Fossil insects preserved as an imprint on laminae have subtle differences in relief which can be difficult to photograph. Recourse to reflectance transformation imaging allowed us to deliver exhaustive and interactive photographic data for Protelytron permianum. Based on these data we were able ascertain that it is an early relative of earwigs. In order to better appreciate its elaborate hind wing folding mechanism, we provide guidelines to build and operate a paper model.

In this contribution we carried out a taxonomic revision of all Hermann Karsten’s vertebrate specimens from Colombia and Venezuela, which were collected during the mid-19th century; these fossils were never illustrated or subjected to detailed taxonomic study. The assemblage includes 60 cranial and postcranial remains attributed to “ground sloths”, “large glyptodonts (close relatives of armadillos)”, “South American native ungulates”, proboscideans and other indeterminate mammalian remains.

Paleopathology is best approached collaboratively with specialists in many fields, after resolving linguistic misadventures. Proof of concept studies provide windows to recognition of disease and resolution of previous anatomical challenges. Trans-phylogenetic representation of disease falsified speculation that "evolution" precludes analysis through time. Once speculations were tested and verified or falsified, the paleo-epidemiologic approach allowed identification of patterns of spread.

A new lower actinopterygian fossil fish genus and species is described from a Paleozoic site in Canada. The new taxon, based on the study of a well-preserved fossil, is defined by a unique combination of characters including features of the scales and the bones of the snout. A review of previously described fishes from this locality highlights how redescriptions of large cosmopolitan genera, and descriptions of new taxa, are vital to our understanding of the diversity of this group as a whole.

We review shell bone microstructures of Adocidae and Nanhsiungchelyidae, two groups of extinct hide-necked turtles related to modern soft-shelled turtles (Trionychidae) and the pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta (Carettochelyidae). Adocids and nanhsiungchelyids both have a good fossil record in North America and Asia during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Our microstructural data supplement previously reported differences in external shell morphology between adocids and nanhsiungchelyids.

Phreatophasma is a mysterious species from the middle Permian of Russia. Since its description in 1954, it has been assigned to many different groups: therapsids (the most diverse of middle Permian terrestrial vertebrates), caseids (one of the earliest herbivore lineages), and seymouriamorphs (a Permian amphibian clade). Using recent knowledge of morphology and state-of-the art analyses, we confirm that Phreatophasma is one of the youngest members of Caseidae, the second member to enter Russia.

This paper discusses the applicability of neutron imaging techniques for probing the internal microstructure of pyritized fossil woods upon wetting and drying, two phenomena occurring in museum cabinets and endangering the specimens. We tracked the water diffusion through samples in situ and obtained information on wood pore size, network and internal structure. The differences help to understand the distinct macroscopic behaviors and determine the consequences of moisture variations in museums.