Holotype and reconstruction of Juraherba bodae Left: the holotype. Right: a, the whole plant; b, fructification; c, distal portion of a leaf In contrast to woody habit with secondary growth, truthful herbaceous habit lacking secondary growth is restricted to angiosperms among seed plants. Although angiosperms might have occurred as early as in the Triassic and herbaceous habit theoretically may have been well adopted by pioneer angiosperms, pre-Cretaceous herbs are missing hitherto, leaving the origin of herbs and evolution of herbaceous angiosperms mysterious. In a paper published on Acta Geologica Sinica (English edition), the team led by Professor WANG Xin from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences report Juraherba bodae gen. et sp. nov, a whole plant herbaceous angiosperm, from the Middle Jurassic (>164 Ma) at Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China, a fossil Lagerst？tten that is worldwide famous for various fossil finds. The angiospermous affinity of Juraherba is ensured by its enclosed ovules/seeds. The plant is small but complete, with physically connected hairy root, stem, leaves, and fructifications. The Middle Jurassic age recommends Juraherba as the earliest record of herbaceous seed plants, demanding a refresh look at the evolutionary history of angiosperms. Related information: Han G, Liu Z-J, Liu X, Mao L, FMB Jacques, Wang X*, 2016, A whole plant herbaceous angiosperm from the Middle Jurassic of China, Acta Geologica Sinica (English edition), 90(1):19-29
Investigations of Emsian conodonts from Bahe, Liujing and Daliantang sections in South China yielded abundant collections of Ozarkodina prolata Mawson, 1987 and O. midundenta (Wang and Ziegler, 1983). Initially named Pandorinellina exigua midundenta by Wang and Ziegler (1983) without any information regarding the Sa element of the apparatus by which Pandorinellina mainly differs from Ozarkodina, midundenta is re-assigned back to Ozarkodina and raised to species level herein. Based on morphological analysis of O. prolata and O. midundenta, it seems plausible that the latter developed from the former by progressive fusion of denticles in the middle third of the blade above the basal cavity in the Pa element. Related information: Lu Jianfeng, 2016. Morphological analysis of Ozarkodina prolata Mawson and Ozarkodina midundenta (Wang & Ziegler) (Emsian conodonts) from South China. Alcheringa, 40(1): 129-146. Scatter diagram showing the relationship between total length of the unit (TL) and length of anterior blade (AL) or length of anterior blade together with basal cavity area (ACL) in Ozarkodina prolata Mawson, 1987 and Ozarkodina midundenta (Wang & Ziegler, 1983)
Representative brachiopods from the lower Niuchang Formation at Xinglongchang section
Following the end-Ordovician mass extinction, the interval of the latest Ordovician to the earliest Silurian was marked by a widespread transgression. The earliest Silurian brachiopod fauna has been documented from a number of regions. However, with rare exceptions, the precise age of most of those assemblages is not certain. Recently, a recovery brachiopod fauna was found in the lower Niuchang Formation (upper Rhuddanian-lower Aeronian, Llandovery) of the Xinglongchang section, Meitan County, northern Guizhou Province, South China, by Dr. HUANG Bing from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues. Nine collections were made at the section, all of which are dominated by brachiopods, and three associations are recognized here and their paleoecology is discussed. Paleoenvironmental analysis shows a shallowing upward trend for the lower Niuchang Formation although a global transgression was happening at that time. The balance between the global transgression and the regional Qianzhong Uplift guaranteed a stable environment for the formation of the Niuchang Formation and the recovery of brachiopods in South China after the end-Ordovician mass extinction. In addition to the traditional methods of PCA and CA, a relatively new technique to paleontology, “Network Analysis” (NA), is applied successfully in this study. It is suggested that Network Analysis could be used as one of the supporting methods in investigating brachiopod paleoecology. Related information: Huang Bing, Zhan Renbin, Wang Guangxu. 2016. Recovery brachiopod associations from the lower Silurian of South China and their paleoecological implications. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Vol 53: DOI: 10.1139/cjes-2015-0193. Nine collections made in the lower Niuchang Formation (upper Rhuddanian to lowermost Aeronian, Llandovery, lower Silurian) at Xinglongchang section The bipartite network diagram of NA, three brachiopod-dominated associations were consistently recognized
the lycopsid cormose rhizomorph from the Middle Devonian of North Xinjiang, the whole specimens the partial enlargement. Lycopsids have the longest evolutionary history among extant vascular land plants. The group originated in the late Silurian from herbaceous forms, peaked in both diversity and abundance in the Carboniferous when arborescent forms dominated tropical coal swamps, and they have extant herbaceous counterparts such as Isoetes L. The lycopsids are a monophyletic group with various growth forms in the Devonian and Carboniferous. The Middle Devonian witnessed the first appearance of forests, with, among others, arborescent rhizomorphic and/or heterosporous lycopsids. The Middle Devonian was also the key period for the evolution and diversification of lycopsids in terms of growth forms and increasing diversity. The characterization of the rhizomorphs is important for interpreting the evolution and taxonomy of lycopsids. However, well-preserved Devonian lycopsid rhizomorphs are rare. Recently, Prof. XU Honghe and Prof. WANG Yi from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Scineces recognized a cormose rhizomorph of probable lycopsid affinity from the upper Middle Devonian (c. 387 Ma) of West Junggar, Xinjiang, Northwest China. They suggested that by the Middle Devonian, rhizomorphic lycopsids had diversified and different types of lycopsid rooting systems had developed. The cormose rhizomorph might have had an earlier origination than previously thought. Related information: Xu H-H, Wang Y, 2016. The earliest cormose rhizomorph of putative lycopsid affinity from the Middle Devonian of West Junggar, Xinjiang, China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 226, 54–57. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.12.005
Burgess Shale-type biotas are critically important in understanding the early evolution of the Metazoa. The well-known Cambrian Burgess Shale-type biotas, such as the Burgess Shale, Chengjiang, Sirius Passet, Emu Bay Shale, and Kaili, are all restricted to the early and middle Cambrian time interval and have not been found in strata younger than the Guzhangian. A new exceptionally preserved biota, the Guole Biota, was discovered recently from the late Cambrian (Furongian) Sandu Formation near Guole Town, Jingxi County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China, by Dr. ZHU Xuejian from from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues. It is the first report of a diversified Burgess Shale-type biota from the late Cambrian. This new Burgess Shale-type assemblage fills a temporal gap between the middle Cambrian and Lower Ordovician stratigraphic record of Burgess Shall-type Lagerst？tten and contributes to our understanding of the evolution of early life. The Guole biota is one of the most diverse and informative Burgess Shale-type biotas found in the Yangzi Plate, South China (e.g., Chengjiang fauna, Kaili fauna, and a series of lower and middle Cambrian soft-bodied biotas). Preliminary investigation has identified more than eight major fossil groups, including arthropods, brachiopods, echinoderms, cnidarians, graptolites, hyolithids, palaeoscolecids, and algae. Related information: Zhu Xuejian, Peng Shanchi, Samuel Zamora, Bertrand Lefebvre and Chen Guiying, 2016. Furongian (upper Cambrian) Guole Konservat-Lagerst？tte from South China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 90(1): 30–37. A, Eyes of trilobite. B, Aglaspella sanduensis Lerosey-Aubril, Ortega-Hernández, and Zhu 2013. C, Glypharthrus? sp. D, Aglaspidid-like arthropod. E, Mollisonia-like arthropod. F, Bivalved-arthropod. G, detached appendages of arthropod. H-I, Sphenothallus? sp. J-K, Hyoliths with exquisitely preserved microstructures of the shell. L, Hyoliths with gut fillings preserved. M, Branching-alga. A, Cambroblastus guolensis Zhu et al., 2014. B, Four circlets glyptocystitid rhombiferan. C, Association of a new glyptocystitid rhombiferan with three circlets and thecal plates ornamented with ridges and “Phyllocystis” jingxiensis. D, Solutan. E-F, “Phyllocystis” jingxiensis. G-H, Drepanocarpos-like hanusiid. I, Primitive mitrocystitid mitrate. J-K, A new species of palaeoscolecids.
The Kuanyinchiao Formation (Hirnantian, Upper Ordovician), yielding the typical Hirnantia fauna, has commonly been accepted as representing cool-water sediments deposited during the glacial interval in the Hirnantian Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) region of South China. Recent investigation conducted by Dr. WANG Guangxu from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues reveals that the uppermost carbonate-dominated part of this formation yields a warm-water rugose coral fauna with Silurian affinities at many localities of northern Guizhou Province, which substantially differs from the underlying cool-water fauna. This suggests that these carbonates were probably postglacial warm-water sediments, rather than having formed during the Hirnantian glacial interval as previously thought. Such a conclusion is consistent with the evidence from the associated brachiopod fauna, i.e., the Dalmanella testudinaria – Dorytreta longicrura community, which is similarly distinct from the underlying typical Hirnantia fauna. The sedimentological data show warm-water features at the same level (e.g., the presence of oolitic grains), also supporting this new interpretation. Recognition of these postglacial carbonates and fossils adds to a growing list of near-contemporaneous strata of latest Ordovician age in South China that, due to their thinness and limited extension, have previously been overlooked or misinterpreted. Increased awareness of these strata should result in further discoveries that will underpin a better and more accurate understanding of the end-Ordovician mass extinction. Related information of this paper: Wang G. X., Zhan R. B., Percival I. G. 2016 (published online). New data on Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) postglacial carbonate rocks and fossils in northern Guizhou, Southwest China. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, (doi: 10.1139/cjes-2015-0197) Stratigraphic correlation of the Ordovician–Silurian boundary successions in the study area. Representative rugose corals from the Kuanyinchiao Formation are illustrated with their stratigraphic levels indicated. Correlation of carbonate rocks across the Ordovician–Silurian boundary on the Yangtze Platform of South China.
A research group headed by Dr. TANG Peng from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences described a permineralised gymnospermous wood, Xenoxylon junggarensis sp. nov. from the Norian (upper Triassic) Huangshanjie Formation in Dalongkou Section, Jimsar County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The pycnoxylic wood consists of thick-walled tracheids and thin-walled rays. It is characterized by commonly rounded to very compressed, contiguous or sometimes separated uniseriate, occasionally rounded and alternate biseriate radial pits and one or two simple, large pits in each corss-field. The fossil wood genus Xenoxylon Gothan is known to be an indicator of cooler and/or wetter climates in the boreal hemisphere during the Mesozoic. Its occurrence in the Huangshanjie Formation from Junggar Basin, together with the palaeobotanical and palynological data, indicates that a wet and temperate climate prevailed in the northern Xinjiang during the Norian interval. The mean sensitivity of analysis of 22 growth rings is 0.36, suggesting a seasonal response to climate. Growth rings in the fossil woods are large (2.3 mm average with a maximum of 5.44 mm), representing either a longer growing season or more favorable conditions for growth, including readily available water and higher temperature. Based on a considerable amount of earlywood and a small percentage of latewood and some indirect evidence, it is hypothesized that growth of Xenoxylon junggarensis in the high-latitude Junggar Basin in the late Triassic was limited by light levels. This research was recently published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. This research was jointly supported by the State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, National Basic Research Program of China and the National Nature Science Foundation of China. Related information: Wan, M., Zhou, W., Tang, P., Liu, L., Wang, J., 2016. Xenoxylon junggarensis sp. nov., a new gymnospermous fossil wood from the Norian (Triassic) Huangshanjie Formation in northwestern China, and its palaeoclimatic implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 441, 679-687. Filed photos of the fossil woods and the maps showing cross section Maps showing the radial and tangential section of the fossil wood
The extant family Dipteridaceae includes 8 species of 1 genus (Dipteris), which is restricted to tropical and subtropical Indo-Malaysian regions, including northeastern India, and southern China. The fossil record of this family has been widely reported from the Mesozoic, and is regarded as the indicators for global warming and phytogeography. Although many studies have been focused on the systematic relationship of fossil Dipteridaceae ferns, the reproductive anatomy and in situ spores as well as diversity and distribution pattern of these fossils are relatively poor known. Prof. WANG Yongdong from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his team members have recently investigated the fertile structures including in situ spores of a Late Triassic dipterid fern, Clathropteris obovata Oishi from Guangyuan of Sichuan Province, China. The well-preserved compression specimens show round to oval and exindusiate sori, vertical to oblique annuli in sporangia, and in situ trilete spores with verrucate and baculate sculptures, which are comparable to dispersed spore genera of Converrucosisporites and Conbaculatisporites. Comparisons of relevant fossil taxa suggest that specimens of C. obovata from Triassic of China provide for the first time in Asia the detailed fertile structures with in situ spore characters of dipterid fossil Clathropteris. Unlike living Dipteris, the fossil evidence shows a high diversity and morphological variation of in situ spores within the family Dipteridaceae in the Mesozoic, thus showing insights for the evolutionary links between Dipteridaceae and other related fern clade. This result has been published in Journal of Plant Research. In addition, Prof. WANG et al. investigated the fossil record, diversity variation adn tampo-spatial distribution pattern of the Mesozoic Dipteridaceae ferns in China. They demonstrated that so far, about 74 species of 6 genera have been reported. Geographically, they are distributed both in Southern and Northern Floristic Provinces, and are particularly well developed in the Southern Floristic Province during the Late Triassic and the Early Jurassic interval. Fossil diversity of Dipteridaceae varies in the different episodes of the Mesozoic in China. It is shown that Dipteridaceae has undergone a diversity development process during the Mesozoic. The dipterid fossil diversity variation is supposed to be closely linked with and climate change. This result is published online in the Elsevier journal Palaeoworld. This study was jointly supported by the State Key Basic Research Program of China, National Natural Sciences Foundation of China, the Knowledge Innovation Project of CAS, and the Team Program of Scientific Innovation and Interdisciplinary Cooperation of CAS. Publication information: Wang Yongdong *, Li Liqin, Guignard G, Dilcher D L., Xie Xiaoping, Tian Ning, Zhou Ning, Wang Yan, 2015. Fertile structures with in situ spores of a dipterid fern from the Triassic in southern China. Journal of Plant Research, 128: 445-457. Doi: 10.1007/s10265-015-0708-9. Zhou Ning, Wang Yongdong*, Li Liqin, Zhang Xiaoqing, 2015. Diversity variation and tempo-spatial distribution of the Dipteridaceae ferns in the Mesozoic of China. Palaeoworld, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2015.11.008. The fertile leaf, sori and sporangia of Clathropteris obovata from the Later Triassic of China Sterile and fertile leaves, sporangia and in situ spores of living Dipteris conjugata Fossil diversity variation of Dipteridaceae ferns in the Mesozoic of China
The end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) was the most severe extinction event of the Phanerozoic. To investigate oceanic redox conditions around the EPME, Dr. XIANG Lei and colleagues from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a series of geochemical analyses, including iron speciation, trace element geochemistry, total organic carbon (TOC), and nitrogen isotopes of kerogen (δ15Nkero), around the EPME at the Shangsi section, South China. They distinguished three intervals with different redox conditions based on iron speciation. During the first interval (early and middle Changhsingian), bottom waters were pervasively euxinic. In the second interval (late Changhsingian and the EPME), bottom water fluctuated between oxic and anoxic, but non-sulfidic conditions, with the oxic mode becoming increasingly predominant over time. During the third interval, following the EPME, bottom waters appeared to have been consistently anoxic, though again not pervasively euxinic. This redox history is supported by enrichments in the authigenic fraction of redox sensitive elements. These relatively high δ15Nkero values (>1.0‰) corresponding with Changhsingian euxinia suggest reducing bottom waters did not impinge on the photic zone. The shift to values near 0‰ within and above the EPME indicates an ecological expansion of diazotrophs. Stratigraphic trends of Nixs, Cdxs, Pxs and TOC indicate that primary productivity was highest in the first interval, coinciding with euxinic bottom water, then decreased during the lower part of Interval 2 and remained at low level through the remainder of the studied section. The temporal relationship between redox condition and primary productivity suggest that euxinia was supported by high productivity and carbon export in the early Changhsingian. The expansion of N2-fixation coincides closely with the previously documented warming of the ocean surface at Shangsi, and may be related to reduced oceanic circulation and suppressed vertical mixing. The temporal distribution of deep-water anoxia and euxinia suggest that they were not primary causes for the extinction of benthos at Shangsi. This research was published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. It was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Related information of this paper: Lei Xiang, S.D. Schoepfer, Hua Zhang*, Dong-xun Yuan, Chang-qun Cao, Quan-feng Zheng, C.M. Henderson, Shu-zhong Shen, 2016. Oceanic redox evolution across the end-Permian mass extinction at Shangsi, South China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.10.046 Stratigraphic distributions of redox proxies in the Shangsi section, South China Stratigraphic distributions of TOC, Pxs, Cdxs, (C/N)kero, δ15Nkero, and δ18O in the Shangsi section
Photograph of Zhenia xiai gen. et. sp. nov. a, holotype; b, paratype; c, paratype Parasitoidism—the larvae developing by feeding on other arthropods and eventually killing them—represents a major shift in the mode of carnivory within terrestrial ecosystems and strongly regulates modern trophic webs. Parasitoidism is a key innovation in insect evolution, and parasitoid insects, nowadays, play a significant role in structuring ecological communities. There is no direct fossil evidence for insect parasitoidism before the Early Jurassic, Early Jurassic wasps have been widely thought to possess the parasitoid lifestyle which evolved once in Hymenoptera. In addition, several Cretaceous insects (Strepsiptera and Coleoptera) were regarded as parasitoids based on their larval evidence of “parasitism”. Other Mesozoic evidence comes from taxonomic assignments, and definitive parasitoid flies are very scarce for this period. ZHANG Qingqing, a postgraduate student, Dr. Wang Bo and Prof. Zhang Junfeng from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences reported an endoparasitoid insect based on three well-preserved specimens, Zhenia xiai, from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Zhenia xiai is an endoparasitoid insect as evidenced by a highly developed, hypodermic-like ovipositor formed by abdominal tergites VIII + IX that was used for injecting eggs into hosts and enlarged tridactylous claws supposedly for clasping hosts. Zhenia xiai represents the latest occurrence of the family Eremochaetidae. The results reveal that the parasitoid behavior, associated with considerable morphological adaptations, was already well established in eremochaetids, providing robust evidence for the great diversification of parasitoids during the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous. This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS. Related information of this paper: Qingqing Zhang, Junfeng Zhang, Yitao Feng, Haichun Zhang, Bo Wang (2015) An endoparasitoid Cretaceous fly and the evolution of parasitoidism. The Nature of Science, 103:2. doi: 10.1007/s00114-015-1327-y. a, head of Zhenia xiai; b, tarsi and tridactylous claws of hind leg; c, ovipositor. Restoration of Zhenia xiai gen. et. sp. nov.
