New phylogenies of endemic Pectinidae of the Galápagos Islands allow their endemic status to be assessed relevant to the relict theory of insular endemism. Nodipecten magnificus and Leopecten isabelensis n. sp. are neoendemic species that evolved in the Pliocene from ancestors in the tropical eastern Pacific and more remote ancestors in the Tertiary Caribbean Province before closure of transisthmian seaways. Spathochlamys vestalis, an eastern Pacific species whose incipiently neoendemic Galápagos representatives have diverged only slightly from the mainland stock, is related to an extant, broadly distributed western Atlantic sister species, S. benedicti, which has an ancestry traceable back to the Miocene in the Tertiary Caribbean Province. Euvola galapagensis is a paleoendemic whose ancestral lineage is extinct on mainland coasts. Veprichlamys incantata is a paleoendemic with an exclusively Pacific history, with its probable immediate ancestor occurring in the Pliocene of Ecuador and its more remote Miocene ancestors in the cooler waters of the southeastern Pacific. The high frequency of endemism and the evidence that originations are Pliocene or later are consistent with the high rates of morphological evolution attained by the Pectinidae relative to many other bivalves.

New species described are L. isabelensis of the Galápagos Islands and L. cocosensis of Cocos Island. Leopecten is shown to be restricted to the Americas and to differ morphologically from Flabellipecten, an extinct Neogene European genus that is phylogenetically not closely related. Based on a new phylogeny, the genus Lyropecten is extinct, and living representatives of the Lyropecten-Nodipecten clade are all in the genus Nodipecten.

Sections of fore- and hindlimbs of a Paleozoic sarcopterygian (Eusthenopteron foordi from the Devonian) possess a thin cortical compacta and an extensive and relatively loose medullary spongiosa. Most long bones have no free medullary cavity. the smallest bones appear to have a proportionately thicker cortical compacta (although the trend is not statistically significant) and a free medullary cavity. the morphological synapomorphies of panderichthyids and stegocephalians that could be interpreted as suggesting a life in shallow water and possibly occasional excursions on dry land are absent in E. foordi. Thus, recent data on sarcopterygian morphology are congruent with recent paleoecological interpretations that E. foordi lived in a marginal marine or estuarine environment and had an aquatic lifestyle.

A new genus and species of turrid neogastropod, Kyllinia parentalis, is described based on three shells from the Pliocene (North Italy) and the Pleistocene (northwestern Peloponnesus) of the central Mediterranean area. the new taxon is compared to the buccinid (sensu lato) genus Metula H. and A. Adams, 1853 with which it shows a few superficial similarities mainly limited to the latticed sculptural pattern of the teleoconch. Kyllinia parentalis is placed in the turrid subfamily Mangeliinae on the basis of teleoconch characters (double sinuosity of the outer lip and the short, forward curved anterior canal) and protoconch (a characteristic pattern formed by narrow axial riblets giving a coronated suture to the larval shell). These taxonomic characters, together with the almost clathrate teleoconch sculpture, form an original combination within the Mangeliinae, thus justifying the description of a new genus. the Recent species Philbertia marchadi Knudsen, 1956 (for which we consider the previous attributions to Philbertia Monterosato, 1884 and Diaugasma, Melvill, 1917 incorrect) from the Republic of Guinea and Angola closely resembles K. parentalis, but differs in having axial folds on early teleoconch whorls, a more slender shell, and a proportionally taller last whorl. Philbertia marchadi fits well with the characteristics of the herein described genus, so that we propose the new combination Kyllinia marchadi (Knudsen, 1956). Kyllinia parentalis, a species originated in the Mediterranean Pliocene, is to be considered as the ancestor of K. marchadi. Kyllinia parentalis should be regarded as a meaningful marker in recognizing warm Mediterranean Pleistocene events.

Previous reports of Cambrian bryozoans have proved not to be bryozoans. No pre-Ordovician bryozoans have been recognized. The oldest unequivocal bryozoans known from North America, Britain, and Russia are evidently of early Arenigian age. New bryozoans recently collected from the Fenxiang Formation in the Daping and Guanzhuangping sections, situated in the area east of the Yangtze Gorges, are described here, including one new genus, Orbiramus, and six new species, Nekhorosheviella nodulifera, N. semisphaerica, Orbiramus normalis, O. ovalis, O. minus, and Prophyllodictya prisca. These are assigned to the Trepostomida, apart from the last species which belongs to the Cryptostomida. The new bryozoans are from the conodont Paltodus deltifer deltifer Zone of the late Tremadocian age, the first three species possibly being present in the P. deltifer pristinus Subzone at the base. Therefore, they are the oldest bryozoans known from anywhere in the world. Extensive reefs resulting from a major regression in the late Tremadocian were dominated by bryozoans in the upper Fenxiang Formation. The bryozoans lived in a shoal environment and accumulated essentially in situ, showing no signs of significant transportation.

Seven fossil leaf species are described from impression fossils collected from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Fox Hills Formation in south-central North Dakota, USA. They are Marmarthia johnsonii n. sp., Nilssoniocladus yukonensis n. comb., Nilssoniocladus comtula n. comb., Mesocyparis borealis, Rhamnus salicifolius, Paloreodoxites plicatus, and Zingiberopsis magnifolia. These species represent some of the elements of the Fox Hills flora that have paleogeographic ranges to the northwest (N. yukonensis, N. comtula, and M. borealis) and to the southwest (M. johnsonii, R. salicifolius, P. plicatus, and Z. magnifolia) of the Fox Hills type area. The identification and reappraisal of these species represent an effort to understand the biogeographic relationships of Late Cretaceous floras across the Northern Hemisphere.

The small crinoidal patch reef in the Bird Spring Formation near the mouth of Battleship Wash, Clark County, Nevada, has yielded the largest Early Permian crinoid fauna known in North America. Earlier studies of the fauna were based on 535 specimens. Additional collecting has yielded another 239 specimens. These new specimens provide new information about some of the earlier described species and include three new genera and seven new species, bringing the total recognized in the Battleship Wash fauna to 37 genera and 62 species. Representatives of the camerates, disparids, primitive cladids (cyathocrinitids and dendrocrinids), advanced cladids (formerly poteriocriniids), flexibles, and articulates are recognized in the Battleship Wash fauna.

Of particular significance among these new specimens is the presence of an actinocrinid. A specimen formerly identified from the fauna is here recognized as an articulate. This is the first report of an actinocrinid and an articulate from the Permian of North America. Based on the abundance of large specimens of cladids with 10 or more arms, the Battleship Wash fauna is interpreted to have lived in a nearshore high energy shelf environment, which agrees with the paleogeographic position previously recognized for the Bird Spring Formation.

New taxa introduced are: Poteriocrinites permicus n. sp., Bridgerocrinidae n. fam., Ekteinocrinus battleshipensis n. gen. and sp., Arroyocrius brachiatus n. sp., Plummericrinus jelli n. sp., Plummericrinus? bulbosus n. sp., Aesiocrinidae n. fam., Elassocrinus cyathus n. gen. and sp., Oklahomacrinus triangulus n. sp., and Pentaxocrinus quinarius n. gen. and comb.

The ophthalmosaurid Caypullisaurus from the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina, is redescribed based on new information from recent discoveries. Cladistic analysis of Caypullisaurus, based on previous ichthyopterygian data sets and using NONA, yielded two most parsimonious trees. Two clades are recognized within the Ophthalmosauridae. Caypullisaurus is found to be nested with Brachypterygius and Platypterygius. Simultaneous, unconstrained analysis, using unambiguous character optimization, is suggested as the best way to analyze data sets with large amounts of missing data.

A bivalve faunule of six species is described from the Upper Triassic Jiapila Formation at the headwaters of the Yangtze River, southern Qinghai, China. The new species, Neomegalodon cornutus and Quemocuomegalodon circularis, are described. The type species of Quemocuomegalodon, Q. orientus, is revised. Quemocuomegalodon orientus Yao, Sha, and Zhang (2003) is now known from abundant, well-preserved specimens that show great variation in shape, size, thickness of shell, and dentition, and the species Q. longitatus, Yao, Sha, and Zhang (2003) is now placed in synonymy with Q. orientus. There are significant morphologic differences between the external appearance of shelled specimens and the internal molds of species of Quemocuomegalodon. This suggests the need for the re-evaluation of many megalodontid species from elsewhere that are known only from internal molds.

The tricranocladine sponges (now assigned to the suborder Eutaxicladina) are a conservative group consisting of the single family Hindiidae. the genus Hindia Duncan is considered the base of the tricranoclad evolutionary record. A new sponge discovered from the Ordovician limestones of the San Juan Formation in the Argentine Precordillera allows a reexamination of the Hindiid lineage and extends the early history of the tricranocladines back to the Darriwilian. Eoscheiella concava n. gen. and sp. is described and illustrated. It is known from a single chertified, spherical specimen with a central hollow core, a typical character found in several genera of the family. Tricranoclads, megarhizoclones, and radial monaxonic spicules are the main skeletal components of the new genus. the presence of a band of subparalell tangential monaxons on the surface of Eoscheiella can be related to an inferred, small, root tuft that attached the spherical sponge to the substrate. the discovery of Eoscheiella modifies the evolutionary view of the family, for it is the oldest genus now known with simple dipodal and tripodal tricranoclads without a brachyome, radial monaxons, and megarhizoclones. Eoscheiella displaces the genus Hindia from the base of tricranocladine evolutionary history. Variability in spicule form, arrangement, and clasping possibilities observed in Permian representatives are clearly more accentuated in the Ordovician Eoscheiella. All these features appeared earlier than expected in previously proposed evolutionary trends.

Bomburia and Ellipsodon are poorly known taxa from the early Paleocene of western North America. New fossil material from New Mexico expands morphological information and allows taxonomic revision of these taxa. Bomburia is a valid genus, whereas Platymastus palantir, previously considered to be a loxolophine arctocyonid, is probably a junior synonym of B. prisca and as such reveals the upper molar morphology of this taxon.

Ellipsodon is highly derived relative to other mioclaenid condylarths. It has a reduced mesial dentition, with the probable loss of the P1/p1. P2–3/p2–3 are reduced and show a simple incisor-like morphology. M1/m1 and especially M2/m2 are simple with highly inflated protocones/protoconid-metaconids accentuating a mortar-and-pestle-like chewing function. The M3/m3 are more reduced than in any other mioclaenid.

Mioclaenidae is monophyletic and endemic to western North America. There is no support for a close relationship between Mioclaenidae and South American or African ungulates.

A partial skeleton tentatively referred to the Lower Cretaceous pliosauroid genus Leptocleidus is described from predominantly Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) opal-bearing deposits of the Bulldog Shale near Andamooka in South Australia. Small size coupled with incomplete fusion of the basicranial elements, vertebral centra, neural arches and cervical ribs, and incomplete ossification of the articular surfaces on the propodials and distal limb bones, indicate that the specimen was at an early stage in its ontogeny. Comparison with more mature specimens attributed to Leptocleidus spp. highlights several growth-related differences, particularly a marked disparity in proportions of the humerus and femur relative to the estimated maximum body length. Changes in the cranial skeleton during growth are harder to document because of the fragmentary nature of the skull. Nevertheless, fusion of some cranial sutures and well-developed cranial joint surfaces suggest that extensive ossification may have taken place in parts of the skull during early ontogeny. the potential implications of these findings for feeding, locomotion, and behavior in juvenile plesiosaurs are discussed.

Two leaves of Quercus simulata Knowlton from the Miocene of Oregon each show a new type of cynipid gall. Antronoides cyanomontanus n. sp. is described from six elongate and narrowly spindle-shaped galls, 7.0 mm long, and 2.0 mm wide tapering to a narrow tip. They have expanded rim-like bases with most galls scattered throughout the midsection adjacent to or partially straddling a secondary vein. Antronoides oregonensis n. sp. is known from 20 galls, 4.0-5.0 mm long, 1.8-2.0 mm wide and weakly clavate, appearing C-shaped with a rounded apex and circular to oval-shaped base. Galls occur primarily in the basal third of the leaf in a single file along each side of the midrib. Contrary to previous studies, we found A. schorni Waggoner and Poteet, A. polygonalis Waggoner, and A. cyanomontanus to be morphologically closer to Cynips cornifex Hartig on Q. pubescens (European white oak), whereas the new gall A. oregonensis most closely resembles X. clavuloides. The presence of Antronoides indicates the evolution and dispersal of Cynipini wasps was well underway in western North America by the Miocene. However, the new galls leave open the possibility that X. clavuloides and related species may have evolved during the Paleogene in higher-latitude mesic forests of western North America, rather than in the southern Great Basin as suggested by Kinsey and Waggoner and Poteet.

A new centrosaurine ceratopsid, Albertaceratops nesmoi, is described from the lower Oldman Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of southern Alberta, and is based on a single, almost complete skull. Referred material is described from equivalent beds in the Judith River Formation of north-central Montana. A limited phylogenetic analysis of the Ceratopsidae places the new taxon as the basal member of the Centrosaurinae and indicates that robust, elongate postorbital horncores that form a synapomorphy of (Ceratopsidae + Zuniceratops) are also present in Centrosaurinae.

The dyrosaurids of the Iullemmeden Basin (West Africa) are mainly represented by two genera, Hyposaurus and Rhabdognathus. Hyposaurus has been recognized in the Paleocene of Mali and Nigeria with two species, H. nopcsai and H. wilsoni. Diagnostic characters given by previous authors for these species do not enable their distinction from each other, nor from North American species. It is therefore reasonable to consider H. nopcsai and H. wilsoni as nomina dubia. in 1930, Swinton erected the new genus and species Rhabdognathus rarus on the basis of mandibular remains, and Buffetaut referred a skull to this species in 1980. A new skull was described in 2002 by Brochu et al., and referred to Rhabdognathus sp. Unfortunately, it is impossible to refer either skull to the type species, the mandibular remains having no diagnostic characters at the specific level. Thus, R. rarus is a nomen dubium, and two new names are erected for the two skulls: R. keiniensis n. sp. and R. aslerensis n. sp., all the mandibular remains being referred to Rhabdognathus sp. the species Rhabdognathus compressus is reassigned to the genus Congosaurus, since its mandible is higher than that of Hyposaurus, shorter than that of Rhabdognathus, and the lateromedially compressed teeth demonstrate that C. compressus and C. bequaerti are closely related.

Eosaniwa koehni is an enigmatic platynotan that differs from related varanoids in the possession of a very long snout resulting in extremely elongate nasals and vomers; a robust and broad jugal; the presence of denticles on palatines, pterygoids, and vomers; the presence of a subdental shelf on the dentary; and a strongly twisted retroarticular process on the mandible. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Eosaniwa is a derived varanoid platynotan, nested within a clade also including mosasauroids, Coniasaurus, and Paravaranus.

Extant comatulid (stalkless) crinoids consist of approximately 530 species, classified in 143 genera and 18 families (Clark, 1931, 1941, 1947, 1950; Clark and Clark, 1967; Messing and White, 2001). Recent comatulids account for almost 85% of all the extant crinoid species (comatulids plus stalked crinoids), and their taxonomy is currently being extensively revised (e.g., Hoggett and Rowe, 1986; Rowe et al., 1986; Messing and White, 2001). in stark contrast to such a high extant diversity, records of fossil comatulids are far less common. This is partly due to their low fossilization potential. From the Cretaceous, only 18 genera and nine families of comatulids have been documented (Rasmussen, 1978).

Four new species of Borealarges, B. fritillus, B. patulus, B. renodis, and B. variabilis, and one new species of Richterarges, R. facetus, are described and one unnamed species, Borealarges sp., discussed. All are from the Wenlock strata of Avalanche Lake sections in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories. Borealarges tuckerae Adrain, 1994, the only species reported from both the Arctic and the Mackenzie Mountains, is discussed. Hemiarges avalanchensis n. sp., an Ashgill species from Avalanche Lake section AV 4B just below the Ordovician-Silurian boundary, is described. A phylogenetic analysis based on 14 species of Borealarges, three of Richterarges, and two of Hemiarges, demonstrates that the former two genera are three separate and distinct taxa. Borealarges, a genus that includes some species formerly assigned to Richterarges or Hemiarges, is monophyletic, contains a well-supported internal clade of species, and is not separated into senso stricto and senso lato groupings.

Bryozoans were collected from a thin shaley limestone in the lower part of the Bird Spring Formation in the northern part of the Muddy Mountains, Clark County, southern Nevada (Fig. 1). The purpose of this paper is to describe a new genus and two new species of these bryozoans. The fauna of the Bird Spring Formation has taken on a new importance with the formation's designation as the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Mid-Carboniferous Boundary (Lane et al., 1999). Samples were collected from the bryozoan-bearing unit while teaching field camp during the spring of 1994.

This paper describes nine brachiopod species (including two uncertain species) in eight genera of the Orthotetidina from the uppermost Changhsingian (latest Permian) of South China. They are the youngest silicified Permian brachiopods known in the world and the last representatives of the Orthotetida, a major brachiopod group that disappeared during the end-Permian mass extinction. Other than two uncertain species, all taxa are new, including Meekella dongluoensis, Perigeyerella guangxiensis, Ombonia capilla, Derbyia nigpi, Schuchertella fushuiensis, Streptorhynchus ovata, and Tropidelasma elongata.

Records of fossil decapod crustaceans from Iran are scarce. Förster and Seyed-Emami (1982) reported Eryma bedelta (Quenstedt, 1857) from the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic) in northern Iran. Garassino and Krobicki (2002, p. 56) noted the presence of the lobster Eryma von Meyer, 1840, from Iran. Garassino (personal commun., 2005) confirmed that this referred to the work of Förster and Seyed-Emami and noted that this was the only decapod occurrence in the country known to him. Toraby and Yazdi (2002) reported a portunid from the Miocene of the country in an abstract but we are unaware of a subsequent publication. Microcoprolites with an internal structure characteristic of decapods are known from the Jurassic of Iran (Brönnimann, 1977). Thus, the discovery of the remains of a remarkable macrurous decapod, recovered from a well core sampling the Gadvan Formation, is noteworthy. This unique specimen is the basis for description of a new family, genus, and species of palinuroid lobster.