Lower Triassic marine strata in Spitsbergen accumulated on a mid-to-high latitude ramp in which high-energy foreshore and shoreface facies passed offshore into sheet sandstones of probable hyperpycnite origin. More distal facies include siltstones, shales and dolomitic limestones. Carbon isotope chemostratigraphy comparison allows improved age dating of the Boreal sections and shows a significant hiatus in the upper Spathian. Two major deepening events, in earliest Griesbachian and late Smithian time, are separated by shallowing-upwards trends that culminated in the Dienerian and Spathian substages. The redox record, revealed by changes in bioturbation, palaeoecology, pyrite framboid content and trace metal concentrations, shows anoxic phases alternating with intervals of better ventilation. Only Dienerian–early Smithian time witnessed persistent oxygenation that was sufficient to support a diverse benthic community. The most intensely anoxic, usually euxinic, conditions are best developed in offshore settings, but at times euxinia also developed in upper offshore settings where it is even recorded in hyperpycnite and storm-origin sandstone beds: an extraordinary facet of Spitsbergen's record. The euxinic phases do not track relative water depth changes. For example, the continuous shallowing upwards from the Griesbachian to lower Dienerian was witness to several euxinic phases separated by intervals of more oxic, bioturbated sediments. It is likely that the euxinia was controlled by climatic oscillations rather than intra-basinal factors. It remains to be seen if all the anoxic phases found in Spitsbergen are seen elsewhere, although the wide spread of anoxic facies in the Smithian/Spathian boundary interval is clearly a global event.

On the 30 May 1929, a massive earthquake occurred in the San Rafael area (southern Mendoza province) leading to the destruction of the Villa Atuel and Las Malvinas towns. The region affected by the ground shaking covers a large part of southern South America. Although no surface breaks have been detected on the surface, several authors have pointed out active faults that could be related to the event of 1929. Using satellite imagery and field observations, we investigated two active faults situated on the eastern border of the San Rafael Block (SRB) close to or within the epicentral area. The most prominent faults are the c. 40 km long Las Malvinas and c. 30 km long Cerro Negro reverse faults which are located near the epicentral area. Geological and morphological observations allow us to describe late Pleistocene activity and estimate the long-term slip rates of these faults. Possible ruptures that match our observations and which are compatible with the cartographic length of these faults would account for a seismic moment magnitude of M0 = 2.8×1019 N m and a moment magnitude of MW = 6.9. The morphological signatures of these fault segments and the occurrence of the San Rafael earthquake suggests that the southern Mendoza Province is still currently submitted to shortening.

Central Mexico was subject to active tectonics related to subduction processes while it occupied a position in western equatorial Pangea during early Mesozoic time. The subduction of the palaeo-Pacific plate along the western North American and South American active continental margins produced volcanic arc successions which were subsequently rifted and re-incorporated to the continental margin. In this context, the fringing arcs are important in unravelling the continental accretionary record. Using petrographic analysis, detrital zircon geochronology and structural geology, this paper demonstrates that the Guerrero Arc (Guerrero Terrane) formed on top of a felsic volcaniclastic unit (Middle Jurassic La Pimienta Formation) and siliciclastic strata (Upper Triassic Zacatecas Formation and Arteaga Complex) of continental Mexican provenance, deposited across the continental margin and oceanic substrate. This assemblage was rifted away from continental Mexico to form an intervening oceanic assemblage (Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous Las Pilas Volcanosedimentary Complex of the Arperos Basin), then accreted back more or less at the same place, all above the same east-dipping subduction zone. The accretion of the Guerrero Arc to the Mexican continental mainland (Sierra Madre Terrane) caused the deposition of a siliciclastic unit (La Escondida Phyllite), which recycled detritus from the volcaniclastic and siliciclastic underlying strata.

A Neoproterozoic granite (Western Huhetaoergai granite) from the Northern Alxa region, southern Central Asia Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is first recognized by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U–Pb zircon dating (889±8 Ma). It is a highly fractionated potassium-rich calc-alkaline pluton with low εNd(t) (−2.6 to −1.1) and high (87Sr/86Sr)t (0.727305–0.735626), and is probably derived from a mantle source and assimilated crustal rocks with very high 87Sr/86Sr. Regional geology implies that it may reflect the existence of a microcontinent, and the formation of the Western Huhetaoergai granite is related to the assembly of Rodinia.

Several major tholeiitic (e.g. the Skaergaard intrusion) and alkaline (e.g. the Kangerlussuaq Syenite) intrusive complexes of the North Atlantic Large Igneous Province are exposed along the Kangerlussuaq Fjord in East Greenland. The Kærven Complex forms a satellite intrusion to the Kangerlussuaq Syenite and includes early tholeiitic gabbros and a series of cross-cutting alkaline intrusions ranging from monzonite to alkali granite. The alkaline intrusions cut the gabbros, and are cut by the outer nordmarkite zone of the Kangerlussuaq Syenite. This study presents the first U–Pb zircon ages from the alkaline units of the Kærven Complex. Fourteen multi-grain zircon fractions have been analysed by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Absolute age differences could not be resolved between the different units, suggesting a relatively rapid succession of intrusions between c. 53.5 and 53.3 Ma. Our compilation of precise radiometric age data shows that most of the alkaline magmatism in the Kangerlussuaq Fjord occurred prior to 50 Ma. Moreover, pre-50 Ma alkaline intrusions and lavas show a SSE-younging trend, which is interpreted as the track of the Iceland hotspot during the rift-to-drift transition of the North Atlantic.

The vertebrate assemblage from the Early Cretaceous non-marine Xinlong Formation of the Napai Basin, in the south-western part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (southern China), is reviewed. The assemblage includes chondrichthyans (at least six species of hybodont sharks including Hybodus, Thaiodus, Heteroptychodus and Acrorhizodus), actinopterygians (Halecomorphi and Ginglymodi), turtles (the adocid Shachemys and the carettochelyid Kizylkumemys), crocodilians (cf. Theriosuchus) and dinosaurs (the sauropods Fusuisaurus and Liubangosaurus, carcharodontosaurid and spinosaurid theropods, iguanodontians and a possible psittacosaurid). This assemblage shows many similarities to those from non-marine formations of the Khorat Group of north-eastern Thailand. It seems to be particularly close to that from the Khok Kruat Formation, considered as Aptian in age, as shown especially by sharks and turtles and by the presence of iguanodontians. An Aptian age is therefore proposed for the Xinlong Formation. A study of the stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of reptile apatite suggests that this part of South China experienced subtropical arid conditions during the deposition of the Xinlong Formation. In its composition, the vertebrate fauna from the Xinlong Formation seems to be more similar to coeval faunas from SE Asia than to assemblages from northern China (including the Jehol Biota). Although this may partly reflect different depositional and taphonomic environments (fluvial for the Xinlong Formation versus lacustrine for the Jehol Biota) it seems likely that, during Early Cretaceous time, southern China and SE Asia were part of a distinct zoogeographical province, different from that corresponding to northern China. This may be the result of both climatic differences (with relatively cool climates in northern China versus a subtropical climate in the south) and geographical barriers such as mountain chains.

The end-Permian (c. 252 Ma) and end-Triassic (c. 201 Ma) mass-extinction events are commonly linked to the emplacement of the large igneous provinces of the Siberia Traps and Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, respectively. Accordingly, scenarios for both extinctions are increasingly convergent and cross-fertilization of ideas has become important. Here, we present a synthesis of extinction scenarios based on a critical assessment of the available palaeontological, sedimentological, geochemical and geophysical evidence. How similar were the extinction events, what gaps exist in our understanding and how can a comparison of the events enhance our understanding of each event individually? Our focus is on the most important proximate kill mechanisms including: climate change and atmospheric pollution; increased soil erosion, weathering and runoff; forest dieback and the spread of pathogens; and ocean temperature changes, anoxia and acidification. There is substantial evidence to suggest that very similar kill mechanisms acted upon late Permian as well as Late Triassic ecosystems, strengthening the hypothesis that the ultimate causes of the mass-extinction events were similar.

We have conducted a structural study of both the basement-involved Malargüe fold-and-thrust belt (MFTB) and the active San Rafael Block (SRB), which are located in the Central Andes at latitude 34–36°S. Based on several field examples located both in the inner and frontal part of belt and from the distal foreland zone, we focus on the relationships between basement and cover deformation with respect to the known palaeogeography and structural inheritance. In several zones, we point out similarities in the structural and sedimentary responses to Andean shortening. The recent morphologic response has also been investigated through the analysis of active deformation along the eastern border of the SRB. We show that these structural and sedimentary processes are continuous in time and space since they can be applied in the various parts of the fold belt and also at different stages of fold-and-thrust-belt building as well. Finally, we propose the illustration of those mechanisms by complete cross-section along the Rio Grande valley and a possible kinematic scenario of deformation propagation.

An extensive study of the microstructure, nanostructrure and crystallographic properties of six taxa belonging to four different genera of Devonian and Carboniferous Syringoporicae showing dense phaceloid (Pleurosiphonella), pseudocerioid (Neomultithecopora) and cerioid growth patterns (Roemeria and Roemeripora) has been done in order to disclose the similarities and differences in the growth processes at the biomineral scale and understand the growth processes that provide organisms with an evolutionary advantage to colonize different habitats. All the skeletons have similarities regarding the biocrystallization process, showing that the Syringoporicae skeletons are a product of matrix-mediated biocrystallization. Micro- and nanotextural features are common in all of the skeletons studied, showing that they were composed of hierarchical structures. All studied taxa possess a complex nanostructure composed of co-oriented rounded nanocrystals with different sizes and morphologies, depending on the taxon. The identified microstructures include granules, lamellae, fibres and hyaline elements. The crystallographic techniques demonstrate that all of them except the hyaline elements are biogenic in origin. Granules could be aborted fibres during the growth of two corallites in contact. On the other hand, the study of the biomineral properties suggests that the skeleton structure is a reflection of the genetic code. The median lamina was formed by the joint crystallization of both polyps at the same time. The variation in the internal structural organization (phaceloid, pseudocerioid or cerioid) was conditioned by the environment (stressful situations or feeding strategies); on the contrary, the final structure is controlled by genetics and their crystallographic properties are characteristic for each internal structural organization.

A new euarthropod with an uncommon morphology, Brachyaglaspis singularis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Early Ordovician (middle Floian) Fezouata biota of Morocco. The presence of a pair of postventral plates, widely attached to each other and located under the posterior-most trunk tergite and the base of the tailspine, indicates a phylogenetic relationship with the enigmatic group Aglaspidida. The overall morphology of Brachyaglaspis most closely resembles that of the ‘Ordovician-type’ aglaspidids, more specifically the late Cambrian – Early Ordovician genus Tremaglaspis. However, the presence of a prominent cephalon and only six trunk tergites in the new genus deviates from the organization of all other known aglaspidid species, notably extending the known range of morphological disparity of the group. A taxonomic revision of this euarthropod group indicates that the most accurate name and authorship combination correspond to Aglaspidida Walcott, 1912.

The Sicilian Channel is a broad and shallow shelf which is geologically part of the African Plate. Its NW sector (the Adventure Plateau), where water depths rarely exceed 100 m, is punctuated by several kilometre-sized morphological highs. These elevations, formed by both sedimentary and volcanic rocks, emerged around middle Holocene time or earlier when they constituted a large archipelago. High-resolution single-channel and multichannel seismic reflection profiles, along with stratigraphic and lithological information derived from exploration wells and rock samplings, are analysed to derive the shallow and deep structural setting of these banks and identify their geological nature. The sedimentary banks (Talbot, Ante-Talbot, Panope, Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia), presently located at water depths 8–40 m, are composed of Miocene rocks severely deformed by a late Miocene compressional phase which produced the external sector of the Sicilian–Maghrebian thrust belt. Tortonian-aged rock samples from the Pantelleria Vecchia Bank represent patch reefs that have mostly formed on structural highs. Sedimentary analogies suggest that other sedimentary banks of the Adventure Plateau may have the same origin. Galatea, Anfitrite and Tetide represent submarine volcanic edifices emplaced on major extensional faults formed during early Pliocene – Quaternary continental rifting of the Sicilian Channel. The present-day morphology of the banks is the result of repeated phases of subaerial exposure and drowning, especially since the Last Glacial Maximum.

By using strontium isotopic ratios of dental enamel from molars, we were able to reconstruct the migration context for three individuals of a Columbian mammoth population (Mammuthus columbi) around Laguna de las Cruces, San Luis Potosí, central México. A three-step leaching procedure was applied to eliminate secondary Sr contributions in the molar enamel. One of the studied individuals showed 87Sr/86Sr ratios similar to those obtained from soils and plants from Laguna de las Cruces and was identified as local, whereas the other two mammoths had different molar 87Sr/86Sr values, indicative of migration and mobility contexts.

In Figure 1 in the above article locality number 6 and 8 have erroneously switched places. The author sincerely apologizes for this error and gratefully acknowledges the journal for printing this erratum.

Deformation and uplift in the Andes are a result of the subduction of the Nazca plate below South America. The deformation shows variations in structural style and shortening along and across the strike of the orogen, as a result of the dynamics of the subduction system and the features of the upper plate. In this work, we analyse the development of thin-skinned and thick-skinned fold and thrust belts in the Southern Central Andes (30–36°S). The pre-Andean history of the area determined the formation of different basement domains with distinct lithological compositions, as a result of terrane accretions during Palaeozoic time, the development of a widespread Permo-Triassic magmatic province and long-lasting arc activity. Basin development during Palaeozoic and Mesozoic times produced thick sedimentary successions in different parts of the study area. Based on estimations of strength for the different basement and sedimentary rocks, calculated using geophysical estimates of rock physical properties, we propose that the contrast in strength between basement and cover is the main control on structural style (thin- v. thick-skinned) and across-strike localization of shortening in the study area.

The Qiangtang Metamorphic Belt (QMB) was considered to have either formed in situ by amalgmation of the North and South Qiangtang blocks or been underthrust from the Jinsha suture and exhumed in the interior of a single ‘Qiangtang Block’. A new Sphaeroschwagerina fusuline fauna discovered in the Raggyorcaka Lake area supports the interpretation that the North and South Qiangtang blocks were separated by a wide ocean during Asselian (Early Permian) time, indicating that the QMB was formed by the suturing of the Palaeotethys Ocean along the Longmu Co-Shuanghu suture.

A comprehensive study based on U–Pb and Hf isotope analyses of zircons from gneisses has been conducted along the western part (Babina area) of the E–W-trending Bundelkhand Tectonic Zone in the central part of the Archaean Bundelkhand Craton. 207Pb–206Pb zircon ages and Hf isotopic data indicate the existence of a felsic crust at ~ 3.59 Ga, followed by a second tectonothermal event at ~ 3.44 Ga, leading to calc-alkaline magmatism and subsequent crustal growth. The study hence suggests that crust formation in the Bundelkhand Craton occurred in a similar time-frame to that recorded from the Singhbhum and Bastar cratons of the North Indian Shield.

Early faunas with Watsonella crosbyi with or without Aldanella spp. have been equated with the Siberian Tommotian Stage (uppermost Terreneuvian) and used to define a proposed Cambrian Stage 2 base. Much earlier Terreneuvian occurrences are now shown by recovery of these micromolluscs below the I’ carbon excursion in the Siberian ‘Nemakit-Daldynian’ Stage and comparable δ13C excursions in the middle Meishucunian (China) and middle Chapel Island Formation (Avalonia). This δ13C excursion, a reliable Stage 2 marker, lies in a c. 10 Ma interval in the Cambrian Radiation in which long-ranged small shelly fossil taxa provide limited biostratigraphic resolution.

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was probably the largest predatory dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. A new study shows that it was a semiaquatic hunter. The function of Spinosaurus’ huge dorsal ‘sail’ remains unsolved, however. Three hypotheses have been proposed: (1) thermoregulation; (2) humpback storage; or (3) display. According to our alternative hypothesis, the submerged sail would have improved manoeuvrability and provided the hydrodynamic fulcrum for powerful neck and tail movements such as those made by sailfish or thresher sharks when stunning or injuring prey. Finally, it could have been employed as a screen for encircling prey underwater.

The Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba are the easternmost uplifted blocks caused by Andean foreland deformation, over 700 km from the Chile trench. This deformation started at c. 340 Ma through basement faults, thrusts and reactivation of normal faults of the Cretaceous rift during the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. Other older faults, major oblique lineaments, were also reactivated. Thermochronological and geothermobarometric data indicate that some topographic relief could have been Palaeozoic–Mesozoic relicts and not only produced by the Andean orogeny. Faults are partially controlled by the early Cambrian S2 metamorphic foliation, coincident with the curved fault traces at map scale. During Pliocene time, two deformation phases post-dating Miocene–Pliocene magmatism are recognized. Shallow seismicity data (c. 25 km depth) indicate that the Sierras de Córdoba accommodate Quaternary displacement. Magnetotelluric studies detect the interface between the Pampia terrane and the Río de la Plata craton. The role of the oblique lineaments in the nucleation and development of the Tertiary faulting has been little considered; they could be correlated with an old pan-Gondwanan trend. During the Cretaceous period these lineaments worked in a transtensive way, producing the uplift of high-grade rocks and segmentation of the mountain chain favouring the diachronous uplift along the ranges. Recently, both the brittle–ductile transition at c. 23 km depth and the crustal thickness have been determined by seismicity analysis. The oblique lineaments displace normally the Mohorovicic discontinuity. Main basement thrusts were probably rooted in the suture between the Pampia terrane and the Río de la Plata craton.