A new crocodylomorph fossil specimen (ML2631) from the Upper Jurassic of Lourinhã (Portugal) is described, based on a partially preserved skull table and braincase. The specimen was recovered from the Zimbral vertebrate microfossil assemblage, located in the lower part of the Praia Azul Member of the Lourinhã Formation (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian transition). The fossil was scanned using high-resolution micro-computed tomography (µCT), enabling the digital reconstruction of internal cranial structures, such as the brain cavity, cranial nerves, inner ear and paratympanic sinus system. These reconstructions represent the first neuroanatomical data ever reported for Atoposauridae, a clade of small-bodied neosuchian crocodylomorphs common in the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous of Europe. Phylogenetic analysis places ML2631 within Atoposauridae and contributes to resolving previously uncertain relationships within the group. Although fragmentary, ML2631 exhibits a unique combination of anatomical features, including a dorsolaterally open cranioquadrate passage, a sagittal crest along the frontal and parietal, a large, posteriorly placed and septate choana, large supratemporal fenestrae with a distinct posterior fossa and a squamosal lobe bearing a discontinuous lateral groove. These traits, amongst others, distinguish ML2631 from all other known atoposaurid species. Additionally, its neuroanatomical proportions suggest a dwarf adult individual with low-frequency auditory sensitivity and moderate visual acuity, consistent with a primarily terrestrial or nearshore lifestyle, coherent with the depositional environment of the fossil site. Taken together, these results highlight the taxonomic and evolutionary relevance of the specimen and underline the importance of future discoveries of more complete material to confirm its systematic and phylogenetic status within Atoposauridae.

Chyzeriidae Womersley, 1954, is a family of trombidiform mites characterized by unique body structures and habits, though it has not been well studied. A new genus and species, Cretachyzeria macrosetagen. et sp. nov., in the subfamily Pteridopinae of Chyzeriidae, found in Cretaceous amber in Myanmar, provides the first formally described fossil species in this family. A phylogenetic study of Chyzeriidae based on postlarval morphology supported the morphological classification. The dorsal setae of Cretachyzeria macrosetagen. et sp. nov. are extremely long and dense, resembling the quills of a porcupine. This unusual morphological structure likely served specific biological functions. We hypothesize that these long setae functioned as a specialized defense, protecting the fragile abdomen and aiding in predator deterrence in its complex environment. Given the geological time frame of this fossil mite and the wide distribution of extant Chyzeriidae, we propose that the family existed prior to the breakup of Pangaea.

Among extant lycophytes, Selaginella (Selaginellaceae, spike mosses) is the most species-rich genus, with over 700 described species. The evolutionary history of this lycophyte genus dates back to the Carboniferous or even Devonian; however, amber-preserved Selaginella fossils were previously only described from mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. Here, we report the first fossil from Miocene Dominican amber attributable to Selaginella based on macromorphological characters and compare the fossil morphology to extant species of the genus. Selaginella jorelisiaesp. nov. can be identified based on the presence of symmetric ovate dorsal trophophylls with scattered teeth or cilia at the margins and an aristate apex, and ventral elliptic trophophylls with an apiculate apex and rounded base, with cilia on the acroscopic proximal margin and teeth all along the rest of the margin. Fossil and subfossil Selaginella representatives from the Greater Antilles have been described based on middle Oligocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene microspores or megaspores. Selaginella jorelisiae fills a gap in the local fossil record as it represents the first evidence of Selaginellaceae from the Miocene of these islands. While the previously discovered rich cryptogamic diversity from Dominican amber is considered to represent epiphytic communities, S. jorelisiae was most likely a component of the herbaceous layer of these humid tropical forests.

Here we describe a new specimen of Archaeopteryx sp. from the lower Tithonian Mörnsheim Formation in the Franconian Alb of Bavaria, Germany. This fossil is the third avialan specimen found in this formation. The skeleton comprises the right forelimb and shoulder as well as fragments of the left forelimb and both hind limbs. The lengths of the humerus and ulna are most similar to those of the Munich specimen of Archaeopteryx. Despite the specimen having been massively altered by late diagenesis, it can be referred to Archaeopteryx sp., based on the morphology of the furcula, coracoid, humerus and radius, as well as a manual ungual, which nests within the morphospace of Archaeopteryx rather than that of Anchiornis. Phylogenetic analyses also support the assignment of the new specimen to Archaeopteryx. Due to the fossil’s state of preservation, as well as the still-unresolved taxonomy of the genus Archaeopteryx on the species level, an identification beyond genus remains impossible.

The Middle–Late Triassic Grabfeld Formation formed in a generally arid, hostile setting with frequent evaporation under alternating sabkha and playa conditions. Here we report evidence of four temnospondyl taxa from the upper part of the sequence (‘Bunte Estherienschichten’), including (1) Metoposaurus sp., (2) a capitosaur, (3) Gerrothorax sp. and (4) Plagiosternum sp. This early Carnian assemblage provides the stratigraphically oldest evidence of metoposaurids and the last report of plagiosternines in the Central European Basin. The stratigraphic age of these strata and the occurrence of Metoposauridae therein sheds new light on the palaeogeographic distribution of the group and their occurrence before the Carnian Pluvial Event.

The Middle Triassic capitosaur Mastodonsaurus giganteus was the largest temnospondyl and the dominating aquatic predator in many European freshwater to brackish ecosystems. It is represented by numerous size classes, which are described and analysed for the first time. The documented size range encompasses specimens between 12–15 mm and 1200 mm in skull length. Early growth stages are restricted to dentaries and interclavicles, whereas juveniles are represented by partial skulls, mandibles, and girdles. The smallest specimens already possessed diagnostic features of the taxon, and small juveniles also shared the dermal ornament with larger specimens. The heavy, disc-shaped intercentra were established early in the juvenile phase. Cranial proportions were remarkably conservative throughout ontogeny, with the orbits proportionately decreasing in size only very moderately, the postorbital skull becoming slightly longer and the occipital margin more concave in the largest forms. Analysis of frequency distributions of M. giganteus in different Lower Keuper deposits in southern Germany reflects habitat preferences in specific phases of its life cycle. The coal-bearing deposit at Gaildorf yielded unusually large specimens with relatively well-ossified appendicular skeletons. In the more common lake shore facies, only adult specimens are present. In turn, juveniles might have dwelled in calmer environments. Smaller lakes were apparently less attractive than larger or deeper water bodies that provided sufficient resources for several temnospondyls, and juvenile specimens have been identified from all of them. The diverse actinopterygian fish fauna provided prey for all growth stages of the large temnospondyl predators.

No abstract necessary

Although there are problematic earliest Jurassic records, phytosaurs are thought to have become extinct during the Rhaetian. A newly-discovered left paramedian phytosaur osteoderm from a clay pit in Bonenburg, Kreis Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is the youngest, well-dated phytosaur record. This osteoderm was found in a bone bed (Bone Bed 2) in the Contorta Beds of the Rhaetian Exter Formation. Palynology constrains the age of Bone Bed 2 to the late middle Rhaetian (ca. 203.5 million years ago). The Bonenburg osteoderm cannot be assigned to any named species. It most closely resembles some osteoderms from the Rhaetian of Halberstadt in Central Germany. Phytosaurs survived in Europe to at least the late middle Rhaetian, probably falling victim to the end-Triassic extinction event about two million years later.

A new Darwin wasp species, Lithoserix oublierisp. nov. is described and illustrated from the early Oligocene limestone formation Calcaires de Campagne-Calavon in the Luberon Region, France. It represents the third species of this extinct genus, which was first described from the late Eocene Florissant Formation in Colorado, US and later found in Aix-en-Provence, France, from the late Oligocene. The taxonomic placement of this genus in the context of tribal classification is analysed and discussed, based on geometric morphometrics of the fore and hind wing venation of fossil and extant Pimplinae species. The results suggest that Lithoserix does not belong to the same group as the extinct genus Crusopimpla, but rather represents a more basal genus within Pimplini or belongs to an extinct separate tribe, closely related to Pimplini.

As a famous fossil Lagerstätte, the mid-Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) amber from Kachin, northern Myanmar, harbors one of the most diverse Mesozoic palaeobiotas yet discovered. Over the past few years, reports of organisms trapped in Kachin amber have increased exponentially. Ostracods, as fully aquatic animals, are so far represented in Kachin amber by two records of specimens without soft parts (1 valve and two carapaces) as well as an exceptional assemblage with well-preserved soft parts comprising 39 specimens of three species assigned to the families Candonidae and Loxoconchidae. Since the last-mentioned focused on the exceptional preservation of giant sperm and reproductive organs in only one species, we here present in-depth morphological descriptions of all three species including a new genus: Myanmarcypris hui Wang et al., 2020, Electrocypria burmiteigen. et sp. nov., and Sanyuania sp. We further describe taphonomic traits indicating that the studied ostracods were quickly surrounded by resin and instantly immobilized. The palaeoenvironment is considered to be a vegetated brackish (mesohaline-oligohaline) lagoon.