An introduction to Jurassic biodiversity and terrestrialenvironments

Slater, Sam M.; Kustatscher, Evelyn; Vajda, Vivi

doi:10.1007/s12549-017-0316-x

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…Fishes from high palaeolatitude deposits of that age include acanthodians, chondrichthyans and placoderms [10,11], with bony fishes only well represented in the Late Devonian [12]. This mirrors the taxonomically depauperate Early-Middle Devonian invertebrate communities from southern high latitudes characterizing the Malvinokaffric Realm, a central feature of Devonian biogeography [13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The oldest Devonian circumpolar ray-finned fish?

2021

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Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) are the most diverse group of living fishes, but have a sparse Devonian fossil record restricted to low palaeolatitudes. Here we report a new actinopterygian from the Paraná Basin of Brazil, which occupied a circumpolar position in the Palaeozoic. Available geological evidence supports a Middle Devonian or older age for this taxon, which shares features of the mandibular symphysis with the latest Devonian Tegeolepis . A phylogenetic analysis resolves these two as sister taxa. This new record expands the palaeogeographic distribution of Devonian ray-fins and suggests that gaps in their fossil record might be filled by exploring poorly sampled high-latitude localities within the Malvinokaffric Realm.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The oldest Devonian circumpolar ray-finned fish?

2021

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Dinosaur-plant interactions within a Middle Jurassic ecosystem—palynology of the Burniston Bay dinosaur footprint locality, Yorkshire, UK

Slater

Wellman

Romano³

et al. 2017

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

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Dinosaur footprints are abundant in the Middle Jurassic Ravenscar Group of North Yorkshire, UK. Footprints are particularly common within the Bathonian Long Nab Member of the Scalby Formation and more so within the socalled 'Burniston footprint bed' at Burniston Bay. The Yorkshire Jurassic is also famous for its exceptional plant macrofossil and spore-pollen assemblages. Here we investigate the spore-pollen record from the dinosaur footprint-bearing successions in order to reconstruct the vegetation and assess possible dinosaur-plant interactions. We also compare the spore-pollen assemblages with the macroflora of the Scalby Ness Plant Bed, which occurs within the same geological member as the Burniston succession. The spore-pollen assemblages are dominated by Deltoidospora spp., the majority of which were probably produced by Coniopteris. Lycophyte spores (including megaspores) are common in the Yorkshire Jurassic, but lycophyte parent plants are extremely poorly represented in the macroflora. Seed ferns, represented by Alisporites spp., are moderately abundant. Conifer pollen assemblages are dominated by Araucariacites australis (probably produced by Brachyphyllum mamillare), Perinopollenites elatoides and Classopollis spp., with additional bisaccate pollen taxa. Abundant Ginkgo huttonii in the macroflora suggests that much of the monosulcate pollen was produced by ginkgoes. The diverse vegetation of the Cleveland Basin presumably represented an attractive food source for herbivorous dinosaurs. The dinosaurs probably gathered at the flood plains for fresh-water and also used the non-vegetated plains and coastline as pathways. Although assigning specific makers to footprints is difficult, it is clear that a range of theropod, ornithopod and sauropod dinosaurs inhabited the area.

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Palynology of Jurassic (Bathonian) sediments from Donbas, northeast Ukraine

Shevchuk

Slater

Vajda

2018

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

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A palynological and sedimentological study of an outcrop succession adjacent to the village of Kamyanka within the Kharkiv region of northeast Ukraine was carried out. The successions occur within the Dnieper-Donets Basin, which hosts vast successions (> 20 km) of post midDevonian strata and is one of the main hydrocarbonproducing basins in Europe. Middle Jurassic sandstones, siltstones and claystones represent the sedimentary successions at the Kamyanska locality. Few palynological studies have been performed on the Jurassic of Ukraine and even fewer presented in the international literature. Thirty spore taxa and 21 pollen taxa were identified, together with taxa kept in open nomenclature (e.g. bisaccate pollen). Two palynological assemblages were identified within the Kamyanska succession (assemblages A and B) dated as Bathonian. Assemblage A is dominated by the fern spores (Cyathidites and Osmundacidites) and gymnosperm pollen produced by Cupressaceae (Perinopollenites elatoides), ginkgophytes/Cycadales/ Bennettitales (monosulcates) and Cheirolepidiaceae (Classopollis). Assemblage B differs in also comprising high abundances of Gleicheniidites and higher percentages of Pinuspollenites and Araucariacites compared to assemblage A. Another difference between the two units is the high relative abundance of seed fern pollen (Alisporites) in the upper part of assemblage B. The thermal alteration index (TAI) of the palynomorphs is estimated to range from 3 to 3.5, indicating a burial depth corresponding to the mature main phase of liquid petroleum and, to some extent, gas generation. Comparisons between the miospore and macrofloral assemblages show that the palynoflora and macroflora are strongly similar at broad taxonomic levels. Importantly, the miospore assemblages described here compare well with European Middle Jurassic assemblages indicating limited provincialism, with similar vegetation extending from eastern Ukraine and across most of Western Europe.Keywords Mesozoic . Kamyanka . Petroleum . Vegetation . Thermal alteration index (TAI) . Dnieper-Donets Basin ІntroductionThe Jurassic is an interesting period in the Earth's history as it saw the rise to ecological dominance of the dinosaurs, the evolution of birds, extant sub-classes of mammals, the fragmentation of Pangea and two major flood basalt events, both associated with massive biotic change. This took place in a context of generally elevated CO 2 and muted latitudinal temperature gradients; i.e. temperature differences between the tropics and the polar regions were less extreme compared to the present (Steinthorsdottir and Vajda 2015; Slater et al. 2018a, this issue). The poles were ice-free, and the vegetation was characterised by little provincialism (Vajda and WigforssLange 2009). However, in order to compare and contrast the vegetation between different regions through the palynoflora,

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An introduction to Jurassic biodiversity and terrestrialenvironments

Cited by 4 publications

References 29 publications

The oldest Devonian circumpolar ray-finned fish?

The oldest Devonian circumpolar ray-finned fish?

Dinosaur-plant interactions within a Middle Jurassic ecosystem—palynology of the Burniston Bay dinosaur footprint locality, Yorkshire, UK

Palynology of Jurassic (Bathonian) sediments from Donbas, northeast Ukraine

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