Abstract:  This chapter presents a revision of the Zard Formation in its type area, i.e., in the North Khorasan Province (Iran), including at its type locality. It comprises a description of the sedimentological and micropaleontological criteria that permit it to be distinguished from the Mozduran Formation (below) and the Tirgan Formation (above). At its type locality, its lower boundary is a heavily bored surface. Actually, both contacts with the framing formations correspond to transgressive surfaces, which imply that this lithostratigraphic unit is an Unconformity-Bounded Unit. With respect to biostratigraphy, this formation contains a few second-order markers: Holosporella sugdeni, Kopetdagaria sphaerica, and Torinosuella peneropliformis, which are also found in the unit above, i.e., in the Tirgan Formation. Because the latter contains markers that first appear in the Barremian: Bakalovaella elitzae, Pseudoactinoporella iranica, and Balkhania balkhanica, but also Montseciella arabica, the total range of which spans the Upper Barremian, the Zard Formation (i.e., the Zardian regional stage) should partly covers the Hauterivian to Barremian interval. Finally, although it cannot be definitely excluded that the lowermost part of the Zard Formation could be Valanginian in age, this option still requires proper documentation.

 Abstract:  The new larger benthic foraminifer, Hanovolepidina browni gen. nov. sp. nov., is described from the Chapelton Formation (mid-Lutetian, middle Eocene, ABZ7) of Jamaica. The genus shows the characteristic transition from a single to double equatorial layer about mid-way across the radius as seen in axial sections that characterises the family Pseudolepidinidae. Equatorial sections show the embryo followed by 4 or 5 spiral rotaliid chambers with the last chamber giving rise to a primary spiral and secondary (counter-) spiral of equatorial chambers. The presence of a long rotaliid stage suggests a more primitive form that Pseudolepidina, and Hanovolepidina gen. nov. differs also from the latter in lacking the extra principal accessory chamber seen in axial section. Hanovolepidina gen. nov. is provisionally suggested as an ancestor of the late Eocene Triplalepidina. The new discovery demonstrates a greater diversity of the family Pseudolpeidinidae in the Caribbean that previously recorded, although occurrences of this family are very restricted stratigraphically suggesting that it may appear in the region due to migration events.

 Abstract:  Our new study of the Tithonian and lower Berriasian succession of Le Chouet (Les Près, La Drôme, France) better characterizes the lithological succession, the macro- and microfacies, and the stratigraphic ranges of some microfossils mostly calibrated on the calpionellid biozonation. On the lithological side, the Tithonian strata are dominantly characterized by thick-bedded breccias representing debris flows and related calciturbidites whereas the Berriasian strata are typically white limestones that also comprises scattered intercalations of thin-bedded breccias and calciturbitides (including cryptic mud calciturbidites). In thin sections, these white limestones display mud- to wackestone textures and their allochems are mostly tiny bioclasts (e.g., radiolarians, calpionellids, saccocomids). Breccias are lithoclastic rudstones and/or floatstones with a matrix similar to the calciturbidites. Their lithoclasts are either extraclasts sensu stricto (i.e., material derived from updip shallow-water areas) or pseudointraclasts, representing reworked subautochthonous material (i.e., mud- and wackestone lithoclasts with radiolarians, saccocomids and/or calpionellids). In addition to the erosional features observed at the bases of the gravity flows, these pseudointraclasts document the intensity of submarine erosion. Locally they help to estimate the depths of erosion updip of the deposit. A number of bioclasts are reworked from updip shallow-water areas; among them, it is worth mentioning the foraminifer Protopeneroplis ultragranulata (Gorbatchik), the first occurrence of which is dated to late early Tithonian. Saccocomids are part of the dominating pelagic biota reported from the lower and lower upper Tithonian interval whereas calpionellids replace them in the uppermost Tithonian to lower Berriasian interval. Intervals with saccocomids characteristic of zones 4-5 and zones 6-7 are respectively ascribed here to the lower Tithonian (4-5) and pro parte to the upper Tithonian (6-7). The biozonation of the calpionellid group sensu lato allows identification of the Boneti Subzone of the chitinoidellids, the Crassicollaria Zone with its four subzones (A0-A3), and the Alpina Zone with its first subzone (B1). On the basis of biostratigraphical and sedimentological data (including the rates of sedimentation), most zonal boundaries are located at the erosional bases of breccia or turbidite layers and thus coincide with hiatuses.

 Abstract:  A foraminiferal assemblage is reported from the Zaladou Formation in the Tabas Block (Shishtu Section), Central Iran. This assemblage comprises 16 species belonging to 14 genera, and encompasses the fusulinids Pseudoacutella partoazari, Grovesella tabasensis, Gr. aff. australis, Gr. sphaerica, Gr. sphaerica var. quadrata, Gr. cf. staffelloides, Schubertina sp., Schubertella sp., and the smaller foraminifers Eotuberitina sp., Lasiodiscus tenuis, Raphconilia cf. minor, R. multihelicis, R. modificata, Tetrataxis cf. parviconica, Globivalvulina ex gr. bulloides, Gl. graeca, Calcivertella heathi, Tansillites sp., Palaeonubecularia? sp., Hemigordiellina sp., Nodosinelloides longa, and N. longissima. The age of this assemblage is considered to be Gzhelian. The assemblage is dominated by the fusulinid Pseudoacutella partoazari with a low total diversity of smaller foraminifers. This assemblage is compared to similar assemblages in other parts of Iran and well as the USA. An evolutionary lineage of Pseudoacutella partoazari is also proposed. It is confirmed that Pseudonovella differs from Pseudoacutella by the periphery rounded-carinate (carinate in Pseudoacutella), pseudochomata less developed, and the type of coiling (Pseudoacutella is truly planispiral involute). Pseudonovella is suggested here as the ancestor of Pseudoacutella. This assemblage bears one unusual attribute, the overwhelming dominance of the fusulinid Pseudoacutella and the relatively low total diversity, compared with similar foraminifera from Alborz, Sanandaj-Sirjan, Sabzevar and central Iran, which present warm and humid conditions during the Late Carboniferous.

 Abstract:  The Jurassic platform margin succession in the Hezan area, called the "Hezan Unit" (Diyarbakır), on the north of the Arabian platform in southeastern Turkey includes five formations of carbonate-dominated rocks. The most interesting is the upper part of the Hezan unit (the Kuran Formation) that contains unique layers of oolitic and clayey limestone. A first record of the calcareous polychaete tubeworm Propomatoceros lumbricalis is described from the Middle Jurassic lower part of the Kuran Formation of the Hezan area. Most knowledge of fossil serpulids is centered on European material, and little has been done on Middle East fossil calcareous tubes. The taxonomic information recorded as a result of this study will add to our understanding of the biogeographic history of the Middle Jurassic calcareous polychaete associations and help to interpret the structure and paleoecology of its marine communities.

 Abstract:  Studies of Nayband Formation from the Garm Ab section in Lut Block in Central Iran led to the identification of 26 foraminiferal taxa. Nine species are reported from Iran for the first time: Involutina ex gr. liassica (Jones), Involutina sp., Lamelliconus permodiscoides (Oberhauser), Palaeolituonella cf. meridionalis (Luperto), Palaeolituonella cf. angulata Senowbari-Daryan & Cacciatore, Gaudryinella cf. kotlensis Trifonova, Ammobaculites eumorphos Kristan-Tollmann, Frondicularia rhaetica Kristan-Tollmann, Frondicularia cf. xiphoidea Kristan-Tollmann, and Orthotrinacria ? expansa  (Zaninetti et al.). The taxa restrict the Upper Triassic interval to probably just the Rhaetian. Based on the foraminifera and their abundance, three different association-types could be distinguished, i.e., the Decapoalina schaeferae-Miliolipora cuvillieri, Trocholina turris-Agathammina iranica and Involutina ex gr. liassica-Trocholina umbo associations. Comparisons of foraminiferal associations in different parts of central Iran, such as 1) Hassan Abad section, SW of Ferdows in Lut Block, 2) the type locality of the Nayband Formation in Tabas Block, NE of Esfahan in the eastern part of Central Domain Block, and 3) the Garm Ab section in Lut Block, indicate that the hyaline foraminifers are most abundant in the Garm Ab. Besides, in the Lut Block, the reef environments in the Garm Ab section are deeper water than those of the Hassan Abad section. The association of Trocholina umbo with Miliolipora cuvillieri is similar to the foraminiferal association from the NE of Esfahan and shows similar conditions in Lut Block and Central Domain Block. The two assemblages of hyaline foraminifers, especially the new report of Involutina and Trocholina, prove to be Rhaetian in age.

 Abstract:  During the Late Miocene, the Rifian Corridor was one of the two main corridors allowing exchanges between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Seas. Sedimentary records accumulated along this corridor and specifically, in the Sais Basin, constitute case-study material for understanding the impact of the South Rifian Corridor on the evolution of the fauna, phytoplankton and environment during the Late Miocene. In order to reconstruct the evolution of marine paleoenvironments in the Moulay Yakoub region and to compare this evolution with other areas of the Sais basin, we conducted an integrated biostratigraphic and palynological study of the Upper Miocene of borehole KA 102. High-resolution biostratigraphy based on planktonic foraminifera revised and defined the chronostratigraphic framework of the Upper Miocene sedimentary series of the Moulay Yakoub region providing an age of 7.8 Ma to 6.52 Ma (Late Tortonian to Early Messinian). In the Late Tortonian, the planktonic foraminiferal assemblages suggest an open and relatively deep marine environment. At the Tortonian/Messinian boundary, planktonic foraminiferal and dinoflagellate associations, as well as distal indices, suggest a relatively deep and neritic distal marine environment with a decrease in diversity and an increase in reworked taxa. Surface waters are warm with a minor cooling trend observed just below this boundary. In comparison to previously studied sections in the Sais Basin, the Lower Messinian is characterized by a deeper and more distal marine environment. However, proximal trends and warm surface water conditions persisted in all studied areas from the basin during this period.

 Abstract:  The fossils described here are from the Tithonian-lower Berriasian Štramberk Limestone of the Czech Republic. The specimens consist of densely packed, straight to slightly curved short tubes. Each tube is composed of a single valve rather than two valves. Some tubes show constrictions in the wall, generally on just one side. The lumen is almost completely filled with numerous densely packed slightly to strongly concave tabulae. In some tubes, the tabulae form complete internal floors while in others they connect to the wall with another tabula or seal the concavity in the underlying tabula. The tubes somewhat resemble tubeworms, rudists, vermetids and calcareous algae. However, based on morphological similarities such as the tube-like morphology in longitudinal section and the shapes of the lamellae and tabulae, these tubes resemble oysters described from the Albian of Brazil. Accordingly, we infer that the Štramberk tubes represent oysters or oyster-related bivalves.

 Abstract:  The use of taxonomic-phylogenetic criteria established for planktonic foraminifera in the 2000's and the definition of the Albian Global Stratotype Section Point (GSSP-Alb) have resulted in a major change in the interpretation of the carbonate sections overlying the giant layer of salt present in basins of the South Central Atlantic (CSA) and their equivalent strata in the Equatorial South Atlantic (ESA), and interior of northeastern Brazil (BNE). These post-salt carbonates have long been considered Albian in age, but they contain a planktonic foraminifera association characteristically Aptian. Great conflicts arise, however, when this faunal association is compared with biostratigraphic successions based on other fossil groups or with lithostratigraphic and geochronological data. Controversies similar to those observed at sites 363 and 364 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) leg 40, drilled almost 45 years ago, have resurfaced. Thus, it is paradoxical that the remarkable disappearance of large species of planktonic foraminifera, associated with the top of the Paraticinella rohri Zone (of the upper Aptian), occurred stratigraphically above a typical Albian calcareous nannofossil succession (as the First Stratigraphic Occurrences of Hayesites albiensis, Tranolithus orionatus, Axopodorhabdus biramiculatus, and Eiffellithus turriseiffelli) or the FOs of three known species of pelagic calcispheres, all assumed to be of Albian age. Another notorious conflict lies in the fact that these carbonates rest directly on the salt layer onlapping the South Atlantic Middle Barrier (SAMB), where trachyandesite has been dated at 113.2 ± 0.1 Ma, identical to the value established for the GSSP-Alb. Detailed examination of 16 stratigraphic sections from around the world shows that the difficulties of fully applying the GSSP-Alb criteria are not limited to the CSA, ESA, and BNE basins. The explanation of these controversies may lie in the specific conditions of the water mass of the primitive South Atlantic that may have influenced morphological alterations or affected the temporal amplitude of taxa. But until geochronological, biostratigraphic, and lithostratigraphic incompatibilities can be clarified, it is here recommended to use the base of the evaporitic layer as the reference for the Aptian/Albian transition in CSA, ESA, and BNE basins.

 Abstract:  We describe two larger benthic foraminiferal taxa collected from wells drilled in the subsurface Eocene rocks of southeastern Florida that are new to peninsular Florida and the Caribbean region. Saudia floridana n.sp. is characteristic of a foraminiferal assemblage, along with Helicostegina gyralis, wide forms of the Cushmania americana group, and Gunteria floridana, in an upper part of the Oldsmar Formation. Globogypsinoides browardensis n.gen. n.sp. occurs in a second foraminiferal assemblage, along with Borelis cf. floridanus, Coskinolina cf. yucatanensis, and as-yet undescribed large rotaliids, in a middle part of the Oldsmar Formation. The foraminiferal assemblage of the middle Oldsmar unit is ascribed an Ypresian age and the assemblage of the upper Oldsmar unit a Lutetian age. These two assemblages indicate inner shelf water depths of 40 m or less on the Florida Platform during the Early to Middle Eocene deposition of the middle to upper part of the Oldsmar Formation.

 Abstract:  Faeces produced by marine vertebrates and macro-invertebrates contain sufficient organic matter to represent a usable food source for a wide array of macroscopic animals. In some extant marine environments, coprophagy even represents a crucial trophic interaction in food webs. In ancient ecosystems, coprophagy by macroscopic animals is occasionally exemplified by coprolites that exhibit biting traces or burrows. Here, we report Gnathichnus pentax on an exquisitely preserved vertebrate-bitten vertebrate coprolite from the marine calcareous deposits of the Pietra leccese (Miocene, southern Italy). This unusual occurrence is interpreted as evidence of the feeding activity of a regular echinoid; in particular, it may represent either exploratory coprophagy or the browsing of an algal (microbial) film that locally developed on the exterior of the faeces. Strengthening the former interpretation, the development of microbial communities on submerged faeces often leads to their destruction; furthermore, some extant Antarctic echinoderms are well known to ordinarily feed on vertebrate faeces, and coprophagy is believed to be fairly widespread among sea urchins. Supporting the algal browsing hypothesis, in turn, only a limited area of the external surface of the faeces was subject to grazing, and the resulting trace is neatly defined, which suggest that the feeding sea urchin targeted a precise location on the dung's exterior when the latter was already rather firm. To our knowledge, the G. pentax specimen studied here represents the first published record of this ichnotaxon on a coprolite.

 Abstract:  This paper investigates the paleoenvironmental evolution of a long core extracted in a small cove located in the Tinto-Odiel estuary (SW Spain). The inferred reconstruction is supported by sedimentological, geochemical, paleontological data and dating. Seven phases have been identified, with the transit from Late Neogene marine environments to a subrecent freshwater pond and a final anthropic filling. On the basis of these data, this area was flooded during the maximum of the MIS-1 transgression (6.5-5.2 cal. kyr BP), with the temporary presence of a subtidal channel with phanerogam meadows. During this evolution, three geochemical peaks have been detected, which correspond to 1) the first evidence of mining activities (~4.5 cal. kyr BP), 2) an interval of intensive mining (1850-1960) and 3) an industrial period (1966-1985), affected by the dumping of highly polluting waste into this estuary.

 Abstract:  A hundred specimens of pteriomorph bivalves were collected from the marine deposits of the marly-sandy formations of Algiers Sahel, which correspond to transitional facies between the Piacenzian deep marly deposits and the Astian molassic deposits. They are herein analysed from a systematic, taphonomic, palaeoecological and paleoenvironmental point of view. The preliminary inventory list consists of 27 species belonging to eight families: Arcidae, Nuculidae, Glycymeridae, Spondylidae, Pectinidae, Plicatulidae, Gryphaeidae, and Ostreidae. Two sedimentary units with different bivalve biodiversity are recognized: the first: a shallow infralittoral unit characterised by large Flabellipecten alessii, Aequipecten angelonii, Ostrea lamellosa and O. edulis; the second: A deeper unit of circalittoral environment mainly includes Amusium cristatum. These bivalve shells display sclerobiont traces. Bioerosion traces are mostly assignable to clionid sponges (Entobia isp.), polychaete worms (Maeandropolydora isp. and Caulostrepsis isp.), bivalves (Gastrochaenolites isp.) and predatory gastropods (Oichnus isp.). Identified encrusting organisms are juvenile oyster shells, cirripedes, polychaete worms (serpulids), and indeterminate bryozoans. Analysis of boring and encrusting traces indicate a progressive environmental change from a relative high energy setting to a lower energy and deeper water setting, and correspond to a shallow sea with well-oxygenated waters.

 Abstract:  An 148 m composite section located in the Gargas area stratotype in southeastern France has been studied for its calcareous nannofossil content. The four sections span the upper Bedoulian to lower Gargasian with the stadial boundary located within the basal section south of the village of Clavaillan. A total of 75 samples was processed to inventory taxonomy and stratigraphic distributions.
Eprolithus floralis is present at the base of the stratigraphic succession. The lowest occurrence of this species, which marks the base of Subzone NC7A, has been documented in the uppermost lower Aptian (Bedoulian) in other sections in southeastern France. The highest occurrence of the genus Micrantholithus has been utilized to delineate the base of Subzone NC7B. This subzonal boundary was placed at 48 m in the Les Gays I section (113.5 m in the composite) below the lowest occurrence of the foraminifer Globigerinelloides ferreolensis in the suprajacent sample (50 m). The lowest occurrence of Braarudosphaera africana is identified as a regional biohorizon in lower Subzone NC7A and a local proxy for the Bedoulian/Gargasian boundary. This event was placed at 15.5 m in the Clavaillan section at the base of the Dufrenoyia furcata Zone and within the "Niveau Blanc inférieur" marker bed (NB1).
The genus Nannoconus is abundant to very abundant in all samples examined. Taxonomic rigor has resulted in the recognition of five main morphologic groups (A-E), including all but one of the 15 species discriminated over this relatively short stratigraphic interval. Four main Nannoconus assemblage biozones - with one subdivision - have been distinguished through semi-quantitative analyses and organized relative to these taxonomic groupings. Assemblage Biozone B is restricted to the Bedoulian and has been correlated to the lower portion of Subzone NC7A (i.e., NC7A1). Assemblage biozones GI and GII (A-B) have been correlated to the upper portion of Subzone NC7A (i.e., NC7A2) and Biozone GIII to Subzone NC7B within the Gargasian.
Assipetra is another solution-resistant genus included in semi-quantitative analyses, where both its species were separated into small and large forms based on a size of 10 μm. The highest percentages of large morphotypes are within the Bedoulian in the lower 10.5 m of the Clavaillan section, roughly coeval to an acme of large Assipetra observed in the basal portion of the Serre Chaitieu section in the nearby Vocontian Basin.

 Abstract:  With 35 Cretaceous outcrops yielding fossil insects, either in amber or as rock (marls, limestones, cinerite, or dysodile) impressions-compressions (adpressions), Lebanon has continuously contributed significantly to the advance of palaeoentomology and to our understanding of entomological evolution and palaeobiodiversity. Compared to its small surface area, this country can be considered among the richest of fossil insect outcrops. This is due to its geological history and mainly to its forest, fluvial - lacustrine tropical and proximal marine subtropical palaeoenvironments plus Peritethys equatorial and subequatorial palaeogeography during the Lower and "Middle" Cretaceous. Herein, an exhaustive review of all outcrops with insects is given. A list of all fossil insects described from Lebanon is provided.

 Abstract:   A species of Proporidae (Heliolitida) forming very small, discoid coralla, is fully described. It is mainly preserved in natural moulds in the Öjlemyr chert, an erratic silicified limestone found in Eridanos deposits surfacing in the west and north-east of the Dutch Overijssel-province and adjoining German area, generally accepted to be Uppermost Katian. The material is assigned to the rehabilitated Pinacopora Nicholson & Etheridge, 1878, a genus closely allied to Propora Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849, and a new species, Pinacopora baltica is named. The main feature of this species, besides the characteristics of the genus and the biometric data, is the presence of wide, short, and convex septal ridges bearing scattered septal spines, alternating with narrow interseptal furrows. For the first time in heliolitids a pleurodictyoid pattern of growth is described. Only two species of Pinacopora are recorded: P. baltica n. sp. (Upper Ordovician) and P. grayi Nicholson & Etheridge, 1878 (Lower Silurian), respectively from Baltica and Laurentia.

 Abstract:  Tethys is a stand-alone modern noun, which does not require a qualifier in the English language. The use of the qualifiers Tethyan or Tethysian should be strongly discouraged. Taxa the names of which comprise the stem -tethy- are named after the Greek Goddess; those the names of which bear the stem -tethys- are named after the German (Suess, 1901), French (Suess, 1902) and English (Suess, 1908) Tethys Ocean. There was too much confusion on these two last points.

Thanks to our German-speaking readers (Olaf Elicki, Mike Reich, Torsten Scheyer, Ekbert Seibertz, ...) for having reported some grammatical errors: for instance, in the first table, one should read "(die) Tethys" instead of "(der) Tethys". [2022-08-12]

 Abstract:  The occurrence of orbitolinid-bearing shallow water limestone blocks (Tuburan Limestone) incorporated into the volcanic series from Cebu Island, Central Philippines, has been known since the 1950's. Taxonomic studies including solid biostratigraphic data however are lacking or not substantiated. Herein we report the occurrence of Mesorbitolina texana (Roemer), transitional forms between M. texana and M. subconcava (Leymerie), Mesorbitolina birmanica (Sahni), Palaeodictyoconus actinostoma Arnaud-Vanneau & Schroeder, Neorbitolinopsis conica (Matsumaru), Paracoskinolina sp. and other benthic foraminifera (Akcaya, Praechrysalidina, Vercorsella) indicating a latest Aptian age. The previously accepted Late Albian age for the Tuburan Limestone based on Neorbitolinopsis conulus (Douvillé) is rejected herein and suggested as a misidentification with the recently revised Aptian - Lower Albian Neorbitolinopsis conica (Matsumaru). The general poverty of Lower Cretaceous dictyoconids in the Tuburan Limestone is interpreted as being caused by the lack of suitable extensive lagoonal facies that is generally typical for carbonate platforms of passive continental margins. The observed microfacies types instead refer to external platform margin settings with corals, stromatoporoids, sclerosponges (e.g., Acanthochaetetes), and planktic foraminifera. The recovered (micro) fauna from Cebu Island shows striking similarities to assemblages reported from Western and Mid-Pacific guyots but with indicated younger ages (up to the late Albian) based on data that - in our opinion - do not stand up to close scrutiny. Finally, a model is proposed interpreting the Tuburan Limestone from Cebu Island as remnants of a former carbonate cover of a guyot that originated as a volcanic island in the Western-Central Pacific, and later became incorporated into an accretionary wedge/mélange zone due to subduction-collisional processes.

 Abstract:  New radioisotopic dates of Tithonian-Hauterivian strata in the Neuquén Basin significantly recalibrate Early Cretaceous numerical ages. In order to evaluate the implications of these revised ages, a graphic correlation experiment of twenty-three Andean Tithonian to Hauterivian sections integrated the ranges of 254 species, sequence boundaries, polarity chrons, and radioisotopic ages that compose the ANDESCS DB. This database accurately reproduces the order of Andean ammonite zones and places them in a relative metric scale of a composite reference section. The ranges in the ANDESCS DB were correlated with the LOK2016 DB that comprises Tithonian-Albian ammonites, calpionellids, nannofossils, and polarity chrons in Mediterranean-Caucasian Subrealm stage reference sections. In 2017 these ranges were calibrated to GTS2016 mega-annums (MA). Although most Andean ammonoids were endemic to the Indo-Pacific Subrealm, nannofossils, calpionellids and polarity chrons were present in both areas.
This stratigraphic experiment correlates base Berriasian as defined in France within the Substeueroceras koeneni Zone. In Andean sections this boundary is correlated with the Crassicolaria/Calpionella zone boundary dated at about 141 Ma. The base of the Valanginian defined by Calpionellites darderi correlates with the Neocomites wichmanni Zone of the Neuquén Basin (NB) recalibrated at 139.50 Ma, which is confirmed by multiple dates in Argentina, Mexico, Tibet, and elsewhere. The base Hauterivian correlates with base of Holcoptychites neuquensis Zone in the NB recalibrated at 131 Ma. Top of Hauterivian is in the Sabaudiella riverorum Zone in the NB and is dated at 127 Ma below an unconformity.
Previous cyclostratigraphic astrochronologic cycles are averaged and calibrate the duration of the Tithonian at 5.67 myr, the Berriasian at 5.27 myr, the Valanginian at 5.30 myr, and the Hauterivian at 5.60 myr. The age of each stage is recalibrated by adding revised durations to the most common age of base Valanginian of 139.5 Ma. These ages revise the Berriasian to Hauterivian stages time scale, and the ages of stage boundaries are on average 2.8 myr longer than proposed by the new Neuquén Basin radioisotopic dates.

 Abstract:  Encrusting coralline algae are important rock-building organisms of the lower Priabonian limestones from the Central Carpathian Paleogene Basin. Despite the effort of early palaeontologists, former classifications lacked many diagnostic characteristics and modern taxonomic concepts, which hinders their use for modern palaeontological interpretations. The situation is further complicated as recent DNA analyses of extant coralline algae highlight the limits of the morpho-anatomical classification and identify many coralline algal genera which can also be recognized in the fossil record. Because palaeontology deals exclusively with the morpho-anatomical characteristics, a synthesis of the new discoveries in molecular phylogenetic analyses with morphology-based palaeontological classifications is necessary. Our palaeontological study based on published investigations on coralline molecular genetics enabled: 1) the identification of seventeen coralline algal morphological species grouped in six genera: Sporolithon lugeonii, Sporolithon nummuliticum, Sporolithon sp. 1, Sporolithon sp. 2, Lithothamnion camarasae, Lithothamnion cf. corallioides, Lithothamnion prascoi, Lithothamnion cf. ramosissimum, Lithothamnion roveretoi, Lithothamnion sp., Phymatolithon sp., Mesophyllum fructiferum, Mesophyllum cf. engelhartii, Mesophyllum sp., Chamberlainium lemoinei, Lithoporella melobesioides, and Lithoporella cf. minus ; 2) the description of Chamberlainium lemoinei (Miranda) comb. nov. known from the Bartonian, and 3) the identification of a unique encrusting coralline alga tentatively assigned to the genus Lithothamnion.

 Abstract:  We have undertaken a study of the larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) of the Eocene of Jamaica that involved collecting free specimens and calibrating their occurrence against chronostratigraphy using calcareous nannofossils identified from sample splits or adjacent samples. The results have been plotted stratigraphically and allow a detailed zonation of the Eocene (14 zones) to be developed based largely on lepidocyclinids and similar forms. The zonation can be shown to be applicable to the Americas extending from northern South America, to Central America, the Caribbean and southern North America. The LBF biostratigraphy is based on the evolution of various groups. Three zones are recognized in the Ypresian, six zones in the Lutetian, three zones in the Bartonian, and two zones in the Priabonian. In order to classify the LBF we have revised the important groups used for the zonation scheme that occur in the Eocene and figure numerous examples. Our revision rearranges described genera into evolutionary, monophyletic clades to which we give the hierarchy of family and subfamily. We provide remarks on published taxa explaining how they are recognized and describe all the new taxa (two families, one subfamily, four genera and five species). The following families, genera and species are new: Butterliniana gen. nov., Helicosteginidae fam. nov., Helicostegina minor sp. nov., Helicostegina jamaicensis sp. nov., Helicostegina jeannemairae sp. nov., Pseudolepidinidae fam. nov., Orbitoininae subfam. nov., Planorbitoinella gen. nov., Polyorbitoinella gen. nov., Polyorbitoinella lilyfieldensis sp. nov., Orbitoina wrighti sp. nov., and Nephronummulites gen. nov.

 Abstract:  This discussion reassesses earlier interpretations of calcareous turbidites from the subsurface Spraberry Formation of the Happy Field (Garza County, NW Texas). It is based on routine petrographic analyses with a standard microscope. The succession of diagenetic products in this deep water setting were a little initial cementation by low magnesian calcite (LMC) and then the partial or complete leaching of both aragonite and high magnesian calcite (HMC) allochems facilitated by the presence of a residual primary intergranular porosity. This contradicts Laya et al.'s (2021) claim that cementation left no residual intergranular porosity so further leaching of the ooids would not have been possible. Instead the study made for this discussion with the same thin sections found residual primary intergranular porosity remains as evidenced by some of their photomicrographs. Most thin sections with porous grainstones have 1) collapsed molds that exhibit evidence of little initial cementation and 2) measured permeability values that range from some mD to some tens of mD. Isopachous LMC cements occur in almost all thin sections lining the margins of most intergranular pores. As these cements do not fully fill the pores, there is permeable well-connected residual primary porosity with no significant LMC cement in the secondary moldic porosity. Compaction affects the allochems and, where these are partially leached, intergranular and moldic porosities. Dissolution of aragonite (a major component) and HMC (possibly a minor component) was probably not coeval. The order of paragenetic sequence of this discussion study was: 1) LMC cementation; 2) aragonite leaching facilitated by oxidation of the organic matter in the "biocrystals" of bioclasts and oolitic cortices; 3) compactional brecciation, which was first mechanical, and then chemical causing local collapse of the molds of some of the largest pores. It was governed by cementation initially in a shallow burial diagenetic setting and then leaching whereas chemical compaction marks a slightly deeper burial diagenetic setting. The final event was marked by oil migration into the Happy Field reservoirs, freezing the calcium carbonate diagenesis. The theory of Laya et al. (2021) of the leaching of ooids in directly "seawater-derived fluids" is unsupported by the paragenetic sequence described above.

Editorial notice:  
Following the reading of a paper authored by J.C. Laya et al. in the journal Sedimentology, the authors submitted on 02-Nov-2021 a first discussion manuscript based on analogues. On 09-Nov-2021, this first manuscript was returned with harsh comments from three editors and ascribed the label "Reject & Resubmit". On 07-Mar-2022, the first author (BRCG) received a parcel with 40 thin sections to examine over a two weeks period. He was charged significant import taxes for this "scientific material". On 14-May-2022, the authors submitted a new discussion manuscript based on that same material that was studied by J.C. Laya et al. On 07-Jun-2022 this second manuscript was ascribed the label "Immediate Reject" without having any preliminary editorial reading. In the meantime, a claimant allegedly accused the first author (BRCG) of "serious breaches in academic publishing ethics" because he posted some photomicrographs of the material on a social network. On 05-Apr-2022 and again on 18-May-2022, this claimant addressed complains to the " Université de Bretagne Occidentale", an action that may be characterised as slander or defamation. Note that the authors were kindly granted the written permission to publish this discussion paper and another paper by the legitimate owner of the Happy Spraberry field, which also owns all material derived from any of their materials (e.g., cores). It looks like there is no evidence that it was the case for the other parties.

 Abstract:  The Uchaux Massif (Vaucluse, SE France) is one of the rare places in Europe where ammonites collecting can be led from a high middle Turonian through Late Turonian. That incited Alcide d'Orbigny in 1852 to quote Uchaux as "the French type of the Turonian stage" to complement the Saumur, Tourtenay, Montrichard and Tours localities mentionned in 1842 when the stage was created. In 2014, the monograph by Robaszynski et al. synthetized and actualized the informations available on the litho- and biostratigraphy of the Turonian from the Uchaux Massif. More recently, a new outcrop at Mondragon, in a place named Prés Morel, exposes the whole carbonate siltstones with Spongia of the Peyras Member (UL₃). Were collected : Lewesiceras peramplum (Mantell, 1822), Romaniceras (Romaniceras) marigniacum Amédro & Châtelier, 2020, R. (Yubariceras) ornatissimum (Stoliczka, 1864), R. (Y.) kanei Jones, 1938, Collignoniceras woollgari regulare (Haas, 1946), C. carolinum (Orbigny, 1841), C. papale (Orbigny, 1841), C. turoniense (Orbigny, 1841) and a new species of Collignoniceras : C. rhodanicum Amédro, Baudouin & Delanoy sp. nov. This assemblage, unprecedented in the studied area, is characteristic of the Romaniceras ornatissimum Zone which is the third of the four ammonite zones of the middle Turonian (Tm 3). At the top of this third zone, the surprise was to find the Romaniceras marigniacum bio-horizon defined in 2020 in the southern part of the Paris Basin at the top of the Tuffeau de Bourré and at the base of the Tuffeau Jaune de Touraine. Moreover, we now think that the Peyras Member has to be fully assigned to the Romaniceras ornatissimum Zone. Lastly, the assemblage includes a rich population of Collignoniceras carolinum (24 specimens), the most important known to-day over the world. All these ammonites allow to know the spectrum of their morphological variations and show a dimorphism through the existence of micro- and macroconchs.

 Abstract:  The subsurface upper Spraberry Formation in NW Texas is dominantly composed of calcareous turbidites and debris-flows. The petrographic analysis of its porous grain-supported fabrics revealed the presence of controversial superimposed compaction fabrics, sometimes referred to as "distorted ooids". Based on the paragenetic sequence, it is demonstrated that these allochems were not distorted. In fact, the related zigzag and silcrow (§) patterns result from the collapse of molds, either oomolds or biomolds, in response to mechanical compaction of the fragile framework made up of isopachous Low-Mg Calcite cement surrounding these empty molds. As a side finding, this stratigraphic unit, which was said to be late Kungurian in age, is proved to be nearly 7 millions of year older.

 Abstract:  The taxonomic classification and mutual distinction of the genera Physoporella Steinmann and Oligoporella Pia (Dasycladales, green algae) have proven problematic and that has impeded their use in stratigraphy and other studies. The presence of single whorls of piriform laterals in Physoporella and double whorls in Oligoporella is considered as the main characteristic that separates these genera. According to that, diagnoses of genera and all species and varieties are changed or supplemented, and detailed descriptions are given. For this purpose the type-material from Pia's collection was re-examined and its redocumentation and reinterpretation performed. Additional information was obtained from abundant material from Croatia (Ivanščica Mt, Medvednica Mt, Žumberak Mt, Lika, Dalmatia). Only a few taxa were examined based on literature data. For all species and varieties reconstructions are given. Taxa from the Permian of East Asia are only briefly described. Among the investigated taxa, some of them have a structure that significantly differs from that present in the type species of the genera Physoporella and Oligoporella. They are separated into two new genera Ardeiporella and Neophysoporella. The revised genera Physoporella and Oligoporella, together with the newly established ones, give a clearer picture of phylogenetic relations.

 Abstract:  An isolated and deformed lower tooth plate of an eagle ray (Aetomylaeus sp., Myliobatidae, Myliobatiformes) is reported herein from the Miocene deposits along Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, U.S.A. Deformed myliobatid tooth plates like this, either fossil or modern, are exceedingly rare. All medial teeth are deformed/skewed such that the right side of each tooth forms an angle of about 10 degrees to the transverse axis of the dental plate. The skewed abnormal form of the teeth in USNM PAL 726325 is not thought to be the result of modern or taphonomic deformation. Rather, the deformity exhibited by USNM PAL 726325 gives every indication that successive similarly deformed teeth came about as a result of a persistent anatomical deformity of the dental lamina. From the consistency in the deformed shape of each tooth, it would appear as though the dental lamina retained this anomalous shape at least throughout the time represented by the age of the tooth plate. If this interpretation is correct, the deformity was not fatal and did not significantly impair the functionality of the tooth pavement over a protracted part (or all) of the individual's life span.

 Abstract:  Calcitic ooids and bothryoids from the Yacoraite Formation in the provinces of Jujuy and Salta (Argentina) display radial fabrics pointing to their primarily high-Mg calcite (HMC) nature. The present publication documents some specimens that are partly or fully leached or recrystallized, which raises fundamental questions about the validity of some concepts, such as the very existence of the so-called "two-phase"/"bimineralic" ooids. It is assumed here that the organic content in the oolitic cortices (and, subsequently, its degree of oxidation) is the key to explaining some differential diagenetic alterations.

 Abstract:  Several adult specimens belonging to the genus Puzosia Bayle, 1878, were collected in the Albian of Lieuche (Alpes-Maritimes, France). Comparison with material from the condensed Albian levels of La Balme de Rencurel (Isère, France), in particular those described and figured by Jacob (1908), has highlighted a morphological link between the adult forms from Lieuche and the incomplete specimens from the condensed levels of the Lower-Middle Albian of south-eastern France and to identify them as Puzosia quenstedti (Parona & Bonarelli, 1897). These new details on the ontogenetic development of this species also allow new perspectives in the taxonomic treatment of Albian Puzosia species. A modified diagnosis of Puzosia quenstedti is proposed.
The presence of Douvilleiceras sp. juv. aff. D. mammillatum (Schlotheim, 1813) in superimposed overlying levels allows assignation of a Lower Albian (Douvilleiceras mammillatum Superzone) to a basal Middle Albian age (Hoplites dentatus Zone).

 Abstract:  Eccentric ooids are described from a brackish Maastrichtian paleolake in NW Argentina. The first report of such atypical coated grains was from marine Upper Jurassic strata in SE Poland. Because their growth pattern is not likely to be confused with that of other "eccentric" ooids, such as asymmetric ooids, hiatus ooids, half-moon ooids, or "broken" ooids, it is suggested here to name them "wobbly ooids".

 Abstract:  The Lower Aptian marine deposits from southern Ardèche (South-East of France) yield a rich ammonite fauna of the sub-family Roloboceratinae Casey, 1961, which dates the upper Deshayesites forbesi Zone (Roloboceras hambrovi Subzone pro parte ?). The systematic study of this Roloboceratinae fauna has improved our knowledge of Megatyloceras coronatum Rouchadzé, 1933, type species of Megatyloceras Humphrey, 1949, as well as a better understanding of the genus thanks to the examination of the species from the Anglo-Paris Basin. A new species, M. leteilensis sp. nov. is introduced, and a description of M. transiens Casey, 1961, provided, with clarifications on its possible stratigraphic position. This study also establishes that the "species" Megatyloceras ricordeanum (Orbigny, 1850) represents only a growth stage shared by several species of Megatyloceras which is doubtfully a true taxon and must, therefore, be considered as a nomen dubium. The hypothesis of sexual dimorphism in Roloboceras Casey, 1954, and Megatyloceras is advanced. The study of this Roloboceratinae fauna highlights their heterogeneous distribution throughout Lower Aptian deposits of Ardèche, showing a direct correlation with bathymetric range. The biostratigraphical distribution of both genera on the Languedoc platform shows that Roloboceras is present from the uppermost C2 segment to the C4 segment of the stable carbon-isotope record, while Megatyloceras is limited to the middle C4 segment up to the lowermost C6 segment. Both genera coexist during the C4 segment.

 Abstract:  Vale do Ribeira, in southeastern Brazil, is known for its many caves that contain osteological material, including remains that have been referred to several extinct species. The sabertooth cat Smilodon populator was a large predator that inhabited South America during the Quaternary. A specimen that is represented in the Abismo Ponta de Flecha Cave by small forelimb bones (metacarpals and phalanges) is commented here. The metacarpals display morphological characteristics of S. populator, but are smaller than those of S. fatalis and larger than those of S. gracilis. This specimen is amongst the smallest ever found specimen of S. populator and is comparable in size to an adult lion.

 Abstract:  A new paracomatulid crinoid, Tiburtocrinus toarcensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Lower Jurassic of Tivoli (central Apennines, Italy). This type of stemless crinoids has never previously been recorded in Italy, and this report bridges a significant gap. Morphofunctional analysis of the radial facets suggests that Tiburtocrinus toarcensis gen. et sp. nov. may have been a crawling paracomatulid, very different from other paracomatulids that probably swam.

 Abstract:   The biostratigraphic distribution of orbitolinids for the Barremian of SE France proposed hereafter is calibrated on the ammonite biozonation. This work is based on the study of eleven sections with orbitolinids associated to macrofossils (ammonites and/or echinids) significant in terms of biostratigraphy or overlain with levels bearing the above macrofossils.

 Abstract:  An isolated Miocene baleen whale left radius was marked repeatedly by shark bite-shake traces. The radius probably derives from the Plum Point Member of the Calvert Formation, Calvert Cliffs, Calvert County, Maryland, U.S.A. At least three successive bite-shake traces marking the radius, made by multiple teeth, are attributed to the trace fossil Linichnus bromleyi. These bite-shake traces consisting of shallow, thin arching gouges on a radius, likely indicate scavenging rather than active predation. The most likely means of producing the bundle of L. bromleyi within each of the three sets of traces would be through repeated biting as the shark re-positioned the prey in its mouth or, perhaps, by a shark species with multiple functional teeth within its tooth row. If the bite traces were produced by a non-serrated tooth (as they appear to have been), then the most likely candidate would be Carcharodon hastalis.

 Abstract:  Two new ostracod genera of the family Trachyleberididae Sylvester-Bradley, 1948, each based on a new species, are described and commented here. The specimens were collected in Tortonian sediments cropping out at El Hadjra Safra in the El Ma El Abiod basin (region of Tébessa, north-eastern Algeria).

 Abstract:  New data from the Carpatho-Balkanides of eastern Serbia evidence the more or less near-simultaneous "explosive" first appearances of several genera of the Orbitolinidae in the late Berriasian. Most of the observed taxa were previously recorded from strata not older than the Late Hauterivian (= classical Urgonian of southeastern France), evidence that these ages refer to local first appearance data. The diversified assemblage from Serbia includes representatives of the subfamilies Dictyoconinae: genera Cribellopsis Arnaud-Vanneau, Montseciella Cherchi & Schroeder, Orbitolinopsis Henson, Urgonina Foury & Moullade, Valserina Schroeder & Conrad, Vanneauina Schlagintweit, and Dictyorbitolininae: genus Paracoskinolina Moullade. Representatives of the Orbitolininae (with complex embryo) have not been observed. They appeared later in the fossil record seemingly during the Late Hauterivian-early Barremian. All together 17 taxa are reported, of which three in open nomenclature. A new species is described as Cribellopsis sudari n. sp. The majority of the observed species display medium- to high-conical tests and a rather simple exoskeleton lacking horizontal partitions (rafters). The new data contradict a phylogenetic evolution of distinct genera displaying different internal test structures one after the other in time (= ancestor-descendant relationships) as postulated by some authors. The explosive radiation ("early burst") of the Orbitolinidae in the late Berriasian is accompanied by the first appearance date of several other large benthic foraminifera including mostly agglutinating (e.g., Ammocycloloculina, Choffatella, Drevennia, Eclusia, Moulladella, Pfenderina, Pseudotextulariella) but also complex porcelaneous taxa (Pavlovcevina) providing evidence for a bioevent in this time period that exceeds the number of taxa originating in the previous (Tithonian) and the following stage (Valanginian). The early evolutionary history of the Orbitolinidae can be considered a classical example of adaptive radiation within the clade's history.

 Abstract:  The lower Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Clifton Limestone of Jamaica yields three species of hippuritid bivalve: Barrettia ruseae Chubb, Whitfieldiella luceae sp. nov. and Vaccinites vermunti Mac Gillavry, and the plagioptychid: Plagioptychus sp. The hippuritids are described in detail using statistics. Barrettia ruseae is demonstrated to be a more primitive species of Barrettia than B. monilifera Woodward or B. multilirata Whitfield, and the species Whitfieldiella luceae is shown to be a more primitive species of Whitfieldiella than W. gigas Chubb. The specimens of Vaccinites from the Clifton Limestone are compared with populations of Vaccinites from elsewhere in the Americas, and five species (probably representing a single evolutionary lineage) are recognized: V. alencasteri sp. nov. (?late Turonian-?Coniacian), V. martini Mac Gillavry (probably early to mid Santonian), V. macgillavryi Palmer (probably mid to late Santonian), V. vermunti Mac Gillavry (earliest Campanian), and V. temazcali sp. nov. (late early Campanian). The Vaccinites species can be distinguished using statistical techniques. The ages of the Clifton Limestone and the five Vaccinites species are reviewed. This research demonstrates the value of using hippuritids for biostratigraphy in the Upper Cretaceous of the Americas.

 Abstract:  A new collection at Zengővárkony (Mecsek Mountains, Hungary) provided a rich and diverse but poorly preserved cephalopod-dominated fossil assemblage representing the Kimmeridgian and the lower Tithonian. The material came from mixed scree, soil, and amongst roots affected by weathering processes having been exposed to the elements for a long time. The nautiloid Pseudaganides strambergensis is the first record from the Mecsek Mountains. Due to the weathering, the ammonite fauna consists of mainly fragmentary and dissolved individuals that comprises 528 specimens belonging to 34 species and 30 genera out of which 20 species and 15 genera are reported for the first time from the Mecsek Mountains. The fauna includes specimens of known taxa. No new taxa are introduced. Based on the comparison with other faunas, this assemblage most closely resembles the fauna of the Venetian Alps (Italy). Additional faunal elements include aptychi (Laevaptychus latus, Lamellaptychus murocostatus), belemnites (Hibolithes semisulcatus), and an indetermined brachiopod. The first record of Spiraserpula spirolinites, an encrusting fossil polychaete preserved on the internal mould of a Taramelliceras shell fragment indicates favourable bottom conditions for the epifauna. The presence of Aspidoceras caletanum, Gravesia aff. gigas, and Pseudowaagenia inerme indicates faunal connections with the Submediterranean Province of the Tethys, which is in line with the tectonic and palaeogeographical position of the Mecsek Zone during the Late Jurassic. The ammonite assemblage represents elements of five Tethysian ammonite zones of the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian. The lower Kimmeridgian Herbichi Zone is indicated by Streblites tenuilobatus and Praesimoceras herbichi. The upper Kimmeridgian Acanthicum Zone is indicated by Aspidoceras acanthicum, and the Cavouri Zone by Mesosimoceras cavouri and Aspidoceras caletanum. The upper Kimmeridgian Beckeri Zone is suggested by Hybonoticeras pressulum and Pseudowaagenia inerme. Whereas Gravesia aff. gigas, Lithacoceras aff. siliceum, and Malagasites? denseplicatus are faunal elements characterising the Early Tithonian Hybonotum Zone. Phylloceratid and lytoceratid specimens account only for 12% of the fauna, while the majority of the specimens belong to the Oppeliidae and Ataxioceratidae (60%).

 Abstract:  The occurrence of the nautiloid genus Anglonautilus Spath in France was limited to the report of Anglonautilus dorsoplicatus (Wiedmann) from the Albian of Escragnolles (Alpes-Maritimes) and Anglonautilus sp. from the Aptian of Les Ferres (Alpes-Maritimes). Here we document the presence of the successive species Anglonautilus praeundulatus Lehmann et al., Anglonautilus undulatus (Sowerby) and Anglonautilus dorsoplicatus (Wiedmann) from the Cretaceous of France. The stratigraphic range of Anglonautilus Spath, hitherto unknown before Aptian times is extended downward to the Hauterivian. The Hauterivian species Nautilus begudensis Kilian & Reboul, sometimes assigned to the genus Anglonautilus Spath, is revised and re-assigned to the genus Cymatoceras Hyatt.

 Abstract:  The study of the carbonate clasts and matrix of a problematic sedimentary formation (the Gugu Breccia) from the Pădurea Craiului Mountains reveals new information concerning its depositional environment and stratigraphic position. The identified microfacies and micropaleontological assemblages demonstrate that all the sampled limestone clasts from the Gugu Breccia represent remnants of a fragmented Urgonian-type carbonate platform. The Barremian age of the clasts suggests that the stratigraphic position of the Gugu Breccia at its type locality could be uppermost Barremian-lowermost Aptian, a fact demonstrated also by the absence of elements from Lower Cretaceous carbonate platforms higher in the stratigraphic column (e.g., Aptian or Albian) of the Bihor Unit. The sedimentological observations together with the matrix mineralogy bring new arguments for the recognition of terrigenous input during the formation of the Gugu Breccia.

 Abstract:  Aetobatus (Myliobatiformes: Aetobatidae) is a living genus of eagle rays that occurs in shallow-marine, tropical and subtropical environments of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Nowadays, Aetobatus does not inhabit the cool- to warm-temperate European and Mediterranean waters, though it is known from this broad region by virtue of several fossil teeth ranging chronostratigraphically from the lower Palaeogene to the upper Neogene. The present paper reports on a fossil aetobatid tooth discovered in mid-Pliocene (upper Zanclean to lower Piacenzian, 3.82-3.19 Ma) marine deposits exposed in the vicinities of Certaldo (Tuscany, Italy) and identified as belonging to †Aetobatus cf. cappettai. This specimen comprises the youngest occurrence of Aetobatus along the coasts of mainland Europe; furthermore, together with previous finds from roughly coeval deposits of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain), it represents the most recent record of this genus in the whole Euro-Mediterranean region. In light of the environmental preferences of extant Aetobatus spp., our discovery suggests palaeoenvironmental conditions favourable to the persistence of tropical/subtropical taxa of "Miocene survivors" along the Pliocene coasts of Tuscany. In addition, it raises the question of whether or not the Messinian Salinity Crisis really resulted in the complete collapse of the Mediterranean marine biota and in the subsequent recolonisation of the Mediterranean Basin from the adjoining Atlantic waters and/or scattered marginal intrabasinal refugia at the beginning of the Pliocene. The possibility of Aetobatus recolonising the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal in the near future is discussed.

 Abstract:  The comparative study of oolites and stromatolites demonstrates striking similarities between Kalkowsky's German Triassic material (drawn from the scientific literature) and our Argentinian Paleogene material. However, the latter better illustrates that ooids and stromatoids, hence oolites and stromatolites, which share the same dual (i.e., organic and mineral) nature, are merely the end-members of a continuum of microbial carbonate structures.

 Abstract:  During the Neogene, the Betic Strait was one of the gateways that connected the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, we have analyzed the ostracod faunas of samples collected from sediments crossed by a long borehole in southwestern Spain. These sediments were deposited in the Betic strait just before the Messinian Salinity Crisis. During the middle Messinian (6.8-6.0 Ma), the scarce and low diversified ostracod assemblages (Krithe, Parakrithe, Henryhowella) are typical of upper bathyal palaeoenvironments (200-400 m water depth). This period includes a short transition (6.26-6.25 Ma) to outer neritic palaeoenvironments, coinciding with a glaciation and characterized by the presence of Acanthocythereis hystrix (Reuss, 1850) and the disappearance of Krithe and Parakrithe. The most abundant species have a wide biostratigraphic distribution, most of them ranging from the Tortonian until the Holocene.

 Abstract:  The Jurassian French or Swiss outcrops of the lowermost Cretaceous (Valanginian or Hauterivian) yield numerous brachiopod species including 3 species: Lamellaerhynchia desori (Loriol in Pictet & Campiche, 1872), Sulcirhynchia valangiensis (Loriol, 1864), and Terebratulina arzierensis (Loriol, 1864), which are not found in Lebanon. The fossiliferous site of the Salima Formation at Zeghrine, a locality close to Bikfaya (Mount Lebanon), yields an assemblage made of Belothyris pseudojurensis (Leymerie, 1842), Lamellaerhynchia hauteriviensis Burri, 1953, Loriolithyris valdensis (Loriol, 1868), Lor. latifrons (Pictet, 1872), Sellithyris carteroniana (Orbigny, 1847), and Terebratulina biauriculata Orbigny, 1850; all are also present in Jurassian localities. On the basis of the study of its brachiopod assemblage, the Salima Formation is therefore ascribed an undifferentiated Valanginian age.

 Abstract:  The sedimentology, geochemistry and paleontology of the pelagic upper Campanian Maastrichtian Bozova Formation in the "Mazidag" (Mazıdağı) - Mardin area, SE Turkey, reveal paleoceanographic and paleoecological changes for the first time. A 119.25 m-thick composite stratigraphic section is characterized by alternating marls, clayey limestones, shales, and black shales; no coarse siliciclastic admixture or turbidite intercalations were recorded in the section. Biostratigraphic data indicate the presence of the Radotruncana calcarata Zone, and the UC15de/UC16 nannofossil zones. Stable isotope and elemental geochemical analyses have been carried out in the studied section. The isotope curves display similar patterns compared to reference curves from European and Chinese basins in the same interval. The prominent negative carbon isotope excursion determined in the upper interval can be correlated with the Late Campanian Event. Proxy elements display generally two relative rising trends in productivity from the lower part and the middle part of the succession. The lower part of the section records relatively more dysoxic/anoxic conditions and coincides with common black shale beds.
The presence of both diverse planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils in the studied interval indicates a fully marine, warm-water, low-latitude Tethysian oceanic environment. In addition, the plant fossils derived from the nearby land mass indicate that a tropical humid climate was similar to that in northeast Australia. Therefore, warm water, tropical humid atmospheric conditions developed in the studied area causing the rise in productivity, precipitation and transportation of plant debris into offshore environments.

 Abstract:  Bioerosional trace fossils (borings) are reported for the first time in Algeria. Three ichnotaxa observed in the shells of Ostrea lamellosa from the lower Messinian (upper Miocene) deposits of the Tafna basin (NW Algeria) are described. The ichnotaxa are Entobia cf. geometrica, Gastrochaenolites cf. torpedo and Trypanites isp.. Ostrea lamellosa shells are encrusted by balanid barnacles which are bored by Trypanites isp.. The ichnoassemblage is assigned to the Trypanites ichnofacies. Besides the bioerosion and encrustation described herein, specimens permitted the identification of the different phases of the Messinian transgression across the Souk el Khemis shoal.

 Abstract:  A zonation based on the temporal distribution of belemnites is presented for the Valanginian and its boundaries. It is calibrated on ammonite controlled and bed-by-bed correlated sections from the pre-Vocontian Basin (southeast France). Three new sections are introduced herein that have previously not been investigated. All together, seven zones and six subzones are introduced. In addition, both within the Vocontian area, as well as outside (Bulgaria, Crimea, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Morocco, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland), differences regarding the spatial distribution of belemnites are investigated. Also, in two addenda, some remarks are given regarding lithological oddities.

 Abstract:  The aim of this paper is the revision and redocumentation of Ostrea (Gigantostrea) gigantica Solander var. oligoplana Sacco, 1897, Ostrea (Ostrea) isseli n. denom. Rovereto, 1897, and Ostrea (Ostrea) isseli n. denom. var. elongata Rovereto, 1897. These taxa are from the Oligocene strata of the Molare Formation (Tertiary Piedmont Basin, southern Piedmont - central Liguria, NW Italy). The syntypes of O. (G.) gigantica var. oligoplana are in the "Collezione Bellardi e Sacco", at the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino; the syntypes of O. (O.) isseli and O. (O.) isseli var. elongata are in the "Collezione BTP" (BTP Collection, at the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita - DISTAV - of the Università di Genova). The var. oligoplana is here moved to the species rank and allocated to the genus Pycnodonte Fischer von Waldheim, 1835. O. (O.) isseli and O. (O.) isseli var. elongata are recognized as junior synonyms of the Sacco's taxon. Rovereto (1897) compared his new species with Ostrea subgigantea Raulin & Delbos, 1855, a poorly known taxon, that is here figured for the first time and shown to represent a species different from P. oligoplana (Sacco, 1897).

 Abstract:  Several new genera and species of the family Chitinoidellidae Trejo, 1975, were erected by Pop (1997, 1998a, 1998b). Some of these taxa are justified, but others are inadequately defined, and require revision. I discuss herein the non-validity of some taxa and propose a new systematic classification and an evolutionary framework for the family Chitinoidellidae, with two subfamilies: 1) Dobeninae, which include small-sized chitinoidellids, with the genera Borziella Pop, 1997, Carpathella Pop, 1998a, Daciella Pop, 1998a (amended), Dobenilla n. gen., and Popiella Reháková, 2002, and 2) Bonetinae, which includes larger-sized chitinoidellids, with the genera Bermudeziella n. gen., Bonetilla n. gen., and Furrazolaia n. gen.. These two families are separated in time. Small species of the subfamily Dobeninae characterise the Dobeni Subzone (Ponti ammonite Zone) and disappear immediately before the occurrence of the larger specimens of the subfamily Bonetinae, which characterise the Boneti Subzone (Microcanthum p.p. ammonite Zone).

 Abstract:  The controversy surrounding Bacinella irregularis Radoičić, 1959, and Lithocodium aggregatum Elliott, 1956, has involved both sedimentologists and paleontologists. Arguments to exclude them from the Codiaceae are reviewed. The same arguments may be advanced to exclude their ascription to most other organisms. The only hypothesis resisting all elements of disproof is that of a consortium involving microbial communities. Accordingly, these structures are treated here as biosedimentary structures, namely bacinella structures, and not as taxa. One of the features specific to the organisms that built these structures is their strong corroding ability, as shown by the examples of fossils partly or fully cannibalized. This represents one state of corrosion beyond surficial etching and borings. Besides their capacity to corrode calcareous substrates, these microbial organisms formed nodules or oncoids and even built biostromes, which, depending on their stage of development, may have formed soft, firm or even hard substrates. However, to our knowledge, microbial communities contributing to bacinella structures never built up any bioherm. To complete this summary review, a building-block model that coherently takes into account most architectural variations is presented in the form of a figure sketch. The endolithic foraminifer Troglotella incrustans, which is commonly found associated with bacinella structures, is not an encruster or a borer. Lastly, contrary to certain erroneous hypotheses, no major bacinella episode has been ever found coeval with any significant Oceanic Anoxic Event.

 Abstract:  Following a brief summary of some fundamentals in carbonate sedimentology (sedimentary petrography) that highlights the significance of organic matter, some examples of biocrystals in carbonate grains/particles, such as bioclasts or ooids, are provided as an introductory chapter to a discussion on gravitational cements versus endostromatolites. The gravitational cements, either marine (fibrous) or continental (dog-tooth), are made of hyaline (i.e., translucent) sparitic crystals whereas endostromatolites are made of colored sparitic crystals and/or micrite. Gravitational cements forms in the vadose zone whereas endostromatolites grow in small rock cavities in the marine phreatic zone. As such the latter can grow centripetally in all directions (not only downward).

 Abstract:  The genus Adelocoenia Orbigny, 1849, is revised and a neotype is designated for its type species Astrea castellum Michelin, 1844. For various reasons that lie in the taxonomic history of scleractinian corals, it has become a difficult task to reliably assign Mesozoic corals having the combined features of plocoid corallite integration and the absence of a columella. Therefore, many such genera are in need of revision, one of which is Adelocoenia. In addition to the revision of the type species, Jurassic species grouped within Adelocoenia are revised using type material when it was possible. Many new synonymies are proposed based mainly on characters such as symmetry and dimensions of skeletal features. Another consequence is that most species previously grouped with Pseudocoenia Orbigny are transferred to Adelocoenia. Furthermore, we present a clarified view of the paleogeographical and stratigraphical distributional patterns of the genus Adelocoenia, according to which Adelocoenia had its first appearance during the Early Jurassic, represented by a single specimen known from the Sinemurian of France. Subsequently, this genus had a significant increase in both distribution and diversity during the Middle Jurassic. The pinnacle of its success followed in the Late Jurassic during which Adelocoenia had its greatest morphological disparity and taxonomical diversity, and its largest geographical distribution. The genus survived in the Cretaceous record. Throughout its history, Adelocoenia predominantly occurred in inner platform environments that were located in low latitudes.

 Abstract:  Exceptionally well-preserved (silicified) hippuritid rudists occur in the El Rayo Formation (lower Maastrichtian) of south-western Puerto Rico. Three species belonging to three different genera are present: Caribbea muellerreidi (Vermunt), Laluzia peruviana (Gerth) and Parastroma guitarti (Palmer). Acid digestion of the limestones has resulted in a collection with numerous three-dimensional left and right valves many with the preservation of the minute details of the pore system. The morphological features of each species are described, and many features are illustrated for the first time. The new material, coupled with descriptions from other studies, demonstrates that six genera of endemic hippuritids evolved in two separate radiations in the New World: an older radiation of forms that had pallial canals in their left valves (Barrettia, Whitfieldiella and Parastroma) and a younger radiation of forms lacking pallial canals in their left valves (Laluzia, Caribbea and Praebarrettia). The exquisite preservation also reveals that in these endemic New World hippuritids the sockets for the teeth consisted of slots into which ribs on the teeth fitted; this contrasts with Old World hippuritids that have true sockets formed from upfolds of the tabulae for the teeth. The distinctive morphology of the tooth sockets is here used to define a monophyletic subfamily for which the name Barrettiinae Chubb is available.

 Abstract:  Micropalaeontological analyses were performed on two stratigraphical sections sampled in upper Messinian deposits outcropping in eastern Tunisia, allowing us to identify some sedimentary levels with high concentrations of fresh or brackish water ostracods, which can be referred to the Lago-Mare fauna. Some of these species can be considered Paratethysian, or rather as species that spread in the Mediterranean area starting from the Paratethys areas, while others show Paratethysian affinity. The Lago-Mare fauna is little known in the south Mediterranean regions and the present article provides new data on its geographic distribution.
Of the two sections sampled, the first one, the Wadi El Kebir section, is located in the south eastern part of the Cape Bon Peninsula and shows horizons dominated by Cyprideis agrigentina and Cyprideis ex C. torosa group; the second one, the Salakta section, is located in the Sahel region and shows a level with a very rich Lago-Mare ostracod fauna consisting essentially of Amnicythere propinqua, Mediocytherideis punctata, and Ilyocypris gibba.

 Abstract:  Nowadays, the living species of the terrapin genus Mauremys (Testudinoidea: Geoemydidae) are mostly found in eastern Asia, but three of them inhabit the Western Palearctic ecozone. In Italy, occurrences of living individuals of Mauremys are interpreted as records of alien species; however, a growing fossil record demonstrates that this genus has inhabited Italy as recently as the Late Pleistocene. We report on a new fossil specimen of Mauremys from the Upper Pliocene (Piacenzian) marginal-marine deposits of Tuscany (central Italy). This find, consisting of a partial plastron and a loose neural, represents the second authentic report of Mauremys from the Italian Pliocene, as well as the first one from the Piacenzian of Italy. Therefore, it is a significant fossil that fills a gap in the chronostratigraphic distribution of Italian fossil Mauremys, helping – together with the Lower Pliocene holotype of Mauremys portisi – to bridge the rich Miocene and Pleistocene segments of this record. Moreover, two unusual scars observed on the external surface of the studied plastron are here referred to the ichnospecies Thatchtelithichnus holmani. These traces represent one of the few records worldwide of this rarely identified ichnospecies, as well as its geologically youngest published occurrence. Hypotheses regarding the origin of the Thatchtelithichnus traces are reevaluated, and an origin as attachment scars of aquatic ectoparasites (possibly ticks, leeches, or flukes) is reaffirmed as probable in cases of traces occurring on the exterior of the plastral bones of turtles.

 Abstract:  Jurassic (Tithonian) and Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian/Valanginian-Hauterivian) strata of the Vendryně and Cieszyn Limestones formations in the Czech Republic and Poland are locally rich in crinoid remains, consisting of whole cups, isolated cup elements, brachial plates, columnals and pluricolumnals, cirrals, and holdfasts. They are assigned to isocrinids (Isocrinida: Isocrinus cf. amblyscalaris, Isocrinida indet.), cyrtocrinids (Cyrtocrinida: Eugeniacrinites sp., Phyllocrinus sp., Gammarocrinites sp., Hemicrinus tithonicus, Plicatocrinus hexagonus, Cyrtocrinida indet.), millericrinids (Millericrinida: Millericrinida indet.), and thiolliericrinids (Comatulida, Thiolliericrinidae: Thiolliericrinidae gen. et sp. indet.). Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and Paleogene (Paleocene-Oligocene) crinoids from the Subsilesian Unit are recorded as individual remains belonging to: Isocrinida indet., Cyrtocrinida indet., bourgueticrinids (Comatulida, Bourgueticrinina: Bourgueticrinina fam. et gen. indet.) and roveacrinids (Roveacrinida, Roveacrinidae gen. et sp. indet.). Roveacrinids were retrieved only from Maastrichtian samples. Despite the conclusions previously presented that isocrinids of the Outer Flysch Carpathians dominated around the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary due to the very shallow sedimentary environment of these strata, we can now conclude that they were common and associated with cyrtocrinids in all types of environments. It is also worth mentioning that cyrtocrinids and isocrinids occur in Paleogene sediments that were deposited in extremely shallow environments. On the other hand, many literature data suggested that Cretaceous (by mid-Cretaceous) isocrinids migrated to deep-water areas, as a response to an increase in the number of predators during the so-called Mesozoic marine revolution.

 Abstract:  Orbitolinopsis flandrini Moullade, 1960, was described from Lower Cretaceous Urgonian limestones of southeastern France without the designation of a holotype. It represents a valid taxon since the selection of a holotype is only obligatory for taxa established after 1999 (ICZN, 4^th edition, article 72.3). Today the original description is considered to be a mixture of several taxa belonging to Orbitolinopsis Henson, 1948/Cribellopsis Arnaud-Vanneau, 1980 (transverse sections with cupules/septules in the central zone) and Drevennia Arnaud-Vanneau, 1980 (axial sections with an axial "columella-like" column). The short and in any case insufficient original description of O. flandrini, however, stressed the presence of a columellar-like central test as the main characteristic feature. In fact, the majority of the (sub)axial sections showing an axial column (lacking in Orbitolinopsis) are considered to belong to Drevennia (Family Pfenderinidae). Therefore, the new combination Drevennia flandrini (Moullade, 1960) is proposed and a lectotype herein designated from the original illustrations. Drevennia ecougensis, the type-species of the genus, is found to be a subjective junior synonym of the latter. New finds from Serbia and Spain extend the stratigraphic range of D. flandrini, from the upper Berriasian to the lowermost upper Aptian. The first occurrences of Drevennia, Dobrogelina Neagu, 1979, Pfenderina Henson, 1948, and Moulladella Bucur & Schlagintweit, 2018, in the upper Berriasian give evidence for an adaptive radiation of the Pfenderinidae during the time reported and from other, mostly complex larger benthic foraminifera (e.g., Orbitolinidae).

 Abstract:  The rudist fauna collected in western Tibet in the Aksai Chin area by the De Filippi expedition in 1914 has been reprised and redescribed. This fauna is composed of Radiolites cf. lusitanicus, Radiolites sp., Gorjanovicia cf. endrissi, ? Sauvagesia sp., Sphaerulites sp., Durania sp., and Gyropleura sp. The rudist-bearing beds belong to the Tielongtan Group of the Tianshuihai terrane. The Turonian-? Coniacian Xiloqzung Formation (Fm.) bear the older rudists (Radiolites cf. lusitanicus, Radiolites sp., Sphaerulites sp., Durania sp.), whereas younger ages have been determined through microfossil analysis which, compared with the western Neotethys records, suggests an early-mid Campanian age. This allowed to ascribe the younger rudists of the collection (Gorjanovicia cf. endrissi, ? Sauvagesia sp., Gyropleura sp., Radiolites sp.) to the Dongloqzung Formation. Our data confirm that rudist-bearing facies in the Tielongtan Group extend at least up to the middle Campanian. The Aksai Chin rudist assemblage should belong to the Southwestern Asian assemblage of the Eastern Mediterranean Subprovince.

 Abstract:  Most of the Ries tektites (moldavites) were deposited in sediments clearly postdating the Ries crater formation. This suggests secondary deposition for these ejected glasses. Only a few sedimentary formations known to contain these tektites are of Middle Miocene age and coeval with the Ries event. One is the Poznańska Formation, which is exposed across southwestern Poland. These mud deposits formed in the Middle Miocene (Langhian Stage). New moldavites, described in this report were found in the Poznańska Formation and weigh from 0.851 to 0.907 g. The North Stanisław sandpit, where the tektite specimens were found, is located 490 km from the Ries structure. These finds agree with the numerical simulation modelling of the ejection of these moldavites up to 600 km away from the source crater.

 Abstract:  Molecular phylogenetic analyses discovered an unexpected biodiversity of coralline algae in modern oceans. This species richness is unlikely to be an exclusive characteristic of recent ecosystems. With the aim to investigate fossil coralline biodiversity, a large dataset of western Mediterranean Miocene specimens, previously identified as Spongites fruticulosus (and synonymized taxa), have been revised based on the current taxonomic framework. The analysis recognized two distinct groups. The first group includes the specimens fitting within the current description of S. fruticulosus. The second group consists of Chamberlainium pentagonum comb. nov., the first fossil representative of the genus. This species has been separated from S. fruticulosus on the basis of its smaller conceptacles and its thinner conceptacle roof. The very same characters have been highlighted by modern molecular phylogenetic analyses for separating Chamberlainium from Spongites. Chamberlainium pentagonum, similarly to the fossil specimens of Spongites fruticulosus, occurs in most of the investigated area and the two species coexist in several localities, indicating a similar and broad ecological tolerance for both taxa. These results suggest that Miocene coralline algal biodiversity is probably underestimated and prove the convenience of using large datasets for the study of fossil coralline algae.

 Abstract:  The Cambrian Marjum Formation of western Utah (USA) preserves a diverse soft-bodied fauna from the upper Drumian that is slightly younger than the well-known Burgess Shale. While the Marjum is dominated by arthropods, animals belonging to a variety of phyla have been found. Here, we document the second occurrence of the rare, enigmatic taxon Skeemella clavula, which was previously thought to be restricted to the Pierson Cove Formation of the Drum Mountains. The occurrence in the Marjum represents a new preservational setting, as well as a slightly younger deposit. The new specimens also expand the number of known specimens to three. In addition, they improve understanding of the morphology of this representative of the problematic phylum Vetulicolia.

 Abstract:  The family Rhapydioninidae is a part of the superfamily Alveolinacea. The main characteristic of this superfamily is its endoskeleton with each chamber divided into tubular chamberlets, fundamentally parallel to the coiling direction, and only connected in an undivided space located in the anterior part of the chamber: The preseptal space. The family Rhapydioninidae is distinguished by the coexistence of two sets of chamberlets: Primary chamberlets, which are isolated by partitions ("cloisonnettes"), forming a unique layer at the chamber periphery, and secondary chamberlets pierced in a more or less compact mass, the central endoskeleton (by no way homologous of the "couche basale", sometimes called flosculinisation or columella in some Alveolinidae). Two particular modes of organization of the secondary chamberlets occur, the Basal Secondary Chamberlets-Scattered Secondary Chamberlets structure (BSC-SSC) and the Confluent structure; they constitute supplementary features that distinguish this family from other groups.
The BSC-SSC structure (a new name for a previously well-known organization of chamberlets in the genus Pseudochubbina and Cuvillierinella salentina) is the object of a large inventory undertaken among the known taxa of the Rhapydioninidae. It leads to the observation that this particular endoskeleton is found in the various subfamilies on both sides of the Atlantic and cannot be used as a feature of taxonomic significance within the group. However, it is not observed in apparently "primitive" taxa equipped with chamberlets of large isodiametric diameter which display a "fishnet" appearance. The confluent structure is a new name for the helicoidal structure, which is also widespread within the family.
Metacuvillierinella sireli n. sp., of Campanian age, is described from outcrop and subsurface limestones in southeast Anatolia, Turkey. The new taxon is a Rhapydioninidae based on its test architecture and endoskeleton. As a species, it is clearly distinct because of its initial planispiral coiling of A generation tests, its both pseudoplanispiral generations with an advolute final stage and its thin chamberlets showing an obvious BSC-SSC structure. The generic attribution appears more uncertain: The faint dimorphism between generations and the persisting pseudoplanispiral-advolute final stage are only known in the genus Metacuvillierinella. But M. decastroi, the type species, displays a small proloculus in the A forms, a miliolid juvenile stage, and an endoskeleton of "fishnet" appearance (cryptic BSC-SSC structure), which give it a particular character, appearing as being "primitive". This contrasts with the relatively large proloculus in the A forms, pseudoplanispiral coiling and the obvious BSC-SSC structure of the new taxon. Thus, all these features being subjected to evolution, the faint generational differences and the pseudoplanispiral-advolute coiling seem sufficient to suggest the affinities between the two taxa. The new taxon is, nevertheless, clearly more "advanced", which could be interpreted as a clue for a higher standing, possibly compatible with a new genus. This is not undertaken here, in consideration of the unknown "radiance" (small variations in several well-disseminated populations and/or other species of the same kind) of the new taxon with the present state of knowledge.
Additionally, with a review of the BSC-SSC structure, the various genera of the family Rhapydioninidae are revisited, namely Pseudochubbina, Cuvillierinella, Murciella, Sigalveolina, Cyclopseudedomia, Sellialveolina, Rhapydionina, Fanrhapydionina, Chubbina, Praechubbina, Raadshoovenia, Neomurciella, Twaraina; special attention is reserved to the Euro-Asiatic genus Pseudedomia, of which the original material and, consequently, the consecutive interpretative identifications, appear doubtful. New sections of Subalveolina dordonica and Fleuryana adriatica are figured.
The conclusion deals mainly with the criteria used for distinguishing various systematic levels within the family. The classical differentiation between "specific" and "generic" characters, if eventually convenient for simple or inadequately known groups, seems unsuited for a complex and well known family like this one. A more pragmatic mode of working is proposed, using any character as a simple element without any meaning by itself, but to be understood and interpreted among the others, that is to say in the evolutionary perspective of the whole group.
A lexicon of the used terms in Rhapydioninidae and closely related taxa in given in an appendix.

 Abstract:  Around the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary in the Tinrhert Basin, ostracods are seldom found in most of the sampled levels. The assemblages show no specific diversity, their frequency not exceeding 4% of the whole microfauna. Their 'climactic' presence, both qualitatively and quantitatively, is observed at the base of the lower Turonian, where ostracod assemblages are dominated by the genera Cythereis, Paracypris, and Cytherella.
In order to interpret this data, we document a paleoecological study supported by evidence compiled from five geological sections, dealing with the respective impact of sedimentological conditions (quartz, gypsum and pyrite), and sea-level fluctuations.

 Abstract:  A re-examination of the historical collections deposited at the Bordeaux Museum of Natural History and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Bordeaux made it possible to identify new taxa of Modulidae in the Oligocene and Miocene of the Aquitaine Basin. These Modulidae belong to the American groups Modulus modulus and Trochomodulus. In addition, three new species are described: Modulus benoisti sp. nov. (Serravallian), Trochomodulus stampinicus sp. nov. (Rupelian), which is close to Trochomodulus sublaevigatus (Orbigny, 1852), a Chattian species, and Incisilabium trochiformis sp. nov. (Priabonian). The latter is the oldest known Modulidae, together with Incisilabium parisiensis (Deshayes, 1832) (Middle Eocene) that was previously classified in the Trochidae. These results show that the paleobiogeography and origin of the family Modulidae need to be reconsidered.

 Abstract:  After the Upper Messinian Mediterranean Lago-Mare phase, at the end of the Messinian salinity crisis, the Mediterranean basin was characterized by a return to normal marine conditions starting with the Lower Pliocene (Zanclean). In this period, remarkably thick layers of calcareous pelitic sediments, very rich in planktonic foraminifers and nannofossils, were widely deposited in the Mediterranean basin. The calcareous pelitic deposits of Sicily (Trubi Formation), as well as in other Mediterranean regions, were deposited conformably on the pre-Pliocene substrate, which is mainly represented by Messinian evaporites or by the post-evaporitic Lago-Mare facies. We have analysed samples taken from the lower portion of the Trubi Formation (Zanclean), just above the Messinian facies, collected from Licodia Eubea and Villafranca Tirrena areas (eastern Sicily). Micropalaentological assemblages consist of benthic and planktonic foraminifers and a typical deep-water ostracod fauna. The microfossil association and the stratigraphy of the Messinian-Pliocene transitional layers, supported by calcareous nannoplankton data, demonstrate not only rapid sea-level rise in this sector of the Mediterranean region, but also that this event, occurred without producing erosional features, unlike at other sites (e.g., Strait of Gibraltar).

 Abstract:  Modern sawfishes (Rhinopristiformes: Pristidae) are circumglobally distributed in warm waters and are common in proximal marine and even freshwater habitats. The fossil record of modern pristid genera (i.e., Pristis and Anoxypristis) dates back to the early Eocene and is mostly represented by isolated rostral spines and oral teeth, with phosphatised rostra representing exceptional occurrences. Here, we report on a partial pristid rostrum, exhibiting several articulated rostral spines, from middle Eocene strata of the Paracas Formation (Yumaque Member) exposed in the southern Peruvian East Pisco Basin. This finely preserved specimen shows anatomical structures that are unlikely to leave a fossil record, e.g., the paracentral grooves that extend along the ventral surface of the rostrum. Based on the morphology of the rostral spines, this fossil sawfish is here identified as belonging to Pristis. To our knowledge, this discovery represents the geologically oldest known occurrence of Pristidae from the Pacific Coast of South America. Although the fossil record of pristids from the East Pisco Basin spans from the middle Eocene to the late Miocene, sawfishes are no longer present in the modern cool, upwelling-influenced coastal waters of southern Peru. Given the ecological preferences of the extant members of Pristis, the occurrence of this genus in the Paracas deposits suggests that middle Eocene nearshore waters in southern Peru were warmer than today. The eventual disappearance of pristids from the coastal waters off southern Peru might be interpreted as reflecting the late Cenozoic trend of strengthening of the Humboldt Current.

 Abstract:   In the south of the Paris Basin, along the Loire and Cher valleys, the Tuffeau Jaune de Touraine Formation was traditionally attributed to the Late Turonian by the presence of rare Romaniceras deverianum (Orbigny, 1841). Moreover, the several metres of tempestites at the base of the formation never yielded ammonites. Today, in southern Touraine, more than 150 ammonites were collected from the base of the Tuffeau Jaune de Touraine and in the highest part of the underlying Tuffeau de Bourré bring new significant data: the lower part of the Tuffeau Jaune de Touraine remain in the Romaniceras ornatissimum zone, Middle Turonian in age (Tm 3). Furthermore, the discovery in that biohorizon of the new species Romaniceras (R.) marigniacum Amédro & Châtelier sp. nov. is indicative of the highest part of the R. ornatissimum zone (high Tm3). Other species are associated to the R. marigniacum biohorizon as: Romaniceras (Yubariceras) ornatissimum (Stoliczka, 1864), Masiaposites cf. kennedyi Amédro & Devalque, 2014, Collignoniceras woollgari regulare (Haas, 1946), C. turoniense (Sornay, 1951) and Collignoniceras vigennum Amédro & Châtelier sp. nov.
With regard to the top of the Tuffeau de Bourré Formation, it yielded about fifty specimens of ammonites but the assemblage is different to that found in the type locality of Bourré-Montrichard in the Cher valley. The material collected near the Vienne and Creuse junction includes : Lewesiceras peramplum (Mantell, 1822), Romaniceras (Y.) ornatissimum (Stoliczka, 1864), Collignoniceras woollgari regulare (Haas, 1946), C. canthus (Orbigny, 1856) and C. turoniense (Sornay, 1951). The species Collignoniceras papale (Orbigny, 1841), which represents one third of the Bourré collection is apparently absent whereas three new species belonging to the same genus are identified as : C. hourqueigi Amédro & Châtelier sp. nov., C. badilleti Amédro & Châtelier sp. nov. and Collignoniceras sp. A.

 Abstract:  This paper presents a new discovery of the echinoid species Phyllobrissus humilis (Gauthier, 1875) from the Albian age Riachuelo Formation of the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin. The only specimen obtained in the Maruim 1 outcrop expresses the main species characteristics. Paleoecological notes and a dichotomous key are presented to facilitate the identification of the cassiduloid species from the Cretaceous of Sergipe-Alagoas Basin.

 Abstract:  The extinct family Squalodontidae consists of heterodont, medium-sized odontocetes, featuring a long rostrum that houses large, procumbent incisors and heavily ornamented postcanine teeth carrying accessory denticles, hence their vernacular name, "shark-toothed dolphins". These longirostrine toothed whales are often seen as bridging the anatomical gap between archaic Oligocene odontocetes and their late Miocene to Holocene relatives. Possibly among the major marine predators of their time, the shark-toothed dolphins are important components of several lower Miocene marine-mammal assemblages from the North Atlantic and Mediterranean/Paratethysian realms. In the present work, a partial skull of Squalodontidae is described from the strata of the Bolognano Formation cropping out in the northeastern sector of the Montagna della Majella massif (Abruzzo, central Italy), which has previously yielded a rich lower Miocene marine-vertebrate assemblage, including eleven taxa of elasmobranchs as well as subordinate teleosts and very fragmentary remains of marine reptiles and mammals. The specimen consists of the anterodorsal portion of a rostrum, preserving parts of both premaxillae and left maxilla, and the anteriormost seven upper left teeth. This partial skull is here identified as belonging to the genus Squalodon, whose presence in the Montagna della Majella vertebrate assemblage had already been tentatively proposed on the basis of two fragmentary teeth. The paleontological significance of this find is discussed in the broader framework of the Euromediterranean record of Squalodon.

 Abstract:  The Tré Maroua site in SE France was recently selected by the Berriasian Working Group (BWG) of the International Subcommission on Cretaceous Stratigraphy (ISCS) as the candidate locality for the reference section of the Berriasian Global Boundary Stratotype Point (GSSP). However, on the basis of our preliminary investigation at this site and also from field observations over a larger area, this candidate section is paleogeographically located on a deep-water slope riddled with successive erosional surfaces, stratigraphic hiatuses and breccias. It does not meet at least four of the five "geological requirements for a GSSP". Accordingly, in our opinion, its candidacy must be definitely precluded.

 Abstract:  Involutina hungarica (Sidó, 1952) is reported from Albian strata of Texas (U.S.A.). Earlier records in the scientific literature, where this foraminifer commonly appears under the label "Hensonina lenticularis (Henson, 1947)", are reevaluated. Although it is mostly cited from Albian strata, its first occurrence could be Aptian.

 Abstract:  Lingulides from Lower Permian of Brazil (24% substrates) showed signs of bioerosion in form of multiple small shallow pits that resemble incomplete Oichnus paraboloides borings. A single lingulide valve showed a centrally located large circular predatory Oichnus simplex boring. Several lingulide shells (c. 21%) show small Arachnostega traces in their interior. The diameter of Arachnostega burrows is relatively constant. These burrows are more similar to juvenile stages of Arachnostega gastrochaena and do not form well-developed meshwork of tunnels. This is the first record of Arachnostega from the interior of lingulide shells and indicates that even very small lingulide shells were suitable substrates for cryptic organisms.

 Abstract:  Numerous and generally well-preserved examples of the intergrowth Rugosa-Bryozoa from the Upper Pragian and Lower Emsian of the Armorican Massif (Châteaulin and Laval synclinoria), France, and from the Upper Emsian of the Ougarta Mountains, Erg Djemel, Algeria, are described. In the Armorican Massif, the corallites of a rugosan Tryplasmatidae? are intergrown with Ceramoporidae bryozoan close to Crepipora, exceptionally with an unidentified Fistuliporidae (likely a new genus), whereas in Ougarta the coral is not identifiable and is associated with a Fistuliporidae assigned to Fistulipora. Although mainly left in open nomenclature, the material is fully described (structure and microstructure) and illustrated (calcitic skeleton and natural moulds) for the first time. In addition, the presence of Ceramoporidae in the Lower Devonian is clearly established. The evaluation of the association is briefly discussed and a mutualistic relationship supported.

 Abstract:  The bryozoan collection of Prof. Dr Ehrhard Voigt (1905–2004) at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a world-renowned collection of great scientific value. It is the world's largest collection of fossil bryozoans from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene and a unique archive documenting the evolution of this phylum of marine invertebrates during this time interval in the Boreal Chalk Sea that extended from the British Isles to the Aral Sea in Central Asia.
The Voigt Collection contains over 300,000 specimens and was relocated to the Senckenberg Institute in 2005 according to the bequest of Ehrhard Voigt. As a result of a DFG-funded project, we present here a three-part type catalogue of the holotypes and neotypes of 256 bryozoan species in the Voigt Collection, of which this is Part 3. In total over the three parts, 247 species are re-illustrated but the name-bearing type specimens of 20 species are missing and no material could be found for 9 species. Two species, described as ctenostome bryozoans by Ehrhard Voigt, are questionable, while a further three 'ctenostome' species and one 'ctenostome' genus are considered as ichnotaxa.

 Abstract:  The Hăgimaş Massif provides important data for reconstructing the geological evolution of the Transylvanian Carbonate Platform. This unit is present nowadays in the basement of the Transylvanian Depression and as large-scale olistoliths, which crop out in various locations in the Eastern Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains. They contain a large variety of microfacies as well as microfossil assemblages partly encompassing the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. This study presents a detailed account of uppermost Jurassic-lowermost Cretaceous limestones from the Lapoş Valley (Hăghimaş Mountains) containing two distinct successions separated by a fault. The first succession contains platform margin and inner platform deposits (subtidal, intertidal) whereas the second one consists of inner platform deposits (shallow-subtidal to peritidal carbonates). The Upper Jurassic Stramberk-type facies is overlain by lower Berriasian regressive peritidal limestones. The upper Berriasian-? lower Valanginian consists mainly of inner platform deposits. They contain alternating, high and low-energy carbonates with rare calpionellids and calcispheres. The age assignment is based on a rich and diverse micropaleontological assemblage containing similar biota reported from other regions of the Tethysian Realm.

 Abstract:  The bryozoan collection of Prof. Dr Ehrhard Voigt (1905–2004) at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a world-renowned collection of great scientific value. It is the world's largest collection of fossil bryozoans from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene and a unique archive documenting the evolution of this phylum of marine invertebrates during this time interval in the Boreal Chalk Sea that extended from the British Isles to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The Voigt Collection contains over 300,000 specimens and was relocated to the Senckenberg Institute in 2005 according to the bequest of Ehrhard Voigt. As a result of a DFG-funded project, we present here a three-part type catalogue of the holotypes and neotypes of 256 bryozoan species in the Voigt Collection, of which this is Part 2. In total over the three parts, 247 species are re-illustrated but the name-bearing type specimens of 20 species are missing and no material could be found for 9 species. Two species, described as ctenostome bryozoans by Ehrhard Voigt, are questionable, while a further three 'ctenostome' species and one 'ctenostome' genus are considered as ichnotaxa.

 Abstract:  The upper Pleistocene deposit of Arenal de son Servera is reviewed using data from earlier works and new considerations based on its stratigraphy and taphonomical aspects of the fossils. In the present study, five different kinds of facies are identified: [1] palaeosols with pebbles from the Miocene basement, [2] aeolianites, [3] foreshore deposits with thermophilous molluscan fossil fauna, [4] palaeosols resulting from the pedogenesis of the beach units, and [5] bioclastic channelled deposits eroding the underlaying units. The detailed taphonomical analysis revealed that the fossils enclosed in these rocks remained on the sea bottom for a significant amount of time, but they were not bioeroded, perhaps because a submerged sand bar repeatedly buried and exhumed them. In addition, the fact that Persististrombus latus shells are in their position of maximum stability allows to infer that they were washed up on the shore during moderately energetic events, possibly comparable to present-day ordinary storms. These two last points could be of interest to the field of coastal management, as they provide insight on the scope of physical changes these systems could undergo in the present warming of the Mediterranean.

 Abstract:  The bryozoan collection of Prof. Dr Ehrhard Voigt (1905–2004) at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a world-renowned collection of great scientific value. It is the world's largest collection of fossil bryozoans from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene and a unique archive documenting the evolution of this phylum of marine invertebrates during this time interval in the Boreal Chalk Sea that extended from the British Isles to the Aral Sea in Central Asia.
The Voigt Collection contains over 300,000 specimens and was relocated to the Senckenberg Institute in 2005 according to the bequest of Ehrhard Voigt. As a result of a DFG-funded project, we present here a three-part type catalogue of the holotypes and neotypes of 256 bryozoan species in the Voigt Collection, of which this is Part 1. In total over the three parts, 247 species are re-illustrated but the name-bearing type specimens of 20 species are missing and no material could be found for 9 species. Two species, described as ctenostome bryozoans by Ehrhard Voigt, are questionable, while a further three 'ctenostome' species and one 'ctenostome' genus are considered as ichnotaxa.

 Abstract:  Lower Jurassic (Hettangian-Pliensbachian) shallow-marine ooidal limestones of southern Montenegro contain a large number of isocrinid ossicles. They are assigned to the following taxa: Isocrinus psilonoti (Quenstedt), Isocrinus sp., and Pentacrinites cf. fossilis Blumenbach. The echinoderm assemblage also yields cyrtocrinid ossicles (Cotylederma sp., Cyrtocrinina indet.) and echinoid spines (only spotted in thin sections); however, these elements are rare. Given the fact that the recorded assemblage comes from a single locality, there is a growing need for further research that will require intense sampling to compile and complete the faunal list of crinoids and other echinoderm taxa.

 Abstract:  New findings of esthonioporate bryozoans of the species Revalotrypa cf. inopinata, representing one of the oldest bryozoans of Baltoscandia, are described from an outcrop located in Leningrad Oblast' (north-western Russia). The colonies of this species are very small and were extracted from limestone-cemented nodules found in glauconitic sandstones of the lower part of the Joa Member (Paroistodus proteus conodont zone, lowermost Floian, Lower Ordovician). Combined X-ray microtomography and the examination of traditional thin sections under a stereomicroscope and a light microscope were used to study the morphology of this species.

 Abstract:  The Cenomanian marls of the Batna region (NE Algeria) display several fossiliferous beds with highly diversified fauna. Among the abundant and well-preserved fossils stands out Aspidiscus cristatus (Lamarck, 1801). This coral taxon is assigned to the Family Latomeandridae Alloiteau, 1952, due to the presence of pennulae and inner septal margins with slight perforations. In the studied sections Aspidiscus cristatus is found in beds ranging from the Cunningtoniceras inerme Zone to the Acanthoceras amphibolum Zone, with a relative abundance within the Acanthoceras cf. rhotomagense Zone. This species is subsequently a good marker for the Middle Cenomanian in the Batna district. We give herein a systematic and paleontological description and discuss the paleoenvironmental and paleogeographic framework of this taxon. Actually the outer morphology of its test, with convex outer surface and planar to concave inner surface, suggests an adaptation to mud-supported, low-energy marine environments with high sedimentary rate. The paleogeographic range of this taxon, with often larger-size specimens on the southern and eastern margins of the Tethysian Realm, than those on the northern margin, supports very peculiar thermal gradient and climactic zone, with relatively warmer waters on the southern Tethysian margin during the Cenomanian, favoring a more frequent and more effective bioerosion on fossil specimens from southern Tethysian areas than that affecting specimens from northern Tethysian areas.

 Abstract:  On the southern margin of the Vocontian Basin (SE France), for taphonomic reasons (fragmentation, reworking, pyritization), lower Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) deposits of the interval between the Deshayesites deshayesi and Dufrenoyia furcata zones are usually not suitable for studying the late ontogenetic developments of ammonites (fossil cephalopods). In the vicinity of the village of Les Ferres (Department of the Alpes-Maritimes, SE France), a relatively thick sedimentary succession with well-preserved ammonites, representative of the zones mentioned above, is found in a small basin called the "Les Ferres Aptian Basin" (LFAB). The 1262 ammonites collected or studied in situ are dated from the Deshayesites forbesi Zone through the top of the Dufrenoyia furcata Zone. This study presents the lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy derived from these ammonites, and the respective range of these taxa. This is an introductory contribution to any future palaeontological study of the lower Aptian ammonites in the Les Ferres area. The lithologic unit overlying the Hauterivian-Aptian limestones is introduced herein as the Les Graous Formation. It is subdivided in three members, from bottom to top: 1) the Combe de Joinet Member, 2) the Pont de la Cerise Member, and 3) the Les Graous Member. In addition, two remarkable levels are identified: the Ammonitoceras level (outstandingly abundant) and the Toxoceratoides bed.

 Abstract:  It is shown that the species names Palaeothrissum inaequilobum Blainville, 1818, and P. parvum Blainville, 1818, from the Lower Permian (Asselian) of Muse, near Autun (Saône-et-Loire department, France) are senior synonyms of the widely used species name, Aeduella blainvillei (Agassiz, 1833). In the interest of nomenclatural stability, conditions exist which allow reversal of precedence as stated in Article 23.9.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Thus the species name Aeduella blainvillei (Agassiz, 1833) is regarded as valid, qualifying as a nomen protectum, whereas Palaeothrissum inaequilobum Blainville, 1818, and P. parvum Blainville, 1818, are invalid, qualifying as nomina oblita. Some of the specimens from the type series upon which P. inaequilobum, P. parvum and Aeduella blainvillei were erected, are identified.

 Abstract:  On the occasion of the inventory of the J. Emberger Collection, specimens from the "Lower Cretaceous" (Valanginian and Hauterivian) of Algeria, which are referable to the genus Actinoporella (Gümbel in Alth) and which were earlier identified to its type-species A. podolica (Alth) by Conrad et al., are re-examined. They correspond to two discrete species, one of which could be a junior synonym of A. podolica, a synonymy that remains pending because it would require a new sampling at the original locality in western Ukraine some 140 years after the original specimens, now lost, were collected. Regarding their age ascription, they are Tithonian and/or Berriasian in age, i.e., latest Jurassic (sensu Oppel) in age, not earliest Cretaceous. In addition to these two Actinoporellas, a third discrete species, initially described as Clypeina nigra (Conrad & Peybernès), but later referred to the genus Actinoporella, is revised. New data justify its re-ascription to the genus Bakalovaella Bucur. Finally, it is now confirmed that both the Polyphysaceae and the modern Dasycladaceae derive from the Diploporaceae either directly or indirectly through the ancestral Dasycladaceae.

 Abstract:  Pseudocymopolia anadyomenea, the type-species of the genus, was described by Elliott (1959) from the Maastrichtian of Iraq. Besides the type-locality, it was also recorded from the upper Maastrichtian Tarbur Formation of Iran, from Afghanistan and Tibet. A rich but moderately preserved material is analyzed herein, evidencing the presence of two discrete species: P. anadyomenea and P. acuta n. sp. The new species is characterized by its thallus morphology displaying tapering, keeled segment margins. Besides the morphology, both are also distinguished by biometric parameters such as the outer diameter (D), inner diameter (d), and the d/D ratio. All other Lower Cretaceous species of Pseudocymopolia as well as the Maastrichtian P. anadyomenea have rounded segment margins. Both taxa from the Tarbur Formation occur in inner platform quiet water depositional settings whereas the Lower Cretaceous representatives typically characterize platform margin deposits.

 Abstract:  On the NW margin of the Algerian Sahara in the Bechar (Ben-Zireg), Ougarta (Marhouma) and Gourara (Charouine) basins, the Upper Devonian "griottes" nodular limestone was deposited during the Frasnian and the Famennian. These alternating clayey-sand-limestone deposits are rich in ammonoids. These facies vary laterally and in thickness in these three areas. These facies variations are directly related to depositional environmental conditions (hydrodynamism, basin physiography, sedimentary gaps). In the three studied areas, the griotte facies were deposited on a deep seabed platform and in basins under tectono-eustatic control. In the Ben-Zireg area platform facies are throughout the studied stratigraphic interval. In the Marhouma area, the facies change through time first as distal ramp sedimentation (Frasnian Ia), then shifting to an apron slope sedimentation with allodapic facies (Famennian II, VI and V), and then in basinal settings (Famennian II and VI). Finally, at the end of the Famennian, the series ended with sandy-clay slope sedimentation (lower member of the Ouarourout sandstone), and next platform sedimentation (upper member of Ouarourout sandstone) topped by an emersion surface. In the Charouine area, basin clays (hemipelagites) dominate the facies. The presence of asphaltene impregnations in the griotte facies and in centimetric slabs to metric blocks of the facies posterior to nodular limestones implies the effects of early diagenesis. This process played an important role in the sulphate reduction and the anaerobic oxidation of methane (biogenic and / or thermal). The segregation of sedimentary areas with griotte facies seems to be influenced by basement fragmentation. Indeed, the griotte facies closely follow the Pan-African flexure. In Ougarta, the "South Ougartian" fault corresponds to the extension of the mega-lineament of Tibesti. The reactivation of Precambrian basement faults during the Late Devonian may have been responsible for the observed contrasting facies.

 Abstract:  This is the second contribution to the stratigraphic and genetic model of the Pinda Group. The mid-Cretaceous Pinda Group of the Congo basin in the northern Angolan offshore is a transgressive supersequence. Its lower part is made of Bufalo and Pacassa facies that correspond respectively to mixed and calcareous-dolomitic grain-dominated fabrics. Both facies were strongly diagenetically altered, mostly by dolomitic replacement and leaching. Contrary to opinions expressed by other authors that both styles of alteration are early diagenetic phenomena, there is substantial evidence for a burial origin with dolomitic replacement and leaching of calcite having started at depths not less than 150 m and 400 m, respectively.

 Abstract:  The purpose of this study is to clarify the problem posed by Triloculina laevigata Orbigny, 1826, nom. nud., described and figured by Fornasini in 1905. An other species, also called Triloculina laevigata was created by Bornemann in 1855 and Orbigny's specific name became invalid. This invalidity was only recently assessed and numerous authors still use the original assignation. Consequently, it seems necessary to erect a new name. After listing the various names, revising the subgenus and genera attributed to Triloculina laevigata, and comparing fossil and recent specimens, the name: Affinetrina alcidi Lévy et al., 1992a, is confirmed.

 Abstract:  A new dasycladalean alga is described as Uteria naghanensis n. sp. from the late Maastrichtian Tarbur Formation of the Zagros Zone, SW Iran. It is a small to medium-sized, rather well calcified species with small articles each bearing one fertile ampulla, alternating with close-set verticils of numerous sterile laterals. Another characteristic is its comparably wide main axis. The genus Uteria Michelin was so far only known from the Paleogene (Danian-Lutetian). The discovery of U. naghanensis n. sp. in inner platform wackestone of the Tarbur Fm. documents the origination of the genus already in the uppermost Cretaceous within an area belonging to the Arabian Plate.

 Abstract:  A new Dasycladacean species found in Hauterivian strata in Aquitaine is described. It is ascribed to the genus Bakalovaella Bucur, 1993, which is reinstated here. From a phylogenetic point of view, based of the "lifting piston" model, this taxon should be part of a lineage derived from the Diploporaceae.

 Abstract:  The late Turonian ammonoid fauna of Rochefort-en-Valdaine (Drôme, France) is herein described in detail and the intraspecific variability of Vocontiiceras vocontiense Diebold et al., 2018, is studied. The ammonoid assemblage (9 taxa identified) was deposited within the Prionocyclus germari Zone, which was defined in Germany, and is now also documented in southeastern France. Moreover, the co-occurrence of the heteromorph ammonoids Hyphantoceras (Hyphantoceras) flexuosum (Schlüter) and Hyphantoceras (Hyphantoceras) ernsti Wiese indicates the lower part of the Prionocyclus germari Zone.

 Abstract:  Teichichnus burrows occur in the Sandbian, Katian and Telychian of Estonia associated with carbonate rocks. It is possible that Teichichnus is more common in the Sandbian than in the Lower to Middle Ordovician and in the Silurian. Two ichnospecies, T. rectus and T. patens, have been identified from the Lower Paleozoic of Estonia. This is the first record of T. patens in the Ordovician of Baltica. Teichichnus in the Sandbian, Katian and Telychian of Estonia is restricted to the shallowest tier levels. The rarity of Teichichnus in the carbonate sequences of the Ordovician and Silurian of Estonia reflects little bathymetric variability and an extremely low sedimentation rate in the shallow epicontinental basin.

 Abstract:  The present paper examines the type specimens of the bivalve and gastropod taxa described by Gaetano Rovereto in the years 1897-1914 coming from the Oligocene rocks of Santa Giustina and Sassello areas (Molare Formation, Tertiary Piedmont Basin, Central Liguria, NW Italy). These taxa are part of the "Collezione BTP" (BTP Collection) housed at the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita - DISTAV - of the Università di Genova. The collecting sites reported in the Rovereto's papers and indicated on labels have been reinvestigated in the field. 22 taxa (6 gastropods and 16 bivalves) are revised and re-documented; 6 have been recognized as younger synonyms of other species, the others are valid taxa. The majority of this fauna is restricted to the Oligocene time and to the Tertiary Piedmont Basin.

 Extended abstract:  This is the third and last part of a review of the Rhapydioninidae, benthic foraminifera that inhabited almost alone the most central areas of carbonate platforms of the Mediterranean realm. A global schematic table (Fig. 18 , in addition to Figs. 15-17) shows their regional development. The stratigraphic succession of this family seems to have been dominated by three periods of emersion (one being documented, the others only inferred) that limit the time distribution of most of these taxa. Thus it is doubtful that this distribution can be used with certainty in other areas; for example the mention of "Cuvillierinella? sp." (possibly a Metacuvillierinella?) in the Upper Maastrichtian of Iran is a hint of such a discrepancy (Schlagintweit & Rashidi, 2016).
Rhapydionininae and Pseudedomiinae subfamilies are summarily considered here, either because the facts have been established previously, or because the knowledge of them is still fragmentary. The Rhapydionininae subfamily, summarily depicted in Figure 18, is characterized mainly by its endoskeleton, lacking the confluent structure, with a wide peripheral zone and a very early unrolling trend (either cylindrical: Rhapydionina, with small proloculus, or flabelliform: Fanrhapydionina, with large proloculus). The milioline origin of this subfamily is indicated by species of the R. dercourti group, which are faintly streptospiral in the initial stages of both generations (Fleury, 2014). The Pseudedomiinae subfamily is not the subject of these studies, being essentially represented by taxa in more Eastern regions. Besides, nothing definite can be deduced from the minimal knowledge of the group (see review in Mavrikas et al., 1994), until the type of the type species is still poorly known.
Cuvillierinellinae subfamily (Fleury, 2016) is made up of six genera, including Cuvillierinella from which the others are clearly derived. But the origin of this genus remains uncertain. However, the presence of Pseudonummoloculina aff. kalantarii in our samples enables the consideration of what would be such an ancestor and how it could be named. We can try to imagine it from a simple principle and a few observations. The principle is the independence of evolutionary characters, commonly observed elsewhere in the family but quite obvious in the type population of Cuvillierinella salentina (see De Castro, 1988; Fleury, 2016), in which coexist the well-known type and specimens of overall same appearance, either streptospiral and devoid of partitions, or planispiral with a highly specialized endoskeleton. The observations are those that can be performed on species described by various authors under the name of Pseudonummoloculina. These organisms change from streptospiral to planispiral stage during their development. Some have a unique "notched" opening, others a double row of openings (and complex combinations of these two rather indistinct types) and some have no endoskeleton while others display rudimentary partitions. Varying combinations of these characters defy the conventional criteria of classification, each combination (changing during the ontogenetic development) being likely to justify a generic or specific status according to the arbitrary ordinary standards. These organisms are however in all cases isolated in time and most often deprived of clearly identifiable descendants (with the exception of P. pecheuxi Fourcade & Fleury, 2001, which is the origin of the species of Praechubbina genus). They probably do not constitute a unique group, but represent a step in an iterative evolution, leading members of a group of Miliolacea to the Alveolinacea, as Reichel (1936, 1937) and Pêcheux (2002) conceived it and as Fleury and Fourcade (1990) illustrated. We are thus led to apply the generic term Pseudonummoloculina to indicate a transitional state, that is to say an evolving stage. We are here confronted with the fundamental difficulty of adapting a nomenclature of creationistic essence to the perpetual reorganization of living organisms. It is therefore futile to characterize by terminology the temporary results; the term Pseudonummoloculina seems better to express a vague and essentially unstable notion related to the realities of evolution, ... at least as long as evolving networks of various known stages are not identified.
The five genera derived from Cuvillierinella have a wide range of morphology (Fleury, 2016, Fig. 13). Each genus is characterized by a dominant evolutionary trend, variously associated with secondary independent features.
Metacuvillierinella and Pseudochubbina genera are treated superficially in this text and are probably derived from Cuvillierinella or its supposed close ancestor. Metacuvillierinella is the closest, comparable in its young stage to typical streptospiral tests of C. salentina, comprising an early well developed wide meshed endoskeleton. It is distinguished by its adult advolute coiling without final uncoiling and its very low dimorphism of generations, restricted to the initial coiling. Pseudochubbina is linked to Cuvillierinella perisalentina, also hesitating on its coiling mode ("Slow Axial Rotation" in Fleury, 2016), and sharing the "Scattered Secondary Chamberlets" (Fleury, 2016), which are the only likely criteria for the origin of this genus.
Murciella, Sigalveolina n. gen. and Cyclopseudedomia, are reviewed here from the types and various new populations, which allows deepening and renewing of the knowledge of them. They are all fully planispirally coiled in the A generation and to varying degrees display an endoskeleton that previously was called "helicoidal structure", here renamed 'confluent structure'.
Murciella is very close to Cuvillierinella as evidenced by the coexistence of specimens having characteristics of both types in the population of the Cuvillierinella type species. The existence of populations including both Cuvillierinella and Murciella, without morphological intermediaries, as well as the existence of populations containing only one or the other of these taxa emphasizes their independence. The six various populations assigned to M. cuvillieri, known from Spain to the Eastern Mediterranean sea, are likely to belong to the same zone (CsB6a) and were never associated with species of the overlying zone. These populations constitute a homogeneous set close to that of C. salentina appearance, with a little wider range of the A proloculus and a finer endoskeletal mesh. Tests of the B generation in several populations suggest that the holotype of the type species represents this generation, which appears to be less influenced by uncoiling than C. salentina.
Sigalveolina n. gen. has been long confused with Murciella, too incompletely known to be distinguished before now. This new genus characterizes younger levels (zone CsB6b). This study shows that the high degree of confluent structure that gives its individuality coincides with a morphological diversity illustrated by four distinct species, including a new one, Sigalveolina reicheli. This new species probably corresponds to the mythical material, known as "Cosinella", formerly discovered by Schlumberger from the Italo-Slovenian border. A tests of the four species are larger in size than those of Murciella, at diameters of proloculus of the same order of magnitude; they are only rarely uncoiled, with the apparent exception of Sigalveolina reicheli n. sp., which adopts this trend only at a very late development stage. B tests also tend to be involute at a later stage, in contrast to the early uncoiling of previous and next genera.
Cyclopseudedomia is characterized by a very large A proloculus and an extremely reduced involute stage resulting in a longer uncoiled uniserial stage. This outstanding evolutionary trend is modulated in four species, including three already described and a new one, C. mavrikasi from the Italo-Slovenian border and Southern Italy. This trend is well marked in tests of both generations. In A tests, the involute part never exceeds 1.5 whorls around a large proloculus, and the uncoiled part is either cylindrical or flabelliform. B tests are mainly made of large evolute flabelliform flange, reaching a discoidal stage in the type species only; these flanges are always flat and increase in thickness very slightly towards the periphery.
Finally, it must be noted that data in Figure 18, reduced to the A tests, are imprecise inasmuch as the genera generally include the features of several species, which are distinguished by nuances affecting their characters, but also because the time span of the genera and the included species likely does not correspond to the entire period of time covered by the zone in which they are recognized. This means that Figure 18 represents a state of schematic knowledge that can be improved only by specific careful field studies.

 Abstract:  Moldavites as ejecta glasses are fragile and transient: they are quickly abraded in fluvial conditions, this was confirmed by tumbling experiments. In the present study, multiple tumbling experiments were conducted to simulate the hydrogeological conditions of deposition of moldavites found in several different gravel pits. These experiments threw new light on the evolution of tektites during reworking. It appears that the original glass shape and mass as well as environmental conditions such as river velocity and the type of sediment with which they are associated are all important variables. However, the experiment did not simulate other significant variables, such as the variability of environmental energy. With given advantageous conditions, moldavite glasses could probably have withstood dozen kilometers of reworking, but this assertion is not sufficient to constrain the distance to their supply areas.

 Abstract:  One-hundred and fourteen samples from the Georges Pissarro's collection are kept in the Sciences Museum of Laval. Most of these represent the molluscan fauna from the Eocene of Cotentin (Hautteville-Bocage, Fresville and Gourbesville; France), Loire-Atlantique (Saffré, France) and Alabama (Monroe, U.S.). They were part of a bigger collection gathered by Maurice Cossmann and Georges Pissarro at the end of the XIX^th and the beginning of the XX^th centuries, then subsequently split in two parts. The first one, Cossmann's, was sent to the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Like the Marin Defrance's collection from the Museum of Caen, the second part, Pissarro's, was considered lost, and then partially discovered in the Sciences Museum of Laval, giving it some scientific significance. These samples from Cotentin have been curated and the types and figured specimens found are illustrated herein.

 Abstract:  A rich geobiological record of Cretaceous biotic and abiotic interactions around the proto-Gulf of Mexico has been preserved in the massive Cupido carbonate platform, i.e., in a sedimentary sequence that represents a depositional period of approximately 15 Myr. This work documents lateral facies variation on a dip slope reef from a new outcrop in the upper part of the Cupido Formation in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The measured transect is correlated with a stratigraphic column logged in a nearby section. The preserved fossil biota represents marginal reef facies dominated by abundant rudist shells such as Douvillelia skeltoni, Toucasia sp., Offneria sp., and Amphitrocoelus sp. associated with relatively large colonial corals (with diameters up to 25 cm) like Stelidioseris sp. and to a lesser extent, with stromatoporoids. Benthic foraminifers (miliolids and textularids) with associated dasycladalean algae such as Salpingorella sp. and Terquemella spp. dominate the microfossiliferous content in wackestones to packstones. This facies is overlain by a thin (15-30 cm) stromatolite horizon at the upper end of the measured section. This locality represents a new paleobiological and taphonomic window into one of the most extensive carbonate platform system developed along the margin of the Gulf of Mexico during the Cretaceous.

 Abstract:  Six new Valanginian belemnite species (Duvalia crassa sp. nov., Duvalia elongata sp. nov., Duvalia kleini sp. nov., Duvalia superconstricta sp. nov., Castellanibelus vaubellensis sp. nov., and "Hibolithes" lebresensis sp. nov.) are described here and two species (Duvalia aff. elongata and "Hibolithes" aff. pistilliformis (Blainville, 1827)) are left in open nomenclature. They come from both the distal and proximal parts of the Vocontian Basin in south-east France and the Baetic Cordillera in south-east Spain. In addition lectotypes are selected for Castellanibelus orbignyanus (Duval-Jouve, 1841), Castellanibelus picteti (Mayer, 1866), and Duvalia lata (Blainville, 1827).

 Abstract:  The species Heteroceras gracile sp. nov. is described; it is a small and slender species, with a small helix and hamuliniform morphology, previously considered as an atypical variant of Heteroceras baylei (Reynès, 1876). In southeast France, it is mainly known in the Morteiron section (Alpes de Haute-Provence, France), but the species is also present in Bulgaria and possibly in Japan.

 Abstract:  Strontium-isotope measurements on Lower Cretaceous marine rocks derive from belemnite material sampled in ammonite-constrained basinal successions. A group of values with a narrow range across the Barremian/Aptian boundary does not allow the separation of the uppermost Barremian (Martelites sarasini ammonite zone) from the lower Aptian pro parte (Deshayesites oglanlensis-D. forbesi ammonite zones). Growing numbers of studies applied Sr-Isotope Stratigraphy (SIS) on Barremian-Aptian shallow-marine sequences (Urgonian facies) in order to solve controversial results obtained by using different shallow-water biological time markers. Based on re-examination of case studies, we conclude that Sr-isotope values can neither be used to prove nor to disprove the location of the putative Barremian/Aptian boundary based on biostratigraphy. Pending more data available, SIS should be used with caution for dating ammonite-free carbonate sediments in the corresponding time interval.

 Abstract:  Boueina hochstetteri Toula (type-species of the genus) was published by Toula (1884) in the 10^th report of his travel through the Balkan region. He considered this species to be a problematic organism with uncertain systematic affiliation. Later, Steinmann (1901) assigned this fossil to the calcareous algae. Our own field work performed in the autumns of 2015 and 2016 in the Pirot area (SE Serbia) led to re-identification of the rich Boueina hochstetteri type level, close to the confluence of the Temska and Nišava Rivers, the type locality of Toula. The rich Boueina level is part of a succession of bioclastic limestones. The fragments of Boueina thalli are occasionally branched, a feature supporting the interpretation of Boueina as an inarticulate udoteacean alga with rare branching.

 Abstract:  A Lower Cenomanian marine succession rich in corals is reported from the western margin of the Pelagonian zone in central Greece. The succession starts with a coarse conglomerate followed by sandstone, nodular limestone and massive limestone. Fifteen levels contain corals with the nodular limestone being the most species-rich. As a total, 78 species in 46 genera are described. They belong to 15 superfamilies. Three genera and four species are described as new. The new genera belong to the families Heterocoeniidae and Felixaraeidae, and the informal Plesiosmiliids. The record of six genera results in stratigraphical range extensions. The coral associations show more relationships to Lower than to Upper Cretaceous faunas. Thirty-nine genera already existed before the Cenomanian and 33 genera continued into the Middle Cenomanian, but only 19 genera persisted into the Turonian. The coral fauna has close palaeobiogeographic relationships with mainly Boreal or North Tethyan Cenomanian faunas such as those of the Aquitanian Basin, the Basque-Cantabrian Basin, or with faunas from the northern margin of the Rhenish Massif, but shares also species with the Upper Aptian to Lower Albian of the Bisbee Basin in North America and with faunas of the Lower to Middle Albian of the Northern Pyrenees.

 Abstract:  We report on three shells of whale barnacle (Cirripedia: Coronulidae) collected from Pleistocene shallow-marine deposits exposed at Cinisi (northwestern Sicily, southern Italy). These specimens are identified as belonging to the extinct species Coronula bifida Bronn, 1831. Calcareous nannoplankton analysis of the sediment hosting the coronulid remains places the time of deposition between 1.93 and 1.71 Ma (i.e., at the Gelasian-Calabrian transition), an interval during which another deposit rich in whale barnacles exposed in southeastern Apulia (southern Italy) formed. Since Coronula Lamarck, 1802, is currently found inhabiting the skin of humpback whales [Cetacea: Balaenopteridae: Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)], and considering that the detachment of extant coronulids from their hosts' skin has been mainly observed in occurrence of cetacean breeding/calving areas, the material here studied supports the existence of a baleen whale migration route between the central Mediterranean Sea (the putative reproductive ground) and the North Atlantic (the putative feeding ground) around 1.8 Ma, when several portions of present-day southern Italy were still submerged. The early Pleistocene utilization of the epeiric seas of southern Italy as breeding/calving areas by migrating mysticetes appears to be linked to the severe climatic degradation that has been recognized at the Gelasian-Calabrian transition and that is marked in the fossil record of the Mediterranean Basin by the appearance of "northern guests" such as Arctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1767) (Bivalvia: Veneroida). The subsequent abandonment of the Mediterranean Sea by most species of mysticetes is likely to have resulted from the progressive emergence of shallow-water coastal environments that occurred in Calabrian and Middle Pleistocene times.

 Abstract:  International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature decided in September 2015 on case 3620 submitted by A. Ando (United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), which regards the status of the species Ticinella primula Luterbacher in Renz et al., 1963, and Hedbergella trocoidea yezoana Takayanagi & Iwamoto, 1962. Decision was to place the former on the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology and the latter on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Specific Names in Zoology (ICZN, 2015, p. 227). The scientific fundamentals in the presentation of case 3620 are weak and do not support such a decision by the International Commission. Moreover, they create a significant disturbance of nomenclatural stability in the Linnaean classification of the Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera.

 Abstract:  This work is a new but minor contribution to the récolement of Juliette Pfender's collection of fossil green algae. It aims to establish a partial inventory of the green algae studied by this female researcher mostly renowned for her studies on red algae. The poor preservation of some thin sections and the scarcity of whole specimens only rarely allow the identification of the taxa at the level below the genus.

 Abstract:  The silty shale facies of the Taquaral Member (Irati Formation), which is one of the Permian units in the Brazilian Paraná Basin, is discussed here based on the taphonomy relevant to the paleoenvironmental interpretation. The fossils are crustaceans (Clarkecaris and other indeterminate forms), isolated teeth, scales and bones of Actinopterygii, "Palaeonisciformes", which are the most common vertebrate remains, and also frequent scales of Coelacanthiformes. The scales, teeth and disarticulated bones are found together in accumulations, which may be interpreted as coprolites. Many of the fossil crustaceans display characteristics of ecdysis.

 Abstract:  Four cornulitid species occur in the Rakvere Regional Stage in NW Russia. The new species Conchicolites rossicus is here described; it is the earliest known Conchicolites from the Ordovician of Baltica. The new species has very small tubes with sharp, strong and regular annulations. The diversity of cornulitids in the Rakvere Regional Stage at the Pechurki quarry is usual for the Upper Ordovician of Baltica. The cornulitids of Pechurki quarry encrusted hard organic substrates in a mud bottom (clay and carbonate clay) environment. Cornulites sterlingensis occurs both in the Upper Ordovician of North America and Baltica, which suggest a short distance between these two paleocontinents and/or similar environmental conditions.

 Abstract:  The spatangoid echinoid Mecaster texanus (Roemer) was first described from the Austin Chalk in Texas (USA). In northeast Brazil, this species was recorded from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian-Coniacian) Jandaíra Formation in the Potiguar Basin. Here we extend the palaeogeographical distribution of M. texanus southwards to the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, where this species occurs in the Turonian-Coniacian Cotinguiba Formation. A key to identification of spatangoids from the Cretaceous-Cenozoic sequence at Sergipe-Alagoas is added and considerations about other spatangoid species from that basin are presented.

 Abstract:  Palynological interpretations of both spores and acritarchs from the Devonian Tiffrit Formation located in Saïda (North-Western Algeria) support identical conclusions. Species of spores and acritarches that appear in the upper layers of the younger reference unit, named Boukourdène (BK1), are compatible with a Pragian-Emsian age, based especially on the presence of the miospores Dibolisporites wetteldorfensis, Dictyotriletes emsiensis, D. subgranifer, Verrucosisporites polygonalis, and the acritarchs Evittia crucistellata, E. spicifera, Fimbriaglomerella aulerca, Florisphaeridium toyetae, and Veryhachium aff. V. vandenbergheni.

On the basis of occurrences of microconglomeratic levels with elements of Silurian phtanites found along the sedimentary units of Tiffrit, we consider that Silurian sediments as well as Lower Devonian sediments have been reworked. We thus propose a Praguian-Emsian age for the Boukourdène units.

From a sedimentological point of view, the Devonian sedimentary units of the Tiffrit Massif are linked to a gravitational deposition controlled by sea level rise and significant subsidence. Facies seems to change along an East-West axis. The particle size, the nature of the facies, and their extreme variability over short distances indicate a slope apron environment of deposition. The lithological, sedimentological and environmental characteristics of the studied system are consistent with deposition in an active tectonic margin setting.

 Abstract:  The synthesis of the stratigraphic data collected over more than a decade in the stratotypic area has made it possible to establish a composite section of the "Aptian marls" from the Grandis ammonite Subzone to the base of the Melchioris Zone, i.e., from the Schackoina (Leupoldina) gr. cabri foraminiferal Zone to the Globigerinelloides algerianus Zone. This composite section includes the partial sections from Clavaillan, South and East Pichouraz, La Tuilière, Les Gays and Gargas (Vaucluse, SE France). In particular, our revision has shown that the marly calcareous bed, which divides the marly series of Clavaillan and Pichouraz, compared with  the Vocontian "Niveau blanc" and thought to be unique and isochronous, corresponds in fact to two stratigraphically distinct levels.
The present study confirms that the visible series of marls in the stratotypic area, not taking into account the "A1" supra-Urgonian formation of Leenhardt (1883), includes only the uppermost terms of the Bedoulian and the lower terms (= Lower and Middle Gargasian) of the Aptian s.s. (i.e., sensu Orbigny, 1840).
Based on the methods of integrated stratigraphy, a comparison of the series of the Apt Basin with the contemporary terms of the Cassis-La Bédoule Basin has also made it possible to detect and quantify important variations in the rhythms of sedimentary accumulation between the two sectors. In the end, the Clavaillan section, located 8 km WSW from the Gargas section, is the only outcrop where the boundary between the Grandis Subzone and the Furcata Zone is visible in a context which supports a proposal that this exposure be a candidate for the GSSP of the Gargasian substage (or of the Aptian s.s. in the initial concept of the creator of the stage).

 Abstract:  Reexamination of the type specimen described by Barrande in 1887 as "Tige d'une Cystidée indéterminée" shows that this unique specimen represents an articulated but incomplete remnant of the gogiid eocrinoid Akadocrinus jani Prokop. The specimen is preserved as an external mould in shale from the mid-Cambrian Jince Formation, and comprises a proximal part of a stem associated with a slightly disarticulated distal portion of a theca, composed of over twenty polygonal plates. With the exception of the basal-most plates, all other preserved thecal plates bear ellipsoidal marginal epispires, and substantiate assignment of this specimen to the epispire-bearing phase in ontogenetic development of Akadocrinus.

 Abstract:  Two relatively large specimens of the rugosan Lambelasma sp. are fully intergrown with the bryozoan Stigmatella massalis colony. The intergrown specimen occurs in the Oandu Regional Stage (lower Katian) of Estonia and constitutes the earliest record of bryozoan-rugosan intergrowth from Baltica. Most likely this symbiotic association was accidental. Rugosans presumably benefitted from the bryozoan, which served as an anchor to stabilize them in hydrodynamically active waters. The lack of malformations and no decrease in the size of bryozoan zooids near the rugosans indicate a lack of negative effect of the rugosans on the bryozoan. Bryozoan-rugosan symbiosis is only known from the Ordovician of Baltica and Laurentia.

 Abstract:  The present note reports new findings of moldavites from southwestern Poland. The material was found in the Nowa Wieś Kącka sandpit. To date, it represents the most distal locality where moldavites have been found. These moldavites, like other moldavites previously described from Lower Silesia, are recovered from fluvial sands and gravels of the Gozdnica Formation. Like other Polish moldavites, the moldavites in this study display high SiO₂ contents (~77 wt.%). Their dimensions range from 9 to 11 mm in maximum diameter. Their relatively large sizes suggest that the distribution of Polish tektites defines a sub-strewnfield larger than previously expected.

 Abstract:  The Quatrehomme collection is described by Ginsburg as "modest to very modest" and there is no accurate inventory. In order to highlight this collection and better understand its importance, an inventory of the terrestrial mammal remains is in progress. In the current state of the inventory 35 different locations were identified, mostly in the Savigné-sur-Lathan Basin. 3,266 specimens, covering 8 of the 9 orders of terrestrial mammals found in the Faluns, are currently registered in the data set. To date, the most impressive published Faluns mammal collections are from Hartmann, hosted at the volunteer "Musée du Savignéen" (Savigné-sur-Lathan) and Bourgeois (today splitted in different museums). While this Hartmann's collection contains 1,475 mammal remains (marine and terrestrial) and Bourgeois' one 1850 (only terrestrial), we estimate that the Quatrehomme collection encompasses more than 7,500 terrestrial specimens. It is the largest known Faluns collection of Pliopithecus (25 specimens) and of Lagomorpha (1,355 specimens). Also, eight Tapiroidea specimens (including a jaw with teeth) and three Chalicotherium remains are inventoried. This collection is now being studied in detail. In the next few years it will take a more prominent place in the French paleontological landscape.

 Abstract:  The Pinda Group of the Congo basin in the northern Angolan offshore is an overall transgressive supersequence of late Aptian - ? early Cenomanian age. Due to synsedimentary salt tectonics of the underlying Loeme Salt, the original ramp arrangement is split into discrete structures corresponding to many proven, probable and possible oil and gas plays. Where the biostratigraphic information was not destroyed by pervasive dolomitization, the little that remains is not available to the general public because it is treated as proprietary data by the Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola Empresa Pública – Sonangol E.P. Only a limited set of data containing lithostratigraphic information (e.g., some published well logs and photomicrographs of facies) is available. The aim of this paper is to give a little more information about the Pinda stratigraphy. For instance, to be formally defined, this poorly known unit required a type section, a shortcoming that is addressed here. The wireline log signatures of some regional seismic markers are documented because they are used to correlate wells and subdivide the Group into formations. The microfacies corresponding to some key electrofacies as well as the porosity types are also condensed in a microphotograph catalog. Finally, few examples of typical LoC (i.e., Line of Correlation) diagrams are displayed and interpreted.

 Abstract:  Eight macrofacies types (5) plus subtypes (3) were identified while measuring sections along the Mussafah channel profile. These include:
• aeolian sands,
• microbial mat and microbial-laminated sediments,
• gypsum and enterolithic anhydrite, i.e., a diagenetic variation of the previous facies,
• muds with small pelecypods, and • its seagrass meadow version,
• Potamid sands, and • its cemented version, i.e., the Potamid beach-rock,
• washover fan coquina.

A complete set of analyses, including granulometry, mineral composition, clay composition, TOC, and identification of the allochems and the microfossils, was performed on this material. The facies and their genetic setting, i.e., the sequence of facies, provide a perspective on both the environmental and stratigraphical significance of their distribution, both lateral and vertical, and an example of the application of the Walther's law. The lower microbial mat is the mark of a transgression whereas the upper microbial mat is the mark of a forced regression. In conclusion, the sequence of facies allows identification of the last Holocene transgressive-regressive cycle that includes a forced regression, which probably dates back to 6,000 years BP.

 Abstract:  Planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages were used for biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the marine lower Miocene Chechiș Formation from the Gălpâia section (Sălaj county, Romania) in the northwestern Transylvanian Basin. Planktonic foraminifera suggest an Eggenburgian (Burdigalian) age for the deposits studied and reveal episodes of high primary productivity and mostly cool surface waters. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate paleoenvironmental deepening from outer shelf to upper bathyal settings. Deltaic influences may be observed at the base of the studied section in outer shelf (possibly upper bathyal) environments with oxygenated bottom water and episodic high primary productivity, as a consequence of nutrient input from the land. Changes in paleobathymetry resulted in reduction of primary productivity. The benthic assemblages from the uppermost part of the section are dominated by tubular agglutinated foraminifera and indicate an upper bathyal setting with low organic flux to the sea floor. The sediments of the studied section were deposited during the late stage of the first early Miocene relative sea-level rise in the Transylvanian Basin.

 Abstract:  In this work, we review the ammonites of the Montmell Formation in the Marmellar area housed in the collections of the Museo Geológico del Seminario de Barcelona and the Museu de Geologia de Barcelona. This taxonomic update allows the proper biostratigraphic analysis of the ammonite assemblage and assigns it to the early Albian, Leymeriella tardefurcata Zone. The taxonomic analysis of all the studied material allows us to recognize the presence of the following taxa: Uhligella sp., Parengonoceras bassei, Hypacanthoplites plesiotypicus, Hypacanthoplites milletianus, Hypacanthoplites subelegans, and Hypacanthoplites sp. The current work is a step forward in the chronostratigraphic knowledge of the Salou-Garraf Basin in the Catalan Coastal Ranges.

 Abstract:  Euendolithic microorganisms (boring endoliths) syn-vivo associated with modern corals are commonly reported, but their fossil record is extremely rare. This paper reports the new finding recognized in the colonial scleractinian coral Clausastrea saltensis from the Upper Barremian of Bulgaria. Large microborings (up to 50 µm, most ca. 15-25 µm in diameter) filled with calcite cement are distributed medially along coral septa of some corallites. Borings were produced by microeuendoliths growing from the skeleton interior outward during the life of the coral host. They are compared to traces produced by the recent oligophotic filamentous chlorophyte Ostreobium, which is known to be the most common skeleton-dwelling alga in modern living corals and regarded as neutral or beneficial to the coral. In terms of general morphology, diameter and distribution pattern, the borings are similar to those recently recognized in the Early Cretaceous microsolenid coral.

 Abstract:  Two species of spatangoid echinoid belonging to Heteraster Orbigny, 1853, are described from Lower Cretaceous deposits (Gadvan and Dariyan formations) at the Kuh-e Gadvan and Banesh sections situated in Zagros Mountains, south of Iran. Heteraster couloni (Agassiz, 1839) is confirmed in the Barremian and Heteraster delgadoi (Loriol, 1884) in the late Aptian-Albian of Iran. The occurrences of Heteraster and other spatangoid echinoids in Iran show a clear distinction between assemblages from the southern and northern margins of the Tethys during the Early Cretaceous.

 Abstract:  Upper Albian and Lower Cenomanian ammonites occur on the eastern margin of the Lut block in eastern Iran. The ammonite assemblages described herein are from the Nimbolook and Kerch sections located west of Qayen. The following taxa are described: Mantelliceras mantelli (J. Sowerby, 1814), Mantelliceras saxbii (Sharpe, 1857), Mantelliceras sp. 1, Mantelliceras sp. 2, Mantelliceras sp. 3, Sharpeiceras laticlavium (Sharpe, 1855), Sharpeiceras schlueteri (Hyatt, 1903), Puzosia (Puzosia) mayoriana (Orbigny, 1841), Hyphoplites costosus C.W. Wright & E.V. Wright, 1949, Mortoniceras (Mortoniceras) cf. fallax (Breistroffer, 1940), Mantelliceras cf. mantelli (J. Sowerby, 1814), Calycoceras (Gentoniceras) aff. gentoni (Brongniart, 1822), Idiohamites fremonti (Marcou, 1858), Mariella (Mariella) sp., Mariella (Mariella) dorsetensis (Spath, 1926), and Turrilites costatus Lamarck, 1801. The ammonite assemblages clearly indicate a late Albian-middle Cenomanian age for the Nimbolook section and late Albian-early Cenomanian age for the Kerch section.

 Abstract:  The marls of the upper part of the Tigri Formation in the Upper Cretaceous of the southern High Plateaus, eastern Morocco, reveal non-marine ostracod faunas from freshwater to oligohaline environments. Despite the poor specimen preservation, 23 species belonging to 14 genera have been recognized. The generic assemblages show a global paleobiogeographic distribution both on Laurasia and Gondwana.

 Abstract:  After a NE-SW folding phase (Atlasic direction) during the Miocene, siliciclastic sediments from a deltaic environment were deposited in the south-western part of Tunisia while an internal offshore platform formed in the north-eastern part of the country. In this paper we focus on the Khechem El Artsouma Miocene section which is representative of central Tunisia deposits. This area is particularly interesting to study, because it corresponds to a transition zone between deltaic and shallow marine deposits. Facies analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements and carbonate content measurements are combined to propose a reconstruction of the paleoenvironments and their evolution through the Miocene. Eight facies are identified, from fluviatile, swamp and evaporitic lagoon environments to shore environments. The deposits of the Ain Grab Formation (Langhian) are interpreted as transgressive, followed by the Beglia Formation (Serravalian), which are interpreted as regressive. The whole Saouaf formation (Upper Serravalian - Lower Tortonian) corresponds to a transgressive and regressive sequence. The Djebel Khechem El Artsouma section permits the proposal of a complete sedimentary model for the Miocene deposits from this central Tunisia transition zone.

 Abstract:  The material under study has previously been identified as Lingula krausei, collected from glacial erratics at Cape Rozewie, Poland. All specimens come from glauconitic sandstone of Cenomanian age. Dames (1874) identified his Lingula sp. as L. krausei which differs in shell outline from Lingula truncata. This species, dedicated to A. Krause, together with L. subovalis, is considered characteristic of the Cenomanian. Several new species and genera have recently been described or redescribed and compared to our specimens, here identified as Lingularia similis. By priority (ICZN, 1999), the type species L. similis is currently synonymized with Lingula krausei. A new genus Eolingularia, within the Family Lingulidae, is here described, with Lingularia siberica Biernat et Emig, 1993, as type species. This new genus ranges from the Carboniferous to the Triassic in Russia, China, and Spain. Possible synonymies are discussed.

 Abstract:  Rudists were widespread and locally abundant carbonate producers on the Early Cretaceous Comanche Shelf from Florida to Texas, and on Mexican atolls. As members of the Caribbean Biogeographic Province, their early ancestors emigrated from the Mediterranean Province and subsequently evolved independently. Comanchean rudists formed biostromes and bioherms on the shelf interior and at the shelf margin. Carbonate stratigraphic units of the Comanche Shelf record rudist evolution during the Barremian through the Albian ages and an established zonal scheme is expanded.
This study documents new Albian rudist occurrences from the Middle-Upper Albian Fredericksburg and Washita groups in Central and West Texas. Rudists in cores at and directly behind the shelf margin southeast of Austin and San Antonio, Texas, complement the rudist zonation that is integrated with ammonites and foraminifers. These new rudist data test long-held correlations of the Edwards Group with both the Fredericksburg and Washita groups based solely on lithologies. Rudist and foraminifer biostratigraphy indicate that the Edwards Group is coeval with the Fredericksburg not the Washita Group.
In West Texas sections Caprinuloidea romeri occurs at the top of the Fredericksburg Group in the Fort Terrett Formation approximately 3 meters below the iron-stained hardground subaerial exposure surface. It is overlain by the Washita Group with the ammonite Eopachydiscus marcianus Zone. Caprinuloidea romeri is also documented from the type cored section of the Person Formation in the upper part of the Edwards Group. These species allow a precise correlation of the subsurface Person Formation in Central Texas with the Ft. Terrett Formation cropping out in West Texas. This evidence together with foraminifer and ammonite zones demonstrates that the Person Formation is coeval with Fredericksburg units underlying the basal Washita sequence boundary Al Sb Wa1. The upper Albian Washita Group Kimbleia and Mexicaprina caprinid zones overly the Caprinuloidea Zone and the successive Washita mortonicerid ammonite zones.

 Abstract:  The carbonate succession of the Piatra Craiului Massif, i.e., the eastern part of the Getic carbonate platform (Southern Carpathians, Romania), comprises reefal and peritidal limestones that contain a diverse microfossil assemblage composed mainly of calcareous green algae and benthic foraminifera. The biostratigraphically most significant benthic foraminifera found in the several sections studied are described; some (Anchispirocyclina lusitanica, Neokilianina rahonensis, Bramkampella arabica, Everticyclammina praekelleri) are reported for the first time in this area. Hence, assemblages of both foraminifera and calcareous algae characterize three biostratigraphic intervals in the studied succession, the Kimmeridgian - lower Tithonian, the upper Tithonian - lower Berriasian, and the upper Berriasian - ? lower Valanginian intervals. The main microfacies types (bioclastic rudstone, coral-microbial boundstone, bioclastic grainstone, interbedded mudstones and wackestones with cyanobacteria nodules) as well as both the foraminifera and the calcareous algae are paleoecological indicators that may contribute to the decipherment of the depositional environments and to building a depositional model for the eastern part of the Getic carbonate platform at the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous transition.

 Abstract:  This paper documents the stratigraphic information upon which an ammonoid zonation from the lower part of the Snowshoe Formation in the Suplee area was originally established (Taylor, 1988). Ammonoid ranges from 22 measured stratigraphic sections reveal about 60 ammonoid species distributed among eight zones encompassing the late Aalenian and part of the early Bajocian stages. The sediments are dominantly volcaniclastic and, as a result, there are numerous tuff beds in the succession. As noted in Taylor (1982) the principal tuff beds (herein designated as units A through F) can be used jointly with the ammonite sequence to give precise correlations from section to section. Utilizing the ammonoids, tuff beds, and facies in combination gives a graphic representation of the westward transgression of the Snowshoe Formation as it enveloped an irregular topography, and lapped onto the topographically high Grindstone High to the west. The ammonoid zonation is significant in that it gives a standard of reference for the biochronology of the late Aalenian and early Bajocian ammonoids in the North American Western Cordillera.

 Abstract:  This paper presents for the first time a detailed study of ostracods in the Upper Pliocene-Lower Pleistocene deposits of Wadi Lebna (Cape Bon eastern edge, northeastern Tunisia). The quantitative and qualitative analyses document the evolution of this area from a marine environment dominated by relatively deep or circalittoral species at the base of the succession, passing progressively up into shallower environments, and at the top infralittoral coastal environments. Particularly important from the ecological point of view is the presence in some samples of Bythocythere turgida. This species indicates deposition of these sediments during the cold phases of the Early Pleistocene.

 Abstract:  A recent paper by Godet et al. on Urgonian carbonates from the Swiss Jura concluded that diagenesis may hinder chemostratigraphic correlations of deep- to shallow-water facies. Although we agree with this conclusion we question their arguments and interpretations. These authors correctly identified diagenesis as the key factor, but we question the timing of events in their paragenetic sequence. In particular, they reported the leaching of originally calcitic oolitic cortices but failed to discuss this puzzling feature properly. In addition, the backbone of their argument is the stratigraphic correlation of a specific sequence from three dominantly shallow-water sections together with a basinal reference section. However, a reliable alternative biostratigraphic framework shows that this attempt of long-distance correlation might be erroneous.

 Abstract:  The new genus Eosiderastrea Löser, 2016, was established for Cretaceous corals formerly assigned to the extant coral genus Diploastrea. It represents the oldest member of the Family Siderastraeidae. The genus is characterised by an astreoid arrangement, occasionally although some have a plocoid or a cerioid calicular arrangement, and a sub-regular hexameral, heptameral, octameral or decameral septal symmetry. The septal blades are made of medium-sized trabeculae. Synapticulae are present. Almost a hundred specimens were examined, among them numerous type specimens. In total, 26 Cretaceous species were separated. Fifteen species were assigned to formally established species, three species were compared to one of these species, two species were described as new and the remaining six species were reported in open nomenclature. The genus occurs in the Cretaceous worldwide and ranges from the late Valanginian to the Santonian. It shows its greatest diversity in the earliest Aptian and early to middle Cenomanian.

 Abstract:  New investigations in the Vocontian Lower Aptian deposits resulted in the discovery of very rare specimens of heteromorphic ammonites whose specific morphological and ornamental features have led to the erection of Ivaldiceras gen. nov. Represented by a very limited number of specimens this new genus consists of two species: I. baratteroi gen. & sp. nov. and I. divajeuensis gen. & sp. nov. The suprageneric position of the new genus is difficult to determine because of the poor preservation of its sutural elements and the incomplete state of the specimens. The genus is tentatively assigned to the Family Macroscaphitidae Hyatt, 1900, pending the study of better preserved material.

 Abstract:  Twelve specimens of Aptian ammonites reported and drawn by Burckhardt in 1906, from the Mazapil area (Zacatecas State, north-central Mexico), are reviewed for taxonomical purposes. The work by Burckhardt was the first report of Aptian ammonoids in Mexico. In addition, it represents the only record of Aptian ammonites known from Zacatecas State. The taxonomic review of the specimens allows for the recognition of Dufrenoyia sp., Colombiceras spathi Humphrey, Colombiceras mexicanus (Humphrey) n. comb., Colombiceras sp., Colombiceras spp., and Acanthohoplites aff. bigoureti (Seunes). This ammonite assemblage is indicative of a stratigraphic range that spans the uppermost lower Aptian to the upper Aptian interval.

 Abstract:  Possible coprolites from the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) of Waliszów Stary in the Sudetes Mountains (southern Poland) are described for the first time. They are relatively small, irregular in outline, and preserved as goethite, limonite, siderite and hematite. Although it is difficult to identify the producer of these coprolites, they were most probably formed by some fish.

 Abstract:  Well-preserved vertical molds of a stalk-like fossil are in growth position in the upper part of the Upper Albian Fort Lancaster Formation exposed in West Texas. The Fort Lancaster Formation is the uppermost Albian carbonate unit deposited on the shallow water Barremian-early Cenomanian Comanche shelf. The Fort Lancaster represents one long-term transgressive-regressive cycle capped by a regional unconformity overlain by lower Cenomanian deeper water Del Rio Shale.
The erect stalk-like molds are up to 1 m tall and about 6 cm in diameter. The mold walls are composed of six pairs of angular ridges and grooves evenly spaced at an angle of 60° to each other. The ridge crests are dotted by paired ringed depressions with small central nodes; these negative impressions indicate the presence of oval rings with small depressions inside of each ring. The diameter of the stalk is the same at its base as at its top indicating that growth did not expand the organism but extended it upward. These stalk-like organisms appear to be rooted on disconformable bedding surfaces that were exposed to the atmosphere. Carbon isotope data shows the classic negative shift below subaerial contacts. Subsequently sea level rose and muddy carbonate sediment buried the stalk. The absence of original wall material suggests that the wall was composed of readily decayed or dissolved material such as organic matter or aragonite. Stalk-like organisms of this size and shape are rare and potential types are cacti, plant reeds, Porifera, or Scleractinian Cnidaria.

 Abstract:  This study describes seventeen non-geniculate coralline algal species (orders Corallinales, Hapalidiales and Sporolithales) from the middle Miocene (lower-middle Badenian) red-algal limestones of the Transylvanian Basin, Gârbova de Sus Formation. For the description and identification at species level, we follow the common diagnostic features used for fossil species and some characters that are used as diagnostic for modern species (roof morphology for asexual conceptacles, the presence/absence of a layer of elongated cells below sporangial compartments and number of cells in paraphyses for Sporolithon, and measurements of gametangial and carposporangial conceptacles). Female conceptacles of Spongites fruticulosus Kützing are for the first time described in fossil material. We propose the attribution of Lithophyllum platticarpum Maslov to Spongites fruticulosus Kützing as a gametangial thallus with male conceptacles.

 Abstract:  Fossil shells of the marine bivalve Plagiostoma striatum Schlotheim sampled from the Middle Triassic (so-called Muschelkalk) of Poland demonstrate that, under unfavourable environmental conditions, this species commonly occurring in Triassic German basins exhibits a dwarfed shell. As a consequence of a marine regression episode resulting in a significant increase of salinity and a partial emersion of seafloor these bivalves vanished. The next transgressive pulse caused a re-emergence of these bivalves. They were initially characterized by half-size shells than in the population living prior to the regression episode and, subsequently, during progressive transgression, their shells returned to normal size. Coincidence between eustatic curve and changes in bivalve shell size and their disappearance may be attributed also to biotic interactions, such as a biotic collapse in primary bioproductivity or/and a competition for space or any other resources due to shelf habitat loss during regressive periods.

 Abstract:  The lithostratigraphy, paleoenvironment and sequence stratigraphy of the Cretaceous succession outcropping at the southern foot of the Saharan Atlas (south-western Algeria) are discussed in this work. Our current study focuses on the analysis of fifteen sections distributed along to the northern and southern limits of the Guir Basin, between the Ben-Zireg to the East and the Meridja-Boukais axis to the West. In this area, three lithostratigraphic formations were identified and interpreted from an environmental and a sequential points of view: 1 - The lower "Grès rouges" Formation attributed to the Lower Cenomanian, is dominated by fluvial or coastal detrital deposits; 2 - The middle "Marnes à gypse inférieures" Formation assigned to the Lower-Middle Cenomanian is characterized by littoral setting with some storm influences, especially towards the base; 3 - The upper "Calcaires de Sidi Mohamed Ben Bouziane" Formation of upper Cenomanian-early Turonian in age, is represents a laterally extensive, shallow carbonate platform environment. The three formations constitute an overall transgressive megasequence built of a number of transgressive-regressive minor sequences. The opening of the deposits towards the North is confirmed by the organization of the lithostratigraphic units and by the Tethyan paleobiogeographic affinity of the echinoids and bivalves, and especially the occurrence of Neolobites vibrayeanus ammonite.

 Abstract:   The stratigraphic framework of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous strata of Lebanon that dates back to Dubertret's publications required either consolidation or full revision. The preliminary results of our investigations in the Mount Lebanon region are presented here. We provide new micropaleontological and sedimentological information on the Salima Oolitic Limestones, which is probably an unconformity-bounded unit (possibly Early Valanginian in age), and the "Grès du Liban" (Barremian in age). Our revised bio- and holostratigraphic interpretations and the new age assignations lead us to emphasize the importance of the two hiatuses in the sedimentary record below and above the Salima, i.e., at the transition from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous.

 Abstract:   A review of eight lookalike fossil species led to their being synonymized. Although Marinella lugeoni Pfender, 1939, is not the senior synonym, it is proposed to ascribe it the status of a "nomen conservandum". The age of its type-locality in Spain is Late Jurassic, not Early Jurassic. We also document small Marinella lumps found in Albian-Cenomanian strata of Brazil.

 Abstract:  According to some authors, the three fossil algal forms discussed in this paper, Cordilites cretosus (Reus, 1846), Elianella elegans Pfender & Basse, 1948, and Parachaetetes asvapatii Pia in Rao & Pia, 1936, are synonyms. However, we document that they represent three discrete species. The genus Elianella Pfender & Basse, 1948, gets unique features that make it easy to discriminate; we describe a new species from Albian limestones of Brazil. The other two genera, Cordilites Počta, 1887, and Parachaetetes Deninger, 1906, share some common features, such as having a thallus made of a lattice-network with columns (filaments) and rows. However, on the basis of their diagnostic criteria, the species Cordilites cretosus and Parachaetetes asvapatii should not be confused.

 Abstract:  In spite of recent interest, the various species belonging to the genera Heminautilus Spath, 1927, and Josanautilus Martínez & Grauges, 2006, have never been the object of a general revision. More than 160 specimens belonging to various species of these two genera were studied, with the aim of identifying the specific characteristics and the stratigraphical and paleogeographical distribution of the various species which compose them, as well as to propose a phylogeny for the group. This study confirms the non-synonymy of Heminautilus saxbii (Morris, 1848) and H. lallierianus (Orbigny, 1841), establishes that H. tejeriensis Martínez & Grauges, 2006, and H. verneuilli (Vilanova, 1870) represent junior synonyms of H. saxbii (Morris) and suggests the creation of the species H. ? japonicus sp. nov. The origin of the genus Heminautilus Spath from Pseudocenoceras Spath, 1927, proposed by Tintant, and the origin of Josanautilus Martínez & Grauges from Heminautilus Spath are both confirmed.

 Abstract:  The palustrine limestones of Quaternary (Middle to the Late Pleistocene) age described in this study are located in the El Gara massif Tajerouine (Northwest of Tunisia). The study of these deposits at different scales, both macroscopic (lithological description) and microscopic (petrography and mineralogy), shows that they have a tabular structure and an angular unconformity contact on the marly – calcareous series from the Aptian-Albian. They show lateral and vertical changes in facies, including conglomerates, limestones and stromatolites. Layer thickness tends to increase gradually from East to West and also to the South of the study area. Because of fluctuations in the groundwater table, these carbonates have undergone periods of flooding and emersion, causing many pedogenic changes. The nature of these changes was controlled by the height of emersion (nodulisation, roots traces, pseudo-microkarst). These pedogenic changes in turn affected cementation during diagenesis (alternations of phreatic cement), justifying the rock classification as palustrine limestone.

 Abstract:  The examination of fossil Lithothamnion specimens ranging in age from the Early Miocene to the Pleistocene revealed the occurrence of multiporate conceptacle chambers pitted with depressions. This is the diagnostic feature of Lithothamnion crispatum, a cosmopolitan hapalidiacean with a wide depth range in modern oceans. The comparison of the microscopic anatomy of both the fossil and modern L. crispatum confirmed that they are conspecific. Therefore, this species has a long stratigraphic distribution starting at least 20 My ago, without significant morphological changes in either reproductive or vegetative anatomy.

 Abstract:  Layer-bound arrays of polygonal compaction faults have long been considered as important migration routes for hydrocarbon fluids leaking to the surface across thick shale sequences. A classic example is the deep offshore of the Lower Congo Basin where numerous fluid-venting structures are present above a Pliocene polygonal fault system. In this paper we present a detailed seismic analysis of a newly recognised system of Quaternary-aged Linear Chimneys and their intersection geometries with pre-existing Pliocene-aged polygonal faults (PF). Most (73%) of the 209 chimneys analysed intersect the lower portions of polygonal faults and almost half of these are rooted in strata below the PF interval. This indicates that fluid (in this case gas) migrated vertically, cross-cutting polygonal faults as it ascended through the tier. This is a strong indicator that PFs did not provide viable migration pathways otherwise chimneys would terminate at the upper tip of the fault, which would be the most likely migration exit point. Only twice in the whole system of Linear Venting Systems did this occur. A sub-set of chimneys stems from or above PF planes but these are restricted to either the lower footwall or from the apex area of hanging wall. At best they are evidence of fluids migrating up the lower part of polygonal faults and exiting deep within the tier, then migrating through most of the tier in their own vertical leakage vents. These results provide strong indicators that at least within this part of the Lower Congo Basin polygonal faults were the least effective/favoured migration pathway and that it was more energy-efficient for migrating gas to hydrofracture its fine-grained overburden than to re-open polygonal faults.

 Abstract:  The relative diachronism of first or last local occurrences (FOs and LOs) of fossil species may highlight transgressive/regressive cycles. A simple technique allowing the extraction of this information by means of the UAgraph program is discussed in the present paper. The technique consists in modifying a usual database of UAgraph by augmenting it with the restricted data concerning only the FOs (or LOs) of the taxa under consideration. The resulting data set combines the information on total ranges and those concerning the FOs and LOs only. Calculating the UAs of such a duplicated database produce a range chart in which we can read the maximal ranges of all the taxa and, in addition, the biochronological dispersion of the FOs and LOs. For a given transgressive/regressive cycle, the UAs defined by the species related to sea level fluctuations migrate with time from distal to proximal sections and inversely. This trend can be detected visually by the means of the UAs reproducibility chart, output of the UAgraph program. In a more general frame, the same holds true for species whose regional dispersion is related to specific conditions and when these conditions migrate in space with time (e.g., water temperatures and diatoms). The above discussion is strictly related to FOs and LOs that for a given section are definitive, however well constrained ephemeral appearances and disappearances can be easily integrated in the database for the same purposes.

 Abstract:   Specimens belonging to the genus Hemidiadema Agassiz, 1846, from Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) strata from the Spanish provinces of Castellón, Tarragona, Barcelona and Teruel –were studied. All specimens of Hemidiadema from these regions cited or described in the literature until now were related to the species Hemidiadema rugosum Agassiz, 1846. Their taxonomic revision – based on historical material and new collecting – demonstrates that these individuals do not belong to the species described by Agassiz, but represent new taxa. Three new species are proposed and described: Hemidiadema batalleri nov. sp., H. malladai nov. sp., and H. forcallensis nov. sp). The species H. rugosum Agassiz, 1846, is known by a single specimen from the Aptian of Castellón. Remarks on the paleoecology and stratigraphic and geographic distributions of these species are given.

 Abstract:   Conichnus conicus and Amphorichnus papillatus occur in clay-rich carbonate rocks in the Ordovician of Estonia. Conichnus conicus also occurs in clay-rich carbonates of the early Silurian of Estonia. Lateral adjustment traces are more common in C. conicus than previously recorded. The lack of adjustment traces in Amphorichnus, together with its morphology, does not support synonymy of Conichnus and Amphorichnus. The Conichnus conicus and Amphorichnus papillatus tracemakers preferred shallow water carbonate environments with high clay content. They were rare or did not occur in deeper water muddy environments or where shallow water carbonates accumulated. A high content of volcanic ash in the depositional environment is characteristic of both the Ordovician and Silurian maxima of Conichnus conicus occurrence. C. conicus may have been more common in the temperate seas of Baltica than in the tropics.

 Abstract:   The Font de les Bagasses marls and marly limestones (Montsec Mountains, NE Spain) host a rich assemblage of larger foraminifera, that was described for the first time in the early 20th Century from the currently submerged locality of Tragó de Noguera (Marginal Mountains). In this paper, a detailed architectural study has been carried out on selected, agglutinated larger foraminifera, which include Choffatella aff. rugoretis Gendrot, Hemicyclammina chalmasi (Schlumberger), Cuneolina conica Orbigny, Cuneolina cylindrica Henson, and Dictyopsella kiliani Munier-Chalmas. Moreover, it presents their biostratigraphic range and the range of the associated porcellaneous and lamellar-perforate foraminifera in the study area. The assemblage is Early Campanian in age.

 Abstract:   Quelques petites cavités attribuées à Tremichnus ont été trouvées dans des crinoïdes provenant du Silurien d'Estonie. Ce Tremichnus rhuddanien est le symbiote le plus ancien observé dans des segments de tiges de crinoïdes du bouclier balte. Ces cavités correspondent vraisemblablement à des habitats d'organismes inconnus. Tremichnus a eu un impact négatif sur le crinoïde hôte comme en attestent les renflements des tiges. Tremichnus est moins fréquent dans le Silurien d'Estonie que des traces semblables dans le Silurien du Gotland voisin. L'aspect le plus significatif de cette étude est la rareté de cette interaction dans ces échantillons à la différence de la plupart des échantillons du même âge provenant d'autres localités. Ces structures ont une répartition très irrégulière.

 Abstract:   References to Terebratulina caputserpentis attributing its authorship to Zbyszewski, 1957, not to Linnæus, 1767, have been found in three recent publications, in the collections of the Muséum National d'Histoire naturelle de Paris and in several online databases. The use in these databases seems to have arisen from WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species), specifically from WBD (World Brachiopoda Database) of which the three authors of this paper are the editors (authors). The page concerning T. caputserpentis (Linnæus, 1767) has been modified by WoRMS staff without the knowledge of these editors (authors).
The decrease of the specialists in systematics and their replacement by IT specialists question the scientific reliability of the online databases as well as the specimen labelling in museums. The absence of scientific rigour becomes their Achilles' heel. Several other cases of errors are quoted and developed. In spite of applications to the staff of databases in biodiversity, the situation continued degrading so much so that today these bases are reached by the Peter principle and can no longer be used for scientific requirements, except if verifying all the desired data.

 Abstract:   The "Grès du Liban" auct. is the thick basal unit of the Lower Cretaceous series in Lebanon. There are two key levels in this dominantly siliciclastic unit: the "Banc de Mréjatt" and the "Calcaire à pisolithes", the latter of which includes limestones and marls with Charophyta. The rich charophyte assemblage described by Grambast and Lorch (1968) from a site near Jezzine is Barremian (possibly Early Barremian) in age, not Bedoulian as previously stated. Besides gyrogonites and utricles, charophyte thalli are rather common; they are ascribed to two organ genera, Munieria Deecke, 1883, and Charaxis Harris, 1939. Based on topotypic material (from the Pia Collection), Munieria baconica Deecke, 1883, the type-species of the genus, is reassessed. In addition, the species Clypeina parvula Carozzi, 1946, is transferred to the revised genus Munieria, and a new species of Charaxis is described.

 Abstract:   The ostracod associations of the Lower Pleistocene sedimentary succession cropping out at Serra San Biagio (Catania, Sicily NE) have been investigated. The ostracod fauna from nine samples is poorly diversified but well-preserved: A total of forty taxa of ostracods have been identified, thirty-three at specific level and seven at genus level or doubtful species. Thirty species are considered as constituents of the in situ original assemblages. The associations consist almost exclusively of bathyal taxa such as Bythocypris obtusata (Sars), Anchistrocheles antemacella Maddocks, Henryhowella ex H. hirta (Costa) group, Quasibuntonia radiatopora (Seguenza), Retibythere (Bathybythere) scaberrima (Brady) and Bathycythere vansraateni Sissingh. Also the Krithe group is well-represented with Krithe compressa (Seguenza) and K. pernoides (Bornemann). Almost all species, some, particularly interesting from the palaeoecological and palaeogeographical point of view, have been here described, illustrated and commented on, including a species belonging to the genus Cytherella Jones, 1849, found in all samples of the section, which is here proposed as new.

 Abstract:   We study the three best preserved ammonites collected by Astre in 1924-1925 in Lleida Province, Catalonia, Spain, in order to assess their taxonomic assignment. We also include images of these ammonoids since they were not illustrated in Astre's original 1934 work. This taxonomic review allows us to identify these lower Aptian ammonites as Pseudohaploceras liptoviense, Deshayesites sp. and Dufrenoyia sp.

 Abstract:   Seven sections, covering the upper Albian to lowermost Turonian, have been correlated from full-marine to continental-dominated deposits across a passive margin, along a transect 425 km long, from the present-day Atlantic coast to the "Pre-African Trough" between the Anti-Atlas and the High-Atlas. The thickness of the Cenomanian succession changes from around 500 metres in the fully marine sections to 250 metres in mostly continental facies in the western High-Atlas, about 150 km updip, to a few tens of metres in the Bou Tazoult area. The strata thicken again eastwards into the Pre-African Trough where they can be traced without major facies changes to the Kem Kem embayment and to the Bechar area in Algeria. Over all this eastern area, continental facies are overlain by the fully-marine shallow-water deposits of the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary interval.
A first major conclusion is that fluvial aggradation in high-frequency transgressive-regressive sequences is coeval with the seaward-shift of the shoreline, in accordance with the genetic sequence stratigraphic model of Galloway (1989). Both the flatness of the depositional profile and the corresponding very low energy of the marine environment during the transgressions account for the blanket of red continental clays on top of marine facies in updip depositional sequences, which is then preserved under the marine transgressive surface of the next sequence.
A second major conclusion is that the high-frequency transgressive-regressive (T-R) sequences do not look like classical parasequences bounded by transgression surfaces. They usually exhibit a surface created by a sea-level fall within the regressive half-cycle. This is interpreted in the following way: regressions did not operate through a regular seaward-shift of the shoreline, but through stepped sea-level falls. The very low slope of the depositional ramp is thought to have enhanced the sequence stratigraphic record of such stepped regressions. Short-term, high-frequency sequences are organized into medium-frequency T-R sequences (seven in the Cenomanian) which show an overall aggrading and slowly retrograding pattern along the whole transect.
Comparisons with other basins show that medium-frequency sequences do not fit the third-order depositional sequences described elsewhere, casting doubts about a eustatic mechanism for their deposition.

 Abstract:   Out of the few records of rudists from the Cretaceous strata of the South Atlantic coastal basins only two refer to Brazilian localities. However, petrographic analyses demonstrate that these shells should be assigned to Ostreids or to Pycnodontids rather than to Rudistids. More specifically, the domain considered herein, north of the Río Grande Rise - Walvis Ridge barrier, was part of the warm-water "tropical" realm, but it was not part of the Mesogean domain because both Rudistids and Orbitolinas are missing. In addition, the scarcity of corals leads us to ascribe the taphonomic assemblage to the Chloralgal facies. Neither generalized hypersalinity or extreme sea-water temperatures seem to account for these biotic peculiarities. Instead, our alternative hypothesis favors the driving role played by oceanic circulation in the dispersal of the benthic organisms.

 Abstract:   We used petrofacies analysis, carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope data to interpret the isotopic variations in the carbonate rocks of the Mural Formation of Sonora (Sierra San José section), Mexico. The petrographic study reveals a range of lithofacies from wackestone to packstone. The analyzed limestones show significant negative δ¹⁸O values (-18.6 to -10.9 VPDB) and δ¹³C values ranging from negative to positive (-2.6 to +2.5‰ VPDB). The absence of correlation between δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values suggests a primary marine origin for the δ¹³C values of limestones from the Sierra San José section. The limestones have large variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values (0.707479 to 0.708790). Higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in various levels of the studied section suggest that most of the sediments were derived from the Proterozoic basement of the Caborca block during Early Cretaceous time. A decrease in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios at certain levels indicates an influx of lesser amounts of radiogenic Sr that could have been caused by contribution of sediments from the Triassic and Jurassic volcanic rocks.

 Abstract:   A complete list of fossils originating from the Cambrian of the Barrandian area and housed in the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Lille is compiled. The collection includes two agnostids, ten trilobites, one brachiopod and one echinoderm species, all collected at ten outcrops in the Buchava Formation of the Skryje-Týřovice Basin and most probably also at two outcrops in the Jince Formation of the Příbram-Jince Basin. A large part of the material was collected by Prof. Charles Barrois and Dr. Louis Dollé (both University of Lille) during the excursion organised before the Ninth International Geological Congress in Vienna in 1903. Other, poorly documented specimens were purchased from the enterprise Krantz towards the end of the 19^th century and in the first years of 20^th century. The geographic position and stratigraphy of outcrops, from which the material originates, are briefly discussed.

 Abstract:   A new zonation for the lower Valanginian in the Betic Cordillera is presented. It is based on the study of 16 sections located near Caravaca and Cehegín (Region of Murcia). From bottom to top, the following interval zones, defined by the first appearance of the index-species, are distinguished:
● "Thurmanniceras" pertransiens Zone, which can be subdivided into two subzones, a lower "Th." pertransiens Subzone and an upper Vergoliceras salinarium Subzone. The latter is characterized by the disappearance of Olcostephanus drumensis and the appearance of Luppovella superba.
● Neocomites neocomiensiformis Zone, also with two subzones, the Baronnites hirsutus Subzone below (characterized by the appearance of "Busnardoites" subcampylotoxus and Olcostephanus guebhardi) and the Valanginites dolioliformis Subzone above ("Busnardoites" campylotoxus is restricted to this subzone).
● Karakaschiceras inostranzewi Zone, subdivided as well into two subzones, a lower Karakaschiceras inostranzewi Subzone and an upper Saynoceras contestanum Subzone.
The assemblages characterizing each of these biozones can be recognized throughout the Mediterranean region.

 Abstract:   The Ordovician hardground faunas of Estonia are not diverse. They include echinoderm holdfasts (i.e., eocrinoids and crinoids), edrioasteroids, bryozoans (both hemispherical trepostomes and stalked ptilodictyids) and cornulitids. The earliest hardground faunas appeared in the Dapingian (i.e., bryozoans and echinoderms). The Estonian hardground faunas are less diverse than the North American ones. North American hardgrounds seem to be more heavily encrusted than the Estonian ones. These differences may be due to the paleogeographic distances, different climates and different sedimentation environments of the paleocontinents.

 Abstract:  Scientists need to manage their own collections of bibliographic data as well as exchange these data easily with colleagues. One solution for this need is MayLib, a bibliographic database that runs on many different operating systems and does not require pre-installation of any software. MayLib is a very small, efficient and comprehensive JAVA program that handles references to publications in any Unicode-compatible language. It is user-friendly and not only contains the basic functions of a bibliographic database, but also has some advanced features. Using MayLib the author has been able to create a list of references, which contains 500 periodicals and 4206 literature references. Of these 4206 references 3191 deal with Devonian matters and 1594 references deal with corals.

 Abstract:  Faunistic associations of the Lower Pleistocene sediments, out-cropping at Cartiera Molino along the true right bank of the Ippari River (Vittoria, SE Sicily), have been investigated. This study integrates data obtained from the analysis of ostracods, foraminifers, bryozoans and serpulids found within a six metre thick sedimentary section. This multiproxy approach allowed us to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this south-western sector of the Hyblean Plateau (Comiso-Vittoria area) from fluvially-influenced shallow marine settings, recorded in the lower portion of the succession, to progressively shallower, transitional and brackish environments, testified in mid levels, up to freshwater environments at the top of the section.

 Abstract:  A reinvestigation of the validity of the belemnite genus Belemnopsis Bayle is undertaken, together with a survey of the early history of the usage of the names Belemnites sulcatus, Belemnopsis Bayle and Belemnopsis Edwards. Belemnites sulcatus Miller has been variously equated with either Belemnites apiciconus Blainville or with the group of belemnites including Belemnites Altdorfensis Blainville and B. Beaumontianus Orbigny. Riegraf (and not Phillips) subsequently designated a lectotype which may be valid and, in case it is not, is validated here. The species concept for Belemnites sulcatus, as based on this lectotype, places it in the genus Holcobeloides Gustomesov. Belemnopsis Edwards has date priority over Belemnopsis Bayle, but must be interpreted as an "incorrect original spelling" and, therefore, does not enter into homonymy according to the ICZN; Belemnopsis Bayle is thus a valid genus. Douvillé subsequently nominated Belemnites sulcatus, which was figured as Belemnopsis sulcata by Bayle, and therefore is a valid designation because this species is amongst the original species included in Belemnopsis by Bayle. One of Bayle's figures of Belemnopsis sulcata agrees with Belemnites apiciconus Blainville, but does not agree with Belemnites sulcatus as defined by its lectotype; as such this is a case of misidentified type species. Belemnites apiciconus Blainville, the species involved in the misidentification, is therefore designated type species of Belemnopsis Bayle here and validated by citing the ICZN. The actions taken here maintain nomenclature at the genus, family and suborder level in respect to the names Belemnopsis and Belemnosis and serve to stabilize the complicated nomenclature issues related to these taxa.

 Abstract:  The presence in Lebanon of Offneria murgensis and Offneria nicolinae, two characteristic components of the Early Aptian Arabo-African rudist faunas, fills a distributional gap of the corresponding assemblage between the Arabic and African occurrences, on the one hand, and the Apulian occurrences, on the other hand. This fauna bears out the palaeogeographic placement of Lebanon on the southern Mediterranean Tethys margin established by palaeostructural reconstructions. The associated micropaleontological elements suggest an earliest Aptian age (early Bedoulian) for the Offneria murgensis - O. nicolinae assemblage found in the "Falaise de Blanche" stratigraphic interval, instead of a late Early Aptian age as proposed for most of the peri-Adriatic and Middle East occurrences recognized so far. These caprinid specimens are characterized by relatively modest sizes, moreover other rudists commonly part of the assemblage are lacking. The dominance of caprinids in the study area suggests a distal platform setting, i.e., close proximity to the platform edge.

 Abstract:  Small databases, i.e., with less than 15,000 entries, are sometimes handled using inappropriate, complex, and often expensive data management systems. We present and briefly discuss a few types of proprietary and open-source, relational and non-relational, server-based versus portable databases and specific tools to handle the latter. With a collection of nearly 7,000 bibliographic notes during its 40-year history "Fossil Cnidaria & Porifera (FC&P)", the newsletter of the "International Association for Study of Fossil Cnidaria and Porifera", was chosen as a case study. The analysis of the temporal trends in the FC&P bibliographic database shows a decrease over the years in the number of publications effectively reported in FC&P. Almost all relevant papers for the decade 1981-1990 are reported, but this good coverage ratio falls down to less than 50% after 2000; accordingly, the concern about the data representativeness is addressed in our interpretation. Besides the classical database management systems and spreadsheet software, which were originally used with the FC&P case study, we present two discrete, open-source, flat and portable options where data can be displayed using any widely available Internet browser, and that are suitable to handle most small databases (XML or JS files) as documented herein.

 Abstract:  We report an interesting Aptian ammonite record from the La Peña Formation in the Sierra de Parras, Coahuila State. This assemblage is analyzed from a paleoecological perspective. It contains the first reported occurrence of a macroconch of Dufrenoyia from Mexico, and the largest known specimen of  'Gargasiceras' adkinsi. Such an assemblage yielding large ammonites is unusual in deposits of this age in Mexico. To properly document this ammonite record, we review 'Gargasiceras' adkinsi, formerly misidentified as Rhytidoplites robertsi, and allied taxa. From our analysis, we conclude that 'Gargasiceras' adkinsi exhibits strong intraspecific variability. We also analyze in detail the differences that exist between 'Gargasiceras' adkinsi and Rhytidoplites robertsi, and emend the concept of the genus Rhytidoplites. These revisions are important from a biostratigraphic point of view since 'Gargasiceras' adkinsi is an index species for the lower Aptian ammonite zonation of Mexico.

The chief editor of a prestigious scientific journal, who is about to publish a major article of which Guy is one of the lead authors, replied to the news of his passing: "I am very sorry to hear about that. I have known Guy Tronchetti from publications, for a long time. It is really sad." This quote and Googling his name show that, according to his publications, some of them very recent, Guy was still both at the cutting edges of research and a scientist at an international level. His great modesty did not allow people to necessarily acknowledge this, especially those who did not attempt to overcome such an obstacle. (...) 

 Abstract:  In the Canton of Vaud (Switzerland), two Hauterivian oolitic units were penetrated by a borehole. In both units, the ooids are partly leached. More specifically, the ooid cortices were partly leached and some ooid nuclei appear suspended in the middle of cortical moldic cavities created by leaching, rather than having fallen to the bottom of these cavities before the final cementation take place. We demonstrate that these ooids were originally calcitic, not aragonitic, not "two-phase" nor "bimineral". This leaching is not an early diagenetic feature related to subaerial exposure, but a late diagenetic feature, possibly related to the migration of acidic pore waters, brought about by Alpine tectonics and/or karstification.

 Abstract:  The oolite of the "Dalle Nacrée" Formation in the Paris Basin is made of marine calcareous ooids with, from base to top, radial (and therefore likely to have been calcite), concentric and micritic fabrics, each corresponding to a discrete stratigraphic unit. Several hardgrounds and oolitic pebble-cobble layers in the succession are encrusted and bored. Three main types of boring have been identified ranging in sizes from some tens of µm (sponge borings) to centimeters (bivalve borings), with an intermediate category (worm borings). Some worm borings have rough walls, where early marine fibrous cement is less corroded than the cortices of cemented ooids. The key to understanding this differential dissolution could be related to organic matter, present within the ooid cortices but lacking in the fibrous cement. Polychaete worms that use chemical means (enzymes or acids) to bore are probably responsible for these peculiar borings. A secondary conclusion is that partly or fully leached ooid cortices do not necessarily indicate an original aragonitic mineralogy of the dissolved parts.

 Abstract:  Solitary or weakly colonial Phillipsastreid tetracorals of the Upper Frasnian of Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, with triangular to oval shape of transverse-section and tendency towards reduction of the horseshoe dissepiments, are included here in the genus Rozkowskaella, with Rozkowskaella sandaliformis, R. cf. sandaliformis and Rozkowskaella sp.

 Abstract:  Two fossil species of Ostracoda belonging to the genera Urocythereis Ruggieri, 1950, and Semicytherura Wagner, 1957, discovered in the Lower Pleistocene shallow marine sandy-silty sediments outcropping at "Cartiera Molino" (F. 276, IV NO, Vittoria, Southeast Sicily) are described and figured.

 Abstract:  The "Falaise de Blanche" is a prominent cliff, consisting mostly of Lower Cretaceous limestones that extends as linear outcrops over most of the Lebanese territory and provides geologists a remarkable reference for stratigraphic studies. However, until now, this unit was lacking a clear definition. We introduce herein the Jezzinian Regional Stage, the type-locality of which is at Jezzine. It equates as an unconformity-bounded unit and, per definition, it is framed by two discontinuities. Because we identified an additional, median sequence-boundary, poorly-expressed in the type-section but better at Aazour, only 4.5 km westward of Jezzine, the new regional stage implicitly spans two sequences. The lithostratigraphic framework being properly redefined, we were able to investigate time-constrained micropaleontological assemblages, consisting mostly of benthic foraminifers and calcareous algae. Typically Southern Tethysian, these assemblages contribute to high-resolution, holostratigraphic correlations with the Persian Gulf area, on the eastern part of the Arabian Plate. The Jezzinian interval correlates with the upper part of the Kharaibian Regional Stage (also known as "Thamama II" reservoir unit in the oil industry). In turn, the Jezzinian is indirectly correlated with the Northern Tethysian Urgonian stratigraphic units where it corresponds to a rather short interval encompassing the standard Barremian - Bedoulian stage boundary. Locally the upper discontinuity is associated to a significant intra-Bedoulian hiatus. The macrofossil assemblages found in the Jezzinian (echinids) and above it (ammonites) support, or at least do not contradict, our micropaleontological dating.

 Abstract:  In the Montreuil-Bellay area (Maine-et-Loire, France), the lowermost bed of the Upper Callovian (Leckenbyi Horizon) contains a very abundant ammonite fauna (N=3275). The Family Perisphinctidae is represented by Choffatia isabellae Bonnot et al., the genus Pseudopeltoceras Spath, the genus Subgrossouvria Spath, which includes S. famula (Bean in Spath) and S. crassa Gérard & Contaut, and the genus Orionoides Spath, which comprises O. indicus Spath. Thanks to the abundance and quality of the material, it was possible to describe and figure macroconchs and microconchs of these three species, including adult specimens with preserved peristome. The stratigraphical ranges of these taxa are also specified and their potential descendants can be considered. These species are unknown in the uppermost Middle Callovian, and we assume that they colonized the northwestern part of the European platform via the southern margin of the Tethys, as did Peltoceras marysae Bonnot et al. and Choffatia isabellae Bonnot et al.

 Abstract:  An assemblage of nannofossils from the Salamanca Formation is reported for the first time from the Punta Peligro Norte locality in the San Jorge Gulf Basin, Argentina. Several recognized nannofossils have a stratigraphic distribution within the lower Danian. The assemblage of nannofossils and associated foraminifera is here discussed taking into account biostratigraphic and paleoecological aspects.

 Abstract:  Sixty-four Ostracoda taxa were recorded from the Santonian–Campanian of Potiguar Basin, northeastern Brazil. The following new species were described: Triebelina anterotuberculata, Triebelina obliquocostata, Cophinia ovalis, Fossocytheridea potiguarensis, Ovocytheridea anterocompressa, Ovocytheridea triangularis, Perissocytheridea jandairensis, Semicytherura musacchioi and Protocosta babinoti. The faunal association indicates predominantly shallow marine environments, intercalated with typically mixohaline levels. These species are mostly endemic, although the presence of six species common to West and North Africa shows that migration was still possible by the end of the Cretaceous.

 Abstract:  A general overview of the biodiversity of the marine fauna during the Tertiary period is developed in the context of the biogeographical evolution of the European realm. This study combines a reappraisal of the literature with a unique first-hand source of data on the richest marine group (the gastropods) from over a 25 million year period (Early Oligocene to Late Miocene). In total the French deposits have yielded more than 10,000 species from the Eocene to the Upper Miocene. Evidence of significant bias in the fossil record is pointed out for the Palaeocene (Danian) and Upper Eocene (Priabonian). For the period considered (Palaeocene to Late Miocene, ca 50 million years) the second highest diversity is reported in the Late Oligocene. This study reveals also the importance of pre-Miocene extinctions of genera. The Oligocene was when the latitudinal differentiation of the faunas was greatest. The local generic gastropod richness ranges from 59 (Rupelian of Belgium) to 494 (Chattian of Aquitaine). A clear trend towards homogenization appears in the Late Oligocene which leads to the development of a vast biogeographical region named Euro-West Africa. This faunal evolutionary pattern has never been demonstrated before and is a novel feature of the biogeography of the Eastern-Atlantic region.

 Abstract:  The Late Barremian Hemihoplitidae (Ancyloceratina, Ammonoidea) are widely known in the northern Tethyan Margin and the Essaouira-Agadir Basin (Morocco). Their rapid evolution and diversification make them one of the key groups for that period, but their origin remains poorly known and several competing hypotheses have been published. These hypotheses are tested here with cladistic analysis in order to reject those receiving the least support and discuss those well supported. The analysis discards the Crioceratitidae, Emericiceratidae (Emericiceras and Honnoratia) and Toxancyloceras as stem-groups of the Hemihoplitidae (Gassendiceras). The Toxancyloceras appear instead to be a sister-taxon of the Moutoniceras, so we propose the latter to be classified with the Ancyloceratidae rather than with the Heteroceratidae. The best supported hypothesis assumes that the Hemihoplitidae first appeared suddenly in the Essaouira-Agadir Basin at the end of the Early Barremian from small populations of Boreal Paracrioceras. These latter could have migrated southward episodically before invading the northern Tethyan margin at the beginning of the Late Barremian. As a consequence, the Paracrioceratidae fam. nov. is proposed to include the Boreal groups Fissicostaticeras / Paracrioceras / Parancyloceras, and Gassendiceras essaouirae sp. nov. is proposed as a new name for the Moroccan endemic "Barrancyloceras" maghrebiense sensu Company et al., 2008, non Immel, 1978.

 Abstract:  This paper describes thirteen new species and two new genera of marine and brackish water ostracodes from the Turonian deposits of Potiguar Basin, NE Brazil, among a total of 53 taxa. The new species include Cophinia grekoffi, Fossocytheridea tiberti, Haughtonileberis dinglei, Hemicytherura viviersae, Jandairella obesa (new genus and species), Loxocorniculum? narendrai, Ovocytheridea posteroprojecta, O. reymenti, Perissocytheridea caudata, P. mossoroensis, Potiguarella grosdidieri (new genus and species), P. coimbrai and Procytherura ballentae. The diversity and dominance indexes vary according to the paleoenvironment. Three assemblages were identified: a predominantly mixohaline fauna in the basal part of the section, followed by a diversified shallow marine fauna and, in the upper part, a marine and brackish water ostracode fauna. Most of the recorded species are endemic. Eight species are common to Northwest and North Africa, indicating a faunal link during the Turonian. The study of the Turonian faunas of the Potiguar Basin represents a significant improvement to understand the dynamic evolution of the Brazilian basins and the paleobiogeographical relationship with other regions.

 Erratum:  The table rows of Appendix 2 (i.e., "Distribution of the ostracode species, with their abundances") should have included numbers.

 Abstract:  Triassic, Upper Jurassic and upper Lower Cretaceous sedimentary formations were previously studied from the Transylvanian Depression basement, but the presence of lowermost Cretaceous (Berriasian-Valanginian) has not been confirmed paleontologically. The carbonate sequence cored from a borehole drilled in the central part of the Transylvanian Depression yields microfossil assemblages dominated by benthic foraminifera. These new data unequivocally document the presence of characteristic Berriasian-Valanginian taxa in these deposits.

 Erratum:  The table rows of Appendix 2 (i.e., "Distribution of the ostracode species, with their abundances") should have included numbers.

 Abstract:  An enrolled exoskeleton of the holaspid specimen of a tiny agnostid Peronopsis integra (Beyrich, 1845) entombed inside a conch of the hyolithid ?Buchavalites sp. is described from the middle Cambrian (Drumian) Jince Formation of the Příbram-Jince Basin (Czech Republic). The agnostid is associated with an ichnofossil of the feeding trace classified as Arachnostega-type behaviour. The enrolled attitude of the agnostid exoskeleton suggests that the specimen is a carcass rather than moult. Either the storm disturbance and/or well-protected source of food hypotheses could explain the entombed agnostid. This additional example supports a benthic mode of life in the agnostid P. integra. The studied association of feeding tunnels of an unknown Arachnostega-strategist and Peronopsis preserved inside a hyolithid conch is a case of "frozen" behaviour.

 Abstract:  Radiometric dating and astrochronologic dating still suffer discrepancies without knowing which one gives the most reliable results. A new tool is proposed to constrain both the approaches. The phase of the 405-kyr signal with respect to the Cretaceous - Paleogene boundary event has been determined in the Aïn Settara section (Kalaat Senan, central Tunisia). We use this phase value (Option 2), as well as an average of phase values obtained from the literature (Option 1), to examine the relationship linking both the radiometric (absolute) age assigned to the K-Pg boundary and the Cenozoic average-value of the ~405-kyr eccentricity period. A new useful constraint emerges: to any absolute age assumed for the K-Pg boundary corresponds a value of the mean Cenozoic 405-kyr period, and vice versa.
Supposing a K-Pg boundary radiometric age in the vicinity of 66.0 Ma, then the number of entire cycles (comprised between two minima of the 405-kyr eccentricity signal) within the Cenozoic Period could only be equal to 163. When adding to this figure the parts of the cycles preceding and following these 163 entire cycles the total duration of the Cenozoic Era becomes equal to 163.168 cycles (Option 1) or 163.081 cycles (Option 2).
We propose to grant a special interest to the determination of the 405-kyr cycle phase at stratigraphically well documented levels, particularly those that correspond to world-wide, sudden and catastrophic events, that are well located in time by reliable radiometric dates.

 Abstract:  Anomia turbinata, or conical Anomia (= Novocrania turbinata), was described by Poli (1795) in the bathyal environment off the coast of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Patella anomala Müller, 1776 (= N. anomala) being considered a synonym. The history of this species, commonly considered as the Mediterranean form of N. anomala, will be described. Recently, several authors have described N. turbinata as a valid species on the basis of shell variations, as compared to N. anomala. After analysis of the taxonomic validity of these characters, both species are considered as synonymous. That is supported by their occurrence in various localities, mainly in the continental shelf. Their synonymy has been corroborated by molecular analyses and is discussed with reference to the characteristics of the Mediterranean basins and their history since the Miocene.

 Abstract:  Fossil specimens of Heydrichia (?) poignantii, sp. nov. (Sporolithaceae, Sporolithales, Rhodophyta), representing the first confirmation of the genus in the fossil record, were discovered in thin sections of Albian limestones from the Riachuelo Formation, Sergipe Basin, and in thin sections of Albian - Cenomanian limestones from the Ponta do Mel Formation, Potiguar Basin in north-eastern Brazil. A detailed morphological-anatomical account of the species is provided, and its placement in Heydrichia is discussed in relation to current classification proposals. Comparisons with the four other known species of the genus, all non-fossil, show that H. poignantii is the only known species of Heydrichia in which thalli are encrusting to sparsely warty to horizontally layered with overlapping lamellate branches that commonly appear variously curved or arched, and in which thalli have sporangial complexes that become buried in the thallus. The evolutionary history of Heydrichia remains uncertain, but available data suggest that the genus may have diverged from the sporolithacean genus Sporolithon, known as early as Hauterivian times (c. 129.4-132.9 ± 1 Ma) from Spain (and newly reported here from Switzerland), or it may have arisen from a graticulacean alga such as Graticula, dating from mid-Silurian times (c. 427-435 Ma). Current data also suggest that Heydrichia is more likely to have arrived in Brazil from Central Atlantic waters than from higher latitude South Atlantic waters. This implies that currently living species in southern Africa probably arose later from ancestors further equatorward in the South Atlantic, although confirming studies are needed. All non-fossil species of Heydrichia are known only from the southern hemisphere.

 Abstract:  In this work we discuss a proposed updated division of the C7 isotope segment of Menegatti et al. (1998). The new standard division of the segment C7 is based on a revision of published Barremian-Aptian carbon isotope curves from stratigraphic sections of the Prebetic Domain in Spain. It includes four distinct isotopic subunits labeled C7a to C7d, with a characteristic negative carbon isotope excursion at the base of the segment and which correlates with the Dufrenoyia furcata ammonite Zone. The negative excursion is recognized on a regional extent, and the term Intra-Furcata Negative Excursion (IFNE) is proposed to identify it. We provide possible sites correlatable with the IFNE in both the Old and New worlds, which suggest its potential use as an even global chemostratigraphic marker for the Aptian record.

 Abstract:  The Aube department is the type locality of the Albian stage created by d'Orbigny (1842). Two formations are recognised in the clay facies (the "Gault" auct.) of the stratotype, the Argiles tégulines de Courcelles (82 m), which is overlain by the Marnes de Brienne (43 m). The boundary between the two formations is defined at the top of an indurated bed (hardground L'Étape) that is readily identifiable, both in the field, and from boreholes. The type area of the Albian stage is of great interest because of the size of the clay facies (more than 120 m) unique in the Anglo-Paris basin. Today, 82 % of the lithological succession is documented accurately from 16 outcrops. In two intervals of respectively 33 m and 28.50 m thick, composite sections are made of overlapping sections which are correlated in the field with the help of lithological marker beds. Six successive facies are described: in the Argiles tégulines de Courcelles and from bottom to top: 1 - phosphatic nodules bed; 2 - silty clays; 3 - clays and limestone beds; in the Marnes de Brienne: 4 - clay marls; 5 - gaize; 6 - clay marls. On a smaller scale, a decimetre to metre-scale rhythmicity can be identified in the sedimentation. This is reflected in the Argiles tégulines de Courcelles by pluri-decimetric cycles that start with a silty level and are bounded at the top by a bored surface. In the Marnes de Brienne, the metric cycles (except for the gaize where they are decimetric) exhibit alternating dark grey clay marl and a pale grey marl that herald the rhythmic chalks of the Cenomanian. Individual couplets probably represent the precession cycles (20 kyr). On the other hand, 13 lithoevents as phosphatic nodules beds, hardgrounds, glauconitic and sandy beds and ecoevents characterised by the brief abundance of some fossils. These marker beds are very useful for fine correlations across the basin. A comparison is proposed between sandy units of Yonne and clay facies of Aube. The continuity of several phosphatic nodules beds is shown from Yonne in the South West to Aube and Perthois in the North East, that is a distance exceeding 130 km. These marker beds are interpreted as Flooding Surfaces of 3rd-order cycles. Finally, a detailed study of the lithology, complemented with the analysis of the ammonite and inoceramid faunas, is used for a depositional sequence interpretation. As a result, eight sequences are identified in the upper half of the Argiles tégulines de Courcelles and in the Marnes de Brienne in the type area of the Albian stage, including two new sequences indexed AL 5a and AL 6a.

 Abstract:  The larger foraminifera found in the material from the Chichen Itzá Formation of Campeche (SE Mexico) were studied in detail. The architectural analyses allow the description of four new species and a new genus, namely, two agglutinated conical foraminifera, Coskinolina yucatanensis n.sp. and Pseudofallotella drobneae n. gen. n.sp., one new alveolinid, Borelis hottingeri n.sp., and one new rotaliid, Dictyoconoides boneti n.sp. The larger foraminifera of the Chichen Itzá Formation are distributed across two different associations: one includes Pseudofallotella drobneae, Neotaberina sp., Rhabdorites sp., Borelis hottingeri, Dictyoconoides boneti, Kathina sp., Miscellaneidae, Ranikothalia soldadensis and Hexagonocyclina cristensis, while the other assemblage is composed of Coskinolina yucatensis, Fallotella causae, Rhabdorites sp., Borelis floridanus and Cincoriola cf. ovoidea. Some of these genera, including Neotaberina and Dictyoconoides, are cited in the Caribbean paleobioprovince for the first time in this paper. The first association is dated as Thanetian (SBZ 3? to SBZ 4) by the presence of Ranikothalia soldadensis. Though the age of the second association remains uncertain, a similar age has been inferred.

 Excerpt:  In Sciuto (2014), a new species, Acanthocythereis reticulata, was described from the Upper Pliocene sediments of NE Sicily and belonging to the Family Trachyleberididae Sylvester-Bradley, 1948.. (...)

 Abstract:  Timing and rates of tectonic events, evolutionary processes, and oceanographic and paleoclimatic changes must be based on high-precision numerical age calibration of stages defined in Global Stratotype and Section Points (GSSPs). The Cretaceous Chronostratigraphic Database (CRETCSDB3) is an objective, testable database that calibrates select Cretaceous events and enables high-resolution chronostratigraphic correlations.
CRETCSDB3 is a compilation of more than 3500 taxa and marker beds in nearly 300 published sections calibrated to a mega-annum (Ma) scale. The database spans the Jurassic/Cretaceous and the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundaries. Construction of CRETCSDB3 began by plotting bioevents in the Kalaat Senan, Tunisia, Cenomanian-Turonian section to the 1989 time scale. The sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, and biostratigraphy of this section were precisely documented and stage boundaries defined biostratigraphically. Additional sections with radiometrically dated beds were graphed to constrain the accuracy of the numerical scale. Ranges of first and last occurrences are calibrated to mega-annums of Cretaceous stages defined by GSSPs or reference sections. This database serves as a look-up table for interpolation and age calibration of other stratigraphic sections. The age ranges of some taxa and marker beds are preliminary and may be extended as new sections are added to the database.
CRETCSDB3 tested the numeric age calibration of the Albian/Cenomanian boundary. This boundary in North Texas accurately correlates with the GSSP in France by ammonites, planktic foraminifers and dinoflagellates. This stage boundary in North Texas correlates with the 97.88±0.69 Ma Clay Spur Bentonite in Wyoming by sequence stratigraphy and cosmopolitan dinoflagellates. The inconsistency between this age and the current 100.5 Ma date of the 2012 Geologic Time Scale remains to be evaluated independently.

 Abstract:  The ostracod associations of the Upper Pliocene-Pleistocene sedimentary succession out-cropping at Punta Mazza (Milazzo, Sicily NE) have been investigated. The ostracod fauna is often well-preserved and well-diversified: there 42 species belonging to 24 genera have been found. The association consists almost exclusively of bathyal taxa such as Bythocypris obtusata (Sars), B. bosquetiana (Brady), Henryhowella ex H. profunda Bonaduce et al. group, Quasibuntonia radiatopora (Seguenza), Retibythere (Bathybythere) scaberrima Brady, Pseudocythere caudata Sars and Bythocythere mylaensis Sciuto. Also, the Krithe group is well-represented with Krithe compressa (Seguenza) and K. pernoides (Bornemann). Further taxa such as Cytheropteron testudo Sars are rare. Almost all species, especially those belonging to Trachyleberididae Sylvester-Bradley are described, illustrated and commented on, including a new species, Acanthocythereis reticulata n.sp., found in the lower part of the section in Upper Pliocene sediment, is proposed as new. Finally, a specimen belonging to the genus Quasibuntonia Ruggieri is currently given in open nomenclature.

 Abstract:  Seven species of cornulitids are systematically described from the Silurian of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa islands, Estonia. There are three species of cornulitids in the Rhuddanian, three in the Sheinwoodian, single species in the Gorstian and Ludfordian, and three species in the Pridoli. Cornulitids have a facies range from pelletal limestones of shoal environments to deeper ramp marls. Endobiotic cornulitid symbionts occur in stromatoporoids found in shoal and open shelf zones. Gregarious aggregates are restricted to the limestones of the open shelf zone possibly because of higher nutrient levels in open shelf zone waters as compared to those of the deeper ramp. Unattached free forms are especially common in offshore deeper ramp marls presumably due to their adaption to life on a soft bottom. Solitary attached forms occur in all facies zones where cornulitids are present. Because the life modes of cornulitids are closely associated with particular facies zones, they are useful tools for paleoecological reconstructions.

 Abstract:   First ascribed to the Triploporellacean genus Dissocladella (Pia in Rao & Pia, 1936), the species D. hauteriviana Masse in Masse et al., 1999, was supposedly characterized by a thallus bearing whorls of laterals each consisting of a stumpy primary with a tuft of four slim secondaries at its top. A restudy of the laterals proves that they split, not only once, but several times, and stepwisely decrease in diameter. The species is re-ascribed to the Family Thyrsoporellaceae in a new combination to the genus Deloffrella Granier & Michaud, 1987. Its known stratigraphic range is rather short (Late Valanginian-earliest Barremian). In addition, it disappears earlier than its companion Polyphysacean alga, i.e., Clypeina paucicalcarea (Conrad, 1970), and its geographical distribution is broader, which makes it a good index fossil for lower Urgonian carbonate platform series.

Jean-Paul COLIN (1948 - 2013) passed away at the end of this summer and his departure is a cruel loss for our community, not only as a scientist of international repute, but also as an outstanding organizer and, for a number of us, as a good friend.
Following his PhD degree in micropaleontology from the University of Paris VI in 1973, he spent his entire career in the exploration branch of the oil industry, first with EXXON in Houston and Bègles from 1974 to 1989, and then with ESSO REP in Bègles from 1989 to 2000. (...)
Jean-Paul COLIN was a great field and laboratory naturalist and as a scientific partner was always open to often lively discussion. His enthusiasm for the ostracods was huge and it was a pleasure to discuss with him. (...)
Being a very friendly person, he helped ostracodologists worldwide who went to him with questions, particularly the young.
Besides these activities, Jean-Paul COLIN was member of the editorial board of several international journals. (...) He was Associate Editor of Carnets de Géologie [Notebooks on Geology].

 Addendum:  In order to be complete the bibliographic list of Jean-Paul Colin should also have included the following missing reference (Fida Medina, personal communication): Medina F., Vachard D., Colin J.-P., Ouarhache D. & Ahmamou M'F. (2001).- Charophytes et ostracodes du niveau carbonate de Taourirt Imzilen (Membre d'Aglegal, Trias d'Argana) : implications stratigraphiques.- Bulletin de l'Institut scientifique, Rabat, (section Sciences de la Terre), n° 23, p. 21-26.

 Abstract:   In the present work we review the generic attribution of the Mexican ammonoid species Megatyloceras casei Humphrey, 1949, through a careful examination of the holotype housed in the University of Michigan and with reference to new biostratigraphic data from the type locality. We assign here this species to the subfamily Cheloniceratinae and to the genus Epicheloniceras Casey, 1954.

 Abstract:  Daniel Œhlert (1849-1920): scientific biography and bibliography.- Daniel Œhlert (1849-1920) spent his entire career in Laval (Mayenne, France). His duties as a librarian of the city of Laval, then as curator of the museums of archaeology and natural history of Laval, allowed him freedom to focus on palaeontology and geology. He worked with his wife Pauline both in the field in the departments of Mayenne and Sarthe. In between field trips in the Mayenne and Sarthe, they shared the research during their long stays in Paris, working at the Sorbonne. Œhlert's studies focused mainly on faunas of the Palaeozoic seas of Maine, Anjou and Cotentin. Œhlert devoted himself primarily on describing crinoids, trilobites and brachiopods. In his collection, located in the "Musée des Sciences" (Laval, Mayenne, France), more than 20 new genera with more than 150 new invertebrate species have been described. His geological and stratigraphical work is largely original, involving almost exclusively Palaeozoic areas in the departments of Mayenne and Sarthe, and secondarily in the departments of Orne and Ille-et-Vilaine. In 1884, he took a position at the "Service de la Carte géologique de France". More than a hundred publications spread out from 1877 ended abruptly in 1911 with the death of his wife Pauline. A list of all his works is provided.

 Abstract:  This first report is a revision of fossil calcareous green algae (Dasycladales) described from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene series of Guatemala. Among other things in their 1965 paper J.H. Johnson and H.V. Kaska introduced three new species originally referred to the genera Acroporella, Cylindroporella, and Cymopolia. One species, which has previously been referred to the genus Cylindroporella, is a foraminifer.

 Supplementary material:  Color plates [PDF 1,368 KB]

 Abstract:  This paper discusses the presence of elater-bearing pollen grains and other characteristic paleotropical palynomorphs in the mid to Late Cretaceous Neuquén Group at the El Zampal locality, south of Mendoza Province, Argentina.
The elaterates characterize the equatorial paleofloristic province in the Albian-Cenomanian. The species Elateroplicites africaensis is present in the pollen assemblage recovered from the lower section of the Huincul Formation, a basal  unit of the studied Neuquén Group. It represents the first record of elater-bearing pollen grains in Argentina and marks their southernmost extension. Other conspicuous paleotropical elements recorded in different lithostratigraphic units of the Neuquén Group include gymnospermous polyplicate pollen grains and angiosperm pollen, including two species of the periporate pollen genus Cretacaeiporites and the triporate pollen species Confossia vulgaris. The paleobiogeographic and biostratigraphic significance of the paleotropical sporomorph record in the Cretaceous palynofloras of the Neuquén Group at El Zampal is herein discussed.

 Abstract:  The new orbitolinid foraminifer, Praeorbitolina claveli n.sp., is described from the Lower Aptian (Bedoulian) of Central Iran. It is characterized by an eccentric embryonic apparatus displaying both a subdivided subembryonic zone and a deuteroconch. The Barremian-Aptian orbitolinid association of this area has a typical northern Tethyan character (e.g., "association à Valserina" of Cherchi and Schroeder, 1973).

 Abstract:  New collections of Upper Valanginian - Lower Hauterivian ammonites yield precisions about the biostratigraphical scheme of the Lower Cretaceous in the stratotypical area of Neuchâtel (Swiss Jura Mountains). Thus, Stoicoceras pitrei (Busnardo, 1966) from the "Calcaire roux limoniteux" is reported in the upper Saynoceras verrucosum Biozone (Karakaschiceras pronecostatum Subzone) of the Upper Valanginian. In the Lower Hauterivian, Olcostephanus (O.) variegatus Paquier, 1900, from the upper part of the "Marnes bleues d'Hauterive" and Saynella cf. clypeiformis (d'Orbigny, 1841) from the "Marnes d'Uttins" (top of the lower part of the "Pierre jaune de Neuchâtel") extend greatly the range of the Lyticoceras nodosoplicatum Biozone compared to a more reduced Crioceratites loryi Biozone indicated by Saynella neocomiensis (Baumberger, 1905) and a unique specimen of Crioceratites cf. gr. loryi (Sarkar, 1955) found in 1907.

 Abstract:   The species Ochetoceras (Ochetoceras) canaliculatum (de Buch, 1830 [1831]), discussed here, is certainly the most representative of the Transversarium Zone (Middle Oxfordian) in the Tethyian domain (Mediterranean Province). It appears in the Parandieri Subzone and seems to go extinct in the Stenocycloides Subzone (Late Oxfordian, base of the Bifurcatus Zone). It is abundantly represented in the ammonite populations and has a wide geographical range and has a wide geographical spread. Analysis shows that it is always associated with species referred to Ochetoceras (Ochetoceras) hispidum [M] (Oppel, 1863) and Glochiceras (Glochiceras) subclausum [m] (Oppel, 1863) ; many authors have long thought that it was a single species. These three "species" are thus here united under the name Ochetoceras (Ochetoceras) canaliculatum (de Buch, 1831): macroconchs corresponding to the "morphs" canaliculatum and hispidum are polymorphic evolving from a narrow to a wide whorl cross section whereas the "morph" subclausum is a sexual dimorphic microconch.

 Erratum:  On page 219, one should read:
"À la lecture d'anciennes publications, il est apparu que le nom d'auteur (de Buch) avait été mal transcrit. L'Ammonites canaliculatus Graf von Münster, de Buch, 1831, l'Ammonites hispidus Oppel, 1863, et l'Ammonites subclausus Oppel, 1863, sont maintenant réunies sous l'appellation Ochetoceras (Ochetoceras) canaliculatum (de Buch, 1831)",
instead of:
"À la lecture d'anciennes publications, il est apparu que le nom d'auteur (de Buch) avait été mal transcrit et que la date de création de l'espèce (1831) était erronée : ces faits ont été mis en évidence à l'aide de l'I.C.Z.N. (4^ème édition, 1999), inconnu à l'époque. L'application des articles de ce dernier a permis de corriger ces erreurs. L'Ammonites canaliculatus Graf von Münster -- figurée dans la publication de von Zieten datée de 1832 --, l'Ammonites hispidus Oppel, 1863 et l'Ammonites subclausus Oppel, 1863 -- toutes deux figurées et décrites par cet auteur --, sont maintenant réunies sous l'appellation Ochetoceras (Ochetoceras) canaliculatum (de Buch, 1831)".

 Abstract:  Shallow-water assemblages of transported (freshly reworked) bioclasts (mainly orbitolinids and dasycladales) are observed in the deeper facies of the "Vocontian Trough" (SE France). There these benthic assemblages can be directly correlated with ammonite zones. These new finds give an Early Barremian age to the earliest record of Palorbitolina lenticularis as well as those of four so-called typical Early Aptian representatives of the genus Orbitolinopsis. Actually most orbitolinid species recorded from the Late Barremian interval are now found present in Lower Barremian strata at L'Estellon. Some currently used correlation schemes for the Urgonian platforms, that are based on partial stratigraphic distribution ranges for the orbitolinids, --and consequently derived conclusions and hypotheses-- require at least in-depth revisions when they are not definitively refuted.

 Erratum:   On page 175, first column (bottom), one should read: "2) Genus Dictyoconus Blanckenhorn, 1900", instead of: "2) Genus Dictyorbitolina Blanckenhorn, 1900".

On page 175, second column (top), one should read: "Provisionally attributed to the genus Dictyoconus", instead of: " Provisionally attributed to the genus Dictyorbitolina".

On page 179, second column, one should read: "nor between Dictyoconus ? vercorii and Dictyoconus aff. vercorii", instead of: "nor between Dictyorbitolina ? vercorii and Dictyorbitolina aff. Vercorii".

Similarly, on Plate 8, figs. 10-12, Plate 9, fig. 7, and Plate 10, fig. 4, one should read "Dictyoconus ? vercorii" instead of "Dictyorbitolina ? vercorii".

 Abstract:   The study of the ammonite fauna in the L'Estellon section (Drôme department, SE France) allows us to date episodes with gravitational deposition in this area of the "Vocontian Trough". They span most of the Barremian Stage, from the Nicklesi Zone up to the Giraudi Zone. We did not identify any Bedoulian redeposits, the "Bedoulian ridge" auct. being latest Barremian in age.

 Abstract:  Nine species of cornulitids are systematically described here from the Ordovician of Estonia. The earliest species, Cornulites semiapertus, appears in the late Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician), the next two species appear in the Sandbian and there are a further six new species in the Katian, which indicates a rapid diversification of cornulitids in the Late Ordovician of Baltica. All the studied cornulitids from the Ordovician of Estonia occur in relatively shallow-water normal-marine sediments of a carbonate platform. The cornulitids are found encrusting mostly brachiopod shells (both syn vivo and post mortem).

 Abstract:  A lens of marly limestone at the bottom of the Tertiary series of the Grandes Platières (Platé Massif, Savoy) has yielded the most important collection of fossil vertebrates so far known from the Paleogene of Western Alps. Ungulate mammals are represented by 35 teeth to be referred to 9 taxa (4 perissodactyls and 5 artiodactyls). This new fauna appears contemporaneous with that of La Débruge (MP 18 level), dated at about 35.5 My old. The new locality, called "gisement des Perdrix", is stratigraphically located 20-35 m underneath the other one in which Weidmann et al. (1991) had found mammals to be attributed to the MP 20 level. So the new fauna is about 1.5 My older than this latter. Its faunal composition and the swampy nature of the deposit suggest that the occurring mammals were living in variegated surroundings, with woody areas close to wet marshy ones.

 Abstract:  Biostratigraphical and paleontological studies of lower Aptian material from the Eastern Iberian Chain (Spain) have revealed the presence of a new genus of micromorphic heteromorph ammonite: Xerticeras gen. nov. (type species: Xerticeras salasi sp. nov.). This new taxon comes from the Deshayesites deshayesi and Dufrenoya furcata ammonite zones. The size difference observed in the population is considered due to sexual dimorphism.

 Abstract:  Abundant Skolithos burrows are here described from a possible regressive event bed at Ohesaare cliff (Pridoli), Saaremaa, Estonia. The vertical, cylindrical burrows are identified as Skolithos rather than Trypanites because they intercept and bypass rather than cut bioclasts in the limestone matrix. The absence of encrustation on the upper bedding surface also is evidence that these traces are soft-sediment burrows rather than hardground borings. We interpret this intensive bioturbation by Skolithos-producing organisms as an indicator of a shallow water paleoenvironment with high hydrodynamic energy.

 Abstract:  The discovery of ammonites of the Aptian - Albian transition (Hypacanthoplites jacobi and Leymeriella tardefurcata biozones) in the Urgonian series from the sedimentary section exposed in the Arize massif invalidates their former attribution to the lower Clansayesian which was proposed on the basis of unconstrained paleontological arguments.

 Abstract:  When the species Heteroporella ? paucicalcarea (Conrad, 1970) was erected it was left in open nomenclature. Later on new combinations were introduced but did not meet a general agreement among paleophycologists. Considering the current acception of the Dasycladalean families, we ascribe it to the Family Polyphysaceae and subsequently to the genus Clypeina (Michelin, 1845). Its known stratigraphic range is rather brief (Late Hauterivian-Early Barremian), which makes it a good index fossil in Urgonian carbonate platform series. Its geographical distribution is apparently restricted to Western Europe (France, Spain and Switzerland).

 Abstract:  Hemidiadema rugosum Agassiz, 1846, and H. neocomiense (Cotteau, 1869) are small and poorly known "regular" echinoid species. They were the source of much confusion due to their rarity and the inadequacy of their original descriptions. Both species are revised here to clarify their differences and taxonomic status. This revision is based on six specimens of H. rugosum (including the holotype, not shown by its original author), all from the locus typicus and stratum typicum (Clansayesian [Upper Aptian sensu gallico] "Grès ferrugineux" from Grandpré, Ardennes) and on a single specimen of H. neocomiense from the stratum typicum (Lower Hauterivian (? Lyticoceras nodosoplicatum Zone) "Calcaire à Spatangues" from Ville-sur-Saulx (Meuse), a locality near to the locus typicus (Auxerre, Yonne)). For this latter species, a neotype is designated to replace the holotype that is lost. Remarks on the paleoecology and stratigraphic and geographic distributions of these two species are given. The revision of these two species provides an opportunity to propose an emended diagnosis of the genus Hemidiadema Agassiz, 1846, a poorly known member of the Glyphocyphidae.

 Abstract:  Since the 19th century, about 1800 brachiopod genera or subgenera have been erected for the period covering the Silurian to the Devonian. In recent years, there has been a pronounced increase in the number of genera containing a single species. Without questioning the technological advances, one can, however, question the value and usefulness of monospecific genera both for systematics and palaeogeographical studies. Some editorial policy regarding erection of new monospecific genera and/or the evaluation of calls for projects are now needed.

 Abstract:  The genus Thecidea has been figured before it was described that gave rise to various and erroneous interpretations, in particular by English-writing authors. It must be undoubtedly attributed to Defrance in Cuvier & Brongniart (1822). Four other descriptions derived from the original name Thecidea are nomen nullum, and are partially responsible for confusion before Thecidea was split in several new genera. Finally, only fossil species belong today to Thecidea. The history of the attribution of the author's name to Thecidea is described in detail. The type species and its synonyms, as well as the classification of the Thecidea are given.

 Abstract:  This paper deals with the distribution of belemnites in the latest Hauterivian to early Bedoulian of the Angles Barremian Stratotype Section (ABSS). The distribution of the belemnites in the ABSS is not uniform, mainly due to the inaccessibility of certain beds. To cover this, and to compare the distribution with more proximal settings, we investigated a section to the north of Le Bourguet. The latest Hauterivian sediments mainly yield Hibolithes ex gr. subfusiformis besides some Duvalia ex gr. dilatata. The earliest Barremian sediments deliver a richer association that yields the last Hibolithes spp. The first typical Barremian belemnites occur just one bed above the Hauterivian-Barremian boundary based on ammonites. This belemnite association (BaBA1) consists of Duvalia ex gr. silesiaca-gagrica, Duvalia pontica and several species of Hibolithes. At the boundary between the Nicklesia pulchella and the Kotetishvilia compressissima zones the diversity increases and the first classical Barremian belemnites occur. These were formerly attributed to Mesohibolites (BaBA2). These species are herein attributed to a new genus Shvetsovia. Together with the duvaliids from BaBA1 they were first described from Abkhasia by Shvetsov (1913). The latest Early Barremian (BaBA3) and the earliest Late Barremian (BaBA4) show well diversified belemnite associations, with many classical species, dominated by few genera closely resembling the true Mesohibolites. Eventually, these belemnite associations are compared to more proximal sections within the Vocontian Basin, and areas outside the Vocontian Basin (chiefly Hungary and Georgia). Some differences in the frequency and abundance of several species in these different palaeogeographical settings are believed to indicate differences in natural habitat. Duvalia ex gr. grasiana appears to be more abundant in more distal sections, while juvenile Mesohibolitidae, Conohibolites and Curtohibolites appear to be more abundant in the more proximal environments. Finally, a biozonation is presented and defined based on the distribution of the belemnites in the ABSS. This biozonation appears applicable in the more proximal sections, although some biozones are diachronous. The first Mesohibolites occur in the Upper Barremian Imerites giraudi Zone. In the Barremian-Bedoulian boundary sediments, as defined in the ABSS, Neohibolites first occurs, but the latter is only dominant in the marly sediments above the "calcareous Bedoulian". In the Late Barremian-early Bedoulian seven main belemnite associations can be distinguished, viz. BaBA5, BaBA6, BaBA7, BdBA1, BdBA2, BdBA3 and BdBA4. The following new species and genera are described: Hibolithes keleptrishvilii sp. nov. (latest Hauterivian), Duvalia vermeuleni sp. nov. (Early Barremian), Curtohibolites (?) bourguetensis sp. nov. (Early Barremian), and Shvetsovia gen. nov. (late Early-early Late Barremian). Besides, the Late Barremian yields the new species Mesohibolites anglesensis. Moreover, eleven species are described in open-nomenclature.

 Abstract:  The discovery and exploitation of a new outcrop of the "A¹ Unit of yellow marls and marly limestones" of Leenhardt (1883), comprised between the Urgonian limestones and the "Aptian marls" of the authors, leads to question the generalized attribution of this formation to the Deshayesites grandis ammonite Subzone. Data from this section at Croagnes rather lead to place A¹, at least locally in the stratotypic area of the surroundings of Apt, at the level of the onset of the anoxic event OAE1a, just below the Roloboceras hambrovi Subzone. The assumed isochroneity of this Unit is also questioned.

 Abstract:  A shallow shelf carbonate platform (pelletal limestone facies) stromatoporoid association from the late Sheinwoodian of Saaremaa (Baltica) contains a diverse assemblage of sclerobionts (both epi- and endobionts). The studied stromatoporoids vary from low domical to extended domical shapes. Cornulites sp. aff. C. stromatoporoides, Conchicolites sp., Anticalyptraea calyptrata, microconchids, tabulate (Aulopora sp., Catenipora sp. and favositids) and rugose corals, sheet-like trepostome bryozoans, and discoidal crinoid holdfasts encrust the stromatoporoids. The dominant sclerozoans were tabulate and rugose corals, which is significantly different from several analogous Silurian sclerobiont communities. There may have been taxonomic polarity between an upper surface and a cryptic sclerozoan community. Bioerosion occurs as macroborings in 45.5 % of studied (N=22) stromatoporoids. Endobionts were represented by Trypanites and Palaeosabella borings, as well as embedded symbiotic rugose corals and Cornulites stromatoporoides.

 Abstract:  The limnic ostracode Frambocythere tumiensis zagrosensis subsp. nov. (Limnocytheridae, Timiriaseviinae), has been found for the first time in Iran. The strata containing this species are in the lower part of the Tarbur Formation in the interior Fars of the Zagros Mountains. The Late Maastrichtian age is indicated by rudists, larger foraminifers (Omphalocyclus macroporus, Loftusia spp.) and planktonic foraminifers (Contusotruncana contusa-Racemiguembelina fructicosa Zone) present in the upper part of the Tarbur Formation. The Maastrichtian age is confirmed by the occurrence in the same strata of the charophytes Platychara shanii, Peckichara cristellata and Stephanochara cf. producta. The genus Frambocythere Colin, 1980, was until now known mostly from the Upper Maastrichtian to Middle Eocene of southern Europe, India and China, as well as the Albian of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The presence of Frambocythere gr. tumiensis in Iran is therefore a newly recognized link between southern Europe and the Far East (China).

 Abstract:  The recent "Révision de la Paléontologie française de d'Orbigny (1840-42, tome premier, Terrains crétacés)" has allowed a better understanding of Ammonites calypso (d'Orbigny, 1841), so that a more accurate age of the species is known at its type-locality. At first the authors of this memoir had searched for other specimens in the Valanginian marls of Senez-Lioux in order to give it the most correct age.
The Phylloceratoidea do not give a precise age of the strata from which the specimens were collected so the authors have determined the ammonites from five successive horizons. This work has shown the Lower Valanginian and two zones of Upper Valanginian (the zone with Verrucosum and the zone with Peregrinus ?, the presence of this last zone is less certain). The zone with Furcillata of Upper Valanginian has not been proved.
The Phylloceratoidea are abundant in Senez-Lioux. Six species have been identified: Phylloceras (Hypophylloceras) serum (Oppel, 1865), Phylloceras (Hypophylloceras) tethys (d'Orbigny, 1841), Sowerbyceras calypso (d'Orbigny, 1841), Ptychophylloceras (Semisulcatoceras) semisulcatum semisulcatum (d'Orbigny, 1841), Ptychophylloceras (Semisulcatoceras) semisulcatum (d'Orbigny, 1841) diphyllum (d'Orbigny, 1841), Phyllopachyceras rogersi (Kitchin, 1908) and a new species: Phylloceras (Goretophylloceras) liouxense n. sp. This new species was found in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (material collected by Philippe Mercier and Bernard Joly) and in the Drôme area (material collected by Laurent Vareilles and Philippe Mercier).
These ammonites are small (diameter 5-28 mm) and seem to belong to the juvenile stage. For a long time the Vocontian basin seems to have been the egg-laying area of these Cephalopods. In the Valanginian marls there are specimens whose diameter is less than 5 mm. They have not been determined in this study. However their presence is significant. The pyritic specimens and the iron oxide specimens (for example the limonitic specimens) are not necessarily small in size. In the marly facies there are very large pyritic specimens, which are among the largest known (Joly, 2000, p. 173). In Senez-Lioux the smallest specimens are not the nuclei of the largest ones. They are not small adults because we are unable to see the contraction of the last septa showing the slowing down of their growth. The beginning of the body chamber, which is present in many of the specimens, proves that these specimens were merely not nuclei and definitely they have not attained sexual maturity.
The many specimens gathered permitted a statistical study of the populations especially of the species Phylloceras (Hypophylloceras) serum (Oppel, 1865), Phylloceras (Hypophylloceras) tethys (d'Orbigny, 1841), Phylloceras (Goretophylloceras) liouxense n. sp., Ptychophylloceras (Semisulcatoceras) semisulcatum semisulcatum (d'Orbigny, 1841), and Ptychophylloceras (Semisulcatoceras) semisulcatum (d'Orbigny, 1841) diphyllum (d'Orbigny, 1841). The species Sowerbyceras calypso (d'Orbigny, 1841) and Phyllopachyceras rogersi (Kitchin, 1908) are represented by very few specimens.
The fossils gathered in some deposits from the Drôme and Ardèche area have allowed us to further our knowledge about the Valanginian faunas of the Vocontian Basin. In particular they have permitted the statistical study of a population of the very rare species Ptychophylloceras (Semisulcatoceras) semisulcatum semisulcatum (d'Orbigny, 1841) as only one specimen was identified among the fossils gathered in the deposits of Senez-Lioux but is more abundant in the Valanginian from the Drôme.

 Abstract:  The Thuoux section, located in South-Eastern Basin of France (coordinates: 44°30'55"E; 5°42'25"N), is a section that satisfies numerous demanding criteria as reference section (GSSP) for the base of the Oxfordian stage. Sedimentation was continuous in that the abundant ammonitic fauna yields no detectable hiatuses. The stratigraphic boundary is located between the Lamberti Zone and the Mariae Zone or more precisely between the Paucicostatum horizon (Marchand, 1979) and the Thuouxensis horizon (Fortwengler & Marchand, 1994a). In this section, there is a perfect mixing between Boreal ammonites (Cardioceratinae) whose species are used as stratigraphic markers and Submediterranean/Subboreal ammonites (Hecticoceratinae, Peltoceratinae and Perisphinctinae) that provide further possibilities for wide correlation of this boundary. Finally, parallel ammonite zonations have been established with great  precision (biohorizons and sometimes "sub-biohorizons") in various areas of France, with different palaeoenvironments. The Thuoux section permits correlations with central and eastern Europe as well as North America, based on Cardioceratinae successions, and with South America, using Peltoceratinae. Thickness of the Callovian-Oxfordian transitional beds in the Thuoux section has allowed detailed sedimentological studies and astronomical calibration of the Lower Oxfordian (Boulila, 2008; Boulila et al., 2008). The Thuoux section is located at the centre of a set of more than thirty sections where the base of the Oxfordian stage is visible (Fortwengler, 1989; Fortwengler & Marchand, 1994a, b, c, d).

 Abstract:  The Aïn Settara section (Kalaat Senan, central Tunisia) shows a continuous and well exposed marl-limestone alternation, extending from the Upper Maastrichtian to the basal Danian. The section reveals the superposition of several cycles, which correspond to the combined astro-climatic effect of both eccentricity and precession. Based on the ~100-kyr eccentricity and the ~21-kyr precession cycles, a floating chronometric scale is proposed. Thanks to this scale, the sedimentary and biological events of the section are dated with respect to the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary taken as the reference. Highlighting the very stable 405-kyr eccentricity cycle allows on one side to confirm the relevance of the established time scale and on the other side to determine the phase of this important signal with respect to the K-Pg boundary event.

 Abstract:  The beds of early Tertiary age in eastern Saudi Arabia are in large part chemical precipitates laid down in a shallow epicontinental sea. The sequence is divided into three formations, each clearly differentiated in both lithology and fauna. From bottom to top they have been named the Umm er Radhuma, Rus and Dammam formations. Ecologic conditions remained more or less uniform for considerable lengths of time. Consequently, the fauna, made up mainly of Foraminifera, became well adapted to the environment, as demonstrated by the abundance of some species. The great number of individuals of these species have a range of variability much broader that that seen in other areas of their occurrence. The detailed study of these variations has demonstrated that species have often been defined on too small a number of individuals. The abundance of specimens has allowed evolutionary trends in species to be traced even to the extent that in the end some variants must be classed as a discrete genus.

Nestor John SANDER (December 5, 1914 - February 11, 2012), "Sandy" for his friends, was a living history book, describing himself as a positivist. (...) Nestor was sent as a junior geologist for his first assignment to Saudi Arabia (...). That was before World War II started and much before the country became known as the major worldwide oil producer. (...) Nestor was one of the founders of Carnets de Géologie: many non-native English speakers will remember him as a very kind and generous person who, for instance, helped them polish their manuscripts.

 Abstract:  Cloudina, an important Ediacaran index fossil, is considered as one of the earliest biomineralizing organisms. Its biological affinities have not been fully resolved and phylogenetic links with both annelids and cnidarians have traditionally been suggested. Differences in tube morphology, ultrastructure and biomineralization suggest that Cloudina is not closely related to any recent skeletal annelid (e.g., serpulids, sabellids and cirratulids) and their skeletons are not homologous. The way of asexual reproduction in Cloudina resembles more that of cnidarians. The presence of a closed tube origin (base) in Cloudina is also compatible with the hypothesis of an animal of cnidarian grade.

 Abstract:  Shell repair is common in the late Silurian (Pridoli) encrusting tentaculitoid tubeworm Anticalyptraea calyptrata from Saaremaa, Estonia (Baltica), and is interpreted here as a result of failed predation. A. calyptrata has a shell repair frequency of 29 % (individuals with scars) with 17 specimens. There is probably an antipredatory adaptation, i.e. extremely thick vesicular walls, in the morphology of Silurian Anticalyptraea. The morphological and ecological evolution of Anticalyptraea could thus have been partially driven by predation.

 Abstract:  Although Risso's collection has not been found, the current list of twelve recent brachiopod species and thirteen fossil ones identified and described by Risso (1826) in the marine and terrestrial vicinities of Nice deserves revision by taking into account the synonyms accepted today. Adding Argyrotheca cistellula reported in 1920, the list of the extant species of brachiopods collected in the Mediterranean Sea has remained the same until 1994, date from which it increases by two species. Three of the species described by Risso as belonging to Terebratula have been attributed as new species to him: Joania cordata, Argyrotheca cuneata, Lacazella mediterranea, all three are type species of their genus. For the fossil species, only two were identified as synonyms for Terebratula terebratula. Criticized several times, sometimes too severely, for his works on the Mollusca, to which the Brachiopoda were attributed, Risso (1826) as an amateur naturalist completed a honourable work on this latter group, entirely comparable with those of the majority of its contemporaries and more recent authors on this group.

 Abstract:  In the Berry area, situated in the center of France, the Oxfordian deposits are represented by successions of well individualized and dated formations in which brachiopods have been studied in detail. Several assemblages of brachiopods were found that have given indications on the age of the levels. Some have been recognized within areas more or less far away allowing us to establish correlations.

 Abstract:  The genus Xenobrochus, with the type species Gryphus africanus Cooper, 1973, was erected for short-looped brachiopods of small size, rectimarginate and having a loop with anteriorly convex transverse band. A new species of Xenobrochus, X. norfolkensis sp. nov. has been identified in the material collected during the French cruises SMIB 8, NORFOLK 1 and NORFOLK 2 to the Norfolk Ridge, New Caledonia, SW Pacific. This species differs from those hitherto described in the absence of cardinal process and relatively wide outer hinge plates. The genus, represented now by nine species, has a distribution restricted to the Indian Ocean and West Pacific.

 Abstract:  The Aralar Mountains located in northern Spain exposes a 983-m-thick succession of sediments of Early Aptian age. The lithological succession evolves from lutites, marls, and calcarenites of the Errenaga Formation to rudist micritic limestones of the Sarastarri Formation, and finally marls, lutites, and sandstones of the Lareo Formation. Based on ammonite assemblage faunas, the Deshayesites oglanlensis, D. weissi, D. deshayesi, and Dufrenoyia furcata biozones have been identified. A transition between the deshayesi and furcata zones with the co-occurrence of the ammonite genera Deshayesites and Dufrenoyia is described in the Aralar succession and is currently unique. The ammonites are described here and correlations are made with other Tethyan regions.

 Abstract:  A chevron bone from a Lower Bathonian oolitic limestone in the Ardennes (NE France) is referred to the sauropod dinosaur Cetiosaurus Owen, previously known from the Middle Jurassic of England, on the basis of its rod-like distal end. This is the first well attested occurrence of Cetiosaurus in France. The presence of Cetiosaurus remains in the Bathonian of both Oxfordshire and the Ardennes is explainable by the fact that these regions were situated on the margin of the London-Brabant Massif land area, on which sauropod populations apparently lived. Contrary to the condition observed in other sauropods found in insular environments, there is no evidence of dwarfism in Cetiosaurus from the London-Brabant Massif, probably because this emergent area was connected to the much larger Fenno-Scandian Shield.

 Abstract:  Although the walls of most serpulid tubes are homogeneous, tubes of certain species may contain up to four ultrastructurally distinct layers. Some of these layers are made of densely packed large crystals and others are composed of sparsely packed fine crystals. In almost all (16 of 17) examined species having layered tubes, the dense layer is located in the outer wall part and the layer(s) composed of fine and relatively sparsely packed crystals are positioned in the inner wall part. Two species have transparent tube walls made entirely of densely packed crystals. Fossil serpulid tubes with dense outer layers (DOL) are known from the Late Cretaceous (Pentaditrupa subtorquata) and the Eocene (Pyrgopolon cf. mellevillei and Rotularia spirulaea). DOL gives a characteristic smooth shiny appearance to the tube surface and presumably evolved as an adaptation against drilling predation by gastropods and to delay shell dissolution in the waters of the deep-sea under-saturated with calcium carbonate.

 Abstract:  The identification of some twenty ammonite fragments from oil wells drilled in offshore Abu Dhabi revealed the presence of six Aptian genera: Cheloniceras, Epicheloniceras, Gargasiceras, Colombiceras, Pseudohaploceras, and Macroscaphites. These ammonites indicate the Furcata Zone and the succeeding Martini Zone. The Gargasian age of the upper part (HST) of the Shu'aiba as well as that of the whole of the Bab are thus firmly established.