This review of the goniocladiid genus Ramipora Toula is based on zoarial morphology. The diagnosis of Ramipora is emended and the type species R. hochstetteri Toula from the Upper Permian of Svalbard is redescribed. Anastomosing secondary branches forming a fenestrated meshwork discriminate Ramipora from other goniocladiids. Descriptions are based on new material collected from the type horizon (Kapp Starostin Formation, Akseløya) and elsewhere in the Svalbard Archipelago, and also on Toula's type specimen. Goniocladiella Nekhoroshev and Aetomacladia Bretnall are herein designated junior synonyms of Ramipora. Some species previously assigned to Ramipora are transferred to Ramiporidra.

The euomphalacean gastropod Lytospira gerulus n. sp. is described from the Middle Ordovician of west-central Alaska. The species is among the oldest known carrier shell specimens, and also shows evidence of repaired shell breakage; the breakage may have been the result of unsuccessful predation attempts. The interior of the shell shows an unusual spiral groove and ridges that may have been associated with the animal's retractor muscle. This internal groove may be an overlooked feature of all species of Lytospira.

Crassadoma monroensis new species (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Pectinidae), from the lower upper Pliocene Ochopee Limestone Member of the Tamiami Formation of southern Florida, is the first undoubted member of the genus Crassadoma Bernard, 1986, to be discovered in the Neogene on the eastern side of the Americas. The new species was likely byssate, not cemented, and fills the geographic gap between ancestral members of the tribe Crassadomini in the eastern Atlantic and Crassadoma gigantea, the giant cemented species that lives along the western shores of North America.

Solitary rugose corals (Cnidaria, Rugosa) are common to abundant in the calcareous Box Member of the late Famennian Percha Shale (Lower expansa Zone) of southwestern New Mexico; the Box is best developed in the western part of the Percha outcrop belt. The corals include a number of forms characteristic of Strunian faunas throughout the world. Recognized here are Gorizdronia sp. cf. G. tenuis Rozkowska, Campophyllum? ursinum n. sp., Caninia cooperi n. sp., Siphonophyllia? folia n. sp., S.? corbicula n. sp., “Bothrophyllum” argenteum n. sp., “B.” argenteum argenteum n. subsp., “B.” argenteum bilateralis n. subsp., “B.” argenteum dibunophylloides n. subsp., Arachnolasmella elytra n. sp., and Cyathoclisia sp. A. This fauna is clearly ancestral to Carboniferous genera and species. Percha species, where represented by large populations, are seen to be remarkably variable, especially in axial structure.

Maennilia estonica Rozhnov and Jefferies was first described as a stem-chordate but restudy shows it is an unusually large homoiostelean echinoderm. Its feeding structure, an erect ambulacrum, extending exothecally from the peristomial frame plates, bears a large internal tunnel that opens directly into the body cavity. This type of feeding appendage is now recognized to be unique to homoiosteles. It bears no evidence for water vascular system impressions adjacent to its food groove. The theca has poorly developed marginal plates and a narrow rim that, in contrast to some other homoiosteles, does not extend over either lower or upper thecal face. Maennilia appears to have inhabited the deeper portions of a near-shore environment in limey muds adjacent to a linear zone of bryozoan and microbial bioherms.

Taxonomy of heliolitine corals, and tabulate corals in general, benefits from analysis of larger assemblages of coralla that approximate populations. Quantitative data derived from such assemblages allow intraspecific variation to be tested rigorously and illustrated, and similar, co-occurring species to be discriminated using normal patterns of continuous population variation. Field collection and analysis necessarily involve recording and comparing assemblages from the full spectrum of sedimentary facies available at any one stratigraphic level and from the maximum available stratigraphic range. The large published taxonomic literature on heliolitine corals is a daunting obstacle to identification at the species level because a substantial part appears to involve taxonomic splitting to a degree inconsistent with variation known in modern coral species. The heliolitine corals studied occur in Ludlow-age ramp and shelf carbonate facies in the Boothia Uplift region in the southern Arctic archipelago of Canada. The “population” approach resulted in discrimination of 18 morphotaxonomic species, belonging to five genera and four families. A few select morphologic characters, incorporated in simple identification keys, are particularly helpful in distinguishing the 11 heliolitid and four stelliporellid species present, and are useful in screening the voluminous literature on species of Heliolites. Six of the species compare closely to Silurian species reported from central Kazakhstan, West Siberia, and North China; few are shared with other regions. The principal affinities are consistent with occurrence in the Uralian-Cordilleran paleogeographic region in the Silurian northern hemisphere. Eight species do not appear to be recorded in published literature elsewhere and are apparently endemic.

Twelve rugose coral species belonging to seven genera are described and discussed based on 70 thin sections of 32 specimens collected from the Anarak section, northeast of Nain, Esfahan Province, Yazd Block, central Iran. These species include two new colonial rugose coral species, Antheria fedorowskii and Antheria robusta, and five previously named species of colonial rugose corals, Antheria lanceolata and Streptophyllidium scitulum, and solitary rugose corals, Arctophyllum jiangsiense, Caninophyllum cf. somtaiense, and Pseudotimania delicata. Five species are left in open nomenclature: Antheria sp., Arctophyllum sp., Caninophyllum sp., Nephelophyllum sp., and Yakovleviella sp. These Iranian corals are associated with the fusulinids Rauserites (several species) and Ultradaixina bosbytauensis, indicating a latest Carboniferous age (Gzhelian age). All the described genera and named species belong to the families Aulophyllidae, Bothrophyllidae, Cyathopsidae, and Kepingophyllidae, among which the family Kepingophyllidae has been previously documented only from China and Indochina. They are typical representatives of the Cathaysian rugose fauna, which was widely developed around the South China and Indochina blocks near the paleoequator and was absent from the Gondwanan and Cimmerian continents in high latitudes during the Late Pennsylvanian. Hence, the occurrence of the Cathaysian fauna from central Iran in the latest Carboniferous suggests that it may have had a close biogeographical connection with China and Indochina, which further implies its latitudinal position intermediate between the Gondwanan continent and South China and Indochina blocks during this time.

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A co-occurrence of the ichnogenus Phymatoderma and a star-shaped horizontal trace fossil was discovered from Neogene deep-marine deposits (Misaki Formation, central Japan), and is described herein for the first time. Phymatoderma consists of a straight to slightly curved tunnel that shows first- or second-order branches. The tunnels are 5.30–27.25 mm in diameter and are filled with ellipsoidal pellets. The relatively well-preserved star-shaped trace fossil is a large horizontal structure (~18 cm×19 cm) that consists of at least 10 spokes with diameters ranging from 11.49–20.96 mm. As compared to modern analogous surface-feeding traces produced by abyssal echiuran worms and their burrow morphology, it is highly likely that the star-shaped trace fossil and Phymatoderma found from the Misaki Formation are feeding and fecal traces of ancient deep-sea echiurans, respectively. Difference in preservation potential between surface and subsurface traces may result in rare occurrence of star-shaped trace fossils as compared to Phymatoderma. Microscopic observation of the pelletal infill of Phymatoderma also reveals that the trace-maker fed on organic debris and microorganisms such as diatoms and radiolaria.

The scarce fossil record of stomatopod crustaceans is extended with three new species and two new genera described from the Miocene of California. Squilla laingae new species and Angelosquilla altamirensis new genus and species show clear affinities to the Recent family Squillidae. Topangasquilla gravesi new genus and species can be accommodated within the Recent family Lysiosquillidae. These new species occur in the Monterey and Topanga Formations in Los Angeles County. In addition, three other specimens are described from the Miocene Topanga Formation. The preservation of these stomatopods is among the best noted for any fossils of this group. These specimens show characteristic stages of decay that clearly correspond with those noticed in taphonomic experiments with Recent stomatopods.

Rostroconchs are a common faunal component in the Devonian rocks of Ohio, particularly in the Columbus and Dundee Limestones. Hippocardia cunea (Conrad) is the most abundant species. Also present are H. monroica (Grabau), H. ohioense (Meek), H. curta n. sp., and Bransonia? sibleyense (La Rocque).

Growth series of Hippocardia cunea show that the large hood and the rostrum begin to develop early in ontogeny. The rates of increase in the number of comarginal growth increments on the posterior or rostral face and radial ribs on the body of the shell are slow; most size increase of the shell occurred in the increasing widths of the ribs and the interspaces. The length/height ratio increases from young to juvenile specimens and then decreases in adult specimens. However, the length/width and height/width ratios show a general decrease from young to adult specimens. Considerable variation in shell lateral profile is present in H. cunea.

Three specimens of Hippocardia cunea show borings entering the posterior rostral portion of the shell, presumably made by Trypanites, a polychaete worm. In one instance, a boring caused disfiguration of the shell material indicating that the host was alive at the time of the boring. The orientation and location of the borings and the presence of one specimen believed to be preserved in life position provides the base for interpreting H. cunea as an infaunal deposit feeder.

A tuffaceous claystone sample collected from a seamount flank of the Mariana Trench's ocean-ward slope by the Japanese submersible “Shinkai 6500” yielded very well-preserved earliest Cretaceous radiolarians. Initial spicule-bearing spherical radiolarians assignable to the families Centrocubidae and probably Entactiniidae have been identified in this radiolarian fauna. Based on the initial spicule and the connecting arches, we describe one new genus, Marianasphaera, belonging to the family Centrocubidae and another new genus called Shinkaiera, which is questionably assigned to the family Entactiniidae. Three new species, Marianasphaera ogawai, M. multispinosa, and Shinkaiera fragilis, are also described. These radiolarians provide important data, filling the gap between Triassic and Cenozoic initial spicule-bearing spherical radiolarians.

Four new fossil mammalian assemblages are now recognized from west central Nevada. The late Barstovian or earliest Clarendonian Eagle-Picher Mine Site assemblage was recovered from the upper sedimentary member of the ?Desert Peak Formation exposed in the northeastern Virginia Range of Storey County and consists of the following taxa; Camelidae, gen. indet. and Rhinocerotidae, gen. indet. The ?Clarendonian Churchill Valley Local Fauna and Clarendonian or Hemphillian Churchill Narrows Site assemblage were recovered from correlatives of the type Coal Valley Formation exposed along the southern flanks of the Virginia Range and in the vicinity of the Churchill Narrows area, respectively. The Churchill Narrows Site assemblage consists of the following taxa: Rhinocerotidae, gen. indet.; Camelidae, gen. indet. (small-sized); and Camelidae, gen. indet. (large-sized). The Churchill Valley Local Fauna consists of the following taxa: Leporidae, gen. indet.; cf. Mustelidae, gen. indet.; Teleoceras sp. indet.; Dinohippus sp. indet.; Camelidae, gen. indet. (small-sized); and Camelidae, gen. indet. (large-sized). The late Hemphillian Silver Springs Local Fauna was recovered from outcrops of the Truckee Formation exposed in the southeastern Virginia Range of Lyons and Churchill counties. It is the first biostratigraphically datable fauna from the upper member of the formation and consists of the following taxa: Lepoides cf. lepoides; Hypolagus ringoldensis; Hypolagus tedfordi; Hypolagus sp.; Pliotaxidea sp. indet; Teleoceras sp. indet.; Dinohippus sp. indet.; Hemiauchenia vera; Camelidae, gen. indet. (medium-sized); and Antilocapridae, gen. indet.

We provide the first detailed systematic taxonomy and paleoecological investigation of late Paleozoic brachiopod faunas from Korea. Specifically, we focus on the brachiopods from the Geumcheon-Jangseong Formation, the lower part of the Pyeongan Supergroup in the Taebaeksan Basin. The formation yields a variety of marine invertebrate fossils, including brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, corals, fusulinids, and conodonts. Diverse brachiopods are described from six siliciclastic horizons of the formation at three localities, including 23 species belonging to 20 genera with two new species: Rhipidomella parva n. sp. and Stenoscisma wooi n. sp. Three brachiopod assemblages of the late Moscovian (Pennsylvanian) age are recognized based on their species compositions and stratigraphic distributions, namely the Choristites, Rhipidomella, and Hustedia assemblages. The brachiopod faunal composition varies within each assemblage as well as between the Assemblages, most likely reflecting local paleoenvironmental and hence paleoecological differences. The Choristites Assemblage includes relatively large brachiopods represented by Derbyia, Choristites, and Stenoscisma and may have inhabited open marine to partly restricted marine environments, whereas the Rhipidomella and Hustedia Assemblages consist of a small number of small-sized brachiopods living in lagoonal environments. The Choristites Assemblage shows a close affinity with Moscovian brachiopod assemblages in the eastern Paleo-Tethys regions, especially the Brachythyrina lata-Choristites yanghukouensis-Echinoconchus elegans Assemblage of North China, whereas the Rhipidomella and Hustedia assemblages both exhibit strong endemism.

The Genus Glyptorthis Foerste, 1914 is a rare component of the Late Ordovician to early Silurian brachiopod faunas of the East Baltic. Hints and Röömusoks (1997) reported on the occurrence of Glyptorthis in seven stratigraphie levels within the Upper Caradoc, Ashgill and Llandovery, in a paper summarizing the stratigraphy of Estonia. To date, however, very few of these brachiopods have been studied in detail. Three species from the Ashgill and Llandovery were established by Rubel (1962) and Röömusoks (1970), whereas some unnamed Caradoc taxa were listed only in the latter paper. Collections made since 1987 by S. S. Terentiev and M. A. Zuykov revealed that rare specimens of Glyptorthis-like brachiopods occur in fossiliferous lower Caradocian (Idavere Regional Stage) strata in the western part of the St. Petersburg region, northwestern Russia. These specimens, assigned herein to a new glyptorthid genus and species Bassettella gracilis, comprise the core of this paper. Moreover, generic affinities of Estonian species from the Ashgill currently assigned to Glyptorthis are discussed. The type specimen of J. Hall (1847) in the American Museum of Natural History (New York) and specimens from the type area in the Sch¨chtert Brachiopod Collection in the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University (New Haven), have been investigated for comparative purposes.

The partial skull of a lion from Natodomeri, northwest Kenya is described. The Natodomeri sites are correlated with Member I of the Kibish Formation, dated to between 195 ka and ca. 205 ka. The skull is remarkable for its very great size, equivalent to the largest cave lions (Panthera spelaea [Goldfuss, 1810]) of Pleistocene Eurasia and much larger than any previously known lion from Africa, living or fossil. We hypothesize that this individual represents a previously unknown population or subspecies of lion present in the late Middle and Late Pleistocene of eastern Africa rather than being an indication of climate-driven size increase in lions of that time. This raises questions regarding the extent of our understanding of the pattern and causes of lion evolution in the Late Pleistocene.

This work describes a rhynchonellid and spire-bearing brachiopod fauna from the Ixtaltepec Formation of Oaxaca, Mexico. Leiorhynchoidea perrilliatae, Allorhynchus scientiana, and Anthracospirifer oaxacaensis are new species. The specific determination, along with information of previously described taxa, allowed the establishment of precise relative ages of the different fossiliferous intervals (API-1 to API-8) of the formation. The occurrence of Serpukhovian taxa in API-1 to API-3 allowed assignment of the strata to the Upper Mississippian. The presence of Bashkirian species allowed the assignment of the rocks of API-5 and API-6 to the Lower Pennsylvanian. Likewise, Middle Pennsylvanian brachiopods in API-7 and API-8 enabled correlation of the strata with the Moscovian stage. This study shows that the Ixtaltepec Formation is represented by a succession of well-delimited Serpukhovian, Bashkirian, and Moscovian rocks. Regarding paleogeography, the brachiopod fauna displays clear taxonomic variations that concur with global geological changes that occurred between the Serpukhovian to Moscovian. In the Serpukhovian intervals, we recorded numerous cosmopolitan taxa of tropical waters, coinciding with the migration pathway of the Rheic Ocean. For the Bashkirian, we observed a North American provincialism; however, because of the presence of Australian and South American species, it is proposed that the Austropanthalassic-Rheic corridor had a close connection with Oaxaca. The main provincialism was observed in the Moscovian association because most of those taxa have been reported from different localities in the United States. This study supports that the main resemblance between Oaxacan and North American faunas continued until the Pennsylvanian and not the Mississippian, as was previously proposed.

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Molds of numerous Early Carboniferous echinoderms collected by Christian van de Loo for James Hall in 1867 from four miles south of Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana and now in the collection of the New York State Museum have been examined using latex casting techniques. Described here are the ophiuroids Vandelooaster plicatilis new genus and species, Schoenaster fimbriatus Meek and Worthen, Aganaster gregarius Meek and Worthen and Lumectaster howelli new genus and species. The types of Calyptactis confragosus Miller are redescribed for comparison. Nine crinoids, a blastoid, and an echinoid are recognized in van de Loo's collection; all have been recorded from Crawfordsville.

We provide clarification of the nature of the junction between cup and arms in Titanocrinus sumralli Guensberg and Sprinkle 2003, accompanied by an emended reconstruction. This morphological feature of so basal a species informs further phylogenetic studies.

The enigmatic fossil Moniopterus japonicus Hatai et al., 1974 from the early Middle Miocene Moniwa Formation of northern Japan has been described as the only known example of fossil sea-snake eggs and also as fossilized pupal chambers of a coleopteran insect. A reexamination of the holotype provides no evidence in support of these previous interpretations. Scanning electronic microscopy and computed tomography observations on the holotype reveal that the calcareous lining, previously interpreted as eggshell, is instead composed of irregular spherulitic prisms, thin in the middle and becoming thicker toward both ends. In addition to the elongate oval shape and the presence of an opening at the more pointed end, these observations strongly suggest that M. japonicus is a boring of the mytilid boring bivalve Lithophaga isolated from the host rock. This reinterpretation is further supported by the occurrence of similar isolated and in situ borings with Lithophaga shells within the type and a nearby locality. Regarding this fossil as an ichnofossil makes the generic name Moniopterus a junior synonym of Gastrochaenolites Leymerie, 1842 and the species name japonicus is a senior synonym of Gastrochaenolites torpedo Kelly and Bromley, 1984. G. torpedo should thus be replaced with Gastrochaenolites japonicus (Hatai et al., 1974).

The fossil record of the clawed lobster genus, Homarus, is appraised. The taxonomic history of Homarus and Hoploparia is summarized, and a list of species recognized for each is provided. A tabulation of all fossil species of the family Nephropidae permits assessment of nephropid species diversity through time. A new species of Homarus, H. hungaricus, is recorded from the upper Oligocene (Chattian) Mány Formation at Mány, northern Hungary. The species is known by a single specimen consisting of a partial cephalothorax, a pleon minus telson, and partial chelipeds. Homarus is now known by two extant species (H. americanus and H. gammarus) and six fossil taxa, one of Early Cretaceous (Albian; H. benedeni) and five of Cenozoic age (H. hungaricus n. sp., H. klebsi, H. lehmanni, H. morrisi, and H. percyi). The new fossil Homarus differs from modern congeners in aspects of carapace and pleon ornamentation and, especially, cutter claw shape. This is the fourth Oligocene occurrence of a nephropid species; all are Homarus and all are from Western Europe. Homarus makes its appearance in the fossil record in the Early Cretaceous (Albian) and then is not known again until the Paleogene, despite the fact that nephropid lobsters in general are well known from the Late Cretaceous. Nephropid lobsters are better known from the Cretaceous than from the Cenozoic. Both raw species numbers and numbers corrected (normalized) for epicontinental sea coverage show that shelf-dwelling nephropid lobsters were most diverse during the Late Cretaceous.