China Top 10 Palaeontological Breakthroughs in 2016 were announced in Beijing
The PSC announced “China Top 10 Palaeontological Breakthroughs in 2016” at China Hall of Science and Technology in Beijing, on March 22nd, 2017. Several palaeontological achievements with international recognition were awarded. They were selected from 7 institutes and colleges, such as the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (both the institutes from Chinese Academy of Sciences), Tianjin Geological Survey Centre of China Geological Survey, China Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing University, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Yunnan University. The Top 10 Breakthroughs were composed of 11 achievements (including a tie in the ten ranking), probing into the areas as early life, Paleozoic fish, early terrestrial plants, insects and dinosaur remains in Mesozoic ambers, Mesozoic plants and palaeoanthropology.
SONG Jun from the CAST, GUAN Fengjun from the Ministry of Land and Resources of the PRC and Vice-President DENG Tao from the PSC addressed in the announcing ceremony, expressing their congratulations to the laureates and emphasising the significance on education, pop-science and scientific research of their achievements.
The Full List of China Top 10 Palaeontological Breakthroughs in 2016
1. Silurian fish illuminates vertebrate jaw evolution
ZHU Min, AHLBERG Per E., PAN Zhaohui, ZHU Youan, QIAO Tuo, ZHAO Wenjin, JIA Liantao and LU Jin. 2016. A Silurian maxillate placoderm illuminate jaw evolution. Science, 354(6310): 334-336. DOI: 10.1126/science.aah3764.
2. Drawing the genetic history of Ice Age Eurasian population
FU Qiaomei, POSTH Cosimo, HAJDINJAK Mateja, PETR Martin, MALLICK Swapan, FERNANDES Daniel, FURTWÄMGLER Anja, HAAK Wolfgang et al.. The genetic history of Ice Age Europe. Nature, 534: 200-205. DOI: 10,1038/nature17993.
3. Molecular evidence of keratin and melanosomesin feathers of the Early Cretaceous bird Eoconfuciusornis
PAN Yanhong, ZHENG Wenxia, MOYER Alison E., O’CONNOR Jingmai K., WANG Min, ZHENG Xiaoting, WANG Xiaoli, SCHROETER Elena R., ZHOU Zhonghe, and SCHWEITZER Mary H.. Molecular evidence of keratin and melanosomes in feathers of the Early Cretaceous bird Eoconfuciusornis. PNAS, 113(49): E7900-E7907. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1617168113.
4. Decimetre-scale multicellular eukaryotes from the 1.56-billion-year-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation in North China
ZHU Shixing, ZHU Maoyan*, KNOLL Andrew H., YIN Zongjun, ZHAO Fangchen, SUN Shufen, QU Yuangao, SHI Min, LIU Huan. 2016. Decimetre-scale multicellular eukaryotes from the 1.56-billion-year-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation in North China. Nature Communications, 7, Article number: 11500. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11500. (*corresponding author)
5. Soil formation and transition of fluvial architecture promoted by Early Devonian plant roots
XUE Jinzhuang, DENG Zhenzhen, HUANG Pu, HUANG Kangjun, BENTON Michael J.,Cui Ying, WANG Deming, LIU Jianbo, SHEN Bing, BASINGER James F., and HAO Shougang. 2016. PNAS, 113(34): 9451-9456. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605051113.
6. Debris-carrying camouflage among diverse lineages of Cretaceous insects and extreme morphogenesis and ecological specialization among Cretaceous basal ants
WANG Bo, XIA Fangyuan, ENGEL Michael S., PERRICHOT Vincent, SHI Gongle, ZHANG Haichun, CHEN Jun, JARZEMBOWSKI Edmund A. et al.. 2016. Debris-carrying camouflage among diverse lineages of Cretaceous insects. Science Advance, 2(6): e1501918. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501918.
PERRICHOT Vincent, WANG Bo and ENGEL Michael S.. 2016. Extreme morphogenesis and ecological specialization among Cretaceous basal ants. Current Biology, 26(11): 1468-1472. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.075
7. The fuxianhuiid ventral nerve cord and early nervous system evolution in Panarthropoda
YANG Jie, ORTEGA-HERNÁNDEZ, BUTTERFIELD Nicholas J., LIU Yu, BOYAN George S., HOU Jin-bo, LAN Tian and ZHANG Xi-guang*. 2016. Fuxianhuiid ventral nerve cord and early nervous system evolution in Panarthropoda. PNAS, 113(11): 2988-2993. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1522434113. (*corresponding author)
8. Meroblastic cleavage identifies some Ediacaran Doushantuo (China) embryo-like fossils as metazoans
YIN Zongjun, ZHU Maoyan, BOTTJER David J., ZHAO Fangchen, TAFFOREAU Paul. 2016. Meroblastic cleavage identifies some Ediacaran Doushantuo (China) embryo-like fossils as metazoans. Geology. 44(9): 735-738. DOI: 10.1130/G38262.1.
9. A Feathered Dinosaur Tail with Primitive Plumage Trapped in Mid-Cretaceous Amber
XING Lida, MCKELLAR Ryan C., XU Xing, LI Gang, BAI Ming, PERSONS IV W. Scott, MIYASHITA Tetsuto, BENTON Michael J., ZHANG Jianping, WOLFE Alexander P., YI Qiru, TSENG Kuowei, RAN Hao, CURRIE Philip J.. 2016. A feathered dinosaur tail with primitive plumage trapped in mid-Cretaceous amber. Current Biology, 26(24): 3352-3360. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.008
10. A three-dimensionally preserved minute larva of a great-appendage arthropod from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota
LIU Yu, MELZER Roland R., HAUG Joachim T., HAUG Carolin, BRIGGS Derek E., HÖRNIG Marie K., HE Yu-yang, HOU Xian-guang*. 2016. PNAS, 113(20): 5542-5546. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1522899113 (*corresponding author)
10. A Jurassic wood providing insights into the earliest step in Ginkgo wood evolution
JIANG Zikun, WANG Yongdong*, PHILIPPE Marc, ZHANG Wu, TIAN Ning, ZHENG Shaolin. 2016. A Jurassic wood providing insights into the earliest step in Ginkgo wood evolution. Scientific Reports, 6: 38191. DOI: 10.1038/srep38191 (*corresponding author)
