Annales de Paleontologie最新文献

Pulchelliidae are one of the most important ammonite groups for the Barremian biostratigraphy, and its last species Gerhardtia provincialis was deemed to be an end of lineage with no descendants. However, presence of Pulchelliidae was mentioned several times in levels clearly assigned to the Hemihoplites feraudianus Interval Horizon, while this family was deemed to be extinct in the G. provincialis Subzone; these specimens have never been depicted or described. The description of the both two antidimorphs of Gerhardtia ultima sp. nov., discovered in several sections of southeastern France, fills this gap. In terms of evolution, this ultimate species continues the channeling initiated by Gerhardtia sartousiana and G. provincialis with the setting up of the over deepening of the ventral furrow, which widens in order to occupy its entire width between the peripheral structures in G. ultima sp. nov. In parallel, the peripheral structures are attenuated, the ornamentation disappears on the flanks, and the adult size decreases together with the wide opening of the umbilicus. This hyper-paedomorphic tendency (neoteny and progenesis) occurs suddenly at the end of the lineage, at the same time G. ultima sp. nov. is under dramatic quantitative rarefaction, announcing the complete and definitive disappearance of the Pulchelliidae.

Three Upper Cretaceous sections (Boukaïs sections from the Guir Basin; Gour Louazouaza section from the Tademait Hamada and Gour Belhouillet section from the Tinrhert Hamada) were measured, and their respective echinoid content was studied. Fifteen echinoid species referred to ten genera, are identified and taxonomically described from the upper Cenomanian strata belonging to the Neolobites bioevent. Among the studied echinoids, Pedinopsis (P.) hemisphaerica Abdelhamid, 2014a is recorded for the first time from outside Egypt. The palaeobiogeographic distribution of this fauna is discussed and indicates strong Tethyan affinity.

In this research, benthic foraminifera from the Upper Cretaceous Maastrichtian in the Tutak section (Eastern Iran) was studied for the first time. In the Tutak section, there are outcrops of scattered and lenticular Maastrichtian carbonate sediments between the ophiolitic units. Some of the benthic foraminifera identified in this section are Orbitoides apiculatus, Orbitoides medius, Omphalocyclus cf. macroporus, Orbitoides cf. gruenbachensis, Orbitoides gensacicus, Orbitoides spp., Sirelina orduensis, Canalispina iapygia, Goupillaudina spp., Selimina spinalis, Postomphalocyclus merici. Since there is no comprehensive study of this benthic foraminifera in eastern Iran, the authors suggest the name of the Makhunik unit for these Maastrichtian sediments in the Flysch Basin in the eastern part of Iran.

The Western Saharan Atlas continues to reveal its paleontological secrets. Recent prospecting carried out in the upper part of the Rhoundjaia Formation allows to discover several fossiliferous levels rich in new, unpublished ammonites (lower Turonian). Seven Species are described and illustrated in the context of this study: Neoptychites cephalotus (Courtiller, 1860), Fagesia peroni (Pervinquière, 1907), Fagesia tevesthensis (Peron, 1896), Pseudotissotia nigeriensis (Woods, 1911), Thomasites rollandi (Thomas and Peron, 1889), Choffaticeras (C.) sinaiticum (Douvillé, 1912), Hoplitoides sp. These species cover Watinoceras coloradoense and Mammites nodosoides Zones (lower Turonian) and document a south tethysian paleobiogeographic affinity.

Two evanioid wasps are described from specimens entrapped in Kachin amber. The first species, Sinuevania pouilloni sp. nov., allows a revision of the diagnosis of the genus Sinuevania. The complex forewing venation (plesiomorphy) of this new species confirms that the genus Sinuevania belongs to the stem group of the family Evaniidae. Together with the new praeaulacine wasp Praegastrinus edithae gen. et sp. nov., Sinuevania pouilloni sp. nov. shows that the diversity of the superfamily Evanioidea in the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber remains underestimated. New fossils of evaniid wasps from the Albo-Cenomanian amber of Charente-Maritime (France) are expected to extend the diversity and distribution of several genera. Based on the recent discovery, but not yet published, of new praeaulacid specimens from the mid-Cretaceous, we propose reclassifying Mesevania within the Praeaulacidae (Praeaulacinae).

Petrified trunks in Mueang Kamphaeng Phet District, upper Central Thailand, were unearthed in Quaternary deposits on the western rim of the Ping River. The sediments consist mainly of semi-consolidated gravel, sand, silt, and clay, indicating that the woods were transported by the ancient Ping River. Macroscopic features revealed that preservation of these fossils (e.g., intercellular spaces, iron oxides, quartz crystals, colors, and weathering conditions) shared many similarities to some petrified trunks in Tak Province. We investigated both large (approx. 0.50–0.7 m wide, at least 10–20 meters long) and small fragments of fossils for both wood anatomical features and mineralogy. Diffuse porosity with indistinct growth rings and wide vessels at low densities suggest a tropical lowland forest paleoenvironment. Parenchyma patterns are aliform to confluent, banded, and diffuse-in aggregate. At least four distinct types of wood were recognized from this site. Among them, three wood types originate from legume trees (Fabaceae), while the fourth is from a eudicotyledonous tree. Two of the three legumes show closest resemblance to a tall (canopy emergent) legume tree, Koompassia cf. malaccensis Maingay ex Benth. and one resembles the legume Koompassia cf. malaccensis or cf. Pahudioxylon bankurensis Chowdhury, Ghosh, et Kazmi. The other legume-like wood shows banded parenchyma. Petrified wood from Kamphaeng Phet is correlative with other Quaternary paleofloras found in Northern Thailand in both preservation and taxa. The past climate, as inferred according to the Köppen-Geiger classification, was possibly similar to modern-day tropical rainforests (Af) in southern Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in contrast to the modern vegetation in Mueang District, Kamphaeng Phet that is a mixed deciduous and dry dipterocarp forest where the modern climate in the area is tropical wet and dry (Aw).

A new Mesozoic fossiliferous locality was discovered in the Mae Sot Basin, western Thailand. Ginglymodian fish scales and bones are reported, as well as wood (Brachyoxylon sp.) and leafy twigs (cf. Cupressinocladus sp.). These are associated with Skolithosand Scoyeniaichnofacies. The biotic remains were deposited in an anoxic fluvial environment and wood underwent humification. Fossil wood specimens show a wide range of composition, ranging from nearly pure carbon to mixtures of coal and siliceous sediment. The limited fossil record makes biogeographical comparisons and stratigraphic deductions difficult. It is however the first time that terrestrial Mesozoic biota is reported from the Shan-Thai terrane west of the Chiang Mai suture and north of the Three Pagoda fault. Further research in and around this locality may refine our still fragmentary knowledge of Mesozoic continental ecosystems west of the Nan-Uttaradit suture.

The origin of the turtle fauna of Malesia is analysed here through a review of the literature, a re-evaluation of previously described material, and the description of new material. Very few data are available prior to the Quaternary. While the Early Pleistocene record is largely dominated by reports of giant tortoises, the Middle Pleistocene record provides reports of the first occurrences of most extant taxa living in the area. Most, if not all, of the faunas have stronger relationships with Indochinese than with East Asian taxa, suggesting that colonisation largely followed the Siva- or Sino-Malayan routes, allowing turtles to invade the Sunda Shelf and disperse further east during periods of low sea-level. On the other hand, there is nearly no fossil data to understand the origin of the six endemic Malesian species, but molecular studies suggest that most of these taxa may have evolved in Malesia well before the Quaternary dispersal of the Indochinese fauna. In addition to clarify several fossil identifications, we provide evidence that the box turtle of the ``Cuora amboinensis'' species complex arrived in the Philippines before the early Middle Pleistocene. We also confirm that Duboisemys isoclina is an endemic extinct genus and we discuss its relationship to continental and endemic turtles.