Givetian through middle Famennian brachiopods of Hunan are used to define five biozones,comprising,in ascending order,the Stringocephalus Abundance Zone,the Ambocoeliid-Leiorhynchid Assemblage Zone,the Cyrtospiriferid Assemblage Zone,the Yunnanellina-Sinospirifer Assemblage Zone,and the Yunnanella-Hunanospirifer Assemblage Zone.They correspond approximately to the Po.hemiansatus Zone to Po.varcus Zone,S.hermanni Zone to Pa.punctata Zone,Pa.hassi Zone to Pa.linguiformis Zone,Pa.triangularis Zone to Upper Pa.crepida Zone,and Uppermost Pa.crepida Zone to Pa.marginifera Zone,respectively.Intensified rifting activity in South China during the Devonian began in the middle of the Lower Po.varcus Zone(a level marked by the first appearance of Po.rhenanus),which is consistent with the Lower-Middle Givetian substage boundary suggested by the International Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy(SDS).This assumed that rifting activity in the Lower Po.varcus Zone was signified by the deposition of the Baqi Formation in Guangxi and was marked largely by the extensive deposition of the Qiziqiao Formation in central Hunan,which probably led to an opposite pattern of relative sea level change-rising in deeper water trough areas and lowering in carbonate platform areas.The previously recognized S.hermanni Zone sea level rise in platform margin areas of Guangxi can be identified not only in the trough areas but also in platform areas,which probably indicates an overall marine transgression at this time,rather than tectonically induced sea level change.Similarly,this level coincides with the Middle-Upper Givetian substage boundary suggested by the SDS.Although the sea level rise may have occurred in the deeper water trough areas of South China towards the end of the Givetian,platformal areas experienced uplifting at various degrees,especially in the central and northern regions of Hunan where Early Frasnian deposits were apparently absent in many places.Similarly,the end-Frasnian regression led to exposure of many places and absence
New materials from the Upper Devonian （Famennian） Wutong Formation of Chizhou District, Anhui Province, South China, allow description of fertile and sterile characters of Archaeopteris halliana. This plant has penultimate axes attached by sterile leaves and paired ultimate branches in the same ontogenetic spiral. Sterile leaves are narrowly cuneate in shape and bear distal margins dissected deeply. These leaves are spirally arranged on sterile ultimate axes. Non-laminated sporophylls occur spirally on the ultimate axes and bifurcate once or twice. Elongate sporangia with longitudinal dehiscence are borne adaxially below or above the dividing points of the sporophylls. Despite the leaf shape resembling that of Archaeopteris macilenta, our plant is assigned to A. halliana because of its non-laminated sporophylls. Fertile characters should be given priority or enough consideration in identifying species of Archaeopteris.
Well-preserved specimens of Hamatophyton verticillatum collected from the Upper Devonian （Famennian） Wutong Formation of Chaohu district, Anhui Province, South China, display more complete fertile axes in three orders and multiple divisions. Comparisons indicate that Hamatophyton possibly does not have palmate planate sterile leaves but hook-like linear ones with rare divisions. We propose seven definitive characters of Sphenophyllales： （1） completely whorled lateral organs; （2） sterile leaves; （3） strobili; （4） ＂sporangiophores＂ or stalks with reflexed tips bearing sporangia; （5） three- or four-ribbed primary xylem; （6） exarch maturation of primary xylem; and （7） secondary xylem. The Sphenophyllales probably originated from the Iridopteridales based on similarities in whorled lateral organs, ribbed primary xylem and peripheral protoxylem strands. In transition from Iridopteridales to Sphenophyllales, morphological changes involve partially whorled to completely whorled lateral organs, sterile ultimate appendages to leaves, and fertile ultimate appendages to ＂sporangiophores＂/stalks with bracts; anatomical modifications include configuration and maturation of primary xylem, and presence of secondary xylem.
Two zosterophyll plants are described from the Lower Devonian （Lochkovian） Xitun Formation of Qujing, Yunnan, China. Xitunia spinitheca gen. et sp. nov. has stalked sporangia laterally attached on the axis in a helical arrangement. Sporangia are dorsoventrally flattened and composed of two unequal valves; the adaxial valve is round in face view, while the abaxial valve is larger than the former, triangular or wedge-shaped, and radially bears long spiny appendages along the distal margin. Xitunia shows new variation of sporangial morphology within the zosterophylls. Zosterophyllum minorstachyum sp. nov. has K-shaped branchings at the basal parts and small-sized terminal spikes, which consist of round to elliptical sporangia arranged helically. This paper provides new data on the diversity of plant types during Lochkovian when rare vascular plants were reported. As for various species of Zosterophyllum in South China, their apparent evolutionary trend of features from the Late Silurian to Early Devonian （Emsian） is discussed.
The Caiziyan Middle and Upper Devonian boundary section is located approximately 30 km northeast of Guilin. It hosts relatively abundant benthic and common-rare pelagic fossils, including brachiopods, corals, tentaculites, and conodonts, which may serve as a better suitable section for pelagic and neritic stratigraphic correlation. In this section, 10 ＂standard＂ conodont zones are recognized across the Givetian-Frasnian boundary, including, in descending order, the Lower hassi Zone, punctata Zone, transitans Zone, the Upperfalsiovalis Zone, the Lowerfalsiovalis Zone, disparilis Zone, the Upper hermanni-cristatus Zone, the Lower hermanni-cristatus Zone, the Upper varcus Zone, and the Middle varcus Zone, all of which are defined by the first occurrence of their defining conodont species. The Middle-Upper Devonian （Givetian-Frasnian） boundary is defined by the first occurrence of Ancyrodella pristina in accordance with the Global Stratotype Section and Point （GSSP）, which is assigned at 6.2m above the base of bed 19 in the Caiziyan section.
Evolutionary changes in the structure of leaves have had far-reaching effects on the anatomy and physiology of vascular plants, resulting in morphological diversity and species expansion. People have long been interested in the question of the nature of the morphology of early leaves and how they were attained. At least five lineages of euphyllophytes can be recognized among the Early Devonian fossil plants (Pragian age, ca. 410 Ma ago) of South China. Their different leaf precursors or "branch-leaf complexes" are believed to foreshadow true megaphylls with different venation patterns and configurations, indicating that multiple origins of megaphylls had occurred by the Early Devonian, much earlier than has previously been recognized. In addition to megaphylls in euphyllophytes, the laminate leaf-like appendages (sporophylls or bracts) occurred independently in several distantly related Early Devonian plant lineages, probably as a response to ecological factors such as high atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. This is a typical example of convergent evolution in early plants.
