Vol. 2 No. 4 (2021): Biosis: Biological Systems

    Original research
    Open access

  • Stratigraphic Lexicon: A revised guide to the Cenozoic Surface Formations of Qatar, Middle East (excluding the islands)

    Jacques LeBlanc
    361-407
    First Published: 2021-10-22

    The author learned first-hand about the surface stratigraphy and geology of Qatar by dedicating most of his weekends to conducting field works and public-guided field tours from 2007 to 2020 while employed by Qatar Petroleum. Here, he reviews and updates the surface stratigraphic knowledge of Qatar since the last lexicon was published back in 1975. The geology and macro-paleontology of the Lower Eocene Rus, Middle Eocene Dammam, Lower Miocene Dam, and Mio-Pliocene Hofuf formations are described in detail and well-illustrated.  

  • Original research
    Open access

  • A mid-Cretaceous fungus, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. (Ascomycota: Spheciophilaceae), on a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber

    George Poinar
    408-415
    First Published: 2021-12-27

    Male and female thalli of a mid-Cretaceous fungus attached to a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber are described as Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. in the family Spheciophilaceae (Ascomycota). Both spermatia and ascospores are present. Currently, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov., together with the previously described Spheciophilia adercia Poinar, represent the oldest known ectoparasitic fungi of insects and their age can be used as a reference point in future phylogenetic studies on the origin of fungi with this life style.

  • Original research
    Open access

  • The Currently Earliest Angiosperm Fruit from the Jurassic of North America

    Xin Wang
    416-422
    First Published: 2021-12-27

    Angiosperms are the single most important plant group in the current ecosystem. However, little is known about the origin and early evolution of angiosperms. Jurassic and earlier traces of angiosperms have been claimed multiple times from Europe and Asia, but reluctance to accept these records remains. To test the truthfulness of these claims, palaeobotanical records from continents other than Europe and Asia constitute a crucial test. Here I document a new angiosperm fruit, Dilcherifructus mexicana gen. et sp. nov, from the Middle Jurassic of Mexico. Its Jurassic age suggests that origin of angiosperms is much earlier than widely accepted, while its occurrence in the North America indicates that angiosperms were already widespread in the Jurassic, although they were still far away from their ecological radiation, which started in the Early Cretaceous.

  • Original research
    Open access

  • Exceptional Preservation of Feather Micro-Structures in Amber from the Middle-Cretaceous of Myanmar

    Christian Laurent, Xia Wang, Bo Wang, Zhiheng Li
    423-439
    First Published: 2022-01-18

    Feathers are under-represented in the fossil record because soft tissues do not usually preserve well in sedimentary sequences. Fossil feathers are nevertheless extremely important in resolving pattern and process related to the origin of dinosaur flight. In recent years, a number of feathers have been discovered which have been mummified in amber; these feathers are preserved in three dimensions with remarkable sub-microscopic details and are especially important for our understanding of the early development of feathers. In this paper, we describe a diverse assemblage of mid-Cretaceous feathers contained within seven pieces of amber that have been recovered from northern Myanmar (Burma). These pieces include pennaceous primary feathers, contour feathers, and rachis-dominated feathers, and also a plumulaceous (downy) feather. Subcomponents of these feathers, such as barbs, barbules, and nodes are immediately recognizable. One extraordinary piece contains the distal remains of the first four primary flight feathers and a small number of possible hooklets. These pieces are discussed in terms of evolutionary development and comments are made on flight ability where appropriate. These feather-types are classified and compared with similar structures seen in Mesozoic and extant birds. We consider that integumentary feathers and ‘feather-like’ structures fall within two major structural categories (‘shafted’ and ‘non-shafted’).