A gigantic feathered dinosaur from the lower cretaceous of China

Numerous feathered dinosaur specimens have recently been recovered from the Middle-Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits of northeastern China, but most of them represent small animals. Here we report the discovery of a gigantic new basal tyrannosauroid, Yutyrannus huali gen. et sp. nov., based on three nearly complete skeletons representing two distinct ontogenetic stages from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China. Y. huali shares some features, particularly of the cranium, with derived tyrannosauroids, but is similar to other basal tyrannosauroids in possessing a three-fingered manus and a typical theropod pes. Morphometric analysis suggests that Y. huali differed from tyrannosaurids in its growth strategy. Most significantly, Y. huali bears long filamentous feathers, thus providing direct evidence for the presence of extensively feathered gigantic dinosaurs and offering new insights into early feather evolution.     

Basal tyrannosauroids from China and evidence for protofeathers in tyrannosauroids

Tyrannosauroids are one of the last and the most successful large-bodied predatory dinosaur groups, but their early history remains poorly understood. Here we report a new basal tyrannosauroid from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China, which is small and gracile and has relatively long arms with three-fingered hands. The new taxon is the earliest known unquestionable tyrannosauroid found so far. It shows a mosaic of characters, including a derived cranial structure resembling that of derived tyrannosauroids and a primitive postcranial skeleton similar to basal coelurosaurians. One of the specimens also preserves a filamentous integumentary covering similar to that of other coelurosaurian theropods from western Liaoning. This provides the first direct fossil evidence that tyrannosauroids had protofeathers.     

Pre-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Archaeopteryx</Emphasis> coelurosaurian dinosaurs and their implications for understanding avian origins

The last two decades have witnessed great advances in reconstructing the transition from non-avian theropods to avians, but views in opposition to the theropod hypothesis still exist. Here we highlight one issue that is often considered to raise problems for the theropod hypothesis of avian origins, i.e. the “temporal paradox” in the stratigraphic distribution of theropod fossils — the idea that the earliest known avian is from the Late Jurassic but most other coelurosaurian groups are poorly known in the Jurassic, implying that avians arose before their supposed ancestors. However, a number of Jurassic non-avian coelurosaurian theropods have recently been discovered, thus documenting the presence of most of the major coelurosaurian groups in the Jurassic alongside, or prior to, avians. These discoveries have greatly improved the congruence between stratigraphy and phylogeny for derived theropods and, effectively, they reject the “temporal paradox” concept. Most importantly, these discoveries provide significant new information that supports the relatively basal positions of the Tyrannosauroidea and Alvarezsauroidea among the Coelurosauria. Indeed, they imply a new phylogenetic hypothesis for the interrelationships of Paraves, in which Archaeopteryx, the Dromaeosauridae, and the Troodontidae form a monophyletic group while the Scansoriopterygidae, other basal birds, and probably also the Oviraptorosauria, form another clade. Mapping some of the salient features onto a temporally-calibrated theropod phylogeny indicates that characteristics related to flight and arboreality evolved at the base of the Paraves, earlier than the Late Jurassic.     

New discovery on dinosaur fossils from Early Jurassic, Sichuan, China

An early and primitive sauropod dinosaur, Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis (gen. et sp. nov.), from Lower Jurassic Dongyuemiao Member of Ziliujing Formation in Shibei Village, Gongxian County, Sichuan Province, China is described, which is among Gongxian dinosaur fossils discovered in 1997. Except for skull incomplete, fossils were well-preserved. It has concurrently some features of both sauropod and prosauropds. It is an intermediate type of evolution from prosauropod to sauropod, provides practical materials for studying of origin and evolution of sauropod dinosaur fauna, and a favourable way for stratigraphic correlation between Early Jurassic Ziliujing Formation and Lower Lufeng Formation, in the Sichuan Basin and the Central Yunnan Basin that lies to its southwest.     

Bird-like fossil footprints from the Late Triassic

The study of fossilized footprints and tracks of dinosaurs and other vertebrates has provided insight into the origin, evolution and extinction of several major groups and their behaviour; it has also been an important complement to their body fossil record. The known history of birds starts in the Late Jurassic epoch (around 150 Myr ago) with the record of Archaeopteryx, whereas the coelurosaurian ancestors of the birds date back to the Early Jurassic. The hind limbs of Late Triassic epoch theropods lack osteological evidence for an avian reversed hallux and also display other functional differences from birds. Previous references to suggested Late Triassic to Early Jurassic bird-like footprints have been reinterpreted as produced by non-avian dinosaurs having a high angle between digits II and IV and in all cases their avian affinities have been challenged. Here we describe well-preserved and abundant footprints with clearly avian characters from a Late Triassic redbed sequence of Argentina, at least 55 Myr before the first known skeletal record of birds. These footprints document the activities, in an environment interpreted as small ponds associated with ephemeral rivers, of an unknown group of Late Triassic theropods having some avian characters.     

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.     

准噶尔盆地下侏罗统页岩气形成条件

准噶尔盆地是中国西部的大型含油气盆地之一,沉积了多套烃源岩层,其中,侏罗系是盆地最重要的气源岩, 蕴含巨大的页岩气资源。通过钻井、录井、露头、岩芯资料及样品分析结果,从泥页岩的展布及埋藏条件、有机地球化 学特征、储层条件和含气特征几方面,研究下侏罗统页岩气的形成条件并对页岩气有利的勘探层位和区带进行了预 测。准噶尔盆地下侏罗统泥页岩广泛发育,以盆地西北缘及南缘沉积厚度最大;埋藏深度1 000～9 000 m,整体上具有 自北向南逐渐增加趋势;泥页岩有机碳含量较高,有机质类型以III 和II2 为主,具有倾气特征,有机质演化处于未成 熟高成熟阶段。泥页岩储层具有孔隙度低、黏土含量高的特点,储集空间以微裂缝为主。实验测得下侏罗统泥页岩 平均吸附含气量为1.42 m3/t。泥页岩段气测显示活跃,通过现场解吸试验证实了泥页岩中有天然气赋存。综合对比研 究认为,准噶尔盆地下侏罗统八道湾组为页岩气最有利的勘探层位,达巴松中拐地区为页岩气勘探最有利目标区。     

黄骅盆地孔西构造带的构造几何学特征

地震和钻井资料揭露的孔西构造带前第三系潜山的地质特征可以归纳为：构造带总体上不对称;构造带内部有地层重复现象;石炭—二叠系地层的位置明显高于两侧的同一地层的高度。用由3～4条向东倾斜的逆冲断层组成的叠瓦扇构造模式能够比较合理地解释上述地质特征。该带向东倾斜的逆冲叠瓦状断层组主要影响前侏罗系地层,侏罗—白垩系与卷入逆冲构造变形的古生界地层之间有明显的角度不整合。但是部分地段的逆冲断层前锋也已切割到侏罗—白垩系底部,表明在侏罗-白垩系发育初期仍有逆冲作用。沿着潜山构造带走向,逆冲构造样式有所变化。     

膜荚黄芪根瘤菌DNA的G+Cmol%测定及DNA-DNA杂交

在数值分类的基础上,利用复性速率液相分子杂交法及热变性温度法(Tm)对采自甘肃的膜荚黄芪根瘤菌进行了DNA-DNA杂交及G+Cmol%测定.结果表明,待测菌株的之间的DNA同源性大于70%,而与参比菌株的DNA同源性均低于70%;G+C mol%为63.7%.表明此新群为1个不同于已知种的、独立的DNA同源群.     

A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran from China with elongate ribbon-like feathers

Recent coelurosaurian discoveries have greatly enriched our knowledge of the transition from dinosaurs to birds, but all reported taxa close to this transition are from relatively well known coelurosaurian groups. Here we report a new basal avialan, Epidexipteryx hui gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle to Late Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. This new species is characterized by an unexpected combination of characters seen in several different theropod groups, particularly the Oviraptorosauria. Phylogenetic analysis shows it to be the sister taxon to Epidendrosaurus, forming a new clade at the base of Avialae. Epidexipteryx also possesses two pairs of elongate ribbon-like tail feathers, and its limbs lack contour feathers for flight. This finding shows that a member of the avialan lineage experimented with integumentary ornamentation as early as the Middle to Late Jurassic, and provides further evidence relating to this aspect of the transition from non-avian theropods to birds.     

Discovery of a short-necked sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period of Patagonia

Sauropod dinosaurs are one of the most conspicuous groups of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates. They show general trends towards an overall increase in size and elongation of the neck, by means of considerable elongation of the length of individual vertebrae and a cervical vertebra count that, in some cases, increases to 19 (ref. 1). The long neck is a particular hallmark of sauropod dinosaurs and is usually regarded as a key feeding adaptation. Here we describe a new dicraeosaurid sauropod, from the latest Jurassic period of Patagonia, that has a particularly short neck. With a neck that is about 40% shorter than in other known dicraeosaurs, this taxon demonstrates a trend opposite to that seen in most sauropods and indicates that the ecology of dicraeosaurids might have differed considerably from that of other sauropods. The new taxon indicates that there was a rapid radiation and dispersal of dicraeosaurids in the Late Jurassic of the Southern Hemisphere, after the separation of Gondwana from the northern continents by the late Middle Jurassic.     

Earliest known crown-group salamanders

Salamanders are a model system for studying the rates and patterns of the evolution of new anatomical structures. Recent discoveries of abundant Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous salamanders are helping to address these issues. Here we report the discovery of well-preserved Middle Jurassic salamanders from China, which constitutes the earliest known record of crown-group urodeles (living salamanders and their closest relatives). The new specimens are from the volcanic deposits of the Jiulongshan Formation (Bathonian), Inner Mongolia, China, and represent basal members of the Cryptobranchidae, a family that includes the endangered Asian giant salamander (Andrias) and the North American hellbender (Cryptobranchus). These fossils document a Mesozoic record of the Cryptobranchidae, predating the previous record of the group by some 100 million years. This discovery provides evidence to support the hypothesis that the divergence of the Cryptobranchidae from the Hynobiidae had taken place in Asia before the Middle Jurassic period.     

基于侏罗纪煤低温氧化特性自然发火技术分析研究

西北地区侏罗纪煤可采储量巨大,煤层自燃倾向性大,而侏罗纪煤层自燃机理研究落后于东部和华北的石炭二叠纪,因此了解西北地区侏罗纪煤层自燃研究现状对确立今后西北侏罗纪煤层自燃研究方向和完善煤层自燃理论体系具有重要意义。本文查阅参考了大量文献,总结了西北地区侏罗纪煤岩特征,详细阐述了侏罗纪煤的低温氧化自燃特性,并将现有的煤层自然发火模型推广应用到侏罗纪煤层,最终提出了侏罗纪煤实验室研究、数值模拟和现场实践的合理化建议。     

A Middle Jurassic 'sphenosuchian' from China and the origin of the crocodylian skull

The skull of living crocodylians is highly solidified and the jaw closing muscles are enlarged, allowing for prey capture by prolonged crushing between the jaws. Living species are all semi-aquatic, with sprawling limbs and a broad body that moves mainly from side-to-side; however, fossils indicate that they evolved from terrestrial forms. The most cursorial of these fossils are small, gracile forms often grouped together as the Sphenosuchia, with fully erect, slender limbs; their relationships, however, are poorly understood. A new crocodylomorph from deposits in northwestern China of the poorly known Middle Jurassic epoch possesses a skull with several adaptations typical of living crocodylians. Postcranially it is similar to sphenosuchians but with even greater adaptations for cursoriality in the forelimb. Here we show, through phylogenetic analysis, that it is the closest relative of the large group Crocodyliformes, including living crocodylians. Thus, important features of the modern crocodylian skull evolved during a phase when the postcranial skeleton was evolving towards greater cursoriality, rather than towards their current semi-aquatic habitus.     

A Jurassic mammal from South America

The Jurassic period is an important stage in early mammalian evolution, as it saw the first diversification of this group, leading to the stem lineages of monotremes and modern therian mammals. However, the fossil record of Jurassic mammals is extremely poor, particularly in the southern continents. Jurassic mammals from Gondwanaland are so far only known from Tanzania and Madagascar, and from trackway evidence from Argentina. Here we report a Jurassic mammal represented by a dentary, which is the first, to our knowledge, from South America. The tiny fossil from the Middle to Late Jurassic of Patagonia is a representative of the recently termed Australosphenida, a group of mammals from Gondwanaland that evolved tribosphenic molars convergently to the Northern Hemisphere Tribosphenida, and probably gave rise to the monotremes. Together with other mammalian evidence from the Southern Hemisphere, the discovery of this new mammal indicates that the Australosphenida had diversified and were widespread in Gondwanaland well before the end of the Jurassic, and that mammalian faunas from the Southern Hemisphere already showed a marked distinction from their northern counterparts by the Middle to Late Jurassic.     

Mammal teeth from the Cretaceous of Africa

We report here the discovery of two mammal teeth from the early Cretaceous of Cameroon. These, and some jaw fragments, all from Cameroon, are the only fossil evidence of mammalian evolution from Africa between late Jurassic and Paleocene, a span of at least 85 million years. A triangular upper tooth lacks the principal internal cusp of marsupials and placentals and is therefore of a similar evolutionary grade to most Jurassic and early Cretaceous therian mammals, but more primitive than the metatherian-eutherian grade. Early Cretaceous, or older, therian mammals are now known from all southern continents except Antarctica. The new find from Cameroon is consistent with the hypothesis that marsupials, the dominant living mammals of South America and Australia, were not present on any Gondwana continents until after the early Cretaceous separation of Africa by the opening of the South Atlantic.     

浅谈5G Wi-Fi的技术特点及应用

5G（5th-generation）是第五代移动通信技术的简称,手机在利用该技术后无线下载速度可以达到每秒3.6G。这一新的通信技术名为Nomadic Local Area Wireless Access,简称NoLA。尽管被称为4G的第四代移动通信制式还没有正式商用,但被称为5G Wi-Fi的第五代Wi-Fi却已兴起。本文主要介绍了5G Wi-Fi的特点、优势和应用。     

A new family of primitive mammal from the Mesozoic of western Liaoning, China

A fairly well-preserved specimen of a new primitive mammal, Repenomamus robustus gen. et sp. nov., has been described from the Yixian Formation (Lower Cretaceous), western Liaoning, China. This animal has several derived characteristics, such as well-developed den-tary/squamosal articulation, reduced number of tooth, differentiation of premolars and molars in postcanine teeth, presence of a dorsal process of the premaxilla that is not in contact with the nasal, closed medial wall of the orbit, and presence of fingerlike promontorium on the petrosal. It also retains some primitive reptile-like features. It is the most primitive taxon among the three mammals known from the Jehol Biota, and also represents the largest mammal of Mesozoic age over the world.     

北山盆地群侏罗、白垩系沉积体系及其分布、演化

通过地质调查并结合前人资料，研究了北山盆地群侏罗系与下白垩统的沉积体系类型及其分布、演化。结果表明：北山盆地群侏罗系及下白垩统为典型的内陆湖盆沉积，发育冲积扇、河流(以辫状河为主)、三角洲(包括扇三角洲、辫状河三角洲、曲流河三角洲)、湖泊等沉积体系；沉积体系的分布及演化主要受构造及古气候条件的影响，侏罗系及下白垩统属两个沉积旋回，每个沉积旋回大致可以划分为初始断陷期、强烈断陷期和断陷萎缩期3个沉积阶段；由于阿尔金断裂在侏罗纪时对北山地区南部影响较大，导致侏罗纪沉积呈现出一定的南北差异，表现为南部盆地断陷更为强烈．出现了较深湖相沉积，北部盆地断陷强度相对较弱，只出现滨浅湖沉积；早白垩世阿尔金断裂对本区影响不大，其沉积特征差异不明显。