Phylogenomic Resolution of the Class Ophiuroidea Unlocks a Global Microfossil Record

A New Morphological Phylogeny of the Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) Accords with Molecular Evidence and Renders Microfossils Accessible for Cladistics

Ophiuroid systematics is currently in a state of upheaval, with recent molecular estimates fundamentally clashing with traditional, morphology-based classifications. Here, we attempt a long overdue recast of a morphological phylogeny estimate of the Ophiuroidea taking into account latest insights on microstructural features of the arm skeleton. Our final estimate is based on a total of 45 ingro...

A 200,000-year, high-resolution record of diatom productivity and community makeup from Lake Baikal shows high correspondence to the marine oxygen-isotope record of climate change

Siliceous microfossil succession was analyzed in a 200,000-yr sediment sequence recovered from the Buguldeika Saddle in Lake Baikal, Russia. Siliceous microfossil abundance varied among core depths from no preserved microfossils during inferred colder climate conditions to recent interglacial sediments containing over 300 3 106 microfossils per g dry sediment. Depth-age microfossil assemblage z...

Global Diversity of Brittle Stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea)

This review presents a comprehensive overview of the current status regarding the global diversity of the echinoderm class Ophiuroidea, focussing on taxonomy and distribution patterns, with brief introduction to their anatomy, biology, phylogeny, and palaeontological history. A glossary of terms is provided. Species names and taxonomic decisions have been extracted from the literature and compi...

Short communication: The first report of Amphipholis squamata (Delle Chiaje, 1829) (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Chabahar Bay – northern Oman Sea

The microfossil record of early land plants.

Dispersed microfossils (spores and phytodebris) provide the earliest evidence for land plants. They are first reported from the Llanvirn (Mid-Ordovician). More or less identical assemblages occur from the Llanvirn (Mid-Ordovician) to the late Llandovery (Early Silurian), suggesting a period of relative stasis some 40 Myr in duration. Various lines of evidence suggest that these early dispersed ...