Microtoid cricetids are widely considered to be the ancestral form of arvicoline rodents, a successful rodent group including voles, lemmings and muskrats. The oldest previously known microtoid cricetid is Microtocricetus molassicus from the Late Miocene (MN9, ca. 10–11 Ma) of Europe. Here, we report a new microtoid cricetid, Primoprismus fejfari gen. et sp. nov., from the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, northwestern China. The rodent assemblage found in association with this specimen indicates a late Early Miocene age, roughly estimated at 18–17 Ma, and thus more than 6 million years older than M. molassicus. While morphological comparisons suggest that the new taxon is most closely related to M. molassicus, it differs from the latter in a striking combination of primitive characters, including a lower crown, smaller size, a differentiated posterolophid and hypolophid, a faint anterolophid, the absence of an ectolophid, and the presence of a stylid on the labial border of the tooth. Arid conditions prevailing across the mid-latitude interior of Eurasia during the Early Miocene, enhanced by the combined effects of the Tibetan uplift and the gradual retreat of the Tethys Ocean, likely played a role in the appearance of grasslands, which in turn triggered the evolution of microtoid cricetids and, ultimately, the origin of arvicoline rodents.

A morphological reappraisal of Middle Miocene and Early Pliocene antelopes with homonymously twisted horncores (i.e., with the left horncore twisted clockwise from the base up) and an additional re-description of some critical Greek specimens allows a revision of the current taxonomy at the species and genus level. A parsimony analysis recognizes Hispanodorcas, Oioceros, Samodorcas, Samotragus, Paraoioceros, and Urmiatherium as distinct lineages of the subtribe Oiocerina. The latter emerged during the Astaracian (ca. 14–11.5 Ma), and radiated in Eurasia during the mid—late Vallesian (ca. 10–9 Ma), resulting in a great variety of genera with unique combinations of morpho-ecological adaptations. The suprageneric relationships of Oiocerina are poorly understood, but their closest ancestors possibly lie within or close to the Middle Miocene “hypsodontines”, and inside Antilopinae.

Mammalian diversity in North America shifted significantly during the Early Cretaceous, from archaic groups dominant in the well-sampled faunas of the Late Jurassic to advanced forms (including early members of modern clades) by the Albian—Cenomanian. However, the dynamics of this transition are poorly understood, since faunas of earliest Cretaceous age are unknown. Here we describe the first fossil mammals from exposures of the Lakota Formation in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a unit correlated with the upper Berriasian—lower Barremian and positioned stratigraphically between the underlying Morrison Formation and Aptian—Albian units exposed elsewhere in North America. The mammalian fauna from the Lakota Formation is transitional with regard to the North American fossil record, representing a broad spectrum of both Jurassic and Cretaceous lineages: present are “plagiaulacidan” multituberculates allied with Late Jurassic Allodontoidea and Early Cretaceous Plagiaulacoidea; the geologically youngest dryolestoid(s) and “triconodontine” triconodontids (characteristic Late Jurassic taxa from the Morrison Formation); the oldest spalacotheriid “symmetro-dont”; the first record of an amphitheriid-like stem zatherian from North America (abundant in the Middle Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous of Europe); and the oldest North American tribosphenic mammal (abundant and diverse on the continent by the end of the Early Cretaceous). Taxa making their first North American appearance in the Lakota Formation (Plagiaulacoidea, including a genus also known from the Purbeck of Britain; Spalacotheriidae, stem Zatheria, Tribosphenida) are also known from the Early Cretaceous of Western Europe, suggesting the possibility that they represent immigrants.

The evolution of quadrupedality from bipedal ancestors is an exceptionally rare transition in tetrapod evolution, but it has occurred several times within the herbivorous dinosaur clade Ornithischia. Stegosauria, Ankylosauria, and Ceratopsidae are all uncontroversially quadrupedal, while basal ornithischians and basal ornithopods are uncontroversially bipedal. However, stance in iguanodontian ornithopods, including the hadrosaurs, and in non-ceratopsid ceratopsians is debated because robust osteological correlates of quadrupedality have not been identified. We examine a suite of characteristics that have been previously proposed as osteological correlates for bipedality or quadrupedality in dinosaurs. These include both discrete anatomical features, which we assess as correlates for quadrupedality using character optimization onto a composite cladogram, and proportional ratios, which we assess as correlates by reconstructing nodal ancestral states using squared-change parsimony, followed by optimization. We also examine the correlation of these features with body size. An anterolateral process on the proximal ulna, hoof-shaped manual unguals, a transversely broadened ilium, a reduced fourth trochanter and a femur longer than the tibia are found to be robust correlates of quadrupedality in ornithischian dinosaurs. Along the ceratopsid “stem” lineage, quadrupedal characters were acquired in a stepwise fashion, with forelimb characters developing prior to changes in the hind limb. In contrast, iguanodontid ornithopods display a mosaic of character states, indicating varying degrees of facultative quadrupedality that probably arose for a variety of different reasons. Hadrosaurs are found to possess all character states associated with quadrupedality and were probably predominantly quadrupedal. In general, quadrupedal ornithischians do not appear to have been constrained by their bipedal ancestry to a particular order of character acquisition.

We report a complete left fourth metatarsal collected from rocks of the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) “El Gallo” Formation exposed along the Pacific Ocean near El Rosario, Baja California, México. The metatarsal IV was part of an arctometatarsalian metatarsus, as evidenced by a deep medial notch proximally and extensive articulation for metatarsal III. This condition, along with the U-shape of the proximal end, supports identification as tyrannosauroid. It is assigned to Tyrannosauridae based on features on the posterior surface of the shaft, but finer taxonomic resolution is not possible. Compared to other tyrannosauroids, the metatarsal is relatively short, closely resembling the proportions of the gracile Albertosaurus sarcophagus rather than the much more massive, robust metatarsals of Tyrannosaurus rex. The Baja tyrannosaurid metatarsal is shorter than almost all other tyrannosauroid fourth metatarsals, raising the possibility that it pertains to an immature individual. North American tyrannosauroids are best known from the northern coast of the Western Interior Seaway, as well as less frequently on the southern coast of the seaway in Utah and New Mexico. The new record in Baja marks the first unambiguous skeletal material of a tyrannosaurid both in México and along the Pacific coast.

The two species of dicraeosaurid dinosaurs Dicraeosaurus, Dicraeosaurus hansemanni, and Dicraeosaurus sattleri, have been distinguished mainly by their differences in size and geological age, as they occur in different members of the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. Linear and geometric morphometric measurements distinguish between the humeri and femora of both species. Linear measurements and Principal Component Analysis of Thin-plate Splines reveal strong differences in size and shape between their humeri and weak differences between their femora, also supported by a Discriminant Factor Analysis. Generally, the humerus and femur of D. hansemanni are slightly longer and more robust than those of D. sattleri. Further, the humerus is shorter in relation to the femur in D. sattleri, related to its more distally positioned deltopectoral crest, resulting in differences in its arc of movement and mechanical power. Thus, a morphological separation between the humeri and femora of D. hansemanni from the Middle Dinosaur Member and D. sattleri from the Upper Dinosaur Member of the Tendaguru Formation can be confirmed. Morphometric comparisons of the humeri and femora of Dicraeosaurus with the single known humerus and femur of Amargasaurus cazaui reveal many shape differences between the two genera, which are especially well marked in the Thin-plate Splines analysis and affect in particular the humerus. These results suggest a closer relationship between D. hansemanni and D. sattleri than between D. sattleri and A. cazaui, and a clear separation between the two genera.

The caudal vertebrae of abelisaurid theropods show notable variations in the shape of the transverse process, among other characters, and these distinguish the two subclasses Brachyrostra and Carnotaurini. The vertebrae in the proximal third of the tail in abelisaurids, especially derived taxa, show adaptations that provide considerable rigidity, when compared to other theropod dinosaurs, especially Maniraptora, which have highly flexible tails. This continues the considerable rigidity in the neck, trunk, and sacral region in abelisaurids, and is consistent with the hypothesis that South American abelisaurids evolved in isolation from those that inhabited India and Madagascar.

Pterosaur pelvic girdles are complex structures that offer a wealth of phylogenetic and biomechanical information, but have been largely overlooked by pterosaur anatomists. Here, we review pterosaur pelvic morphology and find significant differences that correlate well with pterosaur clades identified in some phylogenetic analyses. We find that the length and orientation of the iliac processes, position of the acetabulum, extent of the ischiopubic plate and presence of supraneural fusion in adult individuals are taxonomically informative. Ontogenetic changes in pelvic morphology dictate that osteologically mature specimens are required to assess the development of many of these characteristics. We suggest that pelvic characters can readily be incorporated into pterosaur phylogenetic analyses and may assist in resolving the controversial interrelationships of this group. Distinctive pterosaur pelvic morphotypes suggest considerable differences in stance, locomotory kinematics and hindlimb functionality across the group.

A histological investigation of the feeding apparatus of a Stereosternum specimen revealed a great number of adaptations in the structure and insertion of teeth, to deal with breakage risks. The tooth wall is composed of different layers of dentine, varying in orientation and composition. This mixed arrangement may have increased tooth resistance to lateral tension. The tooth insertion also involves more than one mechanism. The teeth are located inside shallow tooth sockets and are held in place by a tripartite periodontium (composed of alveolar bone, cementum and possibly soft periodontal tissue) and accessory structures, here termed anchorage trabeculae (mainly composed of cementum). Fully grown teeth are ankylosed to the bottom of the tooth socket. The recognition of alveolar bone and cementum (and the possible presence of a soft periodontal ligament) reinforces the idea that these tissues were widespread among Amniota, not being exclusive to mammals and archosaurs. The adaptations identified here reinforce the hypothesis that Stereosternum was an active aquatic predator.

We describe a new species of the unusual crinoid Tiaracrinus, T. jeanlemenni sp. nov. from the latest Emsian of the famous mudmound locality Hamar Laghdad, Morocco. It differs from the previously known species in the higher number of ribs and the vaulted rib-fields, which is corroborated by the comparison of simple quantitative characters and ratios as well as by the results of a cluster analysis and a Principal Component Analysis. Based on the new material and the published specimens, we discuss the phylogeny of the genus and suggest that T. oehlerti and T. moravicus represent the ancestral forms of this small clade.

A new family, Mississaepiidae, from the Sepia-Spirula branch of decabrachian coleoids (Cephalopoda), is erected on the basis of the following, recently revealed, morphological, ultrastructural and chemical traits of the cuttlebone in the late Eocene Mississaepia, formerly referred to Belosaepiidae: (i) septa are semi-transparent, largely chitinous (as opposed to all other recorded cephalopods having non-transparent aragonitic septa); (ii) septa have a thin lamello-fibrillar nacreous covering (Sepia lacks nacre altogether, Spirula has fully lamello-fibrillar nacreous septa, ectochochleate cephalopods have columnar nacre in septa); (iii) a siphonal tube is present in early ontogeny (similar to siphonal tube development of the Danian Ceratisepia, and as opposed to complete lack of siphonal tube in Sepia and siphonal tube development through its entire ontogeny in Spirula); (iv) the lamello-fibrillar nacreous ultrastructure of septal necks (similar to septal necks in Spirula); (v) a sub-hemispherical protoconch (as opposed to the spherical protoconchs of the Danian Ceratisepia and Recent Spirula); (vi) conotheca has ventro-lateral extension in early ontogenetic stages (as opposed to Sepia that has no ventro-lateral extention of the conotheca and to Spirula that retains fully-developed phragmocone throughout its entire ontogeny). Chitinous composition of septa in Mississaepia is deduced from (i) their visual similarity to the chitinous semi-transparent flange of Sepia, (ii) angular and rounded outlines and straight compressive failures of the partial septa and mural parts of septa similar to mechanically-damaged dry rigid chitinous flange of Sepia or a gladius of squid, and (iii) organics consistent with β-chitin preserved in the shell. The family Mississaepiidae may represent a unknown lineage of the Sepia-Spirula branch of coleoids, a conotheca lacking a nacreous layer being a common trait of the shell of this branch. However, Mississaepiidae is placed with reservation in Sepiida because of similarities between their gross shell morphology (a cuttlebone type of shell) and inorganic-organic composition. In Mississaepia, as in Sepia, the shell contains up to 6% of nitrogen by weight; phosphatised sheets within the dorsal shield may have been originally organic, like similar structures in Sepia; accumulations of pyrite in peripheral zones of aragonitic spherulites and in-between the spherulites of the dorsal shield may also indicate additional locations of organics in the shell of living animal.

We describe three Miocene species of Provanna from Japan, two new and one in open nomenclature, that represent the only known fossil examples from whale-falls and a considerable increase in the Miocene diversity of the genus. Provanna hirokoae sp. nov. comes from the latest Middle Miocene Kuroiwa seep site in central Honshu. The shells of this species are mostly recrystallized, but contain relict crossed lamellar microstructures. Provanna alexi sp. nov. is from the early Middle Miocene Shosanbetsu whale-fall site in northwestern Hokkaido, and has well preserved shells comprising an outer simple prismatic layer and an inner crossed lamellar layer. The two Provanna specimens from the Middle Miocene Rekifune whale-fall site, in eastern Hokkaido, are preserved as external moulds only, so are left in open nomenclature. Based on current knowledge, the presence of an outer prismatic layer and an underlying crossed lamellar layer seems to be a common feature in the shells of Provanna, as well as in other genera belonging to the family Provannidae and the superfamily Abyssochrysoidea. Although the oldest occurrence of Provanna was in the Late Cretaceous, the genus did not spread geographically and ecologically until the Miocene (with four, or possibly five species), a date concordant with some molecular estimates. However, this could be an artefact of the fossil record because the known pre-Miocene seep and whale-falls are more geographically restricted than those from the Miocene.

An unusual cystoporate bryozoan from the Middle Devonian (Givetian) Ahbach Formation of the Hillersheim Syncline (Eifel, Rhenish Massif, Germany) is described as Stellatoides muellertchensis gen. et sp. nov. The lamellar colonies have elongate stellate maculae with depressed centres consisting of vesicular skeleton. All colonies collected contain vertical axial tubular holes, which are embedment structures formed by the bryozoan around a soft-bodied symbiont and lined by bryozoan skeleton. These bioclaustrations are referred to the ichnogenus Chaetosalpinx, previously known in Ordovician—Devonian corals and sponges, and are described as Chaetosalpinx tapanilai ichnosp. nov. Ecological analogues to Chaetosalpinx tapanilai can be found in modern bryozoans in which tubes formed of bryozoan calcite are occupied by spionid polychaetes, or less often tanaidacean crustaceans.

The Early Cambrian Burgess Shale-type fossil Lagerstätten of Yunnan Province (Chengjiang; Guanshan) are crucial in understanding the Cambrian bioradiation. Brachiopods are applied here as a critical model phylum to analyze the taphonomy of Yunnan fossil Lagerstätten, because shell and tissue composition of modern brachiopods can be compared with exceptionally preserved Cambrian remains. Systematic elemental mapping and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses have been carried out to study fossil brachiopods and their matrix from Cambrian Stages 3–4 and modern linguliform brachiopods from several geographical regions in order to evaluate the detailed structure of the shells and the biological and environmental influences on shell composition. Analyses of earliest Cambrian fossils encompassing the complete spectrum of weathering stages show a primary organo-phosphatic brachiopod shell, visible in unweathered specimens, and a successive dissolution and replacement of the shell during weathering, observable in specimens that underwent different stages of weathering. Therefore, our study reveals that earliest Cambrian linguliform brachiopods from the Chengjiang and Guanshan Biotas developed organo-phosphatic shells as their Recent counterparts. Early carbon and apatite preservation together with rapid deposition in claystone, instead of early iron adsorption, appears crucial for the preservation of highly delicate tissue. Primary calcium, phosphorus, organic carbon, and a multilayered shell are present, by inference between Cambrian fossils and Recent specimens, through the whole Phanerozoic. Elements such as silicon, sulphur, calcium, phosphorus, and iron were detected, impregnated with organic compounds in some organs of modern Lingula, and related to the potential of fossilization of Cambrian linguliform brachiopods. Ferromanganese precipitates traced in the shell of in vivo specimens of modern Lingula may enhance the potential for fossilization too.

A new osmylid neuropteran insect Archaeosmylidia fusca gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Middle Jurassic locality of Daohugou (Inner Mongolia, China). Its forewing venation differs from that of other hitherto known osmylids by a set of plesiomorphic features. This genus is considered here as representing a basal group of Osmylidae. The Permian—Triassic family Archeosmylidae comprises the genera Archeosmylus, Babykamenia, and Lithosmylidia. Archaeosmylidia and Archeosmylidae share the few-branched CuP, the absence of zigzag vein pattern, and the scarcity of the crossveins in the radial space. We estimate that Osmylidae might have originated in the Triassic from some “archeosmylid-like” ancestor.

Eccaparadoxides? pradoanus and Eccaparadoxides mediterraneus are both widespread trilobite species described from the middle Cambrian of the Mediterranean region. Analysis based on a pooled sample of 500 specimens demonstrates that many of the characters that have been used to define these species show continuous variations, some of which are related to ontogeny. In addition, morphometric analyses of metric characters show that the two species cannot be distinguished on the basis of these characters either. Many of the characters studied herein are widely used in definitions and descriptions of other paradoxidid species, which suggests that the taxonomic classification of other paradoxidids may be oversplit.

A new sponge fauna has been discovered in silty mudstone of the early Migneintian (late Tremadocian, Ordovician) of North Wales. The assemblage is dominated by reticulosan hexactinellids, including several species bearing parietal gaps; this feature is common among Cambrian hexactinellids, but is rare in Ordovician faunas. Of particular significance is Valospongia bufo sp. nov., representing the first record of the genus outside the Middle Cambrian of Utah, USA. A single specimen assigned to Hintzespongia? sp. is also described, and also represents the first occurrence outside the Laurentian Burgess Shale-type faunas. This fauna indicates that deeper-water hexactinellids from the Burgess Shale-type faunas survived in places into at least the Early Ordovician, in addition to the Cambrian-type protomonaxonid assemblage seen in the Fezouata Biota.