[PaleoBotany • 2025] Karkenia bracteata • A New Species of Karkenia (Ginkgoales: Karkeniaceae) from the Lower Jurassic of East Siberia (Russia): palaeobiogeographical and evolutionary implications

 

Karkenia bracteata

Frolov, Enushchenko & Mashchuk, 2025

DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70019

 x.com/ThePalAss

 

Abstract

The family Karkeniaceae is the most ancient of the Ginkgoales. It is known from the lower Permian to the Lower Cretaceous. Cladistic analysis has shown that Karkeniaceae represents a distinct lineage among the Mesozoic ginkgoaleans and is much closer to Trichopitys. However, the absence of the complex ovule shoots of ginkgoaleans with remains of ‘intercalated bracts’ in the palaeontological record makes it difficult to reconstruct the transformation series linking Trichopityaceae to Karkeniaceae. Here, we report Karkenia bracteata sp. nov. from the Lower Jurassic of East Siberia (Russia). We examined impressions and compressions using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Karkenia bracteata consists of the main axis bearing helically arranged bract–ovule complexes, each composed of a long laminar bract subtending and sheathing an ovule stalk with a single ovule. The presence of a bract distinguishes this species from all known Karkenia. However, the ovule structure, stomatal guard cells and megaspore membrane indicate that the new species belongs to Karkeniaceae. Karkenia could have evolved from Trichopitys due to reduction and condensation from an ancestral state. The ovulate short shoots must have fused to form a compact structure, while the main axis was strongly reduced. The leaves of such branches became reduced and further disappeared. Therefore, the leaves of the intermediate form between Trichopitys and Karkenia must have been bracts. Thus, K. bracteata corresponds to the hypothetical intermediate form linking Trichopityaceae to Karkeniaceae and confirms the hypothesis of the cone-like nature of Karkenia megastrobili.

Keywords: Trichopitys, Sphenobaiera, Ginkgoales, palaeobiogeography, compound seed cone, intercalated bract

Karkenia bracteata sp. nov. 

Andrey О. Frolov, Ilya V. Enushchenko and Irina M. Mashchuk. 2025. A New Species of Karkenia (Karkeniaceae, Ginkgoales) from the Lower Jurassic of East Siberia (Russia): palaeobiogeographical and evolutionary implications. Papers in Palaeontology. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70019 [02 June 2025]

 x.com/ThePalAss/status/1929929547681542238

[Paleontology • 2025] Rise of the King: Gondwanan Origins and Evolution of Megaraptoran Dinosaurs

Gondwanan Origins and Evolution of Megaraptoran Dinosaurs

in Morrison, Scherer, O’Callaghan, Layton, Boisvert, Rolando, Durrant, Salas, Allain et Gascoigne, 2025. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242238 

 

Abstract

Late Cretaceous Earth was dominated by theropods such as tyrannosauroids and megaraptorans; however, it is unclear how these clades diversified and grew to massive proportions. This study aimed to conduct a biogeographical analysis and test climate as a potential mechanism for the increase in size. We used published phylogenetic matrices with the R package BioGeoBears to test different biogeographical hypotheses for both clades. We mapped body mass (BM) and body length against known climate data to test this potential hypothesis. Continental-scale variance did not drive tyrannosauroid biogeography and instead widespread ancestral populations, sympatric speciation and localized extinctions throughout these clades constricted geographic range. Both patterns were supported by statistical analyses. This biogeographical model also indicates the ancestor of the clade Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus was present in both Asia and Laramidia, and therefore the ancestor of Tyrannosaurus came from Asia. Statistical data illustrated no correlation between Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) and BM but potential climatic shifts may be associated with gigantism in derived megaraptorids and eutyrannosaurians. This biogeographical model implies megaraptorans may have had a cosmopolitan distribution prior to the splitting of Laurasia and Gondwana. Also, gigantism in these clades may be associated with climatic shifts in the Late Cretaceous.

Keywords: Biogeography, Late Cretaceous, Megaraptora, Tyrannosauroidea

 

The end Cretaceous Northern Hemisphere fauna was dominated by Tyrannosaurids (such as Tyrannosaurus rex), hadrosaurs and ceratopsian ornithischian dinosaurs.

Artwork by Pedro Salas and Sergey Krasovskiy.

Potential dispersal routes for megaraptorans during the Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous (approx. 143 Ma). ...

Cassius Morrison, Charlie Roger Scherer, Ezekiel V. O’Callaghan, Collin Layton, Colin Boisvert, Mauro Aranciaga Rolando, Leroy Durrant, Pedro Salas, Steven J. R. Allain and Samuel J. L. Gascoigne. 2025. Rise of the King: Gondwanan Origins and Evolution of Megaraptoran Dinosaurs. R. Soc. Open Sci. 12: 242238. DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242238  [07 May 2025] 

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[Paleontology • 2025] A South American sebecid from the Miocene of Hispaniola documents the presence of Apex Predators in early West Indies Ecosystems

a group of hungry sebecids have caught a large crocodile on land

in Viñola López, Velez-Juarbe, Münch, Milan, Antoine, Marivaux, Jimenez-Vasquez et Bloch, 2025.

DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2891 

Illustration by Hodari Nundu and Jorge Machuky instagram.com/hodarinundu 

  facebook.com/61555379265378

Abstract

The absence of terrestrial apex predators on oceanic islands led to the evolution of endemic secondary apex predators like birds, snakes and crocodiles, and loss of defence mechanisms among species. These patterns are well documented in modern and Quaternary terrestrial communities of the West Indies, suggesting that biodiversity there assembled similarly through overwater dispersal. Here, we describe fossils of a terrestrial apex predator, a sebecid crocodyliform with South American origins from the late Neogene of Hispaniola that challenge this scenario. These fossils, along with other putative sebecid specimens from Cuba and Puerto Rico, show that deep-time Caribbean ecosystems more closely resembled coeval localities in South America than those of today. We argue that Plio-Pleistocene extinction of apex predators in the West Indies resulted in mesopredator release and other evolutionary patterns traditionally observed on oceanic islands. Adaptations to a terrestrial lifestyle documented for sebecids and the chronology of West Indian fossils strongly suggest that they reached the islands in the Eocene–Oligocene through transient land connections with South America or island hopping. Furthermore, sebecids persisted in the West Indies for at least five million years after their extinction in South America, preserving the last populations of notosuchians yet recovered from the fossil record.

Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound—that's a sebecid. Standing tall, with some species reaching 20 feet in length, sebecids were top predators until they went extinct during the Miocene.

Illustration by Jorge Machuky

a group of hungry sebecids have caught a large crocodile on land

Illustration by Hodari Nundu and Jorge Machuky

Lázaro W. Viñola López, Jorge Velez-Juarbe, Philippe Münch, Juan N. Almonte Milan, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Laurent Marivaux, Osvaldo Jimenez-Vasquez and Jonathan Bloch. 2025. A South American sebecid from the Miocene of Hispaniola documents the presence of Apex Predators in early West Indies Ecosystems. Proc. R. Soc. B. 292: 20242891. DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2891 [30 April 2025]

instagram.com/hodarinundu/p/DJF24hBIFXH 

  facebook.com/61555379265378/posts/122206604204179308

[PaleoIchthyology • 2024] Changxingaspis nianzhongi & C. gui • New Findings of Changxingaspis (Xiushuiaspidae: Galeaspida) from the Silurian of Tarim Basin and Zhejiang Province, China

 

Changxingaspis nianzhongi 

Li, Zhang, Lin, Zhu, Zhao, Tang, Shan & Gai, 2024

DOI: doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.15168 

 Researchgate.net/publication/381715002

Abstract

New discovery of the early Silurian fossil fish Changxingaspis (Xiushuiaspidae, Galeaspida), Changxingaspis nianzhongi sp. nov. and C. gui, are described from the Tataertag Formation in Tarim Basin and the Kangshan Formation in Zhejiang Province, respectively. C. nianzhongi mainly differs from C. gui in the shape of the median dorsal opening that is transverse elliptic with a width/length ratio of about 3.0, the long lateral transverse canals extending to the lateral margin of the headshield, and the second lateral transverse canal with dichotomous branchings. Discovery of C. nianzhongi from the Tataertag Formation and C. gui from the Kangshan Formation provide direct evidence on the specific level for the correlation between these two formations, which further supports the Silurian fish-bearing red beds in northwest Zhejiang belonging to the Silurian Lower Red Beds (LRBs) rather than the Upper Red Beds (URBs). Additionally, as the first record of the Changxingaspis in Tarim Basin, it extends the paleogeographical distribution of this genus from the South China Block to the Tarim Block, providing new evidence to support faunal exchanges between these two blocks and the hypothesis of a united Tarim–South China Block during the early Silurian.

Keywords: vertebrate paleontology, Galeaspids, Changxingaspis, new taxon, Tataertag Formation, Kangshan Formation, Aeronian–Telychian, Tarim, Zhejiang

The paleogeographical distribution of Xiushuiaspidae on South China and Tarim blocks during the early Telychian, Llandovery, Silurian

(modified after Liu et al., 2023). 

Art credit: Yang Dinghua. 

Changxingaspis nianzhongi 

Xutong LI, Yumeng ZHANG, Xianghong LIN, Min ZHU, Wenjin ZHAO, Lizhou TANG, Xianren SHAN and Zhikun GAI. 2024. New Findings of Changxingaspis (Xiushuiaspidae, Galeaspida) from the Silurian of Tarim Basin and Zhejiang Province, China. Acta Geologica Sinica. 98(3); 531-540. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.15168

  Researchgate.net/publication/381715002_New_findings_of_Changxingaspis_from_the_Silurian_of_Tarim_Basin_and_Zhejiang_China

[PaleoIchthyology • 2023] Jiangxialepis rongi • The First Eugaleaspiforme Fish from the Silurian of the Tarim Basin reveals a close relationship between the Tarim and South China Blocks at 438 mya

Xiyuichthys zhangi [Xiushuiaspidae], Microphymaspis pani [Dayongaspidae], Platylomaspis serratus [Gumuaspidae], and
 Jiangxialepis rongi [Shuyuidae]  Liu, Shan, Lin, Shen, Liu, Zhang & Gai, 2023

DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111774

 

Highlights: 

• The first Eugaleaspiforme fish, Jiangxialepis rongi sp. nov., is established.

• The Tataertag Formation can be correlated with the Qingshui Formation.

• Shuyuidae provided key evidence for the correlation of Silurian LRBs in China.

• 5 dispersal events between South China and Tarim blocks were recognized.

• South China and Tarim blocks should be closely related at 438 mya.

Abstract

The first Eugaleaspiforme fish, Jiangxialepis rongi sp. nov., from the lower Telychian (Llandovery, Silurian) Tataertag Formation in the Tarim Basin is described and its palaeogeographic significance is evaluated. The new species can be assigned to the family Shuyuidae and distinguished from J. retrospina and J. jiujiangensis by its comparatively broader headshield, ornamentation, and serrated margin of the headshield and median dorsal opening. The discovery of J. rongi provides direct fossil evidence for the correlation of lower Telychian marine red beds between the Tarim Basin and South China and expands our knowledge of the distribution of Eugaleaspiforme fish into the Tarim Basin. An analysis of galeaspid paleogeographic distribution within a phylogenetic framework reveals at least five galeaspid dispersal events between the blocks of South China and the Tarim Basin during the early Telychian age. This indicates that the South China and Tarim blocks were close enough to share the same shallow marine environment, and perhaps comprise a united Tarim-South China Block during the early Silurian.

  

Keywords: Silurian, Galeaspid, Tarim, South China, Biogeography

Xiyuichthys zhangi [Xiushuiaspidae], Microphymaspis pani [Dayongaspidae], Platylomaspis serratus [Gumuaspidae], and Jiangxialepis rongi [Shuyuidae] 

 Jiangxialepis rongi sp. nov.

 

Wenyu Liu, Xianren Shan, Xianghong Lin, Yiming Shen, Yuhang Liu, Zehao Zhang and Zhikun Gai. 2023. The First Eugaleaspiforme Fish from the Silurian of the Tarim Basin reveals a close relationship between the Tarim and South China Blocks at 438 mya. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 628; 111774. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111774

[PaleoIchthyology • 2023] Jiangxialepis jiujiangensis • A New Species of Jiangxialepis (Galeaspida) from the Lower Telychian (Silurian) of Jiangxi, China and its Biostratigraphic Significance

 Jiangxialepis jiujiangensis 

Shan, Zhao & Gai, 2023

DOI: doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.15009

 Researchgate.net/publication/364228998

Abstract

A new species of Shuyuidae (Eugaleaspiformes, Galeaspida), Jiangxialepis jiujiangensis sp. nov., is described from the lower Telychian (Llandovery, Silurian) Qingshui Formation in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China. The new species differs from the type species J. retrospina from Wuhan, Hubei Province in its sharp and posteriorly positioned median dorsal spine and narrow spine-shaped inner cornual processes. The Silurian strata in Xiushui–Wuning area has provided a standard framework for the correlation of Silurian shallow marine red beds in South China. Thus, the finding of J. jiujiangensis from the Silurian Lower Red Beds (LRBs) in Jiangxi Province bears very important biostratigraphic significance. It can directly compare to Jiangxialepis retrospina from the Fentou Formation in Wuhan, Hubei Province in the genus level. This indicates that the age of the fish-bearing strata in Wuhan is most likely to be the early Telychian rather than middle Telychian as previously assumed.

Keywords: Galeaspids, Qingshui Formation, Lower Red Beds, Silurian, Jiangxi Province

Restoration of Jiangxialepis jiujiangensis sp. nov. and Jiangxialepis retrospina.

Art credit: Shi Aijuan.

Jiangxialepis jiujiangensis sp. nov.

Xianren Shan, Wenjin Zhao and Zhikun Gai. 2023. A New Species of Jiangxialepis (Galeaspida) from the Lower Telychian (Silurian) of Jiangxi and its Biostratigraphic Significance. Acta Geologica Sinica. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.15009

 Researchgate.net/publication/364228998_A_New_Species_of_Jiangxialepis_from_Silurian_of_Jiangxi

x.com/PDChina/status/1662658703215165442

https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlpaper/2023/5/202351211301219581774.shtm

[Paleontology • 2025] Evolutionary and Paleobiogeographic Implications of New carcharodontosaurian, megaraptorid, and unenlagiine Theropod Remains from the upper Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, southeast Australia

 

Cretaceous Australia Landscape
 

in Kotevski, Duncan, Ziegler, Bevitt, Vickers-Rich, Rich, Evans & Poropat, 2025. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2441903  

artwork by Jonathan Metzger

ABSTRACT

The Early Cretaceous non-avian theropod body fossil record of Victoria, Australia dominantly comprises isolated dental and postcranial remains. Numerous specimens have been collected from both the upper Strzelecki Group (upper Barremian–lower Aptian) and Eumeralla Formation (upper Aptian–lower Albian), yet theropod diversity in each unit remains poorly resolved. In both deposits, specimens pertaining to Megaraptoridae—a clade seemingly endemic to South America and Australia in the Cretaceous—are most frequently encountered. However, evidence of other typically common Gondwanan theropod groups, including Abelisauridae and Carcharodontosauria, has remained unknown. Herein, we describe five new theropod specimens: three tibiae, and two articulated caudal vertebrae with haemal arches, from the upper Strzelecki Group; and a single tibia from the Eumeralla Formation. Two of these tibiae—one each from the upper Strzelecki Group and the Eumeralla Formation—provide the first evidence for Carcharodontosauria in Australia. Two megaraptorid specimens from the upper Strzelecki Group—a tibia, and two caudal vertebrae with haemal arches—demonstrate that this clade had achieved large body size at the time of its first appearance in the fossil record. A tibia from the upper Strzelecki Group is interpreted to represent the Gondwanan dromaeosaur clade Unenlagiinae. Collectively, the new theropod remains described herein strengthen the evidence for mid-Cretaceous faunal interchange between Australia and South America across Antarctica, and highlight the presence of carcharodontosaurians and unenlagiines at high latitudes in the late Early Cretaceous.

Carcharodontosauria indet. right tibia (NMV P221042)
from the Eumeralla Formation of Victoria, Australia.  

Cretaceous Australia Landscape.

artwork by Jonathan Metzger, Museums Victoria

Jake Kotevski, Ruairidh J. Duncan, Tim Ziegler, Joseph J. Bevitt, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Thomas H. Rich, Alistair R. Evans and Stephen F. Poropat. 2025. Evolutionary and Paleobiogeographic Implications of New carcharodontosaurian, megaraptorid, and unenlagiine Theropod Remains from the upper Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, southeast Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2441903. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2441903  

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Cranial Anatomy of the hypercarnivore Bastetodon syrtos gen. nov. (Hyaenodonta: Hyainailourinae) and A Reevaluation of Pterodon in Africa

  

Bastetodon syrtos (Holroyd, 1999)
Bastetodon gen. nov.

Al-Ashqar, Borths, El-Desouky,  Heritage, Abed, Seiffert, El-Sayed & Sallam, 2025

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2442472

 x.com/HeshamSallam

artwork by Ahmed Morsi

ABSTRACT

During the Paleogene in Afro-Arabia, most terrestrial mammalian carnivores belonged to Hyaenodonta, an extinct lineage bearing a pair of carnassials between each set of molars. The Fayum Depression of Egypt preserves multiple lineages of hyaenodonts across the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. Here, we describe one of the most complete hyaenodont crania ever recovered from the lower Oligocene of the Fayum (Jebel Qatrani Formation, Quarry I, ∼30 Ma). The cranium is about the size of a hyena’s and preserves the complete upper tooth row. The long, shearing metastyle and reduced and mesially shifted protocones indicate a hypercarnivorous diet, and robust zygomatic arches suggest strong chewing muscles. Based on dental comparisons, we refer the cranium to Bastetodon syrtos (previously “Pterodon” syrtos). Bastetodon syrtos has three premolars and two molars—a reduced dental formula compared with other Fayum hyainailourines such as Akhnatenavus and European hyainailourines such as Pterodon. The cranium preserves the clover-shaped lambdoidal crest and long pharyngeal tube that unites Hyainailouroidea (Apterodontinae, Teratodontinae, and Hyainailourinae). The new Fayum cranium allows us to reevaluate the genus Pterodon and explore characters that distinguish Afro-Arabian and Eurasian species placed in this genus. Our phylogenetic analysis recovers a paraphyletic Pterodon, with B. syrtos as the sister taxon of Falcatodon schlosseri. We erect Sekhmetops to describe the large Fayum hyainailourine species S. phiomensis and S. africanus. This effort clarifies the biogeographic history of the clade that includes Pterodon, revealing multiple Tethys Seaway dispersals during the Paleogene followed by endemic radiations in Eurasia and Afro-Arabia.

Genus  Bastetodon gen. nov.

Pterodon syrtos Holroyd, 1999:8, fig. 4 (original description).

 

Etymology—Bastetodon, from “Bastet,” one transliteration of the name of the ancient Egyptian, cat-headed goddess of protection, pleasure, and bringer of good health. She was also associated with the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet. And ancient Greek “odon” meaning tooth. Literally, “Teeth like the cat-headed goddess.”

 

 Genus SEKHMETOPS gen. nov.

Type Species—Sekhmetops africanus (Andrews, 1904)

Included Species—Sekhmetops phiomensis (Osborn, 1909)

Etymology—From Sekhmet, the wrathful lion-headed goddess of Ancient Egypt associated with war and pestilence. And “ops” meaning “face” in ancient Greek. Literally, “Having the face of the lion-headed goddess.”

Shorouq F. Al-Ashqar, Matthew Borths, Heba El-Desouky, Steven Heritage, Mohamed Abed, Erik R. Seiffert, Sanaa El-Sayed and Hesham M. Sallam. 2025. Cranial Anatomy of the hypercarnivore Bastetodon syrtos gen. nov. (Hyaenodonta, Hyainailourinae) and A Reevaluation of Pterodon in Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2442472. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2442472

 x.com/HeshamSallam/status/1891405486022422752

Notably, this study refutes the monophyly of “Pterodon.” Based on the morphological features and the phylogenetic analyses conducted within this study, we suggest that Pterodon has never been found in Afro-Arabia. “Pterodon” syrtos is now placed in Bastetodon syrtos and “Pterodon” africanus and “Pterodon” phiomensis are placed in the new genus Sekhmetops. Under this taxonomic scheme, Pterodon is now restricted to the Eocene of Europe.

[Paleontology • 2024] Dianmeisaurus mutaensis • A New pachypleurosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China and its phylogenetic and biogeographic implications

Dianmeisaurus mutaensis 

Hu, Li & Liu, 2024

DOI: 10.1186/s13358-023-00292-4

Abstract

After the devastating Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction, several new groups of large reptilian predators invaded the sea in the early part of the Triassic. Among these predators, sauropterygians, consisting of placodonts, pachypleurosaurs, nothosaurs and pistosaurs (including the iconic plesiosaurs), displayed the greatest diversity at both the generic and species levels, and persisted from the Early Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. Here, we report a new species of Pachypleurosauria, Dianmeisaurus mutaensis sp. nov., from a recently discovered Lagerstätte in the Upper Member of the Anisian Guanling Formation. The only known specimen of the new species was collected from a quarry near Muta village, Luxi County, Yunnan Province, South China. Our new phylogenetic analysis based on a novel data matrix recovered the new taxon as a sister group to Dianmeisaurus gracilis—a small pachypleurosaur from the Middle Triassic Luoping biota. The new phylogenetic analysis also collapsed the monophyly of the traditionally recognized Eusauropterygia. Pistosauroidea, Majiashanosaurus, and Hanosaurus comprise the consecutive sister groups to a new clade including Pachypleurosauria and Nothosauroidea. A monophyletic Pachypleurosauria, within which the clade consisting of Dianmeisaurus and Panzhousaurus occupies the basal-most position, is recovered by this study. The clade consisting of Dawazisaurus and Dianopachysaurus forms the sister group to the remaining pachypleurosaurs included in this study. Since Dianmeisaurus, Panzhousaurus, Dawazisaurus, and Dianopachysaurus are all exclusively known from South China, our study provides further evidence to the hypothesis that pachypleurosaurs had a palaeobiogeographic origin in the eastern Tethys.

Keywords: Marine reptiles, Pachypleurosauria, Dianmeisaurus, Phylogeny, Palaeobiogeographic origin

Systematic palaeontology

Sauropterygia Owen, 1860

Eosauropterygia Rieppel, 1994

Pachypleurosauria Nopcsa, 1928

Dianmeisaurus Shang & Li, 2015

The holotype of Dianmeisaurus mutaensis sp. nov. (HFUT MT-21-08-001).
A the skeleton in dorsal view; B the counterpart of A (natural mold). Scale bars equal 1 cm

The skull of Dianmeisaurus mutaensis sp. nov. (HFUT MT-21-08-001). A photo; B, interpreted drawing.

an, angular; ar, articular; ata, atlas arch; atc, atlas centrum; axc, axial centrum; bo, basioccipital; c3, 3rd cervical centrum; d, dentary; eo-op, exoccipital-opisthotic complex; f, frontal; fo, fontanelle; j, jugal; m, maxilla; n, nasal; p, parietal; par, prearticular; pm, premaxilla; po, postorbital; pof, postfrontal; prf, prefrontal; q, quadrate; r3, 3rd cervical rib; sa, surangular; so, supraoccipital; sq, squamosal. The red arrow marks the pit on the premaxilla-maxilla suture. Scale bars equal 1 mm

 

Dianmeisaurus mutaensis sp. nov.

Type locality: Muta Village, Luxi County, Yunnan Province, China.

Type horizon: Upper Member of Guanling Formation, Anisian, Middle Triassic.

Etymology: Named after Muta village where the holotype was collected.

Diagnosis: A pachypleurosaur with following autapomorphies among pachypleurosaurs: 23 cervical vertebrae, 20 dorsal vertebrae, and two sacral vertebrae; postfrontal extending posteriorly to a level beyond the middle of parietal; last dorsal rib stout and shorter than the first sacral rib; phalangeal formula of manus and pes 2-3-4-4-2 and 1-2-3-4-3 respectively. In addition to the above-mentioned autapomorphies, Dianmeisaurus mutaensis also differs from D. gracilis in the following morphological characters: maxilla enters the external naris; anterior process of the frontal does not extend beyond the anterior margin of the orbit; postfrontal excluded from the upper temporal fenestra; coronoid process absent.

Yi-Wei Hu, Qiang Li and Jun Liu. 2024. A New pachypleurosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China and its phylogenetic and biogeographic implications. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 143. DOI: doi.org/10.1186/s13358-023-00292-4

[PaleoBotany • 2023] First Recognition of the Extinct Eudicot Genus Palibinia in North America: Leaves and Fruits of Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov. from the Eocene of Utah and Colorado, USA

Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov. 

in Manchester, Judd et Kodrul, 2023. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1111/jse.13011

 

Abstract

Newly investigated leafy twigs bearing axillary fruits from the Eocene Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation in eastern Utah, USA, have provided more information on the species previously attributed to the Proteaceae as Banksia comptonifolia R.W.Br. The leaves are simple, estipulate with short petioles, and elongate laminae with prominent angular nonglandular teeth. The laminae have a thick midvein and pinnate craspedodromous secondaries, and are distinctive in the presence of a thick, often coalified, marginal rim. Vegetative and reproductive buds occur in the axils of the leaves. These features indicate that the species belongs to Palibinia Korovin—an extinct Eudicot genus previously known only from the Paleogene of Asia and Europe. Small pedicellate ovoid fruits 1.5–2.2 mm wide are borne in fascicles of three and are seen to be capsules with four apical valves. Despite the specific epithet referring to similarity of the foliage to that of Comptonia (Myricaceae), the fasciculate inflorescence organization with axillary flowers is quite distinct from the catkins characteristic of that family. Assignment to Banksia or other Proteaceae with complex inflorescences and follicular fruits is also problematic. Additionally, MacGinitie′s transfer of the species to Vauquelinia of the Rosaceae is contradicted by the lack of stipule scars on the twig and by differences in leaf venation and floral morphology. We transfer the species to Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov., but its familial affinity within the Pentapetalae remains uncertain. This new occurrence augments records from the Paleogene of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, China, England, and Germany.

Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov. leafy twigs in a slab of shale from Bonanza, UT. DMNH EPI.43698.
A, Portions of three twigs showing alternate leaves. B, Enlargement of a twig with mature leaves giving rise to a flush of new growth. C, Another portion of a twig enlarged from (A), showing the axillary position of young fruits. D, Enlargement from (C), with pedicellate axillary globose fruits. E, Enlargement from another twig in (A), showing an axillary fruit.

F–H, Individual twigs digitally extricated from the image of (A). 

Scale bars = 2 cm in (A), (F–H), 1 cm in (B, C), 5 mm in (D, E).

Systematics

Group Pentapetalae D.E. Soltis, P.S. Soltis & W.S. Judd

Order indet.

Family indet.

Genus Palibinia Korovin

Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov.

Conceptual diagrams of Palibinia twigs.
A, B, Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov. twigs including axillary fruits and vegetative growth, diagram by Ashley Hamersma.
C–E, Original diagrams of Korovin (1932), slightly enhanced and reduced. C, Twig of Palibinia laxifolia Forma laxifolia showing axillary flowers or fruits. D, Forma densifolia. E, Forma lanceolata.

 

Steven R. Manchester, Walter S. Judd and Tatiana Kodrul. 2023. First Recognition of the Extinct Eudicot Genus Palibinia in North America: Leaves and Fruits of Palibinia comptonifolia (R.W.Br.) comb. nov. from the Eocene of Utah and Colorado, USA. Journal of Systematics and Evolution. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/jse.13011

  x.com/AsiaPaleoFloras/status/1696603495183405158

[PaleoEntomology • 2021] Cretophengodes azari • Cretophengodidae, A New Cretaceous Beetle Family (Coleoptera: Elateroidea), sheds light on the Evolution of Bioluminescence

Cretophengodes azari Li, Kundrata, Tihelka & Cai, 

in Li, Kundrata, Tihelka, Liu, Huang et Cai, 2021. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2730  

 Researchgate.net/publication/348620787

Abstract

Bioluminescent beetles of the superfamily Elateroidea (fireflies, fire beetles, glow-worms) are the most speciose group of terrestrial light-producing animals. The evolution of bioluminescence in elateroids is associated with unusual morphological modifications, such as soft-bodiedness and neoteny, but the fragmentary nature of the fossil record discloses little about the origin of these adaptations. We report the discovery of a new bioluminescent elateroid beetle family from the mid-Cretaceous of northern Myanmar (ca 99 Ma), Cretophengodidae fam. nov. Cretophengodes azari gen. et sp. nov. belongs to the bioluminescent lampyroid clade, and would appear to represent a transitional fossil linking the soft-bodied Phengodidae + Rhagophthalmidae clade and hard-bodied elateroids. The fossil male possesses a light organ on the abdomen which presumably served a defensive function, documenting a Cretaceous radiation of bioluminescent beetles coinciding with the diversification of major insectivore groups such as frogs and stem-group birds. The discovery adds a key branch to the elateroid tree of life and sheds light on the evolution of soft-bodiedness and the historical biogeography of elateroid beetles.

Order Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758

Suborder Polyphaga Emery, 1886

Superfamily Elateroidea Leach, 1815

Cretophengodidae Li, Kundrata, Tihelka and Cai fam. nov.

Type genus. Cretophengodes gen. nov.

Diagnosis (male). Mandibles slender, sickle-shaped. Frontoclypeal region moderately declined anteriorly. Eyes large, strongly protruding. Antennae 12-segmented; antennomere 1 stout, expanding apically; antennomeres 2 and 3 short; antennomeres 4–11 elongate, bipectinate. Prosternum in front of coxae longer than diameter of procoxal cavity. Prosternal process narrow and elongate, acute apically, reaching posterior edge of procoxae. Elytra oblong, sub-parallel sided, nearly completely covering abdomen, leaving at most only apex of ultimate tergite exposed. Tarsal formula 5-5-5; tarsomeres 2–4 each with membranous lobe. Abdomen with six apparently immovable ventrites; photic organ present on median portions of the basal three abdominal ventrites.

Composition and distribution. Monogeneric, with Cretophengodes gen. nov. known only from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.

Cretophengodes Li, Kundrata, Tihelka and Cai gen. nov.

 

Etymology. The generic name is derived partly from ‘Cretaceous’, in reference to the age of the fossil, and the genus Phengodes, the type genus of the morphologically similar and presumably closely related Phengodidae. The gender is masculine.

Diagnosis. As for the family with additional characters: body moderate (approx. 7.3 mm long); pronotum sub-pentagonal, wider than long; elytra irregularly punctate, with several raised interstrial intervals forming indistinct carinae; claws simple.

 General habitus of Cretophengodidae and representatives of the closely related Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae, under incident light.
(a, b) Cretophengodes azari gen. et sp. nov., dorsal and ventral views, respectively, with arrowhead showing the photic organ.
(c, d) Zarhipis sp. (Phengodidae), dorsal and ventral views, respectively.
(e, f) Rhagophthalmus sp. (Rhagophthalmidae), dorsal and ventral views, respectively.

Scale bars: (a,b,e,f) 2 mm; (c,d) 4 mm. (Online version in colour.)

Cretophengodes azari Li, Kundrata, Tihelka and Cai sp. nov.

Etymology. After Prof. Dany Azar, palaeoentomologist extraordinaire.

Type material. Holotype, NIGP173775, male, mid-Cretaceous (upper Albian to lower Cenomanian [26,27]), from amber mine near Noije Bum Village, Hukawng Valley, Tanai Township, Myitkyina District, Kachin State, northern Myanmar.

Geographical distribution of Cretophengodidae (genus Cretophengodes), Phengodidae (subfamilies Cydistinae, Mastinocerinae and Phengodinae) and Rhagophthalmidae. World map adapted from Natural Earth (NaturalEarthData.com).  

 Artistic reconstruction of Cretophengodes azari gen. et sp. nov. The larviform female in the background is reconstructed based on extant Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae.  

 

 

Yan-Da Li, Robin Kundrata, Erik Tihelka, Zhenhua Liu, Diying Huang and Chenyang Cai. 2024. Cretophengodidae, A New Cretaceous Beetle Family, sheds light on the Evolution of Bioluminescence. Proc. R. Soc. B. 288: 20202730

DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2730 

  Researchgate.net/publication/348620787_Cretophengodidae_a_new_Cretaceous_beetle_family_sheds_light_on_the_evolution_of_bioluminescence