The drinking water supply in the Medieval and Early Modern Hanseatic town of Stralsund was not based on ground water wells, but a wooden pipeline system taking the water from the surrounding ponds, which was distributed by hydrostatic pressure to the private plots and public wells in the town. The Strandwerk pipeline system running below the street Wasserstraße at the waterfront was built of drilled pine pipes in the late seventeenth century and operated until the nineteenth century. During archaeological excavations an infill with sediment containing rich zoobenthos was detected in a pipe dendrochronologically dated to 1749 WK. The dominating mollusc taxa are the bivalve Sphaerium corneum and the gastropod Bithynia tentaculata. The microfauna is dominated by ostracods, chironomid head capsules and statoblasts of freshwater bryozoans. The fauna and their taphonomy document an artificial light-less but well populated habitat within the water pipeline, slow and episodic currents, and water coming from the ponds of the city.

Immatures of Diptera are extremely rare in the Triassic fossil record and up to now they are only known from the early Anisian of Europe (Upper Buntsandstein of France and Spain). Herein, three immatures are described from the Norian (Upper Keuper) of Seinstedt, Germany: larva of Tanyderidae Larvaderus triassicus gen. et sp. nov. and pupa of Simuliidae Simulipupa curriei gen. et sp. nov., and Ramobuccina herrigi gen. et sp. nov., a pupa whose affinity is uncertain. Branched respiratory organs of both pupae suggest a rheophilic mode of life. The expansion of the order to (fast-) flowing waters no later than the Late Triassic is proven by the Norian immatures, which were strictly aquatic and could live without contact to the water surface in contrast to Anisian ones. The immature Tanyderidae and Simuliidae are the oldest records of these extant families. Simulipupa gen. nov. is the oldest record of a putative dipteran bloodsucker.

The Toarcian Posidonia Shale and contemporaneously formed sediments document an interval of black shale sedimentation and organic matter accumulation in the Central European Basin System (CEBS), lasting a few hundred thousand years up to 7 myr. The remarkable stable organo-detrital depositional regime in the deeper basin was accompanied by repetitive changes from organo-detrital to detrital depositional regimes in the shallower eastern part of the North German Basin (NGB). Here, we present the first detailed study on the marginal Toarcian strata in NE Germany integrating palaeontological, stratigraphical and geochemical methods. The revision of ammonite data and new records contribute to an improved biostratigraphic control of transgressive–regressive sequences, carbon isotope excursions and palaeoecology. Proximal–distal correlations show two transgressive–regressive couplets of marine black shales and brackish green clays, which evolved in response to third-order sea-level fluctuations. Marine maxima in the lower falciferum and upper bifrons zones are correlated with basin-wide deposition of Posidonia Shale-type black shales. These black shales, particularly in basinal settings, show elevated total organic carbon (TOC) and carbonate contents, and are dominantly formed of zooplanktic Coelodiscus and ‘Inoceramus’ dubius produced fecal pellets, pelitic detritus and organic matter, mainly entrapped in fecal pellets. The change to organo-detrital black shales coincides with the onset and core of the Toarcian-Carbon Isotope Excursion (δ13C falling limb and valley) in the semicelatum to elegantulum subzones, whereas the recovery (δ13C rising limb) in the exaratum Subzone is recorded in progradational green clays of the Grimmen Formation (former ‘Grüne Serie’). Early diagenetic concretions represent marine Konservatlagerstätten with exceptional fossil preservation and give insights into contrasting planktic ecosystems. The basic trophic levels of the Posidonia Shale Sea are represented by calcareous nannoplankton, organic-walled phytoplankton and zooplankton groups. Accelerated productivity of this planktic factory triggered nektic adaption in fishes and ammonites and resulted in increased export rates of organic matter and carbonate particles (pellet rain). The accumulation of biogenic pellet ooze in a low energy and oxygen-depleated soupy mud at the seafloor, preserved in pre-compactional carbonate concretions, gave rise to elevated TOC and carbonate contents of the Posidonia Shale. During sea-level falls and lowstands, progradational coasts increasingly supplied detritus and freshwater to the eastern NGB. This contributed to the decline of the Posidonia Shale plankton community and proliferation of the green algae-dominated community of the Grimmen Formation. The independent development of the eastern NGB was amplified by swells limiting the exchange with the western NGB, where black shales occur up to the aalensis Zone in places.

Pterosaurs are a well-known component of many Mesozoic fossil ecosystems worldwide. To date, marine and terrestrial faunal elements such as cephalopods, fish, marine reptiles, dinosaurs and insects have been discovered in the Lower Jurassic clay pit near Grimmen (Western Pomerania). A new fragmentary bone is thoroughly described herein and interpreted to represent the first evidence for the presence of pterosaurs in this locality.

First Upper Triassic dipterans (Nematocera) are described based on isolated wings from Fuchsberg near Seinstedt (Sevatian, uppermost Norian of Lower Saxony, Germany): Crivoptychoptera nebrias gen. et sp. nov. (Psychodomorpha, Ptychopteridae), Ptychopteridae incertae sedis, Dohloboyia triassica gen. et sp. nov. (Bibionomorpha, Boholdoyidae) and Chironomidae incertae sedis (Culicomorpha). All taxa under discussion present the oldest occurrences of their families. Geological background and composition of the Upper Triassic insect fauna of Seinstedt are briefly discussed.

Throughout the Latest Triassic and the Early Jurassic, major changes in paleogeography, climate and eustatic sea-level impacted on the development of shelf depositional environments. Secular trends in environmental conditions were punctuated by transient perturbations that occurred in relation to large-scale volcanic events, such as the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary and the Karoo–Ferrar Large Igneous Province in the early Toarcian. We here present bulk organic (HAWK programmed pyrolysis) and organic carbon isotope (δ13Corg) data for three drill cores recovering Latest Triassic and Early Jurassic strata (Rhaetian to Toarcian). Study sites are located in the northeastern part of the Central European Epicontinental Sea and were positioned along a distal–proximal transect of the North German Basin. This allows discussing the differential response of depositional settings and organo-facies toward secular and transient environmental change. Biostratigraphically anchored trends in δ13Corg values allow the precise correlation along the transect, as well as with distant sites. At all North German locations, diagnostic secular trends in δ13Corg are punctuated by transient negative carbon isotope excursions, reflecting perturbations of the global carbon cycle at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary and in the early Toarcian. Stratigraphic gaps occurred during sea-level lowstands and are most pronounced at shallow proximal sites. Programmed pyrolysis data indicate spatiotemporal organo-facies trends that on a temporal scale occurred in response to sea-level and climate trends, while spatial patterns were governed by basin morphology and paleobathymetry. Substantial marine organic matter accumulations occurred at high sea level during the Toarcian only, and were most continuous at distal sites.

The Lower Jurassic (lower Toarcian) Grimmen Formation (formerly known as "Green Series") of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania (Northeast Germany) yielded two articulated anterior skeletons of fossil fish, which represent a new lepisosteiform genus and species: Mengius acutidens gen. et sp. nov. The new taxon is described. Osteology of the species is most similar to the contemporaneous species of Lepidotes Agassiz. It differs from Lepidotes in having a non-tritoral dentition and a differently shaped operculum. A cladistic analysis shows Mengius acutidens gen. et sp. nov. to be the sister taxon of Lepidotes, accordingly, the new species is assigned to the family Lepidotidae Agassiz. The occurrence of M. acutidens emphasises the endemic character of the lower Toarcian Grimmen Formation fish fauna of Northeast Germany.

Extreme global warming and environmental changes associated with the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ~183 Mya) profoundly impacted marine organisms and terrestrial plants. Despite the exceptionally elevated abundances of fossil insects from strata of this age, only assemblages from Germany and Luxembourg have been studied in detail. Here, we focus on the insect assemblage found in strata recording the T-OAE at Alderton Hill, Gloucestershire, UK, where <15% of specimens have previously been described. We located all known fossil insects (n = 370) from Alderton Hill, and used these to create the first comprehensive taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of the entire assemblage. We show that a diverse palaeoentomofaunal assemblage is preserved, comprising 12 orders, 21 families, 23 genera and 21 species. Fossil disarticulation is consistent with insect decay studies. The number of orders is comparable with present-day assemblages from similar latitudes (30°-40°N), including the Azores, and suggests that the palaeoentomofauna reflects a life assemblage. At Alderton, Hemiptera, Coleoptera and Orthoptera are the commonest (56.1%) orders. The high abundance of Hemiptera (22.1%) and Orthoptera (13.4%) indicates well-vegetated islands, while floral changes related to the T-OAE may be responsible for hemipteran diversification. Predatory insects are relatively abundant (~10% of the total assemblage) and we hypothesise that the co-occurrence of fish and insects within the T-OAE represents a jubilee-like event. The marginally higher proportion of sclerotised taxa compared to present-day insect assemblages possibly indicates adaptation to environmental conditions or taphonomic bias. The coeval palaeoentomofauna from Strawberry Bank, Somerset is less diverse (9 orders, 12 families, 6 genera, 3 species) and is taphonomically biased. The Alderton Hill palaeoentomofauna is interpreted to be the best-preserved and most representative insect assemblage from Toarcian strata in the UK. This study provides an essential first step towards understanding the likely influence of the T-OAE on insects.

Liassodites obsti gen. et sp. nov., an Early Jurassic member of Trachypachidae, is described from Western Pomerania (Germany). An epoxy resin transfer method is applied for the preparation of three-dimensionally preserved fossil. An annotated list of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic trachypachid genera was elaborated. For each trachypachid fossil member and erroneously placed genus, a short diagnosis or available arguments on systematic position are proposed. The relations of the subfamilies Eodromeinae and Coptoclaviscinae (Coptoclavidae) are discussed. The description of Liassodites obsti gen. et sp. nov. makes it possible to suppose that the currently recognised hiatus between families Carabidae and Trachypachidae is not great enough to regard them as two separate families. The genus Coptoclavisca should be regarded as a member of Trachypachidae or Carabidae (including Trachypachinae). The new genus Apermunda gen. nov. is proposed for Petrodromeus minor. Novunda nom. nov. is proposed for Unda and the following binominal names are changed: Novunda angulata comb. nov., N. cursoria comb. nov., N. microplata comb. nov., N. pachycephala comb. nov. and N. chifengensis comb. nov. A synonymy of Evertus and Fortiseode is established, with change of species name: Evertus pervalimand comb. nov. The taxa Beipiaocarabus, Leptopodocoleus (including Leptopodocoleidae), Praedodromeus, Procalosoma, Xinbinia, ‘Eodromeus’ viriosus, ‘Unda’ chonggezhuangensis and ‘Unda’ pandurata, ‘Karadromeus’ xiangfanggouensis are regarded as incertae sedis.

Toarciconiopteryx dipterosimilis gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Lower Toarcian of Grimmen (Western Pomerania, Germany) based on a hind wing. This enigmatic wing superficially resembles a dipteran forewing, but analysis in detail establishes that it belongs to the Neuroptera. We assign it to the Coniopterygidae with great confidence by its great concordance with the hind wings of that family, but a small possibility remains that it might belong to the Dipteromantispidae, although the very derived haltere-like hind wings of all its known members are entirely unlike it. We, therefore, consider it to be the oldest record of Coniopterygidae. We create the new subfamily Toarciconiopteryginae subfam. nov. for it, which is distinguished from other Coniopterygidae by its hind wings possessing two branches of RP and a proximal forking of M. These conditions are also known in some Sialidae (Megaloptera), supporting the hypothesis that Coniopterygidae is the sister group of all other Neuroptera, as Megaloptera is considered by most authors to be sister to Neuroptera. New interpretations of some aspects of the Coniopterygidae venation are proposed.

Thyreophora is a clade of globally distributed herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs. The earliest forms are known from the Early Jurassic, and their latest surviving representatives witnessed the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Throughout their evolutionary history, these ‘shield bearers’ became lumbering quadrupeds, evolved a wide array of bony armor, plates and spikes, as well as sweeping tail weapons in the form of tail clubs and thagomizers. An isolated new thyreophoran osteoderm from a Lower Jurassic Konservatlagerstätte near Grimmen is described and, with the aid of micro-CT data, compared to an osteoderm of the early diverging thyreophoran Emausaurus ernsti from a different stratigraphic horizon at the same locality.

We describe the oldest Kalligrammatidae, two distantly related species of different subfamilies from the Lower Jurassic (lower Toarcian) of Germany: Liassopsychops curvatus Bode, 1953, sit. nov. (Liassopsychopinae n. subfam.) and Ophtalmogramma klopschari n. gen. n. sp. (Kallihemerobiinae). They lived in warm and relatively dry conditions. Subfamily Liassopsychopinae includes the Jurassic genera Liassopsychops and Huiyingogramma, sit. nov., which bear forewings characterized by Sc and RA not fused distally; MP, CuA, CuP, and A1 dichotomously branched; and a well-developed central eye-spot. The forewing of Ophtalmogramma n. gen. is most similar to that of Apochrysogramma Yang et al., 2011. The diversity of early Toarcian kalligrammatids indicates a late Triassic-earliest Jurassic origin of the family. A modified classification of the central eye-spots is proposed based on the presence/absence of four main components, i.e., the central pigmented disc (A), swellings (B), ocules (C), and outer rings (D). The function of the swellings is unclear, but they may have served as pheromone containers. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS. All rights reserved.

We redescribe the holotype of Epigambria longipennis Handlirsch, 1939 from the Early Jurassic of Dobbertin (Germany), the type of the family Epigambriidae Handlirsch, 1939. Two other early Toarcian genera from Germany (Polyosmylus Ansorge, 1996 from Grimmen and Rasnitsyneura gen. nov., the type species R. aequabilis (Bode, 1953), comb. nov. from Schandelach) are assigned to Epigambriidae, which we interpret as Epigambriinae, stat. nov., a subfamily of Ithonidae s.l. The venation of Epigambriinae is most similar to that of the polystoechotid genus-group but may be distinguished from members of this group mainly by (1) a single gradate series between branches of RP in both the fore- and hind wings, and (2) the absence of crossveins between branches of MP and CuA in the forewing.

Glacially dislocated fossiliferous clay – hitherto called Cyprina clay– and associated Pleistocene sediments are exposed at the northeastern German coast. They were uplifted as glacial rafts from a position of about 30 m below the sea level and incorporated into glaciotectonic complexes of Dornbusch (Hiddensee), Arkona (Rügen) and Greifswalder Oie during the ice advances of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of the fossil‐bearing clay and the overlying glacifluvial/lacustrine successions give insights into Late Saalian, Eemian and Early to Middle Weichselian development of the southern Baltic Sea area. The age data especially support the observation of changing environmental conditions prior to the Eemian warm period as suggested by the fossil record. A high‐arctic brackish fauna documented in a lower reddish‐grey clay is followed by a more boreal brackish‐marine to marine fauna in the overlying olive and/or greenish‐grey clay. This implies conditions of glacial meltwater running to the northwest during the deglaciation phase of the last Saalian Warthe ice advance and inflow of cold marine water from the North Atlantic area along the margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet into the Skagerrak and the Kattegat. Subsequently, water with higher salinity entered the mouths and channels of large rivers crossing the southern Baltic Sea area from SE to NW comparable with those of the Oder and Vistula rivers. Eemian Cyprina clay deposits with lusitanian faunal elements are not exposed in the study area but occur in Denmark and northwestern Germany. To distinguish the different facies types and age of the clay, we introduce the stratigraphical term Vitt Formation for the Late Saalian Cyprina clay in NE Germany, comprising Roundstonia, Portlandia and Arctica members – each with characteristic microfossil species.

We revise the genus Mesotipula Handlirsch, 1920 (Diptera, Limoniidae) described from the Lower Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) of Northeast Germany. Mesotipula was originally separated from other Architipulinae on the base of a bifurcated vein M-3, which appeared artificial after the restudy of its holotype. Holotypes of all Limoniidae described by Handlirsch and Krzeminski and Zessin from the Lower Toarcian deposits of Northeast Germany (Dobbertin and Grimmen) are revised to provide an updated diagnosis of Mesotipula and to distinguish it from other genera. As a result, the following species described by Handlirsch within the genus Architipula are transferred to the genus Mesotipula: A. geinitzi Handlirsch syn. nov., A. minuta Handlirsch comb. nov. and A. parva Handlirsch syn. nov. In addition Eotipula lapidaria Handlirsch is also transferred to Mesotipula. Now we regard six species of Mesotipula as being valid in the Lower Toarcian of Northeast Germany.

The fossil record of Megaloptera (Insecta: Holometabola: Neuropterida) is very limited. Both megalopteran families, i.e., Corydalidae and Sialidae, have been found in the Eocene Baltic amber, comprising two named species in one genus of Corydalidae (Chauliodinae) and four named species in two genera of Sialidae. Here we report a new species of Chauliodinae from the Baltic amber, namely Nigronia prussia sp. nov.. The new species possesses a spotted hind wing with broad band-like marking, a well-developed stem of hind wing MA subdistally with a short crossvein to MP, a single straight RP branch separated between 1ra-rp and 2ra-rp in hind wing, and the hind wing A3 with anterior branch proximally touching A2. A tentative placement of the new species in Nigronia Banks, 1908, which is an extant genus endemic to eastern North America, is discussed in detail. Our finding provides new evidence indicating that the fishflies related to the extant species from eastern North America had occurred in Europe during the Early Tertiary.

We describe Cretobibio montsecensis, gen. et sp. nov. based on two female specimens from the Lower Cretaceous of Montsec, Spain. The new genus would key to the subfamily Pleciinae based on the presence of a short vein R2+3 and slender legs. However, some characters suggest an affinity with Bibioninae, notably the weakening of R2+3, the oblique crossvein R-M, crossvein M-Cu connected to M2 rather than the stem of M, and the shortened fore legs. We suggest this species is best considered as representing a new subfamily, Cretobibioninae subfam. nov., as sister group of Bibioninae.

Pathologies of fossils are often difficult to assign to specific causes based solely on their outer shape. For the first time, we applied high-resolution computed-tomography data (18.7 and 6.2 mu m voxel size) to describe a pathological belemnite rostrum (Goniocamax sp.). The rostrum was collected from Lower Santonian deposits of Bavnodde (Denmark, Bavnodde Greensand). The rostrum is 41 mm long and has at the anterior part a 2 mm high and 4 mm long blister-like pearl made up of calcite layers. This malformation is assigned to the forma aegra bullata-type which indicates the presence of an endogenic parasite during the lifetime of the belemnite. Due to its internal structure, we tentatively suggest an infection by a polychaetae flatworm as a potential candidate which led to the blister formation.

Two archaeological excavation sites, Fundplatz 225 "Mischwasserspeicher" and Fundplatz 290 "Ozeaneum", located close to the medieval town centre of Stralsund at the Strelasund were investigated. Using methods of sedimentology and (micro) palaeontology, the aim of this study was the reconstruction of environmental changes from Mesolithic to Modern Times. Foraminifers, ostracods, molluscs, plant remains, vertebrates and archaeological finds of all kind were used to establish a reliable model of coastal site development at the shore of the Strelasund from about 5300 BC to the 1860s AD, comprising naturally induced environmental changes and human impact and providing new insights into the coastal evolution and harbour transformations in Stralsund of the past seven millennia. The clam species Mya arenaria, introduced by human activities into the Baltic Sea, proved to appear not earlier than in the 17th century in this region.