The Currently Earliest Angiosperm Fruit from the Jurassic of North America

Angiosperms are the single most important plant group in the current ecosystem. However, little is known about the origin and early evolution of angiosperms. Jurassic and earlier traces of angiosperms have been claimed multiple times from Europe and Asia, but reluctance to accept these records remains. To test the truthfulness of these claims, palaeobotanical records from continents other than Europe and Asia constitute a crucial test. Here I document a new angiosperm fruit, Dilcherifructus mexicana gen. et sp. nov, from the Middle Jurassic of Mexico. Its Jurassic age suggests that origin of angiosperms is much earlier than widely accepted, while its occurrence in the North America indicates that angiosperms were already widespread in the Jurassic, although they were still far away from their ecological radiation, which started in the Early Cretaceous.

A Curious new Caloneurodea from the Bashkirian of the Pas-de-Calais, France (Insecta Archaeorthoptera)

We describe Oudardgramma bruayensis gen. et sp. nov., first representative of the small order Caloneurodea from the Bashkirian of Bruay-en-Artois. It is characterized by the very small size of the wing, and a unique pattern of the vein M+CuA+CuPa. As the previous oldest Caloneurodea were Moscovian, the new taxon corresponds to the oldest record of the order.

A mid-Cretaceous fungus, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. (Ascomycota: Spheciophilaceae), on a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber

Male and female thalli of a mid-Cretaceous fungus attached to a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber are described as Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. in the family Spheciophilaceae (Ascomycota). Both spermatia and ascospores are present. Currently, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov., together with the previously described Spheciophilia adercia Poinar, represent the oldest known ectoparasitic fungi of insects and their age can be used as a reference point in future phylogenetic studies on the origin of fungi with this life style.

Stratigraphic Lexicon: A revised guide to the Cenozoic Surface Formations of Qatar, Middle East (excluding the islands)

The author learned first-hand about the surface stratigraphy and geology of Qatar by dedicating most of his weekends to conducting field works and public-guided field tours from 2007 to 2020 while employed by Qatar Petroleum. Here, he reviews and updates the surface stratigraphic knowledge of Qatar since the last lexicon was published back in 1975. The geology and macro-paleontology of the Lower Eocene Rus, Middle Eocene Dammam, Lower Miocene Dam, and Mio-Pliocene Hofuf formations are described in detail and well-illustrated.

Captain Vivian Hewitt and the fate of his collection of birds’ eggs and specimens

Vivian Hewitt was a little-known collector of natural history specimens (mainly birds and their eggs) during the early and middle years of the twentieth century. Although an obscure figure his influence on the museum world of his time – and later – was considerable and his collection of Great Auk material became almost legendary. Some of his story and that of his collection is a matter of published record but many elements remain obscure. In this study, we present previously unpublished details of Hewitt’s extraordinary life.

A Monocot Flower, Mirafloris burmitis gen. et sp. nov. (Monocots: Angiospermae), in Burmese Amber

A six-merous, slightly bisymmetric monocot flower in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is described as Mirafloris burmitis gen. et sp. nov. The perianth is composed of two whorls of 3+3 distinctly vascularized tepals connected by an irregular network of veinlets. There are two whorls of 3+3 free stamens with latrorse dehiscence positioned opposite the tepals. A single 3-lobed style arises from the center of the flower. Perigonal nectaries are located at the base of the inner tepals. The oval-spherical pollen possess a single, longitudinal suture. The fossil shows affinities to the order Liliales and family Liliaceae. This is the first showy monocot flower described from Burmese amber and based on recent phylogenetic studies, may be one of the earliest records of a fossil member of the Liliales.

Richard Bradley’s A Short Historical Account of Coffee (1715) and The Virtue and Use of Coffee (1721)

Richard Bradley published A Short Historical Account of Coffee in 1715, an extremely rare book of which only three copies are known. A revised version of the book, entitled The Virtue and Use of Coffee, was published in 1721. Bradley’s 1714 trip to the Physic Garden in Amsterdam, where he examined two coffee trees, led to his two coffee books, whose similarities and differences, including the evolution of the two different coffee engravings, are discussed in detail. This article reveals insights into the milieu in which Bradley lived, his interactions with other members of the Royal Society, and the reasons why his 1715 book is so rare. The various introductions of coffee plants to England in the late 17th and early 18th century are discussed, as well as Bradley’s skirmish with James Douglas, who was critical of Bradley’s coffee work.

A New Species of the Genus Amberophytum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 (Coleoptera: Cerophytidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber

In this article, a new species of the genus Amberophytum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 of the family Cerophytidae from mid- Cretaceous Burmese amber is described and illustrated. The new species, A. maculatum s.n. differs from A. birmanicum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 in the smaller body size, shorter metatarsomere 1, and more convex body. A key to the species of the genus Amberophytum is presented.

Insect Herbivores of Ferns along the Pacific Northwest Coast of North American

Fifteen species of insect herbivores were discovered on ferns growing along the Pacific northwest coast of North America. These included insects from the orders: Diptera in the families Anthomyiidae, Cecidiomyiidae and Syrphidae: Lepidoptera in the families Erebidae, Tortricidae and Noctuidae: Hymenoptera in the family Tenthredinidae: Hemiptera in the family Aphididae and Coleoptera in the family Curculionidae. The present study illustrates these associations that provides new world and North American host records of fern herbivores. The fossil record of these families is used to determine if the most ancient of these insects (dating from the Mesozoic) are now mostly restricted to ferns and the most recent ones (dating from the Cenozoic) are mostly polyphagous, feeding on ferns as well as various angiosperms. Results indicate that the insect clades belonging to the most ancient families, such as Aneugmenuss and Strongylogaster in the Tenthredinidae and Dasineura and Mycodiplosis in the Cecidiomyiidae, appear to be monophagous on ferns.