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Morphology and function of dichoporite pore-structures in cystoids

The cystoids, a diverse and artificial group of extinct Palaeozoic echinoderms, are characterized by the possession of pore-structures developed in the thecal wall and composed of thecal canals which open in thecal pores. Thecal canals may occur singly to form dipores, or in sets perpendicular to plate sutures to form rhombs. Five basic types of pore-structure are recognised: pectinirhombs, cryptorhombs, humatirhombs, humatipores, and diplopores. The first two are composed of dichopores, thecal canals which connect external pores and through which sea-water flowed in life.

A new plant from the lower Old Red Sandstone of South Wales

A new plant is described from the Senni Beds of the Lower Devonian of South Wales. The naked axes were pseudomonopodially and dichotomously branched and contained protosteles in which the protoxylem was central. Terminal fructifications consisted of sporangia alternating with sterile bracts; the plant was homosporous. A comparison is made with other Devonian genera, which show similar organization in the fertile regions, and it is concluded that the plant should be placed in a new genus, Krithodeophyton, assigned to the Barinophytaceae (Incertae sedis).

The graptolite assemblages and zones of the Brikhill Shales (Lower Silurian) at Dobb's Linn

The graptolite assemblages and lithologies of the Birkhill Shales (Lower Silurian) at Dobb's Linn are described. The condensed 141 ft. (43 m.) euxinic sequence is divided into eight graptolite zones in descending order: Rastrites maximus, Monograptus sedgwickii, M. convolutus, M. gregarius, M. cyphus, Cystograptus vesiculosus, Akidograptus acuminatus, and Glyptograptus persculptus. These zones are compared with the original work of Lapworth (1878), and with equivalent zones elsewhere in Great Britain.

The structure of Vertebraria indica Royle

Pulls of carbonised substance of Royle's type of V. indica and 250 other axes referable to the same species have been studied. The other specimens were collected from the Raniganj and Giridih coalfields (Permian; Upper Damuda Group, Gondwana System). They all show the same kinds of secondary xylem, large parenchyma, and phloem-like cells. The different kinds of pitting and their frequency in the tracheids, the frequency of uniseriate rays of different heights, their length, and the range of variation in xylem character, have been determined.

Planicardinia, a new septate dalmanellid brachiopod from the Lower Devonian of New South Wales

Planicardinia is described as a new genus of septate dalmanellid occurring in deposits of probable early Siegenian age in New South Wales. The new genus, known only by the type species Planicardinia carroli sp. nov., is placed in the Mystrophoridae together with the genera Mystrophora, Kayserella, and Hypsomyonia. It is the earliest known representative of the family and its presence at this horizon indicates that the origins of the group are at least as old as the early lower Devonian.

The atrypidine brachiopod Dayia navicula (J. de C. Sowerby)

The atrypidine brachiopod Dayia navicula (J. de C. Sowerby) is described and a neotype is designated. The musculature is reinterpreted and shown to differ from previous interpretations. Comparisons are made between Dayia navicula s. str. and other forms referred to the species. Between the Ludlow and the Lower Devonian the shells increase in size and incurvature of the umbo becomes less marked.

A revision of some Upper Devonian foraminifera from Western Australia

Arenaceous foraminifera described by Crespin (1961) from the Upper Devonian Virgin Hills and Gogo Formations of the Fitzroy Basin of Western Australia are revised. Four genera and eight species are recognized; these include Oxinoxis Gutschick 1962 and Sorosphaeroidea Stewart and Lampe 1947, which were previously recorded only from the Middle Palaeozoic of the United States.
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