Floristic Characteristics of the Rare and Endangered Plants and the Conservation Countermeasures in Tibet, China

The floristic elements and the geographical distribution are analyzed in this paper based on statistics of elements of rare and endangered plants in Tibet. The results have been gained as following:① According to ““““the National Important Wild Conservative Plants List (List 1)““““ and ““““the National Important Wild Conservative Plants List (List 1)““““, there are a total of 54 plant species (48 genera and 33 families); ② The geographical elements are very complicated in Tibet with 12 of 15 distribution patterns of genera classified byacademician Wu; ③ There are obvious temperate genera with 28 genera accounting for 60.40% of the total genera; ④ There are abundant endemic speciesaccounting for 18.52% of total species but poor endemic genera; ⑤ The geographical distribution is uneven and a great of species distribute in the areas be-tween 1 000 m and 3 500 m above sea level; ⑥ To protect the rare and endangered plants efficiently, six conservation measures are proposed, and 35 species are suggested for the conservative plants of the autonomous conservation level.     

A new fossil genus of Mesosciophilidae （Diptera, Nematocera） with two new species from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China

A new genus within the family Mesosciophilidae,Jurasciophila gen.nov.,with two new species,J.curvula gen.et sp.nov.and J.lepida gen.et sp.nov.,are described and illustrated.They are established based on fossil specimens with bodies and complete wings.All of them were collected from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou in southeastern Inner Mongolia,China.Comparing with two known genera,Mesosciophilina (Kovalev,1985) and Mesosciophilopsis (Blagoderov,1994),the new genus has transitional characters.The distribution pattern of Mesosciophilidae is briefly discussed.     

Quantitative Assessment on Endangerment Degree of Rare Animal and Plant Species in Tibet, China

It is of profound theoretical and practical significance to study endangerment status of rare species in Tibet. Index system is firstly set down for quantitative assessment of rare animal and plant species, then endangerment degree of wildlife under special state protection are calculated, which is expressed by value E. The results reveal that Yunnan snub-nosed monkey （Rhinopithecus bieti）, Himalayan tahr （Hemitragus jemlahicus） and Gigantic Cypress （Cupressus gigantea） have the highest E respectively in animals and plants. According to value E, all species are categorized into 4 ranks： critically endangered（0.6-0.8）, endangered （0.4- 0.6）, vulnerable （0.2-0.4） and lower risk （ E ≤ 0.2）. By comparison of the first five animals and plants of the highest E, each sub-ecozone bears a distinct identity.     

A new species of Gobiconodon （Triconodonta, Mammalia） and its implication for the age of Jehol Biota

A new species of Gobiconodon is found from the Yixian Formation of western Liaonlng, China. The new taxa,G zofiae sp. nov., has a confluent opening for branches Ⅱand Ⅲ of the trigeminal nerve on the anterior lamina of the petrosal. G zofiae sp. nov. is similar to Repenomamus in having an ossified Meckel‘s cartilage connecting the lower jaws and ear region. The new species, with enlarged I^1/I1, posteriorly located infraorbital foramen and four mental foramina,distinctly differs from the other species of Gobiconodon. The new material indicates that Gobiconodon has four, not five,upper molariforms. The presence of Gobiconodon in Jchol Biota makes it possible to correlate Jehol Biota with faunas in eastern Asia and North America, and suggests the age of the Yixian Formation to be Early Cretaceous.     

A new species from an ornithuromorph（Aves： Ornithothoraces）dominated locality of the Jehol Biota

We report on a new species of ornithuromorph bird, Iteravis huchzermeyeri gen. et sp. nov., from the previously unreported Sihedang locality of the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation, the oldest ornithuromorph bearing deposit in the world. Unlike most other Cretaceous localities, specimens from this new quarry are largely referable to Ornithuromorpha, similar to the Lower Cretaceous Aptian Xiagou Formation in Gansu Province. Also similar to the Xiagou avifauna, the fauna at Sihedang is largely dominated by a single taxon（described here）.Differences in faunal dominance may suggest the Sihedang records a unique ecological habitat. This may also explain the dominance of Gansus in the younger Xiagou Formation locality and suggests that previous hypotheses regarding the shift in dominance between Enantiornithes and Ornithuromorpha need to be reassessed in terms of potential ecological biases due to limited sampling. Furthermore, the recognition of an ornithuromorph dominated locality in the Sihedang significantly weakens the signal of such an inferred trend. Compared to most Jehol birds, the new specimen is relatively better preserved in three dimensions revealing morphological details of the skeleton, as well as preserves feather impressions including a rectricial morphology previously unknown among Mesozoic birds.     

Skara hunanensis a new species of Skaracarida (Crustacea) from Upper Cambrian (Furongian) of Hunan,south China

The fossils of Orsten-type preservation are as famous as Chengjiang Fauna in the world,but it was not until 2005 that the Orsten-type fossils represented by Skaraearida and Phosphatocopida were first reported to be found in western Hunan,South China. Here,we report the systematic paleontology of all the exquisitely preserved specimens belonging to Skaraearida.They were found at a same horizon of Upper Cambrian (Furongian) in Wangcun section,western Hunan,south China,assigned to a new species Skara huna- nensis herein.Skara hunanensis is characterized by small,soft-integumented,marine forms with slender,annulate body;labrum large and ventrocaudally directed;uniramous antennulae;biramous antennae and mandibulae;maxillas and maxillipeds of the same shape;all postantennular limbs join a short cephalic filter apparatus.The body has two tagmata:a cephalon with five pairs of well developed ap- pendages and a trunk composed of 11 ring-shaped conical segments.     

A new ichnotaxon of fossil bird track from the Early Cretaceous Tianjialou Formation （Barremian-Albian）, Shandong Province, China

It is well known that fossil bird tracks are geological records of ancient birds walking on the sediments. Prior to the 1980s, little attention was paid to fossil bird tracks partly because of the difficulties of field discrimination. Over the last decade, new discoveries on the bird origin and early evolution, as well as their relation to dinosaurs[1] have greatly stimulated dinosaur and ancient bird studies.Accordingly, the paleoenvironmental, paleoecological and early evolutional significan…     

Chenguodaite （Ag9FeTe2S4）： a new tellurosulfide mineral from the gold district of East Shandong Peninsula,China

Chenguodaite, approved by IMA-CNMMN （2004-042a）, was discovered in the Bunan quartz vein-type gold deposit in the gold district of East Shandong Peninsula. The mineral occurs in high grade Au-Ag-Cu ores, coexisting with galena, chalcopyrite, hessite, electrum, unnamed Ag6TeS2 and AglsFeBiTe3Se, enclosed and replaced by native silver and acanthite. In the reflected light microscope, the mineral has light gray color, indistinguishable anistropism and hardness around 2-3. The color indices of chenguodaite relative to ICE C illuminator are： x=0.3027, y=0.3076, Y=25.78%,λd=474 nm, Pe=3.68%, similar to those of canfieldite. The average chemical composition from 16 microprobe analyses is Ag8.97Fe1.00Te1.99S4.04, idealized to AggFeTe2S4. The polycrystalline X-ray diffraction of chenguodaite by Gandolfi camera and synchrotron oscillation photography results in 67 reflections with the 12 strongest being （relative intensity in bracket）： 6.742（69）, 6.416（39）, 5.951（33）, 3.265（100）, 2.981（24）, 2.649（22）, 2.25（24）, 2.188（71）, 2.142（22）, 2.123（31）, 2.044（23）, 1.949（33）, which are indexed to a primitive orthorhombic cell with a=12.769 （2） A, b= 14.814（2） A, c= 16.233 （1） A, V= 3070.6 A^3, Z= 9, Dcal.=6.85 g/cm^3. The name is for the late Prof. Chen Guoda, a famous Chinese geologist and the founder of Diwa-Geodepression theory of tectonics.     

Isolation and characterization of a new species of Vibrio-Vibrio olivaceus sp.nov. from diseased flounder （Paralichthys olivaceus temminck et schlegel）

One kind of pathogenic bacteria was isolated from diseased (or dead) flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus L.) which expressed bacterial septicaemia. The phenotyic information of the 10 pure cultures was studied extensively, including morphological characteristics, colony characteristics in different media, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and the mol%G C ratio of the DNA for representative strain. The results showed that the isolates belonged to a new species of Vibrio. In addition, the representative strains have been re-checked by China Center for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC), the results were the same as ours, the examined strains were also regarded as a new species of Vibrio, and designated as Vibrio olivaceus sp.nov. by its isolated fish (Paralichthys olivaceus) based on its biological properties following Rules of International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria. In the same time, we conducted studies on the serum homology of isolates, pathogenicity of isolates by experimental infection. The results showed that all the isolates were of serologic similarity and the isolates have strong pathogenicity to flounder. Inspection to pure cultures and isolates from liver of moribund fish from infection experiment by fluorescent antibody technique showed the feasibility of fluorescent antibody technique as an auxiliary method of examination.     

Phylogenetic position of Ephedra rhytidosperma, a species endemic to China： Evidence from chloroplast and ribosomal DNA sequences

The chloroplast genes matK and rbcL, ribosomal gene 18S and ITS regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA from Ephedra rhytidosperma, a species endemic to China, were sequenced and its phylogenetic position was investigated. Independent and combined phylogenetic analyses for the DNA sequences from 16 taxa representing 15 species of the genus Ephedra were performed using the maximum parsimony （MP）, neighbor-joining （N J）, minimum evolution （ME） and maximum likelihood （ML） methods. The results indicate that E. rhytidosperma is closely related to E. equisetina. The divergence time between them is estimated to be 10.85±2.44 Ma based on the results of the relative-rate tests and the evolutionary rate of rbcL gene.     

Two new Jurassic stoneflies （Insecta： Plecoptera） from Daohugou,Inner Mongolia,China

Two new genera and two new species of family Taeniopterygidae, Mengitaenioptera multiramis gen. et sp. nov. and Noviramonemoura trinervis gen. et sp. nov. are described. These fossils were collected from Daohugou Village （the Middle Jurassic）, Inner Mongolia, China. Hitherto, these fossil species from Daohugou are the oldest taeniopterygids. Both simple and complex venations simultaneously occurred in this group, which reveals that the early diversification of taeniopterids was well underway by the Middle Jurassic. Therefore, we prefer to adopt the Comstock＇s opinion that the venation of taeniopterids was derived from the simple venation of the older group （such as Palaeonemouridae） at much ancient geological time ago. Some of the descendants carried this simple venation; others evolved into complex venation with many additional crossveins and branches.     

Precambrian phosphatized embryos and larvae from the Doushantuo Formation and their affinities, Guizhou （SW China）

Weng＇an phosphates of the Precambrian Doushantuo Formation, Guizhou （southwestern China） preserve a large number of exquisite biological structures, which are mostly micro-spherical and represent seaweeds, acritarchs and developing eggs related to various groups of metazoans. Here is a report of a variety of developing eggs and larvae, which are most probably of Cnidarian affinity. The eggs examined in the study are composed of early cleavage embryos and two-layered gastrulae. The early cleavage embryos are radial and total cleavage with equal-size blastomeres. The gastrulae mostly bear a large archenteron, which is filled with yolk-degrading organic matter. Ovoid to fusiform planula-like larvae identified in thin sections under light microscope are mostly mouthless and their gastrovascular cavity is filled with possible yolk-degrading organic matter. They are likely representatives of non-feeding larva. The uncommon planula-like structures are hollow, with each having a mouth-like structure on its narrow end. We interpret them as feeding larva. Study of these embryos with possible Cnidarian affinities shed new insight on the origin of metazoans.     

Revision of “Parahagla lamina” Lin, 1982 and two new species of Aboilus (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae) from the EarlyMiddle Jurassic of Northwest China

The Lower and Middle Jurassic insects are rather poorly known from Northwest China. Here we restudy Parahagla lamina Lin, 1982 and transfer it from “Parahagla” to Aboilus Martynov, 1925. On the basis of the female forewing, we described two new species of the EarlyMiddle Jurassic, Aboilus tuzigouensis sp. nov. caome from Badaowan Foramtion at Tuzigou, Kelamayi, Xinjiang, Northwest China and A. jiyuanensis sp. nov. from Ma’ao Group, Jiyuan, Henan Province, Central China. The differences of the new materials from the other known species and their systematic positions are also discussed.     

Revision of “Parahagla lamina” Lin, 1982 and two new species of Aboilus (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae) from the EarlyMiddle Jurassic of Northwest China

The Lower and Middle Jurassic insects are rather poorly known from Northwest China. Here we restudy Parahagla lamina Lin, 1982 and transfer it from “Parahagla” to Aboilus Martynov, 1925. On the basis of the female forewing, we described two new species of the EarlyMiddle Jurassic, Aboilus tuzigouensis sp. nov. caome from Badaowan Foramtion at Tuzigou, Kelamayi, Xinjiang, Northwest China and A. jiyuanensis sp. nov. from Ma’ao Group, Jiyuan, Henan Province, Central China. The differences of the new materials from the other known species and their systematic positions are also discussed.     

A new section of Kaili Formation （Cambrian） and a biostratigraphic study of the boundary interval across the undefined Cambrian Series 2 and Series 3 at Jianshan,Jianhe County,China with a discussion of global correlation based on the first appearance datum of Oryctocephalus indicus （Reed, 1910）

A trilobite biostratigraphic study of a new section of the Kaili Formation at Jianshan, Chuandong Village, Jianhe County, Guizhou is reported. Additional occurrences of key species associated with the Ovatoryctocara granulata-Bathynotus holopygus Zone and the overlying Oryctocephalus indicus Zone that were originally defined from the trilobite assemblages at the WuliuZengjiayan section of the Kaili are reported from this new section. The first appearance datum （FAD） of Oryctocephalus indicus occurs at the 44.52 m above the base of the unit. Based on study of abundant specimens （n = 800） from the Kaili Formation, we argue that Oryctocephalus indicus is a widespread taxon with a global distribution. O. reticulatus （Lermontova, 1940） from the middle part of the Kounamkites Zone of the Amganian Stage in the Molodo River region of Siberia and O. americanus （Sundberg and McCollum, 2003） from Nevada, North America are similar to representatives of O. indicus which occur in the O. indicus Zone of the Kaili Formation. O. reticulatus and O. americanus are here synonymized with O. indicus （Reed, 1910）. This study strengthens the Wuliu-Zengjiayan section of the Kaili Formation as a candidate section for a Global Stratotype for the base of the unnamed Cambrian Series 3.     

Ecdysteroids in the pupae of Opogona sacchari （Bojer）, a new invasive alien pest

The banana moth Opogona sacchari (Bojer) of the family Hieroxestidae is a new invasive alien pest in China that originated from the moist tropical and sub- tropical areas of Africa[1]. So far, the pest has dispersed to many areas around the world includin…     

A new Euprox from the Late Miocene of Yuanmou,Yunnan Province,China,with interpretation of its paleoenvironment

The Yuanmou Basin of Yunnan Province is a hotspot for the research of early homind evolution and its environmental background.During the implementation of the Program“Research of the Origin and Evolution of Early Man and Its Environmental Baqckground” from 1998 to 2001,a huge quantity of hominoid and mammal fossils were collected.The present report systematically describes an Euprox robustus sp.nov.identified during the recent laboratory work on the collected material.Euprox is a group of earliest cervids with true antlers.The new species is the third one of the genus discovered in China.Judged by its morphologic characteristics,the new species feed on juicy and tender leaves of dicotyledon.It implies that the vegetation of its epoch in the Yuanmou Basin is a kind of southern subtropical evergreen forest and the climate is humid and temperate with evident seasonality.The latter is mostly influenced by the monsoon and secondly by the latitude.     

New primitive ichthyosaurian （Reptilia,Diapsida） from the Middle Triassic of Panxian,Guizhou, southwestern China and its position in the Triassic biotic recovery

A new primitive ichthyopterygian Xinminosaurus catactes gen. et. sp. nov. is erected based on a complete skeleton from the Middle Triassic Upper Member of the Guanling Formation at Panxian, Guizhou, southwestern China. It has a suite of uniquely derived char- acters in its dentition, ulna, carpals and tarsals. It is similar to primitive ichthyopterygians in retaining elongated limb bones. The new taxon and a diversity of marine reptiles in Panxian Fauna are the physical markers of the Middle Triassic Biotic radiation. Detailed studies of this fauna will supply essential knowledge on the diversity, migration and paleobiogeographic affinity of Middle Triassic ichthyopterygians.