Lower Carnian Research Articles

Geological structure of the Strelnica Massif (Muráň Plateau, Central Slovakia) based on new biostratigraphical data and geological mapping

The Strelnica massif is a part of the Muráň Plateau near Tisovec town. The massif is of prolonged triangular shape and is sharply defined by faults from all sides: the Muráň fault (line) on the SE side, the Mýto-Tisovec fault system from the SW side and a thrust/fault line with unclear character in the Martinová valley on the N side. The massif was supposed to be built by Lower to Middle Triassic carbonate complexes, however our new biostratigraphic data had proven that in fact most of these light grey carbonates belong mostly to Upper Triassic, which makes necessary the reinterpretation of the structure of the whole massif. Despite of new and more complicated structural interpretation, our new age data are in better agreement with earlier works from the Tisovec quarry as it was in earlier geological maps. Our mapping works also confirmed, that the Strelnica massif itself is built by two facially very different blocks: a deep-water type of succession with Reifling and Raming type limestones and a strongly tectonically reduced succesion from probably lower Carnian up to Liassic age. These two blocks are in tectonic contact along a fault line and both are lying on the Lower Triassic shaley complex which forms the basal horizon of the Muráň nappe. The Muráň fault (line) is covered by Quaternary deposits in the aera, but in addition we suppose also at least two newer fault systems: a NNW-SSE normal fault system, parallel with the Mýto-Tisovec fault system in the Rimava valley and a roughly WNW-ESE system with probable sinistral strike-slip kinematics. Both systems were locally known from the Tisovec quarry, or the structural measurements from the Dielik cave in the NE part of the massif, however not mapped in the whole massif.

Multi-proxy record of the Austrian Upper Triassic Polzberg Konservat-Lagerstätte in light of the Carnian Pluvial Episode

We present a multi-proxy investigation of a lower Carnian basinal succession from Polzberg in the Northern Calcareous Alps (Lower Austria). A section comprising a unique Konservat-Lagerstätte was studied based on bio- and chemostratigraphy along with geophysical methods, yielding a detailed and robust stratigraphic calibration of the Polzberg succession. The Polzberg section revealed the paleoceanographic history and helped to identify a global climatic reversal, the Carnian Pluvial Episode. The age of the Upper Triassic Reingraben formation in the Northern Calcareous Alps is refined as the Austrotrachyceras austriacum Zone within the lower Carnian (Julian 2). Ammonoids and conodonts provide a detailed biostratigraphic subdivision that serves as a basis for analyses of the faunal distribution and the paleoenvironmental evolution of the Upper Triassic Reifling Basin. The succession includes lithological and facies changes similar to those of coeval units in the Tethys. The Carnian was characterized by a weak (~ 1‰) positive δ13C trend, punctuated by a negative shift during the lower Carnian corresponding to the initiation of the Carnian Pluvial Episode, a period representing the onset of early/late Carnian transitional global greenhouse conditions. Organic maturity parameters and the conodont alteration index (CAI) show that the thermal overprint of the Polzberg section is low. Biomarker proxies suggest that the organic matter of the uppermost Göstling formation is a mixture of marine and terrestrial material deposited in a dysoxic environment. Within the overlaying Reingraben formation, the amount of marine biomass decreased gradually upwards. Oxygen-depleted conditions, probably due to water-column stratification, continued during deposition of the Reingraben formation. Bacterial sulfate reduction played a major role in organic matter degradation.

Detrital zircons of the vast Triassic Snadd and De Geerdalen formations, Barents Shelf, reveal temporal changes in sediment source

Studies of detrital-zircon age distributions from Triassic sedimentary rock successions on the Arctic Barents Shelf have resulted in different provenance interpretations. Here, we provide new U–Pb/Hf detrital-zircon data from eleven samples of the Snadd and De Geerdalen formations, covering the Barents Shelf in a north–south transect, that help refine the provenance of these sedimentary rocks and show how stratigraphic variations reflect changing source regions. The sample locations cover different stratigraphic levels and geographic locations within the formations. The detrital-zircon age spectra in the lower part (lowest Ladinian and lower Carnian) are dominated by two age peaks at 300 and 540 Ma, whereas the zircon distributions in the stratigraphically younger deposits (latest Carnian and early Norian) are dominated by a 235 Ma age peak and two minor peaks at 300 and 425 Ma. The apparent relative contribution of detritus of different ages changes gradually from lower to higher stratigraphic levels, marked by an increase in both the 235 and 425 Ma age peaks, a decrease in the 300 Ma component and a progressive loss of the 540 Ma age peak. The zircon Hf-isotopic compositions display predominantly juvenile zircon populations, except for a mixed juvenile and evolved signature in the youngest Permo-Triassic grains. A regional comparison of detrital-zircon age spectra in latest Carnian/early Norian deposits extends the depositional system into the Sverdrup Basin, supporting a much larger depositional system than hitherto known. The gradual change in detrital-zircon age spectra likely represents a gradual shift in zircon provenance. We interpret these variations to reflect an early source region in the north Urals, gradually changing to a dominant source region in the Taimyr Peninsula region.

Multi-isotopic analysis reveals the early stem turtle Odontochelys as a nearshore herbivorous forager

IntroductionAfter decades of debate on the origin of turtles, it is now widely accepted that they are diapsid reptiles originating in the Permian from a terrestrial ancestor. It seems that the initial development of the structures that will later form the unique turtle bony shell took place as a response to a fossorial lifestyle. However, the earliest stem turtle with a fully complete plastron, Odontochelys semitestacea from the Late Triassic (lower Carnian) of China, is somewhat controversially interpreted as an aquatic or even a marine form, raising the question of the environment in which the completion of the plastron happened.MethodsHere, we analyzed the stable carbon, oxygen and sulfur isotope compositions (δ13C, δ18O and δ34S) of bones from two specimens of Odontochelys along with bones and teeth of two associated specimens of the marine ichthyosaur Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae.Results and discussionWe first show that δ18O values of Odontochelys are incompatible with a terrestrial lifestyle and imply a semi-aquatic to aquatic lifestyle. Isotopic results also demonstrate that the aquatic environment of Odontochelys was submitted to a strong marine influence, therefore excluding the possibility of a strict freshwater aquatic environment. Additionally, an unusual carbon isotope composition shows that O. semitestacea was herbivorous, probably consuming macrophytic algae in coastal zones like the extant green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) or the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) do.

Influence of the diagenetic oxidation and allochthonous organic matter input on geochemical and petrological results – Insights from the Upper/Middle Triassic strata, Polish Basin

Set of 24 Lower Keuperian (Upper Ladinian) and Grabfeld Formation (Lower Carnian) grey/black claystones core samples from the central part of the Polish Basin was examined by geochemical (Rock-Eval and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) and petrological analyses. The Rock-Eval and petrological analyses revealed that the analysed organic matter is mostly mature/overmature (1.0–2.5%Ro). A combination of biomarker maturity indicators and petrological analyses suggest that autochthonous organic matter did not reach 0.9%Ro, and the higher mature organic matter particles have an allochthonous origin. Most samples contain significant input of allochthonous organic matter, which influenced the results of some geochemical indicators describing the origin of organic matter and palaeoenvironmental conditions.Investigated strata contain mostly mixed planktonic-bacterial and terrigenous organic matter. A higher contribution of terrigenous organic matter was observed within the Grabfeld Fm., where geochemical traces of fluvial-deltaic palaeoenvironment was recorded. Deposition of both strata occurred mostly under anoxic bottom waters in brackish or normal-saline marine conditions. However, an elevated salinity level was observed within Grabfeld Fm. sample from Byczyna 1 borehole.All samples contain phenylnaphthalenes (PhN), phenylphenanthrenes (PhP), and aromatic ketones, widely used as diagenetic oxidation indicators. The juxtaposition of two ratios based on phenanthrene (P), methylphenanthrenes (MP), and PhP was proposed to define the degree of organic matter diagenetic oxidation. Combined results of ƩMP/(ƩMP + ƩPhP) and P/(P + ƩPhP) revealed that Grabfeld Fm. contains more oxidised organic matter than Lower Keuperian strata. Moreover, the distribution of the PhN isomers – 1-PhN and 2-PhN – is controlled mainly by maturity level only in the least oxidised samples, where P/(P + ƩPhP) values range from 0.8 to 1.0. In other samples, the PhN distribution is controlled by the diagenetic oxidation degree. For this reason, the distribution of 1-PhN versus 2-PhN should not be used as a maturity indicator within more oxidised samples.

Ichthyosaurs from the Upper Triassic (Carnian–Norian) of the New Siberian Islands, Russian Arctic, and their implications for the evolution of the ichthyosaurian basicranium and vertebral column

ABSTRACTThe first ichthyosaurian specimens discovered from the Upper Triassic of the Russian Arctic (Kotelny Island, New Siberian Islands) are described herein. They include the remains of large- to small-bodied ichthyosaurians originating from six stratigraphic levels spanning the lower Carnian to middle Norian. The material is mostly represented by isolated vertebrae and ribs, which are not possible to accurately diagnose, but also includes specimens comprising associated vertebrae and a fragmentary skeleton that preserves cranial remains (parabasisphenoid, fragmentary quadrate, partial mandible and hyoids). Based on vertebral and rib morphology, we identify the specimens as representatives of the following taxonomic groups: large-bodied shastasaurids, medium-sized indeterminate ichthyosaurians with a single rib facet in the presacral centra, and small euichthyosaurians with double rib facets present throughout the presacral vertebrae that likely represent toretocnemids and/or basal parvipelvians. In addition, the cranial and mandibular remains preserved in one of the specimens, ZIN PH 5/250, were studied using micro-computed tomography. Its mandible is highly similar to that of toretocnemids, whereas the parabasisphenoid demonstrates a peculiar combination of both plesiomorphic and derived character states, providing the first detailed data on this cranial element in a Late Triassic ichthyosaurian. Furthermore, the specimen also demonstrates a distinctive condition of rib articulation in the anteriormost presacral (cervical) vertebrae, which together with other features allows for the erection of a new taxon – Auroroborealia incognita gen. et sp. nov. Although the phylogenetic position of this taxon is uncertain due to its fragmentary nature, its anatomy, indicating toretocnemid or parvipelvian affinities, further supports the previously hypothesised sister-group relationships between these two clades. The morphology of the parabasisphenoid and vertebral column of the new taxon is discussed in broader contexts of the patterns of evolution of these skeletal regions in ichthyosaurs.

First Records of Late Triassic Conodont Fauna and δ13Ccarb from the Dengdengqiao Section, Dangchang County, Gansu Province, Northwestern China

Based on a study of 49 conodont and 57 geochemical samples from the Upper Triassic, carbonate-dominated Dengdengqiao Formation, Qinling Basin, China, the Carnian conodonts and carbon isotope records are first reported. Two genera and four species have been identified amongst 87 conodont elements: Mosherella praebudaensis, Mo. longnanensis sp. nov., Mo. sp., and “Misikella” longidentata. The presence of Mo. praebudaensis indicates that the lower part (bed 2) of the formation is attributable to the Julian (lower Carnian) substage. A radiolarian fauna identified in a previous study belongs to the upper Carnian, but the sampling horizon is unclear. The δ13Ccarb curve shows a ∼1.8‰ negative excursion beginning from upper part of bed 3, but its stratigraphic location is uncertain. The Dengdengqiao Formation is clearly at least partly of Carnian age but could include younger strata. The abundant calcareous algae at the section is probably due to some transport rather than preserved in site. The unusual ecosystem with rare marine organisms may reflect long-term stressful and unfavorable conditions at Dengdengqiao.

THE TRIASSIC FOSSIL FISHES LOCALITIES IN ITALY

This paper is dealing with the stratigraphical position of the main fossil Vertebrate localities from the Italian Triassic. Recent and new data are summarized to give a sure age to old—known localities as well as to recently discovered ones. Besano—Mt. S. Giorgio (Anisian—Ladinian), Perledo (Ladinian—? Lower Carnian), Raibl (Lower Carnian), Ca' del Frate (Lower Carnian), Preone Valley (Lower Norian), Brescia and Bergamo Prealps (Norian) and Giffoni Valle Piana (Norian) are the investigated localities. Field works are still in progress in several sites, mainly by the authors.

New Proterochampsid Specimens Expand the Morphological Diversity of the Rhadinosuchines of the Chañares Formation (Lower Carnian, Northwestern Argentina)

The proterochampsids are crocodile-like, small- to medium-sized, quadrupedal and predatory stem-archosaurs. The rhadinosuchines are a clade of deeply nested proterochampsids that are the most abundant diapsids of the Massetognathus-Chanaresuchus Assemblage Zone of the Chanares Formation (lower Carnian) of north-western Argentina. Here, we describe two new rhadinosuchine proterochampsid specimens recently collected from the Massetognathus-Chanaresuchus Assemblage Zone of the Chanares Formation. These specimens are represented by an articulated partial skeleton and disarticulated cranial and postcranial bones, respectively. One of them is less complete, but its well-preserved disarticulated bones considerably expand the anatomical knowledge of certain regions of the rhadinosuchine skeleton. The combination of character-states present in both specimens and shared with other known rhadinosuchine species (e.g., Chanaresuchus bonapartei, Gualosuchus reigi, Rhadinosuchus gracilis) results in an unexpected increase of the morphological diversity of the group (e.g., antorbital fossa on the horizontal process of maxilla, well-exposed antorbital fossa on lacrimal, X-shaped osteoderms). We conclude that the taxonomy of the currently known rhadinosuchine specimens should be revisited, including a careful reappraisal of the intraspecific variation and the post-mortem deformation that affected the specimens in different ways.

Facies associations and depositional environments of a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate marginal marine succession: The Lower Carnian (Upper Triassic) middle Charlie Lake Formation, Kobes-Blueberry area, British Columbia, Canada

AbstractThe Upper Triassic (Carnian) Charlie Lake Formation in northeastern British Columbia, Canada is a heterolithic mixed siliciclastic-carbonate succession of dolomite dolomitic siltstone, well-sorted sandstone, bioclastic sandstone, and anhydrite. This succession is unusual in that it records the only significant non-marine interval in the Triassic of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. In the Kobes-Altares-Blueberry area, moderately abundant core are available through the middle members of the Charlie Lake Formation. All available core were analyzed in order to interpret the depositional setting of constituent members and identify reservoir quality lithofacies and horizons.The middle Charlie Lake Formation in the Kobes-Altares-Blueberry area was deposited in an arid coastal setting. Sixteen lithofacies were identified and placed in three lithofacies assemblages and the latter characterize three depositional settings: coastal salina/playa, aeolian dune, and proximal marine ramps. The coastal salina/playa lithofacies assemblage is heterolithic, and is dominated by dolomitic and anhydritic facies. Depositional subenvironments include intertidal flat, ephemeral lagoon, shore proximal ephemeral lake, sabkha and supratidal paleosol. Potential reservoir lithofacies in this assemblage includes peloidal to stromatolitic dolomitic siltstone deposited in lagoonal and intertidal flat settings. The aeolian dune lithofacies assemblage preserves the movement of small, shore-proximal dunes and associated interdune successions. Well-sorted, fine-grained sandstone beds comprise the best reservoir lithofacies in this assemblage. The proximal marine ramp facies assemblage records several marine transgressions that punctuate the dominantly nonmarine/marginal marine Charlie Lake Formation. Bioclastic packstone, bioclastic sandstone and peloidal dolomitic siltstone to sandstone beds, all exhibit good porosity and are potential hydrocarbon reservoir units within this lithofacies assemblage.

New Species of Spiral Nodosariids (Foraminifera) from the Lower Carnian (Triassic) Deposits on the Laptev Sea Coast (Russia)

The foraminifers from the Lower Carnian (Upper Triassic) deposits on the Laptev Sea coast (the north of Central Siberia) were studied. Three new species of the spiral nodosariids (Dainitella insueta sp. nov., Marginulinopsis incompta sp. nov., and Astacolus dolganensis sp. nov.), widespread in the Osipa Formation and the lower parts of the Nemtsova and Chaidakh formations on the Laptev Sea coast, are described.

The Yakutosirenites armiger Ammonoid Zone of Northeast Asia as a Reference Level of the Boreal-Tethyan Correlation of the Lower Carnian

Problems of the Boreal-Tethyan correlation of the lower Carnian and their potential solutions are discussed. The composition and distribution of ammonoids in the most representative sections of the upper part of the lower Carnian Substage in Northeast Asia, including the northern Okhotsk Region, northern Verkhoyansk Region, and the central part of Kotelnyi Island, are considered. For the first time, the Yakutosirenites armiger ammonoid zone is paleontologically substantiated, and its boundaries in the lower Carnian section in the basin of the Tikhaya River of Kotelnyi Island are defined. The composition of the ammonoid assemblage of the armiger Zone in the studied region is emended and supplemented. It contains, along with the local ammonoid taxa (Yakutosirenites armiger (Vozin), Arctophyllites okhotensis Konstantinov) and rare exotic species of southern origin (Siberioklipsteinia dagysi Konstantinov), the cosmopolitan genus Sirenites. The history of the study and the morphology of the genus Sirenites are considered, and data on its stratigraphic and geographic distribution are summarized. The presence of Sirenites senticosus (Dittmar) and S. ovinus Tozer in the ammonoid assemblage of the armiger Zone of Northeast Asia enables its direct correlation with Tethyan sections, i.e., with the Austrotrachyceras obesum and Sirenites nanseni zones of British Columbia and with the Austrotrachyceras austriacum Zone of the Alpian scale and their equivalents, widespread in many Tethyan regions. This makes it possible to consider the armiger Zone of Northeast Asia as a reference level of the Boreal-Tethyan correlation of the lower Carnian.

Carnivore coprolites from the lower Carnian (Upper Triassic) Chañares Formation, northwestern Argentina

With high organic content and abundant microbiota, feces are typically only preserved for a few days, weeks or months after deposition and mostly never enter the fossil record. The range of depositional conditions favorable for the preservation of feces is narrow, but depends on a large number of biotic and abiotic factors. Moreover, because the chemistry and microbiology of feces often promotes mineralization, discriminating between coprolites and some inorganic sedimentary structures is often difficult. We propose a protocol to identify coprolites in the fossil record that encompasses all the criteria previously defined. We then apply this protocol to identify putative coprolites from the lower Carnian (Upper Triassic) Chañares Formation of northwestern Argentina. Using a variety of analytical methods and several different criteria, we were able to identify them as carnivore coprolites. Based on extant analogs, the most probable producer would be a small carnivorous cynodont or archosauriforms, and the prey is likely a tiny therapsid or archosauriform. This is the first detailed report of carnivore coprolites from this unit, and provides direct evidence of trophic links in the Chañares ecosystem.

A Keleti-Bakony triász időszaki vulkanogén képződményeinek petrográfiai vizsgálata és képződési körülményeik értelmezése

A Tethys közép-európai triász időszaki fejlődéstörténetének nyomozása az egymástól távolabbi területeken található nem vulkanogén üledékes kőzetek összehasonlító vizsgálatával régóta eredményesen zajlik. A térben és időben is sokkal változatosabb kifejlődésű vulkanogén képződmények ezirányú vizsgálatában rejlő lehetőségek még messze nincsenek kihasználva. Ennek leginkább az lehet az oka, hogy ezeknek a hazai kőzeteknek a részletes kőzettani leírása még nem történt meg. Ladin vulkanogén törmelékes képződmények a Dunántúli-középhegységen belül a Keleti-Bakony területéről ismertek. Az itt található középső–késő-triász vulkanogén kőzetek részletes petrográfiai vizsgálata lehetőséget teremtett arra, hogy kőzettani alapon is összevessük más hasonló korú, képződésük idején egymáshoz sokkal közelebb elhelyezkedett Dunántúli-középhegységben és Déli-Alpokban megtalálható vulkáni képződményekkel.A vizsgált keleti-bakonyi összletek az inotai Hideg-völgy útbevágásában lévő egykori felszíni feltárásban, valamint a Várpalota Vpt–3 és a Bakonykúti Bút–2 fúrások anyagában tanulmányozhatók. A vulkanogén összlet két részre tagolható: az alsó részben uralkodóan vulkanit törmelékszemcsékből álló, szenesedett növénymaradványt és elszórtan crinoidea váztöredékeket tartalmazó finomszemcsés üledékes kőzetet, fölül vulkanit- és mészkőkavicsokat nagy mennyiségben tartalmazó, Daonella vázelemekben gazdag durvaszemcsés rétegcsoportot találhatunk. A vulkáni törmelék szemcsék között döntően intermedier (andezit), kisebb mennyiségben bázisos (bazaltsalak, bazalt és mikrodolerit) és savanyú (riolit, aplit) vulkanitok és ezekhez kapcsolódó kristálytörmelékek jelennek meg.A vulkanogén összlet forrását olyan középső- és felső-triász vulkáni kőzetek (bázisos-intermedier lávakőzetek és freatomagmás kitörések termékei) szolgáltatták, melyeknek mai rokon képviselői a Dunántúli-középhegységben (legközelebb a balatonfői területen), de legnagyobb kiterjedésben a vele ezen időszakban szomszédos Déli-Alpokban fordulnak elő. A felső vulkanogén konglomerátum / kavicsos homokkő képződésére jó analógia a déli-alpi Wengeni Formáció és Marmoladai Konglomerátum keletkezése. E formációk nagy vastagságú törmelékes összlete szárazulatra került, döntően mészkő és bázisos-intermedier kőzetek lepusztulásával, majd tenger alatti tömegmozgásokkal üledékgyűjtő medencékbe történő felhalmozódásával keletkezett. Az alsó vulkanogén homokkő keletkezése ettől némiképp eltér. Bázisos-intermedier összetételű törmelékanyaga első lépésben sekélytengeri/szárazföldi környezetben freatomagmás kitörés eredményeként halmozódott fel, majd közvetlen ezután tenger alatti lejtő mentén történő áthalmozódás után ülepedett le véglegesen.

Taphonomy and palaeoecology of Late Triassic (Carnian) ammonoid concentrations from the Taurus Mountains, Turkey.

The deposits of the Carnian Kasımlar Formation within the Taurus Platform Units of south‐western Turkey represent an important archive of a Late Triassic ecosystem. New palaeontological information was obtained by analysing the Kasimlarceltites mass occurrence, located within the Kasımlar Formation and named after the Lower Carnian (Julian) ammonoid genus Kasimlarceltites. This is the dominant taxon (> 94%) within the mass occurrence: nearly 775 million ammonoids and 50 million gastropods were extrapolated for the whole extension (at least 5 km2) of the Kasimlarceltites beds. This calculation is one of the main findings within this study, as it is the first time that such a fossil mass occurrence was quantified. Additionally, orientation measurements of the planispiral ammonoids and the helical gastropods enabled reconstructing the history of the mass occurrence and interpreting the underlying transport mechanisms. Further taphonomic aspects (e.g. biofabric, preservation, bioerosion or genetic classification) as well as comparisons with samples of the same acme zone from different localities near Aşağiyaylabel (AS IV, KA I‐II) point to a two‐phased genetic history. Accordingly, local mass mortality within the Kasimlarceltites fauna due to oxygen fluctuations or methane degassing may have initially led to a primary accumulation. These deposits were then reworked and redeposited basinward by gravity flows to create the present‐day secondary allochthonous concentrations.

AMMONOIDS FROM THE ZHUGANPO MEMBER OF THE FALANG FORMATION AT NIMAIGU AND THEIR RELEVANCE FOR DATING THE XINGYI FOSSIL-LAGERSTÄTTE (LATE LADINIAN, GUIZHOU, CHINA)

We herein document the various ammonoid faunas, of which 8 are newly described taxa, recently collected from the Falang Formation at Nimaigu (Wusha) near Xingyi (Guizhou, South China) and also define their biostratigraphy, correlation and age. The sampled interval includes the Zhuganpo Member, which contains the world famous Xingyi Fossil-Lagerstatte, and the lowermost part of the overlying Wayao Member. Ammonoids are quite abundant, but preservation is usually very poor. New genera Yangites , Haoceras and Sinomeginoceras are described on the basis of four new species. The new subfamily Haoceratinae (family Trachyceratidae) is erected to accommodate Haoceras and Sinomeginoceras . Xenoprotrachyceras , Detoniceras , Ptychites , Trachyceras and Clionitites are also recognized, together with a specimen attributed with doubt to Parasturia . Most of the faunas are endemic and typical representatives of Upper Ladinian ammonoid zones have not been recognized. A new local biostratigraphic scale is proposed, consisting of the Haoceras xingyiense zone, Trachyceras beds and Trachyceras multituberculatum zone, in stratigraphic order. The Trachyceras beds and the Trachyceras multituberculatum zone are attributed to the Lower Carnian, but most of the bio-chronostratigraphic analysis is focused on the Haoceras xingyiense zone, because it directly overlies the vertebrate-bearing interval. Correlation of the new biozone is discussed and its stratigraphic position is referred, at least in part, to the lower Sutherlandi Zone of the North American scale. This correlation pinpoints the age of the Xingyi Fossil-Lagerstatte as middle Late Ladinian, which until now had been a matter of debate for 30+ years.

New information on Bobosaurus forojuliensis (Reptilia: Sauropterygia): implications for plesiosaurian evolution

Preparation of the holotype specimen of Bobosaurus forojuliensis, a large sauropterygian from the lower Carnian of northeastern Italy, revealed new morphological data relevant in establishing its phylogenetic affinities among pistosauroid taxa and its relationships with plesiosaurians. Inclusion of B. forojuliensis in two phylogenetic analyses focusing, respectively, on sauropterygians and pistosauroids agreed in placing the Italian taxon as closer to plesiosaurians than to other pistosauroids. The phylogenetic interpretation of Bobosaurus was not biased by assumptions on character weighting, is consistent with its relatively younger age compared to most pistosauroids, extends the fossil record of the plesiosaurian basal lineage back to the Carnian and supports the earliest diversification of the clade during the Late Triassic in agreement with the record of several distinct lineages of rhomaleosaurids, plesiosauroids and pliosauroids in the lowermost Jurassic. Bobosaurus shows that the evolution of the plesiosaurian body plan from the ancestral pistosauroid grade was a step-wise process, and that some of the vertebral and appendicular specialisations of Jurassic and Cretaceous plesiosaurians had already developed in the earliest Late Triassic.

A new juvenile specimen of Guanlingsaurus (Ichthyosauria, Shastasauridae) from the Upper Triassic of southwestern China

ABSTRACT A new nearly complete skeleton from the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation (lower Carnian, Upper Triassic) of Guizhou, South China, is described and ascribed as a juvenile individual of Guanlingsaurus liangae. The new specimen supplies hitherto unknown information on this species: a complete pelvic girdle shows that the ilium was misidentified as the ischium by previous authors; complete hyoids show that their length was overestimated previously; unlike in other shastasaurids, the obturator foramen on the pubis is widely open as part of the obturator fossa; and the fibula has a posterior flange, similar to that of Shonisaurus. Guanlingsaurus liangae was reassigned to the genus Shastasaurus and was suggested to be a suction feeder due to its short snout, lack of teeth, and hyoid. However, the new specimen of Guanlingsaurus described here shows much smaller hyoids compared with Shonisaurus, which was thought to be a suction-feeding ichthyosaur. Suction feeding in ichthyopterygians as a whole requires scrutiny: the group lacks an ossified hyoid corpus that is typically expanded in suction-feeding cetaceans, which suggests that ichthyopterygian hyoids were insufficiently robust for suction feeding. A phylogenetic analysis of Ichthyopterygia based on a revised data matrix clarifies the shastasaurid affinity of G. liangae as a sister taxon of Shonisaurus, with Shastasaurus as their sister group, and Shonisaurus is reestablished as a genus containing Shonisaurus sikanniensis as traditionally held. It suggests that the assignment of Guanlingsaurus and Shonisaurus sikanniensis to Shastasaurus unnecessarily confuses existing taxonomy.a SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP

Magneto-biostratigraphy of the Middle to Upper Triassic transition, central Spitsbergen, arctic Norway

Palaeomagnetic and biostratigraphic data were obtained for the latest Ladinian and most of the Carnian (Botneheia Formation to basal Kapp Toscana Group), from two sections in central Spitsbergen (Svalbard archipelago). Thermal and alternating field (AF) demagnetization reveals a magnetization of both normal and reversed polarities. The mean directions pass reversal and fold tests and are similar to other European Late Triassic palaeopoles. One of the sections displays 15° of vertical-axis, clockwise, tectonic rotation on a décollement in the underlying Botneheia Formation. The magnetostratigraphy is dominated by normal polarity in the uppermost Botneheia Formation and into the Tschermakfjellet and basal De Geerdalen formations. A substantial hiatus characterizes the Ladinian–Carnian boundary in central Spitsbergen, so reverse magnetozones, identified in Tethyan sections near this boundary, are absent. Magnetostratigraphic correlation, along with palynostratigraphic constraints, indicates that most of the De Geerdalen Formation is Lower Carnian. The magnetostratigraphy and palynology indicates that the Isfjorden Member (upper unit of the De Geerdalen Formation) is probably mid-Carnian in age. Change in the lithological architecture in the Isfjorden Member, compared with the underlying parts of the De Geerdalen Fm, suggests a hiatus near the base of the member, which may represent a mid-Carnian unconformity, not previously recognized on Spitsbergen.

Cranial osteology of Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Upper Triassic of China

ABSTRACT The cranial osteology of the large ichthyosaur Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae from the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation (Lower Carnian, Upper Triassic) of Guizhou, southwest China, is described, based on a well preserved skull and mandible and additional specimens. It can be diagnosed by a suite of cranial characters that include premaxilla without well-developed processus subnarialis, maxilla reaches far anteriorly and has a very long processus postnarialis, orbit of characteristic shape with concave dorsal and straight posterior and ventral margins, small prefrontal that forms only the anterior third of the dorsal orbital margin, postfrontal meets the supratemporal externally, postorbital forms a large part of the lateral margin of the temporal fenestra internally, deep triangular incisura postjugalis, jugal fails to meet quadratojugal externally, short postorbital skull segment; frontals and parietals form sharp ridges lateral to the area of the foramen parietale; parietals form a low and narrow sagittal crest; teeth thecodontously implanted, blunt, conical and without carinae. New data on the postcranial skeleton are also provided. The available evidence indicates that Guizhouichthyosaurus is an advanced member of the Merriamosauria, but more plesiomorphic than the parvipelvians. The taxonomy of the large ichthyosaurs from the Falang Formation remains largely problematic. It appears probable that only two taxa are valid, Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae and Guanlingsaurus liangae. They differ in the length of the snout, the number of the presacral vertebrae, vertebral proportions, the shape of the humerus and fibula, among other features.