No 4 (2023)

Numerous representatives of the Genus Patellula Kozlova, 1972 were studied from the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Perapedhi, Kannaviou and Lefkara formations (Cyprus). Two new species were described: Patellula mangaleniensis sp. nov. and P. solaris sp. nov. The species P. mangaleniensis was found in the Crimea within Afens perapediensis Zone (upper part of upper Santonian). The earliest representatives of Patellula euessceei Empson-Morin, 1981 were for the first time found in the Upper Cretaceous of the Crimea, within Actinomma (?) belbekense Zone (upper part of middle Turonian–upper Turonian), while the latest representatives of P. euessceei were for the first time detected in the Maastrichtian of Cyprus. The stratigraphic ranges of Patellila euessceei and Genus Patellula are expanded.

This paper describes new nautilids from the Shakhtau Asselian–Sakmarian reef complex. Their place in the nautilid system, which is still far from being completely understood, is discussed. Two species of two genera: Omorphoceras igori gen. et sp. nov. and Stenopoceras (Leptodomatoceras) bashkiricum subgen. et sp. nov. are assigned to the subfamily Domatoceratinae Miller et Youngquist, 1949, family Grypoceratidae Hyatt, 1900. The third, Foveroceras magnum gen. et sp. nov., is included in the exotic family Permoceratidae Miller et Collinson, 1953, which was previously considered monotypic and was known only from the Early Permian of Timor Island. The classification of the family Grypoceratidae is discussed, and the validity of the subfamily Domatoceratinae is questioned. The assumed phylogenetic relationship between the families Grypoceratidae and Permoceratidae is confirmed.

The organophosphatic brachiopod assemblage from the Famennian deposits of Novosibirsk Islands was described firstly. There is the new information of shell microstructure of the genus Opatrilkiella. It is supplemented information about microornamentation of genera Orbiculoidea and Schizobolus.

To date, the Triassic stoneflies have been described from both the Southern (Australia, Argentina, South Africa) and Northern (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China) hemispheres. Early Triassic stoneflies have not been found yet, and 28 species of 16 genera from six families are known from the Middle and Late Triassic. A new genus and species Triassonemoura ficteramosa gen. et sp. nov. of Perlariopseidae is described from the Dzhayloucho locality in Kyrgyzstan (Madygen Formation, Middle–Upper Triassic).

In ancient and modern aquatic and semi-aquatic tetrapods, several types of structure of the locomotor apparatus are presented, providing various styles of swimming. In the course of evolutionary adaptation to swimming, an important role was played by the morphological transformations of the tail, which often performs the main propulsion function. Modern reptiles (except turtles) swim mainly with the help of horizontal tail bends, while mammals swim either vertical or horizontal ones. Among extinct reptiles, Sauropterygia probably used vertical tail mobility when swimming. In most archosauromorphs, the tail became high, laterally compressed, and they swam mainly with the help of its horizontal movements. Among early archosaurs, Proterohampsians and Doswelliids are distinguished by their wide and dorsoventrally flat tails, which may indicate an adaptation to swimming using its vertical mobility.

A description of a new form of the small antelopes from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida cave in the Crimea is given. The new genus and species Tavridia gromovi was identified from a fragment of the skull roof with a horn core and the lower jaw. This small antelope differed from all known forms in the structural features of the horn cores and the dental system. According to the sum of characters, it is assigned to the tribe Antilopini (Eurasia and Africa, Middle Miocene to Recent). The discovery of T. gromovi in the Crimea testifies to the significant diversity of this group of antelopes in the middle of the Early Pleistocene.