Orbital forcing of Cretaceous river discharge in tropical Africa and ocean response

The tropics have been suggested as the drivers of global ocean and atmosphere circulation and biogeochemical cycling during the extreme warmth of the Cretaceous period; but the links between orbital forcing, freshwater runoff and the biogeochemistry of continental margins in extreme greenhouse conditions are not fully understood. Here we present Cretaceous records of geochemical tracers for freshwater runoff obtained from a sediment core off the Ivory Coast that indicate that alternating periods of arid and humid African climate were driven by orbital precession. Our simulations of the precession-driven patterns of river discharge with a global climate model suggest that ocean anoxia and black shale sedimentation were directly caused by high river discharge, and occurred specifically when the northern equinox coincided with perihelion (the minimum distance between the Sun and the Earth). We conclude that, in a warm climate, the oceans off tropical continental margins respond rapidly and sensitively to even modest changes in river discharge.     

广东茂名盆地始新世哺乳动物化石的发现

记述了发现于广东茂名盆地始新世油柑窝组的一种哺乳动物化石——杨氏路南兽(相似种)Lunania cf. L. youngiChow,这是该区首次发现哺乳动物化石,对该区古近纪地层划分与对比以及进一步研究我国南方古近纪哺乳动物群的分布与演化具有重要意义。     

A eudicot from the Early Cretaceous of China

The current molecular systematics of angiosperms recognizes the basal angiosperms and five major angiosperm lineages: the Chloranthaceae, the magnoliids, the monocots, Ceratophyllum and the eudicots, which consist of the basal eudicots and the core eudicots. The eudicots form the majority of the angiosperms in the world today. The flowering plants are of exceptional evolutionary interest because of their diversity of over 250,000 species and their abundance as the dominant vegetation in most terrestrial ecosystems, but little is known of their very early history. In this report we document an early presence of eudicots during the Early Cretaceous Period. Diagnostic characters of the eudicot fossil Leefructus gen. nov. include simple and deeply trilobate leaves clustered at the nodes in threes or fours, basal palinactinodromous primary venation, pinnate secondary venation, and a long axillary reproductive axis terminating in a flattened receptacle bearing five long, narrow pseudo-syncarpous carpels. These morphological characters suggest that its affinities are with the Ranunculaceae, a basal eudicot family. The fossil co-occurs with Archaefructus sinensis and Hyrcantha decussata whereas Archaefructus liaoningensis comes from more ancient sediments. Multiple radiometric dates of the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation place the bed yielding this fossil at 122.6-125.8 million years old. The earliest fossil records of eudicots are 127 to 125 million years old, on the basis of pollen. Thus, Leefructus gen. nov. suggests that the basal eudicots were already present and diverse by the latest Barremian and earliest Aptian.     

Palaeontology: pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous

Dinosaur embryos have been discovered all over the world, but so far no pterosaur embryos have been reported. Here we describe a Chinese fossil from the Early Cretaceous period containing an embryo that is unambiguously a pterosaur. The embryonic skeleton, which is exquisitely preserved in its egg, is associated with eggshell fragments, wing membranes and skin imprints. This discovery confirms that pterosaurs were egg-layers and sheds new light on our understanding of pterosaur development.     

Palaeontology: spider-web silk from the Early Cretaceous

The use of viscid silk in aerial webs as a means to capture prey was a key innovation of araneoid spiders and has contributed largely to their ecological success. Here I describe a single silk thread from a spider's web that bears glue droplets and has been preserved in Lebanese amber from the Early Cretaceous period for about 130 million years. This specimen not only demonstrates the antiquity of viscid silk and of the spider superfamily Araneoidea, but is also some 90 million years older than the oldest viscid spider thread previously reported in Baltic amber from the Eocene epoch.     

Tribosphenic mammal from the North American Early Cretaceous

The main groups of living mammals, marsupials and eutherians, are presumed to have diverged in the Early Cretaceous, but their early history and biogeography are poorly understood. Dental remains have suggested that the eutherians may have originated in Asia, spreading to North America in the Late Cretaceous, where an endemic radiation of marsupials was already well underway. Here I describe a new tribosphenic mammal (a mammal with lower molar heels that are three-cusped and basined) from the Early Cretaceous of North America, based on an unusually complete specimen. The new taxon bears characteristics (molarized last premolar, reduction to three molars) otherwise known only for Eutheria among the tribosphenic mammals. Morphometric analysis and character comparisons show, however, that its molar structure is primitive (and thus phylogenetically uninformative), emphasizing the need for caution in interpretation of isolated teeth. The new mammal is approximately contemporaneous with the oldest known Eutheria from Asia. If it is a eutherian, as is indicated by the available evidence, then this group was far more widely distributed in the Early Cretaceous than previously appreciated. An early presence of Eutheria in North America offers a potential source for the continent's Late Cretaceous radiations, which have, in part, proven difficult to relate to contemporary taxa in Asia.     

A lamprey from the Cretaceous Jehol biota of China

Widespread nowadays in freshwater and coastal seas of the cold and temporal zones, lampreys are a jawless vertebrate group that has been in existence for more than 300 million years but left a meagre fossil record. Only two fossil lamprey species, namely Mayomyzon pieckoensis and Hardistiella montanensis, have been recognized with certainty from North American Carboniferous marine deposits. Here we report a freshwater lamprey from the Early Cretaceous epoch (about 125 million years ago) of Inner Mongolia, China. The new taxon, Mesomyzon mengae, has a long snout, a well-developed sucking oral disk, a relatively long branchial apparatus showing branchial basket, seven gill pouches, gill arches and impressions of gill filaments, about 80 myomeres and several other characters that are previously unknown or ambiguous. Our finding not only indicates Mesomyzon's closer relationship to extant lampreys but also reveals the group's invasion into a freshwater environment no later than the Early Cretaceous. The new material furthers our understanding of ancient lampreys, bridges the gap between the Carboniferous ones and their recent relatives, and adds to our knowledge of the evolutionary history of lampreys.     

A pug-nosed crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar

Although the image of crocodyliforms as 'unchanged living fossils' is naive, several morphological features of the group are thought to have varied only within narrow limits during the course of evolution. These include an elongate snout with an array of conical teeth, a dorsoventrally flattened skull and a posteriorly positioned jaw articulation, which provides a powerful bite force. Here we report an exquisitely preserved specimen of a new taxon from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar that deviates profoundly from this Bauplan, possessing an extremely blunt snout, a tall, rounded skull, an anteriorly shifted jaw joint and clove-shaped, multicusped teeth reminiscent of those of some ornithischian dinosaurs. This last feature implies that the diet of the new taxon may have been predominantly if not exclusively herbivorous. A close relationship with notosuchid crocodyliforms, particularly Uruguaysuchus (Late Cretaceous, Uruguay) is suggested by several shared derived features; this supports a biogeographical hypothesis that Madagascar and South America were linked during the Late Cretaceous.     

A basal troodontid from the Early Cretaceous of China

Troodontid dinosaurs form one of the most avian-like dinosaur groups. Their phylogenetic position is hotly debated, and they have been allied with almost all principal coelurosaurian lineages. Here we report a basal troodontid dinosaur, Sinovenator changii gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Yixian Formation of China. This taxon has several features that are not found in more derived troodontids, but that occur in dromaeosaurids and avialans. The discovery of Sinovenator and the examination of character distributions along the maniraptoran lineage indicate that principal structural modifications toward avians were acquired in the early stages of maniraptoran evolution.     

中非BG盆地下白垩统Kubla组高分辨率层序地层学

预测中非BG盆地R区块Kubla组地层砂体在横向、纵向上的重点聚集区,确定有利油气聚集的重点层位.以BG盆地的区域地质、沉积相类型、钻井岩心和测井资料为基础,以高分辨率层序地层学理论及技术方法为指导,采用多级次基准面旋回层序划分和等时对比方案,对R区块Kubla组沉积-层序进行精细分析,识别出长期、中期、短期3个级次的基准面旋回层序,重点对短期和中期旋回层序的划分方式、层序类型和组合叠加式样进行了讨论.确定向上“变深”的非对称型和对称型旋回为各级次旋回层序的主要结构类型.以中期旋回层序为等时地层格架、短期旋回层序作为等时地层单元,建立起R区块Kubla组高分辨率等时地层格架.中期上升半旋回底部和下降半旋回顶部砂体的横向连通性较好,垂向上MSC3上升半旋回底部以及MSC2下降半旋回顶部砂体发育较好,是油气富集的有利层位.     

A gigantic bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China

An evolutionary trend of decreasing size is present along the line to birds in coelurosaurian theropod evolution, but size increases are seen in many coelurosaurian subgroups, in which large forms are less bird-like. Here we report on a new non-avian dinosaur, Gigantoraptor erlianensis, gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation of Nei Mongol, China. Although it has a body mass of about 1,400 kg, a phylogenetic analysis positions this new taxon within the Oviraptorosauria, a group of small, feathered theropods rarely exceeding 40 kg in body mass. A histological analysis suggests that Gigantoraptor gained this size by a growth rate considerably faster than large North American tyrannosaurs such as Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus. Gigantoraptor possesses several salient features previously unknown in any other dinosaur and its hind limb bone scaling and proportions are significantly different from those of other coelurosaurs, thus increasing the morphological diversity among dinosaurs. Most significantly, the gigantic Gigantoraptor shows many bird-like features absent in its smaller oviraptorosaurian relatives, unlike the evolutionary trend seen in many other coelurosaurian subgroups.     

A primitive therizinosauroid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Utah

Therizinosauroids are an enigmatic group of dinosaurs known mostly from the Cretaceous period of Asia, whose derived members are characterized by elongate necks, laterally expanded pelves, small, leaf-shaped teeth, edentulous rostra and mandibular symphyses that probably bore keratinized beaks. Although more than a dozen therizinosauroid taxa are known, their relationships within Dinosauria have remained controversial because of fragmentary remains and an unusual suite of characters. The recently discovered 'feathered' therizinosauroid Beipiaosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of China helped to clarify the theropod affinities of the group. However, Beipiaosaurus is also poorly represented. Here we describe a new, primitive therizinosauroid from an extensive paucispecific bonebed at the base of the Cedar Mountain Formation (Early Cretaceous) of east-central Utah. This new taxon represents the most complete and most basal therizinosauroid yet discovered. Phylogenetic analysis of coelurosaurian theropods incorporating this taxon places it at the base of the clade Therizinosauroiden, indicating that this species documents the earliest known stage in the poorly understood transition from carnivory to herbivory within Therizinosauroidea. The taxon provides the first documentation, to our knowledge, of therizinosauroids in North America during the Early Cretaceous.     

A bizarre predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar

Here we report the discovery of a small-bodied (approximately 1.8 m) predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Madagascar. Masiakasaurus knopfleri, gen. et sp. nov., represented by several skull elements and much of the postcranial skeleton, is unique in being the only known theropod with a highly procumbent and distinctly heterodont lower dentition. Such a derived dental morphology is otherwise unknown among dinosaurs. Numerous skeletal characteristics indicate that Masiakasaurus is a member of Abelisauroidea, an enigmatic clade of Gondwanan theropods. Previously, small-bodied abelisauroids were known only from Argentina. The occurrence of Masiakasaurus on Madagascar suggests that small-bodied abelisauroids, like their larger-bodied counterparts, were more cosmopolitan, radiating throughout much of Gondwana and paralleling the diversification of small coelurosaur theropods in Laurasia.     

中非地区B盆地下白垩统储层特征及其控制因素

目的分析中非地区B盆地下白垩统沉积环境、储层特征及其控制因素。方法利用沉积学、储层地质学理论及分析技术。结果B盆地中下白垩统碎屑岩储层大多形成在河流—三角洲、近岸水下扇等沉积环境中。碎屑岩储层岩性主要为中、细砂岩,不同地区、不同类型储层物性存在较大差异;物性最好的储层为河道、(扇)三角洲前缘水下分流河道及河口坝砂体。结论储层物性主要受压实作用、碳酸盐溶解与胶结作用及沉积环境四大因素控制,其中压实、溶蚀作用及胶结作用是主要控制因素,而沉积环境对物性的影响主要表现在控制原生孔隙的发育程度,并进一步控制溶蚀、胶结等成岩作用。     

哺乳动物防御素的研究及应用

防御素(Defensins)是近年来发现的广泛存在于生物界的一类阳离子抗菌活性肽.其中哺乳动物防御素的抗菌谱最为广泛,具有很高的应用潜力.文章针对哺乳动物防御素的组成分布、表达调控、生物学活性、基因工程等方面进行了研究.     

湘西更新世哺乳动物化石痕迹考察研究

目的 考察湘西土家族苗族自治州古丈县断龙乡猛虎洞更新世哺乳动物群骨化石断裂痕迹的状态与原因,探索湘西地区古人类活动的遗迹.方法 观测哺乳动物群骨化石断裂痕迹剖面的形态结构,以区别食肉类动物群的咬痕与人类打造的印迹.结果 经40件东方剑齿象、中国犀、鹿等残骨化石标本断裂痕迹剖面的观测,发现有部分骨化石断裂剖面圆钝,似啮齿动物的咬痕,但大部分骨化石断端剖面呈锥形切削改造,有的双面削刮呈锐利器型,有的存在明显打击或铲刮的 “印记”,初步认为属早期人类制作骨器的遗迹.结论 结合地理环境和地学结构分析,猛虎洞可能属晚更新世(10～5)万年前旧石器人类穴居的营地或系同生代古脊椎动物的遗址.     

Highly specialized mammalian skulls from the Late Cretaceous of South America

Dryolestoids are an extinct mammalian group belonging to the lineage leading to modern marsupials and placentals. Dryolestoids are known by teeth and jaws from the Jurassic period of North America and Europe, but they thrived in South America up to the end of the Mesozoic era and survived to the beginnings of the Cenozoic. Isolated teeth and jaws from the latest Cretaceous of South America provide mounting evidence that, at least in western Gondwana, dryolestoids developed into strongly endemic groups by the Late Cretaceous. However, the lack of pre-Late Cretaceous dryolestoid remains made study of their origin and early diversification intractable. Here we describe the first mammalian remains from the early Late Cretaceous of South America, including two partial skulls and jaws of a derived dryolestoid showing dental and cranial features unknown among any other group of Mesozoic mammals, such as single-rooted molars preceded by double-rooted premolars, combined with a very long muzzle, exceedingly long canines and evidence of highly specialized masticatory musculature. On one hand, the new mammal shares derived features of dryolestoids with forms from the Jurassic of Laurasia, whereas on the other hand, it is very specialized and highlights the endemic, diverse dryolestoid fauna from the Cretaceous of South America. Our specimens include only the second mammalian skull known for the Cretaceous of Gondwana, bridging a previous 60-million-year gap in the fossil record, and document the whole cranial morphology of a dryolestoid, revealing an unsuspected morphological and ecological diversity for non-tribosphenic mammals.     

New evidence on deinonychosaurian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia

Most of what is known about the evolution of deinonychosaurs (that is, the group of theropods most closely related to birds) is based on discoveries from North America and Asia. Except for Unenlagia comahuensis and some fragmentary remains from northern Africa, no other evidence was available on deinonychosaurian diversity in Gondwana. Here we report a new, Late Cretaceous member of the clade, Neuquenraptor argentinus gen. et sp. nov., representing uncontroversial evidence of a deinonychosaurian theropod in the Southern Hemisphere. The new discovery demonstrates that Cretaceous theropod faunas from the southern continents shared greater similarity with those of the northern landmasses than previously thought. Available evidence suggests that deinonychosaurians were probably distributed worldwide at least by the beginning of the Cretaceous period. The phylogenetic position of the new deinonychosaur, as well as other Patagonian coelurosaurian theropods, is compatible with a vicariance model of diversification for some groups of Gondwanan and Laurasian dinosaurs.