Description:    Cores from shallow boreholes penetrating the Mississippian Poti Formation, in the western margin of the Parnaíba Basin, contain dark grey diamictites which are extremely rich in well-preserved palynomorphs. Eighty-eight miospore taxa have been identified, and almost half of these are obviously reworked. The presence of these early Late Viséan-age diamictites might possibly contradict the accepted climatic implications of the Paraca Flora, which is also recorded in the Poti Formation. However, a time span of ca. 4 Ma, corresponding to almost the entire Late Viséan, probably allowed the warmer-climate Paraca Flora to exist between the early Late Viséan and Serpukhovian ice ages. Cores from a deep borehole penetrating the upper Cabeças strata of latest Famennian age, in central Parnaíba Basin, contain tillites and varve-like rhythmites, usually laminated siltstones and sandstones, with scattered clasts. Forty-one miospore taxa have been identified from these diamictites and associated siltstones, most of which (70 %) were reworked from Middle and Upper Devonian sediments. An 18-m-thick diamictite section in the lower portion of the Itacua Formation at Bermejo, southeast Bolivia, was reported to display the three successive Strunian miospore zones (LL–LE–LN) established in Western Europe, and thus interpreted as a composite that records several deglaciation events occurring over 3 million years. However, we challenge the presence of the three successive Strunian miospore zones in the Bolivian diamictites which for us correspond only to parts of the LE and LN zones. In Western Europe, the same shorter interval of the miospore zonation corresponds to a period of lower sea-surface palaeotemperatures based on oxygen isotopes from conodont apatite (δ 18 O phosph ) as well as a conspicuous sea-level change. Conodont data suggest a much shorter time span (100,000 years) for the highest LE and the LN interval encompassing the Hangenberg and Drewer Sandstones. On the other hand, the Itacua Formation (Bolivia), sampled 33 m and 58 m above the base of the formation, more likely testifies to multiple glacial–interglacial events featuring a superposition of latest Famennian and Mississippian diamictites. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0109-1 Authors M. Streel, Department of Geology, University of Liège, Sart-Tilman B18, BE 4000 Liège 1, Belgium M. V. Caputo, Centro de Geociências, Faculdade de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Av. Perimetral s/n, 66075-110 Belém-PA, Brazil J. H. G. Melo, Petrobras/Cenpes/Pdgeo/Bpa, Av. Horácio Macedo 950, I. Fundão, 21941-915 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil M. Perez-Leyton, Calle Charcas Nº 651, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    A new species of Sinemys (Testudines: Cryptodira: Sinemydidae), S. brevispinus n. sp. is described on the basis of three skeletons from the Early Cretaceous Luohandong Formation, Chabu Sumu, Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia. The new taxon is characterised by an elongate carapace with a pair of distinct but short lateral spines, a sculptured shell surface, closed lateral carapacial fontanelles and an open incisura columellae auris. A nearly complete turtle skeleton from the Early Cretaceous of Hedaochuan, Huanxian, Gansu Province which was previously referred to S. lens is revised and assigned to S . cf. brevispinus . The systematics of Sinemydidae is discussed and the family is restricted to the genus Sinemys . S. brevispinus likely lived in a fluvial environment with the spines acting as a stabiliser to limit the rolling of the carapace, as in S. gamera , but the difference in the shape of the shell suggests that these two species were adapted to different hydrodynamic regimes. The distribution of Sinemys adds to the evidence for biogeographically distinct aquatic communities in eastern and western China during the Early Cretaceous. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0110-8 Authors Haiyan Tong, Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University, Kantarawichai, Mahasarakham 44150, Thailand Donald Brinkman, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Box 7500, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0, Canada Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    General aspects and some peculiarities of the Lake Messel fish fauna are presented and discussed with special focus on the palaeoenvironmental framework. The overall composition of that fauna is analysed including details such as age and growth. Palaeopathological information is derived from scale regeneration, and selected aspects of mortality and taphonomy are also investigated. Special emphasis is placed on analyses of the horizontal and vertical distribution patterns of the fishes in comparison with those of plant and arthropod records on the one hand and the orientation patterns of fish carcasses on the other hand. In this context, long- and short-term, and also local, differences and modifications are discussed. All results indicate a very particular environmental scenario. Lake Messel cannot have been steadily isolated from external water bodies during the period of time that is represented by the investigated fossils. There must instead have been various opportunities for a renovation of the lake’s fish fauna. Probably, the peculiarities of that fauna were predominantly triggered by a selective influx, which also changed during more extended periods of time. The selection could have taken place during active immigration events and by modified interactions with different types of external catchment areas. There need not necessarily have been locally fixed inlets and outlets. It is probable that there were more flexible control mechanisms, like an exchange of water with other bodies of water during occasional high water periods, and in places with a partial (or complete) erosion of the tephra wall shelter. The latter may also have varied as a function of the intensity of the respective high water events. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-45 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0106-4 Authors Norbert Micklich, Natural History Department, Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    A chlorococcal alga of the genus Coelastrum is firstly described from the sediments of the Eocene Lake Messel on the basis of morphological characters and fluorescence microscopy. The great abundance of this alga in massive parts of the stratigraphic section shows its significance for the Messel ecosystem in Eocene times, besides other known algae from this locality. The very favourable conditions of fossilisation allow the identification of various generational stages of this alga. Interestingly, the best preserved specimens were found in small fish coprolites (although we interpret Coelastrum sp. as by-catch and not an important source of food for fish). Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0105-5 Authors Gotthard Richter, Abteilung Paläoanthropologie und Messelforschung, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Wolfgang Schiller, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Sven Baszio, Bereich Paläontologie, Steinmann-Institut der Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    Sedimentological, taphonomic, and palaeoecological analyses of a core from the central Pearl River delta plain allow a detailed reconstruction of the Holocene sedimentological and biological evolution. The marine ingression of the postglacial sea-level rise reached the core site 9,600 years ago and quickly established brackish conditions. Subsequent to a minor regression, water depths and salinity levels peaked between 7,500 and 6,800 years ago. The eventual cessation of the postglacial sea-level rise led to progradation of the delta front and the establishment of fluvial conditions around 4,200 years BP. Subsequent episodic and short-lived marine ingressions can be attributed to shifting delta lobes. While the reconstructed model parallels already established global and regional sea-level curves, the dataset allows further conclusions. The highly fossiliferous core yields abundant bivalves, gastropods, foraminifera and ostracods. Although these fossil groups recur throughout the core, their resolution potentials for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions differ substantially. Bivalves and foraminifera are extremely abundant. However, their very low species richness and high tolerance to environmental fluctuations only allow the reconstruction of the major steps of delta evolution. Gastropods are more diverse (22 taxa) but occur only sporadically, which diminishes their resolution potential. Another problem is the insufficient knowledge on these mm-scale brackish-water molluscs. In the present study, ostracods exhibit the highest resolution potential, which is mainly due to their high abundance and diversity (32 taxa). Although many of the recorded ostracod species are euryoecious with regard to environmental factors such as salinity, substrate, or water depth, the use of palaeocommunity analyses allows the most detailed palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. While the study of molluscs involves considerably less preparation time than that of microfossils, only ostracods reflect all environmental changes present in the studied core. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-27 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0101-9 Authors Matthias Alberti, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Fachgruppe PaläoUmwelt, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Loewenichstraße 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany Manja Hethke, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Fachgruppe PaläoUmwelt, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Loewenichstraße 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany Franz T. Fürsich, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Fachgruppe PaläoUmwelt, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Loewenichstraße 28, 91054 Erlangen, Germany Chunlian Liu, Department of Earth Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275 Guangzhou, China Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    Facies in a 238-m-long core drilled through the fore reef of the Devonian (Givetian–Frasnian) Iberg Reef is largely characterised by detrital deposits. Fibrous, early marine cements are common. Stromatoporoids, corals, and crinoids are the dominant reef-building taxa. Brachiopods, cephalopods, and conodontophorids belong to the reef dwellers. Reef destroyers include gastropods and rare echinoids. Quantitative analysis of abundance data allows for dilineation of five facies including detritus-rich grainstones–rudstones, cement- and detritus-rich grainstones–rudstones, cement-rich rudstones, stromatoporoid rudstones, and crinoid grainstones. Time-series analysis indicates cyclic sedimentation that might have been related to mid–late Devonian third-order sea-level variations. However, the long-term (mid-Devonian to Early Carboniferous) development of the Iberg Reef including the post-reef seamount stage was presumably controlled by subsidence. Content Type Journal Article Category Short Communication Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0108-2 Authors Eberhard Gischler, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany M. Mesut Erkoç, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description: “Messel and the terrestrial Eocene” – Proceedings of the 22nd Senckenberg Conference Content Type Journal Article Category Preface Pages 1-6 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0107-3 Authors Thomas Lehmann, Palaeoanthropology and Messel Research Department, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Stephan F. K. Schaal, Palaeoanthropology and Messel Research Department, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    In this paper, part of the amphisbaenian fossil record from the european Eocene is revised. There is no evidence for the existence of amphisbaenian lizards in Europe or on other continents during the Late Cretaceous. Crown amphisbaenians were present in Europe in the early Paleocene and throughout the Paleogene, with the notable exception of the middle Eocene. In particular, they were not found at Messel. European fossil taxa previously assigned to the amphisbaenians are briefly reviewed, and a description of some representative specimens from the Eocene fossil record is presented: dentary and vertebrae from Mutigny (early Eocene, France) are referred to the North American genus Anniealexandria ; fossils from the late Eocene of the Phosphorites du Quercy (France) are attributed to Blanidae, and they are the earliest secure occurrence of Blanidae in the fossil record; and dentaries and maxillae from Grisolles (middle-late Eocene, Paris Basin, France) are referred to a new species, Louisamphisbaena ferox . Global distribution of fossil amphisbaenians in the Eocene reveals at least one episode of dispersal between North America and Europe during the early Eocene. Finally, some explanations are suggested for the absence of crown amphisbaenians at Messel and in the European middle Eocene. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-19 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0104-6 Authors Marc Louis Augé, Muséum national d‘Histoire naturelle UMR 7207 CNRS, CP 38, Rue Buffon, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    The publication of a well preserved Eocene primate, Darwinius masillae (Cercamoniinae, Notharctidae), has revived the debate on the phylogenetic relationships of Adapiformes and extant primates (Franzen et al., PLos ONE 4(5):e5723, 2009 ). Recently, Lebrun et al. (J Anat 216:368–380, 2010 ) showed that the morphology of the bony labyrinth of strepsirrhine primates conveys a strong phylogenetic signal. The study of labyrinthine morphology may thus bring a new piece of evidence to resolve phylogenetic relationships within a group. The investigation of the labyrinthine morphology of another Cercamoniinae, Pronycticebus gaudryi, reveals no synapomorphy with the labyrinths of modern anthropoids. On the contrary, Pronycticebus is closer in labyrinthine shape to extant strepsirrhines, which supports the hypothesis that the Cercamoniinae and other Adapiformes are the sister group of toothcombed primates. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0099-z Authors Renaud Lebrun, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution (UMR-CNRS 5554), C.C. 64, Université Montpellier 2, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France Marc Godinot, Laboratoire EPHE d’Evolution des Primates and UMR 7207 «Centre de Recherches sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements» (CR2P), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 8 rue Buffon, CP38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France Sébastien Couette, Laboratoire EPHE d’Evolution des Primates and UMR 7207 «Centre de Recherches sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements» (CR2P), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 8 rue Buffon, CP38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France Paul Tafforeau, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France Christoph Zollikofer, AnthropologischesInstitut und Museum, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Zürich, Switzerland Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594

Description:    Eocene mammals from Grube Messel are divided into those that lived terrestrially on the ground (2D-mammals) or arboreally (3D-mammals). Their biomechanics and locomotion are discussed on the basis of equids ( Eurohippus , Propalaeotherium ) and Leptictidium as examples of 2D-mammals and primates ( Europolemur , Darwinius ) of 3D-mammals. The determining factor for lifestyle is the autopodia: 2D-mammals need nothing more than compression-transmitting balls with reinforced anterior margins (hooves). These autopodia do not require much energy, but metapodia and even phalanges can elongate the functional length of the free limbs. Primates as 3D-animals need prehensile hands and feet, which can transmit tensile forces and even torques. Their metapodials are part of the prehensile organ. Their strong and energy-requiring musculature increases the masses on the distal limb segments and so influences the locomotor modes. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Paper Pages 1-18 DOI 10.1007/s12549-012-0103-7 Authors Holger Preuschoft, Sub-Department of Functional Morphology, Anatomical Institute, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany Jens Lorenz Franzen, Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments Online ISSN 1867-1608 Print ISSN 1867-1594