Showing papers in "Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments in 2019"
TL;DR: In this paper, the third part of an ongoing investigation of middle Miocene palynofloras in the Yatagan Basin (YB), southwestern Anatolia, the palynomorphs of the Salihpasalar lignite mine in the main YB were studied.
Abstract: As the third part of an ongoing investigation of middle Miocene palynofloras in the Yatagan Basin (YB), southwestern Anatolia, the palynofloras of the Salihpasalar lignite mine in the main YB were studied. Seven types of algal spores, aplanospores/zygospores or cysts, six types of lycophyte and fern spores, 12 types of gymnosperm pollen and 90 types of angiosperm pollen were identified. Of a total of ca. 140 plant taxa described from the YB, over 10% are confined to the Salihpasalar assemblage. Differences between coeval palynofloras of the Sekkoy Member might reflect changing or prograding depositional environments. A number of rare accessorial taxa reflect these local differences: Pilularia, Valeriana, Drosera and Persicaria aff. amphibia only occur at Salihpasalar and are typical of shallow water or temporary ponds associated with a lake shore. Apart from this, all the palynofloras, originating from the lignite seams and overlying limnic limestones (uppermost Turgut and Sekkoy Member), of the YB are strongly indicative of extensive woody vegetation with a dominance of diverse Fagaceae and Pinaceae. In addition, a list comparing the well-documented YB palynomorphs to morphologically similar palynomorphs of published late early to middle Miocene plant assemblages of western Anatolian was compiled. Such a comparison reveals that in many instances different taxon names have been used to denote the same taxa. Hence, resolving these synonymies is a prerequisite of any meaningful comparison of palynofloras in the region.
14 citations
TL;DR: The first discovery of Postclymenia cf. evoluta in South China in equivalents of the Hangenberg Black Shale (the regional Changshun Shale) at the Jiarantang section in Guizhou is reported in this paper.
Abstract: The Hangenberg Crisis at the end of the Devonian is marked by a sudden global mass extinction (main Hangenberg Event), which was especially severe for ammonoids. Among the order Clymeniida, only the cymaclymeniids survived for a short time. We report the first discovery of Postclymenia cf. evoluta in South China in equivalents of the Hangenberg Black Shale (the regional Changshun Shale) at the Jiarantang section in Guizhou. The South China plate was far away and completely different from the Euramerica continent, where the Hangenberg Event/Crisis was first recognised. The presence of similar ammonoids as in contemporaneous beds of the Rhenish Massif, Germany, suggests close faunal relationship through the Palaeotethys Ocean. It agrees with a sudden spread of opportunistic extinction survivors with the initial Hangenberg Transgression. The regional facies and faunal succession at Jiarantang confirms previous concepts of a eustatically driven, significant transgressive-regressive couplet in the lower/middle crisis interval. The near-global distribution of cymaclymeniid survivors shows that their extinction at the end of the extended crisis interval must have been caused by a so far neglected, small-scale global extinction event in the open marine realm.
14 citations
TL;DR: This study provides the earliest known fossil occurrences of the genera Luciobarbus, Barbus, Pseudopus and Albaneryx, as well as the first fossil representative of the clade of the Western Asian lizards (Lacertidae indet. 3).
Abstract: In this paper, we describe ectothermic vertebrate assemblages from the Kargi 1, Kargi 2, Kargi 3, Harami1, Harami 3, Hancili, Kesekoy, Candir and Bagici localities in Turkey. The ages of these localities range from the latest Oligocene to the middle Miocene. The preserved non-mammalian fauna of the studied localities includes fishes (Luciobarbus sp., Barbus sp., Luciobarbus vel Barbus sp., aff. Capoeta sp., Barbini indet., Leuciscus sp.), anurans (Bufonidae indet. (? Pseudepidalea sp.), Pelobatidae indet., Latonia sp., Palaeobatrachidae indet.), caudates (Salamandra sp.), lizards (Pseudopus sp., Lacertidae indet. 1, Lacertidae indet. 2, Lacertidae indet. 3, Lacertidae indet. 4, Blanidae indet. (?Blanus sp.)), snakes (Albaneryx sp., Erycinae indet.) and crocodiles (Crocodylia indet.). Here, we describe, for the first time, the fossil occurrences of the genera Salamandra, Albaneryx and Pseudopus from Anatolia, as well as the first fossil representative of the clade of the Western Asian lizards (Lacertidae indet. 3). Our study provides the earliest known fossil occurrences of the genera Luciobarbus, Barbus, Pseudopus and Albaneryx. Palaeobiogeographic relationships of each studied group are discussed and compared with the European and Asiatic records. A tentative palaeoenvironmental reconstruction is provided for each locality.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the Castillo Formation has been used for the discovery of the first indeterminate alligatoroid taxa in the early Miocene of South America, including Purussaurus, Caiman, Siquisiquesuchus and Gryposuchus.
Abstract: Crocodyliform diversity was particularly high during the middle and late Miocene of South America, with up to 12 species recovered from a single geological unit. Nonetheless, the early Miocene fossil record of low-latitude vertebrates is scarce; hence, crocodylians remain poorly known in the region. The Castillo Formation, located in the northwest of Venezuela, preserves an interesting vertebrate fauna with a well-constrained late early Miocene age. Previous work dealing with crocodylians of this formation only recorded three taxa: the gavialoid Siquisiquesuchus venezuelensis and Gryposuchus sp. and indeterminate alligatoroid remains. New cranial and mandibular material recently recovered from the Castillo Formation allows us to document four previously unrecognised alligatoroid forms: Purussaurus sp., Caiman sp., an indeterminate caimanine and an indeterminate alligatoroid. With six taxa, the crocodylian assemblage reveals a previously undocumented relatively high taxonomic diversity in the early Miocene. The Castillo crocodylians show a broad range of morphological disparity and body sizes ranging from small (2.5 m–62 kg) to large (7.5 m–1600 kg) taxa. Thus, crocodylian niche partition, as well as the abundance and variety of resources and environmental heterogeneity of aquatic ecosystems in South America, were already established by at least the early Miocene. The presence of Caiman in ~ 18 Ma strata represents the unequivocally earliest record of the taxon in South America and allows us to propose that the origin of the jacareans is more likely to have occurred during or before the early Miocene, challenging previous molecular hypotheses.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the stem chiropteran family Palaeochiropterygidae is referred to as Stehlinia and Lapichiropteryx, and a new taxon is described from the Pontide terrane of the Luluk Member of the Uzuncarsidere Formation.
Abstract: Fragmentary remains of an Eocene bat are described from the middle Eocene Luluk Member of the Uzuncarsidere Formation on the Pontide terrane, in what is now north-central Anatolia. The new taxon most closely resembles the palaeochiropterygids Lapichiropteryx and Stehlinia in terms of its known dental morphology, and it is referred to the stem chiropteran family Palaeochiropterygidae on this basis. Geological and palaeontological data indicate that the Pontide terrane was an island situated along the northern margin of Neotethys during the middle Eocene. The presence of a late-surviving stem chiropteran in an island context potentially illuminates dispersal patterns and capabilities among the earliest bats, which already enjoyed a nearly global distribution by the early Eocene. Other palaeochiropterygids for which postcranial material is known share little in common with extant bats that are capable of long-range dispersal across open water. The new Turkish bat taxon is consistent with a hypothetical dispersal corridor between Western Europe and India via islands on the northern margin of Neotethys and suggests a larger range of skeletal and locomotor variation within Palaeochiropterygidae than is currently recognised.
13 citations
TL;DR: This paper identified charcoal from the early Cretaceous Santana Group within the Araripe Basin, Brazil and identified charred wood remains as belonging to gymnosperms, which were important components of the palaeoflora.
Abstract: Reports on Cretaceous charcoals are relatively common on a global scale and have been increasing in recent years. Fossil charcoal from the Early Cretaceous mostly belongs to conifers (and other gymnosperms) and ferns whereas angiosperms become more common only during the Late Cretaceous. However, so far, reports of Cretaceous macroscopic charcoal are rare (three) for South America. Here, charcoal is identified from the Crato, Ipubi and Romualdo formations of the Early Cretaceous Santana Group within the Araripe Basin, Brazil. The presence of charcoal provides for the first time compelling evidence for the repeated occurrence of Early Cretaceous palaeo-wildfires in this region. The charred wood remains were identified as belonging to gymnosperms, which were important components of the palaeoflora during the Cretaceous in Northeast Brazil. The results presented here provide additional evidence for the occurrence of palaeo-wildfires in Northern Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous, increasing our understanding for the relevance of such events and their influence on palaeoenvironmental dynamics.
12 citations
TL;DR: The Middle to Upper Devonian Kuh-e-Bande-Abdol-Hossein section in eastern Central Iran is an overall shallow marine, nearshore to open marine facies setting that contains a highly variable conodont record generally characterised by an Icriodid-Polygnathid biofacies as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Middle to Upper Devonian Kuh-e-Bande-Abdol-Hossein section in eastern Central Iran is an overall shallow marine, nearshore to open marine facies setting that contains a highly variable conodont record generally characterised by an Icriodid-Polygnathid biofacies. The lithology and the palaeoenvironmental setting is similar to other localities in Central Iran and exhibits numerous hiatuses. A continuous biostratigraphic record could not be established, but the section preserves the Givetian/Frasnian boundary. Based on the conodont record, major gaps also occur in the Famennian which confirms earlier results reported from other sections of similar palaeoenvironments in Central Iran.
11 citations
Pamukkale University1, Ege University2, University of Plymouth3, University of Giessen4, Naturalis5, Russian Academy of Sciences6, University of Alberta7, Zonguldak Karaelmas University8, University of Vienna9, Swedish Museum of Natural History10, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University11, Chinese Academy of Sciences12, Comenius University in Bratislava13
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors calibrated and reconstructed the late Neogene and Quaternary palaeoenvironments within a regional palaeogeographical framework by reassessing biostratigraphic constraints and incorporating new fossil data.
Abstract: Terrestrial fossil records from the SW Anatolian basins are crucial both for regional correlations and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. By reassessing biostratigraphic constraints and incorporating new fossil data, we calibrated and reconstructed the late Neogene and Quaternary palaeoenvironments within a regional palaeogeographical framework. The culmination of the Taurides in SW Anatolia was followed by a regional crustal extension from the late Tortonian onwards that created a broad array of NE-trending orogen-top basins with synchronic associations of alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. The terrestrial basins are superimposed on the upper Burdigalian marine units with a c. 7 myr of hiatus that corresponds to a shift from regional shortening to extension. The initial infill of these basins is documented by a transition from marginal alluvial fans and axial fluvial systems into central shallow-perennial lakes coinciding with a climatic shift from warm/humid to arid conditions. The basal alluvial fan deposits abound in fossil macro-mammals of an early Turolian (MN11–12; late Tortonian) age. The Pliocene epoch in the region was punctuated by subhumid/humid conditions resulting in a rise of local base levels and expansion of lakes as evidenced by marsh-swamp deposits containing diverse fossil mammal assemblages indicating late Ruscinian (late MN15; late Zanclean) age. A second pulse of extension, accompanied by regional climatic changes, prompted subsequent deepening of the lakes as manifested by thick and laterally extensive carbonate successions. These lakes, which prevailed c. 1 myr, later shrank due to renewed progradation of alluvial fans and eventually filled up and dried out, reflected by marsh-swamp deposits at the top of a complete lacustrine succession that contains diverse micro-mammal assemblages indicating a latest Villanyian (MN17; Gelasian) age. A third pulse of tectonic reorganisation and associated extension dissected the basins into their present-day configuration from the early Pleistocene onwards under warm/humid climatic conditions. The new age data provide means to correlate deposits across various basins in the region that help to place the basin development into a regional tectonic framework, which can be attributed to the consequence of the well-articulated regional phenomena of slab-tear/detachment-induced uplift followed by crustal extension and basin formation (late Tortonian), the outward extension of the Aegean arc (early Pliocene) and eventually accompanied by westward extrusion of the Anatolian Plate (early Pleistocene).
11 citations
TL;DR: A unique assemblage of 12 partial, articulated or associated ankylosaurian skeletons and thousands of isolated bones and teeth discovered from the Santonian Iharkut vertebrate locality, western Hungary is presented in this paper.
Abstract: Ankylosaurian fossils are usually standard elements of Cretaceous continental vertebrate localities; however, bone-yielding horizons including more than one individual are extremely rare. Here, we present a unique assemblage of 12 partial, articulated or associated ankylosaurian skeletons and thousands of isolated bones and teeth discovered from the Santonian Iharkut vertebrate locality, western Hungary. Collected from an area of 600 m2 and from a single bone bed, this material is one of the richest ankylosaurian accumulation worldwide. The 12 skeletons are not monospecific but mostly based on the pelvic armour composition: six of them are from Hungarosaurus, two are referred to Struthiosaurus and four can be assigned to Nodosauridae indet. Sedimentological and taphonomical examinations revealed a single mass mortality event as the cause of the death and accumulation of these quadruped animals that are described here. The ankylosaur assemblage from Iharkut suggests at least a temporarily gregarious behaviour of these animals and also shows that Hungarosaurus and Struthiosaurus might live in the same moist habitat or at least preferred relatively close environments.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, two new small mammal assemblages from the abandoned Harami lignite mine, as an addition to previously known Harami assembls, provide a better insight in the palaeoenvironments in Anatolia in local Biozone C (MN 2, early Miocene).
Abstract: Two new small mammal assemblages from the abandoned Harami lignite mine, as an addition to previously known Harami assemblages, provide a better insight in the palaeoenvironments in Anatolia in local Biozone C (MN 2, early Miocene). Based on the new material, the Eumyarion assemblages are considered to consist of three, rather than two species, in line with the situation in younger localities in the region. Eumyarion strongly dominates the highly diverse assemblages of Harami 1 and 4, which are interpreted as indicative of a swamp. By contrast, Latocricetodon is the most common murid in Harami 3, which may represent more marshy conditions. The small fauna from Harami 5 is clearly younger that the other assemblages. It indicates a local change to more open conditions.
11 citations
TL;DR: Analyses of the floral assemblage, with respect to the present-day distribution pattern of modern equivalent taxa and the physiognomic characters of the recovered fossil leaves, suggest that a tropical evergreen forest was growing in a warm humid climate in the region at the time of deposition.
Abstract: A comprehensive morphotaxonomical evaluation of diverse angiospermic dicotyledonous leaf impressions recovered from the middle part of the Siwalik succession (Subansiri Formation: Pliocene) of Arunachal Pradesh, eastern Himalaya, India, shows that the leaf remains are comparable to modern Glochidion J. R. Forst. and G. Forst. (Phyllanthaceae), Bauhinia L., Callerya Endl. (Fabaceae), Mitragyna Korth. (Rubiaceae), Beilschmiedia Nees (Lauraceae), Uvaria L. (Annonaceae), Neolamarckia Bosser (Rubiaceae), Sorindeia Thouars (Anacardiaceae), Lagerstroemia L. (Lythraceae), and Premna L. (Lamiaceae). Among these taxa, seven species are new to the Neogene floras of the Indian subcontinent. Analyses of the floral assemblage, with respect to the present-day distribution pattern of modern equivalent taxa and the physiognomic characters of the recovered fossil leaves, suggest that a tropical evergreen forest was growing in a warm humid climate in the region at the time of deposition. This qualitative climatic data is also corroborated by our previously published quantitative data obtained from a CLAMP (climate leaf analysis multivariate program) analysis on the middle Siwalik floral assemblage. The presence of some Southeast Asian elements in the fossil assemblage provides clear evidence of free exchange of taxa across southern Asia in the Pliocene.
TL;DR: In this paper, a palynological study on Jurassic successions of the Hojedk Formation, Central Iran, was performed, including spores, pollen grains, dinoflagellate cysts, woody debris and amorphous organic matter.
Abstract: We performed a palynological study on Jurassic successions of the Hojedk Formation, Central Iran. The sampled material was recovered from well no. 233, South Kuchak-Ali area belonging to the Tabas Block. The lithology comprises 475.80 m of green–grey shales and sandstones. Palynological assemblages were recovered including spores, pollen grains, dinoflagellate cysts, woody debris and amorphous organic matter (AOM). Furthermore, 22 taxa of plant macrofossils were identified. We analysed 48 samples which resulted in identification of 13 spore species (belonging to 11 genera) and three pollen species (from three genera) with fair preservation quality. Trilete spores dominate while pollen grains only represent 11.5% of the total particulate organic matter. Representatives of the fern spore Klukisporites are particularly abundant and the K. variegatus acme zone, which is of biostratigraphical importance, is identified in the host strata. The abundance of K. variegatus and K. scaberis suggests a Middle Jurassic (Bajocian–Bathonian?) age for the host strata. This age designation corroborates previous stratigraphic interpretations, mainly based on plant macrofossils for this formation. The palynomorphs indicate deposition in an oxygenated environment close to the shoreline in a deltaic system. The presence of subordinate marine palynomorphs (proximate dinoflagellate cysts) is probably indicative of intermittent sea level transgression. The affinity of the palynological assemblages from the Hojedk Formation indicates a diverse parental flora of, in descending quantitative order, ferns, bryophytes and gymnosperms, the latter mainly represented by conifers and ginkgophytes. Comparisons with modern plant ecology indicate accumulation of palynomorphs under a moist warm climate during the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian–Bathonian?) time. The comparison of parental plants with previous palaeofloristic studies indicates that the Tabas Block was located in the Mid-Asian part of the Indo-European floristic province of the Northern Hemisphere.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identified and figured thirty-seven ostracod species belonging to 25 genera from the Devonian-Carboniferous (D/C) transition in Dushan of Guizhou, South China.
Abstract: Thirty-seven ostracod species belonging to 25 genera from the Devonian-Carboniferous (D/C) transition in Dushan of Guizhou, South China are identified and figured. The stratigraphical distribution of ostracods in the Baihupo section suggests that the D/C boundary should be fixed in the basal part of the Tangbagou Formation, which is also the boundary between Gelaohe and Tangbagou formations. The ostracod assemblages from the Gelaohe Formation belong to the Eifelian Mega-Assemblage, incorporating palaeocopid and smooth-podocopid associations, which implies a nearshore-offshore palaeoenvironment, while the ecological assemblages of ostracods from the Tangbagou Formation correspond to a smooth-podocopid association that indicates an offshore palaeoenvironment. There was probably a transgression during the D/C transition when Gelaohe and Tangbagou formations were being deposited in Dushan of Guizhou.
TL;DR: Based on the relatively high diversity of insectivores, the presence of a dimylid and the dominance of Eumyarion, the Gördes assemblage presumably represents a closed, humid environment.
Abstract: The mammal locality of Gordes is only known from its test sample, as it has been subsequently destroyed This small sample yielded a surprisingly rich assemblage, with five rodent species, four species of insectivore and a bat Based on the rodent contents, the assemblage is assigned to Anatolian mammal zone D, equivalent to MN 3 One of the rodent species, Eumyarion gordesensis nov sp is new Both the cricetid Deperetomys and the glirid Glirudinus represent a hitherto unknown evolutionary stadium and have been assigned to D aff intermedius and G aff haramiensis, respectively Based on the relatively high diversity of insectivores, the presence of a dimylid and the dominance of Eumyarion, the Gordes assemblage presumably represents a closed, humid environment
TL;DR: Two species of Witenia and a new pappocricetodontine genus and species from the late Eocene and early Oligocene of south-east Serbia are described.
Abstract: Two species of Witenia and a new pappocricetodontine genus and species from the late Eocene and early Oligocene of south-east Serbia are described The Pappocricetodontinae a subfamily originally based on the small Pappocricetodon rencunensis from China has become a polyphyletic entity due to inclusion of the genus Witenia The dental morphology of the late Eocene Witenia europea nov sp is very similar to that of the middle Eocene Pappocricetodon antiquus, but its molar enamel is more primitive The small Bustrania dissimile nov gen nov sp, the dominant species in the late Eocene locality of Bustranje, is defined and allocated to the Pappocricetodontinae
TL;DR: Based on features of cardinal process and cruralium, three types of cardinalia are recognized, including Ambocoelia-type, Emanuella-type and Rhynchospirifer-type as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The superfamily Ambocoelioidea is an important group of the Brachiopoda in the Devonian, both globally and in South China. In the Devonian, this group is also most diverse compared with that in other periods. Based on features of cardinal process and cruralium, three types of cardinalia are recognised, including Ambocoelia-type, Emanuella-type, and Rhyncospirifer-type. Our study shows that the Rhynchospirifer-type cardinalia is a distinct character that distinguishes them from the rest of the Ambocoeliidae; therefore, the Rhynchospiriferinae is re-elevated to the family rank. Guangxiispirifer of the previous Ambocoeliinae is reassigned to the Rhynchospiriferidae while Ambothyris, Choperella, Crurispina, Diazoma, Emanuella, Ilmenia, Ilmospirifer, Ladjia, Moravilla, and Zhonghuacoelia of the previous Rhynchospiriferinae are transferred to the Ambocoeliidae (= previous Ambocoeliinae). Three earliest ambocoelioids in South China are Ambothyris, Amboglossa, and Prolazutkinia in the upper Emsian; their emergences were likely associated with the global Upper Zlichov Event. The upper Emsian occurrences of Amboglossa and Prolazutkinia are their FADs (first appearance datum) globally. These two genera probably gave rise to the Rhynchospiriferidae and the Lazutkiniidae, respectively. After an initial gradual increase in generic richness, the Ambocoelioidea reached the highest diversity (10 genera including four endemic genera) in the late Eifelian and Early Givetian in South China. From then on, the diversity gradually decreased till the end of the Devonian (two genera) and was least affected by the Frasnian–Famennian Event. The Ambocoelioidea is a strongly facies-controlled group. Their temporal and spatial distributions show a close relationship with sea level changes. Ambocoeliids and rhynchospiriferids were adapted to different environments. The former inhabited deeper and partly dysoxic environments, therefore showed greater capabilities to migrate and survive extinctions. On the other hand, the rhynchospiriferids dwelled in a reef-related, high energy, and oxic environments, which were probably more sensitive to environmental changes; they also showed high diversity and endemism and more easily experienced rapid and regional extinctions. Three species representing the three types of cardinalia, Ambocoelia yidadeensis sp. nov., Ambothyris panxiensis, and Rhynchospirifer sp., are described.
TL;DR: In this article, a teleost fauna from the middle Miocene in the eastern Pannonian Basin is described based on a total of 161 otoliths, which includes several previously unknown species, and shares only two species with known Miocene ichthyofaunas.
Abstract: Based on a total of 161 otoliths, a unique teleost fauna is described from the middle Miocene in the eastern Pannonian Basin. The section studied is located near the Apuseni Mountains (Romania). It can be dated by the presence of foraminifera to the Varidentella reussi and Elphidium reginum biozones. The fish fauna is thus of late Serravallian/early Sarmatian age (around 12.3 Ma). Fourteen fish species were identified and assigned to Atherinidae (1 species), Valenciidae (2 species), Aphaniidae (1 species), Blenniidae (1 species) and Gobioidei (9 species). The assemblage includes several previously unknown species, and shares only two species with known Miocene ichthyofaunas. Seven new species are introduced: Atherina carnevalei n. sp., Aphanolebias sarmaticus n. sp., Blennius? martinii n. sp., Gobius apuseni n. sp., G. holcovae n. sp., G. manfredi n. sp. and Eleogobius prochazkai n. sp. Among the Gobiidae, G. apuseni n. sp. and G. holcovae n. sp. were small-sized species and perhaps restricted to the Sarmatian coast of the study site, whereas G. manfredi n. sp. also occurs in the northwestern Pannonian Basin. The fossil fish fauna indicates an early Sarmatian nearshore-to-brackish environment along a rocky coast on the northwestern flank of the Apuseni Mountains. A restricted connection to the Eastern Paratethys is possible, whereas there is no indication of a link with the Mediterranean Sea. The co-occurrence of nine species of the Gobioidei implies that this now very species-rich group was already reasonably diverse in the late middle Miocene.
TL;DR: In this article, an old test sample from the Sabuncubeli Formation (Manisa, Turkey) yielded an interesting faunule, which, up to now had never been described.
Abstract: An old test sample from the Sabuncubeli Formation (Manisa, Turkey) yielded an interesting faunule, which, however, up to now had never been described. In Bornova 183, now inaccessible, five species of micromammal were encountered: the hamsters Eumyarion aff. montanus, E. intercentralis and Cricetodon kasapligili, the squirrel Palaeosciurus fissurae and the talpid Desmanodon sp.. The locality is known to be in superposition to the previously published locality of Sabuncubeli. A new sample of the latter provided five new elements to the fauna: the mole Theratiskos sp., the dimylid Turkodimylus sp., the shrew Oligosorex aff. reumeri, the glirid Glirulus ekremi and a bat Vespertilionidae gen. et sp.. The high diversity of insectivores in the locality confirms a humid environment for Sabuncubeli. Both assemblages are referable to local zone D or MN unit 3. However, differences in the stage of evolution of some faunal elements suggest a considerable time difference, indicating that the Sabuncubeli formation covers at least a major part of this time period.
TL;DR: A new species of Latonia based on isolated cranial and postcranial bones from the late Miocene of the Volchaya Balka locality (early Turolian, MN 11) in N Caucasus, represents the easternmost hitherto known Latonia population and the first well-preserved and unambiguous record of Latania in Russia as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A new species of Latonia, based on isolated cranial and postcranial bones from the late Miocene of the Volchaya Balka locality (early Turolian, MN 11) in N Caucasus, represents the easternmost hitherto known Latonia population and the first well-preserved and unambiguous record of Latonia in Russia. It belongs among those species of Latonia that have smooth maxillae and moderately sculptured frontoparietal. Although Latonia is a common anuran in the fossil record of Europe from the Oligocene to Recent, its fragmentary nature (both articulated skeletons and disarticulated bones) prevents reliable taxonomic conclusions. This is why species-specific diagnostic characters should be verified in order to confirm validity of currently recognised species.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis and the coexistence approach to reconstruct past vegetation and climates in the Cankiri-Corum Basin, one of the largest basins of Central Anatolia.
Abstract: Reconstruction of past vegetation and climates in the Cankiri-Corum Basin, one of the largest basins of Central Anatolia, is important for understanding the regional palaeovegetation. In this study, the palaeovegetational and palaeoclimatic proxies of the basin within the late middle Miocene and early Pleistocene interval are presented using the Integrated Plant Record (IPR) vegetation analysis and the coexistence approach (CA). The IPR analysis allows the reconstruction of six types of zonal vegetation: broad-leaved deciduous forests (BLDF), mixed mesophytic forests (MMF), broad-leaved evergreen forests (BLEF), xeric open woodlands and xeric grasslands or steppes, all identified from the microfloras of Cankiri-Corum Basin. During the late middle Miocene, warm temperate and humid climatic conditions prevailed and the palaeovegetation in the Cankiri-Corum Basin was represented by BLEF and an ecotone between MMF and BLEF. The cooling from the late middle Miocene to early late Miocene had begun as well, as low precipitation periods in the climatic conditions during the same time interval were recorded in the basin. Presumably, the proportion of broad-leaved deciduous elements remained balanced because the palaeotopography did not change significantly during the late Miocene in the Cankiri-Corum Basin. The recorded cooling could be related to a global climatic change from the middle to late Miocene. During the Tortonian to Messinian transition, the palaeovegetation type was represented by BLDF and suggests a continuous cooling trend in the basin. The palaeovegetation types of the late late Miocene comprise MMF in the northern part of the Cankiri-Corum Basin and xeric grassland or steppe in the southern part of the basin. Warm and dry climatic conditions were recorded from the Tortonian to the Messinian; these warm conditions during the Messinian could be correlated to the Messinian salinity crisis. According to the IPR analysis results, the northern part of the Cankiri-Corum Basin palaeotopography seems to be higher in altitude than the southern part. Palaeovegetation types in the latest late Miocene and early Pliocene were characterised by MMF and an ecotone between BLDF and MMF in the northern part of the Cankiri-Corum Basin and open woodland vegetation in the southern part of the basin. The percentage of the broad-leaved deciduous component from the latest late Miocene and early Pliocene decreases in the Cankiri-Corum Basin, which could be related to beginning uplift starting changes in the palaeotopography. In the early Pliocene, this uplift was continued in the basin.
TL;DR: In the Havelock Island of the Ritchie's Archipelago (northeastern Indian Ocean), two lithological successions viz., the Inglis and Long formations, are exposed as mentioned in this paper, and the diatom assemblage is represented by the marker diatom taxon viz., Cestodiscus peplum that indicates the geological age as late early to early middle Miocene.
Abstract: In the Havelock Island of the Ritchie’s Archipelago (northeastern Indian Ocean), two lithological successions viz., the Inglis and Long formations, are exposed. Chronostratigraphically, the Havelockian Regional Stage has been named on this island for the sediments of both the formations. Based on previous planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy, the sediments of Havelock Island have been dated from early Miocene to late Pliocene. The present analyses on multiple microfossils (diatoms, calcareous nannofossils and radiolarians) have been undertaken on the samples collected from the outcrop exposed in Vijaynagar Village near Kalapathar Beach, Havelock Island. The diatom assemblage is represented by the marker diatom taxon viz., Cestodiscus peplum that indicates the geological age as late early to early middle Miocene. The calcareous nannofossil assemblage also indicates a latest early Miocene to earliest middle Miocene (Burdigalian-Langhian) age based on the presence of characteristic forms of NN 4 Zone. The age has also been reconfirmed more precisely by marker radiolarians from the RN 4 Zone. Together, the microfossils indicate an age range of ~ 16.4 to ~ 15.0 Ma for the section. Most of the recovered microfossils are indicative of warm water. The age of the outcrop derived from multiple microfossils, i.e. calcareous nannofossils, radiolarians and diatoms, is co-relatable with the event of Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO).
TL;DR: In the case of Galerix saratji and Suleimania ruemkae, the anterior dentition was reconstructed in this paper, showing that the older species had a relatively long premolar row and a conspicuously high p2/p3 ratio.
Abstract: Unlike the rodents of the local zone C (MN 2) fauna of Gokler, the faunal list of the insectivores shows little surprises. The fauna is dominated by the gymnure Galerix saratji and the enigmatic talpid Suleimania ruemkae, both present in such numbers that for the first time the anterior dentition could be reconstructed. In the case of Galerix, these new data show that the older species had a relatively long premolar row and a conspicuously high p2/p3 ratio. Other eulipotyphlans are the moles Theratiskos rutgeri and Desmanodon sp., the dimylid Turkodimylus sp., the heterosoricid Dinosorex anatolicus and the shrews Oligosorex aff. reumeri and Soricid I. Overall, the diversity indicates a humid environment, as is usual for the early Miocene lignite bed faunas of Anatolia. The relatively low number of Theratiskos, shared with other B-C faunas from central Anatolia, suggests a difference between the environments in that region and those further to the south.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors distinguished Erdbach-II Limestone (Scaliognathus anchoralis Zone and basal Pseudognathodus homopunctatus Zone, late Ivorian and basal early Visean), Actinotheca Limestone, Gnathodus bilineatus and Lochriea nodosa zones, late Asbian to early Brigantian, Ibergirhynchia Limestone and Goniatite Limestone.
Abstract: Different generations of Mississippian neptunian dykes developed in the drowned Iberg–Winterberg Devonian seamount (Harz Mountains, Germany) yielded poorly diverse and generally small-sized brachiopod faunas dominated by spire-bearers (athyridides, spiriferides) and including several homeomorphic spiriferides. Four limestone levels are distinguished: Erdbach-II Limestone (Scaliognathus anchoralis Zone and basal Pseudognathodus homopunctatus Zone, late Ivorian and basal early Visean), Actinotheca Limestone (Pseudognathodus homopunctatus Zone, Arundian–Holkerian–early Asbian), Goniatite Limestone (Gnathodus bilineatus and Lochriea nodosa zones, late Asbian–early Brigantian), Ibergirhynchia Limestone (Lochriea nodosa Zone, early Brigantian). The faunas (dominant cephalopod facies) of the traditional ‘Erdbach Limestone’ in all older literature related to the Iberg–Winterberg Massif are a mixture of the two older horizons (light crinoidal limestones; late Ivorian to early Asbian), of which the age of their fossil content (especially the well-studied trilobites) needs to be revised by conodonts. New spiriferide genera are described, namely Roemerithyris gen. nov. and Felsithyris gen. nov. with Spirifer macrogaster Roemer 1852 and Felsithyris hercynica gen. et sp. nov. as type species, respectively. The latter species is the most common element of an almost monospecific assemblage of early–middle Visean age. Regeneration traces after fish attacks, developed on a spiriferide shell, are illustrated.
TL;DR: Short-term periodicity is suggested in the benthic environment experienced by encrusting bryozoans, which may have possibly been a result of cyclical variations in dinoflagellate food supply and/or swamping by unpalatable and potentially poisonous coccolithospheres.
Abstract: Bryozoans are among the most common macrofossils in the Late Cretaceous Chalk. They include many species that encrusted hard substrates, notably echinoid tests, forming habitat islands on the Chalk seabed. The growth strategies adopted by these bryozoans, as well as the occurrence of reparative structures, provides evidence of the conditions experienced by bryozoans and other benthic animals during the accumulation of this unique pelagic sediment deposited over large areas of the continental shelf. Here, we use historical material in the Natural History Museum, London, to provide qualitative evidence that whereas available substrates, including irregular echinoids, were long-lasting, most individual bryozoan colonies were probably short-lived. Some cheilostome species produced heavily calcified polymorphic zooids at the outer edges of the colony that persisted after loss of the feeding autozooids and became the source of regenerative colony growth. Short-term (possibly annual) periodicity is suggested in the benthic environment experienced by encrusting bryozoans, which may have possibly been a result of cyclical variations in dinoflagellate food supply and/or swamping by unpalatable and potentially poisonous coccolithospheres.
TL;DR: In this paper, Wu et al. presented conodonts from the Upper Member of the Ertang Formation at the Lufengshan section and assigned them to the nothoperbonus Zone.
Abstract: The Lufengshan section (Guangxi, South China) is one of the best representative sections of the Xiangzhou facies (benthic facies), from which a few Emsian conodont studies have been accomplished in the past. In this paper, we present conodonts from the Upper Member of the Ertang Formation at the Lufengshan section. The conodont fauna is characterised by a distinctly low diversity with only six species reported and is assigned to the nothoperbonus Zone. ‘Ozarkodina’? chenae, ‘O.’? wuxuanensis and Polygnathus praeinversus are newly described species herein. A comparison of the contemporaneous conodont faunas between the Lufengshan, Liujing and Daliantang sections indicates that the conodont biodiversity during the time of the nothoperbonus Zone in South China is mainly bathymetrically controlled. Moreover, P. praeinversus, which was previously thought to be transitional between P. inversus and P. serotinus, is interpreted to represent an intermediate form between P. nothoperbonus and P. inversus on the basis of stratigraphical and morphological analyses. The outline of the basal cavity of this new polygnathid species better documents the evolutionary process of the inversion of the basal cavity of Polygnathus: the basal cavity in the middle part of the platform starts to invert on the inner side at first, whereas the flat or slightly elevated outer flank of basal cavity is laterally extended to form a shelf-like protuberance on the outer side of the pit.
TL;DR: In this article, a special issue of Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments is dedicated to the BDevonian (419.2-358.9 Ma) was published, with a special emphasis on interplay between different fossil groups and environments during this critical period of Earth history.
Abstract: The Devonian (419.2–358.9 Ma) was a critical period for the evolution of life in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. It witnessed the appearances of first forest and amphibian on land, the largest metazoan reef ecosystem in Earth history, and two greatest biocrisises of the Phanerozoic (the Frasnian-Famennian and Hangenberg mass extinctions). The colonization of land by vascular plants caused major changes with respect to processes in the geo-, hydro-, and atmosphere. Continental weathering became strongly influenced by chemical processes, and thereby causing changes in riverine nutrient flux (Algeo et al. 1995), and atmosphere CO2 concentration dropped abruptly to near modern level (Foster et al. 2017), all of which exert major impacts particularly on marine ecosystems. As many as 25 global events, characterised by eustatic sea-level changes, anoxic/hypoxic events, and/or biological extinction/turnovers took place during the Devonian (Becker et al. 2012), demonstrating complex interactions between the Earth’s biotic, climatic, and environmental systems. Understanding the different fossil groups and the evolution of Devonianmarine ecosystems at global or regional scale would help us gain important insights for the interplay between life and environment in deep time. South China is the most important area for the study of the Devonian system in China, where all the stratotype sections for the Chinese regional stages were established in shallowwater facies of this region (Hou andMa 2005; Qie et al. 2019). Following the Kwangsian Orogeny (Chen et al. 2010), a transgression occurred in central Guangxi during the Lochkovian, and each sequences in South China starts with some siliciclastic sediment overlying a discontinuity surface. With intensified rifting, major differentiation of lithofacies and biofacies took place in the Emsian and Givetian stages, and the deposition of extensive carbonate platform was separated by deep-water interplatform basins (Figs. 1 and 2). As a result, there are numerous well-preserved Devonian stratigraphic successions recording a variety of lithofacies and biofacies in South China, providing excellent materials to investigate the biotic and environmental events and their possible causes and effects. This special issue of Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments is thematically dedicated to the BDevonian palaeoecosystems and palaeo-environments of South China.^ The eight contributions in this issue cover many different fossil groups, including tentaculitids, brachiopods, conodonts, tabulate corals, ostracods, and ammonoids. The geographic and stratigraphic ranges of these studies are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. We hope these contributions will advance our understanding of Devonian palaeoecosystems and palaeoenvironments of South China, with a special emphasis on interplay between different fossil groups and environments during this critical period of Earth history.
TL;DR: Syringoporids accounted for the majority of tabulate corals recorded in South China in the upper Famennian and represented a relatively high level of palaeobiodiversity before the Hangenberg Crisis.
Abstract: Syringoporoid tabulate corals are one of the most common benthic sessile organisms in the upper Famennian Etoucun Formation at the Huilong section, Guilin, South China. A multivariate morphometric analysis based on five morphological characters was applied to 29 coralla from three intervals in the formation. Cluster analysis, principal coordinate analysis, non-metric multidimensional scaling, and an examination of the qualitative morphological characteristics revealed the presence of four morphospecies representing Chia hunanensis Jia, 1977, Tetraporinus virgatus Tchudinova, 1986, Fuchungopora multispinosa Lin, 1963, and a new species designated as F. huilongensis. Interval A belongs to foraminifer biozones DFZ4 to DFZ6 and contains abundant C. hunanensis and scattered coralla of T. virgatus, whereas intervals B and C which are within foraminifer biozone DFZ7 contain abundant F. multispinosa, sporadic F. huilongensis, and rare fragmented corallites of C. hunanensis. The coralla are commonly tilted or overturned, which is especially obvious in intervals B and C, indicating that most of them settled on a soft substrate and were subjected to periodic high-energy events. The species of Fuchungopora display flexible growth strategies characterised by the fusion of their corallites. The high diversity of syringoporids recorded from South China indicates an obvious radiation of the tabulate corals in the uppermost Famennian. Syringoporids accounted for the majority of tabulate corals recorded in South China in the upper Famennian and represented a relatively high level of palaeobiodiversity before the Hangenberg Crisis.
TL;DR: In this article, the appearance of the Spirifer tonkinensis Fauna in different areas of South China and adjacent areas is diachronous, showing an evident chronological trend from south to north.
Abstract: Conodont and brachiopod biostratigraphic studies have been conducted at the Mode and Poyuan sections, Guangxi Province, South China. Combining these with seven previously studied sections, it is suggested that the appearance of the “Spirifer” tonkinensis Fauna in different areas of South China and adjacent areas is diachronous, showing an evident chronological trend from south to north. This trend is consistent with the northeastward transgression during the Early Devonian in South China. The “Spirifer” tonkinensis fauna may originate from northern Vietnam and then spread northwards into the South China Block. The persistence of the Early Devonian transgression resulted in the disappearance of favourable biotopes of the “Spirifer” tonkinensis Fauna (i.e. the near-shore, shallow marine environment with muddy substratum and plentiful terrigenous input), due to either a deepening of seawater or the development of a carbonate platform. This might ultimately have triggered the extinction of the fauna.
TL;DR: Simplomys, a dormouse with a simple dental morphology compared to other glirids, shows a continuous evolution in Spain during the end of the Ramblian and up to the middle Aragonian, the stratigraphic frame considered in this work.
Abstract: Simplomys, a dormouse with a simple dental morphology compared to other glirids, shows a continuous evolution in Spain during the end of the Ramblian and up to the middle Aragonian, the stratigraphic frame considered in this work. In contrast, the record of the genus in Central Europe is reduced to a few localities spanning from the early to the middle Miocene. We review the record from the Burdigalian to Langhian equivalent to the deposition of the uppermost Upper Marine Molasse (OMM) to the lower part of the Upper Freshwater Molasse (OSM) and conclude the occurrence of three distinct species. The youngest species, Simplomys simplicidens, is recognised in Schonenberg (Germany, MN5) and Courrendlin-Sole (Switzerland; MN4). Material from a fissure filling near Glovelier (Switzerland, MN4) supplied the new species, Simplomys hugi, whereas the localities Petersbuch 2 and Erkersthofen 2 (both fissure fillings from Germany, MN4) contain species closely related to it. Finally, and pending further advances in the taxonomy of the Iberian Simplomys, the oldest population from the fissure filling of Schnaitheim (Germany; MN3) remains in open nomenclature (Simplomys sp.). The genus Simplomys has not been recorded eastwards from the Swabian and Franconian Jura Plateaus from Germany and its youngest occurrence in Schonenberg is correlated to the South German local scale OSM C+D, at around 15.5 Ma.
TL;DR: A tentaculitid assemblage from the Nagaoling Formation spanning the Lochkovian-Pragian boundary in Nanning, China is described in this paper.
Abstract: Tentaculitoids have long been recognised as an enigmatic group of marine invertebrates that are widely distributed and highly diversified in the Silurian and Devonian strata. A tentaculitid assemblage is described herein from the Nagaoling Formation spanning the Lochkovian–Pragian boundary in Nanning, South China. Six new species are recognised: Tentaculitesbrevitenui n. sp., Lonchidium cylicus n. sp., Bicingulites nanningensis n. sp., Odessites aurisites n. sp., O. nahongensis n. sp. and Volynites nagaolingensis n. sp. are diagnosed. Two species Podolites sp. and Seretites sp. and one population Uniconus spp. are described in open nomenclature. All above tentaculitid genera can be detected in the Silurian strata from Sweden. The tentaculitids from South China allow transitional skeletal characters between benthic and planktonic tentaculitoids to be described, including conch size, conch wall thickness, septum number and the relationship between external and internal wall sculptures. The fossil assemblage, sedimentary rocks and taphonomic characters indicate that tentaculitids of Nagaoling Formation in South China were deposited in an outer shelf region with weak hydrodynamic condition.