adds novel information to the knowledge of endocranial anatomy in early turtle evolution and provides an important foundation for future analyses and comparisons.

The morphology and ontogeny of the trilobite Changaspis elongata based on 216 specimens collected from the Lazizhai section of the Balang Formation (Stage 4, Series 2 of the Cambrian) in Guizhou Province, South China are described. The relatively continuous ontogenetic series reveals morphological changes, and shows that the species has seventeen thoracic segments in the holaspid period, instead of the sixteen as previously suggested. The development of the pygidial segments shows that their number gradually decreases during ontogeny. A new dataset of well-preserved specimens offers a unique opportunity to investigate developmental traits after segment addition is completed. The ontogenetic size progressions for the lengths of cephalon and trunk show overall compliance with Dyar’s rule. As a result of different average growth rates for the lengths of cephalon, trunk and pygidium, the length of the thorax relative to the body shows a gradually increasing trend; however, the cephalon and pygidium follow the opposite trend. Morphometric analysis across fourteen post-embryonic stages reveals growth gradients with increasing values for each thoracic segment from anterior to posterior. The reconstruction of the development traits shows visualization of the changes in relative growth and segmentation for the different body parts. The new dataset and growth gradient of the trunk suggest that the thoracic segment growth dynamics of early Cambrian to Silurian trilobites follow the same general continuous, steady-state growth gradient decreasing from posterior to anterior.

The lower Cambrian (Series 2) White Point Conglomerate (WPC) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia contains exotic clasts representing a diverse array of lithologies, including metamorphics, chert, sandstone, and abundant carbonates, notably archaeocyath-rich bioclastic limestone. Acetic acid digestion of the WPC bioclastic limestone clasts reveals a diverse shelly fauna. This assemblage includes abundant organophosphatic brachiopods such as Cordatia erinae Brock and Claybourn gen. et sp. nov., Curdus pararaensis, Eodicellomus elkaniformiis, Eohadrotreta sp. cf. E. zhenbaensis, Eoobolus sp., Kyrshabaktella davidii, and Schizopholis yorkensis. Additional shelly taxa include the solenopleurid trilobite Trachoparia? sp., the tommotiids Dailyatia odyssei, Dailyatia decobruta Betts sp. nov., Kelanella sp., and Lapworthella fasciculata, spines of the bradoriid arthropod Mongolitubulus squamifer, and several problematica, such as Stoibostrombus crenulatus and a variety of tubular forms. The upper age limit for the WPC is constrained by biostratigraphic data from the overlying Marsden Sandstone and Emu Bay Shale, which are no younger than the Pararaia janeae Trilobite Zone (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4). The shelly fossil assemblage from the WPC limestone clasts indicates an upper Dailyatia odyssei Zone (= Pararaia tatei to lower P. janeae trilobite zones), equivalent to the Atdabanian–early Botoman of the Siberian scheme. This contrasts with the previously suggested late Botoman age for the limestone clasts, based on the diverse archaeocyath assemblage. The minor age difference between the WPC and its fossiliferous limestone clasts suggests relatively rapid reworking of biohermal buildups during tectonically-active phases of deposition in the Stansbury Basin.

We describe new material of the Subfamily Gaudryceratinae in Antarctica, including five new species: Gaudryceras submurdochi Raffi and Olivero sp. nov., Anagaudryceras calabozoi Raffi and Olivero sp. nov., Anagaudryceras subcompressum Raffi and Olivero sp. nov., Anagaudryceras sanctuarium Raffi and Olivero sp. nov. and Zelandites pujatoi Raffi and Olivero sp. nov., recorded in Santonian to Maastrichtian deposits of the James Ross Basin. The early-mid Campanian Anagaudryceras calabozoi sp. nov. exhibits a clear dimorphism, expressed by marked differences in the ornament of the adult body chamber. Contrary to the scarcity of representative members of the subfamily Gaudryceratinae in the Upper Cretaceous of other localities in the Southern Hemisphere, the Antarctic record reveals high abundance and diversity of 15 species and three genera in total. This highly diversified record of gaudryceratins is only comparable with the Santonian-Maastrichtian Gaudryceratinae of Japan and Sakhalin, which yields a large number of species of Anagaudryceras, Gaudryceras, and Zelandites. The reasons for a similar, highly diversified record of the Gaudryceratinae in these distant and geographically nearly antipodal regions are not clear, but we argue that they probably reflect a similar paleoecological control. Fil: Raffi, María Eugenia. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina Fil: Olivero, Eduardo Bernardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; Argentina Fil: Milanese, Florencia Nidia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas; Argentina

Newly collected material reveals that the Silurian myodocope ostracods from the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland comprise ten species (one new to science) belonging to four families: Bolbozoidae, Entomozoidae, Rhomboentomozoidae, and Cypridinidae. Biostratigraphic control using graptolites indicates that all three Polish outcrops investigated are of about the same chronostratigraphical level: middle Gorstian, lower Ludlow. The new occurrences in Poland extend the known distribution of several species and reinforce data that show many Silurian myodocope species with wide dispersal. Our new observations on the Holy Cross Mountains material confirm that the occurrences of Silurian myodocopes are mostly associated with pelagic animals and with rocks ranging from mudstone, siltstone or shale deposited in open- or deep-shelf marine settings. The cosmopolitan distribution of these ostracods, coupled with their facies and faunal associations, supports the notion of an ostracod (myodocope) ecological shift from benthic to planktonic habitats during the late Wenlock and Ludlow.

The earliest definitive ornithischian dinosaurs are from the Early Jurassic and are rare components of early dinosaur faunas. The Lower Lufeng Formation (Hettangian–Sinemurian) of Yunnan Province, China, has yielded a diverse Early Jurassic terrestrial vertebrate fauna. This includes several incomplete specimens have been referred to Ornithischia, including the type specimen of the thyreophoran “Tatisaurus” and other generically indeterminate material. The highly fragmentary Lufeng ornithischian Bienosaurus lufengensis was described briefly in 2001 and identified as an ankylosaurian dinosaur. Recent studies have cast doubt on this hypothesis, however, and given that the referral of Bienosaurus to Ankylosauria would result in an extensive ghost-lineage extending between it and the first definitive eurypodans (ankylosaurs + stegosaurs) in the Middle Jurassic, the holotype specimen is re-examined and re-described. We identify Bienosaurus as a probable thyreophoran dinosaur, although the fragmentary nature of the material and the absence of autapomorphies means that the specimen should be regarded as a nomen dubium.

Euarthropods have a tough exoskeleton that provides crucial protection from predation and parasitism. However, this is restrictive to growth and must be periodically moulted. The moulting sequence is well-known from extant arthropods, consisting of: (i) the long inter-moult stage, in which no changes occur to the hardened exoskeleton; (ii) the pre-moult stage where the old exoskeleton is detached and the new one secreted; (iii) exuviation, when the old exoskeleton is moulted; and (iv) the post-moult stage during which the new exoskeleton starts as soft, thin, and partially compressed and gradually hardens to the robust exoskeleton of the inter-moult stage. Trilobite fossils typically consist of inter-moult carcasses or moulted exuviae, but specimens preserving the post-moult stage are rare. Here we describe nine specimens assigned to Symphysurus ebbestadi representing the first group of contemporaneous fossils collected that preserve all key stages of the moulting process in one taxon, including the post-moult stage. They were collected from a single lens in the Tremadocian part of the Fezouata Shale Formation, Morocco. Based on cephalic displacement and comparison to other trilobite moults, one specimen appears to represent a moulted exoskeleton. Four specimens are typical inter-moult carcasses. Four others are wrinkled and flattened, with thin exoskeletons compared to inter-moult specimens, and are considered post-moult individuals. These S. ebbestadi specimens illuminate the preservation and morphology of the post-moulting stage, characterised by strong anterior-posterior exoskeleton wrinkling, as well as overall body flattening and reduced visibility of thoracic articulations. Being found in the same lens, these specimens likely represent the first preserved in-the-act mass moulting event. The displayed sequence of moulting suggests the moulting process in trilobites was comparable to modern arthropods, and conserved within euarthropod evolutionary history.

Megaraptora is a clade of mid to large-sized theropods that are long-snouted, large-clawed, highly pneumatized, and have long and gracile metatarsals. The basal member was reported from the Barremian of Japan. A more derived clade, the Megaraptoridae, is known from the Cenomanian to Santonian of Gondwana. Here two new basal coelurosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation of Thailand are described and named as Phuwiangvenator yaemniyomi gen. et sp. nov. and Vayuraptor nongbualamphuensis gen. et sp. nov. Phuwiangvenator is a megaraptoran coelurosaur and diagnosed by the ventrally flat sacral vertebrae with sulci in the anterior and posterior region of the centra and the anterior rim of metatarsal IV sloping proximolaterally to distomedially and being much lower than that of metatarsal III anteriorly. Vayuraptor is a basal coelurosaur and diagnosed by its astragalus which has two horizontal grooves, two fossae at the base of the ascending process, the ascending process being straight laterally and straight and parallel medially with the medial rim sloping to the tip laterally, and a long and slender astragalar ascending process. Although the position of the basal coelurosaur Vayuraptor remains unclear and must await further discovery, megaraptoran affinities are likely. The Early Cretaceous megaraptoran fossil record has been recovered from the Barremian to Aptian of Asia. All Asian megaraptorans might be a monophyletic clade or a paraphyletic series relative to the Megaraptoridae. Several specimens have been reported from the Aptian to mid-Cretaceous of Australia, and one report from the Albian of South America. These fossils show a high diversity of the Early Cretaceous megaraptorans and a wide distribution during that time. The clade then became more provincial in the Late Cretaceous.

Currently, there are two sauropod taxa known from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Nemegt Formation of Gobi Desert, Mongolia: Nemegtosaurus from the Nemegt locality and Opisthocoelicaudia from the Altan Uul IV locality. Both taxa are represented by not overlapping elements (skull and partial postcranial skeleton respectively), which arises question on their possible synonymy. Five articulated sauropod dorsal vertebrae (PIN 3837/P821, dorsals 6–10) were found in 1949 by the Mongolian Expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR at the Nemegt locality. This specimen is similar to Opisthocoelicaudia in having a strong ventral ridge on dorsal centra, a low neural arch which is anteroposteriorly narrowest at the junction with the centrum and widens dorsally, and lack of hyposphene–hypantrum articulations. PIN 3837/P821 differs from Opisthocoelicaudia by having the less dorsoventrally flattened dorsal centra, a shallow ventral concavity of dorsal centra in lateral view, a vertical posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina (pcdl) in dorsals 8 and 9, a postzygodiapophyseal lamina (podl) that roofs the centrodiapophyseal fossa (pocdf), and strongly developed accessory laminae within the parapophyseal centrodiapophyseal fossa (pacdf). The sauropod femora from Nemegt Formation differ from the femur of Opisthocoelicaudia by the medial condyle extending more distally compared with the lateral condyle. Most likely these femora and PIN 3837/P821 belong to Nemegtosaurus, which would make this taxon distinct from Opisthocoelicaudia by discussed characters of dorsal vertebrae and femur.

We here establish a new mammaliaform genus and species, Galulatherium jenkinsi (Mammalia), from the Upper Cretaceous Galula Formation in the Rukwa Rift Basin of southwestern Tanzania. This represents the first named taxon of a mammaliaform from the entire Late Cretaceous of continental Afro-Arabia, an interval of 34 million years. Preliminary study of the holotypic and only known specimen (a partial dentary) resulted in tentative assignation to the Gondwanatheria, a poorly known, enigmatic clade of Late Cretaceous–Paleogene Gondwanan mammals (Krause et al. 2003). The application of advanced imaging (μCT) and visualization techniques permits a more detailed understanding of key anatomical features of the new taxon. It reveals that the lower dentition consisted of a large, procumbent lower incisor and four cheek teeth, all of which were evergrowing (hypselodont). Importantly, all of the teeth appear devoid of enamel. Comparisons conducted with a range of Mesozoic and selected Cenozoic mammaliaform groups document a number of features (e.g., columnar, enamel-less and evergrowing teeth, with relatively simple occlusal morphology) expressed in Galulatherium that are reminiscent of several distantly related groups, making taxonomic assignment difficult at this time. Herein we retain the provisional referral of Galulatherium (RRBP 02067) to Gondwanatheria; it is most similar to sudamericids such as Lavanify and Bharratherium from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar and India, respectively, in exhibiting relatively simple, high-crowned, columnar cheek teeth. Other features (e.g., enamel-less dentition) are shared with disparate forms such as the Late Jurassic Fruitafossor and toothed xenarthrans (e.g., sloths), here attributed to convergence. Revised analyses of the depositional context for the holotype place it as having lived sometime between the late Turonian and latest Campanian (roughly 91–72 million years ago). This enhanced geochronological context helps to refine the palaeobiogeographical significance of Galulatherium among Cretaceous mammals in general and those from Gondwanan landmasses specifically.

Prestosuchus chiniquensis is the most famous “rauisuchian” described by Friedrich von Huene, eight decades ago, and several specimens have been assigned to this taxon since then. In the present contribution, we provide the first detailed description of a complete and very well preserved skull (including the braincase) assigned to Prestosuchus chiniquensis from the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Santa Maria Supersequence of southern Brazil. The detailed description of the skull of Prestosuchus chiniquensis, besides increasing the knowledge about this taxon, may help elucidate the taxonomic relationships of pseudosuchians even further, since most of the characters used in phylogenetic analyzes are cranial. The presence of the subnarial fenestra, a controvertial extra opening on the skull of “rauisuchians”, is thoroughly discussed considering the evidence provided by this new specimen. We consider that the small slit-opening between the premaxilla and the maxilla in Prestosuchus chiniquensis, can not safely be considered a true fenestra, but indicates more likely the existence of some degree of cranial kinesis between these elements which can result in different relative positions of the bones after definitive burial and fossilization, so that the size and shape of this opening is taphonomically controlled. Complementarily, the digital reconstruction of its cranial endocast was developed both from the observation of the preserved braincase and from CT scan images, which resulted in obtaining the first endocast known for a “rauisuchian”. The endocast of Prestosuchus chiniquensis exhibited some remarkable convergences with that of theropod dinosaurs, which could be a reflection of the similar niches they occupied, since “rauisuchians” were the top predators at the end of the Late Triassic, before the extinction of all non-crocodylomorph pseudosuchians. Fil: Mastrantonio, Bianca Martins. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Von Baczko, Belen. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Desojo, Julia Brenda. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Paleontología de Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Schultz, Cesar Leandro. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil

The dense Miocene record of cetaceans is known from localities along the coasts of all continents, mostly in the northern Atlantic or the eastern Pacific regions, but Antarctica. Fossils from the Caribbean region are few and include of a couple of findings from Panama and Venezuela. Here, we report a partly complete skull from the Caujarao Formation (middle Miocene), Falcon State, Caribbean region of Venezuela. Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that the Caujarao specimen is a ‘stem delphinidan’, a group that includes several taxa of early diverging odontocetes whose phylogenetic affinities remain a matter of debate. The fossil record has shown that this group of stem delphinidans was taxonomically diverse, but displayed a somewhat homogeneous cranial patterning, with most of the variations being found within the mandible or tympanoperiotic characters. As other stem delphinidans the Caujarao odontocete displays an enlarged temporal fossa and a fairly symmetrical cranium. Because the skull is missing several key diagnostic characters due to the preservation state of the specimen, a more precise taxonomic identification is not possible. Despite this, the finding of this specimen highlights the importance of the fossil record from the Neogene of Venezuela, and the importance of the area to understand cetacean evolution in the proto-Caribbean.

This paper describes a petrified trunk collected from a conglomerate bed of the Springhill Formation (Berriasian– Valanginian) in the Estancia El Álamo locality, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The fossil trunk is classified within the ubiquitous genus Agathoxylon and the wood anatomy shows a close affinity to that of Araucariaceae. This Patagonian wood has a distinct combination of anatomical characteristics unique among all known species from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Western Gondwana allowing to diagnose a new fossil taxon Agathoxylon mendezii sp. nov. Sedimentological and megafloristic proxies of the Springhill Formation suggest that Agathoxylon mendezii sp. nov. grew under a warm and wet climate, which indicates a subtropical to temperate palaeoenvironment. However, the large number of frost rings in the earlywood of this araucarian tree suggests that the palaeoenvironment at Estancia El Álamo was subjected to recurrent disturbances, most likely caused by regional continuous volcanic activity originating from volcanoes located far away to the west. This activity would have produced periodic stratospheric veils that promoted rapid decreases in surface air temperature; the wood response to such stressful conditions would have been the formation of numerous (at least five) frost rings. Although recurrent eruptions in Patagonia during the Early Cretaceous are well recorded, this study is the first to register eruptions recorded in a coniferous wood., Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas

Globuligerina glinskikhae nov. sp. Gradstein & Waskowska and Globuligerina waskowskae nov. sp. Gradstein are new species of Jurassic planktonic foraminifera from the Middle Jurassic of Dagestan and Poland. G. glinskikhae nov. sp. with its remarkable ‘protoglobigerine’ test may be an early evolutionary offshoot of Globuligerina oxfordiana (Grigelis). It may be an index taxon for upper Bajocian through Bathonian strata in Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia, and might be recognizable also in thin sections. We consider G. waskowskae nov. sp. to be a possible forerunner of Conoglobigerina helvetojurassica (Haeusler), the first planktonic foraminiferal species with a reticulate wall texture. Currently, is only known from Poland. In some localities, specimens of G. oxfordiana and of G. glinskikhae nov. sp. posses an additional apertural opening, often lacking a rim; its function is enigmatic. The postulated lineage from Jurassic Globuligerina balakhmatovae (Morozova) to Cretaceous Clavihedbergella eocretacea Neagu is refined with the description of Petaloglobigerina simmonsi nov. gen., nov. sp. Gradstein from the Kimmeridgian of Portugal. The evolutionary transition from G. balakhmatovae to P. simmonsi occurs by means of the ontogenic development of a petaloid test, with a pronounced flattening of the whorl with ovate chambers, the last ones often offset and twisted. Jurassic planktonic foraminifera, now known to consist of three genera and 12+ species underwent long periods of stasis, interrupted by late Bajocian, mid-Oxfordian and early Kimmeridgian evolution. The three ‘stasis and root’ taxa G. oxfordiana, G. bathoniana and G. balakhmatovae are geographically widespread in lower to mid palaeo-latitudes, and stratigraphically long ranging within the Middle and Late Jurassic. Modern digital microscopes, with co-axial and side LED lighting and excellent image stacking software are important tools in the study of Jurassic planktonic foraminifera, and fast and cost-effective communication tools in modern micropalaeontology.