Science News

Institute of Paleobiology Polish Academy of Sciences

More information: www.paleo.pan.pl

Microstructure study of sauropod bone from Mongolia

A sauropod femur found in 1963 in the Baynshire Formation (Cenomanian–Santonian) in Mongolia had been identified as belonging to a subadult representative of Titanosauriformes.

Miocene ascidians from Bosnia and Herzegovina

The study uncovers the world’s most diverse collection of fossilized ascidian spicules, found in Bogutovo Selo near Ugljevik, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and dating back to the Middle Miocene.

Dentition of a Triassic ichthyosaur from China

A new specimen of the early ichthyosaur Chaohusaurus zhangjiawanensis from the Early Triassic of Hubei Province, China, confirms heterodonty in this species.

Macroevolutionary patterns in pelagic tetrapods

A comprehensive study by an international team of researchers found that the evolutionary trajectories of Triassic–Jurassic ichthyosaurs and eosauropterygians…

Postcranial anatomy of the ichthyosaur Besanosaurus leptorhynchus

Besanosaurus leptorhynchus is a large-bodied ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio (Alps near the Italy–Switzerland border).

Biomechanics of the shell of early turtles

The earliest, Triassic (approx. 220–200 million years) turtles are characterized by a large diversity of bony connections…

New species of today’s buttercups

Three new species of buttercups have been described from Western Pomerania.

Osteology of the giant dicynodont from Lisowice

The description of the complete skeleton of a dicynodont from Lisowice has enabled a new interpretation of incomplete data on Late Triassic dicynodonts.

Climate change in Antarctica

…new data from Maxwell Bay, a wide-open bay in the South Shetland Islands.

The composition of seawater affects the hardness of sea urchin shells

Experiments on Recent sea urchins grown in seawater with a low Mg/Ca ratio have shown that they produce skeletons with lower magnesium content and nanohardness.

Morphological convergence of the coral skeleton

Turbinoliidae are a group of solitary scleractinian corals (suborder Refertina) with small conical coralla…

Distinguishing biogenic carbonates

Biogenic minerals (biominerals) differ in structure and biogeochemical composition from their abiotic counterparts.

A monograph on the Mesozoic crinoids of Africa and Asia

The first monographic study of several dozen crinoid taxa (including one new species) from the Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments of Africa and Asia (southern Tethys).

The last shallow-water stem crinoids

Recent stalked crinoids exclusively live at considerable depths, but in the geological past they were common in shallow-marine environments.

Zalambdalestes lechei, a Late Cretaceous mammal from Mongolia

An international team analysed functional morphology of the neck and paleoecology of the Late Cretaceous eutherian mammal Zalambdalestes lechei from Mongolia.

A new species of mixosaur from China

Mixosaurs were a group of ichthyosaurs from the Middle Triassic.

Untangling deep-sea corals systematics

The paper documents another stage in elucidating the phylogenetic relationships among traditionally understood Caryophylliidae…

Saurodesmus robertsoni – the oldest Scottish cynodont

184 years ago, a small bone was discovered in the Triassic of Scotland…

Caries in Pliocene rodents

At the site of Węże 2 near Działoszyn in Łódź Voivodeship numerous remains of mammals and other vertebrates dating from the Pliocene (over 2.5 million years ago) were found.

Extreme neck elongation in Triassic tanystrophes

Triassic Tanystropheus was characterised by the most elongate vertebrae among the known animals

The humeral bones of today’s and fossil turtles were compared

Turtles are characterized by an unusual anatomy of the locomotor apparatus linked with the development of their shell

Ajkaceratops was not a ceratopsian

Ajkaceratops kozmai from the Upper Cretaceous of Hungary was considered the most significant piece of evidence for the presence of Ceratopsia (horned dinosaurs) outside of Asia and North America.

Cretaceous treasures from Lviv

The lower Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) shallow-marine deposits exposed at Nahoryany, south of Lviv (western Ukraine), have been known as a rich source of fossils since 1843.

Summary of research at the Owadów–Brzezinki site

For over ten years, the Owadów–Brzezinki quarry have been yielding numerous well-preserved fossils.

Small brachiopods tell the story of the Cretaceous sea

Shells of small (micromorphic) brachiopods are not so attractive as other fossils preserved in the white chalk facies…

Crocodylomorf from Wieluń area

In the Jurassic period, besides the well-known plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, there existed a third group of widely distributed large predatory marine reptiles…

Ocean temperature reconstruction

Reconstruction of the Ocean surface water temperature based on calibration of many geochemical indicators from skeletons.

New finds of Early Triassic amphibians and reptiles from Poland

Vertebrate bones are rare in the Lower Triassic deposits of the Holy Cross Mountains.

A natural cast of a Triassic turtle shell

… The specimen represents an exceptionally large individual, larger than the known representatives of Proterochersis robusta from the same formation…

A redescription of Trachelosaurus fischeri from Triassic of Germany

Trachelosaurus, described over 100 years ago, turned out to be not a chimera…

A new plesiosaur from the Jurassic of Germany

Franconiasaurus brevispinus is a new early plesiosaur established based on two three-dimensionally preserved skeletons from the Lower Jurassic of Germany.

Bagaraatan is a chimaera

Bagaraatan ostromi is an enigmatic carnivorous dinosaur described from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation in Mongolia.

Polymorphic carbonate in fish otoliths

Many organisms exhibit astonishing biomineralization abilities, forming polymorphic minerals from the same chemical substance.

Bioerosion traces in Pliocene solitary corals

One of the basic taphonomic questions is whether the borings in skeletal structures were produced in vivo or post mortem.

New fossil traces of diadectomorphs

Diadectomorpha was a group of large-bodied herbivorous tetrapods that existed from the late Carboniferous to the late Permian.

Middle Triassic vertebrates from Miedary

A new, rich vertebrate assemblage was discovered in the Middle Triassic strata of Miedary in southern Poland.

Method of locomotion of Ordovician echinoderms

The mode of locomotion of one of the earliest free-living stalked echinoderms – Ordovician Pleurocystites belonging to the subphylum Blastozoa – was reconstructed.

Miocene sponge assemblages

During the Miocene salinity crisis, changing environmental conditions, including a sharp reduction in water exchange between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, changed the geographic ranges of many organisms.

Limb histology of the Triassic turtles

Turtles have a characteristic limb bone microstructure: the poorly vascularized tissue grows slowly throughout most of their life; in addition, there is no medullary cavity.

Limb anatomy of the Triassic turtles

The paper deals with the anatomy of limbs and associated skeletal structures in the Triassic (c.a. 215 Myr) turtles belonging to the genus Proterochersis known from the territory of modern-day Germany and Poland.

Reconstructing climate change

Foraminifera (unicellular protists) from the Marquesas Keys, located 30 km west of Key West (Florida) allowed to reconstruct climatic conditions…

The oldest large-bodied pliosaur from the Jurassic of France

Lorrainosaurus from the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) of France is the earliest large-bodied pliosaurid and the oldest known representative of a dynasty of marine reptile mega-predators…

Comparison of the teeth of Jurassic fish from Owadów-Brzezinki

The paper presents the results of histological studies of teeth of Late Jurassic fish from Owadów-Brzezinki.

Proteins in the biomineralization process of fish otoliths

Biomineralization of fish otoliths is regulated by macromolecules, such as proteins, whose presence is crucial for the functionality and properties of these mineralized structures.

Adaptation of reef corals to life in acidified water

Capacity of physiological modifications of the chemistry of the coral calcifying fluid that contains the molecules necessary for the formation of the skeleton…

The reptile vertebra from the Triassic of Pomerania

The territory of Poland is mostly covered by sediments of glacial origin, which cover the Mesozoic rocks.

Graptolites have been discovered growing on algae

For the first time, the unusual phenomenon of graptolites growing on algae is observed.

Carboniferous ostracod behavior discovered

Monospecific ostracod accumulations mainly within cephalopod (a nautiloid and two goniatites) phragmocones (siphuncle and camerae), are described from the Carboniferous of England.

Jurassic ammonites from Patagonia

Jurassic sediments of hydrocarbon seeps from La Elina Ranch (northern Patagonia) are the only source of information on this kind of environment in South America.

An armoured marine reptile from the Early Triassic of South China

A Polish-Chinese research team described a new saurosphargid marine reptile from the Early Triassic of China (Hubei Province)…

Otoliths of fish from the Early Cretaceous of Poland

About 140 million years ago, Poland was a sea connecting the Tethys Ocean with the Boreal Sea…

Plesiosaurus teeth from the Owadów-Brzezinka site

The Owadów-Brzezinki quarry is one of the most important paleontological sites in Poland…

Trematospondylus, a long-forgotten middle Jurassic plesiosaur

Described in 1858, Trematospondylus macrocephalus from the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of Germany is one of the earliest established plesiosaur taxa.

A new classification of sponges from the Eocene of Australia

The newly collected, very rich and well preserved material showed that previously wrongly attributed Eocene sponges from SW Australia…

Shri devi – velociraptor from Mongolia

The material of a carnivorous dinosaur found in the 1970s by a Polish-Mongolian paleontological expedition in the Gobi Desert is newly interpreted as belonging to the Shri devi species…

Brachiopod diversity gradient

The latitudinal diversity gradient is one of the most extensive and important biodiversity patterns on the Earth.

Foraminifera in the sediments of the Beagle Channel

Foraminifera, a group of unicellular organisms, are commonly used as bioindicators in paleoenvironmental studies. Unfortunately, their distribution in many key areas is poorly understood.

Shell ornamentation as a defensive structure

Shell ornamentation of marine calcifiers is considered as a potential anti-predatory defensive structure.

The mammalian skull: development, structure, and function

A new issue of Philosophical Transactions devoted entirely to mammalian skulls.

A new genus of dicynodont from Poland

Dicynodonts were herbivorous synapsids – representatives of the tetrapod group encompassing mammals, their ancestors and relatives, but not reptiles.

Changes in calyx size of fossil crinoids

The analysis of calyx sizes of fossil crinoids has shown that the mean calyx size significantly decreased during the periods of mass extinction…

Arrow worms from the Devonian of the Holy Cross Mountains

Previously unidentified small phosphatic spines from the Devonian of the Holy Cross Mountains have been included into arrow worms (phylum Chaetognatha)

Ocean temperature 120 million years ago

The oxygen isotopic compositions of fossil foraminifera tests constitute a continuous proxy record of deep-ocean and sea-surface temperatures spanning the last 120 million years.

Devonian brachiopods from Miłoszów

A monographic description of 68 brachiopod species (three new, including one within a new genus), the most diversified faunal group in the Middle Devonian (Givetian) of Miłoszów in the Holy Cross Mountains.

A new model for the formation of earthworms granules

Understanding the mechanisms of nucleation, stabilization and aggregation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and factors controlling its further transformation into crystalline phases is fundamental for elucidation of biogenic mineralization.

Stratigraphy of Cretaceous phosphates from Annopol

The Albian and Cenomanian (Cretaceous) deposits at Annopol in Central Poland have been famous for their wealth of phosphates and fossils.

“Diamond” starfish

It has been recently discovered that some species of modern starfish form a calcite skeleton with a triply periodic trabecular microstructure resembling the atomic structure of diamond,

Molecular studies of scleractinian corals

The family Euphylliidae consists of reef-building scleractinian corals distributed across the Indo-Pacific.

Structure of the inner ear of early lagomorphs

The structure of the inner ear in mammals is highly informative with respect to locomotor agility and hearing sensitivity.

Fossils of the soft tissues of dinosaur tendons have been discovered

Tendons are elements connecting muscles and bones. In most vertebrates, they are flexible and elastic but in dinosaurs (including birds) some of them ossify.

Reconstruction of the retiolitines

Retiolitids are one of the group of graptolites with collagenous skeleton (rhabdosome) formed mostly by a network of lists.

Proteins from fossil otoliths of fish

Otoliths are calcium carbonate components of the inner ear in teleost fish.

Stratigraphy of sediments from the Owadów-Brzezinki site

The Owadów–Brzezinki palaeontological site is a new Jurassic taphonomic window.

Calculated how the dinosaur Plateosaurus breathed

Plateosaurus trossingensis is one of the largest herbivorous Late Triassic dinosaurs…

Biomineralization controlled by Otolin-1

Formation of the biomineral structures in the inner ear (otoliths and smaller, but having the same function otoconia) is tightly linked to the formation of organic matrix framework, among which the
otolin-1, a short collagen-like protein, is one of its major components.

Foraminifera from Antarctica

Foraminifera living in the fjords of South Georgia were studied…

Fossil biota of the Skały Formation

A special issue of the Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae…

Permian synapsid tracks with skin impressions!

The material is composed of well-preserved isolated tracks, manus-pes couples, and a slab with trackways composed of approximately 20 tracks …

Bone deformations in Triassic marine reptiles

The Vossenveld Formation cropping out near Winterswijk in the Netherlands is well known because of its rich Middle Triassic marine reptile fauna assemblage…

Late Cambrian coprolites and fossilized eggs from Poland

The Upper Cambrian Słowińska Formation yielded minute three-dimensionally preserved, phosphatic microfossils.

Mesozoic macroflora from Poland

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, the journal of the Polish Botanical Society, founded in 1922, published a special collection of papers entitled Polish Botany Centennial.

The oldest tumor in a fossil amphibian

Neoplasms are diseases that develop when body cells divide uncontrollably

“The eye of Sauron” and other microorganisms

Foraminifera and closely related gromiids dominate meiobenthos communities in polar regions…

New Triassic Ophthalmosaurus!

Omphalosauridae are one of the most enigmatic groups of Mesozoic marine reptiles.

New illustrated catalogue of sponge spicules

The description of the spicules’ shape and the skeleton organization represents the fundamental basis of sponge taxonomy and systematics.

First Cretaceous cephalopod statoliths

Up to now, Mesozoic statoliths were known only from the Jurassic…

Crinoid thecae of Haplocrinites from the Devonian of the Holy Cross Mountains

Morphometric analyses revealed that these thecae likely represent the same species…

A new genus and species of Jurassic feather star has been described

A new genus and species of feather star is named Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi…

The mystery of the siderite structures from the Turow Miocene is solved

Siderite masses from the Miocene of Turów mine have been the subject of much controversy…

Unique mitochondrial gene rearrangement in corals

Traditional Caryophylliidae has been known as the most speciose scleractinian coral family…

Complete mitochondrial genome of the pygmy rabbit

We sequenced the first complete mitochondrial genome of the pygmy rabbit…

Bryozoans on the leaf

Very rare finding: a tree leaf overgrown by marine bryozoans…

A new look at archaeocyaths

Are archaeocyaths,so far classified as sponges, algae?

The oldest described pliosaurus reexamined

Ischyrodon meriani is an obscure pliosaurid taxon from the Middle Jurassic of Switzerland.

Very rare Early Cretaceous sponges from Sardinia

The assemblage that consisted of skeletal elements (spicules) of “soft” demosponges…

Seymouriamorph tracks from the Boskovice Basin

Permian deposits of the Boskovice Basin in the Czech Republic have yielded hundreds of seymouriamorph individuals (a group of extinct tetrapods).

Twin-like corals

Cryptic species pose a great challenge for the traditional taxonomy and estimates of the actual species diversity…

Early Oligocene brachiopods from Mammendorf, Germany

The Lower Oligocene rocky-shore deposits at Mammendorf, central Germany yielded a surprisingly rich brachiopod fauna, containing 13 species belonging to 11 genera.

Brachiopods from the Rheic Ocean of Morocco

60 species of Middle Devonian brachiopods are described from Jbel Issoumour (Anti-Atlas, Morocco).

New crinoids from Holy Cross Mountains

Devonian crinoids from Holy Cross Mountains, including a new species – Codiacrinus sevastopuloi, were described.