We report on the field occurrence and isotopic compositions of metamafic rocks exposed in the Serbo-Macedonian (Volvi and Therma bodies) and western Rhodope (Rila Mountains) massifs of Bulgaria and Greece. These metamafic units consist of high- and low-Ti gabbroic and basaltic rocks, whose Nd–Sr–Pb isotopes are compatible with mantle-derived MORB and OIB components with a small amount of crustal material involved in their melt source. These isotopic features combined with the field observations are consistent with an intra-continental rift origin of the metamafic rocks protolith, and are comparable to those of the Triassic rift-related mafic rocks in the northern Aegean region.

The ~100 m thick marginal zone of the Fongen–Hyllingen Intrusion (FHI) consists of non-layered, highly iron-enriched ferrodiorites that are overlain by a ~ 6 km thick layered sequence of gabbroic to dioritic rocks of the Layered Series. From the base upwards the marginal zone becomes more primitive as exemplified by a significant increase in whole-rock MgO, Mg-number and normative An. The reverse trends are also evident from an upward increase in An-content of plagioclase (from ~ 30 to ~ 43 at.%) and Mg-number of amphibole (from ~ 9 to ~ 23 at.%) and clinopyroxene (from ~ 23 to ~ 33 at.%). The marginal zone is abruptly terminated at the contact with the overlying Layered Series as is evident from a step-like increase in Mg-number of mafic minerals and An-content of plagioclase, as well as a sharp increase in whole-rock MgO and Mg-number in overlying olivine gabbronorites of the Layered Series. Based on these features the marginal zone of the FHI can be interpreted as an aborted marginal reversal. Reverse trends in whole-rock and mineral compositions, as well as a sharp break in these parameters are indicative of its formation in an open system with the involvement of the prolonged emplacement of magma that became increasingly more primitive. Such development of the marginal reversal was interrupted by the emplacement of a major influx of more primitive magma that produced the Layered Series. The open system evolution of a basaltic magma chamber may represent a general mechanism for the origin of marginal reversals in mafic sills and layered intrusions.

In an Original Article by Melluso et al. recently published online (1 November 2011), the mineral named as rosenbuschite should be named låvenite throughout, having the chemical composition broadly corresponding to the chemical formula (Na, Ca)2(Mn, Fe)(Zr, Ti)Si2O7(O, OH, F)2 (see Sørensen, 1997).

The most important crustal growth on Earth occurred at ~2.7 Ga, but the North China Craton (NCC) is characterized by prevalent development of ~2.5 Ga juvenile crust, with relatively rare records of ~2.7 Ga crustal growth. The Fuping Complex in the middle segment of the Trans-North China Orogen (TNCO) between the Eastern and Western blocks of the NCC is composed mainly of ~2.5 Ga Fuping tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioritic (TTG) gneisses and Longquanguan augen gneisses, ~2.1 Ga Nanying granitic gneisses and the Wanzi supracrustal rocks. Previous studies have suggested one major phase of crustal growth at ~2.5 Ga, possible intracrustal recycling at ~2.1 Ga and the presence of older rocks in the Fuping Complex, but there has been no record of ~2.7 Ga crustal growth. The Fuping TTG gneisses are dominated by stromatic migmatite, and new U–Pb dating of magmatic zircons from two stromatic migmatite samples yielded three different ages: (1) 2.75 Ga, which is the oldest age obtained from the Fuping TTG gneisses, (2) 2.54 Ga, which just falls in the published zircon U–Pb age range of 2.53 to 2.47 Ga for the Fuping TTG gneisses, and (3) 2.11 Ga, which is almost the same as the age of the Nanying granitic gneisses. Therefore, there are two generations of TTG gneisses in the Fuping Complex. Importantly, both of the 2.75 and 2.54 Ga zircons have the highest εHf(t) values, almost equal to the contemporaneous depleted mantle. This indicates high contributions of juvenile material to the two generations of TTG gneisses. In contrast, the 2.11 Ga zircons have apparently low εHf(t) values of −0.47 to +2.04, just falling in between 2.55 and 2.75 Ga continental crust values. This strongly suggests the reworking of the two generations of TTG gneisses at 2.1 Ga. Zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopes convincingly reveal two major phases of crustal growth in the Fuping Complex at ~2.7 and ~2.5 Ga, the same as in the northern and southern segments of the TNCO, and also confirm one major phase of intracrustal recycling at ~2.1 Ga, which may be responsible for the Nanying granitic gneisses.

Kinematic analysis of mélange fabrics provides critical information concerning tectonic processes and evaluation of the kinematics of ancient relative plate motion. Systematic kinematic analysis of deformed structures within a tectonic mélange exposed along the Zagros Suture Zone elucidates that this zone is an ancient transpressional boundary. The mélange is composed of a greywacke and mudstone matrix surrounding various lenses, blocks and ribbons of radiolarian chert, limestone, sandstone, pillow lava, tuff, serpentinite, shale and marl. The deformation fabrics of the mélange suggest that the mélange units were tectonically accreted at shallow levels within a subduction complex, resulting in layer-parallel extension and shearing along a NW–SE-trending suture that juxtaposes the Afro-Arabian continent to the south and the Central Iranian microcontinents to the north. The tectonic mélange is characterized by subhorizontal layer-parallel extension and subsequent heterogeneous non-coaxial shear resulting in alternating asymmetric and layer-parallel extensional fabrics such as P–Y fabrics and boudinaged layers. Kinematic data suggest that the mélange formed during oblique subduction of the Neo-Tethys oceanic lithosphere in Late Cretaceous time. Kinematic shear sense indicators reveal that the slip direction (N9°E to N14°E) during accretion-related deformations reflects the relative plate motion between the Afro-Arabian continent and Central Iranian microcontinents during Late Cretaceous to Miocene times.

The Zarza la Mayor and Zarza de Montánchez tonalites and Arroyo de la Luz granodiorite are part of a tonalitic–granodioritic belt located along the Schistose-Greywacke Domain of the Central Iberian Zone. These intrusions are also part of the Central Extremadura Batholith, a set of plutons ranging from tonalite to leucogranite that have been considered a prime example of Variscan syn-kinematic plutonism. New LA-ICP-MS and CA-ID-TIMS U–Pb dating reveals that the Zarza la Mayor tonalite–granodiorite is an Early Ordovician intrusion. The LA-ICP-MS data show that there is an absence of inherited cores, despite some complex internal zoning with obvious resorption features in some of the zircon crystals. Dating of monazite and zircon by CA-ID-TIMS provides a concordant age of 478.1 ± 0.8 Ma. This age coincides with electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) monazite chemical ages for the Zarza de Montánchez (482 ± 10 Ma) and Arroyo de la Luz (470 ± 15 Ma) intrusions. These new data indicate the presence of an Early Ordovician belt of calc-alkaline tonalite–granodiorite in the Schistose-Greywacke Domain – the Beira Baixa–Central Extremadura tonalite–granodiorite belt – which resembles a continental magmatic arc. This belt is contemporaneous with the Ollo de Sapo magmatic event further north in the Central Iberian Zone.

The anterior end of a lower jaw bearing long slender teeth, from the Bathonian Stonesfield Slate of Oxfordshire, was hitherto referred to the crocodilian Teleosaurus. It is reinterpreted as belonging to a ctenochasmatid pterosaur reminiscent of Gnathosaurus. It is the earliest known representative of the Ctenochasmatidae, and one of the earliest known pterodactyloids. The diversity of pterosaurs from the Stonesfield Slate is higher than previously recognized, comprising at least three taxa.

The 3.46 Ga Marble Bar Chert Member of the East Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, is one of the earliest and best-preserved sedimentary successions on Earth. Here, we interpret the finely laminated thin-bedded cherts, mixed conglomeratic beds, chert breccia beds and chert folded beds of the Marble Bar Chert Member as the product of low-density turbidity currents, high-density turbidity currents, mass transport complexes and slumps, respectively. Integrated into a channel-levee depositional model, the Marble Bar Chert Member constitutes the oldest documented deep-sea fan on Earth, with thin-bedded cherts, breccia beds and slumps composing the outer levee facies tracts, and scours and conglomeratic beds representing the channel systems.

Zoophycos-group burrows are prevalent elements of the post-Cambrian trace fossil record. Here we report the oldest specimens of Zoophycos from Lower Cambrian strata of the Lower Member Wood Canyon Formation in southeastern California. In addition to these being the oldest examples of this well-known trace fossil, the discovery of these specimens also reveals the presence of deposit feeding considerably earlier than has been suggested for the advent of this feeding style. This type of activity may have had a significant impact on sediment mixing during the Precambrian–Cambrian transition, though the rarity and shallow tier position of these specimens suggests otherwise.

Values for δ13C and δ18O obtained from molar samples from three individuals pertaining to Glyptotherium sp. from Cedral (San Luis Potosí, México) are provided and are utilized to infer general aspects of glyptodont diet and habitat. On average this animal showed a C3/C4 mixed diet, with a high consumption of C4 plants. Comparisons of the δ13CVPDB and δ18OVPDB values for glyptodonts with horses, mastodons, mammoths and tapirs from the same locality show that glyptodonts from Cedral lived in an open habitat.

LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of Lower Devonian detrital zircon samples from three representative sections in the South China block yields dominant Grenvillian and Pan-African populations, similar to the age distribution of early Palaeozoic samples from Gondwana, the Tethyan Himalaya and West Australia, in particular. Hf isotopic compositions indicate the contributions of juvenile crust at 1.6 Ga and 2.5 Ga, and bear a resemblance to their counterparts from SE Australia and West Antarctica, revealing the mixed origin of the Pan-African and Grenvillian grains from juvenile magmas and melting of pre-existing crustal rocks. These results suggest that the South China block should be considered an integral part of East Gondwana in early Palaeozoic time, rather than a discrete continental block in the Palaeo-Pacific or a fragment of Laurentia.

Furongian (late Cambrian) echinoderms are extremely rare in the fossil record and only two previous reports have been described from the Paibian Stage worldwide. Here, the third occurrence of an echinoderm from the Paibian, and the first ever reported in the Furongian of Britain is presented. It is a primitive pelmatozoan which shows intermediate characteristics between eocrinoids with columnal-bearing stems and primitive glyptocystitid rhombiferans. The palaeobiogeographic affinities of Cambrian echinoderm faunas from Britain, eastern Avalonia, are shown to be with Gondwana.

A combination of zircon (U–Th)/He (ZHe), apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U–Th)/He (AHe) dating methods is applied to constrain the metamorphic and exhumation history of the Tatric part of the Branisko Mountains in the Western Carpathians. ZHe ages from the basement samples prove the basement experienced a very low-grade to low-grade Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint in mid-Cretaceous times. Miocene AFT and AHe ages found in the basement and in the Palaeogene sediments conclusively demonstrate that the Branisko Mts experienced a ‘mid-Miocene thermal event’. This thermal event had a regional character and was related to magmatic and/or burial heating that exposed the sediment and basement samples to ~ 120–130°C and ~ 100–190°C, respectively.