Jujuyaspis keideli, Kobayashi 1936, from the locality at Purmamarca in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy province (Purmamarca shales, Lowermost Tremadocian) and Rhabdinopora flabelliformis acenolazai, Gutiérrez-Marco and Esteban 2005, from the Famatina Range of la Rioja province (Tremadocian, Peña Negra Member of Volcancito Formation). Jujuyaspis and Rhabdinopora are worldwide reference genus of the Lowermost Ordovician, whereas the figured species charaterize the Lowermost Ordovician in NW Argentina.

Cover caption: Partially inverted Triassic extensional fault at Sierra Vaquillas, Andrean Pre-cordillera (Northern Chile). The west-verging tight anticline developed in the hanging-wall, reflects a younger reverse sense of movement of the fault during the subsequent inversion. Car length: 5m.

Author: A. Amilibia.

Cover caption: Bajocian marine beds at the Paso del Espinacito (4476 m) with the Cerro Aconcagua (6959 m) in the background.

Cover caption: 38,000years old eolianites, studied by Francesc Calvet in his PhD Thesis. S'Estret des Temps, North of Cala Figuera, Mallorca.

Author: R. Salos. 

Cover caption: Parinacota volcanic cone (6,110m of altitude) nearby Chungará Lake, Northern Chile Altiplano, 18º15'/69º10'.

Author: A. Sáez.

Cover caption: Vallcebre stram (Berguedà, Catalonia, Spain). Vène river (Hérault, Languedoc, France).

Author: F. Gallart.

Cover caption: Hymenoptera scelionidae from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Charente-Maritime (left) and from the Eocene amber of Oise (right).

Originals: V. Perrichot and A. Nel, respectively.

 

Cover caption: Thomsonia sp. (left) and Atopochara trivolvis (right), a selaginellacean megaspore and a clavatoracean utricle (both 0.5mm across) from lacustrine sediments of the Lower Cretaceous of Spain.

Design: Pep Agulló.

The background is modified from the reconstruction of a Lower Cretaceous lake exposed in the Museo de Cuenca and designed by Raul Martin.

Cover caption: Badlands in the volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Furnace Creek Formation (Death Valley, California, USA).

Author: Pere Santanach, March 1993. Photo taken from Zabriski Point.

Cover caption: Cephalons of some Agnostoid species that characterize the lower boundaries of three Cambrian stages of South China. From left to right:
   Ptychagnostus punctuosus (Angelin) for the lower boundary of the Wangcunian (x30.4);
   Linguagnostus reconditus Poletaeva and Romanenko which characterizes the Youshuian (28.5);
   Glyptagnostus reticulatus (Angelin) which defines the lower boundary of the Waergangian (x11.4).

See paper by S. Peng in this issue.