Isolated trunk plates of the early Cambrian armoured lobopodian Quadratapora are described from new locations in South Australia and Kazakhstan. The South Australian material is represented by Quadratapora cf. zhenbaensis, and is described from outcrop locations in both the Arrowie Basin and subsurface core samples from the Stansbury Basin (Micrina etheridgei Zone, Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3). The specimens from Kazakhstan are identified as Quadratapora zhenbaensis from the Cambroclavus antis - Rhombocorniculm cancellatum Assemblage Zone (Cambrian Series 2, Stages 3-4). These occurrences represent the first time Quadratapora has been recorded outside of South China and Siberia. Description of the new Australian specimens expands knowledge of the distribution and diversity of armoured lobopodians during the early Cambrian. Comparisons with known material from South China and Siberia demonstrates that Quadratapora may be useful for palaeobiogeographic and biostratigraphic correlations.
A new species of fossil cupule (megasporophyll), Umkomasia fleurdelysia sp. nov., is described from South America, Africa and Australia. The Brazilian specimens from the Passo das Tropas locality of the Santa Maria Formation (Ladinian-Carnian, Middle-Upper Triassic) are represented by eight well-preserved cupules showing a developmental sequence from closed to open cupules with extended lobes. Large ovoid seeds are associated with these cupules. These cupules and seeds bear clear markings made by the piercing mouthparts of an insect belonging to the Hemiptera. The South African specimens are from the Hlatimbe Valley locality of the Molteno Formation (Carnian), and one cupule has detailed sculpturing that suggests a fleshy structure and possible dispersal by animals. The single Australian cupule is from the Ottaba locality of the Esk Formation (Ladinian-Carnian), and has five rather than four lobes. The new cupules are compared with all known and accepted Umkomasia species and new specimens from Brazil are described. The closely similar Umkomasia feistmantelii from the Lorne and Sydney Basins, Australia, is reviewed and new specimens are illustrated. The possible affiliation of U. fleurdelysia with particular Dicroidium species (such as Dicroidium zuberi) is discussed. Greater knowledge of Umkomasia and other cupules is important in resolving the question of angiosperm origins in the pre-Cretaceous and for understanding the early evolutionary experiments with enclosed seeds, such as those that occurred in Umkomasiaceae and other families in the Triassic.Heidi M Anderson* [hmsholmes@googlemail.com], Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 20150, South Africa; Ronaldo Barboni [ronaldobarboni@hotmail.com], Pesquisador Convidado, Museu de Hist & oacute;ria Geol & oacute;gica do Rio Grande do Sul, MHGEO-UNISINOS, S & atilde;o Leopoldo, Brazil; Andrew C. Rozefelds [andrew.rozefelds@qm.qld.gov.au], Collection and Research Centre, Queensland Museum, 122 Gerler Road, Hendra, Queensland 4011, Australia, and School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland 4702, Australia.
The Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, has been a significant source of diverse plant and animals fossils, including dinosaurs, crocodyliforms and invertebrates. This study presents new palynostratigraphic age constraints for the formation, utilizing drill cutting samples from two petroleum wells in the Eromanga Basin: Tamarama-1 and Queenscliff-1. Palynological processing of 18 samples from these wells yielded abundant microfossils with excellent preservation. The 16 samples from the Winton Formation were assigned to the PK7 Zone, equivalent to the uppermost Phimopollenites pannosus and Hoegisporis uniforma (al. Appendicisporites distocarinatus) zones. This assignment was based primarily on the presence of P. pannosus or Crybelosporites sp. cf. Crybelosporites brenneri. The persistent occurrence of Coptospora paradoxa and absence of Phyllocladidites mawsonii suggests a latest Albian to Cenomanian age for the Winton Formation in these wells, with no evidence of Turonian-aged assemblages. These findings refine previous age estimates and highlight the challenges of applying existing palynostratigraphic schemes to the Eromanga Basin. The study underscores the importance of continued palynological research in constraining the age of the Winton Formation and its associated faunal and floral assemblages.
We report the first record of a geosaurine crocodylomorph from Kimmeridgian marine deposits of the Sabinal Formation at the Llano Yosobe locality in Oaxaca, southern Mexico. Although fragmentary, the fossil is probably part of either a dentary or maxilla preserving dental pits and three labiolingually compressed upright teeth. The presence of sinuous apicobasal ridges that reach the pseudoserrate cutting edges on the crown is consistent with Geosaurinae. However, the specimen is unique in possessing crown ridges that are evenly distributed over both labial and lingual surfaces. Excavations at the Llano Yosobe locality and its surroundings are ongoing, thus further discoveries of geosaurine remains are anticipated in the near future.
Biological soil crusts are widespread in modern deserts, and consist largely of cyanobacteria and lichens. They begin as thin films and interstitial microbial coatings of the soil (form species Neantia deformata), but through ecological succession and freeze-thaw processes become thicker rugose surfaces (form species Rivularites repertus), then rolling crusts (form species Pustularichnus rebeccahuntforsterae), and eventually pinnacled crusts (form species Pinnaculosum priscum gen. et sp. nov.). Terrestrial biological soil crusts are characterized by sharp open cracks due to local extension, and healed cracks due to radial growth, or other compressive expansion. These highly deviatoric local stresses reflect shrink-swell, growth-death, and precipitation-dissolution phenomena of soils. Furthermore, terrestrial crusts often cap massive beds with original bedding disrupted by authigenic growth of nodules or desert roses of calcic (Bk) or gypsic (By) horizons of palaeosols, and by fungal hyphae and other filamentous microbes. In contrast, subaqueous microbial features are flexuous, sinuously wrinkled, or domed, with smooth textures maintained by microbial mat growth. Subaqueous mats can also be eroded out as flakes or rolled into tubes because they are thin and overlie sediment with lamination or other forms of bedding. In contrast, terrestrial crusts are fractured by frost and desiccation, and do not survive erosion and redeposition. Form genera of fossilized microbial textures now reveal life on land well back into the Palaeoproterozoic.Gregory J Retallack [gregr@uoregon.edu], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon. Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
Efficient recovery of conodont elements from impure limestone and calcareous rock samples remains a persistent challenge due to the large volume of residue retained following digestion and heavy liquid separation. This study evaluates the effectiveness of magnetic separation, using a Frantz isodynamic separator, as a method for refining residue fractions and concentrating apatite-based conodont elements. Fifteen upper Cambrian to Devonian samples from across New South Wales (NSW) were processed and assessed using a combination of size fractionation, stepped magnetic separation, and targeted heavy liquid refinement. Magnetic separation reduced total residue mass by up to 98 wt%, greatly improving the efficiency of manual picking. Portable X-ray diffraction (XRD) and stereomicroscopic observation of magnetic fractions confirm systematic mineralogical partitioning, with diamagnetic and weakly paramagnetic phases (including apatite, quartz, and muscovite) enriched in higher-amperage or non-magnetic fractions, and iron oxides such as goethite concentrated at lower amperages. The results demonstrate that magnetic refinement offers a reproducible, cost-effective, and broadly applicable method for improving conodont recovery efficiency by reducing residue volumes and concentrating phosphatic elements. A brief biostratigraphic case study from the Rowena Formation of the Koonenberry Belt in far western NSW confirms the practical benefits of this technique. More broadly, XRD analysis reveals that fossil recovery potential is enhanced in residues with moderate, compositionally mature detrital input (typically quartz-rich), and is markedly reduced in residues dominated by Fe-oxide phases and phyllosilicates.
Isolated opercula from the lower Cambrian (Series 2) of present-day high arctic Greenland represent a group of triplicatellid orthothecids (Class Hyolitha) that originally inhabited equatorial seas offshore from eastern Laurentia. With five species from the Aftenstjernes & oslash; Formation and one from the underlying Buen Formation, they comprise the most diverse known assemblage of Triplicatella, a genus originally established in South Australia but recognized subsequently from China, Laurentia and Siberia. A seventh species also from the Aftenstjernes & oslash; Formation is assigned to a new triplicatellid genus, Biplicatella, with type species Linevitus opimus from the Chengjiang biota of China. New species: Triplicatella paluaq, Biplicatella skovstedi from the Aftenstjernes & oslash; Formation of North Greenland. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3280A2C8-5481-4106-8B39-78CDE3E0BC36John S. Peel* [john.peel@pal.uu.se], Department of Earth Sciences (Palaeobiology), Uppsala University, Villav & auml;gen 16, Uppsala SE-75236, Sweden.
The Lower Devonian Lilydale Limestone (Pragian) contains diverse invertebrate fossil faunas including Ostracoda. This contribution provides a taxonomic reassessment of these previously studied ostracod specimens. Twenty ostracod taxa are redescribed and illustrated Evlanella? sp.; Primitiella? sp.; Paraparchites uniumbonata; Paraparchites? sp.; Beyrichiopsis sp.; Bairdiocypris subtrigonalis; Bairdiocypris cf. subtrigonalis; Bairdiocypris sp. 1; Bairdiocypris sp. 2; Bairdiocypris sp. 3; Bairdiocypris sp. 4; Bairdiocypris? sp. 5; Microcheilinella s.l. lilydalensis; Microcheilinella s.l. semicultrata; Bairdia s.l. flexuosa; Bairdiacypris? halli; Bairdiacypris? sp.; Ampuloides? sp.; Gen. indet. 1; Gen. indet. 2; Gen. indet. 3. The problematic identity of some taxa relates to the internal mould state of preservation for all examined specimens.Tamara T.A. Camilleri* [tamara.camilleri@deakin.edu.au], Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Melbourne Campus), Victoria 3125, Australia. Museums Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; Elizabeth A. Weldon [l.weldon@deakin.edu.au], Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Melbourne Campus), Victoria 3125, Australia. Museums Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; Mark T. Warne [mark.warne@deakin.edu.au], Deakin University, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Melbourne Campus), Victoria 3125, Australia. Museums Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; Rolf Schmidt [RSchmid@museum.vic.gov.au], Museums Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia.
The fossil record of echidnas in Australia is scarce, narrow in time, and restricted in space. In particular, the apparent absence of the extinct large-bodied Owen's Giant Echidna Megalibgwilia owenii from Victoria is unusual in light of its wide distribution across the continent's southeast including Tasmania. This paper describes a partial cranium of M. owenii, collected historically from Foul Air Cave in the Buchan Caves Reserve of East Gippsland. It is the first example of Megalibgwilia identified from Victoria, and reconciles the taxon's otherwise disjunct southern distribution across mainland Australia. Further collection-based surveys are required to improve the understanding of Quaternary fossil tachyglossid taxonomy and distribution.
The Newport and Terrigal formations in sea cliffs north and south of Sydney yield well-preserved plant compressions and permineralized wood of late Early Triassic age (Spathian). The flora was a greenhouse spike vegetation at high palaeolatitude from early stages of plant adaptive radiation of the Mesozoic. The flora is best known for iso & euml;talean lycopsids, including Iso & euml;tes, Tomiostrobus, Cylostrobus and Pleuromeia, which spread south with a global warming spike during the Spathian. Marattialean (Rienitsia), gleichenialean (Gleichenoides) and osmundalean (Todites) ferns may also reflect a spike of warmth and humidity. Schizoneura persisted from the Permian, but newly evolved Neocalamites was more like modern horsetails. Lepidopteris persisted from the Permian, but newly evolved seed ferns are represented by Dejerseya and Rochipteris. Newly evolved umkomasialean seed ferns dominate the flora, with large leaves of Dicroidium narrabeenense, D. gopadense, D. lancifolium, D. zuberi and Tetraptilon heteromerum, and wood of Kykloxylon. Large laminar structures of Umkomasia and Pteruchus are basal to the later Triassic adaptive radiation of smaller and more compact umkomasialean reproductive structures. The voltzialean conifer Voltziopsis angustum is more like Paleozoic than modern conifers. New taxonomic assignments include Gleichenoides narrabeenensis (Burges) comb. nov., Todites holmesii sp. nov., Rochipteris narrabeenensis (Walkom) comb. nov., and Kykloxlyon novae-valesiae (Burges) comb. nov.Gregory J. Retallack [gregr@uoregon.edu], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon. Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.
Guzhangian (late Middle Cambrian) agnostoids and trilobites are described from the Belvoir Road area, western Tasmania. The fauna comprises seven agnostoid species and six trilobite species. The specimen described here as Lisogoragnostus sp. may represent a new species. The trilobites include Conocoryphidae gen. et sp. indet., which probably represents a new genus. The age of the fauna is suggested to be within the Lejopyge laevigata Zone and possibly within the Lejopyge laevigata II Zone. This indicates that the fauna is the youngest known within the economically significant Mount Read Volcanics.James B. Jago* [jim.jago@adelaide.edu.au], Adelaide University, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095, Australia; Christopher J. Bentley [bigfossil@bigpond.com], 30 Albert Street, Clare, South Australia 5453, Australia; Keith D. Corbett [keith.corbett@bigpond.com], 35 Pillinger Drive, Fern Tree, Tasmania 7054, Australia.
Understanding the microstructural diversity of mineralized shells in early molluscs is essential for reconstructing the origin of the phylum during the Cambrian Explosion. Here, we report the first occurrence of a bidirectional foliated aragonite microstructure in early molluscs from the Cambrian Terreneuvian Bayangol Formation in the Zavkhan Basin of southwestern Mongolia. This microstructural type, previously known only in Cambrian hyolith skeletons, is documented for the first time through detailed microstructural characterization of shells in three helcionelloid species: Bemella simplex, Latouchella korobkovi and Merismoconcha tommotica. Our study significantly expands the recognized diversity of shellmicrostructures in early molluscs, reinforcing the skeletal commonality and homology of biomineralization mechanisms shared byhelcionelloids and hyoliths.
Nineteen trilobite species, including 10 new taxa, are reported from the lower Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4, upper Ordian) First Discovery Limestone Member of the Coonigan Formation in the Koonenberry Belt of far western New South Wales, Australia. Previous reports of the brachiopod taxa Micromitra nerranubawu and Eothele granulata, along with the trilobites Redlichia and Onaraspis, support the unit being assigned to the lower Micromitra nerranubawu Zone. This is further confirmed by the trilobite fauna described herein, which shares its greatest similarity to age equivalent strata in the Amadeus Basin of the Northern Territory; common taxa include Olenoides percivali sp. nov., Pagetia silicunda (= Pagetia sp. cf. P. quebecensis), Xystridura fracta (=Xystridura gayladia), Gunnia fava, and Xingrenaspis krusei sp. nov. Other species level similarities include assemblages found in the upper Ordian and lower Templetonian sequences of the Daly, Georgina, Ord and Wiso basins. New species introduced include: Redlichia holmesi sp. nov., Onaraspis cymbricensis sp. nov., Dinesus shergoldi sp. nov., Dinesus whitehousei sp. nov., Olenoides lawrenceorum sp. nov., Olenoides percivali sp. nov., Onchocephalus? warrisi sp. nov., Xingrenaspis krusei sp. nov., Changqingia andersonorum sp. nov., and Solenoparia gnaltaensis sp. nov.
New mystacinid bat fossils recovered from Miocene lacustrine sediments near St Bathans in Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand represent several taxa, including a new species. This new mystacinid species is the smallest yet recorded from St Bathans, and the smallest mystacinid known from New Zealand. It is similar in size to the Australian Miocene mystacinid Icarops paradox. The dental morphology of the new St Bathans mystacinid aligns with that of Mystacina species. A phylogenetic analysis using both maximum parsimony and undated Bayesian analysis of 292 unordered dental characters with a molecular scaffold enforced supports monophyly of an endemic New Zealand mystacinid clade comprising all known Mystacina species. Also assigned here to the genus Mystacina is a previously reported but still unnamed mystacinid from St Bathans. A decline in mystacinid diversity in New Zealand since the Early Miocene is evident.Suzanne J. Hand* [s.hand@unsw.edu.au], ESSRC, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], ESSRC, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Robin M.D. Beck [r.m.d.beck@salford.ac.uk], School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, United Kingdom; Vanesa L. De Pietri [vanesa.depietri@canterbury.ac.nz], School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand; Steven W. Salisbury [s.salisbury@uq.edu.au], School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; R. Paul Scofield [pscofield@canterburymuseum.com], Canterbury Museum, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand; Alan J. D. Tennyson [alant@tepapa.govt.nz], Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington 6140, New Zealand; Jennifer P. Worthy [jennykiwi@aapt.net.au], Adelaide, South Australia [formerly at Flinders University]; Trevor H. Worthy [trevor.worthy@flinders.edu.au], College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia.
The taxonomy and phylogenetic interpretations of the 'small shelly fossil' group traditionally called pelagiellids has a long and convoluted history, and has subsequently been labelled the 'Pelagiella problem'. While there is general agreement that these fossils represent lophotrochozoans, Pelagiella and similar forms have often been regarded as members of various molluscan groups (especially helcionelloids or gastropods), as well as annelids. Recent description of paired bundles of chaetae-like structures in Pseudopelagiella exigua (formerly Pelagiella exigua) from the lower Cambrian Kinzers Formation in Pennsylvania, USA, has reignited the debate regarding the systematics of Pelagiella and comparable taxa. Here, we document a new example of exceptional preservation in 'Pelagiella' subangulata from the early Cambrian of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, which is represented by bundles of elongate tubular structures positioned within the last whorl of two individual conchs. These three-dimensional structures have been phosphatized, with authigenic mineralization having taken place via nucleation on both the internal and external surfaces of the originally organic (presumably chitinous) tubes; this had resulted in two layers of calcium phosphate. Similar to both Orsten- and Doushantuo-type preservation, such phosphatization must have occurred relatively quickly before major post-mortem decay and disturbance, with the small conch providing an ideal microenvironment for this mode of fossilization. The elongate tubular structures in 'P.' subangulata are considered homologous to the chaetae-like structures seen in P. exigua, largely based on number, size, shape, and relative position within a turbiniform conch. Although this anatomical feature is somewhat comparable to annelid chaetae, the fine-scale morphological details of the distal terminations and surface microstructures required to support this interpretation are lacking in both taxa. Given that Pelagiella and other similar taxa exhibit an unusual mosaic of morphological features seen in molluscs and annelids, further taxonomic studies and additional discoveries of key anatomical structures are essential to resolve the systematics of this problematic, and potentially polyphyletic group.Stephanie A. Richter Stretton* [srichte2@myune.edu.au], Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia; Sarah M. Jacquet [jacquets@missouri.edu], Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Glenn A. Brock [glenn.brock@mq.edu.au], School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia; Zhiliang Zhang [zhiliang.zhang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; John R. Paterson [jpater20@une.edu.au], Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia; Marissa J. Betts [marissa.betts@une.edu.au], Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia.
A new genus and species of pachynomid heteropteran bug is described from early-Late Cretaceous Burmese amber. This new taxon provides the first fossil evidence of Pachynomidae and sets a minimum age for its divergence from Reduviidae. Comparisons with extant species suggests that Pachynominae has undergone little evolutionary change since the Cretaceous. The new fossil species likely shared a similar ground-dwelling predatory lifestyle with its modern relatives. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D289A21D-AA60-4E46-8A1A-975E99A4B98DPeipei Zhang [2230801008@cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China;Yunzhi Yao [yaoyz100@126.com], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China;Xinfang Zhang [zxf11111123@163.com], Ningshiguang Amber Museum, Huimin District, Hohhot 010000, China;Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China;Yingqi Liu* [yingqiliu0720@163.com], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, PR China.
