The gigantic Gigantoproductus-bearing brachiopod fauna is one of the most distinct marine benthic faunas in the Early Carboniferous in terms of its huge size, extremely thick shell, and delicate costation. The fauna is among the most characteristic taxon that marked the middle and late Mississippian and of much usefulness in stratigraphy and palaeobiogeography. In a recent paper, Dr. QIAO Li and Prof. SHEN Shuzhong from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Science have conducted a research on the stratigraphic and paleogeographic distributions of the Gigantoproductus fauna, along with its diversity change and discussed the evolutionary turnover of the Gigantoproductus faunas in association with the global tectonic and paleoclimatic changes. The investigation into the spatial and temporal distributions indicates that Gigantoproductus was originated and migrated mainly in the circum Paleotethys region in the tropical and subtropical zones, and favored a relatively shallow shelf environment with high energy and warm water condition with little thermal tolerance. The waxes and wanes of the Gigantoproductus faunas temporally coincided with the paleoclimatic shift from greenhouse to icehouse stage in the late Visean and early Serpukhovian. And the final extinction of these gigantic brachiopods in the late Serpukhovian implies tropical cooling towards the late Serpukhovian by the expansion of the LPIA glaciers. This research is supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China. Reference: Li Qiao, Shu-Zhong Shen, 2015. A global review of the Late Mississippian (Carboniferous) Gigantoproductus (Brachiopoda) faunas and their paleogeographical, paleoecological, and paleoclimatic implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 420: 128–137. Specimens of Gigantoproductus collected from South China. Fossil localities of Gigantoproductus (upper) and palaeogeographic map showing the genus distributions (340 Ma) (lower).
Volcanism and impact scenarios are two of the most plausible ways of interpreting the causes of the largest biological mass extinction at the end-Permian. Microspherules have previously been widely reported from tens of different Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) sections in South China and some other regions. These microspherules have been interpreted either as the product of volcanic eruptions or an impact event. In order to test these scenarios, Dr. ZHANG Hua and colleagues, from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, collected 60 samples from 12 intensively-studied PTB sections in South China. In addition, four soil samples close to these PTB layers were also collected for comparison. Their investigation indicates that no evidence supports the contention that microspherules from the PTB beds in South China are of impact origin. No accompanying minerals with impact planar deformation features have thus far been found in the PTB beds in South China. The microspherules from the PTB beds are of multiple origins. Among them, most of iron and magnetite–silicate microspherules are modern fly ashes rather than of volcanic origin or impact event. The pyrite microspherules and framboidal pyrite are of depositional or/and diagenetic origins. The calcareous microspherules and the hollow organic microspherules are of biological origin. This research was published in Lithos. It was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Reference: Zhang Hua, Shen Shu-zhong, Cao Chang-qun, Zheng Quan-feng, 2014. Origins of microspherules from the Permian–Triassic boundary event layers in South China. Lithos 204, 246-257. Microspherules recovered from the Meishan sections Microspherules recovered from soil sample at the Meishan D section Microspherules recovered from soil sample near the Ermen section, Huangshi, Hubei province
As a beautiful and mystical substance that is suitable for making jewelry and handiwork, amber is very popular in the world. It has been recognized for a long history that amber was produced by ancient trees. In the Tang Dynasty of China (618-907 A.D), the poet WEI Yingwu suggested that amber was derived from ancient conifers in his poem ‘Amber’. However, the plants from which amber was probably produced are far more than conifers. Biomarker studies shows that terpenoids in resins are often diagnostic for certain plant groups. Albeit various chemical transformations during burial, the terpenoids in fossil resins often retain their characteristic basic structural skeletons and can thus be used as biomarkers for botanical origins of the amber. Based on compositions of terpenoids, the plant families that have been suggested as producer of amber include Pinaceae (Burmese amber), Cupressaceae (Fushun amber), Sciadopityaceae (Baltic amber), Araucariaceae, Leguminosae (Dominica amber), Dipterocarpaceae (Cambay amber), Burseraceae, Hamamelidaceae, Combretaceae and the extinct conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae (Lebanese amber). In a recent research, Dr. SHI Gongle and Dr. WANG Bo from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues from Indian Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences studied the terpenoid compositions of the Late Cretaceous Xixia amber from Central China and the middle Miocene Zhangpu amber from Southeast China using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicate the Xixia amber is most likely derived by the conifer family Araucariaceae but a contribution from Cheirolepidiaceae cannot be excluded. The Zhangpu amber is suggested as contributed by the tropical angiosperm family Dipterocarpaceae. The occurrence of fossil winged fruits of Dipterocarpaceae in the Fotan Group of Zhangpu confirms a Dipterocarpaceae origin of the Zhangpu amber. This work was recently published in PLoS ONE and it was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy. References: Shi G., Dutta S., Paul S., Wang B., Jacques F.M.B., 2014. Terpenoid compositions and botanical origin of Late Cretaceous and Miocene amber from China. PLoS ONE, 9(10), e111303. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111303 Shi G., Jacques F.M.B., Li H., 2014. Winged fruits of Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae) from the Miocene of Southeast China: Evidence for the northward extension of dipterocarps during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 200, 97-107.
The genus Cunninghamia (Chinese fir) is endemic to East Asia with only two extant species commonly found in South China. Molecular phylogenetics resolves Cunninghamia as the sister group to all other extant Cupressaceae sensu lato. An early divergence of extant Cunninghamia is consistent with the early appearance of Cunninghamia-like fossils in the paleobotanical record. Ancient fossil Cupressaceae e.g. Elatides, Sewardiodendron from the Middle Jurassic are similar to extant Cunninghamia in overall morphology. However, an important question is whether these early Cunninghamia-like taxa represent a grade of early Cupressaceae or monophyletic group. In a recent study, Dr. SHI Gongle from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) and colleagues from the US, Mongolia, Japan and Germany described and whole-plant reconstructed a new species of Cunninghamia-like fossils (Elatides zhoui sp. nov.) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Material of E. zhoui is abundant and consists of well-preserved lignified foliage with organically attahced pollen cones and seed cones. The new species was named after Professor ZHOU Zhiyan in honor of his landmark contributions to understanding Mesozoic gymnosperms. Cladistic analyses based on 22 morphological characters for 22 fossil and extant Cupressaceae species resolve an expanded Cunninghamioideae clade that are composed of extant Cunninghamia and Cunninghamia-like fossils as the sister group to all other Cupressaceae. The phylogenetic analyses confirm the early divergence of Cunninghamia in the Middle Jurassic (ca. 170 Myr) or earlier. In the age of dinosaur, the progenitors of the Chinese fir were distributed throughout the North Hemisphere and were morphologically and ecologically more diverse in the past than today. This research was published as cover paper in International Journal of Plant Sciences. It was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and a grant for new method and technique in Paleontology from the NIGPAS. Reference: Shi G., Leslie A.B., Herendeen P.S., Ichinnorov N., Takahashi M., Knopf P., Crane P.R., 2014. Whole-plant reconstruction and phylogenetic relationship of Elatides zhoui sp. nov. (Cupressaceae) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. International Journal of Plant Sciences 175, 911–930.
Seed cone of Elatides zhoui
Reconstructed phylogeny for living and fossil Cupressaceae.
The extinct superfamily Elcanoidea (Orthoptera) comprises two families, Permelcanidae and Elcanidae. Elcanidae differ from other Orthoptera in their large and flattened spurs on the dorsal surface of the hind tibia possibly an aid to jumping on soft substrates. To date, this family comprises about 24 species in 12 genera. They have been reported from several Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits in Eurasia and Brazil. Although many orthopteran fossils have been reported from the famous Early Cretaceous Jehol biota, no Elcanidae were reported previously from this Lagerstatte. Recently, Professor ZHANG Haichun from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his team described a new species, Panorpidium yixianensis Fang et al., 2014, from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. It can be assigned to the genus Panorpidium Westwood, 1854, which includes about 5 species from the Lower Cretaceous of southern England and Transbaikal Russia. In addition, a new specimen Burmelcana sp., is described and figured based on an amber inclusion from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese (Myanmar) amber. P. yixianensis sp. nov. represents the first definite record of Elcanidae in the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota, and Panorpidium is the only genus of Ensifera to be found in the Early Cretaceous faunas of England, Russia and China. These specimens therefore provide new information on the distribution of the family and on the disparity of spinal characters on the hind tibiae. This research was supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Basic Research Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The paper was published in Cretaceous Research (Fang Yan, Wang Bo, Zhang Haichun, Wang He, Jarzembowski E.A., Zheng Daran, Zhang Qi, Li Sha, Liu Qin. 2014. New Cretaceous Elcanidae from China and Myanmar (Insecta, Orthoptera). DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2014.05.004)
The Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation at Weng’an in South China provides a valuable taphonomic window into the early evolution of complex multicellular eukaryotes, including possible animals. Among the most controversial and potentially most important Doushantuo fossils is the spheroidal fossil Megasphaera, which has blastula-like cells enclosed in a thick ornamented envelope and exhibiting palintomic cell cleavages. Megasphaera was interpreted as animal embryos by Professor Shuhai Xiao and colleagues in an article published in Nature in 1998, but other researchers have proposed that Megasphaera might be a volvocine alga, a mesomycetozoean-like holozoan, a unicellular protist, or a bacterium. However, the life cycle of Megasphaera is poorly understood, critically hampering scientists’ ability to differentiating these different interpretations. In a recent paper published in Nature on Sep. 24, 2014, researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Science and Virginia Tech reported new fossils from black phosphorite of the Doushantuo Formation at Weng’an, a unit that was overlooked in previous investigation of animal embryo-like fossils. The new material includes specimens representing late developmental stages of Megasphaera that show clear evidence for flexible cell membrane, cell differentiation, germ-soma separation, and programmed cell death. Based on the new evidence, the researchers conclude that Megasphaera is a complex multicellular eukaryote, most likely belonging to stem-group animals or algae. More investigation is needed to fully document the life cycle and to further determine the phylogenetic affinity of Megasphaera. The Nature paper was co-authored by CHEN Lei, Shuhai Xiao, PANG Ke, ZHOU Chuanming, and YUAN Xunlai. The research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, US National Science Foundation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chinese Ministry of Science and Technoogy. Related information of the paper: Lei Chen, Shuhai Xiao, Ke Pang, Chuanming Zhou, Xunlai Yuan. Cell differentiation and germ–soma separation in Ediacaran animal embryo-like fossils. Nature, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nature13766
Figure 1| Early developmental stages of Megasphaera.a, One-cell stage. b,Parapandorina-stage. c–h, Megaclonophycus stage.
Figure 2| Megaclonophycus-like fossils with dividing cell packets. Showa few cells begin totaken differentiation.
Figure 3| Megaclonophycus-like fossils with one or more spheroidal to ellipsoidal multicellular structures.Show clear evidence for cell differentiation—cells specialised for reproduction continually dividing, forming matryoshkas-like growing structures.
The reconstruction of the early stages of social evolution in the fossil record is a challenge, as these behaviors often do not leave concrete traces. Among these behaviors, parental care represents a significant behavioral adaptation in life history and, as one of the core levels of arthropod sociality, has a wealth of sociobiological and behavioral ecological theory. Parental care has evolved independently numerous times among animals, including various lineages of insects and many vertebrates, including dinosaurs. Professor HUANG Diying from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his team, reported a unique discovery of diverse transitional carrion beetles (Silphidae) from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou biota (ca. 165 Ma) at Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota (ca. 125 Ma) at Beipiao City, Liaoning Province of China and the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma). The research is published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences (P.N.A.S.) on September 16, 2014. With fewer than 200 extant species, Silphidae are among the largest and most conspicuous of the staphylinoid Coleoptera. Silphid parental care has been intensively studied with several attempts to explain its origin and subsequent evolution. Fossil evidence that elucidates the origin and evolutionary history of this phenomenon is lacking, although modern-looking silphids have been discovered from the Late Eocene (ca. 35 Ma) of Florissant, Colorado. In recent years, HUANG Diying and his PhD student CAI Chenyang have collected a large number of well-preserved Mesozoic silphids, including 37 specimens from the Daohugou biota, 5 specimens from the Jehol biota, and 6 individuals preserved in Burmese amber, which provides new insights into the origin and early evolution of elaborate parental care in Silphidae. The diverse silphids from Daohugou extend the earliest records of the family by about 130 million years, while they are close to modern forms as evidenced by their clubbed antennae, large mesoscutellum and truncate elytra. SEM studies show that two types of sensory organs are recognizable on the antennal club of the Jurassic silphids, perfectly corresponding to those in extant nicrophorine beetles, namely sensilla coelosphaerica and sensilla basiconica. The identical olfactory structures indicate that silphids in the Jurassic were already adapted to detecting sulfur-containing volatile organic compounds over long ranges, just as in extant nicrophorines and most silphines. Mesozoic silphids may have been significant scavengers and important to the breakdown and recycling of carcasses in such ancient ecosystems before the emergence of blow flies (Calliphoridae). The Cretaceous silphids, although very similar to the Jurassic ones, possess a pair of stridulatory files on abdominal tergite used in parent-offspring communication like those found in extant Nicrophorinae. The modern Nicrophorus (burying beetles) can provide elaborate biparental care to their offspring, including exploiting small vertebrate carcasses (early birds or mammals) and burying them in soil as a source of nutrition for their larvae. The buying beetles are well known as subsocial insects. The innovation of stridulatory files in Nicrophorinae for parent-offspring communication and defense is critically linked to the origin of parental care. Competition for resources and predation has been hypothesized as ecological factors important to the evolution of parental care. Before the emergence of the potential competitors such as blow flies, the threat of predation, potentially by some derived staphylinine rove beetles (Staphylinidae) with large predatory mandibles, may have triggered the origin of parental care among ancient carrion beetles. The subsocial carrion beetles from the Jehol biota represent the oldest fossil record for (sub-) social insects, older than earliest ants from mid-Cretaceous French amber (ca. 100 Ma), the earliest bees from Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma) and the earliest termites. Although the Mesozoic silphids from China are very similar to some modern forms, they have significantly different antennal types, while slightly younger silphids from Burmese amber have lamellate antennae are very morphologically close to modern burying beetles. These mid-Cretaceous burying beetles may have exploited and buried small rodents or birds (usually < 200 gram) as a source of nutrition for their larvae With the origin of derived mammals in the Late Triassic, early silphids might have already derived from their staphyliniform ancestors at that time. The continuous presence of carrion in the early ecosystem probably resulted in very little change of silphid morphology. The research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China, Outstanding Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Related information of the paper: Chen-Yang Cai, Margaret K. Thayer, Michael S. Engel, Alfred F. Newton, Jaime Ortega-Blanco, Bo Wang, Xiang-Dong Wang, and Di-Ying Huang*, 2014：Early origin of parental care in Mesozoic carrion beetles. P.N.A.S., doi/10.1073/pnas.1412280111
Left: silphid from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou biota (165 Ma); middle: silphid from the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota (125 Ma); right, silphid from the earliest Late Cretaceous Burmese amber (99 Ma).
Scanning electron micrographs of stridulatory files and antenna. (A) Detail of stridulatory files of Nicrophorus orbicollis Say, 1825. (B) Stridulatory files of Cretaceous silphid (C) Enlargement of apical antennomere, showing sensilla coelosphaerica and sensillabasiconica. (D) Enlargement of antennomere of modern Nicrophorus orbicollis Say, showing the pit-like sensilla coelosphaerica. (E) Enlargement of antenna , showing detail of sensilla coelosphaerica.
Ecological reconstruction of the Early Cretaceous silphilds.
This research was reported by some medias such as Science.
A series of extrinsic (geological) and intrinsic (biological) factors such as water depth, temperature, nutrients, salinity, CO2 and O2 content of the atmosphere, ocean circulation, sea-level development, and interactions between the biota are discussed as causal factors for the shift in overall reef composition. Reefs in the Late Ordovician were commonly built up by sessile metazoans with increasing diversity and abundance of metazoan reef－builders such as bryozoans, corals, stromatoporoids, and calcareous algae, while in the Early and Middle Ordovician microbial mud mounds were predominantly which were consisting of stromatolites and thrombolites. In contrast to most Late Ordovician reefs, the reefs in Bachu, Tarim Block, NW China were dominated of microbial mud mounds and appear “old-fashioned” as they resemble Early Ordovician reefs from other areas in the world. Thus, the control factors of the microbial reefs in Bachu area are interesting aspects to discuss. After years of study and cooperative investigation with colleagues from other universities, professor LI Yue from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and his team reported the latest progress of reefs in Bachu, Tarim Block, NW China. The research has indicated that the reefs of the Late Ordovician Lianglitag Formation, Bachu area, Northwest of China deviated significantly from other Late Ordovician reefs because they were mainly built up of thrombolitic microbial carbonates and calcareous algae, whereas this time is characterised by metazoan reefs in other areas of the world. The main organisms of this reef type are Girvanella，Renalcis，Vermiporella，Halysis，Subtifloria，Wetheredella and Rothpletzella, in which Vermiporella and Halysis are abundant. In Ordovician, the Tarim Block was positioned in low latitudes, probably south of the equator prevailling southeast trades and the northwest part of the Tazhong Uplift faced the open ocean. In this respect, it could be assumed as that the microbial reefs in the Bachu area were simply the palaeogeographic position on the shallow, gently dipping, leeward side of the carbonate platform. The water on the windward, steeper side of the platform was favourable for metazoan reef growth in Tazhong because (a) it was well-oxygenated, (b) has no strong temperature changes because it faces the open ocean, and (c) it was mesotrophic (eutrophic conditions would probably prevent metazoan reef growth). On the less-steep leeward side of the shallow platform, the water was less turbulent and warmer because it was heated while it flew over the platform. Because in warmer water less gas can be dissolved these water masses were depleted in both oxygen and CO2, the latter resulting in increasing (super) saturation of calcium carbonate, which favoured the growth of microbial carbonates in the Bachu area. Related informations of this paper: Zhang Yuanyuan, Li Yue, Axel Munnecke. Late Ordovician microbial reefs in the Lianglitag Formation (Bachu, Tarim, NW China). Facies, 2014, 60(2)：663－684.
Hypothesis for the development of microbial reefs in the Bachu area.
The main reef-builder of the reefs of the Lianglitag Formaiton in Bachu area, Tarim Block, NW China.
The main reef types of the Lianglitag Formation in Bachu area, Tarim Block, NW China.
Coleoptera, or so-called beetles, is one of the most diverse and widespread groups of Insecta. More than 350,0000 beetles have been described to date, accounting for one third of all known insects. Coleoptera is divided into four suborders, and Polypaha including 144 extant families and 16 superfamilies is the largest group, accounting for about 90% of all beetles. Study on fossil polyphagan beetles is of great significance for understanding the origin and early diversification, systematics, and paleogeography of those beetles. Recently, PhD student Mr. CAI Chenyang and Prof. HUANG Diying from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences reported four polyphagan beetles from the Middle Jurassic (ca. 165 Ma) Daohugou biota at Daohugou, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, the Yixian Formation (ca. 125 Ma) at Bisiyingzi, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, and the upper Eocene from southern France, including Derodontidae, Schizopodidae and Staphylinidae. 1. First discovery of Mesozoic Derodontidae. With only 23 species placed in four genera, the beetle family Derodontidae (or tooth necked fungus beetles) is an isolated and primitive group in Polyphaga placed in their own superfamily Derodontoidea. The first fossil tooth-necked fungus beetle, Juropeltastica sinica, is described and illustrated based on a single impression fossil from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (ca. 165 Ma) of northeastern China. It represents the first definitive fossil belonging to Derodontidae. The occurrence of a reliable derodontid fossil from 165 million years ago places Derodontidae among the small but growing number of beetle families of known Middle Jurassic age, which is important in the dating of phylogenetic trees. 2. Oldest false jewel beetle. With only seven extant species placed in three genera, the buprestoid family Schizopodidae (or false jewel beetles) is a small group of beetles endemic to the western North America, including California, southern Nevada, southwestern Arizona, and northern Baja California. A new false jewel beetle, Mesoschizopus elegans, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. It represents a definitive Mesozoic fossil belonging to the recent small buprestoid family Schizopodidae, highlighting the antiquity of the small family, and providing an example of a now narrowly distributed group whose ancestral groups were probably more widespread in the Mesozoic. 3. A primitive and enigmatic rove beetle. Staphylinidae is one of the most diverse groups of animals, with more than 60,000 described species placed in one extinct and 32 extant subfamilies. A new unusual rove beetle, Mesapatetica aenigmatica, is described from the Middle Jurassic (ca. 165 Ma) of China. The new species displays an enigmatic combination of features belonging to the two basal subfamilies Apateticinae and Trigonurinae. The discovery of the genus from the Middle Jurassic reinforces the hypothesis that Apateticinae and Trigonurinae are sister taxa and together form one of the earliest lineages of Staphylinidae. 4. A new stenine genus. The rove beetle subfamily Steninae comprises 2763 described species placed in two extant genera, representing a remarkable beetle radiation found in all biogeographical regions except Antarctica and New Zealand. Fossil stenines are very rare and are confined to extant genera. A remarkable new genus and species of rove beetle, Eocenostenus fossilis, is described from the late Eocene of Monteils, France. This discovery highlights the palaeodiversity of a genus-poor subfamily and suggests that the early diversification of Steninae is probably complicated These researches were supported by the National Basic Research Program of China, Outstanding Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Related information of the papers: 1. Chenyang Cai, John F. Lawrence, Adam ？lipiński, Diying Huang (2014) First fossil tooth-necked fungus beetle (Coleoptera: Derodontidae): Juropeltastica sinica gen. n. sp. n. from the Middle Jurassic of China. European Journal of Entomology 111(2): 299-302 2. Chenyang Cai, Diying Huang, Alfred Newton, Margaret Thayer (2014) Mesapatetica aenigmatica, a new genus and species of rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) from the Middle Jurassic of China. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 87(2): 219-224 3. Chenyang Cai, Adam ？lipiński, Diying Huang (2014) First false jewel beetle (Coleoptera: Schizopodidae) from the Lower Cretaceous of China. Cretaceous Research doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.028 4. Chenyang Cai, Dave Clarke, Diying Huang, André Nel (2014) A new genus and species of Steninae from the Late Eocene of France (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). doi: 10.1080/03115518.2014.924351
Fig. 1. First Mesozoic Derodontidae
Fig. 2. Oldest false jewel beetle
Fig. 3. A primitive and enigmatic rove beetle
Fig. 4. Eocene stenine Eocenostenus fossilis Cai et al., 2014 (Left), Recent Dianous sp. (Middle) and Stenus sp. (Right)
Investigations of geologic and biotic events across the Triassic-Jurassic transition rely predominantly on detailed stratigraphic frameworks and biodiversity analyses. The alternating sequences of marine and terrestrial Triassic-Jurassic formations in Guangdong Province, southern China represent one of the most remarkable coal-bearing series in southern China. The Lower Jurassic strata are widely distributed in Guangdong yielding rich marine and non-marine fossil fauna. However, as little research has been conducted on fossil plant remains in this region, it is difficult to investigate the systematics, diversity, and floral aspects of the Jurassic. In a recent study, Prof. WANG Yongdong and his team from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences have announced that diverse and well-preserved plant fossils were first found from the Jurassic in Shenzhen, southern China. This flora is dominated by the ferns, cycads and conifers and are preserved in the Early Jurassic deposits dated as ca.190 Ma. This represents the first discovery of fossil plants in the Shenzhen area, and the first documentation of Jurassic plants in Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta regions, the lower latitude regions of southern China. The results has been recently published online in Chinese Science Bulletin. The researchers report their recent collections of rich fossil plants from the Early Jurassic Jinji Formation in the Dapeng area of Shenzhen, in southern Guangdong Province. Preliminary studies demonstrate taxonomical affiliations, preservation status, and diversity features of these plant fossils, which are marked by the close association of densely preserved, pinnae and rachis connected leaves, and the bennettitalean reproductive organs of Williamsoniella, which may represent an Early Jurassic plant community dominated by Otozamites of the bennettitales. Research related to these plant fossils will be helpful in the correlation of the Early Mesozoic coal-bearing strata in Guangdong, and will provide a deeper understanding of variations in plant diversity of the Triassic and Jurassic transition in southern China. Additionally, it will provide terrestrial plant evidence for explorations in Jurassic palaeoecology, palaeoclimatology, and palaeogeography of southern China. This study was supported by the State Basic Research Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Knowledge Innovation Program of CAS, and the Team Program of Scientific Innovation and Interdisciplinary Cooperation of CAS.
Related information of the paper: Wang Yongdong*, Wu Xiangwu, Yang Xiaoju, Duan Wei, Li Liqin, 2014. The discovery of Jurassic plants from Shenzhen of Guangdong, southern China and related significance. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2014, doi: 10.1007/s11434-014-0449-5
Fig.1 Fossil fens and cycads from the Early Jurassic in Shenzhen
Fig.2 Fossil cycads and conifers from the Early Jurassic in Shenzhen
