The peridiniacean dinoflagellate cyst Manumiella seymourensis new species described herein characterizes Maastrichtian shallow marine sediments cropping out on Seymour Island, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. It dominates palynological assemblages throughout the lower Maastrichtian (and possibly uppermost Campanian) to lower upper Maastrichtian part of the López de Bertodano Formation. Despite its superficial similarity to some other southern mid to high paleolatitude Campanian-Maastrichtian species, M. seymourensis represents a discrete, biostratigraphically useful population of peridiniacean cysts. Its morphology and size parameters remain consistent throughout almost all of its stratigraphic range, equated with relatively stable environmental conditions throughout much of the Maastrichtian in the James Ross Basin. Morphological variations, equated with environmental change, are apparent in specimens in the lowermost and uppermost parts of its range.

A modest assemblage of hexactinellid and calcareous sponges from the Pennsylvanian (Moscovian) Dikanre Formation has been recovered from the Uygur Autonomous Region in eastern Xinjiang Province in northwestern China. Hexactinellids include the reticulosid Stereodictyum proteron Rigby and Washburn, 1972, and the new amphidiscosid species Stioderma sinensis, S. micra, and S. mega. This is the first time the genera Stereodictyum and Stioderma have been reported from Asia. Also included in the assemblage is a silicified porate permosphinctan, Amblysiphonella cf. barroisi Steinmann, 1882, which is the first report of that genus from northwestern China. Species of Stioderma are described from nearly complete specimens for the first time. Previously described species have been based on isolated spicules or relatively small fragments.

Eospongilla morrisonensis n. gen. and sp., the oldest-described freshwater sponge (Demospongea: Spongillidae), is found in the Upper Jurassic (?Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian to Tithonian) Morrison Formation, east-central Colorado, U.S.A. Eospongilla morrisonensis occurs within the well-developed lacustrine carbonate succession of the Morrison Formation, and is represented by two micritic body fossils with calcite-replaced megascleres that range in length from 180 to 300 μm and in diameter from 20 to 35 μm. Megascleres are simple oxeas and strongyles and lack apparent ornamentation, possibly due to the diagenetic replacement. The oxeas are straight but the strongyles display a slight curvature. Microscleres are absent; gemmoscleres were not observed.

Two new fossil worms are described from the Lower Cambrian Kinzers Formation of southeast Pennsylvania. Both are unique specimens. Kinzeria crinita new genus and species has a body divided into three regions. The head bears a prominent set of elongate tentacles, presumably employed for feeding. The elongate trunk tapers slightly in a posterior direction. It contains a prominent intestinal tract, the contents of which indicate a deposit feeding habit. The tail is an expanded structure, with either a spatulate or sagittate outline. The mode of life of K. crinita is uncertain, but the animal may have been semi-sedentary. Atalotaenia adela new genus and species is more poorly known, lacking the anterior. The preserved body is vermiform, with external annulations and a rounded posterior. There is a prominent internal strand, consisting of a probable intestine and an associated fibrous unit, possibly representing muscles. This worm may have been infaunal. These discoveries extend further our understanding of the ancient diversity of Laurentian Burgess Shale-type faunas. In common with the Burgess Shale itself and the Sirius Passet fauna (Peary Land, Greenland) the location of fossil-Lagerstätte [see Shields (1998) for a discussion of the terminology of Lagerstätten] of the Kinzers Formation adjacent to a prominent escarpment reinforces earlier evidence of the paleotopography exerting an important control on the distribution of Burgess Shale-type faunas. Whether this is a result of localized faunal abundances or taphonomic control is, however, uncertain.

The scolecodont genera Nereidavus Grinnell, 1877, and Protarabellites Stauffer, 1933, have been used for several different fossil polychaete taxa over the years. Nereidavus is here considered a nomen dubium, as the holotype of the type species is lost and the original information is insufficient for identification. Protarabellites is reevaluated and constitutes, besides Ramphoprion, a second genus in the family Ramphoprionidae. The “paratype” of N. varians (named Ramphoprion sp. in this paper), and the holotype of P. humilis are redescribed.

The first formal report of Tertiary portunid crabs for Mexico is based on two new species, Portunus atecuicitli and Necronectes tajinensis, from the middle Miocene beds of the Tuxpan Formation in Veracruz, east-central Mexico. Associated crustacean remains include fragments of calappid fingers, calappid carapace fragments possibly assignable to Matuta Fabricius, and callianassid hands. Low tolerance to osmotic variations of recent species of Portunus confirms paleoenvironmental interpretations for shallow, euryhaline, tropical waters during deposition of the Tuxpan Formation.

Complete exoskeletons of species of eight genera of Siluro-Devonian Scutelluinae show the morphology of the cephalon and thorax, particularly glabellar lobation, the wide inward extent of the doublure, and the development of fulcral processes and sockets, the latter more prominent on the external surface in stratigraphically younger species. The thorax of ten segments has axial rings with an articulating furrow and halfring as in most trilobites. The differences between the exoskeletons of Scutelluinae and Illaenidae are many, and imply anatomical differences. It is considered that Scutelluinae are related to the Ordovician Stygininae, and are to be united with them in Styginidae; a common origin for Styginidae and Illaenidae appears questionable.

The genus Cordania Clarke, 1892, has been known from the Lower Devonian (Lochkovian-Pragian) of the Appalachian Province and apparently from the Lower-Middle Devonian of China. Probable Lochkovian strata of the Biddabirra Formation in the Amphitheatre Group from near Cobar, New South Wales, Australia, have yielded Cordania buicki new species, extending the range of the genus to eastern Australia. Cladistic analysis of Cordania identifies C. buicki as more closely related to species from Oklahoma than to a northern Appalachian grade.

Bairdiid ostracodes are commonly present in the Pennsylvanian marine zones in the Appalachian basin. Thirty-one taxa are recognized representing the genera Bairdia McCoy, 1844; Orthobairdia Sohn, 1960; Cryptobairdia Sohn, 1960; Rectobairdia Sohn, 1960; Bairdiolites Croneis and Gale, 1939; and Bairdiacypris Bradfield, 1935. Two questionable bairdiid genera, Entmema new genus and Hastacypris Croneis and Gutke, 1939, are included. Seven new taxa, Bairdia cuspidis, Rectobairdia absidata, R. apiculata, R. levis, R. sohni, Entmena distenta, and Hastacypris acutula, are described. Fabalicypris Cooper, 1946, is considered a junior synonym of Bairdiacypris Bradfield, 1935.

The diversity of bairdiids is significantly lower in the Appalachian basin than in the Eastern Interior and Western Interior basins.

The Kohl Ranch locality in the Naco Formation (Upper Carboniferous, Desmoinesian) of central Arizona contains an ostracode fauna of 13 species of which three are left in open nomenclature because of inadequate materials; all of the others have been previously described. This fauna is strongly dominated by Hollinella (Hollinella) bassleri (Knight, 1928), Cavellina pulchella Coryell, 1928, Bairdia whitesidei Bradfield, 1935, and Bairdiacypris (Fabalicypris) regularis Cooper, 1946. Present in moderate numbers are Amphissites (Amphikegelites) roundyi Knight, 1928, Moorities minutus Warthin, 1930, and Healdia simplex Roundy, 1926. Pseudobythocypris tomlinsonella Cooper, 1946, Bairdia hoxbarensis Harlton, 1927, Sulcella sulcata Coryell and Sample, 1932, and species of Oliganisus, Sansabella and Chamishaella are represented by only small numbers of specimens. The dominant and moderately abundant species indicate a shallow, offshore environment of deposition. The known geographical range of all species present in the fauna is extended into central Arizona.

A crinoid and stelleroid fauna is described from the Famennian (Late Devonian) Broken Rib Member of the Dyer Formation of the White River Plateau, Colorado. The fauna postdates the Late Devonian extinction event. Six new crinoid species described, including the new genus Tarassocrinus, are: Strimplecrinus dyerensis, Catactocrinus? torus, Hypselocrinus? bisonensis, Gilmocrinus? albus, Eireocrinus? coloradoensis, and Tarassocrinus synchlydus. The cladid-dominated crinoid fauna is transitional between earlier Devonian and later Carboniferous faunas. It contains the first report of Cupressocrinites (a Famennian Lazarus taxon) and Eireocrinus? in North America and extends ranges of several Carboniferous genera into the Late Devonian. A preliminary revision of the Rhenocrinidae is recommended. The family Glossocrinidae is recognized, and the Cupressocrinitidae are transferred to the Gasterocomacea.

A new stelleroid genus and species, Pleiadeaster inceptus (Asteroidea; family unknown), and an ophiuroid, Ophiopolytretus aethus (Ophiuroidea; Lapworthuridae?) are named. In addition, Hudsonaster (Hudsonasteridae; Asteroidea) and two unassigned asteroids are present, and three further stelleroids cannot be assigned to the class level. Pleiadeaster and Hudsonaster are important because they suggest that the Late Devonian might have been a time of transition for asteroids. Ophiopolytretus aethus is an oegophiurid ophiuroid with distinctive respiratory? pores penetrating the disk plates.

Over 600 elements of the Ordovician conodont index Eoplacognathus suecicus Bergström, 1971, were obtained from the Segerstad and Skärlöv Limestones at the Lunne section, which is the type locality of E. suecicus, and at the Kullstaberg section both in Jämtland, Sweden. Specimens of E. suecicus from different stratigraphic levels and representing different growth stages show obvious morphological differences. The stratigraphically early elements of E. suecicus are very similar to the stratigraphically late elements of Eoplacognathus pseudoplanus (Viira), being distinguished mainly by the appearance of the secondary postero-lateral denticle row in the stelliplanate element. Eoplacognathus suecicus apparently was derived from E. pseudoplanus, and probably evolved into Eoplacognathus lindstroemi (Hamar).

The change in depositional environments observed in the Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) strata in the region of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, from the proximal coastal plain deposits of the Oldman Formation to the lowland coastal plain deposits of the Dinosaur Park Formation, reveals an associated change in faunal composition. An assemblage collected from a microvertebrate site in the paralic deposits of the Lethbridge Coal Zone (uppermost Dinosaur Park Formation) reflects an increasing marine influence. Elasmobranch (sharks and rays) remains are the most abundant, both in terms of number of overall taxa and number of elements, and they are the best-preserved specimens. However, several brackish-water-tolerant osteichthyan taxa, and four reptile taxa (two marine and two terrestrial), were also recovered, although they exhibited evidence of extensive taphonomic reworking.

The elasmobranch fauna collected from the Dinosaur Park locality is uncommon for vertebrate microfossil assemblages in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta and in equivalent beds in Montana. Seven of the 10 taxa collected from this site [Cretorectolobus olsoni Case, 1978; Eucrossorhinus microcuspidatus Case, 1978; Odontaspis aculeatus (Cappetta and Case, 1975); Archaeolamna kopingensis judithensis Siverson, 1992; Protoplatyrhina renae Case, 1978; Ischyrhiza mira Leidy, 1856; and Ptychotrygon blainensis Case, 1978] are recorded for the first time from the uppermost section of the Judith River Group in Alberta; Carcharias steineri (Case, 1987), represents the first occurrence within the upper Judith River Group from either Alberta or Montana.

A new species, Bananogmius ellisensis n. sp., known only from the holotype, is described from the Blue Hill Shale Member (Upper Cretaceous, middle Middle Turonian) of the Carlile Shale Formation in western Kansas. The skull and anterior portion of the specimen is well-preserved and was subjected to little post-mortem deformation suggesting rapid burial. The nearly complete skull shows three characters that separate the fish from other species of Bananogmius: a straight, rather than ventrally curved dentary, a narrow band of teeth on the dentary that does not extend onto its lateral side, and a cylindrically-shaped articular condyle of the quadrate. The uncompressed preservation of the skull reveals a pair of long structures ventral to the mandible that are also found, but not described for some other Bananogmius species. Based on the positions of muscles in extant teleosts, these structures are most likely the mineralized protractor hyoidei muscles. Furthermore, these structures may be homologous with ventral structures found in Tselfatia. The presence of Bananogmius adds a new ecological component to the Blue Hill Shale fauna.

A new species of protocetid archaeocete, Eocetus wardii n. sp., is named based on material from the late Lutetian (middle Eocene, 43-44 Ma) Comfort Member of the Castle Hayne Formation, North Carolina. This material includes portions of the skull, thoracic, lumbar and caudal vertebrae, ribs, and the right innominate. The innominate (pelvis exclusive of the sacral vertebrae) has some characters in common with the innominata of other protocetids, including sufficient size to support a weight-bearing hind limb. This suggests that Eocetus wardii was capable of both terrestrial and aquatic locomotion. The innominate also includes some features in common with basilosaurid archaeocetes including a shift in the relative positions of the pubis and obturator foramen. In addition, the bone histology of Eocetus is found to be very different from that of other archaeocetes and sirenians (sea cows and dugongs). The ribs and vertebrae are composed of a central area of trabecular bone enveloped by layers of dense cortical bone. Eocetus has previously only been known from a few specimens from Gebel Mokattam near Cairo, Egypt. This identification makes Eocetus the only protocetid archaeocete genus known from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The graphic correlation technique has been used to directly relate the stratigraphic appearances of key species in the Bashkirian Stage stratotype to those in a North American composite section. The type Bashkirian is separated from the underlying Serpukhovian Stage by an erosional unconformity and associated lacuna of undetermined, but probably minor duration. Accordingly, the base of the type Bashkirian (base of Bogdanovkian Horizon) is only slightly younger than the international mid-Carboniferous boundary. A level within the upper part of the Tashastian Horizon (Upper Bashkirian Substage) most likely correlates with the Morrowan-Atokan boundary. This level roughly coincides with a sequence boundary at the Bashkirian stratotype and with a regional unconformity in the North American midcontinent. The top of the Bashkirian Stage (top of Asatauian Horizon) is lower Atokan in North American terms. On the basis of recent 40Ar/39Ar and SHRIMP zircon geochronology studies, the age of the mid-Carboniferous boundary is estimated at 314 Ma and a horizon of early Atokan age is dated at 310.8 Ma. Accepting the present biostratigraphic correlations, these values suggest a duration for the Bashkirian Stage of slightly more than 3.2 m.y. and a duration of the Morrowan Series of slightly less than 3.2 m.y.

This note presents the first stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and systematic account of Silurian foraminifers in Wisconsin, which include nine previously described species of Ammodiscus, Glomospirella, Hemisphaerammina, Hyperammina, Lagenammina, Psammosphaera, Stomasphaera, Thurammina, and Webbinelloidea (Appendix 1). Early Silurian carbonates in this area (Fig. 1) were deposited in shelf and ramp environments in the western part of the Michigan Basin (Harris et al., 1998), and the foraminifers are associated with macrofaunal communities that represent Benthic Assemblages BA3 to BA5 of Brett et al. (1993).

Silicified agglutinated foraminifers were obtained from acidinsoluble residues processed for conodonts, sponge spicules, and macrofauna (Watkins et al., 1994; Kuglitsch, 1996; Watkins and Kuglitsch, 1997; Watkins and Coorough 1997a, 1997b). Silicification of the specimens, rather than a composition of agglutinated siliceous grains, is indicated by lack of detrital silica in enclosing dolostones, variable detail of preservation, and association with other silicified fossils.

John K. Page, Chief of the Production Section of the Zoological Record has kindly informed us (personal commun., 16 November 1998) that the generic name Tetraloba Alvarez, Rong, and Boucot, 1998 (Brachiopoda: Athyridida) (Alvarez et al., 1998, p. 843) is preoccupied by an insect (Collembola) genus published by Lee, 1983. According to Article 60 of the ICZN rules, we here propose Quadriloba (from the Latin, quattuor, four and lobus, a rounded projection or protuberance) as replacement name for Tetraloba Alvarez, Rong, and Boucot, 1998, not Tetraloba Lee, 1983.

Dr. Thomas Waller has called our attention to a taxonomic problem involving our choice of Lyriomyophoria as the generic assignment for a recently described Triassic bivalve (Boyd and Newell, 1997). We are grateful for his help in finding and analyzing the pertinent literature.