| 1. |
- Abel, Pascal, et al.
(author)
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An anhanguerian pterodactyloid mandible from the lower Valanginian of Northern Germany, and the German record of Cretaceous pterosaurs
- 2021
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - : Polska Akademia Nauk Instytut Paleobiologii (Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences). - 0567-7920 .- 1732-2421. ; 66:3, s. S5-S12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The record of Cretaceous pterosaur remains from Germany is sparse. The material recovered to date includes the fragmentary holotypes of Targaryendraco wiedenrothi and Ctenochasma roemeri, as well as a few isolated pterodactyloid teeth and some indeterminate skeletal elements, together with a plaster cast of a large Purbeckopus manus imprint. Here, we report the discovery of a pterodactyloid pterosaur mandible from lower Valanginian strata of the Stadthagen Formation in the Lower Saxony Basin of Northern Germany. Based on the size and spacing of its alveoli, this fossil is attributable to the cosmopolitan Early Cretaceous pteranodontoid clade Anhangueria. Moreover, it represents the first and only known pterosaur from the Valanginian of Germany and is one of only a handful Valanganian pterosaur occurrences presently recognized worldwide. In addition to the approximately coeval Coloborhynchus clavirostris from the Hastings Bed Group of southern England, the Stadthagen Formation pterosaur mandible is among the stratigraphically oldest identifiable anhanguerians.
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| 2. |
- Ahlberg, Per, et al.
(author)
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Lotagnostus? : mystacinus, a rare agnostid from the Upper Cambrian of Sweden
- 2000
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - 0567-7920. ; 45:1, s. 91-96
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Agnostids afford the best means of correlating Cambrian strata, and they are widely used for intercontinental correlations. They are most common in open-marine deposits and reached a maximum diversity during the Middle and early Late Cambrian. About twenty species of agnostids are known from the Upper Cambrian of Scandinavia. Lotagnostus? mystacinus Tjernvik, 1953 is a rare agnostid from the Upper Cambrian Agnostus pisiformis Zone of south-central Sweden. It is redescribed following examination of the holotype and an additional pygidium. The outline and morphology of especially the pygidial posteroaxis, which is distinctly trilobate by a pair of deep notular furrows, suggest that the species is best classified as a species of Lotagnostus. If correctly assigned to Lotagnostus, it would be the oldest known species of that genus.
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| 3. |
- Ahlberg, Per, et al.
(author)
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Phosphatised olenid trilobites and associated fauna from the Upper Cambrian of Vastergotland, Sweden
- 2005
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - 0567-7920. ; 50:3, s. 429-440
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Secondarily phosphatised olenid trilobites from organic-rich limestones (orsten) in the Furongian (Upper Cambrian) of Vastergotland, south-central Sweden, are described and illustrated. All trilobites originate from the Peltura scarabaeoides Zone and were collected on the western slope of Kinnekulle. Only the dorsal exoskeletons have become secondarily phosphatised, and the ventral appendages are not preserved. Yet the material is otherwise remarkably well preserved and reveals the morphology of the olenid trilobites in greater detail than hitherto known. Species belonging to the genera Ctenopyge, Sphaerophthalmus, Parabolina, and Peltura are identified, and several juvenile specimens are present in the material. The material is disarticulated and fragmentary, and it has only been possible to identify a few specimens to species level. In addition to chaetognaths and conodonts, the trilobites are associated with pelmatozoan columnals, a possible camaroid, and fossils of uncertain affinities. These fossils, along with a probable conulariid fragment from the Peltura minor Zone, are also described and discussed. The presence of a benthic fauna of pelmatozoans, and possible conulariids and camaroids, indicates that at least parts of the Peltura zones were deposited during dysoxic rather than anoxic periods. Moreover, the sea floor must have been firm enough to allow colonisation by sessile organisms.
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| 4. |
- Alvarez, Maria Eugenia Dies, et al.
(author)
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Bradoriid arthropods from the lower-middle Cambrian of Scania, Sweden
- 2008
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - 0567-7920. ; 53:4, s. 647-656
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Three species of bradoriid arthropods from the lower to middle Cambrian transitional interval of Scania, southern Sweden, are described and illustrated: Beyrichona tines from the top of the traditional lower Cambrian (Gislov Formation: Ornamentaspis? linnarssoni Zone), and Hipponicharion eos and Alutella sp. from the basal portion of the traditional middle Cambrian (lowermost part of the Alum Shale Formation). The bradoriid fauna compares most closely with others previously described from western and eastern Avalonia (New Brunswick and England). The record of B. tinea suggests a correlation between the "Protolenus Zone" (Hupeolenus Zone) of western Avalonia and the O.? linnarssoni Zone of Scandinavia. Hipponicharion eos appears to be a fairly long-ranging species as it has previously been recorded from upper lower Cambrian or lower middle Cambrian strata in New Brunswick, Poland, and probably Sardinia. The record of H. eos from the lowermost part of the Alum Shale Formation suggests that this largely unfossiliferous interval in the Scanian succession is not younger than the Acadoparadoxides oelandicus Superzone. The genus Alutella has not previously been recorded from the Acado-Baltic Province.
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| 5. |
- Balinski, A., et al.
(author)
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The Late Devonian trematid lingulate brachiopod Schizobolus from Poland
- 1999
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In: Acta Paleontologica Polonica. - 0567-7920. ; 44:3, s. 335-346
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A new species of the poorly known lingulate brachiopod Schizobolus is described from the Famennian (Upper Devonian) of Poland. S. polonicus sp. n. has a triangular pedicle notch and a small listrium, indicating that it belongs to the Trematidae within the superfamily Discinoidea. S. polonicus retains some linguloid features, such as a linguloid-like 'pedicle groove' and a V-shaped imprint of the pedicle nerve. The disturbance band, which occurs in the apical part of the larval shell, probably delimits two stages of growth, namely pre-larval (embryonic?) and larval, or, early-larval and late-larval. S. polonicus is the youngest member of the genus, and of the family Trematidae. Five incompletely preserved discinids from the Famennian of Łagów are described as Trematidae gen. et sp. indet
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| 6. |
- Balthasar, Uwe, et al.
(author)
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Early Cambrian "soft-shelled" brachiopods as possible stem-group phoronids
- 2009
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - 0567-7920 .- 1732-2421. ; 54:2, s. 307-314
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Brachiopods and phoronids are widely recognised as closely related lophophorate phyla. but the lack of morphological intermediates linking the bivalved bodyplan of brachiopods with tubular phoronids has frustrated precise phylogenetic placement. Here we describe Lingulosacculus nuda gen. et sp. nov., a new "soft-shelled" brachiopod from the Early Cambrian Mural Formation of western Alberta which provides a plausible candidate for a phoronid stem-group within (paraphyletic) Brachiopoda. In addition to its non-biomineralised shell, L. nuda had a ventral valve with an exceptionally long, pocket-like extension (pseudointerarea) that Would have allowed the transformation of criss-crossing brachiopod-type musculature to the longitudinal arrangement typical of phoronids. "Soft-shelled" linguliform brachiopods have previously been reported from both the Chengjiang and Burgess Shale Lagerstatten which, together with L. nuda. probably represent two independent losses of shell mineralisation in brachiopods.
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| 7. |
- Benoit, Julien, et al.
(author)
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Palaeoneurology and palaeobiology of the dinocephalian Anteosaurus magnificus
- 2021
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - Warsaw : Polish Academy of Science. - 0567-7920 .- 1732-2421. ; 66, s. 29-39
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dinocephalians (Therapsida), some of the earliest amniotes to have evolved large body size, include the carnivorous Anteosauria and mostly herbivorous Tapinocephalia. Whilst the palaeoneurology of the Tapinocephalia has been investigated in Moschognathus whaitsi, that of the Anteosauria remains completely unknown. Here we used X-ray micro-Computed Tomography to study, for the first time, the palaeoneurology of Anteosaurus magnificus. Compared to Moschognathus, we reconstruct Anteosaurus as an agile terrestrial predator based on the enlarged fossa for the floccular lobe of the cerebellum and semicircular canals of the inner ear. A major difference between the two genera resides in the orientation of the braincase, as indicated by the angle between the long axis of the skull and the plane of the lateral semicircular canal. This angle is 25° in Anteosaurus, whereas it is 65° in Moschognathus, which suggests that the braincase of the latter was remodelled as an adaptation to head-butting. This is consistent with less cranial pachyostosis and the retention of a large canine in Anteosauria, which suggests that dentition may have been used for intraspecific fighting and display in addition to trophic interactions. The evolution of a thick skull, horns, and bosses in tapinocephalids parallels the evolutionary reduction of the canine, which lead to a shift of the agonistic function from the mouth to the skull roof, as observed in extant social ungulates. Similarly, tapinocephalians may have developed complex social behaviour.
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| 8. |
- Betts, Marissa, J., et al.
(author)
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Shelly fossils from the lower Cambrian White Point Conglomerate, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
- 2019
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - : Polska Akademia Nauk Instytut Paleobiologii (Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences). - 0567-7920 .- 1732-2421. ; 64:3, s. 489-522
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lower Cambrian (Series 2) White Point Conglomerate (WPC) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia contains exoticclasts representing a diverse array of lithologies, including metamorphics, chert, sandstone, and abundant carbonates,notably archaeocyath-rich bioclastic limestone. Acetic acid digestion of the WPC bioclastic limestone clasts reveals adiverse shelly fauna. This assemblage includes abundant organophosphatic brachiopods such as Cordatia erinae Brockand Claybourn gen. et sp. nov., Curdus pararaensis, Eodicellomus elkaniformiis, Eohadrotreta sp. cf. E. zhenbaensis,Eoobolus sp., Kyrshabaktella davidii, and Schizopholis yorkensis. Additional shelly taxa include the solenopleurid trilobiteTrachoparia? sp., the tommotiids Dailyatia odyssei, Dailyatia decobruta Betts sp. nov., Kelanella sp., and Lapworthellafasciculata, spines of the bradoriid arthropod Mongolitubulus squamifer, and several problematica, such as Stoibostrombuscrenulatus and a variety of tubular forms. The upper age limit for the WPC is constrained by biostratigraphic data fromthe overlying Marsden Sandstone and Emu Bay Shale, which are no younger than the Pararaia janeae Trilobite Zone(Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4). The shelly fossil assemblage from the WPC limestone clasts indicates an upper Dailyatiaodyssei Zone (= Pararaia tatei to lower P. janeae trilobite zones), equivalent to the Atdabanian–early Botoman of theSiberian scheme. This contrasts with the previously suggested late Botoman age for the limestone clasts, based on the diversearchaeocyath assemblage. The minor age difference between the WPC and its fossiliferous limestone clasts suggestsrelatively rapid reworking of biohermal buildups during tectonically-active phases of deposition in the Stansbury Basin.
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| 9. |
- Campione, Nicolas E., 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Morphology and evolutionary significance of the atlas-axis complex in varanopid synapsids
- 2011
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - : Polska Akademia Nauk Instytut Paleobiologii (Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences). - 0567-7920 .- 1732-2421. ; 56:4, s. 739-748
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The atlas−axis complex has been described in few Palaeozoic taxa, with little effort being placed on examining variation of this structure within a small clade. Most varanopids, members of a clade of gracile synapsid predators, have well preserved atlas−axes permitting detailed descriptions and examination of morphological variation. This study indicates that the size of the transverse processes on the axis and the shape of the axial neural spine vary among members of this clade. In particular, the small mycterosaurine varanopids possess small transverse processes that point posteroventrally, and the axial spine is dorsoventrally short, with a flattened dorsal margin in lateral view. The larger varanodontine varanopids have large transverse processes with a broad base, and a much taller axial spine with a rounded dorsal margin in lateral view. Based on outgroup comparisons, the morphology exhibited by the transverse processes is interpreted as derived in varanodontines, whereas the morphology of the axial spine is derived in mycterosaurines. The axial spine anatomy of Middle Permian South African varanopids is reviewed and our interpretation is consistent with the hypothesis that at least two varanopid taxa are present in South Africa, a region overwhelmingly dominated by therapsid synapsids and parareptiles.
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| 10. |
- Claybourn, Thomas, 1989-, et al.
(author)
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Camenellan tommotiids from the Cambrian Series 2 of East Antarctica: biostratigraphy, palaeobiogeography, and systematics
- 2021
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In: Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. - : Instytut Paleobiologii PAN. - 0567-7920 .- 1732-2421. ; 66, s. 207-229
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cambrian Series 2 shelly fossils from thick carbonate successions in East Antarctica have received limited systematic treatment through the 20th century. Described here are the East Antarctic camenellan tommotiids from the Shackleton Limestone in the Central Transantarctic Mountains and the Schneider Hills limestone in the Argentina Range. This material comes from both newly sampled collections and incompletely described material from older collections. The assemblage supports correlation to the Dailyatia odyssei Zone and Pararaia janeae Trilobite Zone of South Australia, with the newly examined specimens of Dailyatia decobruta from the Shackleton Limestone providing direct correlation to the Mernmerna Formation of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges and White Point Conglomerate of Kangaroo Island. These East Antarctic assemblages include five species referred to Dailyatia, in addition to an undetermined kennardiid species and fragments of the problematic Shetlandia multiplicata. The results further corroborate the notion that fossiliferous carbonate clasts found on King George Island were sourced from the same carbonate shelf as the Shackleton Limestone, with the taxon S. multiplicata found in both units. The Schneider Hills limestone in the Argentina Range has yielded sclerites of Dailyatia icari sp. nov., currently only known from this location.
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