An oribatid mite (Arachnida: Acari) from the Oxford Clay (Jurassic: Upper Callovian) of South Cave Station Quarry, Yorkshire, UK

A single specimen of a new species of oribatid mite belonging to the genus Jureremus Krivolutsky, in Krivolutsky and Krassilov 1977, previously described from the Upper Jurassic of the Russian Far East, is described as J. phippsi sp. nov. The mite is preserved by iron pyrite replacement, and was recovered by sieving from the Oxford Clay Formation (Jurassic: Upper Callovian) of South Cave, Yorkshire. It is the first record of a pre-Pleistocene mite, and the second species record of the family Cymbaeremaeidae, from the British Isles; also, it is only the third record of Acari from the Jurassic Period. The presence of a terrestrial mite in a sedimentary sequence of open marine origin is noteworthy, and suggestions for its mode of transport to the site of deposition are discussed

Phase III crystal structure and 115 K phase transition of hexamethylbenzene

High-resolution spectroscopic data—Raman, infrared, and electronic—have been employed for the study of low-temperature, phase III, hexamethylbenzene and its associated λ-type phase transition. Phase III is trigonal, with point group S 6 and one molecule per primitive unit cell, giving an S 6 site group, an S 6 molecular group, and a trivial interchange group. The λ-type phase transition is not second order, and it is not related to a free rotation of the methyl groups. Restricted, geared methyl-group rotations do exist both above and below the phase transition temperature, and are sensitive to it. The molecular point symmetry is S 6 in phase III and effectively so in phase II.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44839/1/10870_2005_Article_BF01239675.pd

Onshore Jurassic of Scandinavia and related areas

Jurassic strata are extensively distributed in offshore areas of Scandinavia, but onshore exposures are mostly restricted to southern Sweden (Skane), the Danish island of Bornholm, East Greenland, northern Norway (Andoya) and Svalbard. The latest Triassic and Jurassic saw active tectonism in Scandinavia associated with the break-up of Pangaea and rifting in the North Atlantic region and the North Sea. Rifting and the gradual rise in sea level controlled the structural and sedimentological architecture of Scandinavian basins throughout the Jurassic. The Upper Triassic is represented by continental red beds (claystones and arkosic conglomerates) indicative of arid conditions (until the Norian) and by coal measures characteristic of humid conditions (in the Rhaetian). Early Jurassic sedimentation in the region was dominated by fluvial-estuarine systems. Basin subsidence combined with the supply of huge volumes of sediments led to the accumulation of thick sand units on vast coastal plains in the Early and Middle Jurassic. During the Late Jurassic, transgressions led to deposition of extensive marine mud, although sandstones are locally preserved. Paralic depositional environments prevailed during the Late Jurassic and into the Early Cretaceous in southern Scandinavia. Scandinavia hosts a rich Jurassic palaeontological record including fossil plants, sharks, dinosaur footprints, ammonites, belemnites, ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs. Miospores provide the primary tool for biostratigraphic subdivision and correlation of the continental Jurassic sediments, whereas ammonites, dinoflagellates and foraminifera are the main groups employed for marine biostratigraphy. However, much work remains to be completed to achieve a highly resolved zonation scheme that integrates both marine and terrestrial indices