VPPDB:Hosting the Data for Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

1 Background The big data revolution is changing our lives and providing a fresh understanding of the world.Recently,being aware of the importance of Big Earth Data,the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched a project entitled"Big Earth Data Science Engineering(CASEarth)"in the Strategic Priority Research Program to carry out innovative research on Big Earth Data(Guo,2017).Under this project。

Lithostratigraphy, Structure, Geological History, Economic Geology and Paleontology of Mari Bugti Hills and Surrounding Areas of Balochistan, South Punjab and North Sindh (Pakistan)

Mari Bugti hills and surroundings belong to Sulaiman basin (fragment of Gondwana) lies under the territory of Balochistan, South Punjab and North Sindh (Pakistan) but luckily have diverse marine and terrestrial sediments varying in age from Triassic to Recent, petroleum and a large number of mineral resources especially huge gypsum and cement resources, numerous suitable anticlinal structures and world-famous paleontology. The large-sized poripuchian titanosaurs, theropods, mesoeucrocodiles, pterosaur, bird and snake were reported from the latest Cretaceous Vitakri Formation, and largest terrestrial mammals and eucrocodiles were reported from the Oligocene Chitarwata Formation and other mammals were also reported from Late Paleogene and Neogene terrestrial deposits. Previously part of this area was not mapped due to remoteness and security problems but recently the mapping of these areas was started. Further, the structural and geological maps of previously omitted parts are added here. After performing the multidisciplinary field investigations by senior author, the corresponding results were obtained. The main objective of this work is to focus on the lithostratigraphic deposits, structure, geological history, economic geology and paleontology of the Mari Bugti Hills and surrounding areas.

Reform of Paleontology Experiment Teaching for Geology Majors

Due to the development of science and technology and the transformation of society’s demand for talents of geology majors,many changes have taken place in the arrangement of teaching hours and teaching content of paleontology experiment teaching.The paleontology experiment teaching of geology majors has problems such as unreasonable experiment design,no independent experiment arrangement,single teaching method,absence of experiment contents,etc.the article believes that the reform should be made in the following aspects:setting up independent experiment teaching arrangement,improvement of experiment teaching design,continuing to improve the laboratory hardware and software construction,reform of teaching methods.

Paleontology Knowledge Graph for Data-Driven Discovery

A knowledge graph(KG)is a knowledge base that integrates and represents data based on a graph-structured data model or topology.Geoscientists have made efforts to construct geosciencerelated KGs to overcome semantic heterogeneity and facilitate knowledge representation,data integration,and text analysis.However,there is currently no comprehensive paleontology KG or data-driven discovery based on it.In this study,we constructed a two-layer model to represent the ordinal hierarchical structure of the paleontology KG following a top-down construction process.An ontology containing 19365 concepts has been defined up to 2023.On this basis,we derived the synonymy list based on the paleontology KG and designed corresponding online functions in the OneStratigraphy database to showcase the use of the KG in paleontological research.

New findings of Changxingaspis(Xiushuiaspidae,Galeaspida)from the Silurian of Tarim Basin and Zhejiang Province,China

New discovery of the early Silurian fossil fish Changxingaspis(Xiushuiaspidae,Galeaspida),Changxingaspis nianzhongi sp.nov.and C.gui,are described from the Tataertag Formation in Tarim Basin and the Kangshan Formation in Zhejiang Province,respectively.C.nianzhongi mainly differs from C.gui in the shape of the median dorsal opening that is transverse elliptic with a width/length ratio of about 3.0,the long lateral transverse canals extending to the lateral margin of the headshield,and the second lateral transverse canal with dichotomous branchings.Discovery of C.nianzhongi from the Tataertag Formation and C.gui from the Kangshan Formation provide direct evidence on the specific level for the correlation between these two formations,which further supports the Silurian fish-bearing red beds in northwest Zhejiang belonging to the Silurian Lower Red Beds(LRBs)rather than the Upper Red Beds(URBs).Additionally,as the first record of the Changxingaspis in Tarim Basin,it extends the paleogeographical distribution of this genus from the South China Block to the Tarim Block,providing new evidence to support faunal exchanges between these two blocks and the hypothesis of a united Tarim-South China Block during the early Silurian.

Cretaceous crown male ant reveals the rise of modern lineages

Most described Mesozoic ants belong to stem groups that existed only during the Cretaceous period.Previously,the earliest known crown ants were dated to the Turonian(Late Cretaceous,ca.94-90 million years ago(Ma))deposits found in the USA,Kazakhstan,and Botswana.However,the recent discovery of an alate male ant in Kachin amber from the earliest Cenomanian(ca.99 Ma),representing a new genus and species,Antiquiformica alata,revises the narrative on ant diversification.Antiquiformica can be distinctly differentiated from all known male stem ants by its geniculate antennae with elongated scape,extending far beyond the occipital margin of the head and half the length of the funiculus,as well as its partly reduced forewing venation.Furthermore,the combination of a one-segmented waist with a well-developed node,elongated scape extending beyond the occipital margin,and reduced forewing venation,particularly the completely reduced m-cu and rs-m crossveins and absence of rm and mcu closed cells,firmly places the fossil within the extant subfamily Formicinae.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)confirmed that the amber containing Antiquiformica alata originated from the Kachin mines in Myanmar.This discovery significantly revises our understanding of the early evolution of Formicinae.The presence of Antiquiformica in Cenomanian amber indicates that the subfamily Formicinae emerged at least by the start of the Late Cretaceous,with crown ants likely originating earlier during the earliest Cretaceous or possibly the Late Jurassic,although paleontological evidence is lacking to support the latter hypothesis.

Tectonic Evolution of Southeast Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Evidence from Geochronological Data and Paleontology of the Early Paleozoic Deposits in Inner Mongolia

In this study, we present detrital zircon U-Pb dating and paleontological data for the newly identified Ayadeng Formation in the northern margin of the North China Block(NCB) and Xibiehe Formation(molasse) in the Bainaimiao arc belt(BAB), which could provide strong evidence indicating the affinity of the BAB and the evolution of the southeast Central Asian orogenic belt(CAOB). Zircon U-Pb data of siltstone samples and paleontological data indicate the Ayadeng Formation dates back to the Early Ordovician. Although its location is near the NCB, its zircon age spectra and paleontology share a closer affinity with those of Tarim and NE Gondwana, as the U-Pb data suggest an age range of 490–2 192 Ma(peak age=629, 788, 965 and 1 935 Ma), and similar gastropod fossils are found in Tarim and NE Gondwana. The U-Pb ages of meta-sandstone samples in the Xuniwusu Formation indicate a shared inheritance with the Ayadeng Formation(before 440 Ma), and the U-Pb ages of sandstone samples in the Xibiehe Formation are concentrated, with age peaks centered at ca. 420 Ma. Fossil corals occur in these two formations, and their age components also indicate a collisional setting. Therefore, it is speculated that the BAB drifted away from Tarim or NE Gondwana during the Ordovician and became attached to northern NCB between 440–420 Ma as an exotic terrane. During the Early Paleozoic, there may have occurred a collision between an arc and a continental block.

PALEONTOLOGY

20161123 Niu Yongbin(School of Resourcesand Environment Engineering,Henan Polytechnic University,Jiaozuo 454000,China);Shan Tingting Trace Fossils and Their Sedimentary Environment of Ordovician

PALEONTOLOGY

20040562 Cao Fang (Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chinese Geological Survey, Tianjin); Liu Xinmiao An Additional Study on Spinose Acritarches from the Doushantuo Formation in the Eastern Yangtze Gorges, China (Geological Review, ISSN0371-5736, CN11-1952/P, 49 (1), 2003, p. 53-58, 2 plates, 32 refs. , with English abstract) Keywords: acritarchs Hubei

PALEONTOLOGY

(1) MICROPALAEONTOLOGY20041469 Bhatia, S. B. ( Sector 6, Panchkula. , India) Charophytes from the Miocene -Pliocene Transition in the Siwalik/ Churia Group of the Himalayan Foreland Basin: Palaeobiogeographic and Palaeoeco-logic Implications (Acta Micropalaeontologica Sinica, ISSN 1000-0674, CN 32-1189/Q, 20(2), 2003, p. 150-155, 2 illus. , 26 refs. ) Key words: Charophyta, India,

PALEONTOLOGY

20031143 Ke Yeyan (Department of Geology , Peking University, Beijing); Qi Wen-tong Fossil Records and Molecular Clock Study of the Time of Origin of the Precam-brian Biologic Lineages (Geological Review, ISSN 0371-5736, CN11-1952/P, 48(5), 2002, p. 457-462, 2 illus. , 43 refs. , with English abstract) keywords: life

PALEONTOLOGY

20052253 Li Shumei (School of Life Sci-ences, University of Science and Technologyof China, Hefei 230027); Shen XianshengReproductive Organs of Chara Braunii Ob-served by ESEM (Acta MicropalaeontologicaSinica, ISSN1000-0674, CN32-1189/Q,21 (3), 2004, p. 342 - 345, 1 plate, 12refs.)Key words: CharophytaIn the paper, oogonium and sper-matangium of Chara braunii were observedcarefull by ESEM and IM. The results showthat surface tube cells (surround cells, or spi-ral cells) of oogonium, after the egg cell fertil-ized, no longer lack calcareous deposit.20052254 Liu Shengxiang (No. 3 Geologyand Mineral Exploration Team, GansuProvincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Ex-ploration and Development, Lanzhou 730050,China); Luo Xiaogang The New Data of Mi-cropaleobotany Fossil of Gaolan Litho -Cluster and Its Time (Acta Geologica Gansu,

PALEONTOLOGY

20042162 Gong Yiming (Faculty of Earth Science, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei) Facies Characteristics and Tiering Distributions of Chondrites (Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, ISSN 0001-6616, CN32-1188/Q, 43(1), 2004, p. 94-102, 3 illus. , 1 table, 68 refs. ) Key words: trace

PALEONTOLOGY

20032804 Braga, J. C. (Departmento de Estratigrafiay Paleontologia, Universidad de Granada, Campus Fuentenueva, Granada, Spain) Application of Botanical Taxonomy to Fossil Coralline Algae ( Corallinales. Rhodophyta ) ( Acta Micropalaeontologica Sinica, ISSN1000-0674, CN32-1189/Q, 20(1), 2003, p. 47-56, 4 illus. , 3 tables, 23 refs. )

PALEONTOLOGY

20031954 Wang Jianping (Henan Institute of Geological Survey, Zhengzhou, Henan); Pei Fang Paleozoic Paleobiogeographic Provinces and Paleogeographic Changes in the Eastern Qinling, China (Geological Review, ISSN 0371-5736, CN11-1952/P, 48(6), 2002, p. 603-611, 1 illus. , 91 refs. , with English abstract)key words: paleobiogeography, Qinling Mountains,

PALEONTOLOGY

(1) MICROPALAEONTOLOGY 20050869 Hong Tianqiu (Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009); Jia Zhihai Acritarchs from the Neoproterozoic Jiuliqiao Formation, Huainan Region, and Their Biostratigraphic Significance (Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, ISSN 0001-6616, CN32-1188/Q, 43(3), 2004, p. 377 - 387, 2 illus. , 2 plates, 3 tables, 27 refs. )

PALEONTOLOGY

20030416 Qi Wentong (Department of Geology, Peking University, Beijing); Ke Yeyan The Environmental Change of the Primitive Earth and the Chemical Evolution of Life(Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, ISSN 0001-6616, CN32-1188, 41(2), 2002, p.295-301, 38 refs. )