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It has long been postulated that inoceramid bivalves had a long-lived planktotrophic larval stage because of their cosmopolitan distribution in the Cretaceous. This is now proven by the discovery of large larval shells preserved on inoceramid adult umbones from the Gault Formation at Folkestone. The developmental structure of these larval shells indicates that they were planktotrophic, living in the water column for in excess of 50 days. However, neither the inoceramid larval shell shape nor the hinge structure throw any new light on the taxonomic affinities of this extinct bivalve family.

• Read more about Inoceramid larval planktotrophy: evidence from the Gault Formation (Middle and basal Upper Albian), Folkestone, Kent

The most diverse early Ordovician bivalve fauna yet known comprises 20 species belonging to 18 genera. It is from the early Arenig (Moridunian Stage) of the Llangynog Inlier, near Carmarthen. South Wales, and is dominated by actinodontoids. with palaeolaxodonts, cyrtodontoids and rarer modiomorphoids, anomalodesmaians, solemyoids and a pterioid. From the same locality a rostroconch is described and a nearby mid-Arenig (Whitlandian Stage) locality has yielded an ambonyehiid. The following new taxa are described: Pensarnia laeviformis gen. el sp. nov., Paulinea parva gen. et sp. nov..

• Read more about Early Ordovician (Arenig) bivalves from the Llangynog Inlier, South Wales

The brachidium is revealed for the first time in the Late Ordovician Eospirifer praecursor, the earliest known eospiriferine and probably the ancestor of the entire Spirifer group. The adult stages of the species possess a spiralium directed ventro-laterally with a pair of small jugal processes without a jugum. The brachidium of the other five species of Eospirifer (including E. radiatus (Sowerby), the type species) and three of Striispirifer (including S.

• Read more about Brachidia of late Ordovician and Silurian eospiriferines (Brachiopoda) and the origin of the spiriferides

The cytheracean ostracod genus Progonocythere and its immediate allies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous are reviewed. All known species of 12 genera are considered. Only five of these genera (Dromacythere, Fastigatocythere, Glyptocythere, Majungaella, Progonocythere) remain valid; the seven rejected genera are Amicytheridea, Glyptogatocythere, Malzia, Novocythere, Strictocythere, Tickalaracythere and Zerqacythere.

• Read more about A review of the Mesozoic ostracod genus Progonocythere and its close allies

New and previously reported captorhinid material from the upper part of the Permian level T2 of the Argana Formation of Morocco is described. A maxilla bearing three tooth-rows forms the holotype of Acrodonta irerhi. Acrodonta is a medium-sized captorhinid with three rows of long and sharply pointed maxillary teeth, which differs from all other captorhinids in its acrodont tooth implantation. Dental plates and postcranial material are attributed to an unnamed member of the captorhinid subfamily Moradisaurinae.

• Read more about Permian captorhinid reptiles from the Argana Formation, Morocco

The braincases of the Triassic early archosaurs Vjushkovia triplicostata, Fugusuchus hejiapensis, Xilousuchus sapingensis, and Shansisuchus shansisuchus are described in detail for the first time. A preliminary analysis investigating the phylogenetic informativeness of braincase morphology in the earliest archosaurs incorporates 11 archosauromorph taxa and 17 informative characters. A further seven uninformative and eight problematical braincase characters are discussed.

• Read more about Morphology and phylogenetic informativeness of early archosaur braincases

It is demonstrated that ' Glyptograptus' bohemicus is a junior subjective synonym of Normalograptus persculptus. The first appearance of N. persculptus appears to be diachronous, posing problems for Hirnantian biozonation. In China, N. persculptus co-occurs with N. extraordinarius. We favour here an extension downwards of the existing persculptus Biozone, the base being defined by the incoming of N. persculptus, with the lower part of the biozone designated the extraordinarius, Subzone.

• Read more about The Hirnantian graptolites Normalograptus persculptus and 'Glyptograptus' bohemicus: stratigraphical consequences of their synonymy

A bed-by-bed collection of 144 specimens of the ammonite genus Sutneria from the uppermost Oxfordian and lowermost Kimmeridgian of southern Spain comprises the species and subspecies galar Oppel, galar thieli Zeiss, nusplingensis Fischer and platynota Reinecke. These represent the most complete assemblage of the genus known from the western Tethys. All the species, except nusplingensis, were found in epicontinental facies (alternating marls, marly limestones and limestones) as well as in epioceanic facies (ammonitico rosso). S.

• Read more about The ammonite Sutneria from the Upper Jurassic of southern Spain

Simple measurements were taken from the vertebral column of several extinct and extant terrestrial vertebrates in order to estimate the bending moments in a sagittal plane that could be sustained along the longitudinal body axis. According to theoretical expectations, the estimated patterns of sustainable bending moments prove to differ between bipeds and quadrupeds of different body proportions.

• Read more about Deducing the body posture of extinct large vertebrates from the shape of the vertebral column

The uppermost beds of the Alinga Formation and the basal part of the overlying Beedagong Claystone in the lower Murchison River area at the southern end of the Southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia, have yielded 15 species of lamniform sharks referred to ten genera, of which one genus and three species are new: Crietoxyrhina mantelli, Archaeolamna aff. kopingensis, A. haigi sp. nov., Leptostyrax sp., Cretolamna appendiculata. C. gunsoni sp. nov., Pseudoisurus tomosus. Pseudoisurus?. sp.. Paranomotodon sp,, 'Anomotodon' sp.. Johnlongia allocotodon gen. et sp, nov., Carcharias sp. A, C.

• Read more about Lamniform sharks of the mid Cretaceous Alinga Formation and Beedagong Claystone, Western Australia