A possible crawling paracomatulid crinoid from the Lower Jurassic of central Italy

A new paracomatulid crinoid, Tiburtocrinus toarcensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Jurassic of Tivoli (central Apennines, Italy). This type of stemless crinoids has never previously been recorded in Italy, and this report bridges a significant gap. Morphofunctional analysis of the radial facets suggests that Tiburtocrinus toarcensis gen. et sp. nov. may have been a crawling paracomatulid, very different from other paracomatulids that probably swam.

The ichnospecies Linichnus bromleyi on a Miocene baleen whale radius preserving multiple shark bite-shake traces suggests scavenging

An isolated Miocene baleen whale left radius was marked repeatedly by shark bite-shake traces. The radius probably derives from the Plum Point Member of the Calvert Formation, Calvert Cliffs, Calvert County, Maryland, U.S.A. At least three successive bite-shake traces, made by multiple teeth, marking the radius are attributed to the trace fossil Linichnus bromleyi. These bite-shake trace consisting of shallow, thin arching gouges on a radius, likely indicates scavenging rather than active predation. The most likely means of producing the bundle of L. bromleyi within each of the three sets of traces would be through repeated biting as the shark re-positioned the prey in its mouth or, perhaps, by a shark species with multiple functional teeth within its tooth row. If the bite traces were produced by a non-serrated tooth (as they appear to have been), then the most likely candidate would be Carcharodon hastalis.

Biostratigraphic distribution of orbitolinids in the ammonite biozones (Urgonian platform of southeastern France). Part 2: Barremian p.p.

The biostratigraphic distribution of orbitolinids for the Barremian of SE France proposed hereafter is calibrated on the ammonite biozonation. This work is based on the study of eleven sections with orbitolinids associated to macrofossils (ammonites and/or echinids) significant in terms of biostratigraphy or overlain with levels bearing the above macrofossils.

New genera and species of ostracods from the El Ma El Abiod Miocene Basin (Tébessa, NE Algeria)

Two new ostracod genera of the family Trachyleberididae Sylvester-Bradley, 1948, each based on a new species, are described and commented here. The specimens were collected in Tortonian sediments cropping out at El Hadjra Safra in the El Ma El Abiod basin (region of Tébessa, north-eastern Algeria).

The late Berriasian early evolutionary burst of the Orbitolinidae: New insights into taxonomy, origin, diversification and phylogeny of the family based on data from eastern Serbia

New data from the Carpatho-Balkanides of eastern Serbia evidence the more or less near-simultaneous "explosive" first appearances of several genera of the Orbitolinidae in the late Berriasian. Most of the observed taxa were previously recorded from strata not older than the Late Hauterivian (= classical Urgonian of southeastern France), evidence that these ages refer to local first appearance data. The diversified assemblage from Serbia includes representatives of the subfamilies Dictyoconinae: genera Cribellopsis ARNAUD-VANNEAU, Montseciella CHERCHI & SCHROEDER, Orbitolinopsis HENSON, Urgonina FOURY & MOULLADE, Valserina SCHROEDER & CONRAD, Vanneauina SCHLAGINTWEIT, and Dictyorbitolininae: genus Paracoskinolina MOULLADE. Representatives of the Orbitolininae (with complex embryo) have not been observed. They appeared later in the fossil record seemingly during the Late Hauterivian-early Barremian. All together 17 taxa are reported, of which three in open nomenclature. A new species is described as Cribellopsis sudari n. sp. The majority of the observed species display medium- to high-conical tests and a rather simple exoskeleton lacking horizontal partitions (rafters). The new data contradict a phylogenetic evolution of distinct genera displaying different internal test structures one after the other in time (= ancestor-descendant relationships) as postulated by some authors. The explosive radiation ("early burst") of the Orbitolinidae in the late Berriasian is accompanied by the first appearance date of several other large benthic foraminifera including mostly agglutinating (e.g., Ammocycloloculina, Choffatella, Drevennia, Eclusia, Moulladella, Pfenderina, Pseudotextulariella) but also complex porcelaneous taxa (Pavlovcevina) providing evidence for a bioevent in this time period that exceeds the number of taxa originating in the previous (Tithonian) and the following stage (Valanginian). The early evolutionary history of the Orbitolinidae can be considered a classical example of adaptive radiation within the clade's history.

Rudist bivalves (Hippuritoidea) from the Clifton Limestone (Lower Campanian) of western Jamaica and a reassessment of the genus Vaccinites in the Americas

The lower Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Clifton Limestone of Jamaica yields three species of hippuritid bivalve: Barrettia ruseae CHUBB, Whitfieldiella luceae sp. nov. and Vaccinites vermunti MAC GILLAVRY, and the plagioptychid: Plagioptychus sp. The hippuritids are described in detail using statistics. Barrettia ruseae is demonstrated to be a more primitive species of Barrettia than B. monilifera WOODWARD or B. multilirata WHITFIELD, and the species Whitfieldiella luceae is shown to be a more primitive species of Whitfieldiella than W. gigas CHUBB. The specimens of Vaccinites from the Clifton Limestone are compared with populations of Vaccinites from elsewhere in the Americas, and five species (probably representing a single evolutionary lineage) are recognized: V. alencasteri sp. nov. (?late Turonian-?Coniacian), V. martini MAC GILLAVRY (probably early to mid Santonian), V. macgillavryi PALMER (probably mid to late Santonian), V. vermunti MAC GILLAVRY (earliest Campanian), and V. temazcali sp. nov. (late early Campanian). The Vaccinites species can be distinguished using statistical techniques. The ages of the Clifton Limestone and the five Vaccinites species are reviewed. This research demonstrates the value of using hippuritids for biostratigraphy in the Upper Cretaceous of the Americas.

Kimmeridgian and early Tithonian cephalopods from the Kisújbánya Limestone Formation, Zengővárkony (Mecsek Mountains, southern Hungary), their faunal composition, palaeobiogeographic affinities, and taphonomic character

A new collection at Zengővárkony (Mecsek Mountains, Hungary) provided a rich and diverse but poorly preserved cephalopod-dominated fossil assemblage representing the Kimmeridgian and the lower Tithonian. The material came from mixed scree, soil, and amongst roots affected by weathering processes having been exposed to the elements for a long time. The nautiloid Pseudaganides strambergensis is the first record from the Mecsek Mountains. Due to the weathering, the ammonite fauna consists of mainly fragmentary and dissolved individuals that comprises 528 specimens belonging to 34 species and 30 genera out of which 20 species and 15 genera are reported for the first time from the Mecsek Mountains. The fauna includes specimens of known taxa. No new taxa are introduced. Based on the comparison with other faunas, this assemblage most closely resembles the fauna of the Venetian Alps (Italy). Additional faunal elements include aptychi (Laevaptychus latus, Lamellaptychus murocostatus), belemnites (Hibolithes semisulcatus), and an indetermined brachiopod. The first record of Spiraserpula spirolinites, an encrusting fossil polychaete preserved on the internal mould of a Taramelliceras shell fragment indicates favourable bottom conditions for the epifauna. The presence of Aspidoceras caletanum, Gravesia aff. gigas, and Pseudowaagenia inerme indicates faunal connections with the Submediterranean Province of the Tethys, which is in line with the tectonic and palaeogeographical position of the Mecsek Zone during the Late Jurassic. The ammonite assemblage represents elements of five Tethysian ammonite zones of the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian. The lower Kimmeridgian Herbichi Zone is indicated by Streblites tenuilobatus and Praesimoceras herbichi. The upper Kimmeridgian Acanthicum Zone is indicated by Aspidoceras acanthicum, and the Cavouri Zone by Mesosimoceras cavouri and Aspidoceras caletanum. The upper Kimmeridgian Beckeri Zone is suggested by Hybonoticeras pressulum and Pseudowaagenia inerme. Whereas Gravesia aff. gigas, Lithacoceras aff. siliceum, and Malagasites? denseplicatus are faunal elements characterising the Early Tithonian Hybonotum Zone. Phylloceratid and lytoceratid specimens account only for 12% of the fauna, while the majority of the specimens belong to the Oppeliidae and Ataxioceratidae (60%).

New insights into the depositional environment and stratigraphic position of the Gugu Breccia (Pădurea Craiului Mountains, Romania)

The study of the carbonate clasts and matrix of a problematic sedimentary formation (the Gugu Breccia) from the Pădurea Craiului Mountains reveals new information concerning its depositional environment and stratigraphic position. The identified microfacies and micropaleontological assemblages demonstrate that all the sampled limestone clasts from the Gugu Breccia represent remnants of a fragmented Urgonian-type carbonate platform. The Barremian age of the clasts suggests that the stratigraphic position of the Gugu Breccia at its type locality could be uppermost Barremian-lowermost Aptian, a fact demonstrated also by the absence of elements from Lower Cretaceous carbonate platforms higher in the stratigraphic column (e.g., Aptian or Albian) of the Bihor Unit. The sedimentological observations together with the matrix mineralogy bring new arguments for the recognition of terrigenous input during the formation of the Gugu Breccia.

Another thermophilic "Miocene survivor" from the Italian Pliocene: A geologically young occurrence of the pelagic eagle ray Aetobatus in the Euro-Mediterranean region

Aetobatus (Myliobatiformes: Aetobatidae) is a living genus of eagle rays that occurs in shallow-marine, tropical and subtropical environments of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Nowadays, Aetobatus does not inhabit the cool- to warm-temperate European and Mediterranean waters, though it is known from this broad region by virtue of several fossil teeth ranging chronostratigraphically from the lower Palaeogene to the upper Neogene. The present paper reports on a fossil aetobatid tooth discovered in mid-Pliocene (upper Zanclean to lower Piacenzian, 3.82-3.19 Ma) marine deposits exposed in the vicinities of Certaldo (Tuscany, Italy) and identified as belonging to †Aetobatus cf. cappettai. This specimen comprises the youngest occurrence of Aetobatus along the coasts of mainland Europe; furthermore, together with previous finds from roughly coeval deposits of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain), it represents the most recent record of this genus in the whole Euro-Mediterranean region. In light of the environmental preferences of extant Aetobatus spp., our discovery suggests palaeoenvironmental conditions favourable to the persistence of tropical/subtropical taxa of "Miocene survivors" along the Pliocene coasts of Tuscany. In addition, it raises the question of whether or not the Messinian Salinity Crisis really resulted in the complete collapse of the Mediterranean marine biota and in the subsequent recolonisation of the Mediterranean Basin from the adjoining Atlantic waters and/or scattered marginal intrabasinal refugia at the beginning of the Pliocene. The possibility of Aetobatus recolonising the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal in the near future is discussed.

The Cretaceous nautiloid genus Anglonautilus Spath, 1927, in France

The occurrence of the nautiloid genus Anglonautilus Spath in France was limited to the report of Anglonautilus dorsoplicatus (Wiedmann) from the Albian of Escragnolles (Alpes-Maritimes) and Anglonautilus sp. from the Aptian of Les Ferres (Alpes-Maritimes). Here we document the presence of the successive species Anglonautilus praeundulatus Lehmann et al., Anglonautilus undulatus (Sowerby) and Anglonautilus dorsoplicatus (Wiedmann) from the Cretaceous of France. The stratigraphic range of Anglonautilus Spath, hitherto unknown before Aptian times is extended downward to the Hauterivian. The Hauterivian species Nautilus begudensis Kilian & Reboul, sometimes assigned to the genus Anglonautilus Spath, is revised and re-assigned to the genus Cymatoceras Hyatt.