The enigmatic Silurian fossil Bunodella horrida Matthew, 1889 was originally described as a crustacean (Matthew, 1889). B. horrida was later included with the pseudoniscid synziphosurines by Størmer (1955) in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Bunodella Matthew, 1889 was subsequently dismissed as a merostome in later treatments (Eldredge, 1974; Anderson and Selden, 1997). However, the type and only known specimen (Fig. 1), housed in the New Brunswick Museum (NBMG), has not been re-studied since Matthew's initial description. Reexamination of this fossil has led us to interpret it as the partial coxa of a pterygotid eurypterid swimming leg. The coxa is likely to belong to Acutiramus Ruedemann, 1935 rather than any other pterygotid, but it cannot be further separated from other species in the genus and is left as Acutiramus sp. A more precise assignment must await more diagnostic material (e.g., chelicerae). The genus Bunodella Matthew, 1889 is therefore deemed invalid and its usage discontinued. Bunodella Pfeffer, 1889 was also established as a genus of a modern hexacoralline anemone based on a single species, B. georgiana Pfeffer, 1889, but has since been reassigned to the genus Parantheopsis McMurrich, 1904 by Carlgren (1949) along with several other species of anenome.

A method has been developed that uses holographic interferometry to generate contour maps of the occlusional surfaces of fossil teeth. The resulting contour map is, in itself, a valuable descriptive tool. In addition, it provides information for a very large data base, which has been used in trend-surface analysis and Q-mode clustering. As an example, these analytical techniques are applied to a set of Pliocene badger teeth. The same methods can be applied to any paleontological problem dealing with shapes of small objects.

A rare diminutive belemnite, Pumiliobelus n. gen., is described based on the new species P. haigi and P. tumidus from the upper Gearle Siltstone (Cenomanian) of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. No smaller belemnites than these species are known. That they are based on adult specimens rather than juveniles is supported by a large sample, some 80 specimens, of P. haigi which collectively show a proportional range in size typical of belemnite species in general, a group in which juveniles are conspicuously lacking in the fossil record. Rostral morphology places Pumiliobelus in the Dimitobelidae, a distinctively Austral family of Aptian–Maastrichtian age, which became progressively restricted to high latitudes through the late Cretaceous. Each species of Pumiliobelus is known from a single locality where it co-occurs with the long-ranging (Albian–Cenomanian) Dimitobelus diptychus Whitehouse of widespread distribution at mid to high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. Dwarfism in the Dimitobelidae, as expressed by Pumiliobelus, is considered to reflect adaptive evolution to engage opportunistic life strategies that favored small body size and rapid population turnover. The rare occurrence of dwarf Dimitobelidae indicates that such strategies were limited in both geographic range and duration. Dwarfism expressed by Pumiliobelus may relate to paedomorphosis induced by rising seawater temperatures in the mid Cretaceous.

The Oñate Formation of Middle Devonian (Givetian) age is exposed in the Mud Springs Mountains of New Mexico, where it is represented by an unusually shaly and extremely fossiliferous facies. Tabulophyllum traversensis (Winchell) found here is the only rugose coral species known thus far from Middle Devonian rocks of New Mexico and is of special interest as evidence of migration between the area of the Oñate occurrence and those in the Cedar Valley Limestone in Iowa and the Traverse Group of Michigan. The occurrence is also of interest because of the association of the Oñate coral with the receptaculitid Sphaerospongia sp. cf. S. tessellata (also known from Canada, Australia, and New York). The corals apparently utilized receptaculitids as a solid substrate for post-larval growth and developed an extremely broad flat base, fixed to the upper surface of Sphaerospongia.

Among the several evolutionary lineages of the baleen whales (Mysticeti), the eomysticetids are an ancient successful family that retain possibly nonfunctional teeth and functional baleen, a transitional stage between toothed and baleen-assisted filter-feeding mysticetes. The patchy fossil record leaves gaps in eomysticetid paleobiology interpretations, but their diversity and widespread geographical distribution can be a relevant proxy to understanding the evolution of crown Mysticeti. Here we describe a new baleen whale, Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp., from the Oligocene of Mexico (slightly older than 27.95 million years ago). This new taxon has morphological features that show its affinity to Eomysticetidae, such as the intertemporal region longer than wide, the elongate and oval temporal fossa, and a well-developed and lobate coronoid process of the mandible. Similarly, our cladistic analyses confirm the inclusion of Echericetus in the Eomysticetidae. Echericetus reinforces our notion of the eomysticetid diversity and disparity. Geographically, the existence of Echericetus from Mexico also indicates that eomysticetid inhabited subtropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Last, our discovery of a new eomysticetid from the Oligocene of Mexico provides new insights into the distribution patterns and habitat use of Eomysticetidae, essential to further explain the demise of this transitional lineage between toothed and baleen-bearing whales.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/00cfc802-e2da-465c-9bb6-59347be00164

Correct identification of fossil taxa is immensely important for dating molecular phylogenies and understanding when and how quickly modern biodiversity evolved. Fossils that are available for a clade of interest and can be directly incorporated in the phylogenetic analysis are considered primary sources of time calibration, whereas calibrations inferred from other studies are secondary (Arroyave et al., 2013). Studies of taxonomic groups that lack fossils must either expand their analyses to include fossilized outgroup lineages, use secondary calibrations, or use more problematic primary calibrations, e.g., vicariant geologic events. The use of vicariant geologic events to calibrate phylogenies poses the risk of circular reasoning, because the goal of many such studies is to determine how geologic events have affected diversification. Near et al. (2012) argued that fossil calibrations external to clades of interest, but still within the broader Actinopterygian (ray-finned fishes) tree, could be used as means of calibrating a generalized molecular clock, but internal calibrations are still valuable for refining such inferences (Arroyave et al., 2013).

The Upper Ordovician Sandbian to Katian strata from the East Qilianshan (northeastern Tibet Plateau) bear a graptolite fauna of moderately high diversity. Graptolites from the Amplexograptus maxwelli beds to the Appendispinograptus longispinus Biozone (Sa2–Ka4 intervals) proposed herein include 27 species of 13 genera. This important graptolite fauna is first described herein although it was initially reported in 1963. Most of them occur in the A. longispinus Biozone corresponding to the Dicellograptus complexus to Paraorthograptus pacificus biozones of the Wufeng Formation in the Yangtze region. Alulagraptus new genus is established based on the materials from the East Qiqiaogou section. The endemic species, e.g., Alulagraptus ensiformis (Mu and Zhang in Mu et al., 1963), Dicellograptus sinicus Mu and Zhang in Mu et al., 1963, and Climacograptus? papilio Mu and Zhang in Mu et al., 1963, could indicate that East Qilianshan block was separated from South China.

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Predation is of great importance in understanding the diversification of spatangoid echinoids as well as their preservation in the fossil record. Herein, the spatangoid-dominated Miocene carbonate succession of Punta Foghe (Montiferru area, central-western Sardinia, Italy) is studied with the aim of reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions and investigating abiotic and biotic factors, including predation, that influence the paleoecology and preservation potential of spatangoid echinoids.

The echinoid fauna is dominated by the spatangoid Agassizia and, to a lesser extent, the clypeasteroid Clypeaster. The fauna also includes both regular (undetermined diadematoids and camarodonts) and irregular (Plagiobrissus, Echinocyamus, and Koehleraster) forms. Echinoids and associated fossil content, along with taphonomic and sedimentological signatures, indicate an inner sublittoral environment with moderate energy conditions affected by high-energy events. Agassizia remains, which consist mainly of complete and well-preserved tests, commonly bear subcircular drill holes that are interpreted as the result of cassid gastropod predation and investigated with respect to size selectivity and stereotypy of attack sites. Potential biases related to drilling predation and biostratinomy on the preservation potential of spatangoid tests are discussed.

Agassizia lacks any morphological adaptation to minimize high predation risk, including defensive spines and the ability to burrow deeply into the sediment. An antipredator behavior possibly relied on a gregarious life-history strategy, reducing the frequency of attacks on specific individuals by cassid predators.

The late Silurian Arceoaster hintei new genus new species (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) is based on a single complete specimen from the lower Hunton Group of southern Oklahoma. Overall ossicular arrangement enables assignment of the new genus to the Paleozoic stem-family Hudsonasteridae; however, Arceoaster n. gen. is homeomorphic with members of the post-Paleozoic crown-group Goniasteridae. Because Arceoaster n. gen. is a hudsonasterid, and because similar morphologic expressions are not known among described taxa from later in the Paleozoic or the early Mesozoic, similarities between Arceoaster n. gen. and later genera are homoplastic, thereby providing an example of iterative evolution within Asteroidea. The Arceoaster n. gen. specimen is associated with a rich and diverse invertebrate fauna typical of its time interval and environmental setting; nothing suggests an unusual habitat. Selective pressures leading to homoplasy are conjectural, although robust construction among extant asteroids has been associated with a defensive life strategy.

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The highly fossiliferous St. Marys Formation is exposed along Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, and comprises one of the best available records of late Miocene life in the northeastern United States. Rachycentron stremphaencus new species, a cobia from the late Miocene (Tortonian) of the St. Marys Formation is described herein on the basis of a single three-dimensional neurocranium. This fossil represents the earliest known occurrence of neurocranial remains of the genus Rachycentron in the record. Rachycentron stremphaencus differs from Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) in many ways. The most obvious include a different ornamentation of the outer surface of the cranial bones; a notably pronounced lateral ridge resulting in a considerable gradient from the dorsal-medial exposure of the frontal to its lateralmost supraorbital margin; the size, shape, and position of the sphenotic that is located in the posterior half of the neurocranium and its lateralmost edge being adjacent to the anteriormost extent of the wedge-shaped trough in the dorsal surface of the skull formed by the lateral and medial ridges; the two contralateral medial ridges forming a proportionately much wider trough on either side of the supraoccipital; the epioccipitals not reaching the rear edge of the neurocranium; and the lack of a conspicuous posterolateral prong of the intercalar.

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The Jurassic rocks of Gebel Maghara, northern Sinai, Egypt, contain a well-preserved and highly diverse macrobenthic fauna, dominated by bivalves. This fauna, particularly bivalves and gastropods, have received little attention in the last 100 years. In an attempt to provide a sound database on the marine bivalve diversity of Egypt during the Jurassic period, a first faunal group, the protobranch bivalves, is reviewed in detail. Sixteen taxa (three of them new), belonging to two orders, five families, and nine genera are systematically described and compared to closely related Jurassic taxa from various locations, particularly in Europe and India. New species are Nuculoma douvillei n. sp., N. sinaiensis n. sp., and Palaeoneilo aegyptiaca n. sp. In addition, Palaeonucula cuneiformis (J. de C. Sowerby), P. muensteri (Goldfuss), Dacryomya diana (d'Orbigny), D. lacryma (J. de. C. Sowerby), and Praesaccella juriana Cox are identified from Jurassic strata of Egypt for the first time. The younger records of the genus Palaeoneilo have not been accepted by some researchers, since almost all exhibit only limited features. The genus occurs with certainty in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian‒Bathonian) rocks of Egypt, based on well-preserved external and internal characters. Similarly, Dacryomya and Ryderia from Bathonian‒Kimmeridgian rocks of Egypt are younger than previously recorded from other parts of the world. The identified genera have wide geographic ranges and have been reported from different faunal provinces, which suggests that latitudinal climate differences did not influence their distribution pattern to a great extent.

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We report charadriiform and charadriiform-like birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). A partial skeleton of a small modern-type charadriiform is described as a new species, Charadriisimilis essexensis n. gen. n. sp., and most closely resembles taxa of the Charadrii (plovers, stilts, oystercatchers, and other “wader-like” shorebirds). Affinities to this clade were also supported by phylogenetic analyses, which placed the fossil as the sister taxon of either the Burhinidae or all crown group Charadrii. In addition, we identify specimens of the charadriiform-like taxon Scandiavis, which was before known only from the early Eocene Fur Formation in Denmark. Associated limb elements of two individuals are classified as Scandiavis cf. mikkelseni Bertelli et al., 2013, and remains of two further individuals are tentatively assigned to Scandiavis. The presence of a processus supracondylaris dorsalis on the previously unknown humerus corroborates charadriiform affinities of Scandiavis, whereas a plesiomorphic hypotarsus morphology indicates a position outside crown group Charadriiformes. Charadriisimilis essexensis is one of the earliest modern-type charadriiforms, and the holotype of the species is the most substantial early Paleogene fossil record of a charadriiform bird. Together with Scandiavis, as the best-represented taxon to be considered as a stem group charadriiform, it provides the basis for an improved understanding of the evolutionary history of charadriiform birds.

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Thirteen bryozoan species are described from the Brewer Dock (Hickory Corners) Member of the Reynales Formation (lower Silurian, Aeronian) at the locality Hickory Corners in western New York, USA. Three species are new: trepostomes Homotrypa niagarensis n. sp. and Leioclema adsuetum n. sp. and the rhabdomesine cryptostome Moyerella parva n. sp. Only one species, Hennigopora apta Perry and Hattin, 1960, developed obligatory encrusting colonies whereas the others produced erect ramose colonies of various thicknesses and shapes: cylindrical, branched, and lenticular. Bryozoans display high abundance and richness within the rock. This fauna is characteristic of a moderately agitated environment with a stable substrate. The identified species reveal paleobiogeographic connections to other Silurian localities of New York as well as Ohio and Indiana (USA) and Anticosti (Canada).

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Although the fossil record of the Late Cretaceous eastern North American landmass Appalachia is poor compared to that from the American West, it includes material from surprisingly aberrant terrestrial vertebrates that may represent relictual forms persisting in relative isolation until the end of the Mesozoic. One intriguing question is to what extent eastern and western North American faunas interspersed following the closure of the Western Interior Seaway during the Maastrichtian Stage of the Late Cretaceous ca. 70 Ma. Isolated remains from the Atlantic Coastal Plain in New Jersey have been preliminarily identified as the bones of crested lambeosaurine hadrosaurids, a derived clade known from the Cretaceous of Asia, western North America, and Europe, but have not been formally described. We describe the partial forelimb of a large hadrosaurid from the late Maastrichtian New Egypt Formation of New Jersey. The ulna preserves multiple deep scores identifiable as shark feeding marks, and both bones show ovoid and circular marks attributable to invertebrates. This forelimb is very similar to another partial antebrachium from the same area that shows evidence of septic arthritis. Both these specimens and a complete humerus from the same unit are closely comparable to the lower forelimbs of lambeosaurines among hadrosaurid dinosaurs. Although the absence of lambeosaurine synapomorphies observable on the New Egypt Formation forelimbs precludes their definite referral to Lambeosaurinae, they show that a morphotype of large hadrosauromorph with distinctly elongate forelimbs existed in the latest Maastrichtian of eastern North America and allow for a revision of the latest Cretaceous biogeography of crested herbivorous dinosaurs.