The Late Palaeozoic research group led by SHEN Shuzhong from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the scientists of USA and Canada intensively studied the fossil record around the Permian-Triassic boundary, they report on the 9th, December in Science that the biggest mass extinction caused the extinction of more than 95% marine and 75% terrestrial life happened within only 200,000 years 252.28 million years ago. They examined more than 20 different sections across South China and Tibet, collected tens of volcanic ashes and dated 29 ash beds in MIT, and established a composite extinction pattern of diversity and carbon isotope excursions based on a large fossil data set from both marine and terrestrial sections. The new dating limits the biggest extinction to no more than 200,000 years both on land and in the sea, just like overnight to the society of human being. The study also intensively examined the extinction on land, apparently driven by extreme global drying and warming with frequent wildfires, happened simultaneously with the marine extinction derived from massive release of greenhouse gases and acid-generating sulfur triggered by volcanic eruptions. SHEN Shuzhong et al., 2011. Calibrating the End-Permian Mass Extinction. Science, Vol. 334: 1367-1372
Permian-Triassic beds at the Meishan section in South China
A composite mass extinction pattern based on geochrologic age, biodiversity pattern and carbon isotope excursion across the Permian-Triassic boundary
Amber is not rich in China, and only some spare records have been reported. Fushun, a city in Liaoning Province of northeastern China, comprises six coal-mining districts, of which the West Opencast Coalmine (Xilutian Opencast Coalmine) yields lots of ambers. The West Opencast Coalmine, the largest opencast coalmine in Asia, was ever the largest amber deposit in China, but it is exhausted nowadays. The family Psychodidae (Diptera: Nematocera) are small true flies with short, hairy bodies and wings giving them a moth-like appearance. Trichomyiinae is a subfamily of short-legged psychodids, having the radial sector with only one vein between radial and medial forks. Dr. WANG Bo from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other scientists recently described a new species belonging to Trichomyiinae based on a well-preserved specimen from the Lower Eocene Fushun amber of China. This fossil shares some similarities with some extant and fossil Trichomyiinae, but retains some archaic features, such as non-excentric flagellomeres and long legs. This discovery representsthe first Trichomyiinae (Psychodidae) from the Fushun amber, and adds more evidence on the very high palaeodiversity of the psychodids since at least the Lower Cretaceous. Paper reference: Wang Bo, Zhang Haichun, Azar Dany. (2011) The first Psychodidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Lower Eocene Fushun amber of China. Journal of Paleontology, 85(6):1154-1159
In a paper published recently on Acta Geologica Sinica, professor WANG Xin from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology , Chinese Academy of Science and associate professor HAN Gang from Bohai University report a fossil angiosperm named Liaoningfructus ascidiatus, which is to this date the earliest one bearing ascidiate carpel and basal placentation. Angiosperms are also called flowering plants. Due to their extreme ecological importance and close relationship to the well-being of mammals (including human being), the origin and early evolution of angiosperms have been the foci of palaeobotanical research for long time. Scientists have uncovered several early angiosperms, including Chaoyangia liangii, Archaefructus liaoningensis, A. sinensis, A. eoflora, Sinocarpus decussates, and Callianthus dilae, from the Early Cretaceous strata of the Yixian Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning previously. Like the preceding early angiosperms Chaoyangia liangii, Archaefructus liaoningensis, and Callianthus dilae, the new fossil Liaoningfructus ascidiatus is also uncovered from the same locality at Huangbanjigou, Beipiao, Chaoyang, Liaoning. This new fossil is preserved as a fruit, however, scientists can infer that the carpel giving rise to the fruit was ascidiate. The strata yielding these fossils are termed the Yixian Formation, of the Early Cretaceous (about 125 million years ago) in geology. The sudden-appearing co-occurrence of so many different early angiosperms in the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation implies that the origin of angiosperms should be pre-Cretaceous. Carpel is an evolutionary product unique of angiosperms. In the traditional doctrine, follicle-like conduplicate carpel and its marginal placentation are taken as primitive. Despite recent studies of angiosperm systematics suggest that ascidiate carpel and basal placentation should occur in the primitive early angiosperms, this point of view is still lacking fossil support. The ascidiate carpel and basal placentation of Liaoningfructus ascidiatus from the Early Cretaceous provide the first robust fossil evidence favoring this new proposal. Paper reference: Wang Xin, Han Gang, 2011, The Earliest Ascidiate Carpel and Its Implications for Angiosperm Evolution. ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA-ENGLISH EDITION. 85(5)998-1002
Exceptionally-preserved fossil deposits are unevenly distributed through the fossil record. There are many examples known from the Cambrian Period, but few from the succeeding Ordovician, which was a time of spectacular changes in marine ecosystems, including the evolution of new groups of animals and the appearance of new ecologies, such as the first coral reefs. Our current understanding of the Great Ordovician Bodiversification Event (GOBE) is based almost entirely on fossils of animals with preservable skeletons, such as corals and brachiopods, so that any new fauna that preserves soft tissue offers an important new perspective on Ordovician evolution. Joseph P. Botting, Young International Scientist from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), and Lucy A. Muir, postdoctor from NIGPAS, with colleagues from London and Cambridge (UK), have recently announced in the journal Geology a new exceptionally preserved fauna from Ordovician rocks in Wales, UK. The fossils are preserved by iron pyrite (“fools’ gold”), and were formed when the dead animals were decayed by sulphate-reducing bacteria. As a result, the fossils are spectacular to look at, and can also be studied by X-radiography and micro-CT while still buried in the rock. The fauna recovered so far is dominated by sponges and solitary hydrozoans, the latter with preserved tentacles. There are also a range of rarer fossils, including arthropods, priapulid worms, and various animals that only lived attached to the surface of nautiloid shells. The community is unique among Ordovician ecosystems, but resembles some deep-sea communities living today. These initial findings suggest that the GOBE was surprisingly advanced in muddy offshore environments by the earliest Late Ordovician, and that this type of ecology has a long unknown history. Paper reference: Joseph P. Botting, Lucy A. Muir, Mark D. Sutton, and Talfan Barnie. 2011. Welsh gold: A new exceptionally preserved pyritized Ordovician biota. Geology 39(9) :879–882
The Executive Bureau of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has voted through the proposal submitted by the International Commission on Stratigraphy on establishing a Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Cambrian Jianghsanian Stage (named previously as provisional Cambrian Stage 9). The ratification of IUGS, issued recently by Prof. A. C, Riccardi, the President of IUGS, indicates the GSSP is formally set up in Duibian Village, Jiangshan County, Zhejiang Province, China. The GSSP is the 10th “Golden Spike” set up in China, and makes China the country holding the most numerous GSSPs. Previously, China, UK, and Italy each has nine GSSPs. The Jiangshanian GSSP is the 3rd GSSP defined by the research group leaded by Prof. PENG Shanchi from Nanjing Intstitute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) in succession of establishing the Cambrian Paibian and Guzhangian GSSPs, and is the 7th one defined by NIGPAS as well. Besides the Jiangshanian GSSP, the other 6 GSSPs defined by the NIGPAS are the GSSP of Ordovician Darriwilian Stage, the GSSP of Cambrian Furongian Series (contaminant with the Paibian Stage), the GSSP of Permian Lopingian Series (contaminant with the Wuchiapingian Stage), the GSSP of Permian Changhsingian Stage, the GSSP of Ordovician Hirnantian Stage, and the GSSP of Cambrian Guzhangian Stage. The Jiangshanian Stage is named after the Jiangshan County, western Zhejiang Province, where the GSSP is located. It is a formal chronostratigraphical unit appeared in the "International Stratigraphic Chart" in succession of some other units (stages and Series) termed by the Chinese Scientists. All these units are embraced within the "International Stratigraphic Chart".
Wuhua jurassica The Tenebrionoidea is amongst the most diverse group of beetles, but its fossil record is rare. Fossil beetles are very important for understanding the early evolution of beetles, because they contribute significantly to valuable information such as times of divergences and extinctions. Dr. WANG Bo and Prof. ZHANG Haichun from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences described a definitive oldest tenebrionoid beetle (Wuhua jurassica) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, China. The wedge-shaped body and tarsal formula 5-5-4 in Wuhua place it in Tenebrionoidea undoubtedly. However, it is difficult to incorporate Wuhua into any existing family of Tenebrionoidea, because of the unusual combination of its characters. Wuhua shares some similarities with some Mesozoic mordellid-like beetles: the body convex, head strongly deflexed, antennae filiform, pygidium absent, hind leg not strongly developed and tarsi simple. The specimen probably has a close relationship with these mordellid-like beetles. This discovery extends the time of origin of Tenebrionoidea to the Middle Jurassic. Paper reference: Wang Bo, Zhang Haichun. (2011) The oldest Tenebrionoidea (Coleoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of China. Journal of Paleontology, 85(2): 266-270
The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE) is one of the most significant radiations of marine organisms during Earth history, showing a rapid increase in biodiversity. The diversity patterns of different fossil groups are wildly discussed. In the Proterozoic and Palaeozoic fossil record, most acritarchs are considered to represent marine phytoplankton cysts which evolutions are proposed several opinions on the triggering and controlling factors. A recent review on microphytoplankton of this radiation event in South China is conducted by Dr. YAN Kui et al from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and France. The diversity patters of microphytoplankton from six sections and literatures in South China have been analysed and the roles of microphytoplankton in the Ordovician ecosystem have been discussed. This paper is published on recent issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Yan et al. found a major radiation of the phytoplankton occurred during the late Early Ordovician-early Middle Ordovician. The diversity changes vary in the different parts of the investigated area, most probably depending on the position of the analysed sections on the carbonate shelf or the slope, reflecting diversity differences due to the position on an inshore-offshore transect. The Early-Middle Ordovician diversity pattern of the phytoplankton is compared with those of several marine invertebrate groups. The different fossil groups, such as chitinozoans, conodonts, graptolites, brachiopods and trilobites show therefore different evolutionary patterns to that of the acritarchs, that are not yet fully understood, and correlations are so far difficult. The acritarch diversity changes can partly be compared to the local sea-level changes from four sections in South China. At a larger scale, the acritarch radiation coincides with a general transgression. At a regional or local scale, correlations are not straightforward, pointing out that more detailed data, based on both acritarch studies and more precise sea-level investigations, are necessary. Paper reference: YAN Kui*, SERVAIS, T., LI Jun, WU Rongchang & TANG Peng. 2011. Biodiversity patterns of Early–Middle Ordovician marine microphytoplankton in South China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 299: 318-334.
A new progress in the research of Palaeozoic dispersed megaspores in north China was made by Dr. LIU Feng, Professor ZHU Huaicheng and Professor OUYANG Shu from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) recently. Well-preserved megaspores are described for the first time from Pennsylvanian to Late Permian strata of the Baode region in Shanxi province, North China. A total of 20 species in 13 genera are described. Using first appearances of selected megaspore species and changes in species abundance in the succession, four megaspore assemblage zones can be recognized. Comparison with already known in situ megaspores indicates that the parent plants of the dispersed megaspores were mainly lycopods and this in turn indicates their likely palaeoenvironmental significance. Selaginella-like herbs and subarborescent lycopods which were low in abundance compared with arborescent lycopods in the early Pennsylvanian appeared to have become prevalent from the Late Pennsylvanian in northern China. However, some arborescent lycopods (mainly sigillarians) still played an important role in the Permian coal forming plants of the region. Several Carboniferous megaspores characteristic of Euramerica persist into the Mid Permian in North China, indicating that a warm and humid climate prevailed in this area during Pennsylvanian to Roadian, whereas the climate of Euramerica had already become arid by the end of the Carboniferous. This warm and humid climate in northern China made it a refuge for some typically Euramerican Carboniferous plants. From Roadian, with the disappearance of coal and marine sediments together with the appearance of red beds, the MS megaspore zone progressively changed to the G zone. This probably reflects the adaptation of the parent plants to a more and more arid climate. Paper reference: Liu Feng, Zhu Huaicheng, Ouyang Shu, 2011. Taxonomy and biostratigraphy of Pennsylvanian to Late Permian megaspores from Shanxi, North China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology in press. (doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2011.03.001)
Dr. Frédéric JACQUES, Young International Scientist from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), and collaborators developed a new model for palaeoclimate reconstruction of the monsoon regions of China recently. Our understanding of past climatic changes depends on our ability to obtain reliable palaeoclimate reconstructions. Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) uses the physiognomy of woody dicot leaf assemblages to quantitatively reconstruct terrestrial palaeoclimates. The present calibrations include sites from North America, Japan and Pacific islands, but lack Chinese data. As a result, palaeoclimatic reconstructions based of Chinese fossil leaf assemblages tend to be wrong, with very high precipitation. Dr. Frédéric Jacquesand Prof. WANG Weiming from NIGPAS, Mr. HUANG Yongjiang, Drs. SU Tao, XING Yaowu, Prof. ZHOU Zhekun from Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, and Robert Spicer from the Open University established a new CLAMP calibration that actually reflects Chinese monsoon climate through the inclusion of 45 Chinese sites to the database. The study demonstrates that the new model has a good accuracy for the reconstruction of Chinese and South-East Asia monsoon climates and that such a model is reliable for the reconstruction of Chinese palaeoclimates during the Neogene. This new calibration has already been accepted by the international scientific community and is already used for related research. These results have been published in a recent issue of the international journal Global and Planetary Change. The new monsoonal calibration was tested using a cross validation procedure to show it really improves the accuracy of the palaeoclimatic reconstruction for Chinese sites, especially for the moisture related parameters. The mean absolute error for Growing Season Precipitation (GSP) of the Chinese sites is 294.6 mm in the new monsoonal calibration whereas it was 1609.6 mm in the old calibration. Results for the three wettest months and three driest months are also more accurate and precise, which allows us to study seasonality of the precipitation, and hence the monsoon. The new monsoonal calibration also gives accurate results for enthalpy reconstruction. Enthalpy is a parameter that is used for palaeoaltimetry, the new calibration is therefore useful for studies of land surface height changes in China, height changes which in turn can affect the strength of the monsoon. The new monsoonal calibration was tested on two fossil sites from the Late Miocene of southwestern China, namely the Lincang and Xiaolongtan palaeofloras. A comparison of results from the new monsoonal calibration and the Physg3brcAZ calibration shows that there is no strong difference in temperature estimates for the two calibrations, but there is a strong difference in the moisture related parameters. The use of this new monsoonal calibration is recommended for palaeoclimate reconstructions in China. Paper reference: Frédéric M.B. Jacques, Tao Su, Robert A. Spicer, Yaowu Xing, Yongjiang Huang, Weiming Wang, Zhekun Zhou. 2011. Leaf physiognomy and climates: are monsoon systems different? Global and Planetary Change 76 (1-2): 56-62.
Figure caption: The colour gradient on the left refers to GSP. Chinese sites (circles) group away from the 3b sites (squares), even those with high GSP scores (in blue).
Fossil plant cytoplasm is a novel object of research in palaeobotany and attracts increasing attention of scientists around the world. Recently Molecular Membrane Biology, an academic journal published in England, released a paper on membrane fusion in a fossil plant authored by professor WANG Xin from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Chinese Academy of Sciences, LIU Wenzhe from Northwest University, and DU Kaihe from Nanjing Normal University. In the paper, the authors reveal the hard-to-catch snapshots of membrane fusion in plant cells. Membrane fusion is a process related to many physiological activities in cells. Due to the transience of this process, scientists working on living organisms have been taking effort to capture and study it. It has been noticed that there is a central plug in the fusion pore, but there is little information on how it comes into being. In the traditional palaeontology, cytoplasm that is closely related to many physiological activities used to be taken as volatile and should have decayed in fossils completely, thus leaving physiology of fossil plants a mission impossible. However, recent progress in palaeobotany has been revealing increasing records of cytoplasm and its ultrastructures in fossil plants. For example, WANG Xin and his colleagues recognized membrane fusion event in a fossil plant years ago although the details in this process are still missing. In the new paper, WANG Xin and his colleagues deepen their research on membrane fusion in a fossil plant from the Miocene of USA. Long time research finally reveals the forming process of central plug in fusion pore: the residual membranes of the vesicle and plasmolemma in the fusion pore together form the plug, while vesicle membrane and inner leaflet of the plasmolemma form a discoid structure with their hydrophobic ends on the outside. This is the first time that this structure, which is hard-to-capture even in living organisms, is seen. Its occurrence in fossil plant provides some unique hints on deciphering and simulating membrane fusion in cells. Since this process is transient, its existence in fossil plant suggests that its fixing was completed rapidly, probably by a lightning. Wang X, Liu W, Du K (2011) Palaeontological evidence of membrane relationship in step-by-step membrane fusion. Molecular Membrane Biology, 28, 115-122. See more info at: http://informahealthcare.com/eprint/cRF9UpcFEFARwu9qQZ9P/full?tokenKey
