A new theropod dinosaur, Shanag ashile, from the Early Cretaceous Öösh deposits of Mongolia is described here. The new specimen (IGM 100/1119) comprises a well-preserved right maxilla, dentary, and partial splenial. This specimen exhibits a number of derived theropod features, including a triangular anteriorly tapering maxilla, a large antorbital fossa, and maxillary participation in the caudal...

Testing models of macroevolution, and especially the sufficiency of microevolutionary processes, requires good collaboration between molecular biologists and paleontologists. We report such a test for events around the Late Cretaceous by describing the earliest penguin fossils, analyzing complete mitochondrial genomes from an albatross, a petrel, and a loon, and describe the gradual decline of ...

this paper presents evidence on mesozoic inversion of basin bounding faults within the taleqan-gajereh-lar paleograben (tglp) in central alborz range. for this purpose, well documented stratigraphy data across the tglp together with the new acquired structural data on the geometry and kinematics of the paleograben basin bounding faults are utilized. the tglp has evolved through the early and mi...

New simplified tectonic models and depositional history of Late Cretaceous rocks are established in a part of Zagros Orogenic Belt that is located in the Northeastern Iraq. These rocks constutes the most important Cretaceous oil reservoir in the Middle East. The dependent tools are petrography, field study and the concept of drowning phases. This concept is relatively new and accurate in explan...

The rise of angiosperms has been regarded as a trigger for the Cretaceous revolution of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the timeframe of the rise angiosperm-dominated herbaceous floras (ADHFs) is lacking. Here, we used the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) as a proxy to provide insights into the rise of ADHFs. An integration of phylogenetic, molecular dating, ancestral state inferring, and dive...

The Manihiki Plateau is an elevated oceanic volcanic plateau that was formed mostly in Early Cretaceous time by hotspot activity. We analyze new seismic reflection data acquired on cruise KIWI 12 over the High Plateau region in the southeast of the plateau, to look for direct evidence of the location of the heat source and the timing of uplift, subsidence and faulting. These data are correlated...

During the Middle and Late Jurassic, pliosaurid plesiosaurs evolved gigantic body size and a series of craniodental adaptations that have been linked to the occupation of an apex predator niche. Cretaceous pliosaurids (i.e. Brachaucheninae) depart from this morphology, being slightly smaller and lacking the macrophagous adaptations seen in earlier forms. However, the fossil record of Early Cret...

The fossil record of dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of Eastern North America is scant, especially since a few stratigraphic units from the east are fossiliferous. Among these stratigraphic units, the Arundel Clay of the eastern seaboard has produced the best-characterized dinosaur faunas known from the Early Cretaceous of Eastern North America. The diverse dinosaur fauna of the Arundel Cla...

large benthic foraminifera and dasycladalean green algae are the most common and important (micro) fossils in lower cretaceous shallow-water sediments of the tethyan realm. in this paper, we introduced such taxa and their importance in age dating of lower cretaceous strata in the kopet-dagh sedimentary basin. also, according to determinations of index taxa (fauna and flora) in this period, the ...

A new genus and species of brachiosaurid sauropods, Qiaowanlong kangxii gen. et sp. nov., is reported, representing the first well-preserved Early Cretaceous brachiosaurid in Asia and expanding the distribution of brachiosaurids undoubtedly into the Asian continent. The new taxon was recovered from the late Early Cretaceous Xinminpu Group of Yujingzi Basin in northwestern Gansu Province, China,...