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The Late Tortonian-Early Messinian Abad Member in the Sorbas Basin, south-east Spain contains abundant foraminifera. Planktonic foraminifera have been used to reconstruct the environmental conditions that developed within the basin. Benthonic foraminifera reveal a detailed picture of the palaeoenvironment. After an initial deepening episode, from upper epibathyal (c. 200m) depths to lower epibathyal (c. 1000m) depths, the basin progressively shallowed to shelf depths (c.

• Read more about A coralline-like red alga from the lower Ordovician of Wales

Laboratory experiments, undertaken to determine the effectiveness of pronounced shell ornament in epifaunal bivalves against predatory shell boring by subtropical muricid gastropods and extraoral feeding by asteroids, suggest that natural and artificial spines deter muricid predators from attacking ornamented areas of the bivalve shell but do not have a similar effect upon predatory asteroids. These findings are discussed in relation to the extant and often highly spinose cementing bivalve families Spondylidae and Chamidae.

• Read more about On predator deterrence by pronounced shell ornament in epifaunal bivalves

New data indicate that Carniodus is not a separate taxon but the elements considered to belong to it in reality formed a part of the Pterospathodus apparatus. The latter contains 14 elements: Pa, Pb1, Pb2, PC, M1 (+M2 in P. pennatus procerus), Sc1 Sc2, Sc3, Sb1, Sb2, Sa, carnuliform with five morphs, carniciform, and curved element with three morphs. Two ecologically distinct lineages existed and evolved separately. One lineage (P. amorphognathoides angulatus - P. amorphognathoides lennarti ssp. nov. - P. a. lithuanicus - P. a.

• Read more about Evolution and taxonomy of the Silurian conodont Pterospathodus

Bagnolites stuarti gen. et sp. nov. is described from the lower part of the Lias Group (Lower Jurassic, Upper Sinemurian, Obtusum Zone, Stellare Subzone) of the Dorset coast. It is characterized by an involute shell with smooth, trigonal whorls and a distinctive suture line. Its systematic assignment is uncertain but it may be a derivative of the family Arietitidae.

• Read more about A new ammonite genus from the Lower Jurassic (Upper Sinemurian) of Dorset, England

The arcoidean bivalves, Trecanolia acincta gen. et sp. nov. and Uskardita mikraulax gen. et sp. nov., are described from the Wenlock of South Wales. These bivalves are accommodated within the new family Frejidae, alongside the closely related Silurian genera Freja Liljedahl and Alytodonta Cope. The frejids are characterized by an amphidetic, chevron-shaped duplivincular ligament, and a ventrally diverging dental arrangement of pseudocardinals and pseudolaterals.

• Read more about New Silurian neotaxodont bivalves from South Wales and their phylogenetic significance

A new, unusually diverse and abundant polyplacophoran (chiton) assemblage occurs in the Silurian of Gotland, Sweden, largely as silicified material. The paleoloricate fauna described here includes: Thairoplax pelta gen. et sp. nov., Plectrochiton tegulus gen. et sp. nov., Alastega lira gen. et sp. nov., Heloplax papilla gen. et sp. nov., Enetoplax decora gen. et sp. nov. and Arctoplax ornata gen. et sp. nov.; Gotlandochiton Bergenhayn is revised. One genus represented by an intermediate sclerite, and two unassociated end sclerites, are left under open nomenclature.

• Read more about Silurian polyplacophoran molluscs from Gotland, Sweden

Two Hymenoptera, from the Upper Oligocene of Enspel (Germany) and the Upper Pliocene of Willershausen (Germany), are described and their systematic position is discussed. The fossil from Enspel shows parts of the body and almost the complete wing venation. After analysis of the phylogeny of Tremecinae (Siricidae) it could be placed near Eriotremex and Afrotremex. The specimen from Willershausen has only the apical part of one forewing preserved and belongs to Tremex.

• Read more about First records of fossil tremecine hymenopterans

Thomastus is a blind effaced styginid trilobite that occurs in strata of Wenlock age in Victoria, Australia. The genus is most closely related to Bumastella and Illaenoides, with which it shares characters such as a highly convex cephalon, the absence of the omphalus and the anterolateral internal pit, a weakly forwardly converging facial suture, a transverse furrow in front of the articulating flange on the posterior fixigenal margin, and a pygidium with a deep holcos. Of the four species previously assigned to Thomastus, T. collusor and T.

• Read more about The effaced styginid trilobite Thomastus from the Silurian of Victoria, Australia

Among the compound eyes of trilobites, the most remarkable are the schizochroal type of the suborder Phacopina. As well as representing an ancient visual system of probably unique kind, schizochroal eyes show patterns of variation in lens distribution which have figured in discussions of possible dimorphism and polymorphism in trilobites species, and have been used by some authors as taxonomic characters. Eophacops musheni is a common species in the British Wenlock, and variation in the lens pattern on the visual surface is described from about 40 well preserved specimens.

• Read more about Variation in the eyes of the Silurian trilobites Eophacops and Acaste and its significance

Eight species of illaenimorph trilobites belonging to five genera of the Styginidae are described from limestones of the mid-late Wenlock to Ludlow Mirrabooka Formation and its stratigraphical equivalents in the Orange district, New South Wales. The morphology of illaenimorph (= effaced) styginids is discussed; the term' omphalus' is introduced for the socketed, tubercle-like projection present in some genera on the interior of the cranidium at or in front of the anterior end of the axial furrow.

• Read more about Effaced styginid trilobities from the Silurian of New South Wales