Article
Geology
Zbynek Rocek, Liping Dong, Marissa Fabrezi, Yufen Rong, Yuan Wang
Summary: The carpus (wrist) of fossil frogs is rarely preserved due to its small skeletal elements ossifying only postmetamorphosis. The structure of the carpus is well-known in temnospondyl ancestors, but its changes during the transition to anuran descendents are unknown. The Early Cretaceous Genibatrachus from northeastern China provides valuable information to bridge the gap in the evolutionary sequence of the carpus between temnospondyl amphibians and modern frogs.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geology
Gang Li, Zijie Wu
Summary: In 2019, Early Cretaceous clam shrimp specimens were discovered in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, contributing to the understanding of paleoenvironments in East Asia.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hani Boukhamsin, Daniel Peyrot, Marco Vecoli, Victorien Paumard, Simon Lang
Summary: The Early Cretaceous represents a significant period of angiosperm radiation, particularly in the Arabian Plate. The diverse angiosperm flora coexisted with other plant groups in northeastern Gondwana and dispersed through both land bridges and over-sea dispersal to different environments.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Yu-Nong Cui, Guang-Xu Wang
Summary: This study systematically describes the early Katian heliolitines of the Tarim Block in northwestern China, based on new material from the Kuruktag area. The fossils include various species of corals, and a faunal comparison suggests closer biogeographic connections with Chu-Ili and South Tienshan, and weaker connections with Qilian and North China.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chun-Chi Liao, Andrew Moore, Changzhu Jin, Tzu-Ruei Yang, Masateru Shibata, Feng Jin, Bing Wang, Dongchun Jin, Yu Guo, Xing Xu
Summary: Brachiosauridae is a lineage of titanosauriform sauropods distributed in North America, Africa, and Europe during the Late Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous, with the first evidence of their presence in mid-Cretaceous Asia reported in northeast China. The discovery of a brachiosaurid maxilla in the Longjing Formation provides convincing evidence of their dispersal into Asia, supported by phylogenetic analysis. Possible scenarios for their presence in Asia include dispersal from North America or Europe during the Early Cretaceous. Continued study and excavation of fossils from the Longjing Formation can further test hypotheses concerning the paleobiogeographic histories of Brachiosauridae.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Youliang Feng, Caineng Zou, Jianzhong Li, Changsong Lin, Hongjun Wang, Shu Jiang, Zhi Yang, Shun Zhang, Xiuli Fu
Summary: Research on sediment gravity-flow systems in the Songliao Basin is valuable for understanding sedimentary processes, patterns, and predicting the presence of good sandstone reservoirs. The study identified deep lake channel-levee-lobe and slope fan deposits within six depositional sequences spanning from the Turonian to early Coniacian upper part of the fourth member of the Quantou Formation to the early Campanian second member of the Nenjiang Formation.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Zhi-Hao Qi, Erik Tihelka, Chen-Yang Cai, Hai-Tian Song, Hong-Mu Ai
Summary: A new fossil species of stag beetle is described and illustrated from the Early Cretaceous of northeastern China. This discovery represents the first record of the fossil Lucaninae from the Late Mesozoic of China and the oldest reliable record of the subfamily. The researchers also summarize the fossil species of stag beetles found in China and the described fossil species of the subfamily Lucaninae found worldwide.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Hao Zhou, Fu-Ping Pei, Wen-Liang Xu, Jing-Yang Wei, Yi-Peng Wang
Summary: This study examines the geochemical and isotopic compositions of Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks in northeastern North China Craton, revealing a systematic decrease in whole-rock epsilon(Nd)(t) and Zr/Nb increase in intermediate-acid volcanic rocks. Basic volcanic rocks show weakly enriched isotopic signatures and source enrichment from subducted sediment. Element-isotopic modeling suggests depleted mantle enrichment through metasomatism by sediment-derived melt in the mantle source.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yi-Kang Quan, De-Bin Yang, Hao-Tian Yang, Mao-Song Mu, Le-Ran Hao, An-Qi Wang, Xiang-Yu Yan, Wen-Liang Xu
Summary: This study investigates Early Cretaceous granitic rocks on the Liaodong Peninsula in NE China, revealing different rock types and providing insights into the evolution of the northeastern North China Craton. The findings document the rollback of the Paleo-Pacific plate towards the Eurasian continental margin.
Article
Entomology
Rui Dai, Sile Du, Dong Ren, Yunzhi Yao
Summary: A new genus and species of Pachymeridiidae, Varicapitatus sinuolatus, is described from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern China. The study provides detailed documentation of the structure of well-developed coastal fracture, claws, and male parameres. The research explores the systematic position of Pachymeridiidae and the evolution of the costal fracture in Heteroptera, revealing the independent evolution or convergence of flight and crawling behaviors in this group.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Susanna K. Elledge, Xin X. Zhou, James R. Byrnes, Alexander J. Martinko, Irene Lui, Katarina Pance, Shion A. Lim, Jeff E. Glasgow, Anum A. Glasgow, Keirstinne Turcios, Nikita S. Iyer, Leonel Torres, Michael J. Peluso, Timothy J. Henrich, Taia T. Wang, Cristina M. Tato, Kevin K. Leung, Bryan Greenhouse, James A. Wells
Summary: A rapid and low-cost solution-based assay has been developed to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in serum, plasma, whole blood, and to some extent saliva, using split luciferase antibody biosensors. This new method generates quantitative results in 30 minutes, simplifying the complexity and improving the scalability of COVID-19 antibody tests. It is suitable for point-of-care testing, population screening, and use in low-resource settings for monitoring host humoral responses to vaccination or viral infection.
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wei Jin, Le Wan, Yang Tian, Timothy Kusky, Jing Wang, Xianzhong Ke, Jie Yang, Wenguo Long
Summary: This study presents new field observations and geochemical analyses of Mesozoic granites in the Mufushan complex, eastern South China. The results indicate that these granites have highly evolved S-type granite geochemical characteristics and were likely derived from a common magma source. The presence of ancient crustal materials and the tectonic regime related to plate subduction and slab roll-back contributed to the formation of these granites. These findings have important implications for understanding the tectonic evolution of eastern South China during the early Cretaceous.
Article
Geology
Wenjie Zheng, Masateru Shibata, Chun-Chi Liao, Soki Hattori, Dongchun Jin, Changzhu Jin, Xing Xu
Summary: This study reports a discovery of an ankylosaurian ilium in the Longjing Formation of Yanji City, Jilin Province, northeastern China. This specimen represents the first definitive ankylosaurian dinosaur found in Jilin Province, providing important data on dinosaur evolution during the middle Cretaceous period in eastern Asia.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Xiang Li, Yongjian Huang, Zhifeng Zhang, Chengshan Wang, Tianshui Yang
Summary: The International Continental Scientific Drilling Project of Cretaceous Songliao Basin has recovered a complete Cretaceous terrestrial sedimentary record in northeastern China, providing a unique opportunity to understand the terrestrial climate change during the Cretaceous period. The high-resolution geochemical records from Members 3 and 4 of the Quantou Formation in the SK-1 South borehole indicate that the strata have been subjected to moderate chemical weathering. The study also suggests that the cyclic variation in the chemical weathering proxies in Members 3 and 4 of the Quantou Formation may be related to the interaction between the monsoon-like system and westerlies in the Cretaceous Songliao Basin.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Xiang-Yu Yan, De-Bin Yang, Wen-Liang Xu, Yi-Kang Quan, An-Qi Wang, Le-Ran Hao, Feng Wang
Summary: The geochemical record of Early Cretaceous gabbroic diabase from the northeastern North China Craton reveals the relationship between mantle metasomatic agents and tectonic evolution. The samples indicate a sub-continental lithospheric mantle origin and the presence of crustal components from the Paleo-Asian oceanic crust and Yangtze Craton. Subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate triggers the melting of the metasomatic sub-continental lithospheric mantle.
