Talbragar Fish Bed Research Articles

The first protopsyllidiid (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) from the Upper Jurassic of Australia

The Protopsyllidiidae are an extinct group of plant-sucking hemipterans that were distributed worldwide. However, Jurassic and Cretaceous taxa have only been reported from the Northern Hemisphere. Here we describe and illustrate a new protopsylliidid, Talbragaropsyllidium averyi gen. et sp. nov., based on 11 well-preserved specimens from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed of New South Wales, Australia. These specimens represent the first Jurassic protopsyllidiid documented from both the Southern Hemisphere and Gondwana, which significantly extends the distributional and stratigraphical range of the family. Yuling Li [yulingli@connect.hku.hk] and Su-Chin Chang [suchin@hku.hk], Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Michael Frese [michael.frese@canberra.edu.au], Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia; Robert Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com], Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Jun Chen [rubiscada@sina.com], Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Shuangling Road, Linyi 276000, China; Yuling Li and Jun Chen also affiliated with State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China.

Proviviparus talbragarensis gen. et sp. nov., the first viviparid snail from the Late Jurassic of Australia

Extinct freshwater snails of the family Viviparidae can be found on all continents with the exception of Madagascar and Antarctica. These snails are usually thought to have evolved in the Early Jurassic of Laurasia. Our findings suggest that viviparids may have achieved an almost worldwide distribution by the Late Jurassic. Here we report viviparid snails from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in New South Wales, Australia, and describe them as a new genus and species. This represents the first reliable record of the family Viviparidae from the Jurassic of Gondwana. One specimen shows a thin operculum and in another there is evidence of brooding. Michael Frese [ michael.frese@canberra.edu.au ], Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia and Australian Museum Research Institute, College Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia; Winston Ponder [wponder@bigpond.net.au ], Australian Museum Research Institute, College Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia.

Otoliths in situ in the stem teleost Cavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895), otoliths in coprolites, and isolated otoliths from the Upper Jurassic of Talbragar, New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACTCavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895) is a common signature freshwater stem teleost in the Upper Jurassic of Australia. Our discovery of numerous otoliths in the Talbragar Fish Bed establishes Cavenderichthys as only the second known Jurassic teleost and the third known stem teleost with otoliths in situ and provides an important calibration point for the interpretation of isolated Mesozoic otoliths. It corroborates the low degree of morphological diversification of stem teleost otoliths. The abundance of otoliths (isolated, in coprolites and in situ) allows the mapping of ontogenetic effects and of intraspecific variability for the first time in attributable stem teleost otoliths. Here, we describe 284 otoliths, mostly from Cavenderichthys. Otoliths in situ in Cavenderichthys document the presence of sagitta, lapillus, and asteriscus. Three other, much rarer otolith types were also found that have a teleost otolith pattern more primitive than that of Leptolepidiformes; the origin of these is unknown, but it is likely that they stem from pholidophoriform fishes of the family Archaeomenidae. If confirmed, this otolith pattern would provide a further highly diagnostic and synapomorphic character to define teleosts at the level of the Leptolepidiformes and above. Different mineral replacement processes in fossils from the Talbragar Fish Bed aided us in finding many otoliths, particularly otoliths in situ. Given their abundance and distinct preservation, it is surprising that otoliths in the Talbragar Fish Bed have not been recognized before.

Imaging of Jurassic fossils from the Talbragar Fish Bed using fluorescence, photoluminescence, and elemental and mineralogical mapping.

The Talbragar Fish Bed is one of Australia’s most important Jurassic deposits for freshwater fishes, land plants and aquatic and terrestrial insects. The site has yielded many well preserved fossils, which has led to the formal description of numerous new species and higher taxa. The excellent preservation of many fossils has allowed detailed anatomical studies, e.g. of the early teleost fish Cavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895). Here we report on the fluorescent characteristics and mineral composition of a range of Talbragar fossils. Most specimens fluoresce under ultraviolet, blue and green light. Elemental and mineralogical analyses revealed that the Talbragar fossils consist predominantly of quartz (SiO2), a mineral that is likely to account for the observed fluorescence, with trace kaolinite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4) in some of the fish fossils. Rock matrices are predominantly composed of quartz and goethite (FeO(OH)). Closer inspection of a plant leaf (Pentoxylon australicum White, 1981) establishes fluorescence as a useful tool for the visualisation of anatomical details that are difficult to see under normal light conditions.

A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel (Odonata: Anisoptera) from the Talbragar Fish Bed, New South Wales, Australia

Nel, A., Frese, M., McLean, G. & Beattie R., May 2017. A forewing of the Jurassic dragonfly Austroprotolindenia jurassica from the Talbragar Fish Bed, New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa 41, 532–535. ISSN 0311-5518.The discovery of a well-preserved dragonfly forewing in the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed near Gulgong and attributed to Austroprotolindenia jurassica Beattie & Nel allows this taxon to be placed in Protolindeniidae. It extends the palaeogeographical distribution of this family, previously known only from the Jurassic of Europe, to Australia.André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr], CNRS UMR 7205, CP 50, Entomologie, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005, Paris, France; Michael Frese [michael.frese@canberra.edu.au], University of Canberra, Institute for Applied Ecology and Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Mathematics, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia; Graham McLean [mcleangg@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia; Robert Beattie [rgbeattie@bigpond.com], The Australian Museum, 1 William St., Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.

Reappraisal of Mesozoic fishes and associated invertebrates and flora from Talbragar and Koonwarra, eastern Australia

Eastern Australia has two major Mesozoic fossil localities. The Talbragar Fish Bed in central west New South Wales contains an assemblage of Upper Jurassic fishes, plants and insects. The Koonwarra Fossil Bed, in South Gippsland, Victoria, has an assemblage of Lower Cretaceous fishes, plants and insects. The geological settings of these localities are described. Each locality has a common genus of fish that was originally described as Leptolepis. The names of both these fish have been changed, the Talbragar one to Cavenderichthys talbragarensis and the Koonwarra one to Waldmanichthys koonwarri. Both of these fish have been placed into the Family Luisiellidae, together with a Patagonian fish, Luisiella feruglioi. Each locality also has a member of the family Archaeomenidae: Archaeomene tenuis from Talbragar and Wadeichthys oxyops from Koonwarra. The relationships of these and other fish have been discussed by various authors over the last 20 years and a summary of these comments is presented, as well as a brief comparison between the plants of both localities. The localities of Talbragar, Koonwarra and the Argentinian fishes during the Mesozoic appear to have similar palaeo-environmental settings, which may explain the similarities in the assemblages. The Australian localities contain well-preserved specimens which shed light on the diversity and extent of fishes in southern Gondwana, a region otherwise poorly represented in the fossil record.

The first elateroid beetles (Coleoptera: Polyphaga: Elateroidea) from the Upper Jurassic of Australia.

The first elateroid fossils from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia are described and illustrated. Wongaroo amplipectorale gen. et sp.n., based on two specimens, is placed in the family Cerophytidae due to its convex, posteriorly weakly angled and laterally carinate pronotum obscuring the head in dorsal view, its relatively long, pointed elytra and slender legs, its 9-striate elytra with deep basal pits and the absence of metacoxal plates. Beattieellus jurassicus gen. et sp.n., described from one specimen, possesses the acutely angled pronotum without a carina on the posterolateral angles and the ventral click apparatus typical of Eucnemidae and is classified in this family. Assignment of it to a eucnemid subfamily is impossible because of the insufficient preservation of relevant characters in the fossil. Four other elateroid fossils, possibly representing eucnemids and elaterids, are illustrated and briefly described but not named, due to their insufficient preservation. These fossils represent the first of their kind in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere, and Beattieellus is also the oldest eucnemid fossil known and extends the fossil record of Eucnemidae into the Upper Jurassic. The discovery of elateroid fossils in the Talbragar Fish Bed adds to the coleopteran diversity of this ancient lake ecosystem, indicating that it was well wooded and provided suitable habitats of rotten wood for the development of the larvae of these taxa.

First crane fly from the Upper Jurassic of Australia (Diptera: Limoniidae).

The first crane fly (Diptera: Tipuloidea) fossil discovered in the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia is described and illustrated. Eotipula grangeri sp. nov., described from a single specimen, is assigned to the family Limoniidae based primarily on the conformation of wing veins. It is the second and oldest record of Limoniidae from Australia, and the first of Jurassic age from the southern hemisphere.

Rhopalomma stefaniae gen. et sp. n., the first ommatid beetle from the Upper Jurassic in Australia (Coleoptera: Archostemata: Ommatidae).

The first Upper Jurassic fossil of the family Ommatidae (Coleoptera: Archostemata) from Australia is described and illustrated from a single specimen discovered at the Talbragar Fish Bed. Rhopalomma stefaniae gen. et sp.n. is classified in Ommatidae based on the length and insertion of the antennae, the tuberculate cuticle, the pattern of elytral striae, the complete epipleura and the presence of scutellary strioles. Due to the lack of preservation of crucial characters, Rhopalomma cannot be assigned to a subfamily and is therefore classified as Ommatidae incertae sedis. Rhopalomma fills an important gap in the fossil record of the family, indicating that Ommatidae occurred in Australia from the Lower Jurassic to the present day. Australia is the only place in the world where this family is found in both the fossil record and the living fauna.

Notoatherix antiqua gen. et sp. nov., first fossil water snipe fly from the Late Jurassic of Australia (Diptera: Athericidae).

The first water snipe fly (Diptera: Tabanomorpha) fossil discovered in the Late Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia is described and illustrated. Notoatherix antiqua gen. et sp. nov., described from a single wing specimen, is assigned to the family Athericidae based on the diagnostic feature of this family: the vein R₂₊₃ ending very near to R₁ (marginal cell closed). It is the first record of Athericidae from Australia and the oldest adult record of this family worldwide.

Modern hydrophilid clades present and widespread in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Hydrophilidae)

We present a summary of the fossil evidence documenting the worldwide occurrence of the family Hydrophilidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Polyphaga: Hydrophiloidea) in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. We present the first known fossils of the family from the Mesozoic, being c. 100 Myr older than the fossil record available until now. Two Late Jurassic fossils are documented: Protochares brevipalpis gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Talbragar Fish Bed (New South Wales, Australia) and ‘Mesosperchus’ schultzi Ponomarenko, 1985 from Solnhofen (Bavaria, Germany). The occurrence of the Hydrophilidae in the Early Cretaceous is documented by six species, all of which may be already assigned to modern subfamilies/tribes: Baissalarva hydrobioides gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Baissa outcrops (Buryat Republic, Russia) and Cretoxenus australis gen. nov., sp. nov. from Koonwarra outcrops (Victoria, Australia) are both assigned to the tribe Hydrobiusini (Hydrophilinae); Alegorius yixianus gen. nov., sp. nov. and Alegorius sp. from the Yixian Formation (Liaoning, China) may represent the Acidocerinae or Enochrinae, Hydroyixia elongata gen. nov., sp. nov. and H. latissima sp. nov. from the same locality are assigned to the Acidocerinae. The phylogenetic position of Baissalarva hydrobioides is also tested by a phylogenetic analysis. The presence of extant clades (Hydrophilinae: Hydrobiusini, Acidocerinae) in the Early Cretaceous and the wide distribution of the Hydrobiusini in both Gondwana and Laurasia at the same time suggests that the principal extant clades of the Hydrophilidae are at least of Early–Middle Jurassic origin. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London

First rove beetles from the Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed of Australia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

The first two rove beetle fossils discovered from the Late Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in New South Wales, Australia are described and illustrated.Juroglypholoma talbragarensen. sp. is the second fossil record for one of the smallest and latest recognized staphylinid subfamily Glypholomatinae. The other staphylinid,Protachinus minorn. gen. n. sp., is an unusual member of extant subfamily Tachyporinae (tribe Tachyporini). It significantly retains several distinct features, including entire epistomal suture, and abdominal tergites III–VI each with a pair of basolateral ridges. The discovery of a new glypholomatine in Australia, together with recently reported one from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou biota of China, suggests the subfamily Glypholomatinae was probably much more widespread in the Jurassic than previously thought.

The first wasps from the Upper Jurassic of Australia (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea, Praeaulacidae) STEFANIE K.

The Hymenoptera fossils discovered in the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia are described and illustrated. Gulgonga beattiei gen. et sp. nov., described from a single specimen, is assigned to the apocritan subfamily Praeaulacinae based primarily on wing venation, mesosomal structure, metasomal articulation, ovipositor shape and antennal form. It is the second member of Praeaulacidae known from Australia; all other praeaulacids have been found in the northern hemisphere. A second Talbragar wasp fossil is assigned to Apocrita incertae sedis because it is too poorly preserved for proper identification.

Talbragarus averyi gen. et sp. n., the first Jurassic weevil from the southern hemisphere (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Nemonychidae)

The first authentic weevil fossils known from Australia, and the oldest known from the southern hemisphere, are describedand illustrated on the basis of two specimens recovered from the Upper-Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in New South Wales.Talbragarus averyi gen. et sp. n. is classified in the family Nemonychidae based on the presence of scutellary strioles onthe elytra, the length and insertion of the antennae and the shape of the eyes, prothorax, legs and overall body. Anassignment of Talbragarus to a subfamily of Nemonychidae is not possible due to the lack of preservation of crucialcharacters, but it may represent the subfamily Rhinorhynchinae, which is still extant in Australia. Talbragarus wasprobably associated with the dominant plant species found in the Talbragar Fish Bed, the araucariaceous Podozamitesjurassica, and may have fed on its pollen as adults and larvae as extant Australian Nemonychidae do, indicating that this insect-plant association may have survived in Australia from Jurassic times.

Calosargus talbragarensisnew species: the first brachyceran fly from the Jurassic of Australia (Diptera, Archisargidae)

The first fly fossil discovered from the Upper Jurassic Talbragar Fish Bed in Australia is described and illustrated. Based on a single, well preserved wing,Calosargus (Calosargus) talbragarensisnew species is assigned to the extinct brachyceran family Archisargidae. Wing morphology suggests a relationship between this extinct family and Stratiomyidae. The Archisargidae have so far only been found in China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.CalosargusMostovski, 1997 currently comprises seven species from the Callovian (late Middle Jurassic) of China and three species from the Oxfordian (early Upper Jurassic) of Kazakhstan. This oldest brachyceran fossil from Australia and first record of the Archisargidae in the southern hemisphere presents evidence that higher flies were present in this region in the Jurassic, when this group is thought to have commenced its diversification.

The leptolepid fish Cavenderichthys talbragarensis (Woodward, 1895) from the Talbragar Fish Bed (Late Jurassic) near Gulgong, New South Wales

– "Leptolepis" talbragarensis Woodward, 1895, is the most common fish species in the Talbragar Fish Bed near Gulgong, New South Wales. The genus Cavenderichthys Arratia, 1997, has this species as its type. The three species originally proposed by Woodward (1895) for "Leptolepis" are a single species.

Revision of the Talbragar Fish Bed Flora (Jurassic) of New South Wales

The three well known form-species of the Talbragar Fish Bed Flora—Podozamites lanceolatus, Elatocladus planus and Taeniopteris spatulata—are redescribed as Agathis jurassica sp. nov., Rissikia talbragarensis sp. nov. and Pentoxylon australica sp. nov. respectively. The minor components of the assemblage are described and illustrated, and in some cases, reclassified. Additions are made to the list of plants recorded from the horizon.