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Distinct, new oviposition lesion types, Paleoovoidus pyriformis ichnosp. nov. and Variomorphonotatus sagittaeformis ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov., occurring on two fossil compression Cycadophyte leaves from the Lower Jurassic Shemshak Formation of western Alborz Ranges, northern Iran are documented and compared with the previously instituted morphologically analogous taxa. Comparison of the shape and configuration of the scars with those of the modern zygopteran Odonata suggests that any member of the Lestid-damselfly produced P. pyriformis ichnosp. nov. whereas any representative of Coenagrionid-damselflies (damselflies-dragonflies) induced formation of V. sagittaeformis ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. In the absence, so far, of any entomofaunal evidence from the Shemshak Formation, the ichnotaxa documented herein offer unequivocal evidence to the presence of the Odonatan representatives in the Early Jurassic riparian ecosystems of northern Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous microorganisms incertae sedis Lithocodium aggregatum Elliott and Bacinella irregularis Radoičić are taxonomically studied based on material from the Lower Aptian of the western Maestrat Basin (Spain). This study is supplemented with detailed photographs from Elliot’s type-material. Given that the original description of Lithocodium aggregatum is ambiguous, a detail from the holotype is chosen as an epitype to serve as an interpretative type (article 9.7 ICBN). Lithocodium is re-interpreted as a filamentous-septate heterotrichale ulvophycean alga (?order Ulotrichales) exhibiting a heteromorphic life cycle consisting of two phases: an epilithic gametophytic and a euendolithic sporophytic ( Gomontia stage). Bacinella irregularis is interpreted and redescribed as a purely euendolithic ulvophycean alga which bores into either Lithocodium aggregatum or the substrate below Lithocodium crusts. A small microendolith boring into Lithocodium crusts capable of cryptobiotically stretching within its filamentous network is tentatively assigned to the siphonal chlorophyte Ostreobium Bornet and Flahault. Another associated microfilamentous boring chlorophyte with characteristic long thin hairs (setae) is described as Phaeophila? sp. The euendolithic community comprises a variety of micro- and macroborings that affect the thalli of Lithocodium. Finally, the filaments of the outer zone of the Lithocodium crust are infested by calcimicrobes (cyanobacteria, ?fungi). The description made by Elliott in his original work of the “inner layer” of Lithocodium aggregatum as “confused” is explained here as a complex multitaxon chlorophyte-calcimicrobial assemblage overprinted by multiple bioerosion ichnofabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous microorganisms incertae sedis Lithocodium aggregatum Elliott and Bacinella irregularis Radoičić are taxonomically studied based on material from the Lower Aptian of the western Maestrat Basin (Spain). This study is supplemented with detailed photographs from Elliot’s type-material. Given that the original description of Lithocodium aggregatum is ambiguous, a detail from the holotype is chosen as an epitype to serve as an interpretative type (article 9.7 ICBN). Lithocodium is re-interpreted as a filamentous-septate heterotrichale ulvophycean alga (?order Ulotrichales) exhibiting a heteromorphic life cycle consisting of two phases: an epilithic gametophytic and a euendolithic sporophytic ( Gomontia stage). Bacinella irregularis is interpreted and redescribed as a purely euendolithic ulvophycean alga which bores into either Lithocodium aggregatum or the substrate below Lithocodium crusts. A small microendolith boring into Lithocodium crusts capable of cryptobiotically stretching within its filamentous network is tentatively assigned to the siphonal chlorophyte Ostreobium Bornet and Flahault. Another associated microfilamentous boring chlorophyte with characteristic long thin hairs (setae) is described as Phaeophila? sp. The euendolithic community comprises a variety of micro- and macroborings that affect the thalli of Lithocodium. Finally, the filaments of the outer zone of the Lithocodium crust are infested by calcimicrobes (cyanobacteria, ?fungi). The description made by Elliott in his original work of the “inner layer” of Lithocodium aggregatum as “confused” is explained here as a complex multitaxon chlorophyte-calcimicrobial assemblage overprinted by multiple bioerosion ichnofabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shipwreck of Bajo de la Campana (VII-VI century B.C.) was a Phoenician merchant ship accidentally discovered in the 1950s off the coasts of the Murcia region (Spain). Sixty-four elephant tusks were part of the cargo. Some of them were recovered by archaeologists between 2007 and 2011 and are now stored in the restoration laboratory of the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology (ARQVA) of Cartagena. This study investigated the bioerosion traces present on 12 selected tusks in order to hypothesize which marine or terrestrial macroborers could have attacked this substrate. No work has previously looked at the biological degradation of this material. Taking into account the mineral composition of ivory, the hypothesized bioeroders were selected from those reported in the literature as bioeroders of rocks or other hard substrates (bones, corals, shells, etc.). The hypothesized biodeteriogens belongs to several groups of marine invertebrates (echinoids, barnacles, molluscs, sponges, polychaetes, and bryozoans) and terrestrial insects. Unfortunately, the absence of parts of the bioeroders' body or of skeletal elements inside the studied traces did not allow definitive identification, so the attributions remain hypotheses. However, this study could be considered a starting point for an interesting debate and for future investigations on the bioerosion of this precious material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]