A new hypothesis for the origin of the supposed giant snail Dinocochlea from the Wealden of Sussex, England     

Paul D. Taylor  Consuelo Sendino 《Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. Geologists' Association》2011,122(3):492-500

When first described in 1922, Dinocochlea ingens, an Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) fossil from the Wadhurst Clay Formation (Wealden) of Hastings in Sussex, England, was regarded as the steinkern of a huge gastropod over 2 m in length and claimed to be the largest gastropod ever to have lived. Most subsequent researchers have doubted the identity of D. ingens as a gastropod, usually believing it to be a pseudofossil, but no convincing explanation has been proposed for its origin. Restudy of the type material leads to the new hypothesis that Dinocochlea originated as a horizontal, corkscrew-shaped burrow resembling Helicodromites that acted as a nucleus for concretion growth. Sectioned specimens of Dinocochlea are filled with concentrically banded sediment interpreted to be growth rings of a concretion. Modification of a computer simulation designed to illustrate gastropod shell growth shows how the development of a concretion around a corkscrew-shaped burrow could lead to the morphology seen in Dinocochlea. The most likely tracemaker for Dinocochlea was a capitellid polychaete (‘threadworm’) with a body just a few mm in diameter.  相似文献   

古沙漠记录的沉积体系及层序地层研究进展——以鄂尔多斯盆地白垩系为例   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

庞军刚  国吉安  李文厚  李卫红 《地层学杂志》2011,(1):95-102

鄂尔多斯盆地白垩纪古沙漠沉积地层主要为冲积扇、湖泊、河流、三角洲及沙漠沉积体系.风成沉积和沙漠沉积、风成沉积体系和沙漠沉积体系等概念有必要予以区分.基准面变化是沙漠和河流、湖泊等其他陆相地层对比的基础.鄂尔多斯盆地志丹群划分为上下两个三级层序单元,反映了两期古沙漠由风成沉积强盛期到衰退期的演化,且每个层序可划分为低位、...  相似文献   

松辽盆地白垩系综合年代地层学研究新进展   总被引：10，自引：0，他引：10  

黄清华  吴怀春  万晓樵  贺怀宇  邓成龙 《地层学杂志》2011,(3):250-257

生物地层学研究表明,火石岭组、沙河子组和营城组均产Cicatricosisporites,Klukisporites,Densoisporites和Aequitriradites等早白垩世代表分子,登娄库组产Cicatricosisporites exilis-Hymenozonotriletes mesozoicus...  相似文献   

Distribution of continental red paleosols and their forming mechanisms in the Late Cretaceous Yaojia Formation of the Songliao Basin, NE China     

Xuebin Du  Xinong Xie  Yongchao Lu  Jianye Ren  Shun ZhangPenglin Lang  Tao ChengMing Su  Cheng Zhang 《Cretaceous Research》2011,32(2):244-257

  相似文献   

Integrated biostratigraphy and carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Albian) Adriatic-Dinaridic carbonate platform deposits in Istria, Croatia     

Blanka Cvetko Tešovi?  Bosiljka Glumac 《Cretaceous Research》2011,32(3):301-324

The Adriatic-Dinaridic carbonate platform (ADCP) was one of the largest and relatively well preserved Mesozoic platforms in the Mediterranean region (central Tethys). The peninsula Istria, in the northwestern part of the ADCP, is built up predominantly of shallow-water carbonates of the Middle Jurassic (Dogger) to Eocene age and, to a lesser extent, of Paleogene clastic deposits (flysch and calcareous breccia). This study focuses on a Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Albian) succession of strata at five localities in western Istria. Stratigraphic determinations are based on identification of nine microfossil assemblages (benthic foraminifera and calcareous algae Dasycladales) and on using their taxa as index fossils. The age of strata with these microfossil assemblages, however, is questionable. Most of the age uncertainties are associated with a regional emersion, which occurred on the ADCP during the Aptian or close to the Aptian-Albian transition. It is unclear what portions of the Upper Aptian and/or Lower Albian are missing along this unconformity. A stable isotope study was conducted on homogenous micritic matrix samples in an attempt to resolve some of these uncertainties. Variations in carbon isotope compositions proved useful for stratigraphic correlation between the examined successions of strata, for improving their age determination, and for relating them to other coeval successions that span an important time interval of major oceanographic changes and carbon-cycle perturbations associated with the Early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE 1a).  相似文献   

Large hatchling size in Cretaceous nautiloids persists across the end-Cretaceous mass extinction: New data of Hercoglossidae hatchlings     

Ryoji Wani  Ken’ichi KuriharaKrishnan Ayyasami 《Cretaceous Research》2011,32(5):618-622

The hatchling sizes of the Cretaceous nautiloids (Hercoglossa forbesianus and Cimomia angustus; Hercoglossidae) are reported here for the first time as ranging between 20.4-22.2 mm in diameter. These new data for Hercoglossidae and the previously reported data for Nautilidae and Cymatoceratidae suggest that all Cretaceous nautiloids had large hatchlings irrespective of their taxonomy relative to those in ammonoids. Based on the relationship between hatching events and the nepionic constriction in modern nautili, the hatchling size of nautiloids can be recognized by the constriction on the shell surface of the innermost whorl. The range of hatchling diameter in all Cretaceous nautiloids (9-35 mm) is comparable to those of modern nautili (20-32 mm), although the Cretaceous nautiloids are characterized by a wider range with the smaller minimum diameter. The large hatchling size in Cretaceous nautiloids stands in marked contrast to those in ammonoids, which had much smaller hatchling size (mostly <2 mm in diameter) and became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. Such distinct differences in reproductive strategy (i.e., hatchling and egg sizes) suggest that these differences may have played a significant role in the fate of ammonoids and nautiloids through the K/T mass extinction, as previously hypothesized by several paleontologists.  相似文献   

Palynological and geochemical response to environmental changes in the Lower Cretaceous in the Outer Western Carpathians; a record from the Silesian unit, Czech Republic     

Petr Skupien  Alexandra Smar?ová 《Cretaceous Research》2011,32(4):538-551

Rich dinoflagellate cyst assemblages recorded from the Vendryne Formation, Tesin Limestone, and Hradiste Formation of the Silesian unit, Czech Republic are presented. The results of a qualitative and quantitative study of dinoflagellate cysts are presented and discussed. Age-assessment of the sediments based on 86 species suggests a Late Tithonian to Early Berriasian age for the Vendryne Formation and a Late Berriasian (Otopeta Ammonite Zone) to the basal part of the Late Valanginian (Verrucosum Ammonite Zone) age for the Tesin Limestone. Pelitic flyschoid sediments of the Hradiste Formation belong to the Late Valanginian - Early Hauterivian age. Quantitative palynological study and carbon isotope analysis were applied to understand the change from the grey clays to dark grey clays sedimentation. The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages show deposition in a shallow-sea environment. An increasing amount of sporomorphs towards the overlying layers (they are the most abundant in the Hradiste Formation) shows a growing supply of terrestrial material at the same time. The values of δ¹³C increased significantly from a level of 0.43 or 0.75-1.81‰ in the Late Valanginian. This change probably indicates an increase in organic matter storage and perturbation of the carbon cycle connected with the dark grey clays sedimentation.  相似文献   

Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Northern Qaidam Basin, NW China: Implications for the earliest Cretaceous intracontinental tectonism   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Lei Wu  Ancheng Xiao  Liqun WangZhongyan Shen  Suping ZhouYuanzhong Chen  Liang Wang  Dong LiuJunya Guan 《Cretaceous Research》2011,32(4):552-564

Formation of Mesozoic western China, which was dominated by tectonic amalgamation along its southern margin and associated intracontinental tectonisms, holds a key for interpreting the succedent Cenozoic evolution. This paper presents new data including lithology, sedimentary facies, stratigraphic contact, seismic interpretation and paleo-structures within the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous strata in the northern Qaidam Basin, NW China. These data all account for a contractional tectonic deformation in the earliest Cretaceous. The South Qilian Shan, according to the sedimentary features and provenance analysis, reactivated and exhumated during the deformation, controlling the deposition of the Lower Cretaceous sequences. A simplified model for the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous paleogeography and tectonics of the northern Qaidam Basin is accordingly proposed. The results also support a ∼25° clockwise rotation of the Qaidam Basin since the Early Cretaceous and a more accurate Mesozoic evolution process for the basin. This earliest Cretaceous deformation, associated with the reactivation of the South Qilian Shan at the time, are part of the intracontinental tectonisms in central Asia during the Mesozoic, and probably driven by both the closure of the Mongol-Okhostk Ocean to the north and the collision of the Lhasa and the Qiangtang blocks to the south.  相似文献   

峡江-广丰和三南-寻乌火山岩带晚中生代粗面岩SHRIMP锆石U-Pb年龄   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7       下载免费PDF全文

巫建华  刘飞宇  刘帅 《地质论评》2011,57(1):125-132

江西及广东北缘呈近EW向展布的峡江-广丰火山岩带和三南(全南、定南、龙南)-寻乌火山岩带,是我国东南部中生代以高钾钙碱性长英质火山岩为主体的火山岩带的组成部分.峡江-广丰火山岩带的石溪盆地、三南-寻乌火山岩带的三百山盆地和大长沙盆地出露少量粗面岩,粗面岩所含锆石具有明显的振荡环带,Th/U比值高,属典型的岩浆成因锆石....  相似文献   

Description and Phylogenetic Position of Dinosaur Eggshells from the Luanchuan Area of Western Henan Province, China     

Kohei TANAKA  Lü Junchang  Yoshitsugu KOBAYASHI  Darla K. ZELENITSKY  XU Li  JIA Songhai  QIN Shuang  TANG Min’an 《《地质学报》英文版》2011,85(1):66-74

Here, we examine 145 dinosaur eggshells from a new fossil locality in the Qiupa Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of the Luanchuan area in western Henan Province, China. The eggshells display elongatoolithid macro- and microstructures, including ridges and nodes on the outer surface, two ultrastructural layers, and an undulatory boundary between the mammillary and continuous layers. A phylogenic analysis shows that the Luanchuan eggshells belong to the ooclade Elongatoolithidae. Within Elongatoolithidae, the thickness ratio of the mammillary layer to the entire eggshell, and the porosity of the Luanchuan eggshells are comparable to the oogenera Macroolithus and Elongatoolithus. There is no direct evidence for the taxonomic identity of the Luanchuan eggshells; however, they were likely laid by oviraptorids based on their phylogenetic position and their similarities with known oviraptorid eggs.  相似文献