scholarly journals The systematics of the Mongolepidida (Chondrichthyes) and the Ordovician origins of the clade

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Plamen Andreev ◽  
Michael I. Coates ◽  
Valentina Karatajūtė-Talimaa ◽  
Richard M. Shelton ◽  
Paul R. Cooper ◽  
...  

The Mongolepidida is an Order of putative early chondrichthyan fish, originally erected to unite taxa from the Lower Silurian of Mongolia. The present study reassesses mongolepid systematics through the examination of the developmental, histological and morphological characteristics of scale-based specimens from the Upper Ordovician Harding Sandstone (Colorado, USA) and the Upper Llandovery–Lower Wenlock Yimugantawu (Tarim Basin, China), Xiushan (Guizhou Province, China) and Chargat (north-western Mongolia) Formations. The inclusion of the Mongolepidida within the Class Chondrichthyes is supported on the basis of a suite of scale attributes (areal odontode deposition, linear odontocomplex structure and lack of enamel, cancellous bone and hard-tissue resorption) shared with traditionally recognized chondrichthyans (euchondrichthyans, e.g., ctenacanthiforms). The mongolepid dermal skeleton exhibits a rare type of atubular dentine (lamellin) that is regarded as one of the diagnostic features of the Order within crown gnathostomes. The previously erected Mongolepididae and Shiqianolepidae families are revised, differentiated by scale-base histology and expanded to include the generaRongolepisandXinjiangichthys, respectively. A newly described mongolepid species (Solinalepis levisgen. et sp. nov.) from the Ordovician of North America is treated as familyincertae sedis, as it possesses a type of basal bone tissue (acellular and vascular) that has yet to be documented in other mongolepids. This study extends the stratigraphic and palaeogeographic range of Mongolepidida and adds further evidence for an early diversification of the Chondrichthyes in the Ordovician Period, 50 million years prior to the first recorded appearance of euchondrichthyan teeth in the Lower Devonian.

Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 277 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
HIRAN A. ARIYAWANSA ◽  
KEVIN D. HYDE ◽  
KASUN M. THAMBUGALA ◽  
SAJEEWA S. N. MAHARACHCHIKUMBURA ◽  
ABDULLAH M. AL-SADI ◽  
...  

Lophiostomataceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) is a ubiquitous family that includes saprobic species associated with a wide variety of substrates in various habitats. DNA based studies have shown numerous genera can be determined within the family Lophiostomataceae that do not always connect to species based on morphological characteristics. An undescribed ascomycete, similar to species of Lophiostomataceae, was collected from dead wood in the South China karst area in Guizhou Province. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS, SSU, LSU and EF1α sequence data revealed that the new taxon nested in the genus Alpestrisphaeria in Lophiostomataceae, thus the novel taxon is introduced as Alpestrisphaeria jonesii. Diagnostic features are erumpent, coriaceous to carbonaceous, subglobose ascomata, a slit-like ostiole with periphyses, filiform pseudoparaphyses, fissitunicate, cylindrical asci and filamentous, 10–15-euseptate, hyaline ascospores. Alpestrisphaeria jonesii can be readily distinguished from the generic type of Alpestrisphaeria, A. terricola by the shape of its asci and ascospores.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-57
Author(s):  
V.M. Loskot ◽  
G.B. Bakhtadze

Geographic distribution and habitat preferences of Saxicola rubicola rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766), S. maurus variegatus (S.G. Gmelin, 1774), and S. m. armenicus (Stegman, 1935) inhabiting the Caucasian Isthmus and adjacent areas are described in detail. We examined the individual, sexual, age, seasonal and geographical variations of seven main diagnostic features of both plumage and morphometrics (exactly, the length of wing and tail) using 381 skin specimens. Substantially improved diagnoses of S. m. variegatus and S. m. armenicus are provided. After a thorough examination of the materials and history of the expedition of Samuel Gmelin in 1768–1774, and his description of Parus variegatus, it was concluded that the type locality of this taxon was the vicinity of Shamakhi in Azerbaijan not Enzeli in North-Western Turkey. It is also shown the fallacy of the recently proposed attribution of the holotype of the northern subspecies S. m. variegatus to the southern taxon S. m. armenicus and synonymisation of these names, as well as the replacement of the name S. m. variegatus by its junior synonym S. m. hemrichii Ehrenberg, 1833 for the northern subspecies.


Geofluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Wen ◽  
Zhenxue Jiang ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Yan Song ◽  
Shu Jiang ◽  
...  

The upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale has always been the main target of marine shale gas exploration in southern China. However, the shale gas content varies greatly across different regions. The organic matter content is one of the most important factors in determining gas content; therefore, determining the enrichment mechanisms of organic matter is an important problem that needs to be solved urgently. In this paper, upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale samples from the X-1 and Y-1 wells that are located in the southern Sichuan area of the upper Yangtze region and the northwestern Jiangxi area of the lower Yangtze region, respectively, are selected for analysis. Based on the core sample description, well logging data analysis, mineral and elemental composition analysis, silicon isotope analysis, and TOC (total organic carbon) content analysis, the upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale is studied to quantitatively calculate its content of excess silicon. Subsequently, the results of elemental analysis and silicon isotope analysis are used to determine the origin of excess silicon. Finally, we used U/Th to determine the characteristics of the redox environment and the relationship between excess barium and TOC content to judge paleoproductivity and further studied the mechanism underlying sedimentary organic matter enrichment in the study area. The results show that the excess silicon from the upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale in the upper Yangtze area is derived from biogenesis. The sedimentary water body is divided into an oxygen-rich upper water layer that has higher paleoproductivity and a strongly reducing lower water that is conducive to the preservation of sedimentary organic matter. Thus, for the upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale in the upper Yangtze region, exploration should be conducted in the center of the blocks with high TOC contents and strongly reducing water body. However, the excess silicon in the upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale of the lower Yangtze area originates from hydrothermal activity that can enhance the reducibility of the bottom water and carry nutrients from the crust to improve paleoproductivity and enrich sedimentary organic matter. Therefore, for the upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shale in the lower Yangtze region, exploration should be conducted in the blocks near the junction of the two plates where hydrothermal activity was active.


Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yizhou Huang ◽  
Zhenxue Jiang ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Yan Song ◽  
Shu Jiang ◽  
...  

The effect of organic matter on hydrocarbon potential, storage space, and gas content of shale is well-known. Additionally, present-day content of sedimentary organic matter in shale is controlled by depositional and preservation processes. Therefore, a study of the enrichment mechanisms of sedimentary organic matter provides a scientific basis for the determination of favorable areas of shale gas. In this study the Upper Ordovician Xinkailing Fm. and the first member of the Lower Silurian Lishuwo Fm. were examined. Stratigraphic sequences were identified through conventional logs and elemental capture spectrum data. Oxygen isotope analysis was applied to recover paleotemperature of seawater in the study area. The excess silicon content was calculated and the origin of the silica was determined by the Fe-Al-Mn ternary plot. The enrichment mechanism of organic matter was analyzed by two aspects: redox conditions and paleoproductivity. As a result, the stratigraphic interval was divided into two 3rd-order sequences. Through oxygen isotope, the paleotemperature of seawater was 62.7–79.2 °C, providing evidence of the development of hydrothermal activity. Analysis of excess siliceous minerals identified two siliceous mineral origins: terrigenous and hydrothermal. It also revealed an upwards decreasing tendency in hydrothermal activity intensity. Strong hydrothermal activity during the Late Ordovician, recognized as TST1, formed a weak-oxidizing to poor-oxygen environment with high paleoproductivity, which promoted organic matter enrichment. During the Late Ordovician to the Early Silurian, identified as RST1, TST2, and RST2, weakening hydrothermal activity caused the decline of paleoproductivity and increased oxidation of bottom waters, leading to a relative decrease of organic matter content in the shale. Therefore, favorable areas of shale gas accumulation in the Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian are determined stratigraphically as the TST1, with a high total organic carbonate content. Geographically, the hydrothermally-active area near the plate connection of the Yangtze and the Cathaysian is most favorable.


2021 ◽  
pp. M57-2016-27
Author(s):  
Denis Lavoie ◽  
Nicolas Pinet ◽  
Shunxin Zhang

AbstractThe Foxe Platform and Basin Tectono-Sedimentary Element is an ovoid-shaped, predominantly marine basin located in the Canadian Arctic. The Paleozoic sedimentary succession (Cambrian to Silurian) unconformably overlies the Precambrian basement and reaches a maximum measured thickness of slightly over 500 metres in the only exploration well drilled in this basin. The Lower Paleozoic Foxe Platform and Basin Tectono-Sedimentary Element is surrounded by Precambrian basement and by the Paleozoic Arctic Platform to the north and by the Paleozoic-Mesozoic (?) Hudson Bay Strait Platform and Basin to the south. The Paleozoic succession consists of a Cambrian clastic-dominated interval overlain by Ordovician to lower Silurian predominantly shallow marine carbonate. Other than a single well drilled in the northern part of the basin, no subsurface information is available. Thermally immature Upper Ordovician organic matter rich calcareous black shales have been mapped on the onshore extension of the basin to the southeast. Potential hydrocarbon reservoirs consist of Cambrian porous coarse-grained clastics as well as Upper Ordovician dolostones and reefs.


Geofluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Jun Peng ◽  
Weiwei Liu ◽  
Bin Li ◽  
Qingsong Xia ◽  
...  

Organic matter is the material basis for shales to generate hydrocarbon, as well as the main reservoir space and seepage channel for shale gas. When the thermal evolution degree is consistent, the organic carbon content in present shales is subject to the abundance of primitive sedimentary organic matter. Deep geofluids significantly influence the sedimentary organic matter’s enrichment, but the mechanism remains unclear. This paper is aimed at determining how hydrothermal and volcanic activities affected the enrichment of sedimentary organic matter by studying lower Cambrian shales in the lower Yangtze region and upper Ordovician-lower Silurian shales. Oxidation-reduction and biological productivity are used as indicators in the study. The result shows that hydrothermal or volcanic activities affected the enrichment of sedimentary organic matter by influencing climate changes and the nutrients’ sources on the waterbody’s surface and reducing water at the bottom. In the lower Cambrian shales of the Wangyinpu Formation in the lower Yangtze region, hydrothermal origin caused excess silicon. During the sedimentary period of the lower and middle-upper Wangyinpu Formation, vigorous hydrothermal activities increased the biological productivity on the waterbody’s surface and intensified the reducibility at the bottom of the waterbody, which enabled the rich sedimentary organic matter to be well preserved. During the sedimentary period of the lower upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation and the lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the upper Yangtze region, frequent volcanic activities caused high biological productivity on the waterbody surface and strong reducibility at the bottom of the waterbody. As a result, the abundant organic matter deposited from the water surface can be well preserved. During the sedimentary period of the upper Longmaxi Formation, volcanic activities died down gradually then disappeared, causing the biological productivity on the water surface to decrease. Besides, the small amount of organic matter deposited from the water surface was destroyed due to oxidation.


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