Recently, the PhD candidate SONG Siyu, supervised by Professor ZHENG Daran (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), has preliminarily recovered the Early Cretaceous terrestrial biodiversity of the QOB based on fossils from the Fengjiashan (Shangxian Basin), Baiwan (Baiwan Basin), and Nanzhao formations (Mashiping Basin) collected in the QOB, and further discussed their palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological implications. The results were published online in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.As the control center of the modern ecosystem of China, the evolution of the Qinling Orogenic Belt (QOB) influenced the development of East Asian terrestrial ecosystems during the Late Mesozoic. The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, distributed along the Shangdan Suture Zone in the QOB, provides key clues for reconstructing the Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in central China, yet it has lacked research for nearly three decades.Recently, the PhD candidate SONG Siyu, supervised by Professor ZHENG Daran (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), has preliminarily recovered the Early Cretaceous terrestrial biodiversity of the QOB based on fossils from the Fengjiashan (Shangxian Basin), Baiwan (Baiwan Basin), and Nanzhao formations (Mashiping Basin) collected in the QOB, and further discussed their palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological implications. The results were published online in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.This study reveals new fossils of dinosaur footprints, bivalves, clam shrimp, gastropods, insects, and megaplants, reconstructs the Jehol Biota in the QOB, and establishes a regional stratigraphic framework. Key findings include abundant invertebrate and plant fossils from the Shangxian Basin in Shaanxi Province, as well as the first report of the Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprint and angiosperm fossils from Henan Province. The invertebrate fossil assemblages include the bivalve Arguniella-Sphaerium assemblage, the clam shrimp Eosestheria-Diestheria assemblage, the gastropod Probaicalia vitimensis-Ptychostylus-Reesidella robusta assemblage, and the middle Jehol Entomofauna. These indicate that the Lower Cretaceous in the QOB could be correlated with the Yixian and Jiufotang formations in western Liaoning, and that the Jehol Biota reached the QOB during its middle evolutionary stage.Within the QOB, the Jehol Biota occur eastward in the Shangxian, Baiwan, and Mashiping basins along the Shangdan Suture Zone. The clam shrimp Eosestheria-Diestheria assemblage co‑occurs in the Shangxian and Baiwan basins, whereas the Jehol Entomofauna is present in all three basins. This distribution pattern suggests the existence of a potential paleo‑drainage system connecting basins in the QOB, which provided suitable palaeoecological conditions for biological flourishing and bridged the southward dispersal of the Jehol Biota in central China.This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Reference: Song, S., Zhang, X., Teng, X., Li, T., Yu, T., Li, J., Xue, Y., Liu, P., Fang, R., Zhao, X., Zheng, D.*, 2026. Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota in the Qinling Orogenic Belt: palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 698, 113939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113939.Fig.1 Clam shrimp fossils from the Fengjiashan Formation of the Shangxian BasinFig.2 Insect and megaplant fossils from the Baiwan Formation of the Baiwan BasinFig.3 Dinosaur footprint, insect and megaplant fossils from the Nanzhao Formation of the Mashiping BasinFig.4 Regional correlation of the Lower Cretaceous in the Qinling Orogenetic Belt
Recently, an international research team led by Professor ZHANG Hua of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), published a study in Earth and Planetary Science Letters that employs magnesium isotopes (δ26Mg) as a novel tracer to constrain inter‑ocean connectivity during the P–Tr transition and its influence on ecosystem resilience. The first author is Associate Professor HU Zhongya of Tongji University, and the corresponding author is Professor ZHANG Hua.The Permian–Triassic (P–Tr) transition, approximately 252 million years ago, witnessed the most severe mass extinction event in Earth’s history, with more than 80% of marine species eliminated and ecosystems virtually collapsed. The crisis is widely attributed to large‑scale volcanic eruptions, including the Siberian Traps and acidic volcanism in the Tethyan realm, which injected massive CO2 and volatile substances into the atmosphere, triggering rapid global warming, ocean acidification, and intense carbon‑cycle perturbations. Rising temperatures further reduced oxygen solubility and enhanced water‑column stratification, weakening oceanic circulation and deep‑water ventilation, leading to widespread marine anoxia and even local euxinia.However, a long‑standing question remains: did the severity of this global catastrophe vary among ocean basins due to differences in circulation intensity and connectivity? This issue is critical for understanding the spatiotemporal patterns of the extinction and the subsequent biotic recovery.Recently, an international research team led by Professor ZHANG Hua of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), published a study in Earth and Planetary Science Letters that employs magnesium isotopes (δ26Mg) as a novel tracer to constrain inter‑ocean connectivity during the P–Tr transition and its influence on ecosystem resilience. The first author is Associate Professor HU Zhongya of Tongji University, and the corresponding author is Professor ZHANG Hua.Magnesium is a major constituent of seawater, second only to sodium, and has a long residence time of approximately 13 million years in the modern ocean. This vast marine Mg reservoir imparts a strong geochemical “inertia” to the open ocean – even under global environmental perturbations, the Mg isotope composition of the open ocean remains remarkably stable. In contrast, published records show that short‑term (<1 Myr) significant variations in seawater δ26Mg are almost exclusively associated with restricted basins. Therefore, Mg isotopes have recently emerged as a powerful proxy for identifying transient basin restriction.During the P–Tr transition, the marine Mg cycle was highly dynamic, influenced by enhanced continental weathering, widespread dolomitization, and reverse weathering. These processes are all accompanied by significant Mg isotope fractionation, providing a theoretical basis for using δ26Mg to trace paleo‑ocean connectivity.The research team systematically analysed Mg isotopes from three major paleo‑oceans – the Paleo‑Tethys, Neo‑Tethys, and Panthalassa. Sampling sections included the Saiq section in Oman and the Naluch Nala section in the Salt Range of Pakistan (Neo‑Tethys), as well as the Kamura and Taho sections in Japan (Panthalassa). All sections preserve complete P–Tr successions with well‑constrained conodont biostratigraphy and carbon isotope correlations.The results reveal a fundamental divergence: seawater δ26Mg remained stable (−0.4‰ to −0.3‰) in the Neo‑Tethys and Panthalassa across the P–Tr transition, whereas it increased by more than 0.5‰ in the Paleo‑Tethys. Previous work by the same group (Hu et al., 2021) demonstrated that the pronounced δ26Mg rise in the Paleo‑Tethys reflects intensified dolomitization under global warming – light 24Mg was preferentially incorporated into dolomite, enriching the residual seawater in heavy 26Mg.This stark inter‑basin contrast indicates that different ocean basins responded in fundamentally different ways to the same global climate perturbation. The Neo‑Tethys maintained effective water exchange with the Panthalassa, and its seawater chemistry was buffered by the vast Panthalassa reservoir. In contrast, the Paleo‑Tethys was relatively restricted, so the local dolomitization signal was amplified and clearly recorded in its Mg isotope composition.To further quantify the buffering capacity of different basins, the team constructed a box model coupling the Mg cycle and water exchange. The model integrates Mg fluxes from riverine input, dolomitization, high‑temperature and low‑temperature alteration, and incorporates inter‑basin exchange parameters.Simulations show that the residence time of Mg in seawater is the key parameter controlling the amplitude of δ26Mg variation. At Early Triassic seawater Mg concentrations of 10–50 mmol/kg, the residence time is estimated at 2–10 Myr. For a shorter residence time (~2 Myr), a roughly three‑fold reduction in exchange is sufficient to produce the observed isotope shift; for a longer residence time (~5 Myr), nearly two orders of magnitude of restriction are required to generate a similar change.More importantly, the model quantitatively evaluates the buffering capacities of the different basins. In the relatively restricted Paleo‑Tethys, enhanced dolomitization over ~0.75 Myr consumed ~3.15 × 1018 mol of Mg, depleting the basin’s Mg reservoir by ~20%. In contrast, imposing the same relative increase in dolomitization flux on the vast Panthalassa/Neo‑Tethys system would result in a depletion of <5%, producing a δ26Mg change of <0.1‰ – consistent with the observed stability. These results demonstrate that the open ocean’s large Mg reservoir provides strong chemical buffering, whereas restricted basins are highly sensitive to environmental perturbations.Stable seawater chemistry is crucial for the survival and recovery of marine organisms. Palaeoecological evidence indicates that shallow‑water carbonate platforms in the Neo‑Tethys maintained well‑oxygenated conditions after the extinction, hosting diverse benthic assemblages dominated by crinoids, bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, and ostracods. These communities suggest that the Neo‑Tethys, being effectively connected to the Panthalassa, provided a relatively stable chemical environment that served as a refugium for surviving taxa.In contrast, the restricted setting of the Paleo‑Tethys amplified multiple environmental stresses: enhanced dolomitization consumed alkalinity, potentially accelerating local ocean acidification; limited circulation further exacerbated anoxia; and elevated nutrient inputs from continental weathering accumulated in the semi‑closed basin, promoting eutrophication and widespread oxygen deficiency. The occurrence of pyrite in shallow‑water carbonates supports persistent suboxic to anoxic conditions in the Paleo‑Tethys.This study provides the first inter‑basin geochemical evidence for oceanic differentiation during the P–Tr transition, revealing that the marine system did not respond homogeneously to the global crisis but instead exhibited a fundamental structural divergence. The findings deepen our understanding of the recovery mechanisms following the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history and introduce a new isotopic tool for paleo‑oceanographic circulation reconstruction.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the China Scholarship Council.Reference: Zhongya Hu, Weiqiang Li, Robert J. Newton, Sylvain Richoz, Yasufumi Iryu, Satoshi Takahashi, Takumi Maekawa, Zhiguang Xia, Shouye Yang, Shu‑Zhong Shen, Hua Zhang*. 2026. Magnesium isotopes constrain connectivity and environmental resilience among ocean basins during the Early Triassic. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 690: 120191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120191.Fig.1 Comparison of δ²⁶Mg variations in typical dolomite sections from the Paleo‑Tethys, Neo‑Tethys and Panthalassa oceansFig.2 (A–C) Geochemical variations during the P–Tr transition (from literature); (D) Reconstructed seawater δ²⁶Mg from dolomite records (this study); (E–G) Element and isotope mass‑balance modeling testing the buffering capacity of Panthalassa vs. Paleo‑Tethys
Recently, a research team led by Professor CAI Chenyang from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), collaborated with research institutions across the United Kingdom, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and other countries. Leveraging large-scale genome sequencing, construction of an ultra-large molecular matrix and multi-dimensional statistical validation, the team assembled a phylogenomic dataset with broad taxonomic coverage for insect evolution, precisely resolving the evolutionary position of Zoraptera on the insect Tree of Life. The findings were published online in the international journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.Zoraptera, commonly known as angel insects, represents one of the most enigmatic insect orders. These minute, soft-bodied insects exhibit both winged and apterous morphs and live gregariously. Distributed mainly across tropical regions worldwide, they dwell under bark, in decaying wood and leaf litter, with fewer than 50 extant species recorded globally. Discovered more than a century ago, the phylogenetic placement of Zoraptera has long remained a central contentious puzzle in insect evolutionary research. Over the past decade, morphological and molecular analyses have unanimously placed Zoraptera within Neoptera, yet conflicting evolutionary hypotheses persist regarding its relatedness to other polyneopteran lineages. This long-standing debate, dubbed the "century-old problem", highlights the immense challenge of resolving its evolutionary affinities.Recently, a research team led by Professor CAI Chenyang from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), collaborated with research institutions across the United Kingdom, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and other countries. Leveraging large-scale genome sequencing, construction of an ultra-large molecular matrix and multi-dimensional statistical validation, the team assembled a phylogenomic dataset with broad taxonomic coverage for insect evolution, precisely resolving the evolutionary position of Zoraptera on the insect Tree of Life. The findings were published online in the international journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.The researchers sampled 89 extant species covering all major polyneopteran clades, alongside 23 distant outgroups. Highly conserved single-copy orthologous genes were filtered, assembled and concatenated to build an ultra-large polyneopteran phylogenetic matrix with the most comprehensive taxon sampling and balanced lineage representation to date. Based on this extensive gene dataset, the team systematically evaluated diverse molecular evolutionary models, quantified and corrected phylogenetic biases induced by across-site compositional heterogeneity, and compared topological perturbations arising from different partitioning schemes and heterogeneity-correcting models.The results demonstrate that the widely accepted mainstream Haplocercata hypothesis—positing Zoraptera and Dermaptera as sister groups forming the basal polyneopteran lineage—only holds when compositional heterogeneity across sequence sites is ignored. Support for this hypothesis declines markedly once site-heterogeneous models capable of mitigating such systematic errors are applied. Under the optimal evolutionary model, Zoraptera consistently emerges as the earliest-diverging lineage at the root of Polyneoptera, while Dermaptera and Plecoptera form the clade Dermoplectopterida, the sister group to all remaining polyneopterans. Topology tests and cross-model comparisons jointly confirm the robustness of the polyneopteran phylogenetic framework proposed herein, laying a critical foundation for reconstructing the ancestral morphological and biological traits of polyneopterans and elucidating their early evolutionary radiation.The team adopted a multi-layered independent validation framework to cross-verify the conclusions. First, multispecies coalescent models yielded an identical topology to the maximum-likelihood tree inferred from the ultra-large matrix. Second, the jackknife resampling test was systematically applied for the first time to an ultra-large insect genomic matrix, repeatedly confirming that the recovered evolutionary framework is robust to perturbations of the matrix and analytical approaches. The highly stable polyneopteran phylogeny established in this study provides a core quantitative analytical framework for reconstructing ancestral polyneopteran body plans and deciphering patterns of their early radiation.This research was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China.Reference: Yehao Wang, Erik Tihelka, Petr Kočárek, Michael S. Engel, Jesus Lozano-Fernandez, Zi-Wei Yin, Omar Rota-Stabelli, Diying Huang, Davide Pisani, Philip C.J. Donoghue and Chenyang Cai* (2026) Phylogenomics resolves the century-old ‘Zoraptera problem’: Zoraptera as the earliest diverging lineage of Polyneoptera. Proc. R. Soc. B 291: 2025.3174. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.3174.Fig.1 Zorapterans and their habitatsFig.2 Impacts of across-site compositional heterogeneity on polyneopteran phylogeny; the left panel shows previous hypotheses, and the right panel presents the novel topology recovered in this studyFig.3 Shifts in statistical support for the two competing hypotheses and comparisons of model fitFig.4 Systematic jackknife resampling tests applied to an ultra-large insect genomic matrix for the first time; congruent topological relationships within Polyneoptera recovered consistently via both coalescent and maximum-likelihood analyses
Recently, Associate Professor WANG Yaqiong from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), and Associate Professor ZHONG Yuting from Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators from Liupanshui Normal University and Nanjing University, conducted zircon SIMS U–Pb dating of tuff layers from the Lower Cretaceous succession in the Liuhe Basin, Jilin Province. High-precision ages were obtained for the Lamenzi, Dashatan, and Baodaqiao formations, yielding ages of 127.1 ± 0.9 Ma, 124.6 ± 1.2 Ma, and 122.1 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. The result was published in Cretaceous Research.The North China Craton (NCC) is a key geological unit in East Asia. Its large-scale destruction during the Late Mesozoic, characterized by lithospheric thinning, large-scale magmatism and structural deformation, is widely considered to be closely related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate. This deep geodynamic process not only triggered widespread magmatic activity and rifting but also profoundly influenced the evolution of terrestrial ecosystem.Recently, Associate Professor WANG Yaqiong from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), and Associate Professor ZHONG Yuting from Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators from Liupanshui Normal University and Nanjing University, conducted zircon SIMS U–Pb dating of tuff layers from the Lower Cretaceous succession in the Liuhe Basin, Jilin Province. High-precision ages were obtained for the Lamenzi, Dashatan, and Baodaqiao formations, yielding ages of 127.1 ± 0.9 Ma, 124.6 ± 1.2 Ma, and 122.1 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. The result was published in Cretaceous Research.These results establish, for the first time, a robust chronostratigraphic framework for the Lower Cretaceous strata of the Liuhe Basin, providing new temporal constraints for dating fossil-bearing horizons of the Jehol Biota sensu lato and for understanding the evolution of Early Cretaceous rift basins in East Asia.The Liuhe Basin is a small rift basin located in the northeastern part of the North China Craton (NCC), preserving fossil assemblages of the Jehol Biota sensu lato (including gastropods, bivalves, fishes, and turtles). However, the depositional ages of these fossil-bearing strata have long remained poorly constrained because of the lack of reliable geochronological data, limiting our understanding of basin evolution and regional tectonic-ecological interactions.In this study, zircon SIMS U–Pb dating was performed on tuff layers interbedded within sedimentary successions of the Lamenzi, Dashatan, and Baodaqiao formations. The results indicate that the Lamenzi Formation was deposited during late Hauterivian, the Dashatan Formation during early Barremian, and the Baodaqiao Formation during the late Barremian to early Aptian. Combined with previously published ostracod biostratigraphic data, the study further constrains the ages of the Xiahuapi Dianzi and Hengtongshan formations to Aptian, while the Heiwaizi Formation may extend into early Albian.This study also documents that the sedimentary evolution of the Liuhe Basin records a transition from volcanic-dominated deposition to clastic sedimentation at ~122 Ma, marking a shift from syn-rift magmatism to post-rift conditions. Regional comparison indicates that this transition exhibits an eastward-younging trend across rift basins along the northern NCC, consistent with progressive lithospheric extension driven by rollback of the paleo-Pacific plate.The newly established geochronological framework not only refines the Lower Cretaceous stratigraphic timescale of East Asia but also provides important temporal constraints for investigating how deep Earth geodynamic processes influenced surface basin evolution and terrestrial ecosystem development. Furthermore, this study supports the hypothesis that the spatiotemporal evolution of the Jehol Biota sensu lato on the NCC may have been closely linked to the destruction of the craton, providing a new basis for understanding the coupling relationships among tectonic activity, environmental change, and biological evolution in East Asia during the Early Cretaceous.This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.Reference: Yu-Ting Zhong, Ya-Qiong Wang*, Jia-Jun Mo, Huazheng Zhu, 2026. Chronostratigraphic constraints on the Lower Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary succession of the Liuhe Basin: implications for the Jehol Biota sensu lato and destruction of the North China Craton. Cretaceous Research, 186: 106429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106429Fig. 1 A. Tectonic map showing distribution of Cretaceous basins in NE Asia; active rift basins distributed in northern NCC (modified from Meng et al., 2022, figure 1). B. Simplified geological map of the Liuhe Basin, showing the distribution of major stratigraphic units and sampling locations (modified from the 1: 250,000 geological map of the Hailong area).Fig. 2 A–C. Overview photographs of the sampled sections; D–F. Field occurrences of tuff samples 2025TF-5, 2025TF-6, and 2025TF-7, respectively; G–H. Photomicrographs of sample 2025TF-5 under plane-polarized light and cross-polarized light, respectively; I. Photomicrograph of sample 2025TF-7 under plane-polarized light; J. Stratigraphic column showing lithology, thickness, and sampling horizons of individual formations (thickness based on Xu et al., 2019, table 1). Fsp: feldspar; Qtz: quartz.Fig. 3 Stratigraphic correlation of Lower Cretaceous sequences in northern NCC, showing volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks in the lower part and clastics in the upper (modified from Zhou et al., 2021, figure 4) (ages data based on Zhou et al., 2021; Meng et al., 2022; Zhong et al., 2025, references therein and this study); subduction process of paleo-Pacific plate during the Early Cretaceous, and its controls on destruction of the NCC (modified from Zhu et al., 2017, figure 5) (Geochronological chart based on International Chronostratigraphic Chart v 2024/12, Cohen et al., 2013).
Recently, a research team led by Prof. LI Tao from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), in collaboration with scientists from the University of Bristol, Nanjing University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, innovatively integrated coral elemental ratios with a quantitative biomineralization model. They established a new quantitative correction method for seawater Ba concentration based on the Ba/Ca ratios of cold-water corals, significantly advancing the application of cold-water coral geochemistry in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The relevant findings have been published in the internationally renowned journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.Cold-water corals are widely distributed in the global deep ocean. The barium-to-calcium (Ba/Ca) ratio in their skeletons serves as a key proxy for tracing seawater Ba concentration, and thus for reconstructing past ocean productivity and deep ocean circulation. However, existing calibration curves exhibit significant genus offsets and data scatter, mainly due to the Rayleigh fractionation effect during coral biomineralization, which leads to non-equilibrium partitioning of elements such as Ba and Sr between the skeleton and seawater, causing the skeletal record to deviate from the true seawater signal.Recently, a research team led by Prof. LI Tao from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), in collaboration with scientists from the University of Bristol, Nanjing University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, innovatively integrated coral elemental ratios with a quantitative biomineralization model. They established a new quantitative correction method for seawater Ba concentration based on the Ba/Ca ratios of cold-water corals, significantly advancing the application of cold-water coral geochemistry in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The relevant findings have been published in the internationally renowned journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.By integrating elemental composition data from nearly one hundred cold-water coral specimens of different genera collected from various ocean regions, including the Southern Ocean, the North Atlantic, and the equatorial Atlantic, along with the corresponding physicochemical parameters of the ambient seawater, the team found that under the same seawater Ba concentration, different coral genera exhibit significant and systematic differences in Ba/Ca ratios. Moreover, these differences show a strong positive correlation with Sr/Ca ratios, indicating that the Rayleigh fractionation effect is the key factor controlling the inter‑genus offsets. Based on this, the team introduced a quantitative biomineralization model (Fig. 1) to correct the Ba/Ca ratios using paired Sr/Ca data, successfully establishing a unified and robust cold-water coral Ba/Ca–seawater Ba concentration calibration curve. This significantly improves the paleoceanographic reconstruction capability of the cold-water coral Ba/Ca proxy.The team further conducted cross‑validation using cold-water coral samples collected from different water depths on the Burdwood Bank seamount in the Drake Passage, Southern Ocean (Fig. 2). The results show that without correction, the seawater Ba concentrations reconstructed from Ba/Ca ratios of different coral genera at the same water depth exhibit large scatter and obvious inter‑genus offsets, deviating significantly from the measured seawater values. However, after correction using paired Sr/Ca ratios and the biomineralization model, the data from different genera converge toward the same seawater Ba concentration, and the reconstructed vertical profile of seawater Ba concentration is in much better agreement with the measured values, substantially improving the accuracy of seawater Ba concentration reconstruction.This research lays a solid foundation for the widespread application of the cold-water coral Ba/Ca proxy in reconstructing past seawater Ba concentrations, and is expected to provide key technical support for revealing the coupled relationship between ocean productivity changes and deep ocean circulation evolution during the glacial‑interglacial cycles of the late Pleistocene.This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province.Reference: Feng, Q., Li, T.*, Chen, S., Robinson, L.F., Kershaw, J., Stewart, J.A., Liu, Q., Wang, M., Chen, T., 2026. A revised calibration of cold-water coral Ba/Ca versus seawater Ba concentration using paired Sr/Ca and a biomineralization model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 690.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2026.120142.Fig.1 Quantitative biomineralization model for elemental ratios in cold-water corals.Fig.2 Comparison of reconstruction results from cold-water corals on the Burdwood Bank seamount in the Southern Ocean.
Under the supervision of Prof. WANG Yongdong of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), the Ph.D. student CHEN Hongyu at NIGPAS, in collaboration with Prof. Dieter Uhl and Dr. XIE Aowei from the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Germany, Dr. ZHANG Li from NIGPAS, as well as colleagues from Nanjing Center of China Geological Survey, Chengdu University of Technology has performed investigations of Ixostrobus male cones based on new material from the Qaidam Basin, NW China. This work provides a taxonomic revision based on the global fossil record, explores the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of the genus, and achieves insights into the morphological characteristics. The findings have been published in the international journal Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.Gymnosperms are one of the most significant taxa of the Mesozoic flora worldwide. Reproductive organs, which often exhibit relatively stable morphological characteristics, provide valuable materials for investigating the taxonomic relationships and evolutionary patterns of this plant group. Ixostrobus Raciborski, a form genus, is considered as the male cone of Czekanowskiales, widely reported from the Mesozoic flora. However, because of the usually poor preservation, especially the male reproductive organs heavily affected by phenology, the understanding of their key morphological characteristics remains limited. Besides, the reports on Ixostrobus are rather scattered in literature in different languages and regions, presenting some difficulties for a comprehensive comparison of these fossil records.Under the supervision of Prof. WANG Yongdong of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), the Ph.D. student CHEN Hongyu at NIGPAS, in collaboration with Prof. Dieter Uhl and Dr. XIE Aowei from the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Germany, Dr. ZHANG Li from NIGPAS, as well as colleagues from Nanjing Center of China Geological Survey, Chengdu University of Technology has performed investigations of Ixostrobus male cones based on new material from the Qaidam Basin, NW China. This work provides a taxonomic revision based on the global fossil record, explores the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of the genus, and achieves insights into the morphological characteristics. The findings have been published in the international journal Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.Recently, well-preserved fossil specimens of Ixostrobus have been collected from the Lower Jurassic Tianshuigou and Yinmagou formations in the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province. Based on this, the researchers conduct in-depth and detailed investigations on systematic morphology, and formally revised its generic diagnosis to clarify the key diagnostic traits and improve the accuracy of morphological descriptions.This study clarifies that the main diagnostic characteristics of Ixostrobus are represented by an axis bearing only microsporophylls without any bracts or other appendages, with pollen sacs and scales at the distal end of microsporophyll, and the pollen sacs borne on the adaxial side of microsporophyll.Based on investigations on newly collected fossil specimens of Ixostrobus cones from the Qaidam Basin in China and examination of all reported taxa, several previously assigned specimens are revised (Figs.1, 2), a new record of I. heeri is documented from the local flora (Fig.3), and a new species, I. bilobus Chen, Wang et Zhang sp. nov., distinguished by its bilobed scale, is recognized (Fig.4).A comprehensive re-appraisal of previously reported global species is conducted through direct examination of specimens and assessment of the original fossil records. Among the 18 species documented as Ixostrobus so far, 13 species are proposed to be valid, i.e., I. bilobus, I. daohugouensis, I. grandis, I. groenlandicus, I. heeri, I. laxus, I. longicalcaratus, I. longus, I. punctatus, I. schmidtianus, I. siemiradzkii, I. tunguscanum, I. whitbiensis. Among the valid species, 5 species, i.e., I. grandis, I. laxus, I. longus, I. punctatus, and I. tunguscanum, are indeed poorly preserved, which require more collections and further investigation.Geologically, Ixostrobus ranges from the Early Triassic to the Early Cretaceous, with peak in species diversity during the Early Jurassic period (Fig. 5). Geographically, Ixostrobus are widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, with significant occurrences in Europe (Poland, Hungary, UK, Greenland), Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Central and East Asia, indicating a primary occurrence within the warm temperate zone of eastern Laurasia at middle to high latitudes (Fig. 5).This represents the first re-appraisal of the genus Ixostrobus, and substantially advances our understanding of the Mesozoic gymnosperm diversity evolution. These findings elevate Ixostrobus to a pivotal reference taxon for reconstructing the systematics, diversification dynamics, and extinction patterns of Mesozoic gymnosperms.This study is co-sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Deep Earth Probe and Mineral Resources Exploration-National Science and Technology Major Project of China, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the Basic Research Program of Jiangsu, the China Scholarship Council, and the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme.Reference information: Chen, H.Y. (陈泓宇), Wang, Y.D.* (王永栋), Zhang, L., Zhu, Y.B., Xie, A.W., An, P.C., Uhl, D., 2026. Re-appraisal of the Mesozoic male cone Ixostrobus Raciborski (Czekanowskiales) based on new material from the Qaidam Basin, NW China: New insights into systematics, diversity and spatio-temporal distribution. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 352, 105605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2026.105605.Fig.1 Ixostrobus siemiradzkii from the Qaidam Basin, and the illustration of holotype.Fig.2 Ixostrobus groenlandicus from the Qaidam Basin, and the illustration of holotype.Fig.3 Ixostrobus heeri from the Qaidam Basin, and the illustration of holotype.Fig.4 Ixostrobus bilobus sp. nov. from the Qaidam Basin.Fig.5 Global stratigraphic ranges and palaeogeographic distributions of the valid Ixostrobus species.
Recently, PhD candidate XUAN Qiang (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), under the supervision of Prof. HUANG Diying (NIGPAS), together with Prof. ZHANG Zhiqiang (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, New Zealand), reported evidence of queueing behaviour in larval mites from the Cretaceous Burmese amber. In this study, adjacent individuals within the queue are connected by fine silk threads, thereby physically reinforcing the queue structure, revealing a previously unknown silk-mediated mechanism of group alignment. The mites were identified as a new genus and species within the family Erythraeidae, named Protofilum ordinatum gen. et sp. nov. The scientific results were recently published online in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.In arthropods, queueing behaviour represents a stereotypical and visually striking form of collective locomotion. This behaviour is most commonly observed in highly social insects, such as ants, termites, and lepidopteran larvae. Additionally, some non-social or sub-social arthropods can also form queues under specific ecological conditions, for example, migratory spiny lobsters in autumn and juvenile tarantulas when dispersing from their burrows. However, the fossil record of queueing behaviour in arthropods is extremely sparse. Only a few Palaeozoic marine arthropod fossils have been interpreted as possible “queues”, such as the Cambrian putative crustacean Synophalos and Ordovician and Devonian trilobites, but little is known about their function and formation mechanism. In terrestrial ecosystems, no analogous fossil record has been discovered to date, leaving the early evolution of queueing behaviour in terrestrial arthropods completely unexplored.Recently, PhD candidate XUAN Qiang (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), under the supervision of Prof. HUANG Diying (NIGPAS), together with Prof. ZHANG Zhiqiang (Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, New Zealand), reported evidence of queueing behaviour in larval mites from the Cretaceous Burmese amber. In this study, adjacent individuals within the queue are connected by fine silk threads, thereby physically reinforcing the queue structure, revealing a previously unknown silk-mediated mechanism of group alignment. The mites were identified as a new genus and species within the family Erythraeidae, named Protofilum ordinatum gen. et sp. nov. The scientific results were recently published online in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.In this fingernail-sized piece of amber, 13 larval mites are aligned head-to-tail, with the body axis of all individuals pointing in the same direction, forming an almost straight queue with only minor local deflections. These mites all possess extremely long legs, and leg-to-leg contact between adjacent individuals suggests that tactile feedback played an important role in maintaining the queue. Furthermore, the research team discovered fine thread-like structures, only 1–3 micrometres in diameter, preserved on the legs of the individuals. These threads form physical connections between adjacent individuals and may have functioned as mechanical “tethers”: when direct contact was temporarily interrupted, the silk connections could enhance cohesion between individuals, thereby stabilising the structure of the moving queue.Even more remarkably, one mite was captured in the act of spinning silk. Using high-resolution laser confocal microscopy, the team identified the silk-producing organ located on the mid-dorsal region of the cheliceral base. An elliptical glandular opening with distinctly sclerotised margins is visible, and residual filamentous secretions are preserved at the opening in some individuals. This study represents the first fossil evidence of silk utilisation in mites.The research team suggests that the queueing migratory behaviour of the fossil mites might have facilitated the superparasitism of larval mites and subsequent mate-finding in adults. Superparasitism refers to the common phenomenon where multiple larval mites parasitise the same arthropod host. Because mites have limited locomotory abilities and rely primarily on host-mediated dispersal, the establishment of a new population largely depends on the chance of encountering a mating partner. If only a single larva is transported to a new area, the probability of encountering a mate after moulting is extremely low. In contrast, superparasitism allows multiple conspecific larvae to disperse together via the same host, significantly increasing their mating opportunities after metamorphosis. In this context, queueing migration may have facilitated the coordinated location of hosts by larval mites, allowing multiple individuals to simultaneously reach and attach to the same host. The silk threads could then have acted as “safety lines”, reducing the risk of being dislodged during parasitism and host movement. This behaviour may have increased the likelihood of conspecific larval co-dispersal, thereby enhancing reproductive success and population persistence. This interpretation is further supported by another amber specimen, in which three conspecific larval mites are preserved in a linear arrangement together with a dipteran host.This paper reports queueing migratory behaviour in mite larvae from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. This discovery not only represents the first fossil evidence of such behaviour from the Mesozoic, but also the earliest known fossil evidence of queueing migratory behaviour in terrestrial arthropods. This finding pushes back the evolutionary origin of queueing behaviour in terrestrial arthropods by nearly 100 million years, while also revealing unexpected behavioural complexity in early small-bodied arthropods. Together with previously reported fossil queues, this study demonstrates that queueing behaviour has evolved independently in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems in response to different ecological pressures, highlighting its adaptive significance in the evolutionary history of arthropods.This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2024YFF0807601) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42288201).Reference: Xuan, Q., Zhang, Z.-Q., Cai, C., Li, S., & Huang, D. 2026. Silk-mediated queueing migration in Cretaceous mites. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 293: 20260271. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0271.Fig. 1 Migratory queue of fossil larval mites from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.Fig. 2 Silk-mediated connections between adjacent mites and the silk-producing apparatus.Fig. 3 Morphological details in P. ordinatum gen. et sp. nov.Fig. 4 Queueing behaviour in fossil and extant arthropods
On the Moon, the lack of atmosphere and accompanying features such as biological activity, oxygen-rich air, flowing water and rain, wind, and most erosion allows the lunar regolith to preserve a long-term record of surface processes in the space environment.On the Moon, the lack of atmosphere and accompanying features such as biological activity, oxygen-rich air, flowing water and rain, wind, and most erosion allows the lunar regolith to preserve a long-term record of surface processes in the space environment.Such processes, which have a major effect on airless bodies such as the Moon, Mercury, and asteroids, include solar wind irradiation, micrometeorite bombardment, impact melting, sputter deposition, and rapid quenching—all of which continuously alter the structure, composition, and optical properties of surface materials.Understanding these processes at the micro- and nanoscale is essential for interpreting lunar space weathering, remote-sensing spectra, and the form and distribution of surface resources.To enhance this understanding, a collaborative team jointly led by Prof. YIN Zongjun from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), together with Profs. SHEN Bing and ZHOU Jihan from Peking University, has conducted systematic studies of impact-glass particles associated with Chang’e-5 lunar regolith grains.The findings were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets and PNAS. Together, these studies focus on the same type of Chang’e-5 impact glass, revealing the nanoscale evolution of lunar surface materials through two complementary processes: impact-induced silicate phase separation and the formation of nanophase metallic iron.In the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets study, the researchers examined Chang’e-5 impact glass using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and spectroscopic analyses.They identified Fe-rich nanodroplets within Si-rich glass, as well as Si-rich nanodroplets within Fe-rich glass. The nanodroplets were amorphous, i.e., lacked a regular crystal structure, and were found in clusters that had partially merged and grown. The results suggest that micrometeorite impacts not only induce local melting of lunar regolith, but can also trigger silicate liquid immiscibility on extremely short timescales, with rapid quenching preserving the transient phase-separated structures in impact glass where different materials separated from one another.Building on this work, the PNAS study examined nanophase metallic iron (nanophase Fe0, npFe0) in the impact glass, which is a major product of lunar space weathering. It also plays a key role in modifying the reflectance spectra of lunar soils.Using electron tomography alongside energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy, the researchers directly resolved the three-dimensional distribution, morphology, local abundance, and iron valence states of npFe0 at the nanometer scale.In one reconstructed volume, 1,506 npFe0 particles were identified, with an average diameter of approximately 3.4 nm and a median diameter of approximately 2.9 nm. Different layers showed distinct particle sizes, number densities, and Fe⁰ volume fractions, with the Fe⁰ volume fraction in a local large-particle layer reaching up to 30 vol%.To determine how the nanoparticles formed in different regions, the researchers combined structural reconstructions with elemental and iron valence-state analyses. They also introduced a parameter, ξ, to evaluate the contribution of external electrons during iron reduction.The study showed that the sulfur-rich layer containing irregular large particles mainly originated from iron sulfide decomposition. It also showed that several layers with high concentrations of small particles were dominated by Fe2+ disproportionation—a process in which Fe2+ is simultaneously oxidized and reduced. The near-surface region exhibited evidence of later modification due to solar wind irradiation, promoting glass-structure modification and npFe0 particle ripening.The researchers further estimated that metallic iron in mature impact-glass domains could reach 7.1 wt%, substantially exceeding previous bulk-soil estimates for Chang’e-5 samples. This result highlights significant microscale heterogeneity in the distribution of npFe0 in lunar regolith.Together, the two studies demonstrate that Chang’e-5 impact glass simultaneously records several related processes—impact melting, silicate liquid immiscibility, redox reactions, sulfide decomposition, and solar wind modification. Using electron tomography and high-resolution spectroscopic techniques, the researchers were able to overcome the limitations of conventional two-dimensional imaging and quantitatively reconstruct nanoscale structures and their formation histories in three dimensions.The findings provide new sample-based insights into the spectral evolution of the Moon and other airless bodies, the processes responsible for forming lunar impact glass, and the distribution and physical state of iron resources on the lunar surface.Reference:Y. Dai, Z. Li, T. Jia, Z. Xie, R. Wang, Z. Yin, B. Shen, & J. Zhou, (2026). 3D insights into the multiorigins of nanophase Fe0 in the Moon surface, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (22) e2528977123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2528977123.Dai, Y., Xie, Z., Li, Z., Jia, T., Wang, R., Yin, Z., et al. (2025). Conjugated silicate nanodroplets in lunar regolith: Unraveling impact-driven phase separation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 130, e2025JE009028. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009028.Fig.1 Characterization of the chemical composition and atomic structure of Si-rich and Fe-rich silicate nanodroplets in impact glass.Fig.2 The schematic of ET experiment for tip samples and the 3D reconstruction results of Tomo-1.Fig.3 3D spatial distribution and size statistics of npFe0 particles in Tomo-1, and the calculation of the amounts of extra electrons.Fig.4 Formation mechanism of multilayered structure containing npFe0 particles.
Recently, Professor CAI Chenyang from the Center for Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), collaborating with colleagues from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Spain, discovered multiple amber specimens demonstrating insect pollination from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber dating back approximately 100 million years. This discovery reveals direct evidence of multiple insect groups participating in pollination, including beetles pollinating extinct gymnosperms, as well as behaviors suggesting that beetles and thrips may have pollinated early angiosperms and gymnosperms, respectively. These findings uncover a complex and diverse pollination ecological network during the mid-Cretaceous. The related results were recently published in international journals, including Proceedings of the Royal Society B, BMC Biology, Insect Systematics and Diversity, and Annals of the Entomological Society of America.The radiation of angiosperms (flowering plants) from the mid-Cretaceous to the early Paleogene drove major ecological transitions in Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems. As one of the most important and abundant ecological interactions in nature, the insect-plant pollination relationship is believed to have played a crucial role in this evolutionary process. However, direct fossil evidence of Cretaceous insect pollination remains highly scarce.Recently, Professor CAI Chenyang from the Center for Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), collaborating with colleagues from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Spain, discovered multiple amber specimens demonstrating insect pollination from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber dating back approximately 100 million years. This discovery reveals direct evidence of multiple insect groups participating in pollination, including beetles pollinating extinct gymnosperms, as well as behaviors suggesting that beetles and thrips may have pollinated early angiosperms and gymnosperms, respectively. These findings uncover a complex and diverse pollination ecological network during the mid-Cretaceous. The related results were recently published in international journals, including Proceedings of the Royal Society B, BMC Biology, Insect Systematics and Diversity, and Annals of the Entomological Society of America.Through precise sectioning and ultrastructural observations of pollen grain fossils within the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, researchers discovered large quantities of Eucommiidites pollen directly coating and adhering to the body surfaces of two beetles belonging to the superfamily Nitiduloidea. These beetles were identified as a new short-winged flower beetle species, Furcalabratum pollinitaferum (family Kateretidae), and an undetermined species of sap beetle (family Nitidulidae). As a type of pollen widely distributed during the Mesozoic but extinct by the Late Cretaceous, Eucommiidites has been extensively reported within the reproductive structures of the extinct gymnosperm order Erdtmanithecales. Combining the ecological habits of modern related taxa with the exceptional preservation state of numerous pollen grains directly attached to the insect bodies, these specimens constitute rare and textbook direct evidence of insect pollination. Furthermore, based on the distinct boundary between a pollen clump located near the abdomen of the short-winged flower beetle and the surrounding scattered pollen, alongside the deformed and consistently oriented pollen within the clump, researchers suggest that this pollen mass may be a beetle coprolite (fossilized feces), implying that the beetle likely had pollen-feeding habits. Notably, a thrips belonging to the genus Aspistothrips was also preserved near the short-winged flower beetle, with Eucommiidites pollen similarly scattered around and on its body. This reveals that Cretaceous thrips may not have been restricted to pollinating cycads but might have also pollinated Erdtmanithecales plants, while preliminarily reflecting that a certain pollination ecological commonality between thrips and beetles may have already formed during the Cretaceous.The researchers also re-evaluated the taxonomic status of the tumbling flower beetle (family Mordellidae) Angimordella burmitina, which was previously considered a "specialized pollinator of early angiosperms." They shifted its placement from the crown-group subfamily Mordellinae to the stem-group subfamily Apotomourinae. More importantly, plant pollen was also found adhering to the body surface of a thrips co-occurring with this pollinating tumbling flower beetle. This pollen matched the type found on and around the beetle, marking the first reported association between thrips and putative angiosperm pollen. This phenomenon of co-occurrence among tumbling flower beetles, thrips, and pollen suggests that the ecological niche of primitive Cretaceous tumbling flower beetles leaned toward a generalized or transitional type rather than that of highly specialized plant pollinators.Extant short-winged flower beetles with specialized antennal structures are quite rare, yet this type exhibited high diversity within Cretaceous amber biota. Through comparative observations of the morphology of the antennal scape and principal component analysis, the researchers concluded that this specialized structure carries high taxonomic significance, preliminarily suggesting its function may relate to bisexual communication. Concurrently, a large volume of Asteropollis pollen, likely belonging to the angiosperm family Chloranthaceae, along with closely associated plant residual structures, was discovered around the beetle fossil Protokateretes ensifer, which possesses a specialized antennal scape. This suggests that the species may have already established a pollination relationship with early angiosperms.In addition, the identification of pollen associated with the Cretaceous pollinating beetle Pelretes vivificus was revised. Near a male specimen of Pelretes bicolor, which features a specialized mandible, researchers discovered a thrips belonging to the genus Parallelothrips, with pollen adhering to its body surface that was previously thought to be dispersed by P. vivificus. Through comparative observations of pollen morphology across new and old specimens, combined with the similarity in ecological habits among species of the same genus, the researchers revised the pollen type associated with P. vivificus from the angiosperm pollen genus Tricolpopollenites to the gymnosperm pollen Eucommiidites. This redefines the pollination target of this beetle and further enriches the fossil record of thrips pollination and joint pollination by beetles and thrips.Integrating the available fossil evidence, these studies indicate that a generalized pollination system between insects and plants may have already formed during the Cretaceous period: a single insect species could pollinate multiple plant groups, while the same plant species could be co-pollinated by multiple insect groups. Furthermore, the phenomenon of joint pollination by beetles and thrips, common in modern ecosystems, may have emerged as early as 100 million years ago. Meanwhile, our understanding of plant hosts within Cretaceous pollination networks has been further expanded. In addition to cycads, plants of the order Erdtmanithecales were very likely key insect-pollinated gymnosperm hosts during the Cretaceous. Regarding angiosperms, besides Nymphaeaceae (water lilies), Chloranthaceae may also represent a crucial component of early insect-pollinated flowering plants. These key lines of evidence preserved in amber fossils provide an invaluable window into understanding the diversity of Cretaceous insect pollination modes and the evolution of early terrestrial ecosystems.This research was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.Reference:1. Zhao, Q., Liu, J., Wang, Y., Engel, M.S., Myint, T.A., Huang, D., Cai, C.*, 2026. Beetle pollination of Erdtmanithecales, an extinct lineage of Mesozoic gymnosperms. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 293, 20260060.2. Li, Y.D.*, Peris, D., Peña-Kairath, C., Zhao, Q., Huang, D., Cai, C.*, 2026. Revisiting early angiosperm pollination: a reassessment of Angimordella beetle and co-occurring thrips from mid-Cretaceous amber. BMC Biology 4, 11.3. Zhao, Q., Sun, Y., Liu, J., Slipinski, A., Fu, Y., Huang, D., Engel, M.S., Emlen, D.J., Cai, C.*, 2026. Antennal extremes in amber: possible beetle pollination of Chloranthaceae in the Cretaceous. Insect Systematics and Diversity 10(1), ixaf059.4. Zhao, Q., Huang, D., Cai, C.*, 2026. Dual pollination of Cretaceous Erdtmanithecales by thrips and beetles. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, saag017. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saag017.Fig.1 Two Nitiduloidea specimens covered with Eucommiidites pollen. A and B show the new fossil species of short-winged flower beetle, Furcalabratum pollinitaferum; C and D show an undetermined species of the family Nitidulidae; E and F show putative coprolites.Fig.2 Eucommiidites pollen preserved in co-occurrence with pollinating beetles in Burmese amber. A–G show pollen co-occurring with Furcalabratum pollinitaferum; H–O show pollen co-occurring with the undetermined Nitidulidae species.Fig.3 Aspistothrips thrips co-occurring with Furcalabratum pollinitaferum. C and D provide general dorsal and ventral views of the new Aspistothrips specimen; red circles in E–G indicate scattered pollen grains.Fig.4 A thrips co-occurring with the primitive tumbling flower beetle Angimordella burmitina, along with putative angiosperm pollen adhering to its body surface. A illustrates the co-occurrence of the tumbling flower beetle and the thrips; B provides a magnified view of the thrips and the pollen on its body, with arrows indicating the sampling positions for the close-up pollen images.Fig.5 Asteropollis pollen co-occurring with Protokateretes ensifer. A shows the overall view of the amber specimen; B displays plant residual structures that potentially produced the pollen; C–G provide close-up, magnified views of the Asteropollis pollen.Fig.6 Parallelothrips specimens co-occurring with a male specimen of Pelretes bicolor. B shows the newly discovered male specimen of Pelretes bicolor; C highlights a Parallelothrips individual with three pollen grains directly adhering to its fringed wing; D and E show two additional Parallelothrips specimens.Fig.7 Parallelothrips and the Eucommiidites pollen attached to its body surface. A and B provide magnified general views of the Parallelothrips with adhering pollen; C illustrates the key diagnostic features of the thrips’ antennae; D shows a fringed wing with attached pollen; E presents close-up details of three pollen grains.
Recently, PhD candidate FJELD Alyssa (Monash University, Australia), under the supervision of Prof. ZHANG Zhiliang (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Prof. BROCK Glenn (Macquarie University, Australia), together with Prof. PATERSON John, Dr. BETTS Marissa (University of New England, Australia), and Dr. HOLMES James (Uppsala University, Sweden), systematically analysed the phylogenetic relationships between early Cambrian tommotiids and stem-group brachiopods from the perspectives of skeletal fusion, ultrastructure, and surface ornamentation. This work revealed the synapomorphy characters and homologies of eccentrothecimorph tommotiids. The scientific results were recently published in Palaeontology.Tommotiids are an enigmatic group of early Cambrian lophotrochozoans, and an important component of the Cambrian Small Shelly fossils (SSFs). They are known exclusively from Cambrian strata and exhibit diverse morphological types (e.g., mitral-, plate-, cap-, and sallate-shaped), representing bizarre body plans that emerged during the Cambrian explosion. Owing to the lack of completely articulated scleritome fossils, tommotiids have long been regarded as a problematic group of uncertain phylogenetic affinity. Studying articulated tommotiids can therefore provide key fossil evidence for exploring the origin and early evolution of key lophotrochozoans, like brachiopods and phoronids.Recently, PhD candidate FJELD Alyssa (Monash University, Australia), under the supervision of Prof. ZHANG Zhiliang (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Prof. BROCK Glenn (Macquarie University, Australia), together with Prof. PATERSON John, Dr. BETTS Marissa (University of New England, Australia), and Dr. HOLMES James (Uppsala University, Sweden), systematically analysed the phylogenetic relationships between early Cambrian tommotiids and stem-group brachiopods from the perspectives of skeletal fusion, ultrastructure, and surface ornamentation. This work revealed the synapomorphy characters and homologies of eccentrothecimorph tommotiids. The scientific results were recently published in Palaeontology.The study focused on the early Cambrian strata of the Arrowie Basin in South Australia (Fig. 1). Limestone samples were systematically collected from the Wilkawillina Limestone, Ajax Limestone, and Mernmerna formations, yielding a total of 36 well-preserved specimens, including tommotiids with articulated sclerites (Eccentrotheca helenia, Kulparina rostrata, Paterimitra pyramidalis) and stem-group brachiopods (Askepasma saproconcha, A. toddense). Detailed investigations of the internal ultrastructure and surface ornamentation were carried out on the partly fused scleritomes of Eccentrotheca, Kulparina, and Paterimitra (Fig. 2). These structures were also compared with those of the coeval stem-group brachiopod Askepasma. Articulated sclerites of Kulparina rostrata were discovered for the first time, revealing that its main tubiform scleritome was constructed by the upward stacking of L-type sclerites. Comparative analyses further demonstrate that the early Cambrian eccentrothecimorph tommotiids from South Australia all possess a organo-phosphatic tubiform body plan formed by the fusion of multi-element sclerites, reflecting an adaptation to a sessile epifaunal filter-feeding life habit (Fig. 3).The investigation of ultrastructural reveals that Eccentrotheca helenia and Kulparina rostrata share identical interlocking dome and saddle structures (IDS), which fuse L-type sclerites into a conical tube via initially stacked sclerite rings. Furthermore, all eccentrothecimorph tommotiids share distinctive penetrative polygonal ultrastructures (PPS), typically in the form of closely packed columns (in longitudinal section) composed of alternating microlaminae.In cross-section, the PPS form distinctive hexagonal honeycomb structures within second-order lamellar sets. This study introduces and describes new terminology for shell ornament features, including ordered triangular scales, wrinkled texture, reticulate networks (related to disposition of PPS), bulbous ornament and granular spherulitic texture on the inner surface of tubes.The surface micro-ornament of eccentrothecimorph tommotiids varies with different biomineral accretion modes, and the position of first-order laminate may influence the expression and type of shell ornamentation. A uniform narrow band of ordered and flattened to inflated triangular scales is also a synapomorphy of eccentrothecimorph tommotiids. Through this integrated study of sclerite fusion, ultrastructure, and micro-ornament, the phylogenetic hypothesis of the problematic tommotiid fossils is refined, demonstrating that eccentrothecimorph tommotiids are closely related to stem-group brachiopods and constitute a sister group with linguliform brachiopods (Fig. 4).This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China.Reference: Fjeld, A.K.*, Zhang, Z.L.*, Betts, M.J., Holmes, J.D., Paterson, J.R. and Brock, G.A.* Sclerite fusion, ultrastructure, micro-ornament and homology in early Cambrian eccentrothecimorph tommotiids. Palaeontology, 2026, 69: e70060. https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.70060.Fig.1 Early Cambrian fossil localities and tommotiid fossils from South Australia.Fig.2 Shell ultrastructure of articulated Eccentrotheca heleniaFig.3 Scleritome reconstruction of eccentrothecimorph tommotiids, showing the multi-element scleritomes.Fig.4 Hypothetical phylogenetic relationships among the key lophophorate groups from the early Cambrian.
