A new modular palaeopascichnid fossil Curviacus ediacaranus new genus and species from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China

2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (6) ◽  
pp. 1257-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
BING SHEN ◽  
SHUHAI XIAO ◽  
CHUANMING ZHOU ◽  
LIN DONG ◽  
JIEQIONG CHANG ◽  
...  

AbstractNon-biomineralizing Ediacaran macrofossils are rare in carbonate facies, but they offer valuable information about their three-dimensional internal anatomy and can broaden our view about their taphonomy and palaeoecology. In this study, we report a new Ediacaran fossil, Curviacus ediacaranus new genus and species, from bituminous limestone of the Shibantan Member of the Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China. Curviacus is reconstructed as a benthic modular organism consisting of serially arranged and crescent-shaped chambers. The chambers are confined by chamber walls that are replicated by calcispars, and are filled by micritic sediments. Such modular body construction is broadly similar to the co-occurring Yangtziramulus zhangii and other Ediacaran modular fossils, such as Palaeopascichnus. The preservation style of Curviacus is similar to Yangtziramulus, although the phylogenetic affinities of both genera remain unresolved. The new fossil adds to the diversity of Ediacaran modular organisms.

2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Moore ◽  
Susannah M. Porter ◽  
Guoxiang Li

Phosphatized and phosphatic small shelly fossils are a major source of information concerning the evolution of animals during the early Cambrian. Although progress has been made in understanding some of these fossils, many remain enigmatic, both with regard to their phylogenetic affinities and the overall morphology of the animal from which isolated sclerites came. Two unusual fossils from the upper lower Cambrian (Qiongzhusian or Atdabanian) Xihaoping Member of the Dengying Formation from Xiaowan, Xixiang County, southeastern Shaanxi Province, China are described herein. The first of these is a cap-shaped fossil we describe asCambroskiadeion xiaowanensenew genus and species. On its concave surface it bears a spine, the base of which is covered with numerous hemispherical verruculae. The long spine indicates that this was a sclerite rather than a univalved shell, although it remains unclear from what sort of animal it came. Similar fossils have been hypothesized to be halkieriid valves; although the rarity of halkieriid sclerites in the present samples argues against this view, it is possible these fossils are part of a similar multi-element skeleton. The second fossil isAcidocharacus longiconusQin and Ding, 1988; it is known only from the Xihaoping Member and consists of a tall spine, often bearing barbs or bumps, attached to a rounded conical base. The base is covered with verruculae similar to those found onCambroskiadeion. The function of these elements, and whether they were internal or external, remains unknown.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5071 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-282
Author(s):  
DÁVID RÉDEI ◽  
JING-FU TSAI

Zhengica cornuta gen. nov., sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Pentatomini) from Shanxi, China, is described, illustrated, and its phylogenetic affinities are discussed. The genus is recognized as a generalized member of the clade of Pentatoma Olivier, 1789 and related genera, its phylogenetically closest relative is probably Cervicoris Hsiao & Cheng, 1977.  


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4803 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-380
Author(s):  
YUN BU

Psammopauropus macrospinus gen. et sp. n., a remarkable new genus and species of the pauropod family Hansenauropodidae is described from the marine littoral habitat of Hainan Island, South China. It has one pair of dorsal spines on the pygidium differentiated from seta a1, large globular seta st on pygidium, and globular distal setae on the tarsi by which Psammopauropus can be easily distinguished from all other genera of the family. In addition, the adaptive characters of the littoral pauropods are preliminary discussed. This is the first record of the family Hansenauropodidae from China. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3355 (1) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZI-WEI YIN ◽  
SHÛHEI NOMURA ◽  
LI-ZHEN LI

The monotypic genus Ceroderma Raffray and the type species C. asperata Raffray are redescribed and illustrated, based onexamination of the holotype and additional specimens collected near the type locality. An allied new genus and species, Cero-chusa cilioceps Yin & Nomura, gen. et sp. nov. is described from Hainan Island, South China, and distinguished from related batrisine genera.


2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Shen ◽  
Shuhai Xiao ◽  
Chuanming Zhou ◽  
Xunlai Yuan

Very few macroscopic soft-bodied Ediacaran fossils are hosted in carbonates; most of them are preserved as casts and molds in siliciclastic rocks or as carbonaceous compressions in black shales. This taphonomic bias limits our capability to fully understand the diversity and paleoecology of macroscopic Ediacaran life forms. Previous reports have shown that the upper Ediacaran Dengying Formation in South China and Khatyspyt Formation in Siberia contain macroscopic soft-bodied fossils preserved in bituminous limestone; thus they have the potential to expand our knowledge about the Ediacaran biosphere. However, the biogenecity of the Dengying fossils described in Xiao et al. (2005) has been questioned. In this paper, we provide additional material and arguments in support of the biogenecity of these fossils, which are formally described asYangtziramulus zhanginew genus and species.Yangtziramulus zhangiconsists of a branching system with a central axis and tubes on both sides. The tubes appear to be distally open.Yangtziramulus zhangiis interpreted as a flat-lying benthic organism, as indicated by the mutual avoidance relationship among densely clustered individuals.Yangtziramulus zhangifinds few morphological analogs among modern organisms, but it is broadly similar to several macroscopic Ediacaran forms. Its morphological and ecological complexity is inconsistent with a microbial interpretation.Yangtziramulus zhangiis typically covered by a thin veneer of fine-grained silts, suggesting that it was probably smothered and killed by an episodic flux of silty sediments (event deposits). Its tube walls are replaced with early diagenetic calcspars.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 140256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ascanio D. Rincón ◽  
H. Gregory McDonald ◽  
Andrés Solórzano ◽  
Mónica Núñez Flores ◽  
Damián Ruiz-Ramoni

A new genus and species of sloth ( Eionaletherium tanycnemius gen. et sp. nov.) recently collected from the Late Miocene Urumaco Formation, Venezuela (northern South America) is herein described based on a partial skeleton including associated femora and tibiae. In order to make a preliminary analysis of the phylogenetic affinities of this new sloth we performed a discriminate analysis based on several characters of the femur and tibia of selected Mylodontoidea and Megatherioidea sloths. The consensus tree produced indicates that the new sloth, E. tanycnemius , is a member of the Mylodontoidea. Surprisingly, the new taxon shows some enigmatic features among Neogene mylodontoid sloths, e.g. femur with a robust lesser trochanter that projects medially and the straight distinctly elongated tibia. The discovery of E. tanycnemius increases the diversity of sloths present in the Urumaco sequence to ten taxa. This taxon supports previous studies of the sloth assemblage from the Urumaco sequence as it further indicates that there are several sloth lineages present that are unknown from the better sampled areas of southern South America.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chin Soon Lionel Ng ◽  
Sudhanshi Sanjeev Jain ◽  
Nhung Thi Hong Nguyen ◽  
Shu Qin Sam ◽  
Yuichi Preslie Kikuzawa ◽  
...  

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 370 (6517) ◽  
pp. 687-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan D. Daza ◽  
Edward L. Stanley ◽  
Arnau Bolet ◽  
Aaron M. Bauer ◽  
J. Salvador Arias ◽  
...  

Albanerpetontids are tiny, enigmatic fossil amphibians with a distinctive suite of characteristics, including scales and specialized jaw and neck joints. Here we describe a new genus and species of albanerpetontid, represented by fully articulated and three-dimensional specimens preserved in amber. These specimens preserve skeletal and soft tissues, including an elongated median hyoid element, the tip of which remains embedded in a distal tongue pad. This arrangement is very similar to the long, rapidly projecting tongue of chameleons. Our results thus suggest that albanerpetontids were sit-and-wait ballistic tongue feeders, extending the record of this specialized feeding mode by around 100 million years.


ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 774 ◽  
pp. 105-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Moravec ◽  
Jiří Šmíd ◽  
Jan Štundl ◽  
Edgar Lehr

Cercosaurine lizards (subfamily Cercosaurinae of the family Gymnophthalmidae) represent a substantial component of the reptile fauna in the Neotropics. Several attempts have been made to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships within this group, but most studies focused on particular genera or regions and did not cover the subfamily as a whole. In this study, material from the montane forests of Peru was newly sequenced. In combination with all cercosaurine sequences available on GenBank, an updated phylogeny of Cercosaurinae is provided. Monophyly was not supported for three of the currently recognised genera (Echinosaura, Oreosaurus, and Proctoporus). The genus Proctoporus is formed by five monophyletic groups, which should be used in future taxonomic revisions as feasible entities. Recognition of two previously identified undescribed clades (Unnamed clades 2 and 3) was supported and yet another undescribed clade (termed here Unnamed clade 4), which deserves recognition as an independent genus, was identified herein. Selvasaurabrava, a new genus and new species of arboreal gymnophthalmid lizard is described from the montane forests of the Pui Pui Protected Forest, Provincia de Chanchamayo, Región Junín, Peru. The new species is characterised by its small size (SVL 42.1–45.9 mm), slender body, smooth head shields, presence of paired prefrontal shields, fused anteriormost supraocular and anteriormost superciliary shields, transparent not divided lower palpebral disc, slightly rugose subimbricate rectangular dorsal scales in adults (slightly keeled in juveniles), distinctly smaller but non-granular lateral scales, smooth squared to rectangular ventral scales, and hemipenial lobes large, distinct from the hemipenial body. Phylogenetic affinities of the new genus to the other cercosaurine genera, as well as basal phylogenetic relationships between the other cercosaurine genera remain unresolved.


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