On a New Reptile from Welte Vreden (Beaufort West), EUNOTOSAURUS AFRICANUS (Seeley)

The amniote temporal roof and the diapsid origin of the turtle skull.

Fossils provide a glimpse into the architecturally complex origins of modern vertebrate body plans. One such origin that has been long debated is that of turtles. Although much attention has been directed toward the origin of the shell, the enigmatic evolution of the turtle skull and its anapsid temporal region has long clouded our understanding of reptile phylogeny. Two taxa, Eunotosaurus afri...

Reptile Diversity in an Amazing Tropical Environment: the West Indies

Cousinia elymaitica (Cardueae, Asteraceae) a new species from west of Iran

Cousinia elymaitica, which has been collected from western Iran, is described in this paper as a new species. This new species has been assigned to the sect. Pugioniferae on the basis of its habit, purple corolla and decurrent leaves. Its closest related species is C. macroptera. A distribution map and an illustration of the related specimens have also been provided.  

A new genus and species of Thyasiridae (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from deep-water, Beaufort Sea, northern Alaska

Bivalve mollusk shells were collected in 2350 m depth in the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean off northern Alaska. Initial identification suggested the specimens were a member of the bivalve family Thyasiridae, but no known eastern Pacific or Arctic living or fossil thyasirid resembled these deep-water specimens. Comparisons were made with the type of the genera Maorithyas Fleming, 1950, Spinaxinus O...

First Diagnostic Marine Reptile Remains from the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic): A New Ichthyosaur from Southwestern Germany

BACKGROUND The Middle Jurassic was a critical time in the evolutionary history of ichthyosaurs. During this time interval, the diverse, well-studied faunas of the Lower Jurassic were entirely replaced by ophthalmosaurids, a new group that arose sometime prior to the Aalenian-Bajocian boundary and by the latest middle Jurassic comprised the only surviving group of ichthyosaurs. Thus, the Middle ...