The biofacies of the Lower Palmatolepis rhenana Biozone to Palmatolepis triangularis Biozone in the Mae Sariang section, northwestern Thailand, are marked by alternations of Palmatolepis-dominated biofacies and Polygnathus-dominated biofacies related to fluctuations in seawater depth. Fine-grained limestone accumulated through the Lower Palmatolepis rhenana Biozone, Upper Palmatolepis rhenana Biozone, Palmatolepis linguiformis Biozone, Palmatolepis subperlobata Biozone, and Palmatolepis triangularis Biozone. A regression in the Upper rhenana Zone was followed by a recovery transgression that extended up through the linguiformis Zone. Conodont faunas increased until near the end of the linguiformis Zone, but in the overlying subperlobata Zone and triangularis Zone, conodont numbers dropped and most conodont species disappeared. It is possible the event coincides with a glacially forced regression, but there is no evidence of this in the section apart from a positive spike in δ13C. Another possible cause of the global marine extinction event is toxic levels of metals resulting from widespread volcanism. New taxa in this paper are Palmatolepis chaemensis new species, Palmatolepis thamensis new species, and Polygnathus tenellus surinensis new subspecies.

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A sequence of unusual vertical tubes, arranged in multiple groups, and each tube several meters high occurs in the Middlesboro Member of the Lee Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian). These structures are controversial with various interpretations suggesting either plant or animal origin. Observations supporting a plant origin include: 1) numerous C- and D-shaped, and multichambered tube cross sections are similar to fern and seed fern structures, 2) numerous membrane relicts loosely enclosing the tubes are similar to fern and seed fern tissues, 3) microscopic bundles are observed in cross-sectional thin sections, 4) presence of carbonaceous material and reported fecal pellets over a vertical distance in excess of 5 m are consistent with deteriorating plant material, not escape structures, 5) tubes are composed of casts and molds, but lack spreite or other features typical of escape structures, 6) tubes occur in clusters about one meter in diameter and are associated with coaly material at their base, which suggests that the clusters represent trees, 7) other trace fossils are absent in the enclosing sandstone, 8) tubes branch upward, which is a common structure in plants but unlikely in escape structures, 9) a coalified root structure was found at the base of the sandstone, and 10) all the tubes extend from the bottom of the sandstone to the top. The probability of burrowing animals escaping through as much as 8 m of sand with 100 percent survivorship is low.

The structures may represent a stand of pteridosperms with each “tree” approximately 1–1.5 m in diameter. The individual pipe-organ structures represent aerial stems, shoots, and adventitious roots; each cluster of pipe-organ structures represents a single tree.

Based upon sedimentologic features such as presence of 1) channel form, 2) scoured base, and 3) fining-upward sequence, we interpret the sandstone containing the pipe-organ structures to have been deposited in a sandy fluvial or tidal channel. The unidirectional cross-bed dips, poor sorting, occurrence only of very restrictive fauna and terrestrial flora, position of the sandstone above a possible floodplain facies, and lack of characteristic tidal structures suggest that the sandstone is more probably a sandy fluvial channel that may have minor tidal influence.

Upper Cretaceous rocks of the Kuskokwim Group are exposed in a large region of southwestern Alaska and are mainly composed of deformed turbidite deposits that contain few fossils other than inoceramid bivalves. This paper documents the taxonomy of the inoceramids in the Kuskokwim Group, develops an inoceramid biostratigraphy based on known ranges in other regions, and analyzes biogeographic patterns, paleoecology, and depositional history of the Kuskokwim Group.

Most of the inoceramid bivalves present in the Kuskokwim Group are of Cenomanian and Turonian age, and an assemblage of species typical of late Turonian age rocks is particularly well developed. Only two localities appear to be as young as Santonian age. The following 16 species or subspecies are discussed and illustrated in detail: Birostrina tamurai Matsumoto and Noda, Inoceramus virgatus Schlüter, I. pennatulus Pergament, I. pictus minus Matsumoto, I. cf. I. yabei Nagao and Matsumoto, I.? sp. aff. I. costatus Nagao and Matsumoto, I. hobetsensis Nagao and Matsumoto, I. longealatus Tröger, I. frechi Flegel, I. waltersdorfensis waltersdorfensis Andert, I. cf. I. waltersdorfensis hannovrensis Heinz, I. kuskokwimensis n. sp., Mytiloides cf. M. opalensis (Böse), M. teraokai (Matsumoto and Noda), M. cf. M. incertus (Jimbo), and Sphenoceramus naumanni (Yokoyama). In addition, a specimen with affinities to Mytiloides striatoconcentricus carpathicus (Simionescu) and a specimen that may belong to the I. (Cremnoceramus?) rotundatus–I. (C.) erectus lineage are illustrated.

Most of the taxa present in the Kuskokwim region are found in other regions of the North Pacific, particularly Japan and eastern Siberia, or are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Only one species, I. kuskokwimensis n. sp., is new and may be endemic. North Pacific taxa are predominant in the Kuskokwim region, but intervals near the Cenomanian–Turonian Stage boundary and in the upper Turonian contain taxa characteristic of Europe and the Western Interior basin of North America; some of these taxa have not been recorded previously in the North Pacific region. Turonian heteromorph ammonite assemblages associated with inoceramids in the finer grained facies of the Kuskokwim region are similar to those found in coeval rocks of Japan and Germany.

The depositional area of the Kuskokwim Group can be broken into two northeast-trending subbasins, the Kuskokwim River subbasin to the northwest and the Mulchatna River subbasin to the southeast, connected by the Nushagak Hills corridor. Within the Kuskokwim River subbasin, deposition apparently started earlier in the north (middle Cenomanian) than in the south (late Cenomanian to early Turonian), and prograding deltaic sedimentation along the western margin also appears to have started earlier in the north. No marine fossils younger than latest Turonian to earliest Coniacian are known from the Kuskokwim River subbasin. The youngest fossils identified are Santonian in age and are from deep-water deposits in the Nushagak Hills corridor. Few fossils are known from the Mulchatna River subbasin and age control is limited.

Middle Pennsylvanian, Atokan and Desmoinesian, crinoids and echinoids are described from the Belden and Minturn Formations of the Central Colorado Trough. The echinoderms from the Minturn Formation were living in an active intermontane trough setting. They are found in two environments, on the flanks of phylloid algal reefs and in patches on abandoned delta lobes on the gently sloping substrate. Faunas are dominated by cromyocrinids and are similar to stable platform Terrigineous Facies Belt faunas of the Midcontinent.

New species described are Dicromyocrinus beldenensis, Neoprotencrinus rockensis, and Sciadiocrinus wipsorum. Goleocrinus, and the columnal genera Blothronagma, Cyclocaudex, and Platyplateium are reported for the first time from the Minturn Formation. The columnal taxa Blothronagma cinctutum and Floricyclus angustimargo are believed to be cromyocrinids. B. cinctutum may be synonomous with Synarmocrinus molasensis, and Floricyclus angustimargo may be synonymous with Ulocrinus rockymontanus.

Two new specimens of Periastron reticulatum Unger emend. Beck have been collected from the Erin Slate, Talladega Slate Belt, southern Appalachians. Preserved anatomical features provide a basis for an expanded understanding of the genus and provide a biostratigraphic basis for dating the uppermost unit of the Talladega Slate Belt.

New fossil insect specimens from two new localities in Germany, namely Sperbersbach and Cabarz (Goldlauter Formation; early Permian), belonging to the Grylloblattida, are described. Abundant material is assigned to Pictoborella clara n. gen. n. sp., regarded as closely related to Pictoborella germanica (Prokop et al., 2012) n. comb., from the Saar-Nahe Basin (Germany; early Permian). Liomopterum fuscatum n. sp., represented by fewer specimens, is delimited based on previously published and new data on various Liomopterum spp. Two other Liomopteridae, Uralioma thuringiensis n. sp. and Liomopterites sperbersbachensis n. sp., each known from a single forewing, are also described. Finally, Cabarzopterum magnificus n. gen. n. sp., with unclear familial affinities, is described based on three forewings. The assemblages of grylloblattidan insects at Sperbersbach and Cabarz are generally similar, with differences probably related to different depositional environments and local paleoclimatic conditions.

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Olenellid trilobites from the lower Cambrian of the Iberian Peninsula are very scarce and poorly studied, making them difficult to compare with defined species and to include in biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic analyses. Based on newly collected specimens, we revise the species ‘Callavia? lotzei’ Richter and Richter, 1941 from the ‘Cumbres beds’ of Cumbres de San Bartolomé and the ‘Herrerías shale’ of Cañaveral de León, Sierra del Bujo, and Hinojales (Huelva, Spain), and ‘Paradoxides choffati’ Delgado, 1904 from the Vila Boim Formation of Elvas (Portugal). The new material indicates that Callavia? lotzei is a junior synonym of ‘P. choffati.’ The Iberian species are here assigned to Callavia Matthew, 1897, for which morphological characters are reassessed, offering a valuable opportunity to discuss characters previously misinterpreted for this genus. Traditionally assigned to the Olenelloidea Walcott, 1890, Callavia lacks some of the diagnostic characters of this superfamily and is here assigned to Judomioidea Repina, 1979. A new diagnosis for this genus is provided, and Sdzuyomia Lieberman, 2001 is considered to represent a junior synonym of Callavia. The genus Callavia is distributed across the western margin of Gondwana, from the western Mediterranean region (Iberia and Morocco) throughout all the Avalonia sectors (UK, eastern Newfoundland, and Massachusetts). Its presence in Iberia supports the faunal links between the West Gondwana domain and Avalonia during Cambrian Series 2. The Iberian records of Callavia choffati are assigned to the middle part of the regional Marianian Stage (uppermost Cambrian Stage 3 to the lowermost Cambrian Stage 4) and correlates with the Callavia Biozone of Avalonia (lower Branchian Series).

The fossil record of treeshrews, hedgehogs, and other micromammals from the Lower Siwaliks of India is sparse. Here, we report on a new genus and species of fossil treeshrew, specimens of the hedgehog Galerix, and other micromammals from the middle Miocene (Lower Siwalik) deposits surrounding Ramnagar (Udhampur District, Jammu and Kashmir), at a fossil locality known as Dehari. The treeshrew from Dehari (Sivatupaia ramnagarensis n. gen. n. sp.) currently represents the oldest record of fossil tupaiids in the Siwaliks, extending their time range by ca. 2.5–4.0 Myr in the region. Dietary analyses suggest that the new tupaiid was likely adapted for a less mechanically challenging or more frugivorous diet compared to other extant and fossil tupaiids. The occurrence of Galerix has only been recently documented from the Indian Siwaliks and the Dehari specimens help establish the likely presence of a relatively large Siwalik Galerix species in the Ramnagar region. In addition to the new treeshrew and hedgehogs, new specimens of the rodents Kanisamys indicus, Sayimys sivalensis, and Murinae indet. from Dehari help confirm that age estimates for the Ramnagar region are equivalent to the Chinji Formation in Pakistan, most likely corresponding to the middle to upper part of the Chinji Formation.

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Middle Eocene deep-sea sediment sequences cored at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1260 (Leg 207; equatorial Atlantic Ocean) yielded diverse and abundant radiolarian faunas that are conducive to biostratigraphic and palaeoceanographic research, as well as to the study of radiolarian diversity dynamics during this epoch of significant climate changes. However, many species present in these sediments still have not been formally described and are therefore neglected in most biodiversity surveys. In an effort to improve the taxonomic resolution of middle Eocene radiolarians, 15 new species of nassellarians are described and illustrated. The species are: Cymaetron? dilatatus n. sp., Eucyrtidium levisaltatrix n. sp. (Eucyrtidiidae), Siphocampe pollen n. sp., Spirocyrtis? renaudiei n. sp. (Artostrobiidae), Pterocyrtidium eep n. sp. (Rhopalosyringiidae), Petalospyris cometa n. sp., Petalospyris castanea n. sp. (Cephalospyrididae), Velicucullus armatus n. sp. (Theophormididae), Lychnocanium nimrodi n. sp. (Lithochytrididae), Aphetocyrtis zamenhofi n. sp., Aphetocyrtis? columboi n. sp., Aphetocyrtis? spheniscus n. sp. (Lophocyrtiidae), Albatrossidium regis n. sp., Albatrossidium annikasanfilippoae n. sp., and Phormocyrtis lazari n. sp. (Pterocorythidae). Stratigraphic range data are provided for each new species, as well as the orbitally tuned ages for their first and last occurrences. In addition to these new species, we also illustrate and document the stratigraphic distribution of four species described in early radiolarian studies and rarely reported since.

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In this contribution, fossil woods from the Valle de La Luna Member of the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation at Ischigualasto Provincial Park, San Juan Province, Argentina, are described. The specimens are preserved as silica permineralization in tuffs intercalated with carbonaceous mudstone beds interpreted as distal floodplain facies. The fossil woods were assigned to the new species Agathoxylon argentinum since their anatomy differs from the known Mesozoic Gondwanan species of the genus Agathoxylon. The combination of characters present in the new taxon indicates an affiliation with the conifer family Araucariaceae. Signals of fungal-mediated wood decay were observed, comparable to the activity of basidiomycetes. Spherical structures attached to the walls of the tracheids were recognized and are interpreted as holocarpic chytrid fungi. The growth rings were quantitatively analyzed. Low values of percentage diminution, percentage latewood, and Ring Markedness Index, and a mean percentage skew of +11.5, were obtained, suggesting that the new species was an evergreen gymnosperm. The stratigraphic distribution and taxonomic composition of the Ischigualasto Formation fossil-plant-bearing levels were studied. A vegetation change is recorded in the fossil level bearing Agathoxylon argentinum n. sp., marked by the replacement of the corystosperm genera and a diminution of arboreal corystosperms. This floristic change, in addition to other evidence, indicates humid paleoclimatic conditions for the uppermost part of the Valle de La Luna Member of the Ischigualasto Formation.

Two specimens of the Cretaceous genus Pictetia Uhlig, 1883, have been found in the Cottonwood District, northern California, the first record of this genus in North America. The larger specimen is a septate whorl fragment from the Brewericeras hulenense zone that is associated with Douvilleiceras mammillatum. It is identified as Pictetia sp. The smaller specimen is a septate fragment of one and a half whorls from the Oxytropidoceras packardi zone associated with Cleoniceras. It is identified with the type species, Pictetia astieriana Orbigny, 1842, previously recorded from Europe. A review of the genus Pictetia suggests that species assigned to the genus have an open coil with a rounded dorsum. The occurrences of these Tethyan elements in the Albian fauna of the Cottonwood District suggest easy communication for many Cretaceous taxa between northern California and the Tethyan realm of Europe, the Caucasus, and Madagascar.

Three productidine brachiopods of Haydenella, Paraplicatifera, and Compressoproductus are recovered from the Tak Fa Formation (Wordian, Middle Permian) of the upper Saraburi Limestone Group exposed at Khao Wong of central Thailand (the western margin of the Indochina Terrane). The latter two genera are new to the Permian of Thailand, and the new species Paraplicatifera thaica is proposed herewith. Some taxonomic and nomenclatural problems in relation to the three genera are discussed. The assemblage suggests endemism for a Middle Permian marine faunule of the Indochina Terrane.

Falloaster anquiroisitus new genus new species (Asterozoa, Echinodermata) is described from the Floian (Early Ordovician) Garden City Formation of Idaho. The new taxon is known from a single small specimen. Because of weathering, remaining disk elements are incomplete. Dorsal surfaces of the ambulacral ossicles of two arms are available, one well preserved, whereas those of a third arm expose the ambulacrals essentially as they would appear in ventral view. Ambulacral ossicles were all but entirely lost on the remaining two arms.

Albeit asterozoan, F. anquiroisitus is not assignable at the class level. It is suggestive of the Asteroidea in presence of a domal disk, five abruptly tapering triangular, arched arms, and ambulacral ossicles vaulted to form a furrow. Ambulacral morphology, including the presence of very large podial pores, is unlike that of early asteroids. In addition, no adambulacral or other virgal-series derivatives are present; ambital framework ossicles are absent; a single series of enlarged, plate-like arm ossicles, one series on each side of the arm, come together at the arm midline; and the plate-like series were supported laterally by recurved ambulacral margins. Only remnants of the disk near the periphery survive, these of overall expression unlike any other echinoderm, including asterozoans. The mouth frame is unknown. Falloaster anquiroisitus is argued to represent an extinct lineage apart from the four recognized asterozoan classes, thereby joining a limited number of other problematic early Asterozoa.

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A new eocrinoid ?Ubaghsicystis sp. from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Burgess Shale is reported based on a single known specimen. This species extends the stratigraphic range of columnal-bearing eocrinoids in Laurentia significantly from Cambrian Stage 7 (Guzhangian) to Stage 5. It increases the diversity of echinoderms in this well-known fossil-Lagerstätte, provides the oldest evidence of columnal-bearing eocrinoids from Laurentia, and further documents the cosmopolitan distribution of middle Cambrian echinoderm clades.

Following the publication of papers by Bergström and Sweet (1966) and Schopf (1966), a gradual shift from the use of discrete element taxonomy to multielement taxonomy has occurred in describing conodonts. Although most workers now apply multielement taxonomy wherever possible, systematics have not been updated for many of the conodont faunas described earlier, and as a result the use of multielement taxonomy still is far from universal.

Upon restudy, Quasidentalium Shimansky, 1974, is transferred to the Coleolidae, a group of “Vermes” that form a calcareous tube.

The present study of the Eifelian icriodid conodonts is based on collections from Belarus and the Michigan Basin (USA). It is here proposed that forms originally included in Icriodus orri Klapper and Barrick, 1983 can be attributed to I. retrodepressus Bultynck, 1970, Icriodus orri sensu stricto, and Icriodus michiganus new species, each displaying a distinct morphology, stratigraphical range, and geographic distribution. Icriodus retrodepressus, characterized by a triangular spindle, deep depression in its posterior part, and a well-pronounced spur and antispur, appeared in the lower partitus Zone of the lowermost Eifelian and disappeared in the upper Eifelian kockelianus Zone. Icriodus michiganus n. sp., distinguished by a lachrymiform spindle with a shallow posterior depression, ranges from the lower costatus Zone to the upper kockelianus Zone. Icriodus orri differs from the other two species by the occurrence of transverse denticle rows with lateral denticles displaying sharp edges. It ranges from the upper kockelianus Zone to the ensensis Zone of the uppermost Eifelian. Icriodus retrodepressus first occurred in the European part of the Euramerican continent and later migrated into the North American area. Icriodus michiganus n. sp. has been found in the interior part of the North American Craton and near the eastern Euramerican margin. Icriodus orri occurs in the North American interior, in British Columbia (Canada), and in the eastern part of Euramerica (Belarus). The introduction of I. retrodepressus can be related to the transgressive Choteč Event, whereas that of I. orri to a transgressive stage of the Ie eustatic cycle.

Twenty-two taxa of stromatoporoids are described from the outcrop belt of the Elm Point, Winnipegosis, Dawson Bay, and Souris River Formations in Manitoba. The Elm Point Formation contains a fauna of stromatoporellids of Eifelian age that is characterized by the new species, Stromatoporella manitobaensis. The Winnipegosis stromatoporoids are dolomitized but the widespread species Actinostroma tyrrelli, Taleastroma logansportense and the new species Trupetostroma imbrex can be recognized in this Givetian assemblage. The Dawson Bay fauna is characterized by the appearance of the dendroid forms, Stachyodes and Dendrostroma and species of Hermatostroma, Trupetostroma, and Parallelopora. A species of Actinostroma, comparable to A. filitextum is the most abundant stromatoporoid in the Dawson Bay Formation. The Souris River fauna, referred to as the Arctostroma contextum assemblage, is widespread at the Givetian-Frasnian boundary. Elements occur elsewhere in western Canada in the Beaverhill Lake, Waterways, lower Duperow and lower Fairholme units. Stromatoporoids in these four assemblages are relatively restricted in their stratigraphic occurrence and sufficiently widespread in their distribution to be useful in correlation.

Waldemaria monticola Pierce n. sp. and “Hendersonia” valida Pierce n. sp. are described from fluviatile sediments of the intermontane Flint Creek Basin of western Montana. The genus Waldemaria was previously known only from Japan. The presence of these two genera suggest a marked climatic cooling when compared with western North American Eocene–Oligocene faunas. The stratigraphy of the Flint Creek beds, and the associated vertebrate fauna, diagnostic of an early Barstovian age (17–15 Ma), is summarized.

The james ross basin, situated on the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula, has yielded an extensive fauna of decapod crustaceans spanning Late Cretaceous through Eocene time. To date, 28 species in 22 genera and 18 families have been described (Feldmann, 1992; Feldmann, Tshudy, and Thomson, 1993), making this the most diverse fossil decapod fauna in the Southern Hemisphere. Within the basin, Seymour Island alone contains rocks of the Eocene age La Meseta Formation from which seven species of crabs, one galatheid, and one species of callianassid ghost shrimp have been described (Feldmann and Zinsmeister, 1984; Feldmann and Wilson, 1988; Feldmann, 1992). The fauna of the La Meseta is remarkable also because, although the organisms are preserved in rocks deposited in moderate- to high-energy, shallow-water habitats (Elliot and Trautman, 1982), many of the species represent early occurrences of taxa with living descendants that are characteristic of deeper water, lower latitude habitats (Zinsmeister and Feldmann, 1984).