Documented fossil evidence of zygomycetous fungi is rare. A conspicuous fungal fossil, Jimwhitea circumtecta gen. et sp. nov., occurs in permineralized peat from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica. The fossil is interpreted as a mantled zygosporangium that buds from a macrogametangium subtended by a sac-like macrosuspensor. The macrogametangium is united at its tip with a microgametangium which is subtended by a micro-suspensor. This configuration is strikingly similar to the zygosporangium-gametangia complexes seen in certain modern Endogonaceae. Co-occurring with J. circumtecta are isolated propagules closely resembling the zygosporangium of J. circumtecta and a portion of a sporocarp containing zygosporangia embedded in a gleba. Several of the sporangia are borne on ovoid or elongate structures, which we interpret as gametangia. These fossils offer an exceptionally detailed view of the morphology and reproductive biology of early Mesozoic zygomycetes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3852/11-384 | DOI Listing |
BMC Ecol Evol
January 2025
School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve active flight. The lack of many well-preserved pterosaur fossils limits our understanding of the functional anatomy and behavior of these flight pioneers, particularly from their early history (Triassic to Middle Jurassic). Here we describe in detail the osteology of an exceptionally preserved Middle Jurassic pterosaur, the holotype of Dearc sgiathanach from the Isle of Skye, Scotland.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
November 2024
College of Plant Protection, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China.
Ithonidae (moth lacewings) are an enigmatic, small family of the insect order Neuroptera (lacewings). Its phylogenetic position within Neuroptera and internal subfamily relationships remain unresolved. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Tillyard, 1916 representing the first mitogenome of Ithoninae, as well as the complete mitogenome of Liu, Li and Yang, 2018, were newly reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFiScience
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, Sichuan, China.
To reveal the stratigraphic age of the Shiqianfeng Formation in the eastern continental basin of the North China Craton and the provenance of its sediments from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Triassic, six sandstone samples from the Puyang area were selected for zircon U-Pb dating. The result show that the Shiqianfeng Formation in the eastern North China Craton belongs to the Early Triassic. According to the age clusters of six samples, considering the regional geological setting and the distribution of zircon ages in the potential provenance area, it can be inferred that the Inner Mongolia Paleo-uplift provided continuous provenance supply for the study area during the Late Carboniferous-Early Triassic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeerJ
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) successfully passed through the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) and flourished in the Triassic with diverse feeding specializations and occupation of various trophic levels. , one of the largest actinopterygian fish of the Triassic, was characterized by a strong, blunt rostrum and three rows of sharp cutting-edged teeth, making them the top predators in the Early Mesozoic oceanic ecosystem. These fishes rapidly radiated and diversified globally during the Early and Middle Triassic, but the fossil record is rare for the Neo-Tethys in the Late Triassic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZookeys
November 2024
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing China.
A new scytinopterid species, , is established based on a tegmen collected from the Middle Triassic Tongchuan Formation in Shaanxi Province, NW China. The new species can be easily separated from its congeners by the narrow tegminal apex, less curved terminal branches of stems RP, M and CuA and crossvein - connected to long vein M. This discovery represents the first record of from the Tongchuan Formation in China and suggests that the genus spread much more widely from Gondwana to northern Pangea in the Middle Triassic.
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