Cretaceous Research最新文献

{"title":"New findings of lower Aptian charophytes from the Southern High Plateaus (Eastern Meseta, Morocco): biostratigraphic and biogeographic significance","authors":"Hamid Haddoumi ,&nbsp;Jordi Pérez-Cano ,&nbsp;Rachid Chennouf ,&nbsp;Jemaa Amakrane ,&nbsp;Sidi Mohamed Mamoun","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106262","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106262","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Two stratigraphic sections of the Southern High Plateaus (Eastern Meseta, Morocco) were sampled for the charophyte study. Seven clavatoracean taxa are described and illustrated from the Dekar 1 and Dekar 2 formations, including <em>Echinochara lazarii</em>, <em>Atopochara trivolvis</em> var. <em>trivolvis</em>, <em>Clavator grovesii</em> var. <em>jiuquanensis</em>, <em>Clavator grovesii</em> var. <em>corrugatus</em>, <em>Clavator harrisii</em> var. <em>harrisii</em>, <em>Clavator harrisii</em> var. <em>reyi</em>, and <em>Clavator harrisii</em> var. <em>zavialensis</em>. This assemblage is assigned to the upper part of the Eurasian Clavator grovesii var. jiuquanensis biozone. The occurrence of intermediate populations of <em>C. grovesii</em> var. <em>jiuquanensis</em> and <em>C. grovesii</em> var. <em>corrugatus</em> associated with intermediate populations of <em>C. harrisii</em> var. <em>harrisii</em>, <em>C. harrisii</em> var. <em>reyi</em>, and <em>C. harrisii</em> var. <em>zavialensis</em>, restricts the association to the lower Aptian. These new findings suggest that this area could be important for understanding the evolution of charophytes during the early Aptian. Furthermore, the study provides significant insights into the paleobiogeographic distribution of Lower Cretaceous charophytes, reporting the first record of <em>C. grovesii</em> var. <em>jiuquanensis</em> (previously described only from Eurasia) and <em>C. grovesii</em> var. <em>corrugatus</em> (previously known from the Iberian Peninsula and the United States) in Africa, along with the first report of <em>Echinochara lazarii</em> in the Western Atlas Domain. Similar lower Aptian assemblages had previously been described only in the Algarve Basin (South Portugal), suggesting a strong paleogeographic connection between these areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106262"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) echinoids from the southern Tethyan shelf (NE Algeria) with remarks on their palaeobiology and palaeobiogeography","authors":"Nils Schlüter ,&nbsp;Rafika Slami ,&nbsp;Madani Benyoucef ,&nbsp;Abdelmoumen Garah ,&nbsp;W. James Kennedy ,&nbsp;Ireneusz Walaszczyk","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thirteen echinoid taxa are described from Coniacian marl-limestone alternations in three sections south and east of Djebel Metlili, on the southwestern margin of the Aures Mountains in northeastern Algeria. The biostratigraphic framework, based on ammonites and inoceramids, indicates an early to middle Coniacian age. The identified taxa include: <em>Rachiosoma rectilineatum</em>, <em>Phymosoma tamarinense</em>, <em>P</em>. cf. <em>P. mansour</em>, <em>Gomphechinus meslei</em>, <em>Coenholectypus subcrassus, Parapygus coquandi</em>, <em>Petalobrissus trigonopygus</em>, <em>P</em>. <em>rimula</em>, <em>Hemiaster</em> sp., and <em>Mecaster fourneli</em>. Three new species are described, <em>Orthopsis metliliae</em> sp. nov., <em>Coenholectypus sulcatus</em> sp. nov. and a new genus and species referred to the family Phymosomatoidae, <em>Triboporus luluatus</em> gen. et sp. nov. A large amount of well-documented material, comprising 579 specimens, was collected, with the fauna being dominated by the spatangoid <em>Mecaster fourneli</em>. At the genus level, the fauna exhibits characteristics typical of the Tethyan realm, and includes <em>Rachiosoma</em>, <em>Gomphechinus</em>, <em>Mecaster</em>, <em>Parapygus</em> and <em>Petalobrissus</em>. However, at the species level, most taxa are restricted to Algeria. Some are also found in adjacent countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106261"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diversity of araucariacean pollen from the Lower Cretaceous Rio da Batateira and lower Crato formations (Araripe basin, SE Brazil), based on micromorphology of the ektexine using SEM","authors":"Christa-Ch Hofmann ,&nbsp;Mario Coiro ,&nbsp;Ulrich Heimhofer ,&nbsp;Emily A. Roberts ,&nbsp;Leyla J. Seyfullah","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Here we demonstrate the micromorphological variety of Aptian pollen grains affiliated with Araucariaceae s.l. with LM and SEM. We could distinguish five micromorphological groups and in addition to well known araucariacean pollen taxa such as <em>Araucariacites</em> spp., <em>Balmeiopsis</em> and <em>Callialasporites</em> spp., we could also assign <em>Exesipollenites scabratus,</em> <em>E.</em> cf. <em>tumulus</em>, and one <em>Inaperturopollenites</em> taxon as araucariacean. Using LM, a hidden diversity of micromorphological features are missed within the four pollen taxa (“Araucariaceae” sp. 1 to sp. 4) that are similar to the morphogenus <em>Araucariacites</em> demonstrating the importance of using scanning electron microscopy in palaeopalynology. Pollen characterized by micromorphological features of group 4 comprises <em>Callialasporites</em> spp., <em>Inaperturopollenites</em> sp. and “Araucariaceae” sp. 1 and are assumed to be dispersed equivalents of previously described eurypalynous pollen cones. These pollen cones and pollen grains might represent an ancient group of Araucariaceae with overlapping characters from Podocarpaceae and Araucariaceae. In total 15 Araucariaceae pollen taxa are present in the Rio da Batateira and lower Crato formations, a number that exceeds the diversity of previously described araucariacean macrofossils and pollen of the Araripe basin. These results are evidence that despite the rapid evolution of angiosperms in the Early Cretaceous, gymnosperms, particularly Araucariaceae, still played an important role in various ancient vegetation habitats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 106260"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145579082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new large zalambdalestid mammal from the Gobi Desert and formal stratigraphic description of the Upper Cretaceous Zos Formation","authors":"Michael J. Novacek ,&nbsp;William M. Wolfe ,&nbsp;Maureen A. O'Leary ,&nbsp;Eric M. Roberts","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106253","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106253","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We describe <em>Zoslestes gongori</em>, a new species of non-placental eutherian mammal from Upper Cretaceous rocks of Zos Canyon in the Nemegt Basin of the western Gobi Desert, Mongolia. <em>Zoslestes gongori</em> is the largest known zalambdalestid. The Zos Canyon locality, Red Rum, that yielded the specimen is adjacent to beds that have produced several extinct crocodyliforms and the ornithischian dinosaur <em>Haya griva</em>. We provide the first formal stratigraphic description of these fossiliferous Zos Canyon rocks by naming and describing the Zos Formation for the unit at Red Rum. The Zos Formation has a distinct set of sedimentologic associations that differentiate it from the overlying Djadokhta Formation and also has the only fauna in the Nemegt Basin older than that of the Djadokhta Formation. We consider the Zos Formation roughly comparable in age to the Javkhlant Formation of the Eastern Gobi Desert, and likely older than the Alagteeg Formation of the Ulan Nur Basin.</div><div><em>Zoslestes gongori</em> is known from the holotype, a well-preserved posterior cranium, worn dentition, and fragmentary postcranial elements, and one referred specimen. The referred specimen consists of a damaged anterior skull and dentition, and a fragmentary left mandible with roots and alveoli, including an enlarged tooth resembling the elongate first lower incisor of zalambdalestids. <em>Zoslestes</em> shares several derived features with zalambdalestids, including the presence of a prominent entoglenoid process that, in ventral view, partly conceals the anteriorly-positioned postglenoid foramen, a large maxillary tuberosity, multiple hypoglossal foramina, a large, elongate i1 with a horizontally directed root extending deep within the mandible, lower molars with mesiodistally compressed trigonids and relatively wide talonids, a relatively large P4, and upper molars that are distinctly wider labiolingually than long mesiodistally and that are not interlocked mesiodistally. The significantly large size of <em>Zoslestes</em> and the large contribution of its jugal to the zygomatic process are autapomorphies distinguishing this taxon from other zalambdalestids.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106253"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145520351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stratigraphic sequence and age determination of the cretaceous rift-sag transition period in the Songliao basin, NE China: Based on new data from ICDP boreholes SK2 and SK3","authors":"Shuo Liu ,&nbsp;Youfeng Gao ,&nbsp;Renjie Liang ,&nbsp;Pujun Wang ,&nbsp;Haibo Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106257","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106257","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Songliao Basin's tectonic evolution comprises three stages: the syn-rift stage, post-rift stage, and structural inversion stage. The Yingcheng Formation and the Denglouku Formation record the strata corresponding to the transitional period from the syn-rift stage to the post-rift stage. However, the stratigraphic boundary between these two formations and the sedimentation time of the Denglouku Formation remain controversial. This paper undertakes a zircon isotope chronology study on the tuff from the lower part of the Denglouku Formation, based on the continuous coring data from the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) boreholes SK2 and SK3 in the Songliao Basin. The LA-ICP-MS U–Pb age of the tuff at 2359.35 m depth in the lower part of the Denglouku Formation in borehole SK3 is determined to be 105.4 ± 0.6 Ma, constraining the initial sedimentation time of the Denglouku Formation, while an age of 103.4 ± 0.8 Ma from the tuff at 2970.65 m at the base of the Denglouku Formation in borehole SK2 marks the end of the first member's sedimentation. By integrating the existing chronostratigraphic data with basin-scale stratigraphic correlations from the Songliao Basin, this study re-evaluates the controversial sandy conglomerates within the fourth member of the Yingcheng Formation in the northern Songliao Basin, demonstrating their affinity to the first member of the Denglouku Formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106257"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145418135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seawater properties based on clumped isotope analyses of macrofossil assemblages from the Upper Cretaceous–lower Paleocene Type-Maastrichtian area","authors":"Inigo A. Müller ,&nbsp;David Rijkes ,&nbsp;Emily J. Judd ,&nbsp;Maartje F. Hamers ,&nbsp;Oliver Plümper ,&nbsp;John W.M. Jagt ,&nbsp;Martin Ziegler","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbonate fossils from the Maastrichtian Type area offer important insights into climate dynamics across the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. While previous research has established the biostratigraphy and a carbon isotope-based geochronological timescale, allowing for global data comparison, constraints on the local seawater properties remain limited. Our study utilizes oxygen and carbon isotopes, as well as clumped isotope thermometry to reconstruct seawater temperature and its oxygen isotope composition based on carbonate fossil assemblages. Novel analyses of fossil echinoderms, brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, bryozoans and existing studies were clustered according to their stratigraphy and show temperature fluctuations ranging between <span><math><mrow><msubsup><mn>18.3</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3.2</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>3.4</mn></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span> to <span><math><mrow><msubsup><mn>22.7</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>4.9</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>5.1</mn></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span> °C (±95 % CI) that together with existing studies temporary match varying activity of Deccan Trap volcanism. The mean temperature estimate for the late Maastrichtian–early Danian of <span><math><mrow><msubsup><mn>20.6</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>1.2</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>1.2</mn></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span> °C is slightly warmer than modern annual sea surface temperatures at the same latitude and in line with palaeoclimate simulations using 3 times the preindustrial atmospheric pCO₂ as model input. The oxygen isotope composition of the shallow sea environment fluctuate between <span><math><mrow><msubsup><mn>0.3</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>0.9</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>0.9</mn></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span> to <span><math><mrow><msubsup><mn>1.0</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>0.9</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>+</mo><mn>1.0</mn></mrow></msubsup></mrow></math></span>‰, together with existing data even to slightly negative values. These fluctuations reflect the highly dynamic hydrologic conditions linked to variations in the evaporation/precipitation budget, sea-level fluctuations and eventual changes in seawater circulation. This study on fossil assemblages from the Maastrichtian Type area shows the dynamic seawater conditions in shallow sea systems and the urgent need for higher spatial and subseasonal resolution when reconstructing regional climate conditions in epeiric marine environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106258"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145466986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Agglutinated foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton proxies for age determination and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of an Upper Cretaceous succession in the North Sudetic Cretaceous Basin (Germany)","authors":"Richard M. Besen ,&nbsp;Ramona Bălc ,&nbsp;Mădălina-Elena Kallanxhi","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study presents the findings of a comprehensive analysis of agglutinated foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton from drill core Spremberg Cu Sp 101/6, situated within the North Sudetic Cretaceous Basin in Germany. These results provide refined biostratigraphic data and contribute to the paleoenvironmental reconstruction for both surface and bottom water conditions in the studied region.</div><div>Several calcareous nannoplankton taxa facilitated the identification of specific biozones, including <em>Eiffellithus eximius</em> (UC8), <em>Micula staurophora</em> (UC10), and <em>Lithastrinus grillii</em> (UC11). Notably, <em>M. staurophora</em> and <em>L. grillii</em> display significantly earlier occurrences when correlated with inoceramid zonation, indicating a diachronous first appearance of these taxa.</div><div>Using cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and taxonomical information, microfossil assemblages suggest that shallower, eutrophic conditions prevailed during the Cenomanian, whereas the Turonian was characterized by less diverse and poorly preserved assemblages. During the Coniacian, calcareous nannofossil assemblages indicate fluctuations between intervals of poor preservation and phases of increased assemblage diversity, probably associated with eutrophic conditions during the early Coniacian. This was followed by a transition to predominantly oligotrophic and deeper conditions during the middle to late Coniacian. Changes in the agglutinated foraminiferal assemblages likely reflect the grade of disturbance of bottom-water conditions mostly controlled by regional subsidence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106256"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145466987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Macrofauna and stable isotope record of the Jurassic‒Cretaceous transition at the Dedina section (Golubac, eastern Serbia)","authors":"Lucie Vaňková ,&nbsp;Barbara V. Radulović ,&nbsp;Martin Košťák ,&nbsp;Dragoman Rabrenović ,&nbsp;Martin Mazuch ,&nbsp;Dejan Barjaktarović ,&nbsp;Slađana Dušanić","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Tithonian‒Berriasian boundary interval at the Dedina section (Serbia) has been evaluated from the perspective of rare invertebrate fossils (excluding ammonites and their aptychi) and stable isotope data obtained from the bulk rock samples (δ¹³C_carb and δ¹⁸O_carb). The majority of the described benthic fauna consists of brachiopods (<em>Lacunosella hoheneggeri</em>, <em>Tropeothyris tychaviensis</em>, <em>Svaljavithyris bilimeki</em> and <em>Helvetella arzierensis</em>); additionally, a single bivalve species <em>Camptonectes</em> (<em>Camptonectes</em>) <em>cottaldinus</em> is present. This fauna occurs predominantly in the uppermost part of the section, corresponding to the middle Berriasian. Rare belemnites (genera <em>Duvalia</em>, <em>Berriasibelus</em>, <em>Tithonobelus</em>, and <em>Hibolites</em>) exhibit a faunal turnover around the boundary between the calpionellid <em>Remaniella ferasini</em> and <em>Calpionella elliptica</em> subzones, where the family Duvaliidae is largely replaced by Belemnopseidae. The stable carbon isotope data are consistent with previously published records from the north-western Tethys, showing typical slightly negative excursions and trends: at the base of the <em>Calpionella alpina</em> Subzone, within the <em>Ferasini</em> Subzone (a well documented negative δ¹³C_carb excursion), and a negative peak within the <em>Elliptica</em> Subzone. The latter may hold potential correlative value but this requires confirmation. The stable oxygen isotope data are more affected by diagenesis, but partially reflect trends observed in other sections and may therefore preserve a palaeoclimatic signal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106250"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145466985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fish Faunas from the Bissekty Formation (Turonian), Uzbekistan: Insights into biogeographic connectivity and climate-driven Faunal Turnover","authors":"Donald B. Brinkman ,&nbsp;Martin Kundrát ,&nbsp;David J. Ward ,&nbsp;Alison M. Murray ,&nbsp;Izzet K. Aimbetov ,&nbsp;Lisa L. Van Loon ,&nbsp;Neil R. Banerjee","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106252","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106252","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Bissekty Formation (Turonian, Uzbekistan) provides new insights into the reorganization of aquatic paleocommunities that occurred during the Turonian thermal maximum, a period of significant climatic and faunal change. The assemblage includes four basal neopterygians and 13 teleosts. Teleosts are dominated by members of early diverging lineages, including Ichthyodectiformes, Elopomorpha, Osteoglossiformes, and Clupeomorpha. More derived teleosts present in the assemblage includes a characiform and an acanthomorph. The assemblage is distinctive compared to Late Cretaceous assemblages from North America in the high abundance of ichthyodectiforms and elopomorphs and both high abundance and large size of acanthomorphs. The Bissekty fish assemblages differs from preceding Cenomanian assemblages of Laurasia in the absence of two taxa that were dominant in the earlier Cenomanian assemblages, <em>Scheenstia</em> López-Arbarello and Sferco, 2011 (Lepidotidae) and a pycnodont, and the appearance of seven new taxa. One of the newly appearing taxa is a member of Characiformes, a group that is thought to have originated in Gondwana, adding to the evidence that the introduction of new taxa was a result, in part, of intercontinental dispersal events. All seven of the taxa that first appear in the Bissekty Formation are closely related to, or indistinguishable from, taxa present in the North American portion of Laurasia. However, only two of these are known to occur in North America during the Turonian, with the remaining taxa first occurring in North America in a step-wise pattern during the Late Cretaceous. Conversely, two of the taxa that first occur in the Turonian of the North American portion of Laurasia are absent in Asian assemblages.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106252"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145418134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Blooming under the shadow of Patagotitan mayorum: Early Cretaceous tiny flowers from Patagonia, Argentina","authors":"Giovanni C. Nunes ,&nbsp;Ignacio H. Escapa ,&nbsp;Luis M. Sender ,&nbsp;N. Rubén Cúneo ,&nbsp;Maria A. Gandolfo","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The fossil record of angiosperm reproductive remains from Lower Cretaceous deposits is critical for understanding angiosperm early evolution and rapid radiation. The fossil record of early flowers from the Southern Hemisphere is still extremely scarce compared to the Northern Hemisphere, particularly from outcrops located south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Here, we describe flowers from Upper Albian (101 Ma; Cerro Barcino Formation) deposits of Patagonia, Argentina, found in association with <em>Patagotitan mayorum</em>, the largest known dinosaur in the world at present. The flowers are pistillate, less than 10 mm in diameter, actinomorphic, pentamerous, and perigynous, with a tepaloid perianth, and are assigned to the new genus and species <em>Patagoflora minima</em>. This discovery represents the first Albian record of flowers for southern South America and one of the best-dated ones for Gondwana. <em>Patagoflora minima</em> is also one of the very few examples of flowers preserved along with dinosaurs. Its association with abundant and diverse angiosperm leaves and dinosaur remains provides significant data for understanding the ecosystems inhabited by the largest terrestrial animals that ever lived.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 106254"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145418136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}