Description: Three Paracricetodon species from the late Eocene locality Buštranje and the Early Oligocene localities Valniš, Strelac-1, -2, -3 and Raljin (south-east Serbia) are described; Paracricetodon dehmi Hrubesch, 1957 and two new species: Paracricetodon stojanovici and P. gracilis. A review of Paracricetodon species suggests that the species P. spectabilis , P. cadurcensis , P. dehmi , P. walgeri and P. wentgesi are primarily distinct in size. Paracricetodon kavakderensis and P. kodjayarmensis from Turkish Trace are considered junior synonyms of P. dehmi . The diversity and abundance of the Paracricetodontinae in the rodent assemblages from Serbia is not known from elsewhere and suggest that they underwent a radiation on the Serbian-Macedonian land area.

Description: Isolated teeth of Melissiodontinae from two Eocene and four Oligocene localities in southeastern Serbia are described. One new genus and two new species are named. The study of the derived morphology of the cheek teeth and of the contrastingly primordial microstructure of the tooth enamel of this diverse material provides a glimpse into the early history of the subfamily. The supposedly Asian murid ancestor of the Melissiodontinae seems to have reached the Serbian-Macedonian land area during the early or middle Eocene, which is shortly after the split up of the Muridae and Dipodidae and before the ‘Grande Coupure’ of central and Western Europe. We interpret the rapid consequent specialisation of the morphology of the chewing apparatus of the Melissiodontinae as an adaptation to feeding on small invertebrates on the floor of the Eocene forest.

Description: Sea-level changes, palaeobathymetry, palaeo-productivity and depositional sequences (sequence stratigraphy) are evaluated using benthic foraminifers from two subsurface boreholes in the North Western Desert (Egypt) belonging to the Eocene Apollonia Formation. Five planktic foraminiferal biozones (E4–E5, E8–E10) have been identified. The absence of E6–E7 and upper Eocene zones are attributed to long-time unconformities (regional tectonics) during the Cretaceous/Palaeogene (K/Pg) and Eocene/Oligocene (E/O) boundaries with estimated time gaps of 16 and 13.9 Ma, respectively. Six benthic foraminiferal assemblages, spanning middle to outer neritic depths, are noted. They are represented by Bolivinoides decoratus , Eponides mariei , Bulimina quadrata , Anomalinoides zitteli , Uvigerina eocaena and Uvigerina pygmoides . Three depositional sequences based upon four sequence boundaries are also identified. Each depositional sequence can be classified into transgressive and highstand system tracts inferred from benthic foraminiferal palaeobathymetry, which are separated by maximum flooding surfaces (MFS), characterised by maximum abundance of buliminids and uvigerinids, and peak values of total foraminiferal numbers, planktic (P)% and diversity. Comparisons of our recorded sequences and their boundaries inside and outside Egypt reflect that the studied succession is affected by both tectonic activity that caused long time gaps and eustatic processes.

Description: A new dinosaur tracksite was recently discovered in the Upper Jurassic deposits from the Oléron Island (Atlantic Ocean, western France). Tracks are located along the coastline in the tidal area of La Morelière near “Pointe de Chassiron”. They were observed in situ in an evaporitic interval from the “Purbeck beds” Unit. Sediments consist of calcite recrystallised after gypsum dissolution within limestone layers which are composed of thin laminites. The track-bearing surface shows abundant mud cracks and some ripple marks. Ichnofossils consist of medium-sized tridactyl footprints of theropods forming a narrow trackway. In order to obtain 3D reconstructions of the track-bearing surface, the trackway was scanned with a resolution of 0.5 mm using an Artec Eva 3D white-light scanner. As indicated by the track dimensions, the probable trackmaker is assigned to a medium-sized non-coelurosaur tetanuran, such as a megalosauroid or an allosauroid theropod. The palaeoenvironmental context is interpreted as a tidal flat in an evaporitic basin. In addition to the tridactyl tracks, we report sauropod- and thyreophoran-like tracks on two other surfaces from Chassiron–La Morelière.

Description: A rich and diverse ichthyofauna is described from the upper Oligocene (Egerian) sands of Máriahalom, Hungary. The site is dominated by brackish molluscs that are preserved together with rare marine and terrestrial vertebrates. Based on the isolated elasmobranch and bony fish remains, eight sharks, four rays and seven teleost taxa were identified from Máriahalom. The ichthyofauna represents a nearshore marine subtropical community dominated by odontaspidid and carcharhinid sharks and by euryhaline durophagous sparids and by sciaenid teleost fishes. Epibenthic feeders were common, whereas piscivorous taxa included barracudas, billfishes and numerous sharks, including the macropredatory Otodus angustidens. Palaeontological, sedimentological and stratigraphical data indicates a tide-influenced and fluvial-influenced nearshore palaeoenvironment with brackish lagoons and normal marine littoral habitats. The remains of terrestrial, brackish and nearshore marine invertebrates and vertebrates accumulated in a tidal channel. The systematics of the ichthyofauna is consistent with the palaeogeography inferred from invertebrates, i.e. a Central Paratethys connected to the Mediterranean area during the Egerian.

Description: We describe the skeleton of a pregnant mare of the European equoid Eurohippus messelensis from the early middle Eocene of Grube Messel, Germany, 47.4–47.9 my of age (mammalian chronologic unit MP 11). This is the first detailed description of an individual skeleton of this species since Haupt (Abhandlungen der Hessischen Geologischen Landesanstalt, 6;1–159 Haupt 1925 ). Measurements prove that the skeleton of a pregnant mare fits exactly into the known variation of Eurohippus messelensis . Differences from the North American Eocene equid Arenahippus grangeri are only marginal. The size is similar, but the limb proportions indicate that cursoriality in A. grangeri had already achieved a higher level than in E. messelensis , which is 6-6.5 million years younger. We confirm the presence of rudimentary mc-I and mt-V in E. messelensis. The preservation of soft tissue is remarkable. We identified the distal end of the colon. SEM analyses display that it still contains plant material.

Description: A new carnivoran fauna composed of rare dental and long bone remains of basal arctoid carnivores from upper Oligocene lagoon deposits of Hungary are described. Despite the small sample size, four separate taxa could be identified including the semi-aquatic basal mustelid Potamotherium valletoni , the small-sized, terrestrial basal mustelidan Amphictis sp. or Franconictis sp., another indeterminate basal mustelidan, and the medium-sized, terrestrial basal ursoid Pachycynodon boriei . These or related taxa are typically known from the Oligocene–early Miocene of Western Europe and for a much lesser extent from Eastern Asia or North America. The new Hungarian occurrence provides the first record of Oligocene carnivorans from geographically intermediate coeval localities in Eastern Europe. These remains will aid biostratigraphic correlation of the terrestrial Oligo-Miocene of Western Europe with the marine Paratethys region.

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.