Archive

For a long time, the genus Knebelia Van Straelen, 1922 has comprised two species of eryonid lobster, K. bilobata (Münster, 1839) and K. schuberti (Meyer, 1836), both recorded exclusively from Late Jurassic Lagerstätten in southern Germany. Recently, the latter has been suggested to represent a juvenile individual of Cycleryon propinquus (Schlotheim, 1822). A re-examination of the type and new material has led to our rejection of that interpretation and confirmation of assignment of this species to Knebelia.

• Read more about Diversity and palaeoecology of the enigmatic genus Knebelia (Eucrustacea, Decapoda, Eryonidae) from Upper Jurassic plattenkalks in southern Germany

We describe a new ammonoid fauna from the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey. The Carnian ammonoid fauna from Aşağiyaylabel is presented for the first time. Ammonoids were obtained from limestone to marl beds of an approximately 35-m-thick section, which presents the rare opportunity to investigate ammonoid faunas across the Lower–Upper Carnian boundary. Intense sampling near the village of Aşağiyaylabel led to the recognition of a new Lower Carnian (Julian 2) to Upper Carnian (Tuvalian 1) ammonoid fauna from the Kasimlar Formation. The genus Kasimlarceltites gen. nov.

• Read more about A new ammonoid fauna from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) Kasimlar Formation of the Taurus Mountains (Anatolia, Turkey)

Tapejarids are edentate pterosaurs recovered mainly from Early Cretaceous deposits. They are diagnosed by five synapomorphies, among which only one is postcranial: a broad and well-developed tubercle at the ventroposterior margin of the coracoid. Regarding the clade Thalassodrominae, most phylogenetic studies are based on cranial elements, as postcranial skeletons of these pterosaurs are rare. Here, new postcranial material from the Romualdo Formation (Aptian–Albian) from the Araripe Basin is described.

• Read more about New postcranial elements of the Thalassodrominae (Pterodactyloidea, Tapejaridae) from the Romualdo Formation (Aptian–Albian), Santana Group, Araripe Basin, Brazil

Retrotapes andrillorum sp. nov., Hiatella cf. arctica (Linnaeus, 1767), ?Yoldia sp. (internal mould) and six taxa of Pectinidae are reported from the Burdigalian section of the ANDRILL 2A core, drilled in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea. The pectinids are Adamussium cf. jonkersi Quaglio et al., 2010, Antarctipecten gen. nov. alanbeui (Jonkers, 2003), Austrochlamys forticosta sp. nov., Austrochlamys cf. marisrossensis Jonkers, 2003, Ruthipecten gen. nov., sp. nov.

• Read more about Early Miocene Mollusca from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (ANDRILL 2A drill core), with a review of Antarctic Oligocene and Neogene Pectinidae (Bivalvia)

The affinity of the Ediacaran fossil Shaanxilithes ningqiangensis and putatively related forms has long been enigmatic; over the past few decades, interpretations ranging from trace fossils to algae to metazoans of uncertain phylogenetic placement have been proposed. Combined morphological and geochemical evidence from a new occurrence of S. ningqiangensis in the Krol and Tal groups of the Lesser Himalaya of India indicates that S. ningqiangensis is not a trace fossil, but rather an organic-walled tubular body fossil of unknown taxonomic affinity.

• Read more about Precambrian–Cambrian boundary interval occurrence and form of the enigmatic tubular body fossil Shaanxilithes ningqiangensis from the Lesser Himalaya of India

The Furongian trilobite family Tsinaniidae is characterized by a highly effaced surface and forms an important constituent of the Furongian trilobite faunas of east Gondwana. However, the origin of the characteristic morphology of this family has remained unclear. Only recently has the tsinaniid trilobite Lonchopygella megaspina been suggested to represent an intermediate stage in the evolutionary transition to other tsinaniids on the basis of the trunk segmentation.

• Read more about Mansuyia Sun, and Tsinania Walcott, from the Furongian of North China and the evolution of the trilobite family Tsinaniidae

Hantkenina is a distinctive planktonic foraminiferal genus characterized by the presence of tubulospines (robust hollow projections) on each adult chamber, from Middle and Upper Eocene marine sediments worldwide. Here we illustrate its evolutionary origin using c. 150 specimens from 30 stratigraphic intervals in two sediment cores from Tanzania.

• Read more about Origin of the Eocene planktonic foraminifer Hantkenina by gradual evolution

Knowledge of the evolutionary history of crown group birds (Neornithes) has significantly improved through emerging congruence among phylogenetic hypotheses and the description of numerous new Palaeogene stem group representatives. However, controversies still persist about the precise interrelationships of many extant and fossil taxa and about the timing of the diversification of the neornithine crown group.

• Read more about The origins of crown group birds: molecules and fossils

• Read more about Wiley Online Library Redirect

The soft-bodied Cambrian organism Wiwaxia poses a taxonomic conundrum. Its imbricated dorsal scleritome suggests a relationship with the polychaete annelid worms, whereas its mouthparts and naked ventral surface invite comparison with the molluscan radula and foot. 476 new and existing specimens from the 505-Myr-old Burgess Shale cast fresh light on Wiwaxia's sclerites and scleritome.

• Read more about Ontogeny, morphology and taxonomy of the soft-bodied Cambrian 'mollusc' Wiwaxia