{"title":"Barremian pyritic ammonites from the western External Rif (northwest Morocco)","authors":"Mohamed Benzaggagh","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the External Rif, northwest Morocco, the Barremian Stage is represented by a thick (200<!--> <!-->m) marl and marly limestone series. This series, particularly in the western part of the External Rif, is locally rich in pyritic ammonites. Four Barremian outcrops (Malha, Jebel Meguedrouz, Jebel Bourhzine, and Mrejet), located between Mjara and Mrejet have been studied. Collected ammonites (931 specimens) from the four outcrops allow the identification of 38 species, characterizing the Hauterivian and the lowermost Barremian, at the Mrejet section; the uppermost lower Barremian, at Mrejet and Bourhzine sections, and the upper Barremian, at Mrejet and Malha sections. These species are described and illustrated for the first time from the External Rif. Most of them are reported for the first time from the studied area. They are common to several Lower Cretaceous basins of the southern and northern margins of the Tethys, mainly NE Algeria, SE Spain, SE France, Italy, eastern Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Stratigraphic and paleogeographic distributions of each species are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 2","pages":"Article 102757"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143759974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alfred Lemierre , Salvador Bailon , Annelise Folie , Michel Laurin
{"title":"New pipimorphs from the Late Cretaceous of Niger","authors":"Alfred Lemierre , Salvador Bailon , Annelise Folie , Michel Laurin","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In Becetèn, in southeast Niger, is one of the few mid-Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian-Santonian) fossiliferous localities in Africa where multiple anuran taxa are known. Two of them, <em>Pachycentrata taqueti</em> and <em>Inbecetenanura ragei</em>, have been described from In Becetèn. Both are pipids, a clade composed of exclusively aquatic anurans. Beside these two pipids, numerous isolated bones have also been referred to anurans within the site, but never referred to any known less inclusive taxa. Here we describe several identified cranial and postcranial bones referable to Pipidae or its stem-group, which together constitute Pipimorpha. Among these elements, three cranial elements are referred to two unnamed pipimorphs. One of these has gondwanomorph affinities (pipids<!--> <!-->+<!--> <!-->South American and African extinct pipimorphs). These conclusions are supported by our phylogenetic analyses. Numerous postcranial elements are not referable to any of the four pipimorph taxa identified at In Becetèn, although some ilia might be tentatively referred to ?<em>Pachycentrata</em> sp. The presence of at least four distinct anuran taxa makes In Becetèn the most diverse anuran site in Mesozoic Africa. It is also the first site in the Mesozoic where four pipimorph taxa are identified. The dominance of pipimorphs in the anuran diversity of the site suggests that In Becetèn was likely more lacustrine than previously thought.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 2","pages":"Article 102751"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Les empreintes de dinosaures du Jurassique inférieur de Peyre (Aveyron, France) : fouille récente et nouvelles données ichnologiques révélées par imagerie 3D","authors":"Jean-David Moreau , Jacques Sciau , Ethan Jean","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102868","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102868","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>At the end of the 20th century, dinosaur footprints were discovered at Peyre, in Aveyron (Causses Basin, southern France). At that time, the tracksite was limited to a single fossiliferous surface bearing a dozen of Lower Jurassic footprints. Recent excavations (2022–2024), led along a 23<!--> <!-->m thick stratigraphic section revealed six additional track-bearing surfaces. Dinosaur tracksites showing such a high density of track-bearing surfaces along such a short section are uncommon in the fossil record and extremely rare in the Causses Basin. Today, the tracksite displays 126 footprints some of which reach 49<!--> <!-->cm in length. Tracks are preserved <em>in situ</em> as concave epireliefs on the surface of dolomitic beds. Some footprints are well-preserved, showing details of digit, pad and claw marks. The excavation and 3D modelling by photogrammetry revealed several morphologies of tridactyl footprints. Biometric analyses combined with photogrammetric imaging indicated the co-occurrence of three ichnotaxa: <em>Eubrontes giganteus</em>, <em>Grallator variabilis</em> and <em>Kayentapus</em> isp. The high density of footprints unidirectionally oriented suggests repeated passages of theropods whose migrations were restricted by local physical barriers (coastlines, topography). Tracks are preserved in dolomite with cryptalgal laminites, mud cracks and ripple marks. The depositional environment is interpreted as a tidal flat periodically flooded then emerged.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 2","pages":"Article 102868"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The affinities of the extinct giant tortoise “Testudo” punica from the Pliocene of Tunisia with the genus Titanochelon","authors":"Evangelos Vlachos","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102754","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102754","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The discovery of giant tortoises around the Mediterranean has transformed our understanding of their evolutionary history, with recent findings suggesting complex lineage dispersals between Africa and Europe. Historically, Mediterranean tortoise species were considered isolated, but studies now suggest that some African lineages may have migrated to Europe, while other distinct groups inhabited Mediterranean islands. “<em>Testudo</em>” <em>punica</em> from Tunisia, a giant tortoise from the early Pliocene, requires re-examination to assess its lineage accurately. This study re-evaluates its morphology within this newly complex phylogenetic context, highlighting the need for further research on circum-Mediterranean tortoise evolution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 2","pages":"Article 102754"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144116314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A rare occurrence of Lamellaptychus (ammonoid jaw) from the Tethyan Himalaya and updated Indian aptychus record","authors":"Suraj Bhosale , Bhawanisingh G. Desai , Ketan Chaskar , Archchi Sarkar","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102756","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102756","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The jaw apparatuses of ammonoids are rarely discovered in the fossil record. Here, we describe the first and sole record of the aptychus type lower jaw of ammonoid <em>Lamellaptychus lamellosus</em> (Parkinson, 1811) from the Tethyan Himalaya. The aptychus was collected from the Demul section, representing the succession of Upper member of the Spiti Shale Formation. It is discovered from a micaceous silty clay horizon with bivalves (<em>Inoceramus</em>), serpulids, gastropods, ?brachiopods, crinoid ossicles, belemnites and ammonites. The age-diagnostic ammonites, ?<em>Streblites</em> (Oppeliidae) and cf. <em>Aulacosphinctes</em> sp. (Himalayitidae), suggest a Late Tithonian (Ponti–Microcanthum zones) age for the aptychus. The para-species <em>L. lamellosus</em> is recorded for the first time and attributed to oppeliid, though in-situ material is required for a conclusive result. Given the latest advances in the aptychus study, the previous Indian records are re-evaluated. The results suggest that <em>L. kachhensis</em> (Trauth, 1938) from Kachchh Basin is a para-subspecies of <em>L. sparsilamellosus</em> (Gümbel, 1861) rather than a valid para-species of <em>Lamellaptychus</em> genus. In addition, a closer observation of placenticeratid ammonite jaws from the Cretaceous of Narmada Basin shows that bivalves were misidentified as aptychi.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 2","pages":"Article 102756"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdelkader Oudni , Riadh Aouissi , Rachel Kruft Welton , El Hadi Mazouz , Nouh Rebouh , Abdelkader Khiari
{"title":"First insight on macroinvertebrates of Chebket Es Sellaoua (NE Algeria): Some significant ammonites from the lower Mantelliceras mantelli Zone (lower Cenomanian)","authors":"Abdelkader Oudni , Riadh Aouissi , Rachel Kruft Welton , El Hadi Mazouz , Nouh Rebouh , Abdelkader Khiari","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102870","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2025.102870","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present work is the first paleontological study on the macroinvertebrates of Chebket Es Sellaoua in Northeastern Algeria, a Cenomanian formation rich in ammonites. Twelve ammonoid species belonging to 9 genera, 7 families and 1 order from the lower Cenomanian <em>Mantelliceras mantelli</em> Zone, are systematically described and illustrated. Among them, <em>Phylloceras</em> (<em>Goretophylloceras</em>) <em>subalpinum</em> (d’Orbigny), <em>Puzosia compressa</em> (Kossmat), and <em>Mantelliceras picteti</em> (Hyatt) are recorded for the first time in this location. The <em>Mantelliceras mantelli</em> Zone represents the first two thirds of the whole lower Cenomanian. Two subzones are reported in this Zone: the first one is marked by the abundance of <em>Desmoceras</em> (<em>Desmoceras</em>) <em>latidorsatum</em> (Michelin) and <em>Ostingoceras costulatum</em> (Pervinquière) and coincides with the <em>Sharpeiceras schlueteri</em> Subzone. The second one corresponds to the <em>Mantelliceras saxbii</em> Subzone associated with <em>Puzosia compressa</em>, <em>Mantelliceras picteti</em> and <em>Scaphites</em> spp. The present ammonites are well known from the western Neo-Tethys (Europe, North Africa, Middle East) and the eastern Neo-Tethys (Africa, Madagascar and India) in addition to other areas of the world.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 2","pages":"Article 102870"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mise en évidence d’une formation siliceuse oligocène de type meulière dans le nord du bassin d’Aquitaine (Saint-Jean-d’Angle, Charente-Maritime, SO France)","authors":"Didier Neraudeau , Roch-Alexandre Benoit","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Outcrops of fossiliferous Palaeogene deposits are identified for the first time in the northern part of the Aquitaine Basin, at Saint-Jean-d’Angle, locality of Malaigre, in the Rochefort area (Charente-Maritime). They provide silicified deposits of a millstone facies, with a fossiliferous content rich in charophyte remains (gyrogonites, stems, “roots”) and in freshwater gastropods (hydrobioids, limnaeids). A preliminary study of the charophytes allowed to observe in the more or less translucent siliceous matrix gyrononites close to the genera <em>Lychnothamnus</em>, <em>Sphaerochara</em> and <em>Harrisichara</em>. On the palaeogeographical and palaeoenvironmental points of view, these silicified facies give evidence of the marine regression started during the late Eocene that lead to the continentalisation of the northern Aquitaine and the regional development of lacustrine areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 1","pages":"Article 102753"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Systematics and taphonomy of Pliocene Gastropoda (Mollusca) from the Dahra Mountains, NW Algeria","authors":"Madani Benyoucef , Bernard Landau","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Palaeontological investigation of the Pliocene Tahria and Slama formations in the Lower Chelif Basin (NW Algeria) led us to collect significant gastropod assemblages for taxonomic and taphonomic purposes. There is presently a very complete inventory list of Pliocene gastropods from Algeria, with 16 species from the Zanclean Tahria Formation and 54 species from the Piacenzian Slama Formation, some of which are recorded for the first time from the Pliocene of the Mediterranean. The northwestern Algeria gastropods represent a shallow-water, fully marine fauna, sandy substrate, and show a typical Upper Pliocene Mediterranean assemblage. The gastropod shells show significant taphonomic alteration; most specimens are abraded and decalcified to a variable degree. Fragmentation was mainly a result of mechanical and biological processes. Bioerosion traces are uncommon, but when they are present, they are predominantly those of predatory gastropods (<em>Oichnus simplex</em> and <em>Oichnus paraboloides</em>), polychaete activity (<em>Maeandropolydora</em> isp.), and acrothoracican barnacle borings (<em>Rogerella</em> isp.). Integration of taphonomical, palaeoecological, and sedimentological characteristics of the gastropod-bearing beds suggests sedimentological concentrations originated from discontinuous processes of winnowing and bypassing sediments, most likely due to storm action in the shoreface depositional environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 1","pages":"Article 102752"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Garry Singla , Birendra P. Singh , Om Narain Bhargava , Ramanpreet Kaur , Vishal Verma
{"title":"Oryctocephalus salteri biozone (Wuliuan, Miaolingian) in the Sumna Valley, Spiti, Himalaya","authors":"Garry Singla , Birendra P. Singh , Om Narain Bhargava , Ramanpreet Kaur , Vishal Verma","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We precisely demarcate the <em>Oryctocephalus salteri</em> biozone in the Cambrian Parahio Member (Kunzam La Formation) well exposed on the southwest-facing slope above the right bank of the Sumna River, Spiti. The FAD and LAD of <em>O. salteri</em> are located at 46.5<!--> <!-->m and 60.8<!--> <!-->m respectively, indicating a 14.3<!--> <!-->m local stratigraphic range of the taxon along the section in Sumna Valley, Spiti. The <em>O. salteri</em> biozone is demarcated with a precise stratigraphic range of the eponymous species. This biozone contains trilobites <em>O. salteri</em>, <em>Kunmingaspis stracheyi</em>, <em>Poriagraulos</em> sp., <em>Ziboaspis hostilis</em>, <em>Hundwarella memor</em>, and <em>Xingrenaspis hoboi.</em> Based on the presence of the key taxon <em>Hundwarella,</em> the <em>O. salteri</em> biozone of the Kunzam La Formation (Spiti) is correlated with the <em>Tonkinella-Hundwarella</em> bearing level in the Nutunus Formation, Kashmir region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 1","pages":"Article 102749"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143095972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Brachiopod biodiversity and characteristics from the Campanian Stratotype region (Les Charentes and Dordogne, France)","authors":"Danièle Gaspard, Florent Goussard","doi":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.annpal.2024.102750","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the purpose to reveal the Campanian heritage in the stratotype region, we took the opportunity to highlight, among the diverse fauna, the brachiopods: benthic marine invertebrates reported since the 19th century but never really detailed till now. The phylum Brachiopoda, present since the Cambrian, decreased in number of orders after the Permian-Triassic crisis with a replacement of taxa and another crisis after the Jurassic, but representatives are still present during the Cretaceous, even the Campanian till now. The limits of this stage were explicit since the mid 19th century for the basal part with the first occurrence of <em>Rhynchonella globata</em>, and the reports of several authors during the 20th century for the upper boundary. Noteworthy species (one Craniiformea and nearly twenty Rhynchonelliformea) are studied and positioned in a context with lithostratigraphic units, biozones, and six formations (Fm) named after different drillings. Using tomography to reveal the brachidium of some species was highly helpful. The environments in which lived the brachiopod species, from the lower to the upper Campanian, are evoked.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50780,"journal":{"name":"Annales de Paleontologie","volume":"111 1","pages":"Article 102750"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143135606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}