Natural Moulds Research Articles

Earliest known ophiuroids from high palaeolatitude, southern Gondwana, recovered from the Pragian to earliest Emsian Baviaanskloof Formation (Table Mountain Group, Cape Supergroup) South Africa.

For the first time, ophiuroids have been found in South African strata predating the lowermost Bokkeveld Group. These comprise natural moulds and casts from two localities in the 'upper unit' of the Baviaanskloof Formation (Table Mountain Group). As a Pragian to earliest Emsian age has been inferred for this member, the new taxa comprise the earliest high-palaeolatitude ophiuroid records from southern Gondwana. Morphological analysis of the specimens revealed the presence of two distinct taxa. One is here described as Krommaster spinosus gen. et sp. nov., a new encrinasterid characterised by very large spines on the dorsal side of the disc, the ventral interradial marginal plates and the arm midlines. The second taxon is a poorly preserved specimen of Hexuraster weitzi, a cheiropterasterid previously described from the slightly younger Bokkeveld Group.

Early Devonian Ostracoda from the Norton Gully Sandstone, southeastern Australia

The Lower Devonian (Emsian) Norton Gully Sandstone contains rich invertebrate fossil faunas including ostracods. Seven ostracod taxa are recognized and illustrated herein: Bungonibeyrichia copelandi, Bungonibeyrichia wooriyallockensis, Bungonibeyrichia treslata sp. nov., Bungonibeyrichia australiae, Bairdiocypris sp., and two indeterminate genera. The ostracods are preserved in sandstone and mudstone as natural moulds. There are two distinct biofacies identified within the Norton Gully Sandstone: one dominated by ornate ostracods belonging to Bungonibeyrichia; and the other by smooth species of Bairdiocypris. We also conclude that most southeast Australian species previously placed in Velibeyrichia are more appropriately placed in Bungonibeyrichia on the basis of lobe morphology. Consequently, both these genera can be recognized as having discrete Silurian-Devonian palaeobiogeographical distributions, with Velibeyrichia spp. occurring in the shallow seas of Laurentia, while Bungonibeyrichia spp. was restricted to shallow seas around eastern Gondwana.

A new discoid heliolitid (Proporidae) from the Upper Ordovician of the Baltic area: Morphology and modalities of increase

A species of Proporidae (Heliolitida) forming very small, discoid coralla, is fully described. It is mainly preserved in natural moulds in the Öjlemyr chert, an erratic silicified limestone found in Eridanos deposits surfacing in the west and north-east of the Dutch Overijssel-province and adjoining German area, generally accepted to be Uppermost Katian. The material is assigned to the rehabilitated Pinacopora Nicholson & Etheridge, 1878, a genus closely allied to Propora Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849, and a new species, Pinacopora baltica is named. The main feature of this species, besides the characteristics of the genus and the biometric data, is the presence of wide, short, and convex septal ridges bearing scattered septal spines, alternating with narrow interseptal furrows. For the first time in heliolitids a pleurodictyoid pattern of growth is described. Only two species of Pinacopora are recorded: P. baltica n. sp. (Upper Ordovician) and P. grayi Nicholson & Etheridge, 1878 (Lower Silurian), respectively from Baltica and Laurentia.

Youngest Cretaceous dinosaur tracksite from the Middle East (Maastrichtian, Farrokhi Formation, Central Iran)

A late early Maastrichtian dinosaur trampling site is reported from the Farrokhi Formation of the Khur area, Central Iran. The largely indeterminate footprints, some of which may represent undertracks, can be classified as natural moulds (i.e. concave epireliefs) bordered by a raised rim of displaced sediment. They reach diameters of up to 0.5 m and were impressed under very shallow to subaerial conditions in an inter- to supratidal environment. Two generations of traces have been imprinted, initially into a soft, fine-grained carbonate sand and afterwards into a superficially hardened substrate that was still plastic underneath; the change in substrate consistency is supported by a conspicuous cracking pattern around the footprints. As a result, hardly any details of the foot morphology of the trackmakers are recorded. Nevertheless, the occurrence improves our knowledge about dinoturbation and its preservation in different kinds of substrates. Furthermore, it is the youngest record (ca. 70 Ma) of dinosaur locomotion traces from Iran and, in all probability, the entire Middle East.

Correlation of shell and aptychus growth provides insights into the palaeobiology of a scaphitid ammonite

AbstractScaphitids rank among the commonest and best‐known Late Cretaceous ammonites, yet many aspects of their palaeobiology are still unresolved. Here, natural moulds and co‐occurring aptychi (calcitic coverings of the lower jaw) ofHoploscaphites constrictus crassusfrom the upper Maastrichtian of Poland are studied. For the first time in a scaphitid ammonite, growth marks are identified on the moulds and aptychi, which enable a reconstruction of the successive ontogenetic stages of the shell and aptychus. These are correlated to each other, allowing us to address two open issues in scaphitid palaeobiology: (1) estimation of individual growth rate and age; and (2) assessment of the aptychus as a possible protective operculum. As far as the growth rate ofH. c. crassusis concerned, this accelerated rapidly at the onset of the mature body chamber formation and decelerated shortly before the cessation of growth. The resultant growth curve departs significantly from the generalized growth curve previously proposed for ammonites. In contrast, an age of five years at maturity, tentatively estimated here forH. c. crassus, conforms to the previous estimates for shallow‐water ammonites of comparable size. The role of the aptychus as an operculum is rejected forH. c. crassus, based on a significant misfit in size and shape between the aperture and aptychus recorded during ontogeny. These conclusions may probably be extended to closely related members of the EuropeanHoploscaphites constrictusevolutionary lineage and to some other scaphitids with shells similar in size and shape to that ofH. c. crassus.

The effects of Michelia alba oil against mould on brown rice and assessing the brain response using electroencephalogram (EEG).

The objective of this study was to develop antifungal fragrant brown rice using the vapour phase of Michelia alba oil and to understand the effects of fragrant brown rice on consumer reactions using an electroencephalography (EEG) technique. The effect of M. alba oil vapour (300–900 µL/L) on the growth of moulds was studied in brown rice. Then, optimisation of the M. alba oil vapour (300–900 µL/L) was studied through sensory evaluation. Next, EEG was used to investigate the effect of fragrant cooked brown rice on human brain activity. In addition, the key components of M. alba oil on the sensory effects were determined. The results indicated that M. alba oil vapour ≥ 450 µL/L provided effective antifungal activity against natural moulds on brown rice for at least 90 days of storage at 25 °C at 100% RH. Furthermore, the optimal concentration of M. alba oil vapour for enhancing consumer preference and acceptance of cooked brown rice was 300–600 µL/L with a rejection threshold of 2,052 µL/L. Moreover, it was found that linalool was the main key component and caryophyllene and β-elemene were the minor components affecting the sensory quality enhancement. Interestingly, the EEG results showed that fragrant cooked brown rice could increase the power of alpha and beta waves in the human brain, indicating anti-stress effects and a relaxed mood. Therefore, M. alba oil vapour demonstrated good potential to enhance consumer acceptance and preference for cooked brown rice while controlling the significant growth of moulds in brown rice.

Systematic application of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) for natural microbial reduction of buckwheat sprouts

The systematic application of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) for natural microbial reduction of buckwheat sprouts were investigated including seed-dipping, germination and sprouts-washing in the present study. The results show that all the three SAEW treatments with similar pH value (approximately 6.0) used in the study resulted in the reduction of the natural moulds and yeasts and total bacteria counts in buckwheat seeds and harvested sprouts in spite of their different available chlorine concentration (ACC, approximately 10, 28 and 92 mg/L respectively), which was equivalent or high disinfectant efficacy for buckwheat seeds and sprouts compared to NaClO solutions and acidic electrolyzed water (AEW). Moreover, SAEW treatments could control the growth of natural microbial populations during germination and decrease the E. coli O78 and L. monocytogenes counts on 8-day-old sprouts by 1.10–2.74 and 1.85–2.46 log10 CFU/g, respectively. However, too high ACC (91.96 mg/L) in SAEW had adverse effect on the sprouts length. SAEW with appropriate ACC (10–28 mg/L) could be considered in the whole process of sprouts industry because of its strong disinfection efficacy and less adverse effect on the sprouts growth than NaClO solutions and AEW.

Données nouvelles sur l'intercroissance Rugosa - Bryozoa dans le Dévonien inférieur du Nord Gondwana

Numerous and generally well-preserved examples of the intergrowth Rugosa-Bryozoa from the Upper Pragian and Lower Emsian of the Armorican Massif (Châteaulin and Laval synclinoria), France, and from the Upper Emsian of the Ougarta Mountains, Erg Djemel, Algeria, are described. In the Armorican Massif, the corallites of a rugosan Tryplasmatidae? are intergrown with Ceramoporidae bryozoan close to Crepipora, exceptionally with an unidentified Fistuliporidae (likely a new genus), whereas in Ougarta the coral is not identifiable and is associated with a Fistuliporidae assigned to Fistulipora. Although mainly left in open nomenclature, the material is fully described (structure and microstructure) and illustrated (calcitic skeleton and natural moulds) for the first time. In addition, the presence of Ceramoporidae in the Lower Devonian is clearly established. The evaluation of the association is briefly discussed and a mutualistic relationship supported.

Early Devonian (Late Emsian) shark fin remains (Chondrichthyes) from the Paraná Basin, southern Brazil.

We report on the pioneering discovery of Devonian fish remains in the Paraná Basin, which represents the southernmost record of fishes from that period in mainland South America. The material comes from an outcrop at the lower portion of the São Domingos Formation, within Sequence C of the Paraná-Apucarana sub-basin in Tibagi, State of Paraná. Marine invertebrates are abundant in the same strata. The dark colored fish remains were collected in situ and represent natural moulds of partially articulated shark fin rays (radials). No elements such as teeth or prismatic cartilage have been preserved with the fins rays. This can be attributed to the dissolution of calcium-phosphatic minerals at the early stages of fossilization due to diagenetic processes possibly linked to strong negative taphonomic bias. This may have contributed to the fact that fishes remained elusive in the Devonian strata of this basin, despite substantial geological work done in the Paraná State in recent decades. In addition, the scarcity of fish fossils may be explained by the fact that the Devonian rock deposits in this basin originated in a vertebrate impoverished, cold marine environment of the Malvinokaffric Realm, as previously suspected.

Biodiversity of Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) crinoids from Bradford Dale, Derbyshire, UK

Crinoid diversity and abundance was higher during the Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) than at any other time. Due to the systematic focus on more complete specimens of crinoids, some areas, like the White Peak of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, UK, have erroneously been considered poor in fossil crinoids. Indeed, cups and crowns have only rarely been found in this area, but many limestones and cherts from the White Peak are rich in disarticulated crinoid remains. Screwstones (=fossiliferous cherts) collected in Bradford Dale, Derbyshire, yielded the disarticulated stem fragments, preserved as natural moulds, of seven crinoid morphotaxa, which is more than half of the known species richness of the whole White Peak. Considering that the material studied herein came from one locality, it is thus probable that the diversity of Mississippian crinoids in the White Peak is somewhat higher than previously recognized. This study shows that disarticulated stem fragments can be used as a proxy to test the crinoid diversity of an area, and that with further study of not only cups and crowns, some areas preserve a diversity of crinoids that is more than previously known.

Reworked crinoidal cherts and screwstones (Mississippian, Tournaisian/Visean) in the bedload of the River Maas, south-east Netherlands

Rare Palaeozoic chert clasts collected from gravels in the bedload of the River Maas in the province of Limburg, south-east Netherlands, are rich in crinoid debris. These were transported during the Late Pliocene–Pleistocene by fluvial action from the southern Ardennes Massif (Namur-Dinant area, southern Belgium) and are of Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) age. Clasts are either completely chertified or may preserve macrofossils as natural moulds in a chert matrix; the latter are screwstones, a well-known lithology from rocks of this age. One screwstone preserves its fossiliferous debris, mainly crinoid columnals and pluricolumnals, in exquisite detail, including an archetypal ‘screw’, the mould of the axial canal. But the delicate ‘screw’ is not always preserved after fluvial transport. Further, the best-preserved specimen retains a mould of a pit in the latus, Oichnus simplex Bromley, probably a domicile excavated by an unmineralized invertebrate after the death of the crinoid.

Taxonomy of the archosaurOrnithosuchus: reassessingOrnithosuchus woodwardiNewton, 1894 andDasygnathoides longidens(Huxley 1877)

ABSTRACTThe pseudosuchian archosaurOrnithosuchus, from the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation (Late Triassic), Scotland, was the first ornithosuchid to be discovered, and the only one recorded, in the northern hemisphere. The fossil record of“Ornithosuchus longidens”is mainly based on natural moulds and, in a few cases, three-dimensional bony elements, complicating the interpretation of its anatomy. The taxonomy of this species has changed several times since the late 1800s and here we revisit its current status. The synonymy of“Dasygnathoides longidens”andOrnithosuchus woodwardiproposed by Walker (1964) is rejected, based on new interpretations of the holotype and referred specimens of“Dasygnathoides longidens”. The latter species is considered as anomen dubium, because it lacks diagnostic features and cannot be identified beyond Pseudosuchia. As a result,Ornithosuchus woodwardiis resurrected as a valid species and its diagnosis is emended. The body size range ofOrnithosuchus woodwardiis reduced to about a half, because ELGNM 1, previously considered the largest specimen of the genus, can no longer be referred to it.“Dasygnathoides longidens”cannot be assigned to any of the known archosauriforms from the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation, but it still represents the largest predator currently known for its fauna.

Preservation and assemblage characteristics of some ornate Lower Devonian Ostracoda from the Humevale Siltstone and Woori Yallock Formation, southeastern Australia

The Humevale Siltstone (late Silurian to Early Devonian, Gorstian to Pragian) and Woori Yallock Formation (Early Devonian, Emsian) of central Victoria, Australia, contain rich invertebrate fossil faunas including Ostracoda. Eight ostracod taxa are recognized and illustrated herein: Velibeyrichia wooriyallockensis (Chapman), Velibeyrichia (s.l.) australiae (Chapman), Velibeyrichia sp. 1, Velibeyrichia sp. 2, Beyrichia? ligatura (Chapman), Ulrichia sp., Euglyphella sp. and Strepulites sp. The ostracods are preserved in siltstones and mudstones as natural moulds. Ostracod assemblages are mainly shallow marine and likely include moderate- to low-energy biocoenoses, pseudo-biocoenoses (gravity flow accumulations) and thanatocoenoses.

Osteology of Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen, a procolophonoid parareptile from the Upper Triassic of Scotland, with remarks on ontogeny, ecology and affinities

ABSTRACTThe Late Triassic reptile Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen, 1851 is described for the first time in full anatomical detail, based on newly produced silicone and plastic casts of the numerous specimens preserved as natural moulds. Previously, only the braincase has been described from these detailed casts. Leptopleuron is reconstructed as a 270-mm-long reptile with a long tail, although it is possible that even the largest known specimens were still sub-adults. Within Procolophonoidea, Leptopleuron is distinguished by the following non-braincase autapomorphies: two flattened, triangular spines of equal size on the quadratojugal; V-shaped groove on the jugal; the anterior tip of the jugal in contact with the posterolateral extension of the nasal; minimal contact between the jugal and the postorbital; frontals narrow anterior to the orbitotemporal openings; the vomerine dentition consisting of a tall and a short pair of fangs; broad medial ridge of pleurocentra of the dorsal vertebrae divided into three separate ridges by two deep grooves on each pleurocentrum; distinct three-fold depression pattern on the ventral side of ischium; and the first phalanx on the fifth pedal digit being long and slim. Leptopleuron shares some features with living sand lizards and might have lived a burrowing lifestyle. The dentition and body shape of Leptopleuron imply it ate a diet of fibrous plant material or hard-shelled invertebrates.

Light-emitting nanocasts formed from bio-templates: FESEM and cathodoluminescentimaging studies of butterfly scale replicas

Nanocasts comprising of red-light-emitting cubicY2O3:Eu phosphors were made from butterfly wing scale bio-templates. We report herein the firstcathodoluminescent images made from such nanocasts and show that valuable insightsinto the nature of the internal structure of the casts can be gained by the useof this technique. The casts faithfully reproduced the fine sub-micrometre sizedetail of the scales, as was made evident by both FESEM and cathodoluminescentimages that were collected from the same sample areas using a hyphenatedFESEM-CL instrument. There was excellent agreement between the FESEM andcathodoluminescent images, the image quality of the latter indicating that theEu3+ activator ions wereevenly dispersed in the Y2O3:Eu phosphor on a sub-micrometre scale. The casts were made by infilling the natural moulds with aY2O3:Eu precursor solution that was subsequently dried and fired to convert it into the phosphormaterial. This method provides a simple, low cost route for fabricating nanostructureshaving feature dimensions as small as 20 nm in size, and it has the potential to be appliedto other metal oxide systems for producing nano-and micro-components for electronic,magnetic or photonic integrated systems.

Dinosaur footprints from the Duntulm Formation (Bathonian, Jurassic) of the Isle of Skye

Synopsis The first in situ dinosaur tracks from Scotland were discovered at the top of the Duntulm Formation (Bathonian, Jurassic) near to Staffin in northeastern Skye. Fifteen individual tridactyl footprints were recorded of which two pairs appear to have been part of the same trackway. The footprints are preserved as natural moulds on a mud-cracked sandstone surface. The individual track sizes range from about 30 cm to over 50 cm in length with narrow to broad digits suggestive of having been made by a medium to large bipedal dinosaur.

A new characiform fish (Teleostei: Ostariophysi) from the Eocene of Tanzania

Four specimens of a small fossil fish were collected from the Eocene Mahenge site of Tanzania. The specimens, preserved as part and counterpart natural moulds, are identified, predominantly based on the structure of the caudal skeleton, as members of the Characiformes, probably the sister group to the living African Alestidae. The area just behind the skull, in the two specimens that include this area, is distorted, and therefore it is difficult to identify the bones of the Weberian apparatus, although that structure does appear to be present. The fossil record of characiforms includes few articulated skeletons, with only one other African species previously reported from much younger deposits. The new specimens from Mahenge are described here as a new genus and species, Mahengecharax carrolli.

Zeilleria spiculata, a new terebratulide brachiopod from the latest Triassic‐earliest Jurassic of New Zealand

Zeilleria spiculata is described from the latest Triassic and earliest Jurassic rocks of the Murihiku Supergroup of New Zealand. The new species is a thick‐shelled, subcircular, rectimarginate terebratulide, which is placed in the cosmopolitan genus Zeilleria. It is present in the late Otapirian and is an important element in the earliest Aratauran faunas of the Otapiri Stream section in Southland, but is rare elsewhere. It appears unrelated to other New Zealand Triassic‐Jurassic species of Zeilleria. Most specimens are preserved as moulds, and this study is based mainly on the interpretation of natural and latex moulds.

A new tristichopterid (Osteolepiformes: Sarcopterygii) from the Mandagery Sandstone (Late Devonian, Famennian) near Canowindra, NSW, Australia

AbstractA new member of the Tristichopteridae (=Eusthenopteridae), Mandageria fairfaxi gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Late Devonian (Famennian) Mandagery Sandstone outcropping near Canowindra, NSW, Australia. It is represented by several complete or partial heads and bodies, preserved as natural moulds. Mandageria shares derived characters with the Late Famennian tristichopterid Eusthenodon wängsjöi from East Greenland; the pineal plate series is large and kite-shaped and is posterior to the middle of the parietals, the intertemporal does not contact the posterior supraorbital, a posterior process of the premaxilla divides the apical fossa, the anteriormost premaxillary tooth is enlarged, the postorbital is excluded from the orbit by a supraorbital–lacrimal contact, and the coronoids lack marginal teeth except posteriorly. Mandageria fairfaxi differs from Eusthenodon in superficial fusion of the supratemporal, tabular and postparietals, in the lateral extrascapulars being separated by only 2–3 mm in the midline anteriorly, and in having proportionately smaller scales. It also has an elongate supracleithrum, which is probably autapomorphic. The postcranial skeleton is comparable to that of the Frasnian genus Eusthenopteron, but differs in the more posterior position of the median fins, the poorly ossified vertebral column, and the flattened ectepicondyle. Mandageria fairfaxi is the second osteolepiform described from Canowindra (the first, Canowindra grossi) and, other than the now-reinterpreted Marsdenichthys, the first tristichopterid described from Australia.

Sandwiched fossils

A little‐known mode of fossil preservation‐bioimmuration‐is responsible for exciting new findings of soft‐bodied organisms. Bioimmuration results from organic overgrowth by animals such as serpulid worms and oysters which form natural moulds of the organisms they have overgrown on their undersurfaces or sandwich overgrown organisms between themselves and their substrate. Overgrowth is a routine occurrence among the many marine organisms lacking mobility, and bioimmured fossils can be extremely common. Discoveries of bioimmured ctenostome bryozoans, hydroids and other soft‐bodied animals that lived attached to hard surfaces are providing important new palaeontological perspectives, especially in the Mesozoic.