We report charadriiform and charadriiform-like birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). A partial skeleton of a small modern-type charadriiform is described as a new species, Charadriisimilis essexensis n. gen. n. sp., and most closely resembles taxa of the Charadrii (plovers, stilts, oystercatchers, and other “wader-like” shorebirds). Affinities to this clade were also supported by phylogenetic analyses, which placed the fossil as the sister taxon of either the Burhinidae or all crown group Charadrii. In addition, we identify specimens of the charadriiform-like taxon Scandiavis, which was before known only from the early Eocene Fur Formation in Denmark. Associated limb elements of two individuals are classified as Scandiavis cf. mikkelseni Bertelli et al., 2013, and remains of two further individuals are tentatively assigned to Scandiavis. The presence of a processus supracondylaris dorsalis on the previously unknown humerus corroborates charadriiform affinities of Scandiavis, whereas a plesiomorphic hypotarsus morphology indicates a position outside crown group Charadriiformes. Charadriisimilis essexensis is one of the earliest modern-type charadriiforms, and the holotype of the species is the most substantial early Paleogene fossil record of a charadriiform bird. Together with Scandiavis, as the best-represented taxon to be considered as a stem group charadriiform, it provides the basis for an improved understanding of the evolutionary history of charadriiform birds.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/ca15ee81-09e8-4577-8beb-a362debf6636

Graptolites from the latest Ordovician to the earliest Silurian rocks of northwest Peninsular Malaysia are described and reviewed. The fossils were collected previously by C. R. Jones and presently by the authors inside the black mudstones from the basal section of Tanjung Dendang Formation in Pulau Langgun, Langkawi, which comprises assemblages from the Hirnantian Metabolograptus extraordinarius Biozone to the Rhuddanian Akidograptus ascensus–Parakidograptus acuminatus Biozone. The latest Ordovician strata also include a Hirnantia fauna bed between the Metabolograptus extraordinarius and Metabolograptus persculptus biozones, in which shelly fossils such as Mucronaspis sp. could be recovered. A revised graptolite biozonation is proposed for the latest Ordovician to the earliest Silurian succession of northwest Peninsular Malaysia. This interval is significant for understanding the extent of mass extinction events happening right at the end of the Ordovician period and subsequent faunal change in the region.

Thirteen bryozoan species are described from the Brewer Dock (Hickory Corners) Member of the Reynales Formation (lower Silurian, Aeronian) at the locality Hickory Corners in western New York, USA. Three species are new: trepostomes Homotrypa niagarensis n. sp. and Leioclema adsuetum n. sp. and the rhabdomesine cryptostome Moyerella parva n. sp. Only one species, Hennigopora apta Perry and Hattin, 1960, developed obligatory encrusting colonies whereas the others produced erect ramose colonies of various thicknesses and shapes: cylindrical, branched, and lenticular. Bryozoans display high abundance and richness within the rock. This fauna is characteristic of a moderately agitated environment with a stable substrate. The identified species reveal paleobiogeographic connections to other Silurian localities of New York as well as Ohio and Indiana (USA) and Anticosti (Canada).

UUID: http://zoobank.org/c24f3184-4a8e-44c4-b6c0-d30433e841c9

Crinoids were major constituents of late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) marine ecosystems, but their rapid disarticulation rates after death result in few well-preserved specimens, limiting the study of their growth. This is amplified for cladids, who had among the highest disarticulation rates of all Paleozoic crinoids due to the relatively loose suturing of the calyx plates. However, Erisocrinus typus Meek and Worthen, 1865 has been found in unusually large numbers, most preserved as cups but some as nearly complete crowns, in the Barnsdall Formation in Oklahoma. The Barnsdall Formation, a Koncentrat Lagerstätte, is composed predominantly of fine- to medium-grained sandstone, overlain by mudstone and shale; severe compaction of the fossils in the mudstone and shale layer in this formation allowed for exceptional preservation of the plates. Herein, we summarize a growth study based on 10 crowns of E. typus, showcasing a well-defined growth series of this species from the Barnsdall Formation, including fossils from juvenile stages of development, which are rarely preserved. We used high-resolution photographs imported into ImageJ and recorded measurements of the cup and arms for all nondistorted or disarticulated plates. Results show that the plates of the cup grew anisometrically with both positive and negative allometry. The primibrachial plates of E. typus grew with positive allometry. The brachial plates started as uniserial (i.e., cuneiform) as juveniles but shifted to be biserial. Erisocrinus typus broadly shares similar growth trajectories with other cladids. These growth patterns provide insight into feeding strategies and can aid in understanding crinoid evolutionary paleoecological trends.

Ray-finned fishes comprise nearly half of extant vertebrate species and include several ancient lineages with fossil records that stretch over 200 Myr in time. One of these old clades, the sturgeons and paddlefishes, is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and includes some of the largest known freshwater fishes. Yet, the fossil record of this lineage (Acipenseriformes) is poor compared to similarly ancient ray-finned fish clades. Here, I describe sturgeon fossils from two geological units in North America < 10 Myr younger than the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Both come from individuals of ~1.5 m in length. These Paleogene forms establish the long history of large body size in Acipenseriforms and reveal sturgeons were some of the largest inhabitants of freshwater ecosystems that were still recovering from the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.

Eight bryozoan species are described from the Hanchiatien Formation (lower Silurian, Telychian) of southern Chongqing, South China. Four species are new: the trepostomes Asperopora sinensis n. sp., Trematopora jiebeiensis n. sp., and Trematopora tenuis n. sp., and the fenestrate Moorephylloporina parvula n. sp. One species, the cystoporate Hennigopora sp. indet., is described in open nomenclature. Moorephylloporina parvula n. sp. is eurytopic, occurring in all types of facies within the bioherms. Erect Moorephylloporina Bassler, 1952, Trematopora Hall, 1852, and Leioclema Ulrich, 1882 formed pioneering communities on weakly cemented substrata, whereas encrusting Fistulipora M‘Coy, 1849, Hennigopora Bassler, 1952, and Asperopora Owen, 1969 occurred on hardgrounds and formed densely compact framestones. Robust branched Trematopora and Leioclema tend to occur out of the reef core (framework) where they could have formed reef-flank thickets in more agitated conditions. The generic composition of the studied fauna correlates with other localities in South China, and they show general paleobiogeographic relations to Siberia and Indiana, USA.

UUID http://zoobank.org/3326dd2f-7c9e-43bc-9dab-84047b274f89

Although the fossil record of the Late Cretaceous eastern North American landmass Appalachia is poor compared to that from the American West, it includes material from surprisingly aberrant terrestrial vertebrates that may represent relictual forms persisting in relative isolation until the end of the Mesozoic. One intriguing question is to what extent eastern and western North American faunas interspersed following the closure of the Western Interior Seaway during the Maastrichtian Stage of the Late Cretaceous ca. 70 Ma. Isolated remains from the Atlantic Coastal Plain in New Jersey have been preliminarily identified as the bones of crested lambeosaurine hadrosaurids, a derived clade known from the Cretaceous of Asia, western North America, and Europe, but have not been formally described. We describe the partial forelimb of a large hadrosaurid from the late Maastrichtian New Egypt Formation of New Jersey. The ulna preserves multiple deep scores identifiable as shark feeding marks, and both bones show ovoid and circular marks attributable to invertebrates. This forelimb is very similar to another partial antebrachium from the same area that shows evidence of septic arthritis. Both these specimens and a complete humerus from the same unit are closely comparable to the lower forelimbs of lambeosaurines among hadrosaurid dinosaurs. Although the absence of lambeosaurine synapomorphies observable on the New Egypt Formation forelimbs precludes their definite referral to Lambeosaurinae, they show that a morphotype of large hadrosauromorph with distinctly elongate forelimbs existed in the latest Maastrichtian of eastern North America and allow for a revision of the latest Cretaceous biogeography of crested herbivorous dinosaurs.

The Cambrian stratigraphic succession of the Pyrenees (SW Europe) has undergone a complex Variscan and Alpine tectonothermal history leading to marked metamorphism and development of cleavage networks, which might partly explain the lack of Cambrian fossiliferous beds. This gap has traditionally precluded its paleobiogeographic and biostratigraphic relationships with other neighboring peri-Gondwanan units. Correlations are only based on lithostratigraphic comparisons and radiometric constraints. In this general scheme, the Terrades inlier (Gerona Province, Spain) provides the only significant and indisputable ‘early Cambrian’ fossil record of the Pyrenees. This predominantly siliciclastic outcrop consists of multiple patch reefs and bioherms having yielded archeocyaths dated at Cambrian Epoch 2, Age 3. This paper describes, for the first time, the microfossil assemblage included in the archeocyathan-microbial reefal complex that crops out in the Terrades inlier to clarify its age and affinities with surrounding tectonostratigraphic units. Reefal flanks of patch reefs have yielded bradoriids, brachiopods, molluscs, tommotiids, chancelloriids, hyoliths, and the problematic fossil (and chronostratigraphically significant) Rhombocorniculum cancellatum Cobbold, 1921. In addition to confirming the previously assigned age of the succession, the recovered fauna emphasizes strong affinities with the surrounding Occitan Domain (Montagne Noire, southern Massif Central, France) and Sardinia (Italy). Along with lithostratigraphic comparison and tectonic considerations, this further supports the recent reconstructions positioning the Pyrenean domain between the Montagne Noire (to the southwest) and Sardinia (further to the northeast) on the Gondwana margin during Cambrian times.

The Jurassic rocks of Gebel Maghara, northern Sinai, Egypt, contain a well-preserved and highly diverse macrobenthic fauna, dominated by bivalves. This fauna, particularly bivalves and gastropods, have received little attention in the last 100 years. In an attempt to provide a sound database on the marine bivalve diversity of Egypt during the Jurassic period, a first faunal group, the protobranch bivalves, is reviewed in detail. Sixteen taxa (three of them new), belonging to two orders, five families, and nine genera are systematically described and compared to closely related Jurassic taxa from various locations, particularly in Europe and India. New species are Nuculoma douvillei n. sp., N. sinaiensis n. sp., and Palaeoneilo aegyptiaca n. sp. In addition, Palaeonucula cuneiformis (J. de C. Sowerby), P. muensteri (Goldfuss), Dacryomya diana (d'Orbigny), D. lacryma (J. de. C. Sowerby), and Praesaccella juriana Cox are identified from Jurassic strata of Egypt for the first time. The younger records of the genus Palaeoneilo have not been accepted by some researchers, since almost all exhibit only limited features. The genus occurs with certainty in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian‒Bathonian) rocks of Egypt, based on well-preserved external and internal characters. Similarly, Dacryomya and Ryderia from Bathonian‒Kimmeridgian rocks of Egypt are younger than previously recorded from other parts of the world. The identified genera have wide geographic ranges and have been reported from different faunal provinces, which suggests that latitudinal climate differences did not influence their distribution pattern to a great extent.

UUID: https://zoobank.org/7f3a9185-d690-4563-bdc0-df1c8d42ec0d

The bivalve Odontogryphea thirsae, formerly “Ostrea thirsae,” is restricted to the Nanafalia Formation and is extensively used as a biostratigraphic zonal indicator in the Paleocene of the southeastern and central United States. Toulmin (1977) noted that O. thirsae was reported from the Tuscahoma Sand in early publications but stated (p. 191), “Reports of occurrence in the Tuscahoma Sand are probably in error.”

The new farreid hexactinellid sponge Hormathospongia dictyota new genus and new species, is described from the upper Santonian Dobbins Shale Member of the Forbes Formation of the Upper Cretaceous Great Valley Sequence from the west side of the Sacramento Valley, northwest of Sacramento. The relatively simple skeleton is composed of quadrangularly arranged hexactines with overlapping rays, an arrangement strikingly similar to the skeletal structure of early Paleozoic reticulosid hexactinellids. However, the California Cretaceous sponges clearly show those spicules embedded in siliceous beams that are united to form a solid dictyonal skeletal framework of only a single layer of regular mesh. Such an occurrence and stratigraphic relationships suggests that the dictyonine sponges had their origin from the simply spiculed reticulosid hexactinellids rather than from the more complex dictyosponges.

Lercaritubus problematicus Flügel, Senowbari-Daryan, and Di Stefano, 1990, a problematic organism, was initially described from Lower and Middle Permian rocks of Sicily, was subsequently recognized in Upper Permian reefs of Oman and reefal limestones of the Tethyan realm. It is here described for the first time from North America, from the Middle Permian reefoidal Upper Capitan Limestone of the Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico. Lercaritubus problematicus has a stratigraphic range of Lower to Upper Permian and occurs widely in Permian tropical reef deposits.

Three new species of Cyphaspides are proposed: C. ammari, C. nicoleae, and C. pankowskiorum. These species are based on specimens obtained from Middle Devonian (Eifelian) strata of the Bou Tchrafine Group, near Erfoud, in the Province of Errachidia, southeastern Morocco. The present contribution enhances our knowledge of Cyphaspides by providing details of three new species that are based on well-preserved, complete, and articulated types. The genus Cyphaspides is discussed, and an emended diagnosis is provided. The paleobiogeography, ontogeny, and relationships of the genus are discussed.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/4a7aab8f-8c8e-4498-9cc2-6f8c69b85213

Šnadjr (1980, p. 76) erected the proetid trilobite subgenus Coniproteus (Ryckholtia), with the type species Proetus ryckholti Barrande, 1846, from the Silurian (Ludlow, Kopanina Formation) of the Prague Basin, Czech Republic, perhaps better known to geologists as the Barrandian type area in Bohemia. Although originally designated as a subgenus (e.g., Chlupáč et al., 1980, p. 175; Chlupáč and Kukal, 1988, p. 114; Kříž et al., 1993, p. 819), Ryckholtia Šnadjr was subsequently elevated to generic rank (e.g., Sepkoski, 2002, p. 189, 519; Jell and Adrain, 2003, p. 441, 477; Edgecombe and Wright, 2004, p. 183).