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Echinoid remains from the Triassic of China are described for the first time. The Middle Triassic of Qingyan in Guizhou Province, south-western China, has yielded nine taxa of primary spines; seven of these come from the lower Upper Anisian. Because all of the spines are disarticulated, the material is treated only parataxonomically. 'Cidaris' lineola (Bather) and 'Cidaris' wissmanni (Desor) are species originally described from the alpine Triassic of Europe. 'Cidaris' bangtoupoensis sp. nov., 'Cidaris' wachangpoensis sp. nov., 'Cidaris' venustespinosa sp. nov., 'Cidaris' fangchui sp.

• Read more about Echinoid spines from the Anisian (Middle Triassic) of Qingyan, south-western China

The body mass estimation of several limb bone dimensions (shaft cross-sectional properties, articular sizes, and bone lengths) were examined using bivariate linear regression analyses. The sample included taxonomically and behaviourally diverse small to medium-sized Recent carnivorans and carnivorous marsupials. All examined limb bone dimensions indicated low errors (percentage standard error of estimate, 8-13) for the body mass estimations. Among them, humeral and femoral shaft properties correlated best with body weight, while limb bone lengths gave larger errors.

• Read more about Body mass estimates in extinct mammals, from limb bone dimensions: the case of North American hyaenodontids

The first Mesozoic scutigeromorph centipede (Myriapoda: Chilopoda), Fulmenocursor tenax gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) Crato Formation of north-east Brazil. Previously described fossil Scutigeromorpha are known from Dominican and Baltic amber, the Carboniferous (Westphalian D) Francis Creek Shale of Mazon Creek, Illinois, the Silurian and Devonian of Britain, and the Devonian of New York State.

• Read more about First Mesozoic scutigeromorph centipede, from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil

The rich fauna of Late Devonian (Late Frasnian) siliceous sponges from the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland is composed of 15 species and 11 genera. Both astylospongid demosponges (lithistids) and hexactinosan hexactinellids are present. The following new genera and/or species are proposed: D regulara Rigby and Pisera sp. nov., Jazwicella media Rigby and Pisera gen. et sp. nov., Astyloscyphia irregularia Rigby and Pisera gen. et sp. nov., A. turbinata Rigby and Pisera gen. et sp. nov., Astylotuba modica Rigby and Pisera gen. et sp. nov., Paleoregulara cupula Rigby and Pisera gen. et sp.

• Read more about Upper Devonian sponges from the Holy Cross Mountains, central Poland

A new skate, Walteraja exigua gen. et sp. nov., is described from the lowermost Maastrichtian Belemnella lanceolata Zone of Balsvik quarry, Kristianstad Basin, southern Sweden. It is the earliest known skate with a largely modern tooth morphology and the only known pre-Cenozoic rajoid displaying a very marked gynandric heterodonty, comparable to that in many living forms. The occurrence of W. exigua in the basal Maastrichtian at Balsvik coincides with a mass occurrence of the small 'deep-water' squaloid shark Proetmopterus hemmooriensis.

• Read more about A skate in the lowermost Maastrichtian of southern Sweden

We present a synopsis of high-rank multituberculate systematicsand a manually generated cladogram illustrating multituberculate interrelationships. We divide the Multituberculata into the paraphyletic suborder 'Plagiaulacida', an apparently monophyletic suborder Cimolodonta, and one family incertae sedis. Within 'Plagiaulacida' we recognise three informal lines: paulchoffatiid (three families), plagiaulacid (three families) and allodontid (two families and the genus Glirodon).

• Read more about Phylogeny and systematics of multituberculate mammals

An unusual trochiform gastropod, Semizona bella gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Boda Limestone carbonate mounds (upper Ordovician, Ashgill) of central Sweden. A second species, S. glindmeyeri (Rohr, 1996), is recognised from the Ordovician (Whiterockian) of Nevada. The shell shape and the strongly prosocline tangential aperture of Semizona suggest that balancing of the shell on the head-foot mass was accomplished by tilting of the axis of coiling of the shell to about 65 degrees with 10-30 degrees of regulatory detorsion.

• Read more about An unusual trochiform gastropod from the upper Ordovician of Sweden

Based on new material from the Upper Triassic Nayband Formation of east-central Iran and on type material from the Alpine Triassic, the taxonomy of the cementing bivalve families Prospondylidae, Plicatulidae, Dimyidae and Ostreidae is examined and their phylogenetic relations are discussed. The Prospondylidae are characterized by the presence of an early pectiniform stage in their Palaeozoic genera which disappeared in most later forms due to ontogenetic pre-displacement of cementation.

• Read more about Taxonomy and phylogeny of cementing Triassic bivalves (families Prospondylidae, Plicatulidae, Dimyidae and Ostreidae)

Eremopezus eocaenus Andrews, 1904 is a giant groundbird from upper Eocene deposits of the Fayum, Egypt, which has hitherto been known from non-diagnostic fragmentary material. New fossils collected from quarry L-41 of the Jebel Qatrani Formation include two well-preserved distal tarsometatarsi and an associated whole tarsometatarsus and distal tibiotarsus that allow a more precise evaluation of the phylogenetic position and tarsal function of Eremopezus. Unlike most ratites, the distal tarsometatarsus has a patent distal foramen and a slight hallucal digit.

• Read more about Hindlimb of a giant terrestrial bird from the upper Eocene, Fayum, Egypt

Four new genera and species of arthropod, Cambronatus brasseliWingertshellicus backesiEschenbachiellus wuttkensis and Magnoculus blindi, are described from the Hunsruuck Slate (Lower Emsian) of Germany. All four occur in the Wingertshell Member in the vicinity of Bundenbach. They preserve remarkable details of the ventral morphology, including the appendages, as a result of pyritization. In each case the body consists of just two tagmata, a cephalon and a large number of similar trunk somites. Both CambronatusWingertshellicus have fluke-like appendages making up a tail fan.

• Read more about New arthropods from the Lower Devonian Hunsrück Slate (Lower Emsian, Rhenish Massif, western Germany)