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An extinct genus and species of Diptera – Cretothereva antiqua – has recently been described from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil (Crato Formation). The fossil has been assigned to the family Therevidae and, according to its authors, would represent the oldest known member of the family of the entire Therevoid clade, with important implications for the evolutionary history of the group. A recent paper written by several Diptera experts challenges the systematic position of Cretothereva antiqua, but without a detailed assessment of the evidences. The evidence for the systematic position of this important fossil is reassessed. We argue that criticism of scientific hypotheses must be based on formal discussion of evidence, not based only on conjecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beetles have a remote evolutionary history dating back to the Carboniferous, with Mesozoic fossils playing a pivotal role in elucidating the early evolution of extant families. Despite their exceptional preservation in amber, deciphering the systematic positions of Mesozoic trogossitid‐like beetles remains challenging. Here, we describe and illustrate a new trogossitid‐like lineage from mid‐Cretaceous Kachin amber, Foveapeltis rutai Li, Kolibáč, Liu & Cai, gen. et sp. nov. Foveapeltis stands out within the Cleroidea due to the presence of a significant large cavity on each hypomeron. While the exact phylogenetic placement of Foveapeltis remains uncertain, we offer a discussion on its potential affinity based on our constrained phylogenetic analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) today exhibits the highest marine biodiversity, which has been evolving since the early Miocene. The existence of this high palaeobiodiversity is attested to by the presence of many fossil invertebrates; however, the region's fossil fish record is sparse and understudied, which is also the case for cartilaginous fishes. Elasmobranch fossils are dominantly represented by shark and ray teeth in the geological record and can give a quick overview of the composition of the fauna. The first IAA elasmo fossils, shark teeth were described from Java (Indonesia) at the end of the 19th century, and until today, most of the publications are known from this island. In the early and middle of the 20th century, remarkable fossils were also reported from the islands of Madura (NE Java) and Sulawesi, some with detailed taxonomical descriptions. In addition, only sporadic reports on fossil occurrences exist elsewhere from the IAA, but these lack any detailed taxonomic accounts. In 2019 our research group reported a late Miocene elasmobranch fauna from Brunei (Borneo), which is now the most diverse known shallow water fossil assemblage from the entire IAA. This fauna was described from a single fossiliferous outcrop, called Ambug Hill. However, several new localities have been discovered and studied over the years, as a result the number of fossils increased, and their age range extended. Here we provide an overview of these new sites and their elasmobranch fossils, and describe remains from ten taxa among, of which eight are new to the IAA fossil record (Chiloscyllium sp., cf. Hemitriakis sp., Paragaleus sp., Carcharhinus borneensis, C. limbatus, Lamiopsis sp., Scoliodon sp., Rhinobatos sp.). The overall north Bornean elasmo assemblage is then compared with other IAA occurrences. An extended fauna list is given based on literature review and preliminary investigation of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre collection in Leiden (The Netherlands) where most of the fossil fishes of the early explorations are stored. These assemblages are also briefly summarized, and attention is drawn to some of the unique and thus far unreported taxa (e.g., Dalatias licha). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of Natural History collections, particularly paleontological collections, is usually structured around specimens. However, it might not be feasible when the collections are incorporated from sources where the whole cycle of specimen collection is unknown, making it hard to determine what fossils belong to a single specimen and if these specimens belong to a single fossil-assemblage, taxon or individual. The Sociedade de História Natural from Torres Vedras (Portugal) manages such collections using a management strategy approach based on the spatial location from where the fossils were found. To achieve this, we have implemented a methodology for field collection and developed a spatial database in PostgreSQL/PostGIS to manage the entire stages of paleontological collections management. On top of the database, a second layer of web services, Web GIS (Geographical Information System) applications, and desktop GIS, all based on QGIS, are also under development to facilitate access to data stored in the database to internal and external researchers and partners, as well public institutions. This effort is made in close collaboration with in-house actors and stakeholders and has yielded promising results. The development of this system provides four advantages: (i) it played an essential role in supporting the transfer of the collection to new storage facilities; (ii) it provides overviews of the distribution of the characteristics of the collections; (iii) it enhances institutional partnerships by providing consistent and reliable data and(iv) it supports the establishment and development of research lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a new species of shearwater, Ardenna buchananbrowni sp. nov., from the Pliocene of New Zealand. It is both the smallest and oldest known diving member of the genus, demonstrating that this now abundant form of shearwater has had a long presence in southern oceans. Ardenna buchananbrowni sp. nov. is among the few extinct shearwaters described from the Southern Hemisphere and adds to an increasingly diverse seabird assemblage in the Pliocene of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The systematics of Cyrtophyllitinae Zeuner, 1935 sensu Gorochov, Jarzembowski & Coram, 2006 was revised. A new subfamily Archaboilinae subfam. nov. and a new genus, Pararchaboilus gen. nov. were erected. Two new species, Archaboilus ornatus sp. nov. and Vitimoilus gigantus sp. nov., are described from the Middle Jurassic China. A phylogeny of Cyrtophyllitinae Zeuner, 1935 sensu Gorochov, Jarzembowski & Coram, 2006, based on wing morphology, is presented including all genera. Cyrtophillitinae is found to be paraphyletic. Except for Cyrtophyllites rogeri Oppenheim, 1888, all other species were moved from the subfamily Cyrtophyllitinae (Hagloidea, Haglidae). Consequently, a new subfamily Archaboilinae subfam. nov. was erected and accommodates most of the previous cyrtophillitine taxa, except Cyrtophyllites rogeri. The type genus Archaboilus Martynov, 1937 of the new subfamily was designated; a new genus, Pararchaboilus gen. nov., was erected with the designation of type species Pararchaboilus cretaceus comb. nov. From the Middle Jurassic deposits of China, two new species, Archaboilus ornatus sp. nov. and Vitimoilus gigantus sp. nov., are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Flowers are attractive to many people mainly due to their colourful and conspicuous perianth, which is closely related to successful insect pollination in extant angiosperms. The Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (125 million years ago) in Northeastern China is famous for its great diversity of early angiosperms. However, unlike typical flowers in extant angiosperms, the previously documented fossil flowers are usually famous for their "nakedness", namely, they do not have typical petals (corolla), suggesting a pollination strategy for early angiosperms that is different than that of the extant angiosperms. However, without fossil evidence, whether there are petals (corolla) and whether androecium and gynoecium are protected in early flowers are rarely addressed questions. Here, we document a flower bud fossil, Archaebuda cretaceae sp. nov., from the Yixian Formation, which is the second case in the Formation. While reinforcing the truthful occurrence of fragile flower buds in the Early Cretaceous, new fossil evidence demonstrates the existence of gynoecium and possible androecium within the flower bud, suggestive of the possible bisexuality and the protection function of petals in Archaebuda, just as in extant flowers. In addition, it is very likely that conspicuous petals may have played an important role in attracting insects for successful pollination in early angiosperms. Therefore, the occurrence of petals (corolla) in Archaebuda cretaceae sheds a new light on the reproduction of early angiosperms. The Yixian Formation (Lower Cretaceous) in China is famous worldwide for its fossils of early angiosperms, but there has been only one record of flower buds (Archaebuda lingyuanensis) hitherto, in which only the surface of the flower bud was documented while no internal details were known. Such a partial knowledge of flower buds hinders our understanding of the evolution of flowers, and this knowledge lacuna needs to be filled. Our new specimen was collected from an outcrop of the Yixian Formation (Barremian–Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) near Dawangzhangzi, Lingyuan, Liaoning, China. Our observations reveal a new fossil flower bud, Archaebuda cretaceae sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous of China. This new record of Archaebuda in the Yixian Formation not only confirms the truthful existence of the expected gynoecium (plus possible androecium) in a flower bud but also underscores the occurrence of typical flowers in the Early Cretaceous. This new information adds first-hand data to flower sexuality, pollination, and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Simple Summary: Our research, made possible by recent advancements, has led to more accurate diagnoses of ancient pathologies, despite the rarity of well-preserved specimens, the predominance of bone remains, and the difficulty in distinguishing neoplastic from non-neoplastic lesions in fossils. This study compiles reports of tumours in fossilised animals, highlighting that neoplasms are present in various vertebrates and drawing comparisons to modern instances of similar diseases, thereby providing unique insights into the presence of tumours in ancient animals. Paleo-oncology studies neoplastic diseases in fossilised animals, including human remains. Recent advancements have enabled more accurate diagnoses of ancient pathologies despite the inherent challenges in identifying tumours in fossils—such as the rarity of well-preserved specimens, the predominance of bone remains, and the difficulty in distinguishing neoplastic from non-neoplastic lesions. This study compiles reports of tumours in fossilised animals, highlighting that neoplasms are present in a wide range of vertebrates and drawing comparisons to modern instances of similar diseases. The findings underscore the multifactorial aetiology of tumours, which involves genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, and suggest that tumours have been around for at least 350 million years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new genus and new species of the euthemistid, Kidaneuthemis ningchengensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. It can be assigned to the Euthemistidae by the several long intercalary veins between RP1 and IR1, IR1 and RP2, as well as between RP2 and IR2 and between IR2 and RP3/4. Kidaneuthemis ningchengensis gen. et sp. nov. distinguishes from the other two genera of this family by the presence of not less than eight intercalary veins between MP and wing margin; about three rows of cells in the distal part between MA and MP; the base of IR2 is two cells distal to that of RP3/4. In addition, a revision of the family Euthemistidae has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several fossil beetles from the Late Pliocene (Piacenzian) of Willershausen (Lower Saxony, Germany) previously identified as Tenebrionidae and Staphylinidae are reviewed. One species, formerly determined as "Staphylinoidea" is identified as Euboeus mimonti Boieldieu, 1865 (Tenebrionidae: Helopini). This species is the oldest record of an extant species of darkling beetles, which occurs now in the Balkans and Anatolia. The discovery of Euboeus mimonti in the Late Pliocene of Germany indicates that the range of this species was much wider, and the climate in the Late Pliocene in the modern territory of Lower Saxony was much milder. One species formerly determined as "Alleculidae gen. sp." belongs to the subfamily Alleculinae (Tenebrionidae) and it is identified here as Pseudocistela aff. ceramboides. Two species, misidentified by a previous author as Tenebrionidae belong to Elateridae and Cerambycidae respectively. Generic and species composition, as well as the ratio of extinct and extant beetle taxa in the Willershausen Fossil Lagerstätte are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One new genus and three new species of Archexyelinae (Xyelidae) are described from the Middle–Late Triassic Madygen Formation of Kyrgyzstan, including Xyelinus scherbachov sp. nov., Triassoxyela sharovi sp. nov., and Microxyela minuta gen. et sp. nov. Xyelidae is the most ancient hymenopteran family in fossil records and the only one known from the Triassic. Triassic xyelids are known from five localities throughout the whole Pangaea. The most diverse and abundant Triassic xyelid fauna comes from Madygen, with 16 genera and 34 species in the two subfamilies Archexyelinae and Madygellinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new extinct species of the genus Dibelonetes R. Sahlberg, 1847: D. antecessor sp. nov. from Baltic amber and three new extinct species of the genus Nazeris Fauvel, 1873: N. antiquus sp. nov. from Baltic amber, N. damzeni sp. nov. and N. electrus sp. nov. from Ukrainian (Rovno) amber are described, illustrated and distinguished from related species. New records of the extinct species of the genera Dysanabatium Bernhauer, 1915 and Orsunius Assing, 2011 from Baltic amber are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]