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The first neoceratopsian dinosaur remains from Europe

Shallow marine, nearshore strata of earliest Campanian (Gonioteuthis granulataquadrata belemnite Zone) and latest Early Campanian (informal Belemnellocamax mammillatus belemnite zone) age in the Kristianstad Basin, southern Sweden, have yielded isolated leptoceratopsid teeth and vertebrae, representing the first record of horned dinosaurs from Europe. The new leptoceratopsid occurrence may support a European dispersal route for the Leptoceratopsidae, or may represent an entirely endemic population.

Systematics and taxonomy of Eocene tomistomine crocodylians from Britain and northern Europe

The holotype of Dollosuchus dixoni (Owen) from the Early-Middle Eocene Bracklesham Beds of England is a set of mandibular fragments that cannot be distinguished from corresponding parts of other longirostrine crocodylians. An isolated humerus from the Bracklesham Beds is consistent with a gavialoid, but it cannot be referred to the holotype of D. dixoni. The name Dollosuchoides densmorei is established for the well-preserved skull and skeleton of a tomistomine from the Middle Eocene of Belgium that had been referred to D. dixoni.

New crinoids (Echinodermata) from the Llandovery (Lower Silurian) of the British Isles

British Llandovery crinoids remain poorly known. Three species are documented herein that were originally described, but not published, by W. H. C. Ramsbottom. Clematocrinus ramsbottomi Fearnhead sp. nov. (Tortworth Inlier, Gloucestershire; Telychian) has a heteromorphic column, N434243414342434, radices directed away from the crown, and ten long, uniserial arms with a pustular aboral sculpture and long, slender pinnules. Clematocrinus spp. are widely distributed in the Silurian of England. Ptychocrinus mullochillensis Fearnhead and Donovan sp. nov.

Serpukhovian conodonts from northern Spain and their biostratigraphic application

Conodont collections from late Visean-early Bashkirian deposits include numerous elements related to the cosmopolitan species Gnathodus bilineatus (Roundy) in the Cantabrian Mountains. Arnsbergian beds yield the taxa Gnathodus bilineatus leonicus subsp. nov., G. millarensis sp. nov., G. truyolsi sp. nov. and Gnathodus sp. nov. A. Almost all are also found in limestones of similar age in the Pyrenees, and the G. truyolsi conodont Zone is defined for the upper Serpukhovian of the northern Iberian Peninsula.

The earliest terebratulids

The earliest terebratulids from Central Asia (Tadzhikistan), Podolia (Ukraine) and Novaya Zemlya (Russia) are described and include the new genus Nordothyris. Cranaena tinctoradiata Cooper and Cloud and Cryptonella melonica (Barrande) are revised for first time. The stratigraphical levels of the species studied and their biofacies are also described.

Larger foraminifera from the upper Oligocene of the Venetian area, north-east italy

A moderately diverse larger foraminiferal fauna from the north-east Italian 'Arenarie e calcari di S. Urbano' formation with important stratigraphic, palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical implications is described with respect to its position in the Western Tethys area. The fauna is dominated by hyaline perforated and porcellaneous forms including Amphistegina, Archaias, Austrotrillina, Miogypsinoides, Neoplanorbulinella, Neorotalia, Nummulites, Operculina and Spiroclypeus.

Coniferous trees associated with interdune deposits in the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone Formation, Utah, USA

The Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone Formation of south-west USA represents one of the largest erg deposits ever to have developed on Earth. Here, we report the widespread occurrence of silicified conifer stumps and trunks within interdune deposits near Moab, south-east Utah. Where present as (par)autochthonous assemblages, trees are associated with the deposits of spring-fed carbonate lakes. A few stumps preserved in growth position are rooted in aeolian sandstone immediately below the lake deposits, and evidently established on interdune soils in response to a rising water table.

A new species of the wombat Warendja from late Miocene deposits at Riversleigh, north-west Queensland, Australia

A new species of the plesiomorphic wombat Warendja is described. Warendja encorensis sp. nov., the second species to be attributed to this genus, is known from a single fossil locality (Encore Site) at Riversleigh, north-west Queensland. Specimens of W. encorensis are limited to isolated teeth, two mandibular fragments and a maxillary fragment. Two molars preserve the unworn crown morphology. Encore Site has been estimated to be late Miocene in age, making these the only known specimens of Warendja to be clearly older than Pleistocene.

Molecular palaeobiology

For more than a generation, molecular biology has been used to approach palaeontological problems, and yet only recently have attempts been made to integrate research utilizing the geological and genomic records in uncovering evolutionary history. We codify this approach as Molecular Palaeobiology for which we provide a synthetic framework for studying the interplay among genotype, phenotype and the environment, within the context of deep time.

A new microchoerine omomyid (Primates, Mammalia) from the English Early Eocene and its palaeobiogeographical implications

A new genus and species of omomyid primate, Melaneremia bryanti, is described from the Early Eocene Blackheath Beds of Abbey Wood, London, UK. It shares unique derived characters with the European subfamily Microchoerinae and is its most primitive member. It is nevertheless more derived than the primitive omomyid Teilhardina belgica from the beginning of the European Eocene. Cladistic analysis shows that the Microchoerinae are sister group to a clade comprising subfamilies Omomyinae and Anaptomorphinae, but excluding Teilhardina belgica and T. asiatica, which are stem omomyids.
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