Mesozoic Of China Research Articles

New Chinese Jurassic damsel-dragonflies of the families Paragonophlebiidae, Selenothemistidae and Isophlebiidae (Odonata, Epiproctophora) from the Jurassic Ordos Basin of NW China

The Jurassic damsel-dragonfly family Paragonophlebiidae was till now monogeneric, with the sole genus Paragonophlebia and the two species P. inexpectata and P. patriciae, from the Middle Jurassic of Central Asia. Here we describe the new genus and species Sinagonophlebia yananensis Nel and Huang, from the Middle Jurassic of China, and we attribute the late Triassic and early Jurassic Diastatommites liassina (Strickland, 1840) from UK to the same family. We restore it in the genus Diastatommites Tillyard, 1925. We also describe the selenothemistid Yananthemis zaoyuanensis Nel and Huang, nov. gen., nov. sp., plus an isophlebiid gen. et sp. indet. from the same outcrop. These three damsel-dragonflies increase our knowledge on the already impressive diversity of the Odonata from the Mesozoic of China.

Fossil Xenoxylon (Coniferopsida) wood from the Upper Cretaceous of Heilongjiang, China: Evidence of a tripartite plant-arthropod-fungal association

Silicified conifer wood assignable to Xenoxylon meisteri from the Upper Cretaceous of northeastern China provides evidence of the presence of wood-degrading fungi and xylophagous arthropods, and also indicates the existence of a relationship between fungi and arthropods. Evidence of arthropod activities occurs in the form of vertical and horizontal borings that are lined on the inside with small coprolites. The borings are much larger (up to 2.4 mm in diameter) than the coprolites (74–127 μm in diameter), suggesting that two different animals, a larger one that made the borings and a smaller one that produced the coprolites, lived in them, either simultaneously or one after another. The wood in the surroundings of the borings contains different types of fungal remains. Especially abundant are slender, septate, and multi-branched hyphae on which thick-walled chlamydospores and other hyphal inflations are formed. Hyphae traversing from one host cell to another usually produce a swelling close to where they enter the cell wall. Decay holes in the infected wood suggest that this fungus was a wood-degrading saprotroph, probably a member of the Ascomycota. The fungus also occurs inside the arthropod borings, where it forms chains of barrel-shaped cells, likely conidia, suggesting that the arthropods may have served as dispersal vectors for the fungus. Xenoxylon meisteri provides the first indication of a tripartite plant-arthropod-fungal association from the Mesozoic of China, and gives new insights into the complex network of organismal relationships that existed in Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems.

First occurrence of hybodontid teeth in the Luoping Biota (Middle Triassic, Anisian) and recovery of the marine ecosystem after the end-Permian mass extinction

Hybodont sharks were one of the most successful chondrichthyan lineages of all time, first occurring in the Devonian and becoming extinct in the Late Cretaceous. The end-Permian mass extinction had a limited effect on hybodont sharks, but there are fewer records of hybodonts in the Triassic than in the Jurassic and Cretaceous in China. The Middle Triassic Luoping Biota (Pelsonian, Anisian) is famous as an example of complete re-establishment of a shallow marine food web after the end-Permian mass extinction. Actinopterygian fishes are abundant and diverse in this assemblage, with 31 taxa described, including Halecomorphi and Ginglymodii. However, we still know very little about chondrichthyan fishes. Here we describe three taxa of hybodontid sharks based on teeth for the first time. One of them is ascribed to a new taxon of Lonchidiidae, Luopingselache striata gen. et sp. nov. The other two belong to Acrodus. The dentition of Luopingselache striata gen. et sp. nov. is preserved in situ and shows pronounced monognathic heterodonty. This represents the first detailed account of hybodont dentition with information of tooth replacement rate from the Mesozoic of China. We show that the tooth replacement rate is very rapid, namely 2.6 days/row on average. This rapid dental replacement rate might be an adaptation to replace broken teeth and insure the maintenance of an adequate dentition. Further, the newly discovered heterodont Luopingselache and the durophagous Acrodus sp. A and B not only made the food web more complex, but also emphasized the recovery of the marine ecosystem in the Middle Triassic after the end-Permian mass extinction.

New Lower Cretaceous aeshnopteran dragonflies from western Liaoning, NE China (Odonata: Anisoptera)

Aeshnoptera greatly diversified with a wide distribution during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. This clade is extraordinarily common in the lacustrine basins of northern China and mainly recovered from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning and southeastern Inner Mongolia, which is one of the fossiliferous units yielding the famous Jehol Biota. This study briefly reviews all reported aeshnopteran dragonflies from the Mesozoic of China. Additionally, three new fossil Aeshnoptera are described from the Jianshangou Unit of the Yixian Formation of Beipiao, western Liaoning, northeastern China, including the liupanshaniid Protoliupanshania wangi Huang and Nel, 2010, Parapetala yixianensis sp. nov., and Pseudoliupanshania magnanicellula gen. et sp. nov. The latter two taxa are considered as Aeshnoptera of uncertain position. These new fossils confirm the impressive diversity of the clade Aeshnoptera in the Jehol Biota.

Tooth Plates ofCeratodus(Dipnoi, Ceratodontidae) from the Upper Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of Guang'an, Sichuan Province, China

AbstractCeratodusis a form genus of ceratodontid lungfishes. Until now, only 14 specimens have been reported from the Mesozoic of China. Detailed measurements and characteristic comparisons based on 15 well‐preserved lungfish tooth plates ofCeratodustype, uncovered from the upper member of the Upper Jurassic Shaximiao Formation at Luojiashan, Qianfeng District, Guang'an, Sichuan Province in 2019, allow us to establish a new species,Ceratodus guanganensissp. nov., on the basis of its small swollen irregular triangular tooth plate with four low and swollen radial crests on the occlusal surface without denticles. Other specimens from the same locality can be referred toC. szechuanensisandC. youngi. This is the first discovery ofCeratodusin the Guang'an region and represents the fifthCeratodusfossil site in the Sichuan Basin. The discovery indicates that the climate was hot and arid in the Sichuan Basin during the Late Jurassic, and reveals a tectonic paleogeographic relationship between the Yangtze block in southwestern China and the Kola Basin in northern Thailand.

Theropod and turtle tracks from the Middle Jurassic Zhiluo Formation in Shaanxi, China: implications for a newly defined Chelonipus ichnocoenosis

ABSTRACT An assemblage of eubrontid-type theropod tracks, representing terrestrial progression and turtle track swim tracks representing subaqueous progression characterises a newly reported site in the Middle Jurassic Zhiluo Formation in Shaanxi Province China. While eubrontid tracks are common in the Jurassic of China, turtle swim tracks have only comparatively recently been reported from the Mesozoic of China, and the present report appears to represent the oldest occurrence of the latter. The co-occurrence of theropod tracks and turtle swim tracks suggests alternating registration of tracks on emergent and subaqueous substrates as localised water-levels fluctuated. The co-occurrence can be characterised as the intersection of an eubrontid ichnocoenosis with a newly defined Chelonipus ichnocoenosis.

Female-biased froghoppers (Hemiptera, Cercopoidea) from the Mesozoic of China and phylogenetic reconstruction of early Cercopoidea

Cercopoidea is a diverse insect group, but its early evolution, disparity and ecology remain unclear. Juroala daohugouensis Chen & Wang gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of north-eastern China, is established herein and described on the basis of 42 whole-bodied fossils, representing a new subfamily, Juroalinae subfam. nov. of the primitive family Sinoalidae. Chengdecercopis Hong, 1983 is transferred from Procercopidae to this new subfamily and Stictocercopis Fu & Huang, 2018 is also attributed to the new subfamily. Fangyuanini Chen & Wang trib. nov. is erected for Fangyuania Chen, Szwedo & Wang, 2018 from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Our cladistic analyses recover the relationships within the Cercopoidea as follows: (Juroalinae + (Sinoalini + Fangyuanini)) + (Procercopidae + (Cercopionidae + five modern families)). The evolutionary history and morphological diversification in the Mesozoic is discussed based on our phylogenetic reconstruction. In addition, the abundant material in the present study not only indicates high intra-specific or even intra-individual variation caused by biological and/or taphonomic factors, but also reveals an extremely female-biased propensity, suggesting that the new taxon probably had adaptations to special palaeoenvironments in physiology, ecology and ethology (e.g. parthenogenesis and sociability).http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5EDD7D33-D509-4330-A01F-F41DF664E1C2

Thermal-chemical conditions of the North China Mesozoic lithospheric mantle and implication for the lithospheric thinning of cratons

Cratons are the most ancient parts of continents that are underlain by thick, cold, old and refractory lithospheric roots. However, how cratonic roots remain stable for billions of years and become remobilized later is still not well understood. The eastern North China Craton (NCC) is the best region to illuminate this issue because of its well-known lithospheric thinning and decratonization during the Mesozoic–Cenozoic. The thinning mechanism is debated because of limited constraints on the thermal-chemical conditions (lithology and P–T–H2O–fo2) of the Archean lithospheric mantle before and during its removal. Here, we provide constraints on these thermal-chemical conditions for the Archean lithospheric mantle beneath the eastern NCC during its extensive thinning in the form of whole-rock chemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions and mineral (especially olivine) chemistry of the Early Cretaceous primitive basalts (MgO > 10 wt.%) from Yixian and Sihetun in the western Liaoning Province.Our data support a model in which the Yixian and Sihetun basalts were derived from metasomatized Archean lithospheric mantle under shallow (∼50–60 km), hot (∼1,290–1,350°C) conditions. This indicates the existence of a relict (∼25 km) of the Archean lithospheric mantle during the Early Cretaceous, supporting gradual or episodic erosion of the eastern NCC lithospheric mantle. Furthermore, the NCC lithospheric mantle was not only widely rehydrated (>1,000 ppm H2O) but also highly oxidized (Δlogfo2FMQ=+1.5∼+1.9 at 1.7–2.0 GPa) during its extensive thinning. Such rehydration and oxidization are demonstrated to be closely related to wet upwelling from the Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ) triggered by the deep subduction of the Paleo-Pacific oceanic slab in the period ∼200–125 Ma. We emphasize that the water released from the upwelling MTZ component and associated hydrous melt influx played a key role in the lithospheric thinning of the eastern NCC by oxidizing the lithospheric mantle and lowering its melting point, which led to redox melting, promoting the erosion of cratonic lithosphere. Our study provides key evidence for the role of deep volatile cycling from the MTZ in modifying thermal-chemical conditions and in the lithospheric thinning of cratons.

The first Archelcaninae (Orthoptera, Elcanidae) from the Cretaceous Jehol Biota of Liaoning, China

A new genus and species of Elcanidae (Orthoptera: Elcanoidea) is described from the Yixian Formation of northeastern China. Jeholelcana yanensis gen. et sp. nov., represents the first Archelcaninae to be formally described from the Mesozoic of China. The new genus with both forewing and hind tibiae well preserved differs from all other Archelcaninae in aspects of forewing venation and morphology of the metatibial spurs. The new specimen provides new information on the characteristics of the family Elcanidae. The new species, with both forewing and metaleg preserved, sheds light on the venation of elcanids with leaf-like metatibial spurs, previously known only from nymphs. The types of metatibial spurs of the family Elcanidae are discussed.

The giant South China Mesozoic low-temperature metallogenic domain: Reviews and a new geodynamic model

The South China Craton was formed by amalgamation of the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks during the Neoproterozoic. During the Mesozoic, voluminous granitic plutons and associated W-Sn polymetallic deposits were formed in the Cathaysia Block. The giant South China low-temperature metallogenic domain (LTMD) includes an area of ∼500,000km2 in the Yangtze Block and is composed of the Chuan-Dian-Qian Pb-Zn, Youjiang Au-As-Sb-Hg and Xiangzhong Sb-Au metallogenic provinces. The Chuan-Dian-Qian Pb-Zn province contains numerous MVT Pb-Zn deposits, whereas the other two provinces are characterized by Carlin-type Au deposits and vein-type Sb, Hg and As deposits. These epigenetic deposits, which formed under low temperature conditions (∼100–250°C), are typically hosted in sedimentary rocks and are locally controlled by faults and fractures. The deposits formed dominantly at 200–230Ma and 130–160Ma, corresponding to Indosinian (Triassic) and Yanshanian (Jurassic to Cretaceous) orogenies, respectively. Indosinian mineralization is recognized in all three provinces, but Yanshanian mineralization occurred only in the Youjiang and Xiangzhong provinces. The Indosinian orogeny, which involved collision of the Indochina Block with the South China Craton, resulted in circulation of basinal brines that leached ore-forming elements from adjacent sedimentary strata to form the Chuan-Dian-Qian Pb-Zn province. Deep-seated granitic magmas generated during this orogeny caused extensive circulation of meteoric water that mobilized ore-forming elements from the sedimentary strata to form the Carlin-type Au deposits in the Youjiang province, and the Sb-Au deposits in the Xiangzhong province. The Indosinian orogeny was the key factor in establishing the metallogenic framework of the LTMD. It produced widespread mineralization in the three metallogenic provinces, each of which has unique features reflecting differences in the nature and composition of the basement rocks. The Yanshanian metallogeny was less important and overprinted the older ore deposits in the Youjiang and Xiangzhong provinces.

Omma daxishanense sp. nov., a fossil representative of an extant Australian endemic genus recorded from the Late Jurassic of China (Coleoptera: Ommatidae)

Cai, C. & Huang, D., September 2016. Omma daxishanense sp. nov., a fossil representative of an extant Australian endemic genus recorded from the Late Jurassic of China (Coleoptera: Ommatidae). Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518.Omma Newman is an extant ommatid genus currently endemic to Australia. A new Omma species, O. daxishanense sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on a compression fossil from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation at Daxishan, a fossil locality well known for yielding mammals, feathered dinosaurs and diverse pterosaurs. Omma daxishanense is very similar morphologically to the extant O. sagitta, but differs from the latter by its broader body and prominent temples. The new discovery documents the first valid Omma species from the Mesozoic of China and highlights the antiquity and palaeodiversity of the extant Australian endemic genus.Chenyang Cai [cycai@nigpas.ac.cn], Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Diying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China.

Diversity variation and tempo-spatial distributions of the Dipteridaceae ferns in the Mesozoic of China

The extant family Dipteridaceae is a remarkable leptosporangiate fern because it includes only one genus with a restricted distribution to tropical regions. The fossil record of this family has been widely reported from the Mesozoic strata in Eurasia, America, Australia, and Greenland. In China, numerous fossils of the Dipteridaceae have been documented, in total, about 74 species of 6 genera. Geographically, they are distributed both in the Southern and Northern Floristic Provinces, and were particularly well developed in the Southern Floristic Province during the Late Triassic and the Early Jurassic intervals. Fossil diversity of Dipteridaceae varies in the different episodes of the Mesozoic in China. It is shown that Dipteridaceae has undergone a diversity development process and a distinct turnover during the Mesozoic. They appear to have diversified in the warm and humid Late Triassic–Early Jurassic, but declined sharply as aridity developed in the Middle Jurassic, and became extinct at the end of the Early Cretaceous. The diversity variation and tempo-spatial distribution pattern is suggested to be linked with paleoclimatic variations during the Mesozoic.

Новое подсемейство гребенчатоусых жуков (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) из мезозоя Китая

Новое подсемейство гребенчатоусых жуков (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) из мезозоя Китая

Новый род семейства Glaphyridae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) из мезозоя Китая

Новый род семейства Glaphyridae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) из мезозоя Китая

О систематическом положении в надсемействе Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) нового рода жуков из мезозоя Китая

О систематическом положении в надсемействе Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) нового рода жуков из мезозоя Китая

A new damsel-dragonfly from the Mesozoic of China with a hook-like male anal angle (Odonata: Isophlebioptera: Campterophlebiidae)

A new genus and species of campterophlebiid dragonfly, Angustiphlebia mirabilis gen. nov. et sp. nov., is described from the Jiulongshan Formation in China. It has some remarkable venational structures, i.e. a hypertrophy of the male hind wing anal angle, a quite long gaff, and a secondary branch of the anal anterior near subdiscoidal cell in hind wing, supporting the hypothesis of a sister-group relationship with the genus Oreophlebia. These new data will help to solve the phylogenetic relationships within the Campterophlebiidae.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:16E602E6-3567-44D7-BF64-95A6597E55DE

New fossil Mesochrysopidae (Neuroptera) from the Mesozoic of China

New fossil Mesochrysopidae (Neuroptera) from the Mesozoic of China

New fossil Mesochrysopidae (Neuroptera) from the Mesozoic of China

A new genus and two new species of extinct Mesochrysopidae (Neuroptera) are described from the Mesozoic of China:Protoaristenymphes daohugouensis sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia; and Kareninoideslii gen. et sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous (Yixian Formation) of Dakangpu, Liaoning Province. The presence of CuPin one hind wing of K. lii gen. et sp. nov. is interpreted as an atavism. Armandochrysopa Nel et al. is regarded as a newjunior synonym of Karenina Martins-Neto. Armandochrysopa inexpecta Nel et al. is tentatively transferred to Kareninoides gen. nov.

The earliest known species of the genus Pleocoma LeConte (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Pleocomidae) from the Mesozoic of China

Pleocoma dolichophylla sp. nov. is described from the Yixian Formation. The species is of special interest, since it represents an oligotypic recent genus currently living only in extreme western North America.

Enantiornithine Birds in China

Abstract:A brief introduction to the morphology, flight, size, habits, diet, feathers and systematic paleontology of fossil enantiornithine birds known from the Mesozoic of China is provided. Enantiornithine birds were the dominant land birds of the Mesozoic (245–65 Myr). Although they show great morphological differences from modern birds, their diversification in many respects mimics that of the modern land bird radiation and the reasons for their extinction at the end‐Cretaceous remain a mystery.