Morphology of the earliest reconstructable tetrapod Parmastega aelidae.

The known diversity of tetrapods of the Devonian period has increased markedly in recent decades, but their fossil record consists mostly of tantalizing fragments1-15. The framework for interpreting the morphology and palaeobiology of Devonian tetrapods is dominated by the near complete fossils of Ichthyostega and Acanthostega; the less complete, but partly reconstructable, Ventastega and Tulerpeton have supporting roles2,4,16-34. All four of these genera date to the late Famennian age (about 365-359 million years ago)-they are 10 million years younger than the earliest known tetrapod fragments5,10, and nearly 30 million years younger than the oldest known tetrapod footprints35. Here we describe Parmastega aelidae gen. et sp. nov., a tetrapod from Russia dated to the earliest Famennian age (about 372 million years ago), represented by three-dimensional material that enables the reconstruction of the skull and shoulder girdle. The raised orbits, lateral line canals and weakly ossified postcranial skeleton of P. aelidae suggest a largely aquatic, surface-cruising animal. In Bayesian and parsimony-based phylogenetic analyses, the majority of trees place Parmastega as a sister group to all other tetrapods

New materials on Ventalepis ketleriensis Schultze, 1980 extend the zoogeographic area of a Late Devonian vertebrate assemblage

Newly collected and restudied earlier materials on an enigmatic fish Ventalepis ketleriensis Schultze, 1980 from the upper Famennian (postera – ? Lower expansa conodont zones) of Latvia and central and northwestern Russia support its porolepiform affinities. A new family Ventalepididae fam. nova is established for this genus upon a peculiar combination of characters, including scale structure and dermal bones ornamentation. New records extend the distribution of this genus and the Ventalepis vertebrate assemblage on the whole to a vast geographical zone along the south-eastern coast of the Old Red Sandstone continent. The habitat area of the Devonian vertebrate assemblage over such a large territory within the zoogeographical province of Baltica is established for the first time. Palaeozoogeographical analysis suggests Laurentian affinities of the Ventalepis assemblage demonstrating the major congruency to the Belgian and East Greenland ones. These and Russian localities are separated by a vast ORS continent. Presence of the dipnoan Jarvikia in all three locations, as well as an Ichthyostega-like tetrapod in the Belgian one reveals palaeozoogeographical connections, which might reflect possible dwelling not only in the near-shore continent periphery but also in the river systems of the continent itself

The Borschovo section of the Gauja and Amata regional stages (Leningrad Region, Russia): sedimentology and biostratigraphy

The results of the detailed sedimentological study and bed-by-bed collecting of fossils from the Borschovo section exposing the upper Givetian–lower Frasnian boundary beds are discussed. The succession consists of sandstones alternating with argillaceous and clayey packages that contain vertebrate and plant remains in the upper part. The grain size, sedimentary structures and cross-bed orientation considerably differ in the Oredezh Beds and the Staritsa Beds. Fine- to coarse-grained cross-stratified sandstones of the Oredezh Beds most probably are fluvial deposits, whereas the sandstones of the Staritsa Beds yielding tidal structures that show variable directions of the cross-bedding were accumulated in a tidally influenced or even tidally dominated environment. The Oredezh Beds in the study area lack fossils; however, sedimentary features allow correlation with the Sietiņi Formation corresponding to the lower part of the Gauja Regional Stage. The age of the Staritsa Beds is defined based on the distribution of vertebrate taxa as corresponding to the Amata Regional Stage. Probably, the deposits from the Borschovo locality represent the most complete section of the Staritsa Beds, including its lowermost part. Rather good preservation of some thin and fragile fish bones, buried together with large-sized quartz grains, and wide taxonomical diversity, are characteristic of the Borschovo locality, which is not common for the vertebrate localities of the Main Devonian Field corresponding to the Amata Regional Stage