A new basal ornithuromorph bird (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Early Cretaceous of China with implication for morphology of early Ornithuromorpha

Ornithuromorpha is the most derived avian group in the Early Cretaceous, advanced members of which encompass all living birds (Neornithes). Here we report on a new basal ornithuromorph bird, Bellulia rectusunguis gen. et sp. nov., represented by a nearly complete skeleton from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota in northeastern China. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis resolved the new taxon in a basal position that is only more derived than Archaeorhynchus and Jianchangornis among ornithuromorphs, increasing the morphological diversity of basal ornithuromorphs. The new specimen has a V‐shaped furcula with a short hypocleidium, a feature otherwise known only in Schizooura among Cretaceous ornithuromorphs. We discuss the implications of the new taxon on the evolution of morphology of primitive ornithuromorphs, particularly of pectoral girdle, sternum and limb proportion pertaining to powered flight. The preserved gastroliths and pedal morphology indicate herbivory and lakeshore adaption for this new species. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London     

Palaeobiology of tanaidaceans (Crustacea: Peracarida) from Cretaceous ambers: extending the scarce fossil record of a diverse peracarid group

Diverse assemblages of tanaidacean peracarid crustaceans from western Tethyan continental deposits suggest that the group was relatively common in or around ancient resin‐producing forests. Here we report the results of an examination of 13 tanaidacean specimens from three Cretaceous (Albian to Turonian) French amber deposits. Two new species of the fossil family Alavatanaidae are placed in the previously described Early Cretaceous genus Eurotanais: Eurotanais pyrenaensis sp. nov. from Cenomanian Pyrenean amber (Fourtou, Aude) and Eurotanais seilacheri sp. nov. from Turonian Vendean amber (La Garnache, Vendée). The remaining specimens are placed in three newly erected genera and species (but family incertae sedis): Arcantitanais turpis gen. et sp. nov. from Albian–Cenomanian Charentese amber (Archingeay, Charente‐Maritime), and Tytthotanais tenvis gen. et sp. nov. and Armadillopsis rara gen. et sp. nov. from Pyrenean amber. These are the first formally described fossils that might be related to the paratanaoidean families Nototanaidae and Paratanaidae, sharing with these some putatively derived features and providing possible evidence for the antiquity and morphological stability of these families and the suborder Tanaidomorpha. The distinctive features and character combinations of these fossil taxa are discussed in connection with possible relationships to the living lineages of tanaidaceans. Propagation phase‐contrast X‐ray synchrotron microtomography was used to obtain high‐quality 3D images for some fossils. A discussion is provided on the putative palaeobiology of tanaidaceans and the French resiniferous forest ecosystem. The discovery of these new tanaidaceans extends the palaeogeographical distribution and stratigraphical range of the family Alavatanaidae and sheds new light on the palaeoecology and diversity of tanaidaceans in pre‐angiospermous woodlands.     

Morphology,morphogenesis, and molecular phylogeny of a new marine urostylid ciliate (Ciliophora,Stichotrichia) from the South China Sea,and a brief overview of the convergent evolution of the midventral pattern within the Spirotrichea

The morphology, infraciliature, morphogenetic events, and small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene‐based phylogeny of a stichotrich ciliate, Bergeriella ovata gen. et sp. nov. , found in coastal waters off Daya Bay, Guangdong, South China, were investigated. The new taxon has an atypical midventral pattern, and is characterized by several rather unusual morphological features: frontal cirri forming an irregular tricorona; one nonmigratory row located right of the midventral rows, which is morphogenetically derived from the posteriormost fronto‐ventral‐transverse (FVT) streak; conspicuously enlarged postoral ventral cirri, whereas the left ventral cirri are delicate and arranged in oblique rows. Based on both the morphological and morphogenetical data, a new family, Bergeriellidae fam. nov. , is proposed. In the SSU rRNA phylogenetic trees, B. ovata gen. et sp. nov. groups with the classic urostylids (urostylids s.s.) with high nodal support. Our phylogenetic analyses have revealed at least seven separate clades for midventral pattern‐bearing taxa (e.g. Pattersoniella, Neokeronopsis, Rigidothrix, urostylids s.s., Uroleptidae, Holostichidae + Psammomitridae, and Pseudoamphisiellidae), suggesting that the order Urostylida Jankowski, 1979 sensu Lynn, 2008 is a polyphyletic assemblage, and that the convergent evolution of the urostylid midventral pattern might have occurred more times among the spirotrichs than has previously been recognized. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 158 , 697–710.     

Geophilomorph centipedes from the Cretaceous amber of Burma

The only previously known Mesozoic fossils of the chilopod order Geophilomorpha are two species from the Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous, both known from single specimens that cannot be assigned with precision to a family. Four specimens from the Late Cretaceous (earliest Cenomanian) amber of Burma include three that can be identified as conspecific, described here as Kachinophilus pereirai gen. nov. sp. nov. These specimens preserve greater morphological detail in comparison with other fossil geophilomorphs: the form and fine features of the head, the maxillary complex, the trunk sternites with associated glandular pores and the ultimate pair of legs defend the assignment of the species to the extant family Geophilidae, and most probably to a derived subgroup including well‐known extant genera such as Ribautia Brölemann, 1909. Confocal laser scanning microscopy supplements examination under incident and transmitted light to document details of high taxonomic relevance in the head and the forcipular segment. The modern appearance of this species and its membership among deeply nested extant clades are consistent with molecular estimates that most of the diversity of crown‐group Geophilomorpha originated before the Late Cretaceous.     

New Jurassic Cercopoidea from China and their evolutionary significance (Insecta: Hemiptera)

Abstract: A new family, Sinoalidae Wang and Szwedo fam. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota (Inner Mongolia, China). Two new genera with three new species (Sinoala parallelivena Wang and Szwedo gen. et sp. nov., Jiania crebra Wang and Szwedo gen. et sp. nov., and Jiania gracila Wang and Szwedo sp. nov.) are erected based on well‐preserved whole‐bodied specimens. The morphological characters of Procercopidae and the new family are given, and a key to the species of Sinoalidae is presented. The genera Luanpingia Hong, 1983 and Huabeicercopis Hong, 1983 are revised and attributed to Sinoalidae. The genera Mesocercopis Hong, 1983 and Sinotettegarcta Hong, 1986 are considered junior synonyms of Anthoscytina Hong, 1983. Taxa assigned to Sinoalidae fam. nov. cannot be attributed to any previously known family, but share some general (plesiomorphic) characters with ancient Clypeata, for example, postclypeus distinctly swollen, transversely wrinkled, antenna with a flagellum of a few elongate segments, frons with median ocellus and lateral ocelli on crown. Moreover, the new family is closely related to Procercopidae (Cercopoidea) based on a pronotum with a median incision at the hind margin; tegmen slender, partly punctuate, basal portion of Sc not exceeding apex of basal cell, and hind legs with lateral spines. It has a mixture of ancestral characters shared with Hylicelloidea and Jurassic Procercopidae and some derived characters. Therefore, it is tentatively placed in Cercopoidea. A preliminary phylogram of Clypeata is presented based on the combination of fossil and morphological data.     

Morphology disentangles the systematics of a ubiquitous but elusive meiofaunal group (Kinorhyncha: Pycnophyidae)

Kinorhyncha is a group of benthic, microscopic animals distributed worldwide in marine sediments. The phylum is divided into two classes, Cyclorhagida and Allomalorhagida, congruent with the two major clades recovered in recent phylogenetic analyses. Allomalorhagida accommodates more than one‐third of the described species, most of them assigned to the family Pycnophyidae. All previous phylogenetic analyses of the phylum recovered the two genera within Pycnophyidae, Pycnophyes and Kinorhynchus, as paraphyletic and polyphyletic. A major problem in these studies was the lack of molecular data of most pycnophyids, due to the limited and highly localized distribution of most species, often in the Arctic and the deep‐sea. We here overcame the problem by adding a morphological partition with data for 79 Pycnophyidae species, 15 of them also represented by molecular data. Model‐based analyses yielded seven clades, which each was supported by several morphological apomorphies. Accordingly, Kinorhynchus is synonymized with Pycnophyes and six new genera are described for the remaining recovered clades: Leiocanthus gen. nov., Cristaphyes gen. nov., Higginsium gen. nov., Krakenella gen. nov., Setaphyes gen. nov. and Fujuriphyes gen. nov.     

Evolution of the thaumastocheliform lobsters (Crustacea,Decapoda, Nephropidae)

Deep‐sea lobsters previously assigned to the family Thaumastochelidae Bate, 1888, the thaumastocheliforms, have very distinctive, greatly unequal first chelipeds, with the right side extremely elongate and pectinate, and in having short, quadrate pleonal pleura. Despite interesting morphology and a long taxonomic history, the phylogeny of the group has received little detailed analysis. Here, we conduct a species‐level phylogenetic analysis of the thaumastocheliforms based on morphological and molecular data (three mitochondrial genes: COI, 16S rDNA and 12S rDNA; two nuclear protein‐coding genes: H3 and NaK) to robustly reconstruct their evolutionary history and estimate divergence times. Separate and combined analyses of all data sources support thaumastocheliform monophyly, but as a clade deeply nested within the Nephropidae supporting recent synonymy of Thaumastochelidae with Nephropidae. Combined and molecular‐only analyses support generic monophyly of all three thaumastocheliform genera and Dinochelus as sister to Thaumastochelopsis, fully corroborating the current, morphology‐based taxonomy. In contrast, Thaumastocheles is recovered as paraphyletic in morphology‐only analyses owing to minimal character support. The Cretaceous–Paleogene Oncopareia was recovered as a stem‐lineage thaumastocheliform. The fossil record indicates that the thaumastocheliforms once lived in shallow, continental shelf depths, but moved into deeper water in the Cenozoic where they occur today. The thaumastocheliforms originated in northern Europe during the Mid‐Late Cretaceous and later dispersed westwards to the south‐eastern Pacific through the western Atlantic and eastwards to the western Pacific through the Indian Ocean. Thaumastochelopsis can be considered the most derived thaumastocheliform genus based on the degree of structural reduction relative to other thaumastocheliforms, its remote geographical occurrence (Australia) from the hypothesised place of origin (northern Europe) and its more recent estimated divergence than other genera (28 Mya for the MRCA of extant species of the genus).     

Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus‐group of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract. We investigated the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus‐group, a clade of ants we define within the subfamily Formicinae comprising the genera Euprenolepis, Nylanderia, gen. rev. , Paraparatrechina, gen. rev. & stat. nov. , Paratrechina, Prenolepis and Pseudolasius. We inferred a phylogeny of the Prenolepis genus‐group using DNA sequence data from five genes (CAD, EF1αF1, EF1αF2, wingless and COI) sampled from 50 taxa. Based on the results of this phylogeny the taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus‐group was re‐examined. Paratrechina (broad sense) species segregated into three distinct, robust clades. Paratrechina longicornis represents a distinct lineage, a result consistent with morphological evidence; because this is the type species for the genus, Paratrechina is redefined as a monotypic genus. Two formerly synonymized subgenera, Nylanderia and Paraparatrechina, are raised to generic status in order to provide names for the other two clades. The majority of taxa formerly placed in Paratrechina, 133 species and subspecies, are transferred to Nylanderia, and 28 species and subspecies are transferred to Paraparatrechina. In addition, two species are transferred from Pseudolasius to Paraparatrechina and one species of Pseudolasius is transferred to Nylanderia. A morphological diagnosis for the worker caste of all six genera is provided, with a discussion of the morphological characters used to define each genus. Two genera, Prenolepis and Pseudolasius, were not recovered as monophyletic by the molecular data, and the implications of this result are discussed. A worker‐based key to the genera of the Prenolepis genus‐group is provided.     

Phylogeny and classification ofFumariaceae, with emphasis onDicentra s. l., based on the plastid generps16 intron

The phylogeny ofFumariaceae, as inferred fromrps16 intron sequences, is compared with morphological data, and nrDNA-ITS. The different data sets are largely congruent and indicate that (1)Dicentra and the tribeCorydaleae as hitherto circumscribed are polyphyletic, (2)Lamprocapnos (=Dicentra spectabilis) is sister group to the rest of subfam.Fumarioideae, (3)Ehrendorferia, gen. nov. (=Dicentra chrysantha andD. ochroleuca) is basal in the latter group, (4) the morphologically aberrantIchtyoselmis, gen. nov. (=Dicentra macrantha) groups withDicentra s. str., (5) the genusCysticapnos should be included in the tribeFumarieae, (6)Dactylicapnos (=Dicentra subg.Dactylicapnos) is sister group toCorydalis, (7) the genusCorydalis is monophyletic, and consists of three subgenera:Chremnocapnos, stat. nov.,Sophorocapnos, stat. nov., andCorydalis. The following new combinations are validated:Ehrendorferia chrysantha, E. ochroleuca, Ichtyoselmis macrantha, andLamprocapnos spectabilis. Dedicated to emer. Univ.-Prof. DrFriedrich Ehrendorfer on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Phylogeny and systematics of Protodrilidae (Annelida) inferred with total evidence analyses

Protodrilidae is a group of small, superficially simple‐looking annelids, lacking chaetae and appendages, except for two prostomial palps. Originally considered to be one of the primitive “archiannelid” families, its affinity within Annelida is still highly debated. Protodrilids are found worldwide in the interstices of intertidal and subtidal marine sediments. Despite their simple appearance they constitute one of the most species‐rich interstitial families, with 36 described species in two genera, Protodrilus and the gutless Astomus. Here we present the first phylogenetic study of Protodrilidae employing five gene fragments, 55 morphological characters and 73 terminals (including seven outgroups) analysed under direct optimization and parsimony as well as model‐based methods. The large data set includes all 36 described species of Protodrilidae (17 of which are represented only by the morphological partition) as well as 30 undescribed or uncertain species (represented by both morphology and molecules). This comprehensive, inclusive and combined analysis revealed a new perspective on the phylogeny of Protodrilidae: the family is shown to contain six cosmopolitan subclades, each supported by several morphological apomorphies, and with the genus Astomus consistently nested among the other five clades rather than next to these. Consequently, the diagnosis of Protodrilus is emended, Astomus remains unchanged and the four remaining lineages are diagnosed and named Megadrilus n. gen, Meiodrilus gen. nov., Claudrilus n. gen and Lindrilus gen. nov. Character transformations showed that large size and presence of pigmentation, oviducts and eyes are plesiomorphies of the family, retained in Protodrilus, Megadrilus gen. nov. and Lindrilus gen. nov. These features are secondarily lost in the gutless Astomus with epidermal uptake of nutrients, as well as in Meiodrilus gen. nov. and some species of Claudrilus n. gen, with smaller size correlated to life in interstices of finer sediments.     

New acrodont lizards (Lacertilia) from the Middle Eocene of southern Mongolia

The problematic lizard family Changjiangosauridae, representatives of which inhabited Asia in the Early Paleogene, is discussed. Six new species of this group, including Acrodontopsis robustus gen. et sp. nov., Agamimus gracilis gen. et sp. nov., Graminisaurus interruptus gen. et sp. nov., Khaichinsaurus reshetovi gen. et sp. nov., Lavatisaurus elegans gen. et sp. nov., and Lentisaurus giganteus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Eocene of the Khaichin Uul 2 locality (southern Gobi, Mongolia) are described. It is shown that Changjiangosauridae are probably related to the Late Cretaceous Isodontosauridae and recent Uromastycidae; independent development of a number of dental features in different lineages of Acrodonta (Iguania) is corroborated.     

Toward Modern Classification of Eustigmatophytes,Including the Description of Neomonodaceae Fam. Nov. and Three New Genera1

The class Eustigmatophyceae includes mostly coccoid, freshwater algae, although some genera are common in terrestrial habitats and two are primarily marine. The formal classification of the class, developed decades ago, does not fit the diversity and phylogeny of the group as presently known and is in urgent need of revision. This study concerns a clade informally known as the Pseudellipsoidion group of the order Eustigmatales, which was initially known to comprise seven strains with oval to ellipsoidal cells, some bearing a stipe. We examined those strains as well as 10 new ones and obtained 18S rDNA and rbcL gene sequences. The results from phylogenetic analyses of the sequence data were integrated with morphological data of vegetative and motile cells. Monophyly of the Pseudellipsoidion group is supported in both 18S rDNA and rbcL trees. The group is formalized as the new family Neomonodaceae comprising, in addition to Pseudellipsoidion, three newly erected genera. By establishing Neomonodus gen. nov. (with type species Neomonodus ovalis comb. nov.), we finally resolve the intricate taxonomic history of a species originally described as Monodus ovalis and later moved to the genera Characiopsis and Pseudocharaciopsis. Characiopsiella gen. nov. (with the type species Characiopsiella minima comb. nov.) and Munda gen. nov. (with the type species Munda aquilonaris) are established to accommodate additional representatives of the polyphyletic genus Characiopsis. A morphological feature common to all examined Neomonodaceae is the absence of a pyrenoid in the chloroplasts, which discriminates them from other morphologically similar yet unrelated eustigmatophytes (including other Characiopsis-like species).     

Mesozoic Trachypachidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from China

Abstract: Four well‐preserved beetles, attributed to Eodromeinae within Trachypachidae, are described from the Mesozoic of Inner Mongolia, China. Eodromeus robustus sp. nov., E. daohugouensis sp. nov. and Unda chifengensis sp. nov. are from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou. The diagnostic characters for the two genera are revised, and all species of these genera are keyed. A new genus and species, Sinodromeus liutiaogouensis gen. nov., sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liutiaogou. The current fossil records of Trachypachidae from China are reviewed, and only five species (four described here) can be convincingly attributed to this family. The morphological disparity of Mesozoic Eodromeinae suggests that they evolved a broad spectrum of locomotory lifestyles.     

Blackmania gen. nov. and the related genus Acaudella (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Aphidinae)

The aphid genus Blackmania gen. nov. is described. In the genus, B. eastopi sp. nov. associated with Polygonum equisetiforme (Polygonaceae) from Israel and Cyprus is described and illustrated. Morphologically, the new genus is similar to the genus Acaudella in respect to the lack of a cauda. Acaudella puchovi, associated with Atraphaxis caucasica (=A. buxifolia) and A. spinosa (Polygonaceae) from Uzbekistan and Israel, is re‐described and the apterous viviparous female is figured for the first time. The lectotype and paralectotypes of A. puchovi are also designated. An identification key to known species of the tribe Macrosiphini without cauda is provided. The morphological separation of B. eastopi gen. nov., sp. nov. from A. puchovi is visualized using principal component analysis.     

Fossil amoebae (Hemiarcherellidae fam. nov.) from Albian (Cretaceous) amber of France

Abstract: Two extraordinarily well‐preserved testate amoebae are described from Late Albian age amber from south‐western France. The specimens are attributed to a new family, the Hemiarcherellidae fam. nov., and are described as Hemiarcherella christellae gen. et sp. nov. The amoebae described herein originate from highly fossiliferous amber pieces. Based on syninclusions, Hemiarcherella christellae was a soil‐dwelling organism, probably an active bacterivore. This taxon represents the third species of testate amoebae described from mid‐Cretaceous French amber. Analysis of this fossil amoeba fauna illustrates the uniqueness of mid‐Cretaceous French amber deposits. Indeed, most amoebae found in amber have been assigned to modern species, corroborating the hypothesis of morphological stasis in different microbial lineages. However, the well‐preserved amoebae fauna found in French amber can be distinguished clearly from modern species and help us to better understand the fossil record of these organisms.     

Echinocampidae fam. nov., a new family of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous radiolarians of Arctic Siberia

When studying Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous radiolarians from the Nordvik section (Arctic Siberia), unique morphotypes of multicyrtoid nassellarians with many horns in the apical part of the shell, which continue the rays A, V, 2l, D, and 2L of the cephalic spicule, were recorded. These morphotypes are assigned to a new family, Echinocampidae fam. nov., including three new genera (Echinocampe gen. nov., Nordvikella gen. nov., and Arctocapsula gen. nov.) and eight new species. The family Echinocampidae was probably restricted to high latitudes and belonged to the boreal fauna of the terminal Jurassic and the basal Cretaceous.     

New mesozoic Ithyceridae beetles (Coleoptera)

A new subfamily, Mongolocarinae subfam. nov. of the family Ithyceridae, from the Middle-Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Asia is described. It includes five genera with five species: Palaeocar gen. nov. (with P. princeps sp. nov.), Mongolocar gen. nov. (M. orcinus sp. nov.), Praecar gen. nov. (P. stolidus sp. nov.), Karacar gen. nov. (M. contractus sp. nov.), and Baissacar gen. nov. (B. passarius sp. nov.).     

Microstructural disparity between basal micrabaciids and other Scleractinia: new evidence from Neogene Stephanophyllia

Recent molecular analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers place the Micrabaciidae in the basal clade of scleractinian corals. The molecular distinctiveness of micrabaciids is supported by a set of unique morphological characters, among which the microstructure of thickening deposits is the most characteristic one. In all extant and well‐preserved Mesozoic micrabaciids (extinct Micrabacia, and still living Letepsammia, Rhombopsammia, Stephanophyllia, Leptopenus), thickening deposits consist of irregular meshwork of small chip‐like bundles of fibres. Here, we document Neogene (Miocene and Pliocene) forms identified as Stephanophyllia whose thickening deposits consist of long and thin parallel fibres that, instead of bundles (like in majority of Scleractinia), form layers of thatch‐like structures that thicken the septa. This microstructural pattern distinguishes Neogene Stephanophyllia from all examined so far micrabaciids and suggests that mechanisms of biologically controlled mineralization within this clade were more diverse. Nonetheless, the group as a whole is still clearly separated microstructurally from other scleractinians. Despite their basal position in scleractinian phylogeny, the fossil record of Micrabaciidae starts only in the Lower Cretaceous. No Palaeozoic, Triassic or Jurassic forms that could be considered ancestral to micrabaciids and would share some microstructural or morphological (e.g. septal insertion pattern) characters have yet been found. Possible explanations of such morphological disparity of micrabaciids from other scleractinians are either sudden emergence by skeletonization of long evolved, soft‐bodied group of basal hexacorallians or migration of their skeletonized, deep‐water ancestors to shallow‐waters.     

Phylogeny of split‐footed lacewings (Neuroptera,Nymphidae), with descriptions of new Cretaceous fossil species from China

A phylogeny of the lacewing family Nymphidae based on morphology and DNA sequences is presented including representatives of all living genera and selected fossil genera. Widely distributed Jurassic and Cretaceous genera gave rise to recent taxa now restricted to Australasia. Two previously defined clades (i.e. Nymphinae and Myiodactylinae) were recovered and reflect the diverging adult and larval morphology of members of these two subfamilies. From Chinese Cretaceous deposits, a new genus (Spilonymphes gen. nov.) is described with one new species, as well as new species described in the genera Baissoleon Makarkin and Sialium Westwood.