Frasnian (Late Devonian) Atrypida (Brachiopoda) from the Świebodzice Depression in the Sudetes (Silesia, south-western Poland) are revised. Three species are recognised. Kyrtatrypa barnimi n. sp. is the first described Late Frasnian species of the genus and one of the latest representatives of the genus before the atrypide extinction at the Frasnian-Famennian boundary. Pseudogruenewaldtia tschernyschewi Rzhonsnitskaya, 1960 is described for the first time outside the type area of the species, the Timan Mts. It allows to date the entire fauna to the Late Frasnian. Spinatrypa mariaetheresiae n. sp. is similar to coeval S. lambermontensis Mottequin, 2003 and S. rossica Rzhonsnitskaya in Rzhonsnitskaya et al., 1998 in having a high tongue (low in most representatives of the genus) but differs from them in ornamentation density. This species is represented by two morphotypes; an analogous dimorphism was described in some Spinatrypina Rzhonsnitskaya, 1964. A synoptic table of Devonian atrypides from the Sudetes is given. At present, given the lack of conodonts and unclear status of other diagnostic macrofauna, atrypide brachiopods are the best time markers giving a pre-Famennian terminus ante quem for the eo-Variscan collision of Bohemia and Saxothuringia.

The present paper deals with the systematic description of a rich and well-preserved ammonite fauna of the Late Pliensbachian, collected in two outcrops near the “Lac de Charmes” (Haute-Marne, France). In terms of ammonite zonation, the studied faunas indicate the Margaritatus and Spinatum Chronozones. Most of their subdivisions (subchronozones and zonules) have been recognized for the first time in this region. We propose a correlation with zonations established in close areas (Germany, Southern France). As already suggested on the literature, the possibility to further subdivide the Solare zonule in finner intervals is confirmed by our data. Within this zonule, we recognize a first interval with only Pleuroceras solare (Phillips, 1829), and a second one where this species occurs with several subspecies and where Pleuroceras spinatum (Bruguière, 1789) appears. Our results also confirm the possibility to subdivide more finely the Solare zonule firstly suggested by some authors. We recognize a first part with only Pleuroceras solare and a second one where this species present various subspecies and where Pleuroceras spinatum appears. Some points of view are given about Amaltheus gr. margaritatus Montfort, 1808, Pleuroceras gr. solare (Phillips, 1829) and the species Pleuroceras transiens (Frentzen, 1934).

Colorifuzia agenora n. gen., n. sp., attributed to the family Fuziidae Vršanský, Liang & Ren, 2009 is described from the Middle Jurassic of Jiulongshan Formation in Daohugou Village (Inner Mongolia, China). The new species is the first representative of the family with distinct pattern of coloration, indicating Fuziidae was able to adapt to diverse environments in this locality during the Middle Jurassic. Plesiomorphic characters such as considerably wide body, forewing large, coloration markings suggest Colorifuzia n. gen as a comparatively plesiomorphic taxon among Fuziidae.

An Osmeridae, Enoplophthalmus schlumbergeri Sauvage, 1880, in the Early Oligocene of Céreste surroundings (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France).

The study of a newly collected fossil material has given the opportunity for describing the anatomy of the species Enoplophthalmus schlumbergeri Sauvage, 1880, an osmerid from the Early Oligocène of the Apt-Céreste-Forcalquier syncline (Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France). Our study has shown that this species is directly related to the extant species Mallotus villosus (Müller, 1776), which is mainly living in the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and in the glacial Arctic Ocean. Like it, it exhibits a sexual dimorphism concerning the anal fin. Its coexistence with Dapalis macrurus (Agassiz, 1836), a species of fossil fishes which is related to the recent chandids of the Indo-Australian area, reinforces the “seasonal equability” theory, according to which the climates were less strictly defined during Eocene and Oligocene times than they are presently.

A new species of Rhinocerotidae, Brachypotherium minor n. sp., from the Early Miocene of Buluk, northern Kenya, is described. The new species shares with other members of the genus large sexually dimorphic incisors, flattened buccal walls on its molars, and a low astragalus, but differs from other species of Brachypotherium Roger, 1904 in its small size, placement of the orbit, having widely separated temporal lines, and more simple molar crown morphology. A comparison of the new species with other brachypotheres suggests that the new species may be present at a small number of other sites, and that the brachypothere group may contain more than one African lineage, adding to our understanding of the diversity of African rhinoceroses.

Cranio-mandibular anatomy of Gomphotherium angustidens (Cuvier, 1817) (Proboscidea, Mammalia): data from the middk Miocene locality of En Péjouan (Gers, France).

The cranial and mandibular anatomy of Gomphotherium angustidens (Cuvier, 1817), the commonest proboscidean found in the Middle Miocene of Europe is detailed. The basis of this study is made of the numerous fossils found at En Péjouan in the vicinity of Simorre (Gers, France), a locality of Astaracian age (zone MN7/8). These fossils fairly represent cranial and mandibular characteristics of the species in its type area and chronological extension (Gomphotherium angustidens sensu stricto). Compared to the skull of the ancestral morphotype of Elephantiformes (mostly conceived after the Oligocene genus Phiomia Andrews & Beadnell, 1902), the skull of G angustidens s. s. displays numerous derived characters, many of them being hypothesized as Elephantimorpha or Elephantida characters, associated to plesiomorphous characters among Elephantiformes and observed in Phiomia. The facial area of Gomphotherium angustidens is enlarged, with thickened maxilla. The prenasal area is wide and the perinasal area is shorter. The posterior displacement of the nasal fossa occurs. The nasal fossa is widened with inflated lateral processus nasalis of the premaxilla. At the basis of the nasal fossa the premaxillae form a sagittal pillar with a reduced surface for the mesethmoid cartilage. In front of the orbit, the foramen infraorbitalis is divided into a small dorsal foramen and a large ventral one. The zygomatic arch shows agracilized jugal. In the orbitotemporal fossa the crista orbitotemporalis and the maxillo-frontal crest form a gutter. There is no lachrymal foramen (at least in adults), the alisphenoid lateral wing is inflated and covers the maxillar capsule (where the germ of the growing tooth is positioned -a trait tied to the horizontal tooth displacement). There is no sagittal crest. The palate does not bear a spina palatina. The foramen ovale and foramen lacerum medial are confluent. The posttympanic part of the squamosal is enlarged. The tympanic bone is enlarged and the foramen stylomastoideus is laterally displaced. There is no canalis temporalis. The petrosal retains a perilymphatic foramen (ductus perilymphaticus). The ascending branch of the mandible is high. The condyle is higher than the coronoid apophysis. The mandibular angle is high, nearly at the level of the alveolar border of the horizontal ramus and not protruding. The morphological variation due to the growth pattern and sexual dimorphism is also demonstrated. Although Gomphotherium angustidens retains a long facial area, a relatively low cranium, replacement of decidual premolars by premolars, the pattern of tooth replacement and alveolar growth is the same as that of extant elephants, with the same sexual dimorphism. The variation of the shape and proportions of the cranium and mandible is checked in G angustidens relatively to the dental ages scale defined for species that belong to the trilophodont grade (twenty three dental ages from the newborn up to the senile adult labelled I-XXIII). Size variation is firstly due to postnatal development. Secondly, at the dental age XIII-XIV (with P4-M1-M2) size variation is due to sexual dimorphism with an acceleration of growth in males. The best criteria for sexual assignment are: the width of the facial area (taken at the tip of the premaxillae or at the level of the nasal area) due to the lack of tusks in females (or much reduced), the height of the maxilla, the height and depth of the horizontal ramus of the mandible. On the other hand, the cerebral part of the cranium is rather of comparable size and development in both males and females. A reconstruction of the skulls of adult male and female