Description: There are four symbiotic associations involving corals known from the Late Devonian. Corals formed at least six symbiotic associations in the Mississippian, most of which involved crinoids. There was an escalation in the abundance and complexity of coral symbiosis from the Ordovician into the Devonian, and no decline in the Carboniferous. Coral symbiosis after the Kellwasser biotic crises was impoverished and presumably did not recover to Middle Devonian levels in the early Carboniferous. Recovery of symbiotic associations after the Hangenberg Event was due to the re-establishment of associations known from earlier Palaeozoic times and appearance of new symbiotic associations. The lack of various worm bioclaustrations and endobiotic tentaculitoid tubeworms in Carboniferous corals is the main difference from the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian coral symbiosis. Late Devonian symbiotic associations involving corals are different from early Carboniferous associations.

Description: The Tournaisian interval of the Mobarak Formation in the Alborz Basin (Iran) preserves a specific bed with Earlandiidae and three foraminiferal zones that are restricted to specific intervals within the late Tournaisian and correlate with northern Eurasian biostratigraphic units. The bed with Earlandiidae dates to the early Tournaisian and corresponds with the lower Tournaisian and lower part of the upper Tournaisian of the Russian Stratigraphic Scale. The Granuliferella latispiralis–Latiendothyranopsis zone dates back to the earliest Ivorian (MFZ4?–MFZ5) and correlates with the G. latispiralis and Spinoendothyra costifera zones of the Urals. The Eotextularia diversa zone is of earliest late Ivorian age (MFZ6) and corresponds to the lower part of the E. diversa zone of the Russian Stratigraphic Scale. The Endospiroplectammina venusta–Eoparastaffella ex gr. rotunda zone is of latest Ivorian (MFZ7–MFZ8) age and correlates with the upper part of the E. diversa zone and the E. rotunda zone of the Russian Stratigraphic Scale. The entire early Tournaisian (Hastarian) portion is devoid of recognisable foraminiferal material, which is likely linked to a faunal shift of subtropical and temperate taxa to tropical latitudes in response to the glaciations at the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary. The establishment of the G. latispiralis–Latiendothyranopsis zone coincides with the first mondial Tournaisian foraminiferal radiation. The second and third episodes of foraminiferal diversification ( E. diversa and E. venusta–Eoparastaffella ex gr. rotunda ) are congruent with major foraminiferal shifts from Tethyan realms to higher latitudes in response to thermal periods. The occurrence of specific foraminiferal taxa in Alborz is strongly linked to transgressions and migrations of North Palaeotethyan biotic elements. The described Tournaisian cyclic patterns in the Alborz Basin share significant similarities with those in the North American, western European and Siberian realms, indicating a link with large-scale palaeoclimatic patterns. This cyclic system correlates directly with the pacing of global eustatic sea-level fluctuations caused by climate oscillations and follows the fourth-order ocean-level fluctuations as described from other, independent proxies.

Description: The Zlíchovian/Dalejan boundary interval (Emsian, Lower Devonian) of the Pekárek Mill section was studied employing biostratigraphy (dacryoconarid tentaculites, conodonts) and palynology (chitinozoans, prasinophytes, scolecodonts) and microfacies analysis in order to shed more light on the timing and characteristics of the Daleje Event. The results of our study stress the great importance of the base of the Nowakia elegans Zone for the substage level division of the Emsian. Onset of the Daleje transgression is linked with higher terrigenous input, and coinciding changes in the chitinozoan assemblages were recorded at this level. The transgression at the base of the N. elegans Zone preceded the main transgression taking place in the N. cancellata Zone; it can be correlated with the Upper Zlíchov Event. For the first time, Emsian chitinozoans and a jawed polychaete fauna are described in detail from the Prague Basin and can be correlated with other northern Gondwanan regions. The family-level composition of scolecodont assemblage confirms the dominance of paulinitids in the peri-Gondwanan realm.

Description: Devonian deposits of Transbaikal, eastern Russia, within the Mongol-Okhotsk fold belt and adjacent areas have been studied. New data on the composition, age, and structure of Devonian marine formations is given, and a modern synthesis of the stratigraphy is proposed. The palaeontological characterisation of the formations is detailed, regional and interregional correlations are proposed. The presence of characteristic palynological associations and often of index-species for these palynozones makes it possible to date and correlate the stratigraphic units of the Eastern and Western Transbaikal and to trace them to the East European Platform.

Description: Three mega-assemblages and six assemblages of ostracods numbered 0 to V are recognised in the Devonian. They are indicative of lagoonal environments, semi-restricted environments and marine environments above and below fair-weather wave-base or storm wave-base. The water energy, the oxygenation and the temperature of marine waters seem to be the most important factors controlling the distribution of ostracods in the Devonian. These ostracod assemblages and mega-assemblages are also recognised in the Silurian and the Carboniferous. The ecological study of ostracods in the southern border of the Dinant Synclinorium, the type region for the definition of the Frasnian and Famennian stages, proves that the Late Devonian mass extinction is related to a period of hypoxy of marine waters followed and probably linked to a regression close to their boundary. The hypoxy is marked by the occurrence of the Myodocopid Mega-Assemblage, and its acme corresponds to the splendens Zone/ sigmoidale Zone boundary of the parachronology based on Entomozoid ostracods. The sea-level fall is attested by the occurrence of ostracods indicative of semi-restricted water conditions in several sections, and particularly at Sinsin where stacked valves due to very small waves related to the lap are observed. Thus, the study of ostracods shows that intrinsic factors linked to the global tectonic regime are the most important factors explaining the Late Devonian mass extinction. The Frasnian/Famennian historic boundary of Gosselet ( Annales de la Société géologique du Nord, 4 , 303–320, 1877 ) corresponding to the recovery of the mega-fauna after the acme of this mass extinction marks in reality the return to true marine water conditions after the semi-restricted marine episode. The Matagne Fm, the Senzeille Fm and the position of the F/F boundary in the Synclinorium of Dinant are discussed.

Description: The Miocene was an important period for the assembly of present-day avian faunas of the North Temperate Zone. Details of this process, however, remain largely unexplored due to the scarcity of diverse late Miocene avian localities throughout the Eurasian continent. Here, we present a survey of the osteological diversity of extant rails and, based on these results, assess the diversity of rails from the late Miocene (7.5–7.1 Ma) locality Morskaya-2 in the south of European Russia. We document three taxa, two of which are described as Crexica crexica gen. et sp. nov. and Miohypotaenidia tanaisensis gen. et sp. nov. These taxa show affinities with the modern species Crex crex and Hypotaenidia ( Gallirallus ) philippensis respectively and thus may represent the oldest records of the Crex and Hypotaenidia-Gallirallus lineages in the fossil record. The taxonomic composition of rails from Morskaya-2 locality considerably differs from that observed at the roughly coeval locality Polgárdi in Hungary, which likely reflects palaeogeographic differences during the late Miocene in Europe. Although Central Europe was already inhabited by modern-type rails in the late Miocene, more ancestral groups were present in the East. Some other aspects of the evolution of the modern fauna of Rallidae are discussed.

Description: The palaeobotanical record associated with the coal-bearing sequences of Euramerica has historically been taken to epitomise Pennsylvanian (late Carboniferous) vegetation. However, both the macrofloral and the palynological record reveals a much more complex picture of low-latitude vegetational habitats of this age. Many of these other vegetation types have been traditionally referred to as “upland” but with no real justification, and recently, the term “extra-basinal” has been increasingly used. However, the evidence in fact points to the existence of a complex of lowland–wetland, lowland–dryland, upland–wetland and upland–dryland vegetation at this time, together with a number of intermediate vegetation types. Understanding this complex of habitats is essential for a true understanding of late Palaeozoic, especially Pennsylvanian, vegetation history.

Description: A new anuran assemblage from the early Zanclean of Mallorca (Balearic Islands) is described using a set of 47 fossil bones obtained at the deposit of Na Burguesa-1, Mallorca. The assemblage includes four different anuran taxa: Alytes ( Baleaphryne ) aff. muletensis , Discoglossus sp., an indeterminate Bufonidae, and an indeterminate Ranidae. The record of Alytes and Discoglossus in this site represents the earliest evidence for the presence of their lineages on the Balearic Islands. The remains of the bufonid and the ranid constitute the first fossil record of these families in the Balearics. The discovery of this anuran assemblage has a relevant significance for the knowledge of the vertebrate colonisation of the Balearic Islands during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, especially due to the presence of a ranid and Discoglossus . These two taxa suggest that dispersal via a riparian corridor could have played a significant role in the Messinian colonisation of Mallorca, together with the corridor formed by the subaerial exposition of the Balearic Promontory. The Na Burguesa-1 site furnished one of the most diverse early Pliocene fossil anuran assemblages known so far in the Mediterranean islands.

Description: Recent study of Middle to Upper Devonian deposits in the Dong Van area, northeast Vietnam, has revealed new, more detailed information of both the stratigraphic record of the Si Phai section and global Devonian bioevents. Four possible equivalents of well-known Devonian events of different magnitude were found in Vietnam, an area which is underrepresented in that respect: the (?) Kačák Event, the (?) pumilio Events, the late Middle Givetian Taghanic Event and the Frasnian/Famennian Kellwasser Event. The stratigraphic framework of the Si Phai section allows us to recognise and assess the timing of global Devonian bioevents in Vietnam even though the section is not continuous. An overview of the sedimentological development of the Si Phai section is discussed briefly where carbonates in the section are composed of argillaceous limestones suggesting relatively deep, off-shore conditions. Due to the facies setting, the macrofauna is generally rare and the conodont record is likewise limited in some parts. Nevertheless, it is possible to pinpoint some global event intervals for the first time in Vietnam.

Description: Cenozoic sediments of the Taatsiin Gol and TaatsiinTsagaan Nuur area are rich in fossils that provide unique evidence of mammal evolution in Mongolia. The strata are intercalated with basalt flows. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data of the basalts frame the time of sediment deposition and mammal evolution and enable a composite age chronology for the studied area. We investigated 20 geological sections and 6 fossil localities of Oligocene and early Miocene deposits from this region. Seventy fossil beds yielded more than 19,000 mammal fossils. This huge collection encompasses 175 mammal species: 50% Rodentia, 13% Eulipotyphla and Didelphomorphia, and 12% Lagomorpha. The remaining 25% of species are distributed among herbivorous and carnivorous large mammals. The representation of lower vertebrates and gastropods is comparatively poor. Several hundred SEM images illustrate the diversity of Marsupialia, Eulipotyphla, and Rodentia dentition and give insight into small mammal evolution in Mongolia during the Oligocene and early Miocene. This dataset, the radiometric ages of basalt I (∼31.5 Ma) and basalt II (∼27 Ma), and the magnetostratigraphic data provide ages of mammal assemblages and time ranges of the Mongolian biozones: letter zone A ranges from ∼33 to ∼31.5 Ma, letter zone B from ∼31.5 to ∼28 Ma, letter zone C from ∼28 to 25.6 Ma, letter zone C1 from 25.6 to 24 Ma, letter zone C1-D from 24 to ∼23 Ma, and letter zone D from ∼23 to ∼21 Ma.