Island life in the Cretaceous - faunal composition, biogeography, evolution, and extinction of land-living vertebrates on the Late Cretaceous European archipelago

The Late Cretaceous was a time of tremendous global change, as the final stages of the Age of Dinosaurs were shaped by climate and sea level fluctuations and witness to marked paleogeographic and faunal changes, before the end-Cretaceous bolide impact. The terrestrial fossil record of Late Cretaceous Europe is becoming increasingly better understood, based largely on intensive fieldwork over the past two decades, promising new insights into latest Cretaceous faunal evolution. We review the terrestrial Late Cretaceous record from Europe and discuss its importance for understanding the paleogeography, ecology, evolution, and extinction of land-dwelling vertebrates. We review the major Late Cretaceous faunas from Austria, Hungary, France, Spain, Portugal, and Romania, as well as more fragmentary records from elsewhere in Europe. We discuss the paleogeographic background and history of assembly of these faunas, and argue that they are comprised of an endemic 'core' supplemented with various immigration waves. These faunas lived on an island archipelago, and we describe how this insular setting led to ecological peculiarities such as low diversity, a preponderance of primitive taxa, and marked changes in morphology (particularly body size dwarfing). We conclude by discussing the importance of the European record in understanding the end-Cretaceous extinction and show that there is no clear evidence that dinosaurs or other groups were undergoing long-term declines in Europe prior to the bolide impact.

Les faunes de coraux (Anthozoaires Scléractiniaires) de la façade atlantique française au Chattien et au Miocène

The study of new abundant coral crops and a systematic revision of the historie collections allow us to extend significantly the data about the Upper Oligocene and Miocene Scleractinia of the French atlantic basins. The SW and W-NW France faunas have been considered, and complete lists of the different defined taxa are presented. The general lines of the evolution of this group are specified, and linked to the paleoclimatic and paleobiogeographic changes.

Taxonomy, biogeography and phylogeny of Cretaceous frog crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Neotropics

Le but du présent travail est d’apporter la preuve paléontologique mettant en évidence que le clade Raninoida était bien établi dans le Néotropique durant la période Crétacée, où il était représenté par les plus anciennes familles ou par quelques–uns des plus anciens membres des plus anciennes familles. Je décris des taxa raninoïdiens ou similaires, incluant Archaeochimaeridae n. fam. et Archaeochimaera macrophthalma n. gen. n. sp., du Cénomanien supérieur (~95 Ma.) de Colombie (Chapitre 3), Planocarcinus n. gen., Planocarcinus olssoni (Rathbun, 1937) n. comb. et Notopocorystes kerri n. sp., de l’Aptien supérieur (~115 Ma.) de Colombie (Luque et al., accepté) (Chapitre 2). Ces taxa nouveaux, plus la présence de Cenomanocarcinus vanstraeleni Stenzel, 1945, dans l’Albien supérieur de Colombie (Vega et al., 2010), et d’Araripecarcinus ferreirai Martins–Neto, 1987, dans l’Albien du Brésil (Luque et al., en cours) (Chapitre 4), représentent certains des plus anciens signalements de quatre des sept familles raninoïdiennes, au moins, connues à ce jour. La nouvelle famile Archaeochimaeridae se présente comme le groupe frère du clade Raninidae + clade Symethidae. Cependant, la combinaison unique de caractères primitifs, dérivés et homoplasiques est inégalable chez les Raninoida, et, en fait, chez les autres sections de crabes podotrèmes. Alors que les taxa raninoïdiens du Crétacé sont bien connus aux latitudes élevées, les signalements en Amérique du Sud tropicale sont rares et épars, avec pour résultat de considérables distorsions pour traiter des importantes questions biogéographiques et phylogénétiques. Sur la base de données taxonomiques, paléobiogéographiques et cladistiques, une ré–appréciation des toute premières distributions spatio–temporelle des “crabes grenouilles” est proposée, avec pour objet de contribuer à une plus large compréhension de la diversité, phylogénie et évolution des premiers brachyoures au cours des âges.

Leaiid conchostracans from the uppermost Permian strata of the Parana Basin, Brazil: Chronostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic implications

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A new Pennsylvanian Oriocrassatellinae from Brazil and the distribution of the genus Oriocrassatella in space and time

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Othonella araguaiana (Bivalvia, Megadesmidae) from the Corumbataí formation (Midlle Permian), eastern margin of the Paraná Basin: Systematic, evolutionary and biostratigraphic significances

In this study, the occurrence of Othonella araguaiana Mendes, a rare bivalve species is reported for the fi rst time in the Pinzonella illusa biozone, Middle Permian Corumbataí Formation, in the State of São Paulo. This species was originally described in coeval rocks of the Estrada Nova Formation (= Corumbataí) from the Alto Araguaia and Alto Garças regions, State of Mato Grosso. The specimens of O. araguaiana were found in the base of a bioclastic sandstone bed, a proximal tempestite, in the middle of the Corumbataí Formation, in the city of Rio Claro, São Paulo State. The silicifi ed shells and internal molds are well preserved, showing impressions of muscle scars and other internal anatomic characters (e.g., hinge), never illustrated by previous authors. In his original description, Mendes (1963) called attention to the similarity between O. araguaiana and Terraia aequilateralis, a common veneroid of the Corumbataí Formation. Conversely, Runnegar and Newell (1971) suggested that O. araguaiana belongs to Megadesmidae, being a junior synonym of Plesiocyprinella carinata (the commonest megadesmid of the Passa Dois Group). Our study indicates that O. araguaiana is indeed a megadesmid, but is distinct from the P. carinata. The new occurrence of O. araguaiana demonstrates that a) the paleobiogeographic distribution of this species is wider than previously thought (that it was restricted to the northern part of Paraná Basin, Mato Grosso State); b) the molluscan fauna of the Corumbataí Formation (P. illusa biozone) in the State of São Paulo is more diverse and dominated by megadesmids; and c) the composition of the molluscan fauna of the Corumbataí Formation in Alto Garças, State of Mato Grosso, is essentially the same as that of the P. illusa biozone of the eastern margin of the Paraná Basin.

Revisão dos Testudines fósseis do cretáceo superior da Bacia Bauru, com a descrição preliminar de novo morfótipo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O acervo paleoictiológico do Aptiano-Albiano da Formação Santana (Bacia do Araripe), existente nas coleções do Museu de Paleontologia e Estratigrafia Paulo Milton Barbosa Landim, DGA-IGCE UNESP Rio Claro

Pós-graduação em Geologia Regional - IGCE

Conchostráceos permianos da bacia do Paraná: taxonomia, evolução, bioestratigrafia e paleobiogeografia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A comunidade de tubarões (Chondrichthyes : selachii : Galea) da formação pirabas, Neógeno da Amazônia Oriental

A comunidade de tubarões (Selachii:Galea) proveniente da Formação Pirabas pode ser considerada como uma das mais representativas e de maior diversidade entre as unidades do Neógeno da América do Sul. A presença de 8 gêneros permitiu elaborar hipóteses sobre a reconstrução da cadeia trófica envolvendo outros elementos da paleofauna de vertebrados, assim como também serviu como um indicador paleoecológico adicional que corrobora dados anteriores sobre a reconstituição dos parâmetros paleoambientais da unidade geológica. Foi realizado uma revisão taxonômica das espécies previamente conhecidos para a Formação Pirabas, cuja composição da paleocomun idade de tubarões foi a seguinte: Carcharhinus spl Carcharhinus sp2, Carcharhinus sp3, Carcharhinus priscus, Sphyma magna, Hemipristis serra, Carcharodon megalodon, Isurus sp, Ginglyrnostoma serra, Ginglymostoma obliquum. Novas coletas possibilitaram a expansão de 31 exemplares depositados em museus brasileiros para 231 novos indivíduos, incluindo material microscópico. Esta coleta serviu para aumentar o conhecimento sobre a diversidade e aspectos paleoecológicos dos grupos representados.

A new Pennsylvanian Oriocrassatellinae from Brazil and the distribution of the genus Oriocrassatella in space and time

Oriocrassatella Etheridge Jr., 1907 is a long range crassatellid bivalve genus well recognized in shallow waters of epeiric seas throughout the upper part of Paleozoic. The first occurrences of this genus are recorded in the sedimentary successions of the Gondwana, both in Australia and South America. However, the geographic and age distribution of Oriocrassatella in Late Mississippian deposits of Australia and Argentina may indicate an earliest Visean or even a pre-Visean origin for the genus. Following its origin in Early Carboniferous a complex paleobiogeographic history from Southern to Northern Hemisphere took place in the Permian. During its initial dispersal phase from Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian the genus thrived in cold water environments associated to the Late Paleozoic Gondwana glaciation. Shallow-water bottoms of the warm waters of the central Gondwana fringe and Laurussia were colonized by Oriocrassatella only during Early Permian times when the genus became cosmopolitan. A new species of this genus is described herein, Oriocrassatella piauiensis n. sp., recorded from the Piaui Formation, Pennsylvanian of the Parnaiba Basin. This new species may represent an early adaptation to warm waters. However, based on available data, species of this genus seem to have adapted definitely to warm water environments probably related the Late Pennsylvanian interglacial phases. In these phases, climatic barrier were interrupted allowing the faunal interchange and larval dispersion following a South to North migration route through the eastern margins of Gondwana and the eastern Paleotethys.

Calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy and datums of sediments from ODP Leg 198 sites

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 198, Sites 1207, 1208, 1212, 1213, and 1214 were drilled on Shatsky Rise, coring Lower to mid-Cretaceous successions of nannofossil chalk, porcellanite, and chert. Although recovery was poor, these sites yielded an outstanding record of calcareous nannoplankton, providing valuable data concerning the evolutionary succession and paleobiogeography of the largest Cretaceous marine habitat. Mid-Cretaceous sections (Aptian-Cenomanian) were recovered at all sites, and Site 1213 includes an apparently complete Berriasian-Hauterivian section. Biostratigraphic dating is problematic in places because of the absence or rarity of zonal fossils of both Boreal and Tethyan affinity. The majority of nannofossil assemblages are relatively typical of this age, but there are clear differences that set them apart from coeval epicontinental assemblages: for example, Lithraphidites carniolensis is common to abundant throughout and was most likely an oceanic-adapted taxon; the cold- to temperate-water species Crucibiscutum salebrosum, Repagulum parvidentatum, and Seribiscutum primitivum are entirely absent, indicating the persistence of tropical, warm surface water temperatures; and the warm-water species Hayesites irregularis is common. Most striking, however, is the virtual absence of Nannoconus and Micrantholithus, both taxa that were conspicuous and often common components of many Tethyan and Atlantic nannofloras. These forms were almost certainly neritic adapted and usually absent in deep open-ocean settings away from guyots and platforms. Other Tethyan taxa are also absent or rare and sporadically distributed (e.g., Calcicalathina oblongata, Conusphaera spp., Tubodiscus verenae, and Lithraphidites bollii), and factors related to neritic environments presumably controlled their distribution. Site 1213 also records extended Early Cretaceous ranges for species previously thought to have become extinct during the Late Jurassic (e.g., Axopodorhabdus cylindratus, Hexapodorhabdus cuvillieri, and Biscutum dorsetensis), suggesting these species became Pacific-restricted prior to their extinction. Watznaueria britannica may also have been a species with Pacific affinities before reexpansion of its biogeography in the early Aptian. One new genus (Mattiolia) and thirteen new species (Zeugrhabdotus clarus, Zeugrhabdotus petrizzoae, Helicolithus leckiei, Rhagodiscus amplus, Rhagodiscus robustus, Rhagodiscus sageri, Rhagodiscus adinfinitus, Tubodiscus bellii, Tubodiscus frankiae, Gartnerago ponticula, Haqius peltatus, Mattiolia furva, and Kokia stellata) are described from the Shatsky Rise Lower Cretaceous section.

Brachiopods in Early Carboniferous

Changes in Mississippian global paleogeography derived from the reconfiguration of the continents, a reversal in ocean currents and global cooling. Although the tectonic and climatic changes are well-documented, their effects on the distribution of brachiopod fauna are poorly documented. Here we present systematic quantitative analyses on global paleobiogeography based on a global brachiopod database from the Mississippian (i.e., Tournaisian, Visean, and Serpukhovian). The dataset consists of 2123 species of 344 brachiopod genera from 1156 localities. Our results reveal that global provincialism was not evident during the Tournaisian and Visean Stages. Two realms, i.e., the Gondwanan and Paleoequatorial Realms, are recognized during the Tournaisian. The Paleoequatorial Realm dominates during the Visean Stage, whereas the Gondwanan Realm is not documented due to the absence of data points. In contrast to the early and middle Mississippian stages, faunal provincialism is greatly enhanced in the Serpukhovian Stage with Paleotethyan and North American realms easily distinguished. This indicates that the Rheic Ocean was closed before the Serpukhovian due to the collision between Gondwana and Laurussia, that disrupted faunal interchange between the Paleotethys and North America. In addition, the paleolatitude-related thermal gradient was enhanced and the Boreal Realm was distinguished from the Paleotethyan Realm during the onset of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age (LPIA) in the Serpukhovian. The paleolatitude diversity gradient pattern further shows a distinct shift of diversity center from the southern tropic zone in the Tournaisian and Visean to the northern tropic zone in the Serpukhovian.

Biostratigraphy and paleobiogeographic affinities of the Jurassic brachiopod assemblages from Sierra Espuña (Maláguide Complex, Internal Betic Zones, Spain)

The assemblages of Early Jurassic brachiopods (Pliensbachian - Toarcian) from Sierra Espuña (Murcia Province, SE Spain) are described. This is the only area in the Internal Zones of the Betic Cordillera, corresponding to the margins of the Alborán Terrane, where Jurassic brachiopods are known to occur. In the tectonic Unit of Morrón de Totana (more southward located) assemblage MT1 of Late Pliensbachian age has been characterized. This assemblage has been subdivided into three successive sub-assemblages: MT1a (Algovianum Zone), MT1b (Emaciatum Zone, Solare Subzone) and MT1c (Emaciatum Zone, Elisa Subzone). Northward, in the Perona tectonic Unit two distinct assemblages, P1 (Latest Sinemurian - Early Pliensbachian) and P2 (Early Toarcian, Serpentinum Zone) have been recognized. Differences between the assemblages from the two tectonic units are evident after the paleobiogeographical analysis. In the Morrón de Totana Unit, taxa with Mediterranean affinities occur. MT1 assemblage is very similar to assemblages previously known in the Eastern Subbetic as well as in other areas of the Mediterranean Province. In the Perona Unit the Mediterranean affinity of the assemblages is not so evident. P1 Assemblage consists of widely distributed taxa, lacking in the most characteristic elements of the Mediterranean Province which, however, are present in neighbouring Betic areas. P2 Assemblage belongs to the Spanish Province that develops in Western Tethys after the Early Toarcian Mass Extinction Event. The occurrence in this assemblage of Prionorhynchia aff. msougari Rousselle, until now only found in North Africa, indicates a closer connection of the Perona Unit with the African paleomargin of the Tethys than with the South Iberian paleomargin. The paleobiogeographical data suggest a more southern and marginal (close to epicontinental areas) position of the Perona Unit than the Morrón de Totana Unit.