Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Sheng Liu, Zhaohui Pan, Min Zhu, Liantao Jia, Wenjin Zhao
Summary: A new species of Bothriolepididae, Chahuaqingolepis magniporus gen. et sp. nov., has been discovered in Luquan County, Yunnan Province, South China, during the Middle Devonian period. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that Chahuaqingolepis is closely related to Wufengshania and shares a synapomorphy of having a large obtected nuchal area. This discovery not only enhances the diversity of bothriolepids during the Middle Devonian, but also contributes to the understanding of the biogeography and correlation of Devonian fish-bearing strata in South China.
JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Bingcai Liu, Kai Wang, Ruiwen Zong, Yi Wang, Honghe Xu
Summary: This study systematically investigates the morphology and nomenclature of the Devonian lycopsid Barsassia, determining Barsassia ornata as its type species with fan- or rectangular-shaped leaves arranged in a distinct step-like structure on the stem surface.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qiang Li, Xindong Cui, Plamen Stanislavov Andreev, Wenjin Zhao, Jianhua Wang, Lijian Peng, Min Zhu
Summary: Nostolepis, one of the earliest known 'acanthodians', has been found in China with a total of six species, including two new ones. The study reveals the diversity of the Lower Devonian Xitun Fauna and contributes to a better understanding of the paleogeographic distribution of Nostolepis.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Li Qiao, Wen-Kun Qie, Ying-Yan Mao, Jun-Jun Song, Jian-Feng Lu, Lin Mu, Kun Liang, Yue Li
Summary: The Devonian Heyuanzhai Formation in the Baoshan Block, western Yunnan, China was reinvestigated to document a variety of fossils, including brachiopods, crinoids, and ostracods. The study shows that the Heyuanzhai faunas inhabited a mid-ramp environment with depths between fair-weather and storm wave-base, and were likely accumulated from nearby habitats after short-distance transportation.
GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zhiheng Ma, Tingshan Zhang, James C. Lamsdell, Jingwen Chen, Paul A. Selden, Liurunxuan Chen
Summary: This study describes the discovery of two new eurypterids, expanding the known distribution of Pterygotus and Parahughmilleria across different regions. The findings also provide insights into the ecosystem structures during the Early Devonian period and support the hypothesis of a crisis among eurypterids during the Silurian-Devonian boundary interval.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Yanchao Luo, Xindong Cui, Tuo Qiao, Min Zhu
Summary: A new genus and species of tooth-plated lungfishes, Dianodipterus huizeensis gen. et sp. nov., has been discovered in the late Eifelian of the Middle Devonian in Huize County, Qujing, northeastern Yunnan, China. This lungfish differs from others in its small tooth-bearing proportion, extensively developed edentulous portion, and few tooth rows. Phylogenetic analysis places Dianodipterus as more primitive than Dipterus but more advanced than Melanognathus, showing a novel schema of lungfish dentition and contributing to the diversity of early lungfishes in China.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Juan Ma, Jiayi Yin, Yilong Liu, Xiaoqi Du, Shibo Liu, Ruiwen Zong
Summary: This study documents the fossil of the encrinurid-like organism Batocara sp. near the Silurian-Devonian boundary in western Junggar, Xinjiang. The presence of Batocara sp. above the first appearance of the Devonian conodont Caudicriodus suggests that encrinurids may have survived into the Early Devonian. The study also suggests that the highest horizon of encrinurids can be used as indicator fossils to identify the Silurian-Devonian boundary in areas without graptolites and conodonts.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Juan Ma, Jiayi Yin, Yilong Liu, Xiaoqi Du, Shibo Liu, Ruiwen Zong
Summary: This paper documents the presence of encrinurids near the Silurian-Devonian boundary in western Junggar, Xinjiang, suggesting that they may have survived into the Early Devonian. By studying the fossils found, it is determined that these encrinurids only extend into the lower part of the first conodont zone of the Lochkovian. The widespread distribution and distinct characteristics of encrinurids make them potential indicator fossils for identifying the approximate position of the Silurian-Devonian boundary in areas where other fossils are absent.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wenjin Zhao, Xiaolin Zhang, Guodong Jia, Yan'an Shen, Min Zhu
Summary: The Silurian-Devonian interval is crucial for the rise of sarcopterygian fishes and terrestrial vascular plants. Geochemical indicators from East Yunnan reveal significant shifts, aiding in determining the lungfish-tetrapod split period. This boundary in East Yunnan has provided valuable data for understanding the geological ages of fish-bearing strata, supporting the estimated split between lungfish and tetrapods.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hui Zhao, Youbin Sun, Xiaoke Qiang
Summary: The formation of modern-like desert landscapes in North China is believed to have occurred during the Middle Pleistocene, with slight variations in timing across different regions. Global cooling, expansion of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, and increased amplitude of glacial-interglacial fluctuations may have played a key role in this process.
Article
Geography, Physical
Ali Mamtimin, Yu Wang, Hajigul Sayit, Xing Hua Yang, Fan Yang, Wen Huo, Chenglong Zhou, Lili Jin
Summary: This study investigated the turbulence characteristics of different surface boundary layers in the hinterland of the Gurbantunggut Desert, the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China. The results revealed the presence of stable atmospheric conditions exclusively during the early morning and at night in the desert, with two regimes of intermittent turbulence occurring during the night. Additionally, the study highlighted the seasonality and varying wind speed thresholds in the desert.
EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Jian-Feng Lu, Jose Ignacio Valenzuela-Rios, Peter Koenigshof, Jau-Chyn Liao, Yi Wang, Wen-Kun Qie, Hong-He Xu
Summary: The study found a high diversity of conodonts around the lower/upper Emsian boundary in the South China Block, including newly discovered species and taxa recorded for the first time in the region. This new discovery contributes to a better understanding of the faunal composition and regional biostratigraphical correlation during this period in the South China Block.
Article
Remote Sensing
Jie Zhang, Jinlong Zhou, Guoqing Zhang, Yuanyuan Ji, Yanyan Zeng, Wei Fan, Ailihamu Aikelamu
Summary: The study utilized a modified NDWI (MNDWI) to analyze changes in the number and surface area of lakes in North Xinjiang, China, using historical maps and satellite images. Results showed that lakes were primarily concentrated in specific river basins between 1960 and 1980, while certain areas had very few or no lakes. Over the period from 1960 to 2018, there was a significant increase in the surface area and number of lakes in North Xinjiang, influenced by various factors such as climate change and human activity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Shiming Liu, Bangjun Liu, Shuheng Tang, Cunliang Zhao, Furong Tan, Zhaodong Xi, Fangpeng Du
Summary: The study comprehensively analyzed the hydrocarbon potential, palaeoenvironmental changes, and tectonic setting of lacustrine organic-rich shales in the Yuka Depression of the Qaidam Basin. The ZK23-1 well profile was divided into three stages based on variations in bulk geochemical parameters and lithological observations. The results indicate that oil shale has the best hydrocarbon potential, followed by shales and mudstones.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Catherine Cronier, Johnny A. Waters
Summary: An early Famennian trilobite fauna from the lower member of the Hongguleleng Formation in northwestern China is described. The Hongguleleng Formation is a volcanic arc-related shallow marine shelf deposit, consisting of bioclastic argillaceous limestones, marls, and green calcareous shales. The studied material, although often poorly preserved, includes specimens of Clarksonops junggariensis gen. nov. sp. nov. and Houseops cf. olonbulagensis, which are the first known and described trilobites from lower Famennian deposits in northwestern China.
PALAEOBIODIVERSITY AND PALAEOENVIRONMENTS
(2023)