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Diexallophasis denticulata (Stockmans and Williere) Loeblich, 1970 excysted through an ornamented circumferential break in the central body wall. This is the first report of a patterned opening among acritarchs which have previously been reported to open by simple rupture or cryptosuture.

• Read more about A new excystment mechanism in the Silurian acritarch Diexallophasis of Virginia

A new species of fossil conifer belonging to the Cheirolepidiaceae (Hirmerellaceae) of Hauterivian or Barremian age is described from Portugal. It differs from other known species of this genus in leaf arrangement and cuticle details. The significance of leaf arrangement in the group is discussed.

• Read more about A Frenelopsis with opposite decussate leaves from the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal

The male cone and pollen attributed to the conifer shoot Pseudofrenelopsis parceramosa (Fontaine) Watson is described from the Wealden (Berremian) of the Isle of Wight. Comparison is made with the several earlier described Classopollis-containing male cones and a new genus is proposed for such cones found unattached. Aspects of the palaeoecology of the Cheirolepidiaceae (Hirmeriellaceae) are discussed.

• Read more about A Classopollis-containing male cone associated with Pseudofrenelopsis

An almost complete crocodile skull was found by the British-Kenya Miocene Expedition in the Fossil Bed Member of the Hiwegi Formation, at Kaswanga, Rusinga Island, Kenya in 1948. This is the most complete specimen from the Early Miocene deposits of East Africa. This skull, which superficially resembles that of Crocodylus niloticus, actually belongs to a new, relatively small species of Crocodylus. Fragmentary material of a crocodile similar to C. niloticus occurs at almost all of the Early Miocene sites in East Africa.

• Read more about New crocodiles from the Early Miocene of Kenya

The acritarch Cymatiosphaera peifferi sp. nov. from the Devonian Chattanooga shales in north-eastern Tennessee, U.S.A., has a characteristic arrangement of polygonal areas, or fields, on the central body. Two distinct kinds of fields, polar and subequatorial, differ in form and symmetry. Fields are arranged according to a constant tabulation pattern (1:5:5:1) with pentagonal symmetry developed around the polar field on each hemisphere.

• Read more about A new species of Cymatiosphaera (Acritarcha) with constant field tabulation from the Devonian of Tennessee

All known holasteroid echinoid species from the Tertiary rocks of Australia and New Zealand are described and illustrated. All except Echinocorys australis sp. nov., from the Palaeocene of Western Australia, belong to genera confined to Australia and New Zealand. Other holasterids are Giraliaster jubileensis gen. et sp. nov. with additional species G. tertiarius (Gregory). G. sulcatus (Hulton) (= Cardiaster latecordatus Tate). and G. bellissae sp. nov. A new family Corystidae is proposed for holasleroids wilh a central rostral plate.

• Read more about Tertiary holasteroid echinoids from Australia and New Zealand

Phosphatized cybelinid trilobite larvae in an exceptional state of preservation have been obtained from early Ordovician limestones in northern Spitsbergen. A stage below the anaprotaspis is described, and termed the phaselus stage. There is a case for regarding the phaselus larva as homologous with the nauplius larva of extant Crustacea.

• Read more about Discovery of nauplius-like trilobite larvae

Samples from the Marathon Ordovician succession, by many considered the reference standard for the Pacific Province graptolite zone succession in North America, have produced numerous conodonts, which provide new information on the correlation of the graptolite succession and the mutual relations between Pacific Province graptolite zones, North Atlantic Province conodont zones, and European Province graptolite zones. Most of the Marathon Glyptograptus cf. G. teretiusculus Zone is equivalent to the Baltoscandian G.

• Read more about Middle and Upper Ordovician conodont and graptolite biostratigraphy of the Marathon, Texas graptolite zone reference standard

Six morphologically distinct types of ambulacral pore, found in a survey of Recent regular echinoids, are described and correlated with the structure of their tube feet. A functional interpretation of pore structure provides considerable information about the tube foot supported and allows the reconstruction of tube feet from fossil echinoid tests.

• Read more about A functional classification of the coronal pores of regular echinoids

Dispersed fungal spores from Late Eocene deposits from the Hampshire Basin are placed in the genus Ctenosporites Elsik and Jansonius. The population studied shows continuous morphological variation between individuals conforming with C. eskerensis Elsik and Jansonius and with C. wolfei Elsik and Jansonius. C. wolfei is therefore placed in synonymy with C. eskerensis. Although previously described from Canadian and South Australian Tertiary assemblages, this is the first European Tertiary record of this highly distinctive genus.

• Read more about Fungal spores of the genus Ctenosporites from the early Tertiary of southern England