73 Book Reviews 73 Non-marine volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks to constrain marine dinoflagellate assemblages from the age of the associated sedimentary rocks/ China and also review the record in and ; (4) develop more southern England and southwestern Australia. in direct relationship to non-marine Dinoflagellates clearly have potential biochronology biostratigraphy; (5) concentrate more on the importance in biostratigraphy and paleo- recognition of depositional systems and environmental reconstruction (notably paleo- Sha Jin-geng and Spencer G. subsystems and their fluctuation in space and salinity). time to facilitate a high-resolution sequence There is only one contribution on Lucas (Eds.) stratigraphic analysis of marginal and megafossil plants, but it is a very useful review continental deposits; and (6) increase use of of Cretaceous floras of China by Deng, Lu, Journal of Stratigraphy, chemostratigraphy and isotopes for Fan, Li, Fang and Liu. The extensive early Volume 36, number 2, 2012, 550 p. correlation of Cretaceous non-marine Cretaceous record and its biostratigraphy are Price: 35 RMB Yuan (= ca. 6 USD) deposits. The remaining papers in the volume discussed in detail, and the sparse Late address nonmarine Cretaceous biostrati- Cretaceous floras are also reviewed. The Cretaceous saw fundamental changes graphy, biochronology and correlation using Two very different papers in the volume in the nonmarine ecosystem with the origin sporo-pollen, megafossil plants, ostracods, address ostracods and their potential in and/or rise of major clades, including conchostracans, non-marine molluscs and biostratigraphy and biochronology. Sames flowering plants, social insects, derived vertebrates. and Horne’s stimulating contribution is (hadrosaurids, ceratopsids, The first six papers are concerned with entitled “Latest Jurassic to Cretaceous non- tyrannosaurids), birds and therian mammals. sporo-pollen. Vajda and Berocovici and marine ostracod biostratigraphy: unde venis, The rocks that yield this fossil record are Bercovici, Vajda and Sweet provide two quo vadis?” Essentially, ostracods have widespread and occur on every continent and papers that review pollen and spore strati- acknowledged utility in regional correlations often contain significant economic resources, graphy of the Cretaceous-Palaeogene mass- but their use in supraregional biostratigraphy notably coal and gas. There is a long and extinction interval in the Southern and the has been doubted. Sames and Horne voluminous literature on the correlation of Northern hemispheres, respectively. Each enthusiastically argue that global correlations the non-marine Cretaceous that utilizes many paper is less than a dozen pages long but using non-marine ostracods are feasible given taxonomic groups, from pollen to dinosaurs. provides a good overview of the fossil record both a more conservative approach to However, the diverging continents produced in the hemisphere and identifies areas that taxonomy and an awareness of paleoenviron- provincialization of non-marine biotas that need additional study. The best studied mental factors. Essential to this goal is an makes global correlations challenging. palynological record is in North America, appreciation of the fact that many non-marine Sha Jin-geng of the Nanjing Institute of only 2000 to 5400 km from the Chicxulub ostracod groups are not restricted to Geology and Palaeontology and Spencer impact crater, and in general there is a need individual water bodies or small geographical Lucas of the New Mexico Museum of to better understand the consequences of this regions. Sames and Horne acknowledge that Natural History and Science have edited an event in more distant locations. there is much work to be done but they foresee important new volume that addresses diverse Two contributions address the palyno- “the dawn of a new late Jurassic to Cretaceous issues in Cretaceous non-marine biostrati- stratigraphy of West Siberia. Pestchevitskaya, non-marine ostracod biostratigraphy.” There graphy and biochronology. This volume is an Smokotina and Baykalova review the early is an extensive record of Cretaceous non- issue of the Chinese Journal of Stratigraphy Valanginian palaeoenvironments and marine ostracods in China, and Wang, Sha, (Dicengxue Zazhi) which is available from vegetation of coastal and continental areas in Pan, Zhang and Rao provide a good the China International Book Trading southeastern West Siberia and note that the preliminary review of the assemblages and Company, PO Box 399, Beijing 100044, palynomorphs exhibit typical features of both their correlation. This is a very useful review China. the Indo-European and the Siberian-Canadian of a voluminous literature. The volume includes 22 contributed palaeofloristic provinces. Lebedeva and Chen reviews the Cretaceous concho- articles and a detailed introductory essay by Pestchevitskaya provide a broader context stracan record in China. The extensive faunas the editors. The introduction is a very useful and establish a reference succession of undoubtedly require some taxonomic revision contribution that contains a concise but Cretaceous pollen and spores in western as Chen notes (e.g., the Eosestheria and elegant synopsis of the Cretaceous world and Siberia using palynomorphs from marine Euestherites faunas each have more than 100 its timescale. Sha and Lucas conclude the sections to calibrate to ammonite zones. species!) but they provide an apparently introduction by identifying six ways to further Prámparo evaluates the palynostrati- significant biostratigraphy. multidisciplinary approaches to resolve graphy of the important Cretaceous non- It is gratifying to see that non-marine problems of non-marine Cretaceous chrono- marine basins of Argentina and evaluates molluscs receive significant recognition in logy and correlation: (1) identify marine and palynozones. There is obviously a need for this volume, with five papers. The diverse non-marine fossils in marine, alternating additional work, notably in the Late European record is almost entirely from the marine and non-marine Cretaceous strata; Cretaceous, but this paper provides a good Early Cretaceous and is reviewed by Munt, (2) utilize the high-resolution of microfossil overview of the current state of knowledge. Delvene and Sha. They describe how a assemblages/zonations to precisely subdivide, Dinoflagellates have been recognized in distinctive European freshwater mollusc correlate and date non-marine Cretaceous non-marine Cretaceous strata in the past 30 community had developed by the Barremian. strata; (3) precisely and successively measure years but principally only in England, China Japan has an extensive record of Early radioisotopic ages of interbedded datable and Australia. Chen and He focus on non- Cretaceous non-marine molluscs that is

Episodes Vol. 36, no. 1 74 reviewed by Kozai, Ishida and Hirsch. Marine still includes iguanodontids but in which However, they also suggest that the intertongues provide accurate age constraints spinosaurine spinosaurids replace baryony- Cretaceous footprint record of Asia may allow and allow for the recognition of four chines; and (4) an early Cenomanian assem- for the recognition of three or four Cretaceous successive faunas. This paper is notable in blage characterized by the association of footprint provincial biochrons. the volume for having five photographic dinosaurs (Spinosaurus, Carcharodonto- eggs are notably abundant and plates. saurus), sharks (Onchopristis numidus) and widely distributed in China. Wang, Wang, Pan examines Cretaceous non-marine crocodyles (libycosuchids, stomatosuchids). Jiang, Cheng, Zhang, Zhao and Jiang provide gastropod assemblages from China and The non-marine vertebrate faunas of a very useful overview of the record of distinguishes four principal assemblages. Two Central Asia (Gobi of Mongolia, Inner Cretaceous eggs in China. They review the of these assemblages may be divisible on the Mongolia of China) are relatively well known ages of the main egg-producing basins in basis of geography or stratigraphy. Sha, Pan, but those of Middle Asia (Uzbekistan, China and also provide a useful synopsis of Wang, Zhang and Rao utilize molluscs and Kazakstan, Kyrgizstan) are much less studied. dinosaur egg assemblages from other radiometric dating to correlate Lower Averianov and Sues assess the relative countries. Lucas, Bray, Emry and Hirsch use Cretaceous non-marine and marine units in stratigraphic positions and ages of the Late dinosaur eggs on a more local scale, in northeastern China, southeastern Korea and Cretaceous assemblages from these areas by combination with plant-based biostratigraphy, southwestern Japan. They date the means of parsimony analysis of 26 proposed to place the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Longzhaogou, Jixi and Jehol groups and biostratigraphic marker taxa. the Zaysan Basin of eastern Kazakstan. They overlying Huashan Group and Sunjiawan The development of the Cretaceous document a stratigraphic succession of Late Formation of northeastern China, Sindong vertebrate biochronology of the Western Cretaceous (Maastrichtian?) dinosaur Group and lower Hayang Group of Interior of North America began in the 1890s. eggshell overlain by late? southeastern Korea, and Tetori and Lucas, Sullivan and Spielmann review and paleoflora capped by middle Monobegawa groups of southwestern Japan revise the vertebrate biochronology of the mammals. as Hauterivian–Albian. This conclusion is Cretaceous of this region by redefining and Overall Sha and Lucas have produced a based on the work of Sha (2007) who defining (new Fencelakean) 10 land- very important volume. Even though this is a correlated the non-marine and marine vertebrate “ages” to encompass all of Chinese publication there is an impressive Cretaceous strata in northeast China and Inner Cretaceous time in the Western Interior, which geographic spread in the articles, covering Mongolia. Sha, Pan, Wang, Zhang and Rao are (from oldest to youngest) – Comobluffian every continent. The diversity of taxonomic conclude that the three areas (northeastern (~Tithonian-Hauterivian), Buffalogapian coverage is also laudable, representing the China, southeastern Korea and southwestern (~Barremian-early Aptian), Cashenranchian majority of important Cretaceous non-marine Japan) were connected in the Hauterivian- (~early Aptian-late Albian), Mussentuchian taxa, from pollen to dinosaurs. Furthermore, Albian and formed part of the same fluvial (~late Albian-Cenomanian), Fencelakean the majority of the articles are high level system. Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in (~Turonian-late Santonian), Aquilan (~late reviews and thus this volume represents a Thailand, Laos and Vietnam are almost Santonian-early Campanian), Judithian synopsis of an enormous amount of primary entirely non-marine in origin. Sha, Meesook (~middle Campanian), Kirtlandian (~late literature. This volume is a landmark and Nguyen utilize molluscs (and Campanian), Edmontonian (~latest contribution to global non-marine Cretaceous palynomorphs and dinosaurs) to correlate the Campanian-early Maastrichtian) and Lancian chronology and is a must read for all students Barremian-Maastrichtian of this region. (~late Maastrichtian). This important paper of the Cretaceous. The volume contains six papers with thus represents the culmination of the impressive geographic spread on vertebrate refinement of a vertebrate-based non-marine References fossils, three on osseous faunas, one on biochronology for a region that includes Lucas S.G., 2007, Tetrapod footprint bio- footprints and two on eggs. LeLoueff, Lang, significant dinosaur (and other vertebrate) stratigraphy and biochronology: Ichnos, Cavin and Buffetaut provide a useful review faunas. v. 14, pp. 5-38. of the Early Cretaceous dinosaur-dominated Lockley, Lucas, Matsukawa and Harris Sha J.G., 2007, Cretaceous stratigraphy of faunas of Africa and identify four successive examine the global record of Cretaceous northeast China: non-marine correlation. assemblages: (1) Late Jurassic (Kimmerid- tetrapod footprints in detail and their article Cretaceous Research, v. 28, pp. 146-170. gian-Tithonian) to earliest Cretaceous includes an immense bibliography. They (Valanginian) assemblage with stegosaurids, confirm the earlier hypothesis of Lucas (2007) brachiosaurids and diplodocids; (2) Hauteri- that there are essentially only two global Adrian P. Hunt vian-Barremian? assemblage with baryony- Cretaceous footprint biochrons: (1) Early Flying Heritage Collection chine spinosaurids, the pholidosaurid Cretaceous characterized by sauropod and 3407 109th St. SW crocodile Sarcosuchus, large iguanodontids ornithopod tracks; (2) Late Cretaceous that Everett, WA 98204 and the shark Priohybodus arambourgi; has fewer sauropod tracks and tracks of USA (3) Aptian? to early Albian assemblage that hadrosaurs, tyrannosaurids and ceratopsians. E-mail: [email protected]

March 2013