Fossil State Research Articles

First record of the genus Prionobrachium Faust, 1894 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Colombian copal

A new species, Prionobrachium gusakovi sp. n. (Curculioninae: Prionobrachiini) is described from Holocene Colombian copal. The new species differs from Prionobrachium nigrum Hustache, 1938 in the rare and finely punctate pronotum, smooth elytral interstriae, white scales forming a stripe in the first half of the third elytral interstria, and the last interstria in the apical third of the elytra with white scales. This is the first record of the tribe Prionobrachiini for Colombia and the first find of this group in the fossil state. A list of species of the genus Prionobrachium is given.

Ammonoid and coleoid jaws from the Upper Cretaceous of northern Siberia (Nizhnyaya Agapa River sections)

The jaws of cephalopods, ammonites and especially coleoids, are rarely met in fossil state. The localities with diversified jaws, belonging to various groups of fossil cephalopods are even less common. We describe a diversified complex of cephalopod jaws from the upper Cenomanian–middle Turonian of Northern Siberia, which include the upper and lower jaws of Placenticeras ammonites (the oldest placenticeratid jaws known to date) and large-sized jaws of octobrachian coleoids. Although the lower jaws of Placenticeras belong to the aptychus type of ammonoid jaw apparatuses, they are characterized by the thickening of an inner organic layer in their anterior part, with a shape resembling a calcified conchorhynch known in the anterior portion of the lower jaws of Mesozoic nautilids and lytoceratid and phylloceratid ammonoids. The presence a conchorhynch-like structure supports the assumption that the feeding function in placenticeratid lower jaws most likely prevailed over the protective one. The upper jaws of Placenticeras show structure, typical for the jaws of aptychophoran ammonites: an inner lamella, divided into two wings, and a pointed outer lamella. Large-sized upper jaws of octobrachian coleoids demonstrate close affinities with the jaws of Octopoda suggesting that they could have belonged to representatives of this order, probably to large-sized gladius-bearing teudopseins. Judging by the jaws' size, both ammonites and octobrachians, which inhabited the marine basin in the Northern Siberia, were characterized by large body size. The cephalopod assemblage remained unchanged throughout the end of the Cenomanian and the first half of the Turonian.

ХАРАКТЕР РАСПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ МАКРО- И МИКРОЭЛЕМЕНТОВ В ОРГАНИЧЕСКИХ ОСТАТКАХ ИЗ МЕЗОЗОЙСКИХ ОТЛОЖЕНИЙ ЗАПАДНОЙ И СРЕДНЕЙ СИБИРИ

Features of biomineralization, fossilization and distribution of chemical elements were revealed in remains of various groups of organisms, and relationship with conditions of accumulation and post-sedimentation transformations of deposits of the Middle–Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Siberia was determined. Plates of coccolithophorids, skeletons of radiolaria and acantharia, fragments of hetetoidea frameworks, relics of red algaes, diatoms and/or cyanobacteria were studied among the remains of organisms. The composition of coccoliths from various types of rocks includes essential (calcite, ankerite, siderite) and complementary (silica and hydroxyapatite) components. It is assumed that coccolithophorids could use Fe, Mg and Mn in the form of organomineral compounds in the construction of shells, the remnants of which, after accumulation, formed deposits of the appropriate composition. The absence of pyritized coccolithophorid relics was noted in the studied sections, while the siliceous remains of radiolaria buried with them are often fossilized with FeS2. It is considered that secondary mineralization was preceded by partial or complete bacterial dissolution of siliceous skeletal fragments and some terrigenous grains.S ubsequent pyritization developed due to the vital activity of sulfate reducing bacteria. As a result, there was a transformation of the intracellular content of radiolaria and membrane complexes separating it from the elements of the mineral skeleton. The possibility of preserving acantharia relics in a fossil state was proved.

Global Crystallographic Texture of Pyrite in Fossil Wood (Jurassic, Oryol Region, Russia)

Many works are devoted to the study of the crystallographic texture of primary skeletal minerals of animals. But how the directions of mineral crystals that replace the organic matter in the fossil state are oriented is unknown. Here we investigated the crystallographic texture of pyrite grown on an organic matrix and without it. Jurassic pyritized wood (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) was studied by the neutron diffraction method. The global crystallographic texture of pyrite in nodules and fossil wood is compared. It was found that in both cases, the isoline patterns of pole figures and texture sharpness are similar to the same characteristics of abiogenic calcite. But the orientations of pyrite crystals in wood are more ordered, the isolines are closer, and the regions of maximum pole density are wider. That is, the pyrite crystals that replaced the petrified wood are more ordered. This was influenced by the organic matrix on which the crystals grew. Repetition of a fossil mollusk shell shape without using its shell as a matrix for crystal growth does not lead to an increase in the crystallographic texture sharpness. This is illustrated by an example of the inner core calcite shell of the gastropod mollusk Bellerophon sp.

PaleoWood: A machine learning approach for determining the affinity of Paleozoic gymnosperm woods

Fossil plant remains are commonly found in fragments in the sediment, thus complicating the reconstruction and classification of fossil plants into a higher taxonomic group. Particularly for stem anatomy, some described features repeat among the proposed lineages due to environmental pressures that induce anatomical convergence. Other characteristics cannot always be seen because of the fossil's state of preservation, as often happens with the bark and the arrangement of axes and leaves. Given these difficulties, we developed PaleoWood, an unprecedented affinity classifier for Paleozoic gymnosperm woods based on 16 variables collected from 42 consistent genera that have the central core, primary xylem, and secondary xylem described. Similarities among samples were analyzed by principal coordinates, and models were trained through logistic regression, linear discriminant, and k-nearest neighbors algorithms. Models' performance was estimated by cross-validation and testing of the affinity of 20 previously known samples. Results agreed with some hypotheses previously discussed in the literature, such as the linkage of Eristophyton, Megaloxylon, and Tetrastichia with Lyginopteridales. Some other predictions were interpreted to be a result of convergent evolution or the models' limitations, especially those predictions relating to the samples of simple protostele or pycnoxylic pteridosperms (but these models are not definitive and may be improved as new data are collected). Therefore, they could assist in future comparisons and discussions about the taxonomy, evolution, and paleobotanical affinities of the basal seed plants, especially for the woods from Gondwana, in which affinities are obscure for several genera.

НАЧАЛО ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ПАЛЕОЗОЙСКИХ БЕСЧЕЛЮСТНЫХ И РЫБ. ПЕРВЫЕ ШАГИ - ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ СТЕПАНА СЕМЁНОВИЧА КУТОРГИ (1805-1861)

Agnathans and fishes with massive bone armors were widely spread among the vertebrates in the Early Paleozoic. Their remains were well preserved in fossil state. At present, many species of Devonian agnathans and fishes have been described and studied. Different taxonomic systems have been suggested based on their fossil exoskeletal elements. But in the first part of the nineteenth century, when scientists first came across such remains, their nature was not immediately understood. Discovered remains of armored ichthyofauna were identified as bones of reptiles and amphibians even by outstanding scientists of that time. Professor of the Imperial St. Petersburg University Stepan Semyonovich Kutorga was among them. This article supplies a brief biography of the scientist and an analysis of his works in the formative period of vertebrate paleontology in Russia. S. S. Kutorga was at the origin of the system of monographic descriptions and collections - the most important source of information in fundamental paleontological research. Kutorga’s collection, currently stored at the St. Petersburg State University, is the first monographic collection of Devonian ichthyofauna in our country.

Fossil mosses: What do they tell us about moss evolution?

The moss fossil records from the Paleozoic age to the Eocene epoch are reviewed and their putative relationships to extant moss groups discussed. The incomplete preservation and lack of key characters that could define the position of an ancient moss in modern classification remain the problem. Carboniferous records are still impossible to refer to any of the modern moss taxa. Numerous Permian protosphagnalean mosses possess traits that are absent in any extant group and they are therefore treated here as an extinct lineage, whose descendants, if any remain, cannot be recognized among contemporary taxa. Non-protosphagnalean Permian mosses were also fairly diverse, representing morphotypes comparable with Dicranidae and acrocarpous Bryidae, although unequivocal representatives of these subclasses are known only since Cretaceous and Jurassic. Even though Sphagnales is one of two oldest lineages separated from the main trunk of moss phylogenetic tree, it appears in fossil state regularly only since Late Cretaceous, ca. 70 million years ago (Ma), while earlier they were found twice as small leaf fragments from Lower Jurassic (ca. 200 Ma) and Late Ordovician (ca. 455 Ma). Pleurocarpous mosses appear in fossil state near the border between Jurassic and Cretaceous, although most Cretaceous mosses belong to acrocarps. Only in Eocene amber pleurocarps become more numerous than acrocarps. Some Eocene mosses can be assigned to extant families and sometimes genera, although the majority of Eocene pleurocarps are difficult to identify up to the family, as their morphology often allows placement of a particular specimen into several different families.

Properties of Fossil Groups of Galaxies

We review the formation and evolution of fossil groups and clusters from both the theoretical and the observational points of view. In the optical band, these systems are dominated by the light of the central galaxy. They were interpreted as old systems that had enough time to merge all the M* galaxies within the central one. During the last two decades, many observational studies were performed to prove the old and relaxed state of fossil systems. The majority of these studies that spans a wide range of topics including halos global scaling relations, dynamical substructures, stellar populations, and galaxy luminosity functions seem to challenge this scenario. The general picture that can be obtained by reviewing all the observational works is that the fossil state could be transitional. Indeed, the formation of the large magnitude gap observed in fossil systems could be related to internal processes rather than an old formation.

ИСКОПАЕМЫЕ НОРЫ THALASSINOIDES В ОПОКАХ СЕРОВСКОЙ СВИТЫ (СРЕДНЕЕ ЗАУРАЛЬЕ, ВЕРХНИЙ ПАЛЕОЦЕН)

Актуальность исследования. В северных районах Западной Сибири в отложениях танетского яруса отмечаются перерывы осадконакопления, масштабность проявления и диапазон которых остаются неясными. В частности, для доказательства их существования на южных окраинах бассейна требуется привлечение дополнительных палеонтологических и седиментологических данных, которые могут фиксировать кризис привноса осадочного материала. Одним из наиболее надежных источников информации о перерывах в осадконакоплении и других седиментационных событиях могут являться ископаемые ходы. Цель: ихнофациальный анализ кремнистых отложений верхнего палеоцена Западной Сибири. Объект: ископаемые норы Thalassinoides серовской свиты (среднее Зауралье, верхний палеоцен), вмещающие ходы породы (темные опоки с афанитовой структурой), заполняющие ходы породы (светлые опоки с тонкоглобулярной структурой) Методика: полевые исследования, растровая электронная микроскопия, литолого-петрографический, ихнотекстурный, ихнофациальный и седиментологический анализы Результаты. Приведены данные о находках ископаемых следов Thalassinoides в кремнистых породах серовской свиты (верхний палеоцен, среднее Зауралье), и дана характеристика особенностей их морфологии. Рассматриваются вопросы возможных условий, при которых происходило формирование нор и их сохранение в ископаемом состоянии. Микроскопические исследования кремнистых пород серовской свиты позволяют определить особенности и различия в постседиментационных изменениях вмещающих и выполняющих норы отложений. В качестве наиболее вероятных продуцентов ходов Thalassinoides в танетском бассейне определены десятиногие ракообразные. Ископаемые следы в кремнистых формациях палеогена ранее не изучались и приводятся в научной литературе впервые.

A New Genus of the Tribe Curculionini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Baltic Amber

Pseudoergania perkovskyi gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Baltic amber. The new genus is similar to the oriental genus Ergania Pascoe, 1882, but differs in the tibia lacking uncus, transverse-oval eyes, evenly convex elytra, antennal scrobes directed under the eyes, and metaepisterna expanding towards the metacoxae. This is the first record of the subtribe Erganiina in fossil state, and the first described representative of the tribe Curculionini in Baltic amber.

Terrestrial Hypotheses: A Slideshow

The Anthropocene hypothesis leaves us with the picture of a world that may have never felt more aggregative, with or without our consent, and never more terraforming in its capacity to turn everything Anthropos come in contact with into a condition of its existence. And yet, in the end the delayed legibility the Anthropocene hypothesis projects into the existential nowhere of landscapes of extinction and other previews of humanity in its fossil state is utterly indifferent to the world it leaves us to inhabit on impossible perceptual terms. But why bother with the visual make-up of that world in the grand flattening scheme of things? The terrestrial hypotheses evolved throughout this paper tend to a past that stays with us in a temporal field levelled by data extraction neither relevant nor entirely disposable.

Preservation of Mineralized Soft Tissues and Their Imprints on the Shells of Ancient Phosphatic Brachiopods

The linguliformean phosphate-shelled brachiopods from the Lower–Middle Cambrian of the Siberian Platform with preserved molds of the outer layer of their soft bodies or mineralized parts of their soft bodies are described. This type of preservation in the fossil state is closely connected with the burial conditions that determined fast posthumous mineralization of the organic matter.

A new genus of fungus weevils (Coleoptera: Anthribidae) in Rovno amber

Abstract. New fungus weevils, Eduardoxenus unicus (ZooBank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5732 BC85-9148-4FE5-A4F6-46847BA0138D, urn:lsid:zoobank.org: act:4D3B3EA8-AE0E-4E6D-A770-B427AC19ED03) Legalov, Nazarenko et Perkovsky, gen. et sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Anthribidae), are described from late Eocene Rovno amber. The new genus is similar to the genus Cyptoxenus Valentine, 1982, but differs in coarsely faceted eyes, antennomere 2 shorter than antennomere 1 and an almost glabrous body. It differs from the genus Valenfriesia Alonso-Zarazaga et Lyal, 1999 in the coarsely faceted eyes, almost straight transversal carina on the pronotum and distinct elytral humeri, and it differs from the genus Neoxenus Valentine, 1999 in distinct lateral carina on the pronotum, coarsely faceted eyes and almost straight transversal pronotal carina. This fossil fungus weevil is the oldest finding of the tribe Valenfriesiini in fossil state and the first record of the Choraginae from the Eocene amber. The palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatological importance of finding Valenfriesiini in Rovno amber is discussed.

Fossil group origins

Context. It is thought that fossil systems are relics of structure formation in the primitive Universe. They are galaxy aggregations that have assembled their mass at high redshift with few or no subsequent accretion. Observationally these systems are selected by large magnitude gaps between their 1st and 2nd ranked galaxies (Δm12). Nevertheless, there is still debate over whether or not this observational criterium selects dynamically evolved ancient systems. Aims. We have studied the properties of the nearby fossil group RX J075243.6+455653 in order to understand the mass assembly of this system. Methods. Deep spectroscopic observations allow us to construct the galaxy luminosity function (LF) of RX J075243.6+455653 down to Mr*+6. The analysis of the faint-end of the LF in groups and clusters provides valuable information about the mass assembly of the system. In addition, we have analyzed the nearby large-scale structure around this group. Results. We identified 26 group members within r200 ~ 0.96 Mpc. These galaxies are located at Vc = 15551 ± 65 km s-1 and have a velocity dispersion of σc = 333 ± 46 km s-1. The X-ray luminosity of the group is LX = 2.2 × 1043 h70-2 erg s-1, resulting in a mass of M = 4.2 × 1013 h70-1 within 0.5r200. The group has Δm12 = 2.1 within 0.5r200, confirming the fossil nature of this system. RX J075243.6+455653 has a central brightest group galaxy (BGG) with Mr = −22.67, one of the faintest BGGs observed in fossil systems. The LF of the group shows a flat faint-end slope (α = −1.08 ± 0.33). This low density of dwarf galaxies is confirmed by the low value of the dwarf-to-giant ratio (DGR = 0.99 ± 0.49) for this system. Both the lack of dwarf galaxies and the low luminosity of the BGG suggests that RX J075243.6+455653 still has to accrete mass from its nearby environment. This mass accretion will be achieved because it is the dominant structure of a rich environment formed by several groups of galaxies (15) within ~ 7 Mpc from the group center and with ± 1000 km s-1. Conclusions. RX J075243.6+455653 is a group of galaxies that has not yet completed the process of its mass assembly. This new mass accretion will change the fossil state of the group. This group is an example of a galaxy aggregation selected by a large magnitude gap but still in the process of the accretion of its mass.

A swarm of whiteflies--the first record of gregarious behavior from Eocene Baltic amber.

A new whitefly Snotra christelae gen. et sp. n. is characterized, illustrated, and described from the Baltic amber. It represents the first record of gregarious behavior of Aleyrodinae (Aleyrodidae) whiteflies in fossil state. Implications of this finding on interpretation of whiteflies and their host-plant relationships and evolutionary traits of the group are discussed.

Modularity and heterochronies in the evolution of metazoa: Paleontological aspect

All organisms are formed of more or less independent elements, modules. Paleontology deals with morphological modules preserved in the fossil state and allows their evolution within taxa of different levels to be reconstructed. Modularity provides organisms with the ability to evolve, since changes in one module does not influence others, nor disturb the integrity of organism. Each organism may have unique modules represented by a single copy and serial modules developing according to a certain symmetry type. Serial terminal growth is characteristic of ambulacra of echinoderms, in which it is combined with alternating appearance of structures on the right and left of the symmetry plane. The morphology of the solute Maennilia estonica, which has been investigated in detail, shows that the growth model for the brachiola is similar to the model for ambulacra of sea urchins, but without an ocular plate. Probably, the hydrocoel initially induced the appearance of a skeleton necessary for its activity and organized its development according to its own model of terminal growth. Subsequently, the axial skeleton appearing following this pattern could have organized the growth of adjacent parts of the extraxial skeleton following the same model to form a united module. The fusion of modules could have resulted from heterochronies. Extant and extinct material connected with the change in the anteroposterior axis in evolutionary and ontogenetic development of echinoderms provides a prominent example of heterochronies. Heterochronies were the mechanism connecting characters into an integrated ensemble of the body plan. Archaic diversity reflects an attempt to create a new body plan. Various manifestations of archaic diversity show that the emergence of a new higher taxon is connected with the combination of a number of characters united in an integrated complex forming the body plan which is stable from the moment of appearance due to strict recursive relationships between its modules rather than with the acquisition of an individual character, even if it is very important.

Nueva especie fósil de Cerion Röding, 1798 (Mollusca: Pulmonata: Cerionidae) de Cuba oriental

Se describe en estado fósil el taxon Cerion petreus sp. nov. con localidad tipo en El Guanal, Punta de Maisí, provincia de Guantánamo. Este hallazgo permite ubicar la existencia del género en el oriente de Cuba desde Plioceno-Pleistoceno inferior.

Renewable Energy Controller System

Renewable energy resources exist in nature in a non fossil state. Sun radiation and wind are inexhaustible since they are both renewable. Installing photovoltaic systems connected to the network becomes economically interesting. Actual efficiency of photovoltaic cells is still fair. The production of energy can only be done during day time while the demand is maximal on night time. The wind energy is the electrical energy produced from the wind by an aerogenerator that uses the kinetic of wind. This energy is renewable and will not vanish soon. A DC converter is connected to the aerogenerator, it will be charging a group of batteries in order to store and produce electrical energy. The produced wind- power remains constant when the turbine speed varies but slightly goes down after a certain speed limit. Combining the two sources of renewable energy will lead to a maximum efficiency in electrical energy production. The system consists of a controller that will switch between the solar panel or the wind turbine. The one that produce the maximum power needed will be switched on.

Preservation of living organic structures in unicellular and multicellular organisms in the fossil state

It is known that early postmortem mineralization is a phenomenon underlying the preservation of organic structures such as bacterial cells, biofilms, soft bodies, cells, vessels, and slightly mineralized integuments of multicellular animals in the fossil state. Bacteria, the activity of which creates conditions for mineralization of organic matter, are a driving force behind this process. The most widely known types of postmortem mineralization that are mediated by bacteria are phosphatization, silicification, pyritization, carbonatization, iron-manganese mineralization, and the formation of clay minerals, which either replace organic structures or cover them with thin films.

Survey of the Menispermaceae endocarps

Menispermaceae endocarps were very much used for long in the classification of this family. This organ also presents a definite palaeobotanical interest as it is often present in fossil state. The lack of a detailed knowledge on the endocarps of extant Menispermaceae limits the identification of those fossils. The present paper tries to fill this lack, describing endocarps of 116 species belonging to 55 different genera. The whole Menispermaceae family has drupaceous fruits, but there is an important morphological diversity of the endocarps, the differences between affiliated species being sometimes very slight. However, the comparisons with molecular phylogenies show that the differences between endocarps have a phylogenetic significance, to some extent. Menispermaceae endocarps are straight or underwent an often important curvature during their development. Almost all of these endocarps show a peculiar structure known as a condyle, which can have different aspects. Some characters, such as the endosperm structure and the style scar position on the pericarp, depend of endocarp characters, at least partially and with a few exceptions. Hypotheses on endocarp adaptation are limited by the lack of knowledge on the seed dispersal of this family. A key of the studied genera is proposed.