Soricidae is the most species-rich eulipotyphlan family since the Pliocene. Numerous Late Miocene soricids and plesiosoricids are well known from southern Europe. Localities from central Europe, despite being rare, historically have yielded better preserved material that reveals a great diversity. We here add to this existing record with the description of eight species from MN9- to MN12-aged localities of Slovakia (Paenelimnoecus repenningi, Paenesorex bicuspis, Isterlestes aenigmaticus n. gen. n. sp., Crusafontina endemica, Crusafontina kormosi, Amblycoptus jessiae, Asoriculus gibberodon, Petenyia dubia), alongside one species of Plesiosoricidae (Plesiosorex evolutus). The early occurrence of A. gibberodon and A. jessiae, the occurrence of Paenesorex, and the identification of Isterlestes aenigmaticus n. gen. n. sp., reinforce the hypothesis that the Pannonian region (south-eastern central Europe) was a source area for several soricid taxa (Allosoricinae, Anourosoricini, Soricini) during the Late Miocene.

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The Cambrian edrioasteroid “Totiglobus” spencensis Wen et al., 2019 is redescribed on the basis of a new and exquisitely preserved specimen from the Cambrian Wuliuan of the Spence Shale Member, Langston Formation (Utah). This new occurrence is associated with soft-body preservation of several invertebrate groups and other shelly fossils. The description of “T.” spencensis was originally based on a single poorly preserved specimen. As a result, some of its features, such as curvature of the ambulacra and morphology of floor and cover plates, were misinterpreted or unavailable. The new material allows a new placement in Sprinkleoglobus spencensis n. comb. (Wen et al., 2019) on the basis of the general shape of the theca, attachment disc, and biserial flooring plates with podial pores and multiple cover plate series. The attachment disc of the new specimen lies in contact with a trilobite librigena, supporting evidence that this taxon is one of the earliest known examples of attachment to hard, mineralized substrata among Edrioasteroidea.

Insights into the paleoneurology and endocranial anatomy of ornithopod dinosaurs come largely from Northern Hemisphere taxa. The recently described non-hadrosaurid iguanodontian Fostoria dhimbangunmal from the Cenomanian of eastern Australia includes a partial skull that offers novel insights into its endocranial anatomy (i.e., the cavity housing the brain). Here, we describe the paleoneurology of F. dhimbangunmal based on a digital cranial endocast obtained from computed tomography. The endocast is mostly complete; however, it is diagenetically dorsoventrally compressed and its ventral limits are not preserved. The endocranial anatomy of F. dhimbangunmal is generally consistent with that of other non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians, including a well-developed olfactory apparatus, suggesting a good sense of smell. In contrast to hadrosaurids and some non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians, F. dhimbangunmal possesses the ancestral flexure condition, in which cranial and pontine flexure angles are subequal. The cerebrum makes up a significant portion of the endocast volume; however, the cerebral hemispheres are not as enlarged or bulbous as seen in hadrosaurids. The forebrain of F. dhimbangunmal did not fill the braincase to the same extent as in hadrosaurids. A distinct vacuity in the supraoccipital of F. dhimbangunmal may represent a new autapomorphy. This study provides the first insights into the neuroanatomy of an Australian iguanodontian dinosaur.

Jurassic cyrtocrinids from Spain are first documented here as representing relatively diverse assemblages from the western Tethys. The species Ascidicrinus pentagonus, Eugeniacrinites cariophilites, Gammarocrinites compressus, Pilocrinus moussoni, Sclerocrinus cf. S. strambergensis, and Tetracrinus moniliformis are described from Oxfordian marl levels belonging to the Yátova Formation, around Tosos (Zaragoza, NE Spain). Although based on partially disarticulated material, these fossils preserve cups, stem columnals, attachment structures, and brachial plates. Based on the sedimentology and associated invertebrate fauna, cyrtocrinids from this area lived below storm wave action but eventually were affected by storms, as opposed to their modern counterparts that occupy deep water environments. Some specimens preserve traces of interactions with other organisms, such as predation marks or epibiontic colonization during life and post-mortem. Attachment structures suggest cyrtocrinids mostly attached on sponges. We note that diversity of cyrtocrinids changed in step with the abundance of sponge reefs in the Jurassic, suggesting that both groups probably had an important link in that period related with similar ecological requirements.

One of the challenges for bryozoans is to avoid refiltering water that has already had its plankton removed. Larger colonies develop colony-wide maculae-centered feeding currents to avoid refiltering water and generally have elevated maculae (monticules). We hypothesize that the height and density of spacing of monticules are inversely proportional to curvature of the colony surface. Larger, flatter colonies should have higher and more closely spaced monticules. We compare two Permian stenolaemate bryozoans whose colonies form branches with elliptical cross sections: the smaller and more elliptical cystoporate Evactinostella crucialis (Hudleston, 1883) from Western Australia (N = 17) and the larger and flatter trepostome Tabulipora sp. from eastern North Greenland (N = 15). Using calipers and digital elevation models, we measured curvature, monticule height, and number of monticules per area. Results indicate that Evactinostella branches are at least twice as curved as those of Tabulipora, their monticules are half the height of Tabulipora, and their monticules are 22% less densely spaced than those of Tabulipora. In Evactinostella colonies, surface curvature is inversely proportional to monticule height and spatial density, which is not true for Tabulipora. Therefore, we conclude that the smaller and more curved the colony surface, the less the colony needs robust colony-wide feeding currents created by tall, closely spaced monticules.

Several new foraminiferal taxa are described from the Changhsingian carbonates of southern Turkey, and their evolutionary relationships are discussed within the middle to late Permian time frame. Comprising Retroseptellina, Septoglobivalvulina, and Paraglobivalvulinoides, Retroseptellininae n. subfam. originated in the Wordian with thin and dense microgranular walls and became diverse and abundant in Changhsingian strata. Paraglobivalvulina? intermedia n. sp. appeared in the late Capitanian, survived into the Changhsingian, and gave way to completely involute tests of Paraglobivalvulininae. From the class Miliolata, Midiellidae n. fam., consisting of Midiella and Pseudomidiella, is characterized by sigmoidal coiling, and Pseudomidiella sahini n. sp. is probably the youngest known Changhsingian descendant. Glomomidiellopsis? okayi n. sp., which is interpreted as an evolutionary link between Capitanian Hemigordiopsis and Lopingian Glomomidiellopsis, survived into the Changhsingian. In the class Nodosariata, from the fully coiled Robuloides lineage of Robuloididae, Robuloides lata n. sp. and Plectorobuloides taurica n. gen. n. sp. most likely originated from R. lens in the Changhsingian. The R. acutus lineage, characterized by the reduction of laterally thickened hyaline wall and the appearance of evolute coiling, yielded Robuloides? rettorii n. sp. and Pseudorobuloides reicheli n. gen. n. sp. Calvezina anatolica n. sp. and Eomarginulinella galinae n. sp. are interpreted to have evolved from weakly coiled lineages in Robuloididae, whereas Pseudocryptomorphina amplimuralis n. gen. n. sp. is a poorly understood taxon and requires further study. Robustopachyphloia farinacciae n. sp. is interpreted as a descendant of some species within the genus Pachyphloia. The presence of canal-like pores in the wall of some Pachyphloia specimens is suggestive of a new morphological structure in the evolutionary history of the Changhsingian foraminifera.

Haliotis Linnaeus, 1758, a commercially important gastropod, is the only known genus in the family Haliotidae (Mollusca, Vetigastropoda, or abalone) worldwide. Its poor Cenozoic record and high intraspecific variability resulted in different interpretations of nomenclature, impeding a robust species-level taxonomy and biogeographic history. Among the best-studied forms, three subspecies of H. tuberculata Linnaeus, 1758 currently inhabit the temperate waters of the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic. New findings in the Pliocene of Tuscany (Italy) are presented here, and the taxonomy of the European record is revised. On the basis of a multivariate analysis of shell morphometrics for the first time applied to the study of fossil abalones, and consistent with the chronostratigraphic and geographic framework, H. plioetrusca n. sp. is introduced and H. volhynica Eichwald, 1829 and H. lamellosoides Sacco, 1897 are reinstated as valid species. Some recently described forms from the Pliocene of Spain are placed in synonymy with H. lamellosoides. Haliotis ovata Michelotti, 1847 is proposed as the ancestral taxon of modern H. tuberculata, via H. lamellosoides. This lineage diversified in the subtropical/warm temperate Pliocene Mediterranean, represented by H. lamellosoides, H. bertinii Forli et al., 2003 and H. plioetrusca. The progressive global cooling starting at around 3.0 Ma is associated with the appearance of H. tuberculata at temperate latitudes. H. plioetrusca is not known from younger strata, whereas H. bertinii survived into the Calabrian.

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Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that Kuamaia lata, a helmetiid euarthropod from the lower Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 3) Chengjiang Konservat-Lagerstätte, nests robustly within Artiopoda, the euarthropod clade including trilobitomorphs. Microtomography of new specimens of K. lata reveals details of morphology, notably a six-segmented head and raptorial frontal appendages, the latter contrasting with filiform antennae considered to be a diagnostic character of Artiopoda. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that a raptorial frontal appendage is a symplesiomorphy for upper stem-group euarthropods, retained across a swathe of tree space, but evolved secondarily in K. lata from an antenna within Artiopoda. The phylogenetic position of K. lata adds support to a six-segmented head being an ancestral state for upper stem- and crown-group euarthropods.

Foraging traces associated with the web-footed avian footprint ichnotaxon Presbyornithiformipes feduccii are described. Four new ichnospecies in three new ichnogenera are established to identify and describe the traces that resulted from foraging behaviors. All four ichnotaxa are, in places, overprinted by P. feduccii footprints and occur either laterally to, or sinuously woven between, P. feduccii trackways and therefore were clearly emplaced by the P. feduccii tracemaker.

Erevnoichnus blochi new ichnogenus new ichnospecies is established for a series of pits, joined by a marginal groove, that are associated with web-footed bird trackways. This ichnotaxon is interpreted to record regular probing/gaping as a waterbird swept its head from side to side searching for food. Erevnoichnus strimmena n. igen. new ichnospecies is established for en-echelon, gently arcuate grooves produced through forward probing by a waterbird searching for food. Ravdosichnus guntheri new ichnogenus new ichnospecies is established for simple grooves with u-shaped profiles produced when a waterbird dragged its bill backwards through the sediment. Aptosichnus diatarachi new ichnogenus new ichnospecies is established for a broad, shallow groove/trough characterized by sinuous margins and a complex, irregular fill. It is interpreted to record thorough bill stirring in an area with common prey.

All four ichnotaxa named herein are interpreted to record tactile feeding behavior by a marginal lacustrine waterbird searching for prey. Their association with Presbyornithiformipes feduccii suggests that the purported tracemaker, Presbyornis pervetus, did not forage solely through filter-feeding but was also capable of tactile foraging for larger prey.

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Two diving beetle species (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) from the extant genus Copelatus Erichson are documented from early Miocene Mexican amber. Copelatus chiapas new species is described based on a series of specimens of both sexes. Copelatus chiapas n. sp. is the third species of the subfamily Copelatinae described from amber and the first fossil diving beetle for which distinct sexual dimorphism is documented. The other species remains identified to genus level only, due to poor structural visibility. Key morphological characters of the species are illustrated.

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Revision of the type species of the Early Ordovician (Tulean, late Tremadocian) bathyurid trilobite Licnocephala Ross, 1951 demonstrates that it has significantly different morphology than that ascribed to it in the earlier literature, which was based largely on species now assigned to a different genus. In addition to the type species, L. bicornuta Ross, 1951, which is fully revised on the basis of new material, four species, all apparently new, have been recovered, two of which, L. ngi n. sp. and L. bradleyi n. sp., are well enough known to formally name. The overall phylogenetic structure of bathyurids is yet to be determined, but several apparent clades can now be recognized and are discussed. Among these is what is termed the “Chapmanopyge group,” including Chapmanopyge Fortey and Bruton, 2013, Punka Fortey, 1979, Uromystrum Whittington, 1953, and Licnocephala. These genera are united in the occurrence of much of the anterior cephalic border on the librigenal anterior projection, with most of the anterior margin of the cranidium representing the suture, the possession of very short (exsag.) strap-like posterior cranidial projections, and extremely narrow visual surfaces. A fifth genus of the group, Ibexocephala n. gen., is represented by two new species, I. lossoae (type species) and I. dekosterae. The taxon features a remarkable cranidial morphology involving a strong deflection of the posteriormost part of the cranidium from the anterior part in sagittal profile.

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Differences in brachyuran morphology among and between juveniles and adults as well as sexual dimorphism are not well studied among extinct brachyuran crabs. Carapace dimorphism and morphological changes during growth have received little attention in fossil crabs. Tetracarcinus subquadratus Weller, 1905, Dakoticancer australis Rathbun, 1935, and Seorsus wadei Bishop, 1988 are herein synonymized on the basis of examination of dozens to hundreds of specimens of each from the same locality. Synoriacarcinus new genus is named to embrace two species previously referred to Seorsus Bishop, 1988, Synoriacarcinus millerae (Bishop, 1992), new combination, and Synoriacarcinus kauffmani (Feldmann et al., 2013), new combination. Both Dakoticancridae and Ibericancridae were well established on coastal North America during the Late Cretaceous but became extinct in the end-Cretaceous event.

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Identifying feeding interactions in the fossil record remains a key challenge for paleoecologists. We report the rare occurrence of a conical, perforative bite mark in a cervical vertebra of an azhdarchid pterosaur, which we identified as a juvenile individual of Cryodrakon boreas Hone, Habib, and Therrien, 2019 from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada. Based on comparative analysis of the dentition and ecomorphology of potential trace makers in the Dinosaur Park Formation, as well as the morphology of the trace, the most likely candidate is a crocodilian, although whether it was made as a result of scavenging or predatory behavior is unknown. Feeding interactions involving pterosaurs are rare globally, whereas crocodilian bite marks are not uncommon in Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems. Given the opportunistic feeding style and known range of food items for both extant and extinct crocodilians, pterosaurs can be counted as a rare, but not surprising, component of at least some Cretaceous crocodilian diets.

Fossil egg capsules of chimaeroids (holocephalian fishes), although rare, have been known for more than 150 years (Bessels, 1869; Meunier, 1891a) and have been found in rocks as old as Upper Triassic (Gottfried and Fordyce, 2014). Egg capsules of extant chimaeroids are spindle shaped, with a smooth central body where the embryo develops, an elongate anterior beak through which the hatchling emerges, and an elongate posterior pedicle. The capsules are flanked by a lateral membrane or web on both sides, and the web is reinforced with branching or unbranching rib-like costae that extend laterally from the central body, beak, and pedicle. Specimens are typically about 10–30 cm long. Egg capsules of extant chimaeroids are made of collagen (Hamlett et al., 2005) and as fossils, chimaeroid egg capsules are typically preserved as external casts (Fischer et al., 2014).

Predation is a behavior that is commonly unsuccessful, but the cause of failure is often difficult to determine in the fossil record. Here, we report on gastropod drill holes in two Plio- and Miocene bivalve specimens from the Netherlands created from the inner side of the bivalve prey's shell, which we call reverse drill holes. These holes are unequivocally caused by failure of the gastropod drilling predators to make effective use of their chemoreception and mechanoreception sensory adaptations. We hypothesize that the diffuse nature of chemical cues emanating from dense aggregations of living prey could have confused foraging predators and stimulated them to initiate the drilling process on empty valves. Poor decision making due to hunger is an alternative hypothesis. These traces represent the first reported examples of reverse gastropod drill holes from the fossil record, and the first attributed to Naticidae. Compared to other types of failed predation (incomplete drill holes and drill holes in multiply-drilled specimens) in the two assemblages studied, reverse drill holes are rare (< 1% of drill holes). This result implies that the driller's sensory and decision-making processes were generally reliable at distinguishing dead from live prey.

The existence of Ordovician Peruvian cephalopods has been known since at least the 1910s. However, they have not been effectively documented previously with only a few described taxa listed in open nomenclature. Here, we describe a cephalopod assemblage at the finest taxonomic level possible. The specimens were collected from the Floian section (Baltograptus minutus graptolite Zone) of the San José Formation from the Kimbiri area, northwest of Cuzco (= Cusco), and from a section along the Inambari River, southeastern Peru. The dark mudstone-siltstone of the San José Formation was deposited within the Central Andean Basin. The assemblage contains five species of small orthoceracones belonging to four families and three orders, consisting of one indeterminate dissidocerid, one bathmoceratid (Saloceras sp.), one rioceratid (Rioceras? sp.), and two baltoceratids belonging to Annbactroceras grecicostatum (Kobayashi, 1937), and Bactroceras cocafolium new species. The dominance of small orthoceracones is typical for early Paleozoic pelagic cephalopod assemblages. One species, A. grecicostatum, is known from elsewhere in the Central Andean Basin. The other taxa indicate a peri-Gondwana-Avalonia paleogeographical relationship of the cephalopod fauna, which is consistent with previously published data from brachiopods and trilobites.

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Ediacaran fossils, obtained in stratigraphic context in 1993, 1995, and 1996, with the assistance of A. Seilacher, IGCP project 320 scientists, and the Geological Survey of Namibia, are described for the first time. Most are from the Kliphoek and Buchholzbrunn members of the Dabis Formation and the Huns and Spitskop members of the Urusis Formation, Witputs subbasin, but a significant number, including Pteridinium, are from the Kliphoek Member, Zaris Formation, and the Neiderhagen Member, Nudaus Formation, north of the Osis arch, which separates the two subbasins. We extend the stratigraphic ranges and geographic distributions of several important taxa, including Archaeichnium, Ernietta, Pteridinium, and Swartpuntia, provide reassessments of the paleobiology of these and other organisms, and describe a new sponge—possibly an unmineralized archaeocyath—Arimasia germsi n. gen. n. sp. We also describe and illustrate various ichnofossils (including the oldest known traces from the Nama Group), narrow down the first appearance of Treptichnus in the Nama succession, and reinforce the idea that there was a prolific infauna of micrometazoans during the latest Ediacaran by naming and describing previously reported microburrows found on the surfaces of gutter casts as Ariichnus vagus n. igen. n. isp.

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The ontogeny of two species of corynexochid trilobites from the middle Cambrian Mount Cap Formation of the eastern Mackenzie Mountains, northern Canada, is documented. Sahtuia carcajouensis (Dolichometopidae) and Mackenzieaspis parallelispinosa (Zacanthoididae) are both endemic to this formation and only known from one locality. They, along with several other corynexochid taxa, occur in a succession of mudstone with scattered carbonate interbeds, deposited in a weakly storm-agitated setting near the flank of a semi-enclosed basin. The ontogeny of both species is characterized by mainly normal cranidial development, but a unique distribution of segments in their thoraxes and pygidia. The number of trunk segments was typical for their respective families, whereas the final number of segments released into the thorax was reduced. This occurred in both species through timing modifications to segment release, indicating heterochrony. Sahtuia carcajouensis and Mackenzieaspis parallelispinosa are likely derived from two separate clades, and heterochrony probably arose separately but synchronously. The endemicity of both species probably reflects unique paleoecological conditions in this part of the basin. Preliminary results indicate that the fossil-bearing mudstone was deposited under well-oxygenated conditions that underwent high nutrient flux and possibly experienced varying salinity. These factors may have affected the organisms’ physiology, or perhaps provoked an adaptation to achieve early maturation.