material comprises acanthodian, elasmobranch and osteichthyan remains.

Riemann F. 1998. Mikrofauna (Ichthyolithen, Phyllocariden und Scolecodonten) aus dem basalen Famennium (tringularis- bis crepida- Zone) der Montaigne Noir (Frankreich). Diplomarbeit U. Hannover, Oct.

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Martha RICHTER, Laboratório de Paleontologia, Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, BRAZIL
mrichter@pucrs.br

From July 1998 was based in Germany for a years Post-Doc with Prof. W-E. Reif. My post- doc project deals with thousands of shark teeth and scales, as well as other fragmentary actinopt remains from the Upper Permian of Brazil. I am working on a collection of microremains coming from similar levels studied by Wurdig-Maciel (1975). Apart from the actinopterygian scales and teeth, there are numerous well-preserved xenacanthid teeth and hybodontiform-like teeth and (fragmentary) spines. The material is pretty well-preserved and very good for histology as well, so I hope to be able to provide some new insights on that South American ichthyofauna. I plan to examine the Palaeozoic shark collections at different museums around Germany and elsewhere in Europe during my stay.

Papers of note:
Richter M. & Langer M.C. 1998. Fish remains
from the Upper Permian Rio do Rasto
Formation (Paraná Basin) of southern
Brazil. In Almond, J., Anderson, J.,
Booth, P. Chinsamy-Turane, A. Cole, D.,
De Wit, M., Rubridge, B., Smith, R. &
Van Bever Don, J. (Editors) Special
Abstracts Issue Gondwana 10: Event
Stratigraphy of Gondwana. Journal of
African Earth Sciences27: 158-159. Richter M. 1998. Dental histology and its
bearing on the systematics of the
Xenacanthiformes (Pisces:
Chondrichthtyes). pp. 43-44. Ichthyolith
Issues Special Publication 4:1-62.

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Alex RITCHIE, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney. PO Box A285, Sydney South, NSW 2000. AUSTRALIA
NEW EMAIL: alexr@amsg.am.gov.au

Alex visited the old country for the Edinburgh VP meeting and gave a talk on the state of play at the Age of Fishes Museum, Canowindra.

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Ivan SANSOMand M. Paul SMITH, School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, Egbaston, Birmingham BI5 2TT, U.K.

E-mail: <SANSOM@ers.bham.ac.uk>

Abstract of note:
Sansom I.J., Smith M.M. & Smith P.M. 1999. The Ordovician radiation of vertebrates. In Major Events in Early Vertebrate Evolution: Palaeontology, Phylogeny and Development. A joint Systematics Association / Natural Histroy Museum meeting 8-9 April 1999, p. 26.

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Hans-Peter SCHULTZE, Paläontologisch- Geologisches Institut und Museum, für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität, Invalidenstr. 43, D-10115 BERLIN, GERMANY h0662bmw@rz.hu-berlin.de

Hans-Peter Schultze has submitted a manuscript on "Dialipinaand the characters of basal actinopterygians" to the special volume of the London conference held in April 1999. Dialipinais the most primitive member of the actinopterygians. It possesses two dorsal fins like other osteichthyans in contrast to other actinopterygians.
Steve Cumbaa and Rick Day, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, H.-P. Schultze, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany, and John Storer, Yukon Tourism, Whitehorse, Canada, relocated the Devonian locality of Stomiahykusin the northern Mackenzie Mountains, Yukon Territories. A float plane dropped us on a lake 2 1/2 hours hiking distance from the locality on July 29. The crinoidal limestone layer is extensive, but useful vertebrate remains could only be found in one locality on the tributary of the Snake River. No additional lungfish skull was found, arthrodiran plates and one large Machaeracanthusspine instead. The age of Stomiahykusis not Middle, but Early Devonian. After transfer to Popcornfish lake by helicopter, another float plane took us out to Mayo, Yukon Territories, on August 11.
Gloria Arratia and H.-P. Schultze are finishing a manuscript on the vertebral structure of sarcopterygians starting with the ontogeny of extant lungfish together with Casciotta. There is more variation in the structure of the vertebrae of Eusthenopteron than shown by Jarvik and Andrews.

Schultze H-P.1999. Dialipinaand the primitive
characters of basal actinopterygians. In
Major Events in Early Vertebrate Evolution:
Palaeontology, Phylogeny and
Development. A joint Systematics
Association / Natural Histroy Museum
meeting 8-9 April 1999, p. 27.
Schultze H-P. 1999. Melanognathus, a
primitive dipnoan from the Lower Devonian
of the Canadian Arctic. Ichthyolith Issues
Special Publication5,p38-39.
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¶Jonas SHETCHKUS, Lithuanian Institute of Geology, Sevcenkos 13, 2600 Vilnius, LITHUANIA.
E-mail: jonas@geologin.lt