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The heterodont bivalve Sinbadiella pygmaea gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Sinbad Limestone Member (Olenekian, Smithian) of the Lower Triassic Moenkopi Formation of Utah (USA). The new taxon is tentatively assigned to the Lucinidae on the grounds of its external morphology, larval shell morphology and hinge characters. It is the only definite representative of the Superorder Heterodonta in the Olenekian, removing this major clade of bivalves from the long list of Early Triassic Lazarus taxa.

• Read more about First record of a heterodont bivalve (Mollusca) from the Early Triassic: palaeoecological significance and implications for the Lazarus problem

From 1935 to 1962 Maslov published two monographs and several other papers on the taxonomy of fossil calcareous algae of diverse ages from the large geographical area of the former USSR. Among many other taxa, he described five new genera (Solenophyllum, Palaeophyllum, Mesolithon, Bicorium and Tomilithon, as a subgenus of Parachaetetes Deninger) which he attributed to the Corallinaceae, and the new genus Karpathia, which he included in the Squamariaceae. Type material of these taxa, except for Mesolithon, is housed in the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

• Read more about Re-assessment of the type collections of corallinalean genera (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) described by V. P. Maslov

Well-preserved arthropod trackways are described from the laminated limestones of the Crayssac Lagerstatte (south-west France, Lower Tithonian). They occur in sediments deposited in the temporary coastal mudflats of intertidal to supratidal zones. The trackways are referred to Pterichnus isopodicus isp. nov., and are interpreted as the locomotion traces of isopods. Different trackway morphotypes are recognized and clearly resulted from variations in the original consistency of the sediment.

• Read more about Isopod trackways from the Crayssac Lagerstatte, Upper Jurassic, France

New diagnostic morphological features discovered following a re-examination and further preparation of the holotype of Leverhulmia mariae Anderson and Trewin from the Early Devonian (Pragian) Windyfield chert are described and discussed here. The discovery of anterior (thoracic?) leg appendages with attached pretarsal elements comprising a fixed median unguis, a pair of articulated lateral ungues and possible unguitractor plate has allowed us to reclassify this enigmatic fossil as Hexapoda incertae sedis.

• Read more about A hexapod from the early Devonian Windyfield Chert, Rhynie, Scotland

Helophilus nothobombus sp. nov. (Diptera: Syrphidae) is described from Early Miocene lake sediments of the Randeck Maar (Swabian Alb, south-west Germany) and compared to other fossil species of the genus. Helophilus primarius Germar, 1837 and Helophilus villeneuvi Theobald, 1937 do not show diagnostic features that allow assignment to the genus Helophilus or even to the tribe Eristalini. Helophilus miocaenicus (Stackelberg, 1925) and H. nothobombus thus are the only plausible fossil species of the genus.

• Read more about A new fossil hoverfly (Insecta, Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Randeck Maar (early Miocene, South-West Germany)

The morphological changes in four species-level lineages of the Late Cambrian trilobite Olenus from the Alum Shale at Andrarum, south-east Scania, Sweden, have been analysed with the aim of re-examining the classical study of iterative evolution by Kaufmann (1933a). New material comprising 647 pygidia was collected for a restudy of Olenus, and for comparison the skeletal development of 918 cephala and 568 pygidia from the associated Homagnostus obesus were included. The re-examination shows that (1) only pygidia of the O. transversus - O. truncatus - O.

• Read more about The Upper Cambrian trilobite Olenus at Andrarum, Sweden: a case of iterative evolution?

New Palaeozoic millipedes, Zosterogrammus stichostethus gen. et sp. nov. and Casiogrammus ichthyeros gen. and sp. nov., are described from the Francis Creek Shale Member of the Carbondale Formation (Upper Carboniferous: Pennsylvanian), Mazon Creek, Illinois, and the Hagshaw Hills Inlier (Middle Silurian: Wenlock) of the Midland Valley of Scotland, respectively. These millipedes, together with Purkynia lata Fritsch from the Upper Carboniferous (Westphalian D) of Nyrany, Czech Republic, are placed in the new family Zosterogrammidae within the new order Zosterogrammida.

• Read more about Zosterogrammida, a new order of millipedes from the middle Silurian of Scotland and the upper Carboniferous of Euramerica

Taxonomic and biostratigraphic investigation of Staurograptus at small sampling intervals from the basal Ordovician sections at Green Point, western Newfoundland, Riviere Petite Blanche on the Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, and Wuning in north-west Jiangxi, South China, reveal a complete morphological series comprising three distinct staurograptid forms identified as three species: Staurograptus dichotomus Emmons, S. apertus Ruedemann and S. hyperboreus (Obut and Sobolevskaya).

• Read more about Taxonomy and phylogeny of Staurograptus Emmons from the base of the Ordovician

A new archipolypodan millipede, Anaxeodesmus diambonotus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Upper Carboniferous (Westphalian B) Coseley Lagerstatte, West Midlands, UK. This taxon is unique amongst Archipolypoda in having tergites unornamented by spines or tubercles. It appears to have archidesmidan affinities as it shares similarities in sternal morphology with the Early Devonian archipolypodan Palaeodesmus tuberculata (Brade-Birks) from the Midland Valley of Scotland.

• Read more about A new genus of archipolypodan millipede from the Coseley Lagerstatte, Upper Carboniferous, UK

A number of fin spines were described by Duff (1842) from the Upper Devonian locality of Scat Craig, Scotland. Only one of these specimens was described by Agassiz (1845) as a fin spine. This was the holotype of Cosmacanthus malcolmsoni Agassiz, 1845. Denison (1978) later removed C. malcolmsoni from the Acanthodii and placed it in the Placodermi, but without a full systematic description. In this paper, Denison's (1978) opinion as to the affinity of C. malcolmsoni is confirmed. A full systematic description of C. malcolmsoni is presented, including a complete synonymy list.

• Read more about A systematic review of the placoderm genus Cosmacanthus and a description of acanthodian remains from the upper Devonian of Scotland