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Chroniosuchians are an enigmatic Permian to Triassic group of crocodile-like basal tetrapods. Their conspicuous dorsal osteoderm systems include most of the group’s yet documented postcranial morphological variability but have hardly been considered in cladistic approaches. Aiming at the clarification of the internal relationships of the Chroniosuchia, we have carried out a parsimony analysis including, among others, 23 morphological and osteohistological osteoderm characters and 12 chroniosuchian taxa.

• Read more about On the use of osteoderm features in a phylogenetic approach on the internal relationships of the Chroniosuchia (Tetrapoda: Reptiliomorpha)

Three-dimensional fragments of palaeoscolecid cuticle have been recovered from the Furongian (upper Cambrian) of Hunan, South China. Extraordinary preservation of the fossils shows exquisite surface details indicating a three-layered structure of the cuticle. One new genus and two new species Dispinoscolex decorus gen. et sp. nov. and Schistoscolex hunanensis sp. nov. are described. The co-occurrence of these palaeoscolecid remains with those of Markuelia hunanensis allowed us to test the hypothesis that Markuelia, known hitherto only from embryonic remains, is an embryonic palaeoscolecid.

• Read more about New palaeoscolecid worms from the Furongian (upper Cambrian) of Hunan, South China: is Markuelia an embryonic palaeoscolecid?

The Lower Devonian Xujiachong Formation from the vicinity of Qujing City, Yunnan, China is interpreted as a terrestrial-fluviatile-lacustrine sequence. It contains important nonmarine biotas including plants, fish and invertebrates. The plants are particularly interesting as they include many endemic taxa. Dispersed spore assemblages have been recovered from the upper part of this formation. The spores are well preserved and of moderate thermal maturity. They are systematically described and four new species erected: Aneurospora xujiachongensis sp. nov., Chelinospora ouyangii sp.

• Read more about Spore assemblages from the Lower Devonian Xujiachong Formation from Qujing, Yunnan, China

Morphological changes in the ontogeny of sauropods are poorly known, making difficult to establish the systematic affinities of very young individuals. New information on an almost complete juvenile sauropod (SMA 0009) with an estimated total length of about 2 m is here presented. The specimen was described as a diplodocid owing to the presence of some putative synapomorphies of this group. However, recent further preparation revealed the absence of diplodocid characters and the presence of macronarian derived characters.

• Read more about New information on a juvenile sauropod specimen from the Morrison Formation and the reassessment of its systematic position

Eyes other than those of trilobites are rarely preserved in the fossil record. We describe here a set of six tiny, isolated, three-dimensionally preserved compound eyes. These secondarily phosphatized eyes were etched from ‘Orsten’ limestone nodules dated to the Agnostus pisiformis Biozone from the Cambrian Alum Shale Formation of Sweden. The ovoid eyes arise from an elongated stalk, their surface being covered by a mosaic of regular and hexagonal-shaped facets representing the surface of ommatidia. Facet size and pattern change within the same specimen from the posterior to the anterior end.

• Read more about Exceptionally well-preserved isolated eyes from Cambrian 'Orsten' fossil assemblages of Sweden

Bulk sampling of phosphate-rich horizons within the Late Cretaceous of the Anglo-Paris Basin yielded numerous teeth of members of the Squatiniformes. Along with isolated tooth remains, two museum specimens comprising partial articulated encoskeletal remains including the holotype of the species Squatina cranei Woodward, 1888a are described, and a new subgenus Cretascyllium is proposed for species of the genus Squatina with high degree of heterodonty and triangular anterior teeth. The species Squatina (Cretascyllium) cranei comb. nov. and Squatina (Cretascyllium) hassei comb. nov.

• Read more about Squatiniformes (Chondrichthyes, Neoselachii) from the Late Cretaceous of southern England and northern France with redescription of the holotype of Squatina cranei Woodward, 1888

Palaeoscolecidan worms are rare, Early Palaeozoic fossils with uncertain affinities within the Ecdysozoa. They are locally abundant in the Cambrian and scattered in the Early Ordovician, but very sparse thereafter. Forty-four specimens have been collected from the Middle Ordovician of the Builth-Llandrindod Inlier of Mid Wales and include well-preserved material assigned to seven new genera, with four additional species in open nomenclature. An additional specimen from the Arenig Pontyfenni Formation of South Wales is also described in open nomenclature.

• Read more about Diverse middle Ordovician palaeoscolecidan worms from the Builth-Llandrindod Inlier of central Wales

The smallest living amniotes are all lizards, but the fossil history of this size trait in Squamata is difficult to follow because small skeletons have low preservation potential and are often hard to detect in the field. A new squamate taxon, Jucaraseps grandipes gen. et sp. nov., is here described on the basis of an articulated skeleton from the Early Cretaceous Spanish lagerstätten of Las Hoyas.

• Read more about A tiny lizard (Lepidosauria, Squamata) from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain

Twenty-six species (nineteen of them formally named) of scutelluid trilobites belonging to eight genera are described from limestones of the lower Wenlock to Ludlow Mirrabooka Formation and its stratigraphical equivalents in the Orange district of New South Wales. Two genera, Borenoria and Mirrabooka, are new. Japonoscutellum, previously employed mainly for several species from Japan, is a globally widely distributed genus in rocks of middle Llandovery to Ludlow age and includes a number of species previously assigned to Kosovopeltis.

• Read more about Scutelluid trilobites from the Silurian of New South Wales

The palaeoloricate ‘polyplacophorans’ are an extinct paraphyletic group of basal chiton-like organisms known primarily from their fossilized valves. Their phylogenetic placement remains contentious, but they are likely to include both stem-group Polyplacophora and stem-group Aplacophora. Candidates for the latter position include ‘Helminthochiton’thraivensis from the Ordovician of Scotland, which we redescribe here through a combined optical and micro-CT (XMT) restudy of the type material.

• Read more about A chiton without a foot