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New findings of fossil wood from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota
TheEarlyCretaceousJeholBiota,oneofthemostimportantMesozoiclagersttteninEastAsia,isespeciallywell-knownforoccurrencesoffossilfeathereddinosaursandearlyangiosperms.However,theterrestrialbiodiversity,especiallythefossilwoodrecord,ispoorlyknown.Inrecentyears,Prof.WANGYongdongfromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,CAS(NIGPAS)andhisteamhaveinvestigatedseveralstructurallypreservedconiferouswoodspecimensfromtheLowerCretaceousYixianFormationfromtheHeichengziBasininBeipiaoofwesternLiaoning,NortheastChina.Fourspeciesreferredtofourgeneraoffossilwoodaredescribed,includingTaxodioxylonheichengziensesp.nov.,Thujoxylonbeipiaoensesp.nov.,SciadopityoxylonliaoningenseDingandProtocedroxylonshengjinbeigouensesp.nov. ThesenewrecordsenlargethefossilwooddiversityoftheYixianFormationupto10speciesin9genera,andprovidefurtherinsightsintotheforestvegetationcompositionoftheEarlyCretaceousJeholBiota.SystematicanalysisofthefloralconstitutionindicatesthatthepetrifiedforestsoftheYixianFormationaredominatedbyconifers,representedbyAraucariaceae,Podocarpaceae,Sciadopityaceae,PinaceaeandCupressaceaeinthewesternLiaoningregion.PalaeoclimaticalanalysisofthefossilwoodassemblageimpliesthatthewesternLiaoningregionwasdominatedbyacooltemperate,wetandseasonalclimatewithvariableinterannualwatersupplyinthewesternLiaoningregionduringtheEarlyCretaceous.ThismayprovidepotentiallinksofpalaeoclimatevariationsandoccurrencesoffeathereddinosaursoftheEarlyCretaceousJeholBiota.Informationofpublication:DingQH,TianN*,WangYD*,JiangZK,ChenSW,WangD,ZhangW,ZhengSL,XieAW,ZhangGQ,LiuZJ,2015.FossilconiferouswoodfromtheEarlyCretaceousJeholBiotainwesternLiaoning,NEChina:newmaterialandpalaeoclimateimplications.CretaceousResearch,61,57-70. Thujoxylonbeipiaoensesp.nov.anditsanatomicalfeaturesfromtheEarlyCretaceousofYixianFormationinwesternLiaoning,ChinaSciadopityoxylonliaoningensefromanditsanatomicalfeaturesfromtheEarlyCretaceousofYixianFormationinwesternLiaoning,China
2016-05-18
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Paleoatmospheric CO2 levels reconstructed based on fossil Ginkgoites from Triassic and Jurassic in China
FossilGinkgophytaareoneofthemostwidelyusedindicatorsforestimatingthepaleoatmosphericCO2levelsfromtheTriassictopresentday.TherearequiteafewCO2estimatesfortheTriassictoJurassicinterval;however,thedatafromChinaarestilllimited.Recently,Dr.WUJingyu,PostDocofNIGPASandassociateProfessorofLanzhouUniversity,incollaborationwithProf.WANGYongdonginNIGPAS,haveinvestigatedtwofossilGinkgoitesspecies,G.magnifoliusDuToitandG.obrutschewii(Seward)SewardfromcollectionsfromtheUpperTriassicandMiddleJurassicinHuatingCounty,GansuProvince,NorthwestChina.ThefossilleafmorphologyandepidermalstructurewerestudiedandthestomatalparameterswereanalyzedforthereconstructionofpaleoatmosphericCO2concentrations.Theresultswererecentlypublishedintheinternational“PalontologischeZeitschrift”publishedinGermany. ThepaleoatmosphericCO2levelsduringtheLateTriassicofChinaisestimatedforthefirsttimebasedonfossilmaterialfromGansu.Thisstudydemonstratesthatfossilsyieldpaleo-CO2valuesof1962ppmvintheLateTriassicand1320ppmvintheMiddleJurassic.ComparedwithpreviousestimatesofatmosphericCO2concentrationbasedonstomatalparameteroffossilGinkgo/GinkgoitesfromNorthwestChina,thechangeofJurassicpaleo-CO2levelsaccordwiththetrendofCO2concentrationproposedbyGEOCARBIIIandCrustalProductionmodels.Theresultsdemonstratethatthepaleo-CO2oftheLateTriassicwashigherthanthatoftheEarlytoMiddleJurassic;butanincreasingtrendofpaleo-CO2couldbedetectedfromtheEarlytotheMiddleJurassic.Thepresentdataprovideanindependentcheckforthepaleo-CO2valueestimationbasedonisotopicanalysis.ThisrepresentsthefollowupstudyresultsbyWangYongdong’sresearchteaminrecentyearsaftersignificantresultsweregetpublishedinEarth-ScienceReviewsonCretaceouspalaeo-CO2variationandgreenhouseclimate. Informationofpublication:WuJing-yu,DingSu-ting,LiQi-jia,SunBai-nian,WangYong-dong*,2016.ReconstructingpaleoatmosphericCO2levelsbasedonfossilGinkgoitesfromtheUpperTriassicandMiddleJurassicinNorthwestChina.PalontologischeZeitschrift,Doi:10.1007/s12542-016-0300-1.CuticlesandstomataoffossilleavesofGinkgoitesPaleo-CO2variationsduringtheLateTriassictotheMiddleJurassicbasedonthestomatalratiosofChineseplantfossils,andcomparisonwithgeochemicalmodels
2016-05-18
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Discovery of the Jehol Biota from Bayingebi Basin, northwestern China
ConchostracansEosestheriasp.fromthemiddleUpperMemberofBayingebiFormationintheCelaomiaoregion,westernInnerMonglia,China.WhenLaurasiabegantobreakupintheEarlyCretaceous,thefreshwaterandterrestrialJeholBiotaappearedandwaswidelydistributedineasternEurasia.AstheearliestbiotaoftheModernBiosphererepresentedbythrivingangiosperms,birds,andmammals,itisgenerallydividedintothreestages:theearly,themiddle,andthelateJeholBiota.Theyhavedifferentbiologicalcharactersandgeographicaldistributions.InnorthernHebeiandwesternLiaoningprovinces,themajordistributionareasoftheJeholBiota,theJeholGroup(stratabearingtheJeholBiota)hasbeenwellstudied.TheearlyJeholBiotaisrecordedfromtheDabeigouFormationanditscoevalhorizons,themiddleJeholBiotafromtheYixianFormationandthelateJeholBiotafromtheJiufotangFormationandtheirrespectivelycoevalstrata. RecentinvestigationconductedbythegroupledbyProfessorZHANGHaichunfromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofSciencescooperatedwithcolleaguesfromUniversityofHongKongandChinaUniversityofPetroleum,reportssometypicalcomponentsoftheJeholBiotaforthefirsttimefromtheBayingebiFormationintheCelaomiaoregion,westernInnerMongolia,China,includingconchostracansEosestheriasp.,themayflyEphemeropsistrisetalisEichwald,1864,theaquaticbeetleCoptoclavalongipodaPing,1928,andafragmentarydragonfly.ThisdiscoveryindicatesthatthemiddleUpperMemberofBayingebiFormationcanbecorrelatedwiththeupperYixianandthelowerJiufotangformationsinwesternLiaoningProvince.Combiningitwiththeradio-isotopicdatingresult,theyfurtherindicatethattheUpperMemberofBayingebiFormationcouldberoughlycorrelatedwiththeYixian,Jiufotang,andShahaiformations,andtheoverlyingSuhongtuFormationwiththeFuxinFormationinwesternLiaoningProvince. FossilinsectsfromthemiddleUpperMemberofBayingebiFormationintheCelaomiaoregion,westernInnerMongolia,China.InthemajorBayingebiBasin,palaeontologicalandradio-isotopicdatingevidenceshowsthattheBayingebiFormationhasalongdepositionalhistoryofover30Ma:itsUpperMemberbearingtheJeholBiotaandtheearlyFuxinBiotaisprobablycoevaltotheYixian,JiufotangandShahaiformationsandhasaBarremian–earlyAlbianage;itsLowerMembermaybeBerriasian–HauterivianinageandcouldbecorrelatedwiththeupperTuchengzi,Zhangjiakou,andDabeigouformationsinnorthernHebeiProvince.ThissuggeststhattheBayingebiFormationshouldbepromotedtothestratigraphicrankofgroupandsubdividedintoseveralsecondaryunits(formations).Unlikethepreviousresult,theYingenFormationisconsideredacrosstheLowerCretaceous–UpperCretaceousboundaryandbeinglateAlbian–earlyTuronianinage. Relatedinformation:Li,S.,Zheng,D.R.,Zhang,Q.,Liao,H.Y.,Wang,H.,Wang,B.,WangJ.,Lu,H.B.,Chang,S.C.,Zhang,H.C.*,2016.DiscoveryoftheJeholBiotafromtheCelaomiaoregionanddiscussionoftheLowerCretaceousoftheBayingebiBasin,northwesternChina.Palaeoworld,25:76-83.
2016-04-14
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New brachiopod from Norway and South China in the recovery interval after the end Ordovician mass extinction
ComparisonoftypicalcharactersofT.gregariagen.etsp.nov.andT.orientalis(Rongetal.,1974).EarliestSilurianbrachiopodfaunashavebeendescribedfromanumberofregions.Amongthem,thebrachiopodsfaunafromNorwayandSouthChinaaretotallydifferentinmanyaspects,suchasdiversity,relativeabundanceandpreservation.Recently,AnewbrachiopodgenusThulatrypagen.nov.isformallyerectedbyDr.HUANGBingfromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofSciencesandhiscolleaguesbasedontheircollectionsfrombothNorwayandChina. Therearetwospeciesassignedtothenewgenus.T.gregariagenetsp.nov.fromNorwayandT.orientalis(Rongetal.,1974)fromSouthChinathatoccurredintherecoveryintervalaftertheendOrdovicianmassextinction,aresystematicallydescribedindetail.Therelatedlocalitiesandstratigraphicinformationarereportedindetailandcomparedforthetwospecies.Theirpalaeobiogeographicalimplicationsarediscussed.ThisstudyindicatesthatT.gregariaislaterthanT.orientalisinage,suggestingthatThulatrypamayhaveoriginatedinSouthChinainthemiddleRhuddaniananddriftedtoeastBalticainthelateRhuddanian.Moreover,thelarvaeofthegenusmayhavedriftedalongachannelfromtheeasttothesouth-westofBaltica,whichsupportsreconstructionofpalaeo-currentsfortheearlySilurianinpreviouspalaeogeographicalstudies.Globalpalaeogeographyatabout440MaintheearlySilurian(revisedfromRong&Cocks2014).WSECandsolidarrows—WesternSouthEquatorialCurrrent.Dashedarrows—thecold-watermid-latitudereturncurrent.Relatedinformation:HuangBing,BaarliB.G.,ZhanRenbin,RongJiayu.2016.AnewearlySilurianbrachiopodgenus,Thulatrypa,fromNorwayandSouthChina,anditspalaeobiogeographicalsignificance.Alcheringa,40:83-97.
2016-04-14
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A Whole Plant Herbaceous Angiosperm from the Middle Jurassic of China
HolotypeandreconstructionofJuraherbabodae Left:theholotype.Right:a,thewholeplant;b,fructification;c,distalportionofaleafIncontrasttowoodyhabitwithsecondarygrowth,truthfulherbaceoushabitlackingsecondarygrowthisrestrictedtoangiospermsamongseedplants.AlthoughangiospermsmighthaveoccurredasearlyasintheTriassicandherbaceoushabittheoreticallymayhavebeenwelladoptedbypioneerangiosperms,pre-Cretaceousherbsaremissinghitherto,leavingtheoriginofherbsandevolutionofherbaceousangiospermsmysterious.InapaperpublishedonActaGeologicaSinica(Englishedition),theteamledbyProfessorWANGXinfromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofSciencesreportJuraherbabodaegen.etsp.nov,awholeplantherbaceousangiosperm,fromtheMiddleJurassic(>164Ma)atDaohugouVillage,InnerMongolia,China,afossilLagerstttenthatisworldwidefamousforvariousfossilfinds.TheangiospermousaffinityofJuraherbaisensuredbyitsenclosedovules/seeds.Theplantissmallbutcomplete,withphysicallyconnectedhairyroot,stem,leaves,andfructifications.TheMiddleJurassicagerecommendsJuraherbaastheearliestrecordofherbaceousseedplants,demandingarefreshlookattheevolutionaryhistoryofangiosperms.Relatedinformation:HanG,LiuZ-J,LiuX,MaoL,FMBJacques,WangX*,2016,AwholeplantherbaceousangiospermfromtheMiddleJurassicofChina,ActaGeologicaSinica(Englishedition),90(1):19-29
2016-04-14
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Morphological analysis of Ozarkodin (Emsian conodonts) from South China
InvestigationsofEmsianconodontsfromBahe,LiujingandDaliantangsectionsinSouthChinayieldedabundantcollectionsofOzarkodinaprolataMawson,1987andO.midundenta(WangandZiegler,1983).InitiallynamedPandorinellinaexiguamidundentabyWangandZiegler(1983)withoutanyinformationregardingtheSaelementoftheapparatusbywhichPandorinellinamainlydiffersfromOzarkodina,midundentaisre-assignedbacktoOzarkodinaandraisedtospecieslevelherein.BasedonmorphologicalanalysisofO.prolataandO.midundenta,itseemsplausiblethatthelatterdevelopedfromtheformerbyprogressivefusionofdenticlesinthemiddlethirdofthebladeabovethebasalcavityinthePaelement.Relatedinformation:LuJianfeng,2016.MorphologicalanalysisofOzarkodinaprolataMawsonandOzarkodinamidundenta(Wang&Ziegler)(Emsianconodonts)fromSouthChina.Alcheringa,40(1):129-146.Scatterdiagramshowingtherelationshipbetweentotallengthoftheunit(TL)andlengthofanteriorblade(AL)orlengthofanteriorbladetogetherwithbasalcavityarea(ACL)inOzarkodinaprolataMawson,1987andOzarkodinamidundenta(Wang&Ziegler,1983)
2016-03-30
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Recovery brachiopod associations from the lower Silurian of South China
RepresentativebrachiopodsfromthelowerNiuchangFormationatXinglongchangsection Followingtheend-Ordovicianmassextinction,theintervalofthelatestOrdoviciantotheearliestSilurianwasmarkedbyawidespreadtransgression.TheearliestSilurianbrachiopodfaunahasbeendocumentedfromanumberofregions.However,withrareexceptions,thepreciseageofmostofthoseassemblagesisnotcertain.Recently,arecoverybrachiopodfaunawasfoundinthelowerNiuchangFormation(upperRhuddanian-lowerAeronian,Llandovery)oftheXinglongchangsection,MeitanCounty,northernGuizhouProvince,SouthChina,byDr.HUANGBingfromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofSciencesandhiscolleagues.Ninecollectionsweremadeatthesection,allofwhicharedominatedbybrachiopods,andthreeassociationsarerecognizedhereandtheirpaleoecologyisdiscussed.PaleoenvironmentalanalysisshowsashallowingupwardtrendforthelowerNiuchangFormationalthoughaglobaltransgressionwashappeningatthattime.ThebalancebetweentheglobaltransgressionandtheregionalQianzhongUpliftguaranteedastableenvironmentfortheformationoftheNiuchangFormationandtherecoveryofbrachiopodsinSouthChinaaftertheend-Ordovicianmassextinction.InadditiontothetraditionalmethodsofPCAandCA,arelativelynewtechniquetopaleontology,“NetworkAnalysis”(NA),isappliedsuccessfullyinthisstudy.ItissuggestedthatNetworkAnalysiscouldbeusedasoneofthesupportingmethodsininvestigatingbrachiopodpaleoecology.Relatedinformation:HuangBing,ZhanRenbin,WangGuangxu.2016.RecoverybrachiopodassociationsfromthelowerSilurianofSouthChinaandtheirpaleoecologicalimplications.CanadianJournalofEarthSciences.Vol53:DOI:10.1139/cjes-2015-0193.NinecollectionsmadeinthelowerNiuchangFormation(upperRhuddaniantolowermostAeronian,Llandovery,lowerSilurian)atXinglongchangsectionThebipartitenetworkdiagramofNA,threebrachiopod-dominatedassociationswereconsistentlyrecognized
2016-03-30
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The earliest cormose rhizomorph of putative lycopsid affinity from China
thelycopsidcormoserhizomorphfromtheMiddleDevonianofNorthXinjiang,thewholespecimensthepartialenlargement.Lycopsidshavethelongestevolutionaryhistoryamongextantvascularlandplants.ThegrouporiginatedinthelateSilurianfromherbaceousforms,peakedinbothdiversityandabundanceintheCarboniferouswhenarborescentformsdominatedtropicalcoalswamps,andtheyhaveextantherbaceouscounterpartssuchasIsoetesL.ThelycopsidsareamonophyleticgroupwithvariousgrowthformsintheDevonianandCarboniferous.TheMiddleDevonianwitnessedthefirstappearanceofforests,with,amongothers,arborescentrhizomorphicand/orheterosporouslycopsids.TheMiddleDevonianwasalsothekeyperiodfortheevolutionanddiversificationoflycopsidsintermsofgrowthformsandincreasingdiversity.Thecharacterizationoftherhizomorphsisimportantforinterpretingtheevolutionandtaxonomyoflycopsids.However,well-preservedDevonianlycopsidrhizomorphsarerare.Recently,Prof.XUHongheandProf.WANGYifromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofScinecesrecognizedacormoserhizomorphofprobablelycopsidaffinityfromtheupperMiddleDevonian(c.387Ma)ofWestJunggar,Xinjiang,NorthwestChina.TheysuggestedthatbytheMiddleDevonian,rhizomorphiclycopsidshaddiversifiedanddifferenttypesoflycopsidrootingsystemshaddeveloped.Thecormoserhizomorphmighthavehadanearlieroriginationthanpreviouslythought.Relatedinformation:XuH-H,WangY,2016.TheearliestcormoserhizomorphofputativelycopsidaffinityfromtheMiddleDevonianofWestJunggar,Xinjiang,China.ReviewofPalaeobotanyandPalynology226,54–57.doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.12.005
2016-03-30
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Furongian (upper Cambrian) Guole Konservat-Lagerst？tte from South China
BurgessShale-typebiotasarecriticallyimportantinunderstandingtheearlyevolutionoftheMetazoa.Thewell-knownCambrianBurgessShale-typebiotas,suchastheBurgessShale,Chengjiang,SiriusPasset,EmuBayShale,andKaili,areallrestrictedtotheearlyandmiddleCambriantimeintervalandhavenotbeenfoundinstratayoungerthantheGuzhangian.Anewexceptionallypreservedbiota,theGuoleBiota,wasdiscoveredrecentlyfromthelateCambrian(Furongian)SanduFormationnearGuoleTown,JingxiCounty,GuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion,SouthChina,byDr.ZHUXuejianfromfromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofSciencesandhiscolleagues.ItisthefirstreportofadiversifiedBurgessShale-typebiotafromthelateCambrian.ThisnewBurgessShale-typeassemblagefillsatemporalgapbetweenthemiddleCambrianandLowerOrdovicianstratigraphicrecordofBurgessShall-typeLagerstttenandcontributestoourunderstandingoftheevolutionofearlylife.TheGuolebiotaisoneofthemostdiverseandinformativeBurgessShale-typebiotasfoundintheYangziPlate,SouthChina(e.g.,Chengjiangfauna,Kailifauna,andaseriesoflowerandmiddleCambriansoft-bodiedbiotas).Preliminaryinvestigationhasidentifiedmorethaneightmajorfossilgroups,includingarthropods,brachiopods,echinoderms,cnidarians,graptolites,hyolithids,palaeoscolecids,andalgae.Relatedinformation:ZhuXuejian,PengShanchi,SamuelZamora,BertrandLefebvreandChenGuiying,2016.Furongian(upperCambrian)GuoleKonservat-LagerstttefromSouthChina.ActaGeologicaSinica(EnglishEdition),90(1):30–37.A,Eyesoftrilobite.B,AglaspellasanduensisLerosey-Aubril,Ortega-Hernández,andZhu2013.C,Glypharthrus?sp.D,Aglaspidid-likearthropod.E,Mollisonia-likearthropod.F,Bivalved-arthropod.G,detachedappendagesofarthropod.H-I,Sphenothallus?sp.J-K,Hyolithswithexquisitelypreservedmicrostructuresoftheshell.L,Hyolithswithgutfillingspreserved.M,Branching-alga.A,CambroblastusguolensisZhuetal.,2014.B,Fourcircletsglyptocystitidrhombiferan.C,Associationofanewglyptocystitidrhombiferanwiththreecircletsandthecalplatesornamentedwithridgesand“Phyllocystis”jingxiensis.D,Solutan.E-F,“Phyllocystis”jingxiensis.G-H,Drepanocarpos-likehanusiid.I,Primitivemitrocystitidmitrate.J-K,Anewspeciesofpalaeoscolecids.
2016-03-07
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Newly recognized Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) postglacial carbonate rocks and the shelly fossils of South China
TheKuanyinchiaoFormation(Hirnantian,UpperOrdovician),yieldingthetypicalHirnantiafauna,hascommonlybeenacceptedasrepresentingcool-watersedimentsdepositedduringtheglacialintervalintheHirnantianGlobalBoundaryStratotypeSectionandPoint(GSSP)regionofSouthChina.RecentinvestigationconductedbyDr.WANGGuangxufromNanjingInstituteofGeologyandPalaeontology,ChineseAcademyofSciencesandhiscolleaguesrevealsthattheuppermostcarbonate-dominatedpartofthisformationyieldsawarm-waterrugosecoralfaunawithSilurianaffinitiesatmanylocalitiesofnorthernGuizhouProvince,whichsubstantiallydiffersfromtheunderlyingcool-waterfauna.Thissuggeststhatthesecarbonateswereprobablypostglacialwarm-watersediments,ratherthanhavingformedduringtheHirnantianglacialintervalaspreviouslythought.Suchaconclusionisconsistentwiththeevidencefromtheassociatedbrachiopodfauna,i.e.,theDalmanellatestudinaria–Dorytretalongicruracommunity,whichissimilarlydistinctfromtheunderlyingtypicalHirnantiafauna.Thesedimentologicaldatashowwarm-waterfeaturesatthesamelevel(e.g.,thepresenceofooliticgrains),alsosupportingthisnewinterpretation.Recognitionofthesepostglacialcarbonatesandfossilsaddstoagrowinglistofnear-contemporaneousstrataoflatestOrdovicianageinSouthChinathat,duetotheirthinnessandlimitedextension,havepreviouslybeenoverlookedormisinterpreted.Increasedawarenessofthesestratashouldresultinfurtherdiscoveriesthatwillunderpinabetterandmoreaccurateunderstandingoftheend-Ordovicianmassextinction. Relatedinformationofthispaper:WangG.X.,ZhanR.B.,PercivalI.G.2016(publishedonline).NewdataonHirnantian(latestOrdovician)postglacialcarbonaterocksandfossilsinnorthernGuizhou,SouthwestChina.CanadianJournalofEarthSciences,(doi:10.1139/cjes-2015-0197) StratigraphiccorrelationoftheOrdovician–Silurianboundarysuccessionsinthestudyarea.RepresentativerugosecoralsfromtheKuanyinchiaoFormationareillustratedwiththeirstratigraphiclevelsindicated.CorrelationofcarbonaterocksacrosstheOrdovician–SilurianboundaryontheYangtzePlatformofSouthChina.
2016-03-07