The Jurassic period is symbolized by large reptiles that dominated the land and seas. The most recent paleontological findings indicate that the territory of Poland was inhabited by several groups of large marine animals.

Where did early dinosaurs get their energy from? Studying fossilized feces reveals certain secrets of herbivore evolution during the Jurassic period.

Three trackways attributable to the ichnospecies Bifurculapes laqueatus Hitchcock, 1858 found in Lower Jurassic rocks of the Newark Supergroup in northeastern North America are preserved in association with current lineations. Each trackway takes turns so that parts of the trackway parallel the current lineations. This parallelism is interpreted as evidence that the trackmakers were entrained in flowing water and had to change course due to the current. If this interpretation is correct, then morphological differences between B. laqueatus and terrestrial insect trackways could be explained by the trackmaker moving subaqueously. Further, B. laqueatus would constitute only the second insect trackway from this region to be recognized as being made subaqueously. From an ecological standpoint, the aquatic insects that made B. laqueatus were probably near the base of the local food chain, the apex predators of which were piscivorous theropod dinosaurs.

Mount Flora at Hope Bay, in northernmost part of Antarctic Peninsula, is a famous Jurassic flora locality. It has already been studied for a hundred years, but however, it is still possible to find there new taxa. Based on two species of liverworts found at Mount Flora (Schizolepidella gracilis and Schizolepidella birkenmajeri sp. nov.), the present study discusses affiliation of the genus Schizolepidella to liverworts. The new species Schizolepidella birkenmajeri is erected.

The paper presents the result of hydrogeological studies of Lublin Coal Basin (LCB), particularly at Jurassic level. It is arranged in several parts: I) stratigraphy, tectonics and lithology of Jurassic system at LCB territory, 2) groundwater dynamics, 3) chemical composition of waters, 4) hyclrogeochemical stability conditions. The paper also suggests a few main directions of using the Jurassic waters in prophylaxis and therapy of many diseases. The waters, containing considerably elevated quantities of fluorine compounds come from Jurassic formation lying at the considerable depth. Coal mine joins them with saline Carboniferous waters. After pretreatment, they are discharged to the surface ancl to the river. Jurassic waters belong to the group of low mineralised waters. They contain 6-1 I mg F/dm3 fluorides. Thus they can be usefu I in prophylactics of teeth ancl paradental illnesses, particularly in risk groups. Thanks to, fluorides contained in these waters they can be used during and after treatment and to support surgical operations or rehabilitation effects.

What is a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) benchmark, and what role does it play in delineating geological boundaries?

A relatively rich assemblage of starfish is recognised from the talus facies of an Upper Jurassic (lower Kimmeridgian) biohermal, sponge-cyanobacterial build-up from the Wapienno/Bielawy succession exposed in a salt-dome anticline in Kuyavia region, north-central Poland. The paper presents 8 taxa belonging to 4 genera (one new to science): Boxaster gen. nov., Noviaster Valette, 1929, Tylasteria Valette, 1929, Valettaster Lambert, 1914, and 4 families: Astropectinidae Gray, 1840, Goniasteridae Forbes, 1841, Sphaerasteridae Schöndorf, 1906 and Stauranderasteridae Spencer, 1913. Only a very few representatives of some of these taxa have formerly been reported from the Jurassic of Poland. Two species are new: Valettaster planus sp. nov. and Boxaster wapienensis gen. et sp. nov. The Jurassic starfish assemblage recognised from the Wapienno/Bielawy succession is interpreted as an offshore starfish fauna with the admixture of allochtonous shallow-water taxa. The lithology of the source deposits indicates their transport by storm agitation and/or mass movements. This fact strongly influenced the preservation state, all collected plates being disarticulated and most of them abraded.

A small collection of discinids from Spitsbergen includes two poorly preserved fragments of ventral valves with an incomplete pedicle disc bearing a narrowly trigonal pedicle tract. This element is similar to the type known in Recent discinids. Its general size, comparatively large, is suggestive of a wide embayment of the larval ventral valve. A new species Discinisca spitsbergensis sp. n. is proposed.

This is a second paper dealing with juvenile and little known Mesozoic gastropods from Siberia and the Timan region. This part contains description of gastropods belonging to Neogastropoda and Heterobranchia. Described are 16 species, five of them are new. They are: Sulcoactaeon uralicus, S. timanicus, S. bojarkensis (Bullinidae), Vasjugania vasjuganensis (Acteonidae), and Biplica siberica (Ringiculidae). The new genus Vasjugania (Acteonidae) is proposed. Eight species are left in the open nomenclature. The protoconch of Siberian Khetella, illustrated here for the first time, suggests that this genus belongs to Purpurinidae and the whole family is a possible stem group for the Neogastropoda. Apart from Khetella the Siberian fauna seems to be of cosmopolitan character having common elements both with Europe and North America.

The aim of the presented work was an attempt to verify the geothermal conditions in the Polish Lowlands (Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous reservoir) based on new geological information. The paper presents geothermal conditions in the Polish Lowlands according to the state of recognition at the end of 2022 in order to update the hydrogeothermal conditions in selected regions. Based on the scientific and research works published so far as well as numerous geothermal investments, and geological information from twenty-three new exploratory drilling events performed in the years 2000–2022 (nineteen of which were performed/documented after 2006), the authors undertook to update forecasts of the top surface of Lower Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous formations, the total thickness of these formations and the potential discharge of wells. The analysis was performed using the QGIS Desktop 3.24.1 software, a cross-platform and free open-source geoinformation software application (GIS ) that enables the viewing, editing and analyzing of spatial data and the creation of maps. The correction covered the course of the isolines on all six analyzed maps. The presented analysis made it possible to make a spot correction of the forecasted course of the isoline in relation to the maps published earlier in the Atlas of geothermal resources in the Polish Lowlands. Mesozoic formations developed in 2006, edited by Wojciech Górecki. Information obtained from newly drilled geothermal boreholes enabled the local correction of the forecasted values of individual parameters while maintaining the general trend.

The Marhřgda Bed occurring at base of the Adventdalen Group in Sassenfjorden, Spitsbergen contains common ankerite–replaced belemnite skeletons. Petrographic, major element geochemical, and stable carbon and oxygen isotopic data indicate that the ankerite originated in a catagenic environment associated with thermal degradation of kerogenan d hydrocarbongen erationinthe sequence. It formed at maximum temperature of 150°C under burial of approx. 2 000 m, most probably during Paleogene filling and subsidence of the Central Spitsbergen Basin. Dissolution of biogenic calcite and precipitation of ankerite reflect extensive heat flow through the Adventdalen Group sequence related to the Cretaceous and Paleogene magmatic and orogenic activity in Svalbard.

The Marhegda Bed is a carbonate-dominated Uthostratigraphic unit occurring locally at base of the Middle-Late Jurassic organic-rich sequence of the Agardhfjellet Formation in Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It has been interpreted to represent oolitic limestone facies deposited during an initial stage of Late Jurassic transgression. Petrographic, major element geochemical, and stable carbon and oxygen isotopic data presented in this paper indicate that this litho-stratigraphic unit is not a depositional limestone, but a diagenetic cementstone band originated in organic-rich sediment containing glauconite pellets and phosphatic ooids and grains. Two ep­isodes of carbonate diagenesis, including early precipitation of siderite and burial precipitation of ankerite, have contributed to the development of this cementstone. Extensive siderite precipi­tation occurred at sedimentary temperatures in nearsurface suboxic environment in which microbial reduction of ferric iron was the dominant diagenetic process. Precipitation of ankerite occurred at temperatures of about 80-100°C in burial diagenetic environment overwhelmed by thermal decarboxylation processes. Formation of ankerite was associated with advanced alteration of glauconite, dissolution of apatite and precipitation of kaolinite.

Diagenetic carbonate deposits (concretions, cementation bodies and cementstone bands) commonly occur in organic carbon-rich sequence of the Agardhfjellet Formation (Upper Jurassic) in Spitsbergen . They are dominated by dolomite/ankerite and siderite. These deposits originated as a result of displacive cementation of host sediment in a range of post-depositional environments, from shallow subsurface to deep-burial ones. Preliminary results of the carbon and oxygen isotopic survey of these deposits in southern Spitsbergen (Lĺgkollane, Ingebrigtsenbukta, Reinodden, and Lidfjellet sections) show the δ13C values ranging between –13.0‰ and –1.8‰ VPDB, and the δ18O values between –16.0‰ and –7.7‰ VPDB. These results suggest that the major stage of formation of the carbonate deposits occurred during burial diagenesis under increased temperature, most probably in late diagenetic to early catagenic environments. Carbonate carbon for mineral precipitation was derived from dissolution of skeletal carbonate and from thermal decomposition of organic matter.