Pterosaur wing bone from Early Cretaceous of Gansu Province, China + Jehol Biota in Jiufengshan Formation, Inner Mongolia + Middle Jurassic forest from China
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Ben Creisler
Aug 6, 2026, 4:05:36 PM (7 days ago) Aug 6
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
Recent China-related papers:
Ji Shu’an (2026)
First discovery of the Early Cretaceous pterosaur from western Gansu Province and supplement to the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna.
Geological Bulletin of China 45(7): 1374−1382 (in Chinese with English abstract)
DOI: 10.12097/gbc.2023.08.034.
https://www.sciengine.com/GeoBullChina/doi/10.12097/gbc.2023.08.034
[Objective] The Early Cretaceous Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna from the Mazongshan region (including Gongpoquan and Yujingzi basins) in western Gansu Province, northwestern China contains several types of the fossil dinosaurs, crocodiles and turtles. This study gives the definite evidence of pterosaur existence from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation in the Yujingzi Basin for the first time, and further discusses the significance on its supplement to the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. [Methods] Detailed description and comparison on the fossil bone’s anatomy are used for identifying the systematic position of the fossil. Confirmation of the fossil reptile groups is the basis of analyzing the components of the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. [Results] An incomplete piece of fossil bone collected from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation in the Yujingzi Basin has been identified as the proximal end of the first wing phalanx and fused extensor tendon process of a pterosaur. It should be included within Order Pterosauria. This pterosaur would be estimated to be a large flying reptile with the wing span around 4 meters according to the morphology and size of the bone. [Conclusions] This finding represents the first definite record of pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous in western Gansu Province, which adds a new reptile group for the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. It fills the gap of the pterosaur distribution in Mazongshan region and Beishan sedimentary area. This material further enriches the ecological niches of the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna, therefore provides new fossil evidence of understanding the components and distributions of the Early Cretaceous dinosaur faunae across the different regions in northern China.
**
Highlights: A pterosaur bone from the Lower Cretaceous in the Yujingzi Basin, western Gansu Province indicates the presence of large-sized pterosaurs in the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. This finding represents the first definite record of pterosaurs in western Gansu, and fills the gap of pterosaur distribution in the Beishan sedimentary area. The new pterosaur material further enriches the components and ecological diversity of the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna.
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Highlights
Biodiversity of the Jehol Biota was recovered in the Jiufengshan Formation.
Algal supplied a high productivity for the flourishment of the Jehol Biota.
Anoxic, ferruginous bottom-water promoted the exceptional preservation of the Jehol Biota.
Abstract
The typical elements of the Jehol Biota are densely preserved in the organic-rich shale succession of the Jiufengshan Formation in the Dayangshu Basin of the northern Great Xing'an Range, northeastern China. This provides a unique window to explore the evolution and preservation of the Jehol Biota by clarifying its biodiversity, paleoenvironmental background and taphonomical mechanism. In the present study, we recovered the fossil assemblage from the Jiufengshan Formation of the Shiyoukuangtun outcrop in the southmost Dayangshu Basin, in containing the typical Eosestheria-Ephemeropsis trisetalis-Lycoptera assemblage. This belongs to a fossil-rich lacustrine ecosystem comparable to those recorded in the core distribution area of the Jehol Biota. Multiple geochemical analyses (organic‑carbon isotopes, iron speciation, trace element enrichments, and Rock-Eval pyrolysis) were conducted for the organic-rich shale succession, to elucidate the organic matter sources, the lake bottom-water redox conditions, and their combined influence on the extreme enrichment of the organic matter. Rock-Eval pyrolysis data reveal a mixed organic matter source, with the high TOC contents (up to 10.15 wt%) in the organic-rich shale primarily derived from algal organic matter, indicating a favorable hydrocarbon generation potential. This provided a sustained high primary productivity for the flourishing of the Jehol Biota in the Dayangshu Basin. All the organic-rich shale samples exhibit FeHR/FeT ratios >0.22 (mostly >0.38), while the Fepy/FeHR ratios are significantly below 0.7, indicating an anoxic ferruginous bottom-water column for the exceptional burial of the Jehol Biota. Our findings present a model for explaining the evolution and preservation of the Jehol Biota by recovering a unique lacustrine ecosystem.
====
Xu-Dong Gou, Yun Guo, Tao Zhao, Stephen McLoughlin, and Zhuo Feng (2026)
Quantitative reconstruction of the Yiwu Jurassic Forest in Northwest China and high forest productivity in the Middle Jurassic
Science Advances 12(32): eaeh1682
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aeh1682
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeh1682
Free pdf:
https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.aeh1682
Forests constitute the dominant terrestrial ecosystems and play a critical role in global carbon cycling. However, the changing structure and function of forests through geological time remain poorly understood due to the scarcity of in situ fossil forests preserving detailed and physiologically important anatomical characters. On the basis of 78 in situ permineralized conifer stumps in the Yiwu Jurassic Forest of Xinjiang, China, we quantitatively reconstruct the forest using paleobotanical observations and ecological analyses. We found that this fossil forest has a random tree distribution with an average density of 126 trees per hectare, showing limited postestablishment competitive thinning; its estimated canopy height ranged from 10.47 to 43.95 meters, stand-level biomass was 276,192 to 386,946 kilograms per hectare, and a notable net primary productivity of 21.11 to 31.9 t/hm2·a, which is three times higher than that of modern temperate conifer forests. Elevated temperature and atmospheric pCO2 in the Middle Jurassic probably contributed to this high productivity. Our study indicates that tree density, canopy height, and biomass equivalent to modern forests had already emerged by the Middle Jurassic and that forests were functioning as major terrestrial carbon sinks.
=====
Free pdf:
Ji Shu’an (2026)
First discovery of the Early Cretaceous pterosaur from western Gansu Province and supplement to the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna.
Geological Bulletin of China 45(7): 1374−1382 (in Chinese with English abstract)
DOI: 10.12097/gbc.2023.08.034.
https://www.sciengine.com/GeoBullChina/doi/10.12097/gbc.2023.08.034
[Objective] The Early Cretaceous Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna from the Mazongshan region (including Gongpoquan and Yujingzi basins) in western Gansu Province, northwestern China contains several types of the fossil dinosaurs, crocodiles and turtles. This study gives the definite evidence of pterosaur existence from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation in the Yujingzi Basin for the first time, and further discusses the significance on its supplement to the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. [Methods] Detailed description and comparison on the fossil bone’s anatomy are used for identifying the systematic position of the fossil. Confirmation of the fossil reptile groups is the basis of analyzing the components of the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. [Results] An incomplete piece of fossil bone collected from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation in the Yujingzi Basin has been identified as the proximal end of the first wing phalanx and fused extensor tendon process of a pterosaur. It should be included within Order Pterosauria. This pterosaur would be estimated to be a large flying reptile with the wing span around 4 meters according to the morphology and size of the bone. [Conclusions] This finding represents the first definite record of pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous in western Gansu Province, which adds a new reptile group for the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. It fills the gap of the pterosaur distribution in Mazongshan region and Beishan sedimentary area. This material further enriches the ecological niches of the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna, therefore provides new fossil evidence of understanding the components and distributions of the Early Cretaceous dinosaur faunae across the different regions in northern China.
**
Highlights: A pterosaur bone from the Lower Cretaceous in the Yujingzi Basin, western Gansu Province indicates the presence of large-sized pterosaurs in the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna. This finding represents the first definite record of pterosaurs in western Gansu, and fills the gap of pterosaur distribution in the Beishan sedimentary area. The new pterosaur material further enriches the components and ecological diversity of the Mazongshan Dinosaur Fauna.
=====
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Yan Xue, Zhenhua Jing, Xiao Teng, Xin Zhang, Peihan Liu, Siyu Song, Rui Fang, Gang Li & Daran Zheng (2026)
Biodiversity and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Jehol Biota in the Jiufengshan Formation of eastern Inner Mongolia, northeastern China☆
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 114111
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.114111
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018226005742
Biodiversity and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Jehol Biota in the Jiufengshan Formation of eastern Inner Mongolia, northeastern China☆
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 114111
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.114111
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018226005742
Highlights
Biodiversity of the Jehol Biota was recovered in the Jiufengshan Formation.
Algal supplied a high productivity for the flourishment of the Jehol Biota.
Anoxic, ferruginous bottom-water promoted the exceptional preservation of the Jehol Biota.
Abstract
The typical elements of the Jehol Biota are densely preserved in the organic-rich shale succession of the Jiufengshan Formation in the Dayangshu Basin of the northern Great Xing'an Range, northeastern China. This provides a unique window to explore the evolution and preservation of the Jehol Biota by clarifying its biodiversity, paleoenvironmental background and taphonomical mechanism. In the present study, we recovered the fossil assemblage from the Jiufengshan Formation of the Shiyoukuangtun outcrop in the southmost Dayangshu Basin, in containing the typical Eosestheria-Ephemeropsis trisetalis-Lycoptera assemblage. This belongs to a fossil-rich lacustrine ecosystem comparable to those recorded in the core distribution area of the Jehol Biota. Multiple geochemical analyses (organic‑carbon isotopes, iron speciation, trace element enrichments, and Rock-Eval pyrolysis) were conducted for the organic-rich shale succession, to elucidate the organic matter sources, the lake bottom-water redox conditions, and their combined influence on the extreme enrichment of the organic matter. Rock-Eval pyrolysis data reveal a mixed organic matter source, with the high TOC contents (up to 10.15 wt%) in the organic-rich shale primarily derived from algal organic matter, indicating a favorable hydrocarbon generation potential. This provided a sustained high primary productivity for the flourishing of the Jehol Biota in the Dayangshu Basin. All the organic-rich shale samples exhibit FeHR/FeT ratios >0.22 (mostly >0.38), while the Fepy/FeHR ratios are significantly below 0.7, indicating an anoxic ferruginous bottom-water column for the exceptional burial of the Jehol Biota. Our findings present a model for explaining the evolution and preservation of the Jehol Biota by recovering a unique lacustrine ecosystem.
====
Free pdf:
Xu-Dong Gou, Yun Guo, Tao Zhao, Stephen McLoughlin, and Zhuo Feng (2026)
Quantitative reconstruction of the Yiwu Jurassic Forest in Northwest China and high forest productivity in the Middle Jurassic
Science Advances 12(32): eaeh1682
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aeh1682
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeh1682
Free pdf:
https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/sciadv.aeh1682
Forests constitute the dominant terrestrial ecosystems and play a critical role in global carbon cycling. However, the changing structure and function of forests through geological time remain poorly understood due to the scarcity of in situ fossil forests preserving detailed and physiologically important anatomical characters. On the basis of 78 in situ permineralized conifer stumps in the Yiwu Jurassic Forest of Xinjiang, China, we quantitatively reconstruct the forest using paleobotanical observations and ecological analyses. We found that this fossil forest has a random tree distribution with an average density of 126 trees per hectare, showing limited postestablishment competitive thinning; its estimated canopy height ranged from 10.47 to 43.95 meters, stand-level biomass was 276,192 to 386,946 kilograms per hectare, and a notable net primary productivity of 21.11 to 31.9 t/hm2·a, which is three times higher than that of modern temperate conifer forests. Elevated temperature and atmospheric pCO2 in the Middle Jurassic probably contributed to this high productivity. Our study indicates that tree density, canopy height, and biomass equivalent to modern forests had already emerged by the Middle Jurassic and that forests were functioning as major terrestrial carbon sinks.
=====
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