The new invertebrate trace fossil from paleosols of the Bijori Formation, Palliedaphichnium gondwanicum new ichnogenus new ichnospecies, which belongs to an upper Permian Gondwana sequence of India, makes a significant contribution to the meager records of invertebrate trace fossils from Permian and Indian paleosols. This trace fossil attributed to Diplopoda and composed of tunnels and chambers filled with pellets is also an important addition to the scarce record of Permian millipedes. The abundance of plant remains in the same paleosol indicates that these millipedes probably fed on leaf litter as other fossil and extant representatives. Chambers and abundant pellets in burrows indicate adverse conditions on the surface, at least seasonally. This finding contributes to the emerging scenario of invertebrate ichnofaunas from paleosols and points to a successive dominance of millipedes during the Paleozoic, crayfishes and earthworms in the Mesozoic, and insects in the Cenozoic.

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Bryozoans from the Dapingian (Middle Ordovician) of the Baltic paleobasin remain poorly studied and their taxonomic composition is unclear. In this paper, three bryozoan taxa, a bifoliate cystoporate Planopora volkhovensis n. gen. n. sp., a trepostome Hemiphragma insolitum n. sp., and an esthonioporate Esthoniopora clara Koromyslova, are described from Dapingian deposits of an unusual clayey-calcareous Hecker-type mudmound on the right bank of the Volkhov River in Leningrad Oblast’, north-western Russia. Combined X-ray microtomography, scanning electron microscopy, and light microscopy of thin sections were used to characterize their morphology. Analysis of the stratigraphic distribution of early cystoporate bryozoans suggests that Planopora n. gen. is the oldest сystoporate bryozoan with an erect, bifoliate colony. The growth modes of these bryozoans are discussed. The colonies of P. volkhovensis n. gen. n. sp. and E. clara have an attachment structure, a holdfast, at their base, probably indicating their attachment to sponge spicules. The bryozoan H. insolitum n. sp. produced rod-like colonies, formed by overgrowing the problematic tubular fossil Sphenothallus Hall. It can be assumed that sponges with unfused siliceous spicules and individuals of Sphenothallus were numerous on the surface of the mudmound during its formation and provided a suitable substrate for settlement of bryozoan larvae.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/5715872a-8c61-446e-9413-d713fdef1a08

The Cretaceous chaetetid sponge Acanthochaetetes huauclillensis Sánchez-Beristain and García-Barrera is reported for the first time from the Aptian–Cenomanian Khalsi Formation, Ladakh Himalaya, India. Its low- to high-domical growth form could suggest an adaptation to either an environment with constant sedimentation rates, or to an irregular substrate. However, these growth forms also may indicate an absence of important environmental/sedimentological changes during the lifespan of the sponges. In addition, the growth form of this species suggests a calm, non-turbulent, reef-like microenvironment. Along with the other faunal assemblages, such as the rudists, corals, and the gastropod Nerinea, A. huauclillensis indicates a tropical to subtropical shallow marine carbonate platform setting. This new finding extends its stratigraphic range from the upper Hauterivian to the Aptian–Cenomanian interval in the eastern Tethyan realm.

Type material for Stenopora tasmaniensis Lonsdale, 1844 was lost in the late nineteenth century, and subsequent descriptions of the genus have been based on material incorrectly assigned to the type species. A neotype is erected for S. tasmaniensis from the original type locality and the genus redescribed. The genus exhibits ramose, frondescent, encrusting, and massive colony morphologies, diaphragms are absent, and acanthostyles of a single size surround each aperture. This single size of acanthostyles aligns with the original type species description; however, it differs from the subsequently accepted genus description and may result in existing species being removed from the genus. Analysis of zooecial characters of a single colony exhibiting both frondescent and ramose morphologies reveals statistically significant differences between subsampled sections, despite being from the same colony. Differences relate to details of zooecial parameters and are not controlled by colony morphology. This variation within a single colony confirms the importance of using qualitative characters alongside quantitative measures in defining Paleozoic bryozoan species.

The Hadim Nappe, which is one of the allochthonous tectonic units in the Tauride Belt, in southern Turkey, includes a continuous stratigraphic succession from the Middle(?)–Late Devonian to Late Cretaceous. A relatively complete succession of the upper Serpukhovian to Bashkirian is exposed in the Central Taurides, where two sections (Yassıpınar and Gölbelen) have been selected for detailed biostratigraphic investigations. The Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary in these sections was determined by the first appearance datum of the Plectostaffella jakhensis and located in the oolitic limestone facies indicating a shallow-water depositional environment. The uppermost Serpukhovian and regional Bashkirian substages (Syuranian, Akavasian, Askynbashian, and Arkhangelskian) were determined by index taxa, namely Plectostaffella jakhensis, P. bogdanovkensis, P. varvariensis, Pseudostaffella antiqua, Staffellaeformes staffellaeformis, Tikhonovichiella tikhonovichi, and Verella spicata. Fifty fusulinid species belonging to fourteen genera were determined in two sections, in which two species are new: Depratina turani Akbaş new species and Tikhonovichiella praetikhonovichi Akbaş new species. The taxonomic positions of two fusulinid species (Depratina convoluta n. comb. and Staffellaeformes parva robusta n. comb.) are revised. The studied fusulinid assemblages correlate with fusulinid assemblages from the southern Urals, Russian Platform, Donetz Basin, Darvaz, Spain, central Iran, and some other regions of the Tethyan Realm.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/bcbb6c72-f6f9-4e77-9cf9-3572bd731ff3

Brachiopod shell accumulations are abundant and diverse in the lower Cambrian strata of Yunnan Province, South China, but most commonly they are composed of linguloid and acrotheloid brachiopods. Here, we describe the first record of shell beds with high-density accumulations of microscopic acrotretoid brachiopods (usually <2 mm in width) in the muddy deposits of the Wulongqing Formation (Guanshan Biota, Cambrian Stage 4) in the Wuding area of Yunnan Province. The acrotretoid shell beds from the Wulongqing Formation vary from thin mm-thick pavements to more well-developed beds, several centimeters thick. The occurrence of remarkably rich acrotretoid shell beds indicates that microscopic lingulates began to exert an important role in hardening and paving the soft-substrate seafloor during the early Cambrian evolution of Phanerozoic “mixgrounds.” The new Guanshan material is referred to a new species, Linnarssonia sapushanensis n. sp., which differs from other species of Linnarssonia mainly in having a well-developed internal pedicle tube, as well as a relatively longer dorsal median septum. The occurrence of Linnarssonia sapushanensis n. sp. in the Wulongqing Formation in eastern Yunnan extend the oldest record of the genus on the Yangtze Platform of South China back to at least Cambrian Stage 4.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/3e0c3878-6ce2-4eed-87bf-e39647c310c4

This is the first of two comprehensive taxonomic works on the early Miocene (ca. 23–20 Ma) bryozoan fauna associated with coral reefs from the Siamaná Formation, in the remote region of Cocinetas Basin in the La Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia, southern Caribbean. Fifteen bryozoan species in 11 families are described, comprising two cyclostomes and 13 cheilostomes. Two cheilostome genera and seven species are new: Antropora guajirensis n. sp., Calpensia caribensis n. sp., Atoichos magnus n. gen. n. sp., Gymnophorella hadra n. gen. n. sp., Cribrilaria multicostata n. sp., Cribrilaria nixor n. sp., and Figularia bragai n. sp. Eight species are identified only at genus level and remain in open nomenclature. Of the species found, 27% have erect colonies and 73% encrusting colonies. Both types contributed to the reef framework and produced sediment. The observed bryozoan diversity was higher in the barrier reefs than in the lagoonal patch reefs.

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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

New, distinctive, well-preserved and previously undescribed constituents of a Middle Ordovician (middle Darriwilian, Dw2) radiolarian assemblage from the Table Cove Formation in Newfoundland are described. Three-dimensional X-ray micro-computed tomography (μ-CT) facilitates detailed examination of key specimens revealing hitherto unknown details of the internal morphologies of key lower Paleozoic taxonomic groups, among which a lack of knowledge has previously impeded resolution of higher taxonomic rankings.

Twenty-seven archaeospiculid and entactinarian taxa are described and illustrated including six new species: Westernbrookia polygonata n. sp., Neopalaeospiculum piccadilliensis n. sp., Ramuspiculum laxum n. sp. Spongentactinia nazarovi n. sp., Aspiculum irregulare n. sp., and Nyfrieslandia ramosissima n. sp. The investigation extends the known ranges of the species: Pararcheoentactinia reedae Won and Iams, 2002; Sphaeroentactinia robusta Won and Iams, 2015; Varispiculum ectospiculatum Won and Iams, 2015; and Svalbardospiculum multifurcatum (Won, Iams, and Reed, 2005), together with the genus Echidnina to the mid-Darriwilian.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/74826b7b-bb86-45d5-ad23-e6e65e0706df.

Cribrilinid bryozoans originating from Pleistocene deep-water sediments from two localities near Messina (Sicily, Italy)—Capo Milazzo (Gelasian) and Scoppo (Calabrian)—were examined. Five cribrilinid species were found, three in each locality and time interval, with only one species shared. Three species, Cribrilaria profunda n. sp., Glabrilaria transversocarinata n. sp., and Figularia spectabilis n. sp., are new to science. Of the two remaining species, Figularia figularis was already known from local fossil associations, whereas Glabrilaria pedunculata, a present-day Mediterranean species, is recorded for the first time as a fossil. New combinations are suggested for two species previously assigned to Puellina, Cribrilaria saldanhai (Harmelin, 2001) n. comb. and Cribrilaria mikelae (Harmelin, 2006) n. comb. The diagnosis of the genus Figularia was amended to include an erect growth morphology in addition to the encrusting form, and the occurrence of ooecia formed by the distal kenozooid. Following a literature revision of all species currently assigned to Figularia, the new combinations Vitrimurella capitifera (Canu and Bassler, 1929) n. comb. and Hayamiellina quaylei (Powell, 1967a) n. comb. are suggested, and problematic species are listed and briefly discussed.

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Diverse and abundant fossil taxa have been described in the lower Cambrian Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of Hubei Province, South China, but the taxonomy and diversity of the co-occurring brachiopod fauna are still far from clear. Here we describe the brachiopod fauna recovered from the Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of South China, including representatives of the subphylum Linguliformea: linguloids (Lingulellotreta ergalievi, Eoobolus malongensis, and Neobolidae gen. indet. sp. indet.), and an acrotretoid (Linnarssonia sapushanensis); and representatives from the subphylum Rhynchonelliformea: the calcareous-shelled Kutorginates (Kutorgina sinensis, Kutorgina sp., and Nisusia liantuoensis). This brachiopod assemblage and the first occurrence of Linnarssonia sapushanensis shell beds permit correlation of the Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of Hubei Province with the Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation in the Wuding area of eastern Yunnan. This correlation is further strengthened by the first appearance datum (FAD) of the rhynchonelliform brachiopod Nisusia in the upper silty mudstone of both the Shipai and Wulongqing formations. The new well-preserved material, derived from siliciclastic rocks, also gives critical new insights into the fine shell structure of L. sapushanensis. Microstructural studies on micromorphic acrotretoids (like Linnarssonia) have previously been restricted to fossils that were acid-etched from limestones. This is the first study to carry out detailed comparative ultrastructural studies on acrotretoid shells preserved in siliciclastic rocks. This work reveals a hollow tube and solid column microstructure in the acrotretoid shells from the Shipai Formation, which is likely to be equivalent of traditional column and central canal observed in shells dissolved from limestones.

Saetaspongia so far cannot be confidently assigned to any class-level crown group. Clarifying its phylogenetic position requires new information provided by more detailed studies of previously described and/or new material. Some sponge fossils with the typical skeletal architecture of Saetaspongia have recently been recognized in the Cambrian (Stage 4) Balang Biota of Guizhou, China, including S. jianhensis new species and S. cf. S. densa. The new taxon is characterized by the following features: spicules are fine monaxons and are inclined to be loosely to densely arranged into plumose arrays; skeleton is composed primarily of one major plumose bundle, with an uncertain number (perhaps two) of small plumose arrays; and primary skeleton is occasionally interspersed with some irregularly oriented individual spicules. An additional specimen consisting of large monaxons, with plumose structures and overlying irregular coarse monaxons, closely fits the description and illustrations of previously described S. cf. S. densa. By combining information from previous studies and the present research, fossil evidence indicates that the plumose architecture is a critical feature diagnostic of Saetaspongia and that there are no hexactine-based spicules in this genus. The new material from the Balang Biota further supports the notion that Saetaspongia has a protomonaxonid rather than a hexactinellid affinity. Fossil evidence suggests that Saetaspongia had a wide biogeographic distribution during the early Cambrian and the stratigraphic distribution of this genus extends up to Stage 4.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/e9ca5e4a-134c-4daa-9266-19085e32614f.