Articulated squamations of Loganellia scotica (Traquair, 1898) from the Lower Silurian Lesmahagow inliers of southern Scotland have been studied. They include seven articulated specimens, three of them representing complete thelodont fossils, and four partially preserved postpectoral, precaudal and caudal parts of the exoskeleton. All the five main types of thelodont scales that is rostral, cephalo-pectoral, postpectoral, precaudal and pinnal sacles, as well as respective squamation patterns have been observed on articulated specimens. The specific orbital, branchial, and bucco-pharyngeal scales, characteristic of L. scotica, have not been found due to the poor or non-preservation of these particular areas within the specimens studied. Tail morphology and squamation pattern of the caudal fin have been studied with particular attention, and the constitution of the caudal fin rays has been analyzed. The rostral squamation pattern is argued to be characteristic to L. scotica.

New insect fossils from Early Permian lacustrine deposits of Odernheim town site (Saar-Nahe Basin, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany) are attributed to Euryptilonidae (Grylloblattida) and Blattinopsidae (stem group of Dictyoptera). Oborella germanica n. sp. is based on fore- and hindwing venation pointing out difficulties of generic separation between Blania Kukalová, 1964 and Oborella Kukalová, 1964. In addition, as first revisors of the genus Blania, we consider it as a junior synonym of Oborella, because the holotype of the type species O. matura Kukalová, 1964 is a better preserved specimen than that of Blania. We also describe another species, Oborella brauckmanni n. sp. Two Blattinopsidae are also described but not named for their incomplete state of preservation, although one is related to Glaphyrophlebia and could well correspond to a new species for its very long stem of posterior radius.

A conulariid originally figured by Deslongchamps (1825) from the Grès de May (Caradoc) of Normandy as “Conulaire ondulée (var.)” is revised. It is one of the first conulariids to have been figured in the literature. This large species, preserved as sandstone steinkerns, has usually been referred to as Conularia pyramidata Hoeninghaus, 1830. However, Hoeninghaus' publication does not satisfy criteria of availability and the species should instead be attributed to Bronn, as Metaconularia? pyramidata (Bronn, 1837). A lectotype is chosen from the Bronn Collection. Metaconularia? pyramidata is recorded for the first time reworked into the Triassic Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds Formation of Devon, England.

This paper describes for the first time a stegosaur track from the Cretaceous of Europe. It focuses on a cast that preserves pes-manus tracks recovered in the Huérteles Alloformation of the Berriasian of Soria (northern Spain). This track has been assigned to Deltapodus isp. on the basis of the pes morphology. Nonetheless, in the manus lacks the claw-shaped imprint of the pollex that characterizes Deltapodus brodricki Whyte & Romano, 1994, the type ichnospecies of the ichnogenus Deltapodus Whyte & Romano, 1994. The stegosaurs were abundant and diverse in the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula, as evidenced by their ichnological and osseous record. The presence of Deltapodus isp. provides further support for the view that the stegosaurs did not disappear in the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary crisis and kept going on the Iberian Peninsula for at least for the initial part of the Early Cretaceous.

Decapod crustaceans from the Mesozoic of Madagascar have been studied by a number of authors during the last century. One of the largest sets of specimens was collected by the French General Maurice Collignon between 1930 and 1950; this was subsequently studied by Secrétan (1964) who described numerous species of macrurans, brachyurans, and axiideans. These crustaceans originate from the Upper Jurassic and the Upper Cretaceous of the Mahajanga Basin (NW Madagascar) and, especially, from the Morondava Basin (central-SW Madagascar). The purpose of the present study is twofold: to furnish an update of the stratigraphy and geology of the studied areas and, above all, to revise the Secrétan's species, employing current systematic nomenclature, supplying for each detailed geographic and stratigraphic data since such were either cursory or incomplete in previous papers. The present revision considers 13 species recorded by Secrétan as valid, namely: Enoploclytia collignoni Secrétan, 1964, Eryma granuliferum Secrétan, 1964, Pustulina spinulata (Secrétan, 1964) (all Erymidae Van Straelen, 1925); Hoploparia collignoni (Van Straelen, 1949), H. pusilla Secrétan, 1964 (both Nephropidae Dana, 1852 sensu Tshudy & Babcock 1997); Ctenocheles madagascariensis Secrétan, 1964 (Ctenochelidae Manning & Felder, 1991); Schlueteria menabensis Secrétan, 1964 (Axiidae Huxley, 1879); Linuparus bererensis Secrétan, 1964 (Palinuridae Latreille, 1802); Dromiopsis pulchella Secrétan, 1964 (Dynomenidae Ortmann, 1892); Caloxanthus simplex (Secrétan, 1964) (Etyidae Guinot & Tavares, 2001); “Xanthosia” robertsi Secrétan, 1982 (nomen novum pro Xanthosia elegans Secrétan, 1964, non Roberts, 1962), Titanocarcinus mamillatus Secrétan, 1964 (both Xanthoidea incertae sedis); and Secretanella arcuata (Secrétan, 1964) (indeterminate family). The three species described by Secrétan (1964) as belonging to the raninid genus Notopocorystes McCoy, 1849, N. bituberculatus, N. australis and N. denisae will be revised in a forthcoming paper. Our comparative studies have also revealed a number of synonymous taxa, as follows: Eryma granuliferum Secrétan, 1964 (junior synonym: E. madagascariensis Secrétan, 1964); Linuparus bererensis Secrétan, 1964 (junior synonym: L. bererensis multispinosus Secrétan, 1964); Hoploparia collignoni (Van Straelen, 1949) (junior synonym: H. intermedia Secrétan, 1964 and H. sculpta Secrétan, 1964); Schlueteria menabensis Secrétan, 1964 (junior synonym: S. tuberculosa Secrétan, 1964). Lastly, we hav

The fossil crustaceans from the Sahel Alma Lagerstätte (Late Cretaceous, Lebanon), housed in the collection de Paléontologie of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, were examined in order to highlight the presence of epibionts. Marine sponge gemmules were recognized and are described for the first time on the rostrum of a new shrimp Carpopenaeus garassinoi Charbonnier n. sp. The exceptional conditions of fossilization in the Sahel Alma Lagerstätte also permitted the preservation of the gemmule germination and the first development stage of the young sponge. If the shrimp does not appear to benefit from the association, it ensures the transport and the colonization of new territories for the sponge. This association sponge/shrimp is not known either in the recent or in the past. It represents one of the first observations of a fossil shrimp epibiont. Carpopenaeus garassinoi Charbonnier n. sp. is the youngest record for the genus Carpopenaeus Glaessner, 1945 which was previously known from the Tithonian of Zandt (Germany) and from the Cenomanian of Lebanon (Hakel, Hadjoula Lagerstätten).

This paper reports a new Early Cretaceous flora discovered recently near the village of Estercuel (Teruel province, northeastern Spain). The plant bearing beds belong to the uppermost part of the Early Cretaceous succession, at the top of the fluvial deposits of the Utrillas Formation. The site has yielded a diverse assemblage of plant compressions including lycopods and ferns, various gymnosperms as well as terrestrial and aquatic angiosperms. Leaves of aquatic lycopods (Isoetites sp.) constitute a minor component of the palaeobotanical assemblage. Filicales are not very common, with Dicksoniales (Onychiopsis sp.) and a few specimens of Cladophlebis type fronds. The gymnosperms are represented by fragmented remains of long parallel veined Desmiophyllum leaves as well as a great abundance of conifer axis corresponding to the form-genus Pagiophyllum and female cones. Terrestrial angiosperms include pinnately lobed leaves of the genus Myricompia, simple leaves with spatulate lamina and some petiolate leaves both corresponding to angiosperms of uncertain affinity. Aquatic angiosperms consist of Nelumbo-like floral receptacles (Nelumbonaceae, Proteales) and Aquatifolia cf. fluitans (Nympheales). The palynological assemblage is dominated by pollen of gymnosperms (mainly Taxodiaceaepollenites hiatus, Classopollis major and Araucariacites australis). It also includes many angiosperm grains (Afropollis jardinus, Clavatipollenites spp., Dichastopollenites spp., Liliacidites doylei, Monosulcites chaloneri, Penetetrapites mollis, Pennipollis spp., Phimopollenites augathellaensis, Retimonocolpites textus, Rousea spp., Senectotetradites varireticulatus, Stellatopollis barghoornii, Striatopollis spp., Transitoripollis sp. cf. T. similis, Tricolpites spp., Tricolporoidites sp.) and records the first occurrence of tricolporate forms in the uppermost part of the Utrillas Formation. Both macroflora and microflora assemblages present taxa similar to those of the uppermost Albian Shaftesbury Formation in northwestern Alberta in Canada, the uppermost Albian Denton Shale Member of Bokchito Formation in southern Oklahoma, the lower part of the Upper Albian Dakota Formation from the mid-west of North America, and Subzone II C of the Potomac Group, eastern United States. Both macro- and microflora assemblages display boreal influence with some similar taxa to those of the Upper Albian Kome Formation in western Greenland and some taxa as Afropollis jardinus and Stellatopollis barghoornii more frequently found in the tethyan and gondwanan realms. A gondwanan affinity is also indicated by the presence of Klitzschophyllites leaves.

The Late Cretaceous scleractinian family Hemiporitidae (suborder Faviina) is revised. The family is characterized by having large trabeculae, compact and strong septa with poor ornamentation at their lateral faces, short and non-confluent costae, a strong lamellar columella, a septothecal wall, and an endotheca made of thick tabulae. Together with the name-giving genus Hemiporites Alloiteau, 1952, the two coral genera Cerionefocoenia Reig Oriol, 1995 and Pachynefocoenia Reig Oriol, 1989 from the Late Cretaceous of Spain are assigned to the family. All genera are revised on the basis of the types of their respective type species. Further genera formerly or currently assigned to the Hemiporitidae family are discussed. The family occurs from the Turonian to Maastrichtian.

A revision of Prolebias stenoura Sauvage, 1874 from the Stampian (= Rupelian) of Limagne (central France), type species of the genus Prolebias (Teleostean fish, Cyprinodontiform).

The revision of Prolebias stenoura Sauvage, 1874, the type species of the genus Prolebias Sauvage, 1874, a cyprinodontid fish from the Upper Stampian (= Rupelian) (Oligocene) of the surroundings of Corent (Limagne, central France), has made possible the preparation of a detailed anatomical study and of an emended diagnosis. The occurrence of coccolithophorids and of dinoflagellates has determined several authors to suggest an incursion of marine waters into this basin during the Stampian. However, the fact that all the species of the genus Prolebias hitherto known by articulated skeletons have been living in fresh and brackish waters is, on the contrary, more in agreement with the hypothesis of a shallow meromictic lake, the superficial part of which was filled by seasonal rains, suitable for the life of this species.

Dietary behaviour and competition for resources are investigated for the small-sized ruminants Andegameryx Ginsburg, 1971 and Procervulus Gaudry, 1877 representatives of two largely distinct states of diversification of pecorans. Results obtained from dental microwear and mesowear methodologies are concordant with a mixed feeder strategy for the taxa from the Early Miocene environments of the Iberian Chain (Central Spain). Further, the Spanish taxa investigated had less abrasive diets than their relatives from others similarly aged localities in Europe. This fact raises an important evolutionary uncertainty concerning the traditional characterization of first pecorans as specialized browsers. Instead, data strongly corroborate the recently proposed notion that some Pecora ruminant lineages were able to consume a mixture of browse and grass, and that were originally facultative mixed feeders. However, there is a large degree of variation of their dental wear features. Species were not dependent on a limited type of vegetation and, consequently, were able to exploit different food resources. Dental wear data seem to indicate that these ruminants did not compete for vegetation. In addition, last Andegameryx and earliest Procervulus apparently had a sufficiently different body size to partition the available vegetation in terms of height above ground level to elude competition. Body size difference coupled with an important degree of dietary opportunism may have been factors necessary for their coexistence.

Reconstitution of the vegetation and climate during the Miocene in the Saouaf Basin (northeastern central Tunisia).

In northeastern central Tunisia, the microbasins that appeared under the effect of the Miocene tectonics are infilled by silicoclastic, molassic and fluviodeltaïc deposits. Moreover, phytogenic materials show a paralic characteristic. Palynological study of type locality of the Saouaf Formation seems very useful. This series has been the subject of a palynological study which concluded on vegetation dynamics and thus, on the evolution of paleoenvironments and paleoclimate of the region during the Miocene. We deduced an assemblage of well-preserved and varied palynomorphs. Open vegetation is well defined all along the series with, however, a predominance of spores at the base, indicating the high energy and/or proximity of the source of supply and ground cover rather wooded (mainly Pinaceae) that characterizes the middle part of this series. The evolution of ecological groups predefined along the series of Miocene sedimentary of Saouaf syncline reflects a subtropical climate that gradually evolves into a hot and arid climate. A typical Mediterranean climate seems to settle at the top of series. A comparison with other Tunisian and Mediterranean localities demonstrates that our results enrol in the general climactic context known for the Miocene of Mediterranean, in return for some local specificities and a certain delay in relation to the European regions (a post Langhian cool and setting up of a Mediterranean-type climate in Tortonian). However, a small specificity is observed in Tunisia.