Daohugou Research Articles

A new clam shrimp (Branchiopoda: Diplostraca: Spinicaudata) from the Upper Jurassic in the Jiyuan Basin, China and its biostratigraphic significance.

A new spinicaudatan species Triglypta jiyuanensis Liao & Huang sp. nov. is described from the Upper Jurassic Maao Formation in the Jiyuan Basin, northwestern Henan Province, China. The carapace of the new species is ornamented with punctae, linear arrangements of punctae, and radial lirae. The new species differs from those of the early Triglypta forms from the Middle Jurassic but closely resembles T. jianchangensis Wang, 2014 from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of western Liaoning Province. Our study provides new biostratigraphic evidence supporting that the Maao and Tiaojishan formations can be correlated. Moreover, we suggest that the Yangshuzhuang Formation in the Jiyuan Basin could correlate to the Haifanggou and the Longmen formations in the Yanliao area.

A new species of Cicadocoris (Hemiptera, Coleorrhyncha, Progonocimicidae) from the Middle Jurassic of the Jiyuan Basin, China.

Progonocimicids are one of key representatives from the Middle-Late Jurassic Daohugou biota, the early assemblage of the Yanliao biota. Here we describe a new progonocimicid species, Cicadocoris henanensis sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic Jiyuan Basin in central China. This not only represents a novel case indicating the abundance of progonocimicids during the Jurassic but also provides additional evidence substantiating the stratigraphic correlation between the Yangshuzhuang Formation in the Jiyuan Basin and the Haifanggou Formation in the Yanliao Region.

Retraction.

"A new aquatic beetle (Adephaga: Coptoclavidae) from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota" by Liang Bao, Lan Li, Kecheng Niu, Niya Wang, David M. Kroeck, Tong Bao published in The Anatomical Record (https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25221). The above article published online on 10 April, 2023 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) has been withdrawn by agreement between the authors, the Editor in Chief, Dr. Heather F. Smith, and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. The authors have found that, after reassessing the museum database, the dating of the specimen is wrong and the article's conclusions, therefore, are based on data which is invalid. The authors have requested this retraction, and sincerely apologize for this serious mistake.

A New Gnetalean Macrofossil from the Mid-Jurassic Daohugou Formation.

Macrofossil evidence has demonstrated a first radiation of gnetophytes in the Early Cretaceous. However, the origin of the diversity of gnetophytes remains ambiguous because gnetalean macrofossils have rarely been reported from pre-Cretaceous strata. Here, we report a new putative gnetalean macrofossil reproductive shoot which possesses opposite phyllotaxy, long linear leaves more or less decurrent and having a prominent midvein and pedicled ovoid-ellipsoid and longitudinally striated chlamydosperms. Our new fossil is different from other known gnetalean macrofossils in the linear-lanceolate leaves with a midvein and pedicled chlamydosperms. As a result, we describe this new macrofossil reproductive shoot as new to science, i.e., Daohugoucladus sinensis gen. et sp. nov. Our new macrofossil displays additional morphological characters distinct from other known Mesozoic and modern gnetalean species and provides additional evidence of the origin and early evolution of female reproductive organs of gnetophytes.

A new aquatic beetle (Adephaga: Coptoclavidae) from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota.

Tigrivia baii gen. et sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Coptoclavidae) is described and named based on a fossil specimen from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota, Nincheng County, Inner Mongolia of China. The fossil is very similar in morphology with the adult Coptoclava longipoda Ping 1928 (Laiyang Formation of Nanligezhuang Village, Laiyang City, Shandong Province, China, Lower Cretaceous, 121 ~ 120 Ma), but differs from C. longipoda by the adjacencies of two procoxae and two mesocoxae. T. baii gen. et sp. nov. differs from Daohugounectes primitinus Wang et al. 2010 by the absence of striae on the elytra and the absence of ventral eyes under the head. The new beetle species shows developed aquatic adaptions, such as specialized raptorial forelegs, and swimming middle and hind legs. Furthermore, it is speculated to lead a similar lifestyle as extant Dytiscoidae, according to the two eyes on the side of head and the absence of spiracles on ventrites. This new fossil expanded our knowledge of the diversity of the Middle Jurassic Coptoclavid beetles in Daohugou Biota and improved our understanding of their paleoecological significance.

A new genus of Praemordellinae from the Middle Jurassic of China.

Juramordella asperula gen. et sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) is described based on a specimen from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota, Nincheng County, Inner Mongolia of China. Juramordella asperula is distinguished from other Praemordellinae mainly for roughly punctate elytra, absence of subapical or lateral ridgesonalltibiae and tarsi, simple, not bilobed protarsi and mesocoxa distant from procoxa, epicoxa not anterior to metacoxa, well-developed metafemur and absence of elongated pygidium. The morphology of Juramordella asperula demonstrates the early mordellid-like beetles have adopted the body shape with their way of movement since the Middle Jurassic, long before their flower-visiting behavior was established.

Linglongtaestheria (Spinicaudata) from the Upper Jurassic of Qinglong, Hebei Province, northeastern China

We report a new clam shrimp species, Linglongtaestheria qinglongensis n. sp., discovered from the Tiaojishan Formation at Zhuanshanzi, Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei Province. The new species is characterized by its distinct ornamentation of the growth bands: 1) with fine polygonal reticulations near the umbo; 2) puncta developed in the middle and posterior parts of the carapace; 3) punctate reticulations developed in the anterior marginal and antero-ventral parts of the carapace. The occurrence of the genus Linglongtaestheria from the Zhuanshanzi fossil beds suggests its correlation with the Linglongta fossil beds of the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation at Daxishan Village, Jianchang County, western Liaoning, representing the younger assemblage of the Yanliao Biota, distinguished from the older Daohugou assemblage, the first phase of the Yanliao Biota.

Triassic volcanism on the North margin of the North China Craton: Insights for lithospheric modification during closure of Paleo-Asian Ocean

As a key tectonic region linking the northern margin of the North China craton (NCC) and eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), western Liaoning, with extensively distributed magmatic activity, provides natural samples to investigate the evolutionary history of the Paleo-Asian Ocean plate subduction to closure. The Middle Triassic (ca. 241 Ma) trachyandesites and Late Triassic (ca. 223 Ma) basaltic andesites were first identified from the Tiaojishan Formation, western Liaoning. They have variable SiO 2 contents (52.48–60.31 wt%) and alkaline or high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonite compositions, and belong to the metaluminous series. Middle Triassic trachyandesites are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs), high field strength elements (HFSEs), and light rare earth elements (LREEs) with high Nb/La ratios (0.63–0.76). They have homogeneous whole-rock Sr Nd ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i = 0.704684–0.704808, ε Nd (t) = −4.6 to −4.0) and variable zircon Hf isotopic signatures (ε Hf (t) = −10.3 to 8.2), indicating that they probably originated from the partial melting of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle with the addition of asthenosphere materials. In contrast, the Late Triassic basaltic andesites show arc-related geochemical affinities, such as LILEs and LREEs enrichment and HFSEs depletion. They have more enriched whole-rock 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i (0.704895–0.705394), ε Nd (t) (−16.1 to −14.0), and zircon ε Hf (t) (−13.1 to −8.8) than the Middle Triassic trachyandesites, suggesting that they probably represent partial melts of the subduction-related fluids-modified lithospheric mantle. The modification of the northern margin of the NCC lithospheric mantle is closely related to the final subduction of the Palaeo-Asian oceanic plate and the subsequent post-orogenic extension. • Triassic volcanic rocks are founded in Tiaojishan Formation, Western Liaoning. • Study area was in a post-orogenic extensional setting in the Middle-Late Triassic. • Ocean Subduction modified the North China Craton lithosphere in the Triassic.

Revisiting the Late Jurassic adakitic rocks in the Yanshan fold and thrust belts, North China Craton: Partial melts from thickened continental crust?

An integrated study of zircon U-Pb ages and Hf-O isotopes, whole rock and apatite geochemistry, and whole rock Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes were conducted for the Jurassic adakitic volcanic rocks from the Tiaojishan Formation in the Yanshan Fold and Thrust Belt (YFTB) of the North China Craton, to investigate their genesis, with attention to the role of crust thickness in achieving the adakitic traits. Zircon U-Pb dating gives eruption ages of 162–158 Ma for these rocks. These rocks have variable SiO 2 (55.7–68.1 wt%) and MgO (0.35–4.0 wt%), and adakitic trace element signatures including high Sr/Y (27.9–100) and (La/Yb) N ratios (9.6–27.6). Chemical variations in whole rock and apatite suggest a feldspar-dominated fractional crystallization, superimposed by variable mineral accumulation on whole rock compositions. Together with isotopic compositions that include evolved whole rock ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) i = 0.70447–0.70591, ε Nd (t) = −17.5 to −12.1, and ε Hf (t) = −22.2 to −11.2, and zircon ε Hf (t) = −26.8 to −11.2 and δ 18 O = 5.7–7.0 ‰, we attribute these rocks are sourced from mafic lower continental crust. By comparing the trace element signatures between the examined samples and modern continental arc magmatic rocks formed at variable crustal thickness, it is suggested that these rocks are most likely originated from a thickened crust. A further estimate based on whole rock Sr/Y and La/Yb gives a crust thickness of 56 ± 7 km. The crust thickening and associated uplift of the YFTB could be attributed to the westward subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. This led to a high altitude (∼3.8 ± 0.9 km) and cool climate habitat (a mean annual paleotemperature of 7 ± 7 °C) for the Yanliao Biota lived therein during this period, which may have played an important role in the earliest appearance of the feathered characteristic of dinosaurs. • A thickened lower continental crust source is responsible for the volcanic rocks. • Crust thickening and uplift are related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. • Uplift-induced cooling may be important for the appearance of feathered dinosaurs.

The earliest known brood care in insects.

Brood care enhances offspring fitness and survival by providing protection or feeding through parents (commonly by females). It has evolved independently multiple times in animals, e.g. mammals, birds, dinosaurs and arthropods, especially various lineages of insects, and has significant implications for understanding the emergence of sociality of insects. However, few fossil insects document such an ephemeral behaviour directly. New exceptional fossils of the water boatman Karataviella popovi from the Middle-Late Jurassic Daohugou biota (ca 163.5 Ma, northeastern China), with adult females bearing clutches of eggs on their left mesotibia, provide a unique brooding strategy (asymmetric egg-carrying behaviour) unknown in all extinct and extant insects. Our discovery represents the earliest direct evidence of brood care among insects, pushing back by more than 38 million years, indicating that relevant adaptations associated with maternal investment of insects can be traced back to at least the Middle-Late Jurassic, and highlighting the existence of diverse brooding strategies in Mesozoic insects. In addition, our discovery reveals that a specialized trawl-like filter-capture apparatus of K. popovi probably represents pre-adaptions originally used for trapping coeval anostracan (fairy shrimp) eggs for food.

Migration of Middle-Late Jurassic volcanism across the northern North China Craton in response to subduction of Paleo-Pacific Plate

The primary driver of magmatism, crustal deformation and metallogeny of the North China Craton in the Jurassic remains actively debated, either attributed to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific (i.e., Izanagi) plate in the east or to the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean in the north. This issue is addressed here by examining temporal and spatial variation of the contemporary volcanic rocks (i.e., Tiaojishan Formation) of the Yanshan belt in the northern part of the craton. These rocks are mainly calc-alkaline and intermediate-felsic in composition and show a highly coherent geochemical composition and unradiogenic zircon Hf isotope, indicating that they have similar origins and formed in a subduction-related setting. The eruption age of the Jurassic volcanic rocks decreases westward (i.e., inland-ward) from Western Liaoning (166–153 Ma), through Pingquan-Chengde-Luanping (162–153 Ma) and Jingxi-Xuanhua (158–149 Ma), to Yuxian (157–142 Ma). This temporal and spatial variation is consistent with the motion of the subducted Paleo-Pacific plate over that time. In addition to the westward migration, the earliest volcanic rocks in the Yanshan belt formed earlier than those in the adjacent southern Great Xing'an Range in the north. These observations suggest that the southward subduction and closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk plate played a limited role in generation of these volcanic rocks. Two episodes of Middle-Late Jurassic volcanism (166–153 Ma and 150–139 Ma) are observed in the northern Great Xing'an Range. They are interpreted as results of closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate, respectively. Temporal-spatial variation of volcanic activity in the northern North China Craton and adjacent region demonstrates that the Paleo-Pacific subduction was the principal cause of the evolution of Eastern China during the late Mesozoic, whereas the Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic regime is largely confined to the northern Great Xing'an Range and the area north to it.

<p><strong>The early assemblage of Middle–Late Jurassic Yanliao biota: checklist, bibliography and statistical analysis of described taxa from the Daohugou beds and coeval deposits</strong></p>

Checklists of all described organisms from the Daohugou biota, and insects from the Haifanggou Formation at Haifeng Village (Beipiao City, Liaoning Province) and the ‘Jiulongshan Formation’ at Zhouyingzi Village (Luanping County, Chengde City, Hebei Province), are provided. Fossil insects from the Daohugou biota are summarized, including a total of 760 valid species reported in 396 research papers from 2001 to April, 2021. The heyday of exploration of Daohugou insects has been lasted for a decade from 2006 to 2016 according to the number of published papers.

Sinomacrops bondei, a new anurognathid pterosaur from the Jurassic of China and comments on the group.

Anurognathids are an elusive group of diminutive, potentially arboreal pterosaurs. Even though their monophyly has been well-supported, their intrarelationships have been obscure, and their phylogenetic placement even more. In the present work, we present a new genus and species from the Middle-Late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation, the third nominal anurognathid species from the Jurassic of China. The new species provides new information concerning morphological diversity for the group. Furthermore, we provide a new phylogenetic analysis incorporating into a single data set characters from diverging phylogenetic proposals. Our results place them as the sister-group of Darwinoptera + Pterodactyloidea, as basal members of the Monofenestrata.

A new permineralized osmundaceous rhizome with fungal remains from the Jurassic of western Liaoning, NE China

Diverse plant fossils have been reported from the fossil Lagerstätte in the Middle to Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation in Liaoning Province, Northeast China. However, structurally preserved fossil plants that bear fungal remains are quite rare in this region. Here, we report a new permineralized fern rhizome, Claytosmunda zhangiana sp. nov. (Osmundaceae, Osmundales), from the Tiaojishan Formation in Beipiao of western Liaoning Province. The fossil specimen is represented by a rhizomatous stem consisting of a pith, a dictyoxylic siphonostele, a two-layered cortex, and a mantle of petiole bases. A remarkably specialized heterogeneous petiolar sclerotic ring, whose abaxial side is occupied by a dumbbell-shaped thick-walled fiber arch, characterizes this new fossil species. The anatomical diversity of petiolar sclerotic rings of Mesozoic and extant osmundaceous plants is discussed in this study. Five major types of petiolar sclerotic rings are recognized. Fungal remains, represented by branched hyphae, are found within the fern rhizome. To our knowledge, this is the first report of fungal remains associated with osmundaceous rhizomes in China. Paleoecologically, these fungal remains are tentatively interpreted as a kind of saprophytes.

<p><strong>A new species of Sinoalidae from the topmost Late Jurassic Daohugou Bed (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha)</strong></p>

The extinct froghopper family Sinoalidae Wang & Szwedo, 2012 is one of the early representatives of Cercopoidea (Wang et al., 2012). Sinoalidae is rich and diverse taxonomically and morphologically, comprising eighteen valid genera, thereby being the most diverse member at generic level among three Mesozoic families of Cercopoidea. It has been reported in the late Middle to early Late Jurassic Daohugou biota from northeastern China (temperate zone) and the mid-Cretaceous amber biota from northern Myanmar (near-equatorial region) (Hong, 1983; Wang et al., 2012; Chen et al., 2018), indicated that they could adapt to a variety of paleoclimatic environment.

A new orthophlebiid scorpionfly (Insecta, Orthophlebiidae) from the Late Jurassic Linglongta biota of northern China

ABSTRACT The scorpionfly genus Longiphlebia, with a sole species, is confined to the Middle-Late Jurassic Daohugou biota. Herein, we describe and figure the second species, Longiphlebia incompleta sp. nov., based on one specimen collected from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation at Zhuanshanzi, near Nanshimen Village, Gangou Township, Qinglong County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province. It is a new representative insect belonging to the late assemblage of Yanliao biota. Our discovery indicates new evolutionary evidence between the early and late assemblages of the Yanliao biota.

Geochemical characteristics and geological significance of Daohugou Formation at Ningcheng County of Inner Mongolia, Eastern China

Geochemical characteristics of sedimentary rocks play an important role in indicating depositional environments and tectonic backgrounds. In this article, the major and trace elements of the Daohugou Formation are measured, which shows that the quartz and silicate minerals are abundant; trace elements, except for Rb, are depleted than that of the upper crust; the rare earth elements (REE) curves incline to the right with Eu negative anomaly and slight Ce negative anomaly. The Daohugou Formation is continental deposits with freshwater and oxic conditions, and the climate changes from warm and humid to hot and dry. The source rock of the Daohugou Formation is granite which experienced an intermediate chemical weathering under wet and warm conditions, and the tectonic background of the Daohugou Formation is a passive continental margin. It is deduced that the provenance of the Daohugou Formation is Archean gneiss in the south of the Daohugou Basin.

<p><strong>New materials of trichocerid and ptychopterid dipterans from the earliest Late Jurassic of Jiyuan Basin, China</strong></p>

Trichoceridae, species of which are commonly known as winter crane flies, is a rather small family that includes 79 fossil species and ca. 160 extant ones (Krzemińska et al., 2009; Dong et al., 2014). Among them, 10 species have been described from the Middle-Upper Jurassic Haifanggou Formation at Daohugou, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, North China (Zhang, 2006; Krzemińska et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2012; Dong et al., 2014). The subgenus Archaeotrichocera of Eotrichocera contains seven species, described mainly from the Middle–Late Jurassic Daohugou biota of China (Zhang, 2006; Krzemińska et al., 2009; Dong et al., 2014) with one species found from the Early Cretaceous of Kempendyay in Yakutia, Russia (Krzemińska et al., 2009).

New Spinicaudatan Species of Late Jurassic Linglongta Phase of Yanliao Biota from Western Liaoning, China.

Abundant and diverse spinicaudatans are important components of the well-known Linglongta phase of the Yanliao Biota from the lower Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation at the village Daxishan of Linglongta, Jianchang County, western Liaoning, north-eastern China. Herein a new spinicaudatan species Linglongtaestheria daxishanensis gen. and sp. nov. is described. It shows distinct carapace ornamentation patterns: (1) growth bands near the umbo ornamented with polygonal small-diameter reticulation; (2) growth bands in the middle part of the carapace ornamented with evenly distributed puncta; (3) growth bands in the ventral part of the carapace ornamented with punctate reticulation and radial lirae.

Chemical preservation of tail feathers fromAnchiornis huxleyi, a theropod dinosaur from the Tiaojishan Formation (Upper Jurassic, China)

AbstractA panel of geochemical techniques is used here to investigate the taphonomy of fossil feathers preserved in association with the skeleton of the Jurassic theropodAnchiornis huxleyi. Extant feathers were analysed in parallel to test whether the soft tissues morphologically preserved in the fossil also exhibit a high degree of chemical preservation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) indicate that clays and iron oxide pseudomorphs occur in the surrounding sediment and also reveal the preservation of melanosome‐like microbodies in the fossil. Carbon gradient along a depth profile and co‐occurrence of carbon and sulphur are shown in the fossil by elastic backscattering (EBS) and particle‐induced x‐ray emission (PIXE), which are promising techniques for the elemental analysis of fossil soft tissues. The molecular composition of modern and fossil soft tissues was assessed from micro‐attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro‐ATR FTIR), solid‐state13C nuclear magnetic resonance (CP‐MAS13C NMR) and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry in the presence of TMAH (TMAH‐Py‐GC‐MS). Results indicate that the proteinaceous material that comprises the modern feathers is not present in the fossil feathers. The fossil feathers and the embedding sediment exhibit a highly aliphatic character. However, substantial differences exist between these samples, revealing that the organic matter of the fossil feathers is, at least partially, derived from original constituents of the feathers. Our results suggest that, despite the morphological preservation ofAnchiornisfeathers, original proteins, that is keratin, were probably not preserved in the 160‐myr‐old feathers.