Article
Biology
Emanuele Peri, Peter L. Falkingham, Alberto Collareta, Giovanni Bianucci
Summary: The study estimated the bite force of a macroraptorial sperm whale Zygophyseter varolai, suggesting it likely preyed on medium-sized marine vertebrates and employed a 'grip-and-shear' feeding technique. Other macroraptorial sperm whales may have used similar feeding strategies.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Leslie F. Noe, Marcela Gomez-Perez
Summary: This study provides a detailed re-description of the famous Lower Cretaceous marine reptile fossil Kronosaurus boyacensis and designates it as a new genus called Monquirasaurus. The classification of these two Cretaceous marine reptiles does not fit well into the current phylogenetic framework, emphasizing the importance of studying peri-Gondwanan specimens for a better understanding of Lower Cretaceous pliosaurids.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Giovanni Bianucci, Alberto Collareta
Summary: The East Pisco Basin in Peru has a rich sedimentary fill exposed along its coast, containing a variety of marine vertebrate fossils. Recent research has contributed significantly to our understanding of the evolution and diversity of cetaceans in this basin.
BOLLETTINO DELLA SOCIETA PALEONTOLOGICA ITALIANA
(2022)
Article
Geology
Rodrigo V. Pegas, Borja Holgado, Leonardo D. Ortiz David, Mattia A. Baiano, Fabiana R. Costa
Summary: Aerotitan sudamericanus, a species from the Upper Cretaceous, is studied based on a partial jaw fragment and compared with other azhdarchoid lineages, showing significant differences from other species. The research suggests that Aerotitan is closer to Mistralazhdarcho than to Alanqa.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yiming Ma, Qiang Wang, Tianshui Yang, Quan Ou, Xiuzheng Zhang, Wei Dan, Shihong Zhang, Huaichun Wu, Haiyan Li, Liwan Cao, Jun Wang, Di Zou, Huapei Wang
Summary: The Cenozoic crustal deformation of the Asian continent is constrained by the location of its southern margin in the Late Cretaceous, which aligns with its present-day orientation. Paleomagnetic analysis of redbeds in the Linzhou Basin indicates a convergence of latitudes within Asia since the Late Cretaceous.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Anderson Lepeco, Gabriel A. R. Melo
Summary: The study describes three new species of the wasp genus tHolopsenella from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, providing illustrations and a key to the known species. The removal of tHolopsenellinae from Bethylidae and its classification as tHolopsenellidae stat. nov. in Aculeata s.str. is discussed. The discovery of tHolopsenella in Burmese amber supports a Gondwana-origin hypothesis for the amber biota.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yu Song, Xiang Ye, Qianru Shi, Chuanyan Huang, Qiang Cao, Kai Zhu, Mingjun Cai, Shichao Ren, Lili Sun
Summary: This study investigates organic-rich shale (ORS) in the Paleogene Qikou Sag of the Bohai Bay Basin in East China, comparing the organic matter accumulation and reservoir characteristics of two different sedimentary facies in lacustrine basins. The results provide scientific guidance for understanding the formation mechanisms of ORS in various sedimentary facies and for hydrocarbon exploration in similar areas.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Alberto Collareta, Mathias Harzhauser, Michael W. Rasser
Summary: This study reports on two clustering chelonibiid shells from Rupelian deposits in southwestern Germany, identifying the Oligocene species Protochelonibia melleni. Additional records of the genus Protochelonibia from the Burdigalian of France and the Langhian of Austria likely represent the Miocene species Protochelonibia submersa. These findings suggest that protochelonibiines had a broad distribution as early as the Rupelian times. The study also discusses the evolution of coronuloid shell architecture and calls for further research to clarify aspects of the origin and early evolution of turtle and whale barnacles.
Article
Paleontology
Ronan Allain, Romain Vullo, Lee Rozada, Jeremy Anquetin, Renaud Bourgeais, Jean Goedert, Maxime Lasseron, Jeremy E. Martin, Adan Perez-Garcia, Claire Peyre De Fabregues, Rafael Royo-Torres, Dominique Augier, Gilles Bailly, Lilian Cazes, Yohan Despres, Aureliane Gailliegue, Bernard Gomez, Florent Goussard, Thierry Lenglet, Renaud Vacant, Mazan, Jean-Francois Tournepiche
Summary: This contribution describes the micro- and macrovertebrate fauna of Angeac-Charente in the Early Cretaceous period. The diverse fauna includes at least 38 different vertebrate taxa from all major clades, and consists of over 50,000 specimens. Angeac-Charente is home to the most diverse mixed continental bonebed and the only Lagerstatte known to date in the world, providing valuable insights into the Purbeckian paleocommunity. The fauna includes remarkable taxa such as a new ornithomimosaur, a large turiasaur, an helochelydrid turtle, and numerous mammals. The vertebrate fauna of Angeac-Charente exhibits a Purberckian character and suggests dispersal events between Africa and Europe during the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition.
Review
Paleontology
Markus Bertling, Luis A. Buatois, Dirk Knaust, Brittany Laing, M. Gabriela Mangano, Neele Meyer, Radek Mikulas, Nicholas J. Minter, Christian Neumann, Andrew K. Rindsberg, Alfred Uchman, Max Wisshak
Summary: A uniform approach to ichnotaxonomy has been well received by the scientific community. This study presents a revised treatment of trace fossil groups and proposes the inclusion of cololites, regurgitalites, and root traces. It also introduces the concept of cecidotaxa for structures resulting from bioclaustration and provides a revised definition for the terms "fossil" and "ichnotaxon".
Article
Plant Sciences
Sandra R. Schachat, Jonathan L. Payne, C. Kevin Boyce, Conrad C. Labandeira
Summary: The study of insect herbivory in fossil record lacks a quantitative framework, and estimates of damage type diversity are generated with inconsistent sampling standardization routines. Coverage-based rarefaction has been shown to yield valid and reliable estimates of damage type diversity that are robust to differences among floral assemblages. A theoretical ecospace combining various metrics has the potential to distinguish between potential causes of increased herbivory.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Dianne Edwards, Jennifer L. Morris, Lindsey Axe, Jeffrey G. Duckett
Summary: The discovery of land plant spores with unique configurations in Middle Ordovician rocks suggests a pioneering phase of plant evolution before trilete spore-bearing tracheophytes. A new Glade of eophytes has been identified in Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian examples, possessing characteristics of both tracheophytes and bryophytes. Charcoalified eophytic mesofossils from the Lower Devonian in the UK reveal a wide range of branching forms with conducting cells, indicating their role in nutrient transport. These small plants were an important component of Early Devonian vegetation but disappeared as larger vascular plants diversified.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Lifang Xiao, Conrad C. Labandeira, David L. Dilcher, Dong Ren
Summary: Quantitative studies rarely focus on arthropod herbivory on early angiosperms. A study in southeastern Nebraska, USA assessed arthropod herbivory on an Early Cretaceous plant assemblage, revealing a predominantly angiosperm interaction and a wide range of arthropod herbivory on plant hosts.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Ying Xiong, Xiucheng Tan, Shoukang Zhong, Di Xiao, Baobao Wang, Mengying Yang, Wancai Nie, Jian Cao
Summary: This study reports a prolonged period of karstification in the Middle Ordovician carbonate succession of North China and reveals the geochemical evolution at different stages through isotopic and elemental analysis.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Paleontology
Timothy F. Flannery, Thomas H. Rich, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Tim Ziegler, E. Grace Veatch, Kristofer M. Helgen
Summary: Advances in dating and systematics have led to a revision of monotreme evolution, focusing on body size and craniodental morphology. The oldest known monotreme, Teinolophos trusleri, is the smallest known monotreme, with a body mass estimated at 40g. Monotremes diversified in Australia during the early Albian-mid-Cenomanian period, reaching body masses greater than 4kg. A gap of 35 million years separates the youngest Mesozoic monotremes from the oldest Cenozoic monotreme, Monotrematum sudamericanum. There is a hypothesis that tachyglossids originated in Melanesia and later dispersed to Australia. The classification of Monotremata includes five families and a new genus, Murrayglossus, is proposed for a Pleistocene echidna from southwestern Western Australia.
Article
Paleontology
Artem Kouchinsky, Ruaridh Alexander, Stefan Bengtson, Fred Bowyer, Sebastien Clausen, Lars E. Holmer, Kirill A. Kolesnikov, Igor V. Korovnikov, Vladimir Pavlov, Christian B. Skovsted, Galina Ushatinskaya, Rachel Wood, Andrey Y. Zhuravlev
Summary: This study reports the discovery of new assemblages of skeletal fossils from the Cambrian Stage 2-Drumian Stage in Siberia. The fossils studied include various types of marine animals, and their similarities to previously described fossil assemblages suggest a correlation between Siberia, Laurentia, and Gondwana. Carbon isotopes were also analyzed to determine the age of the strata and to study the evolutionary development of animals during the Cambrian explosion.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Dieter Uhl, Rafael Spiekermann, Michael Wuttke, Markus J. Poschmann, Andre Jasper
Summary: Macro-charcoal from late Eocene-late Oligocene deposits in the Neuwied Basin, Germany, provide evidence for paleo-wildfires occurring in three different time slices. The charcoal fragments have been compared to extinct conifer species and taxodioid Cupressaceae, indicating possible vegetation sources. This study confirms the presence of wildfires as a disturbance source in terrestrial ecosystems during the late Eocene to late Oligocene periods.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Zhiqiang Yu, Zuohuan Qin, Dangpeng Xi, Chenglong Deng, Huaiyu He, Zhonghe Zhou
Summary: The Valanginian and Hauterivian stages of the Early Cretaceous are crucial for the coevolution of vertebrate species and flowering angiosperms, as well as the diversification of dinosaurs and early birds on land. The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota in northern China, particularly the Luanping Basin, provides valuable fossil evidence for understanding terrestrial ecosystems and paleoclimatic changes. This study presents a chronology for the Lower Cretaceous Dabeigou and Dadianzi formations based on zircon analyses, biostratigraphy, and lithostratigraphy. The findings show that these formations are coeval with the Huajiying Formation, representing the early evolution of the Jehol Biota, and provide insight into the early stage of its evolution.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Luciano A. Pradelli, Juan M. Leardi, Martin O. Ezcurra
Summary: This study analyzed the variation in body size of over 400 archosauromorph species from the Permian to Early Jurassic period. The results showed that the disparity of body size increased after the Permian/Triassic boundary. The extinction event during the Triassic/Jurassic period selectively eliminated medium to large-sized forms in Pseudosuchia and Pan-Aves, resulting in a significant decrease in body size disparity. In contrast, dinosaurs increased their body size, and their disparity remained relatively stable after the extinction event. Pseudosuchians also exhibited a pattern of decreasing body size with higher paleolatitudes.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yurui Zhang, Agatha M. de Boer, Daniel J. Lunt, David K. Hutchinson, Phoebe Ross, Tina van de Flierdt, Philip Sexton, Helen K. Coxall, Sebastian Steinig, Jean-Baptiste Ladant, Jiang Zhu, Yannick Donnadieu, Zhongshi Zhang, Wing-Le Chan, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Igor Niezgodzki, Gerrit Lohmann, Gregor Knorr, Christopher J. Poulsen, Matt Huber
Summary: The ocean overturning circulation during the Early Eocene was predominantly driven by the Southern Hemisphere, with the Southern Ocean being the main deepwater formation site and the North Atlantic deepwater formation completely absent. Climate models suggest that the global MOC is insensitive to atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
(2022)
