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G. Hanke and M. Wilson, assisted by undergraduate students B. Falkenberg (new osteostracans), S. Sahney (granular fillings of otic capsules), C. Hermus (microvertebrate processing, revision of the Palaeozoic Microvertebrates WWW pages), and J. Greeniaus (problematic Lepidaspis-like specimens), also continued their studies on vertebrates of the Silurian - Devonian 'MOTH' section in the same area. Macrofossils and microfossils continue to be recovered during laboratory preparation of rocks collected in 1996 and 1998, including the first known skull of Kathemacanthus, and the skeleton of yet another new chondrichthyan.
G. Hanke's thesis on chondrichthyan and acanthodian microvertebrates and associated articulated skeletons from the Lochkovian fish locality at 'MOTH' is nearing completion (estimated spring 2000). Hanke and Wilson are collaborating on papers about the skeletons of basal Devonian chondrichthyans and acanthodians, and about new fossil discoveries bearing on the homologies of paired fins in primitive gnathostomes.
M. Wilson and T. Märss (Estonia) are collaborating on a study of thelodonts (microvertebrate and articulated skeletal material) from the Silurian-Early Devonian of Baillie-Hamilton and Cornwallis Islands, Canadian Arctic. M. Wilson attended the Jurmala meeting of IGCP 406 (Luksevics, Stinkulis & Wilson 1999), where he chaired the annual meeting and presented a paper co-authored with Hanke and Sahney on new discoveries about the heads of early gnathostomes, based mainly on material from the 'MOTH' fish deposit. He gave a similar paper at the Canadian Paleontology Conference in Calgary and at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Denver, U.S.A. A special volume of Acta Geologica Polonica, edited by M. Ginter and M. Wilson, was published in 1999. Wilson also co-edited the conference abstracts volume for Jurmala 1999, Ichthyolith IssuesSpecial Publication 5. Wilson's attendance in Jurmala was partly supported by the Canadian IGCP Committee. R. Thorsteinsson continues his collaboration with D. Elliott (U.S.A.) on a long-awaited and monumental study of Canadian Arctic heterostracans, based on excellent and abundant material that he collected over several decades, and has provided material to T. Märss (Estonia) and M. Wilson (Canada) for studies of Arctic thelodonts. P. R. China:
Zhu Min continues his current focus on sarcopterygians in collaboration with H.-P. Schultze of Germany and others, while Chang Meemann continues her studies on Silurian and Devonian sarcopterygians from China and northern Canada. Wang Nianzhong continues his studies of thelodonts and other fishes from the Devonian of northern China and elsewhere.
Estonia:
E. Kurik was mainly busy with correlation and boundary problems of the Middle Devonian of the Baltic area, Belarus and Scotland, based on fossilfishes and miospores in cooperation with colleagues from Latvia, UK, France and Russia. A detailed stratigraphical chart of the Devonian in Estonia, including fish and miospore zones, was compiled in March and accepted by the Stratigraphical Commission of Estonia (Kurik is the leader of the Devonian working group for Estonia). Three IGCP 406-related journal papers were published and one is in press, along with four conference presentations/abstracts and a popular article (see publications list). P. Männik attended and gave presentations about biostratigraphy, paleogeography, and some problems connected with geochemical correlations at the IGCP 406 and BSA meetings in Riga. In July and early August he participated in the workshops in Ukhta and Syktyvkar, and in the field meeting in the Subpolar Urals [see description above]. In early October he visited the All-Russian Geological Research Institute (VSEGEI) in St. Petersburg where he studied collections of Silurian conodonts from Siberia and Ukraine (Podolia). Plans for further studies of geology and stratigraphy in Siberia were discussed with A. Abushik, T. Modzalevskaya, T. Koren and N. Predtechenskij. Männik continues work with conodonts from Severnaya Zemlya and Novosibirsk archipelagos, and from Eastern Siberia; a study of carbon isotopes from the Subpolar Urals (in cooperation with T. Martma) has been started. T. Märss joined in short workshops on the study of anaspids from the northern hemisphere (with H. Blom at Uppsala University, May 12-19, and in the Institute of Geology at Tallinn Technical University (TTU), September 24-26, and with G. Miller (U.K.) at TTU, August 1-5, in which they describe several new taxa. Collaborations continue with M. Wilson and R. Thorsteinsson (Canada) on microvertebrate and skeletal remains of Silurian- Devonian thelodonts from Arctic Canada. Märss attended and gave presentations at the Riga meetings of IGCP 406 and BSC in September and at the London meeting on vertebrate evolution in April. France:
The French Group of IGCP 406 (A. Blieck, P.-Y. Gagnier & D. Goujet) has mainly worked on the taxonomy, biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography of Devonian vertebrates from the Canadian, European (Spitsbergen), and Russian Arctic: 1) heterostracan pteraspidomorphs from the Lower Devonian of Severnaya Zemlya (Russia); 2) acanthodians from the Lower Devonian of the Mackenzie District (NWT, Canada); 3) placoderms and thelodonts from the Lower Devonian of Spitsbergen. Most results confirm close palaeobiogeographical relationships between the "northern" margin of the Old Red Sandstone Continent (Canadian Arctic), the Barentsia block (Spitsbergen),