For the past three decades, the Alvarez impact theory of mass extinction, causally related to catastrophic meteorite impacts, has been recurrently applied to multiple extinction boundaries. However, these multidisciplinary research efforts across the globe have been largely unsuccessful to date, with one outstanding exception: the Cretaceous—Paleogene boundary. The unicausal impact scenario as a leading explanation, when applied to the complex fossil record, has resulted in force-fitting of data and interpretations (“great expectations syndrome”. The misunderstandings can be grouped at three successive levels of the testing process, and involve the unreflective application of the impact paradigm: (i) factual misidentification, i.e., an erroneous or indefinite recognition of the extraterrestrial record in sedimentological, physical and geochemical contexts, (ii) correlative misinterpretation of the adequately documented impact signals due to their incorrect dating, and (iii) causal overestimation when the proved impact characteristics are doubtful as a sufficient trigger of a contemporaneous global cosmic catastrophe. Examples of uncritical belief in the simple cause-effect scenario for the Frasnian—Famennian, Permian—Triassic, and Triassic—Jurassic (and the Eifelian—Givetian and Paleocene—Eocene as well) global events include mostly item-1 pitfalls (factual misidentification), with Ir enrichments and shocked minerals frequently misidentified. Therefore, these mass extinctions are still at the first test level, and only the F—F extinction is potentially seen in the context of item-2, the interpretative step, because of the possible causative link with the Siljan Ring crater (53 km in diameter). The erratically recognized cratering signature is often marked by large timing and size uncertainties, and item-3, the advanced causal inference, is in fact limited to clustered impacts that clearly predate major mass extinctions. The multi-impact lag-time pattern is particularly clear in the Late Triassic, when the largest (100 km diameter) Manicouagan crater was possibly concurrent with the end-Carnian extinction (or with the late Norian tetrapod turnover on an alternative time scale). The relatively small crater sizes and cratonic (crystalline rock basement) setting of these two craters further suggest the strongly insufficient extraterrestrial trigger of worldwide environmental traumas. However, to discuss the kill potential of impact events in a more robust fashion, their location and timing, vulnerability factors, especially target geology and palaeogeography in the context of associated climate-active volatile fluxes, should to be rigorously assessed. The current lack of conclusive impact evidence synchronous with most mass extinctions may still be somewhat misleading due to the predicted large set of undiscovered craters, particularly in light of the obscured record of oceanic impact events.

A section containing the Cretaceous/Paleogene (= Cretaceous/Tertiary) boundary in Monmouth County, New Jersey, preserves a record of ammonites extending from the end of the Cretaceous into possibly the beginning of the Danian. The section includes the upper part of the Tinton Formation and lower part of the Hornerstown Formation. The top of the Tinton Formation is represented by a richly fossiliferous unit (the Pinna Layer) that contains many bivalves in life position as well as ammonite jaws preserved inside body chambers. Ammonites include Pachydiscus (Neodesmoceras) mokotibensis, Sphenodiscus lobatus, Eubaculites carinatus, E. latecarinatus; Discoscaphites iris, D. sphaeroidalis; D. minardi, and D. jerseyensis. The Pinna Layer probably represents a relatively short interval of time lasting tens to hundreds of years; it is conformably overlain by the Burrowed Unit, which contains a single fragment of Discoscaphites sp. and several fragments of E. latecarinatus, as well as several isolated specimens of ammonite jaws including two of Eubaculites. Examination of the mode of preservation of the ammonites and jaws suggests that they were fossilized during deposition of the Burrowed Unit and were not reworked from older deposits. Based on the ammonites and dinoflagellates in the Pinna Layer and the Burrowed Unit, these strata traditionally would be assigned to the uppermost Maastrichtian, corresponding to calcareous nannofossil Subzone CC26b. However, a weak iridium anomaly (500–600 pg/g) is present at the base of the Pinna Layer, which presumably represents the record of the bolide impact. Correlation with the iridium layer at the Global Stratotype Section and Point at El Kef, Tunisia, would, therefore, imply that these assemblages are actually Danian, provided that the iridium anomaly is in place and the ammonites and dinoflagellates are not reworked. If the iridium anomaly is in place, or even if it has migrated downward from the top of the Pinna Layer, the ammonites would have survived the impact at this site for a brief interval of time lasting from a few days to hundreds of years.

Sections yielding late Maastrichtian ammonite assemblages are rare in Latin America and precise biostratigraphic correlation with European type sections remains difficult. In all, the extinction pattern of ammonites appears to differ between sites in southern high latitudes and those in the tropics to subtropics. In austral sections of Chile, and possibly also in southern Argentina, diverse assemblages range throughout most of the substage and then show a gradual decline prior to the Cretaceous—Paleogene (K—Pg) boundary. Further north, in northeast Brazil, only two genera (Diplomoceras, Pachydiscus) range into the uppermost Maastrichtian, but disappear within the last 0.3 Ma of the Cretaceous. In tropical sections of Columbia and Mexico, the decline of ammonites started earlier and Sphenodiscus is the last ammonite known to occur in the late Maastrichtian. In all sections revised here the disappearance of ammonites was completed prior to the end of the Maastrichtian and was thus independent of the asteroid impact at, or near, the end of the Cretaceous.

A complete uppermost Maastrichtian—Danian succession in the Sumbar River section, western Kopet Dagh (southwest Turkmenistan, Central Asia), constitutes one of the few instances in the world where the fossil record of the last ammonites can be directly positioned with respect to the iridium-rich, impact-related clay layer, which defines the Cretaceous—Paleogene (K—Pg) boundary. Two ammonite taxa, Baculites cf. vertebralis and Hoploscaphites constrictus johnjagti, range up to a level directly beneath the K—Pg boundary clay in the Sumbar River section. Thus, these two forms probably survived until the very end of the Maastrichtian in the western Kopet Dagh area. The terminal Maastrichtian ammonite records from the Sumbar River area represent the southeasternmost occurrences of these essentially Boreal taxa.

The present paper focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of ammonites from sections along the Russian Pacific coast during the mid-and Late Cretaceous. Changes in ammonite diversity (i.e., disappearance [extinction or emigration], appearance [origination or immigration], and total number of species present) constitute the basis for the identification of the main bio-events. The regional diversity curve reflects all global mass extinctions, faunal turnovers, and radiations. In the case of the Pacific coastal regions, such bio-events (which are comparatively easily recognised and have been described in detail), rather than first or last appearance datums of index species, should be used for global correlation. This is because of the high degree of endemism and provinciality of Cretaceous macrofaunas from the Pacific region in general and of ammonites in particular.

Ammonoid biodiversity changes from shallow to offshore environments across the Cenomanian—Turonian (C–T) boundary are reconstructed in the Yezo Group, Hokkaido, Japan. This group was probably deposited at approximately 35–45°N along a westward subduction margin in the northeastern Asian continent. Temporal changes in species richness in the Yezo Group, which show persistently high values during the middle Cenomanian and then decline stepwise from near the middle—late Cenomanian boundary, resemble those in Europe, but not those in Tunisia and the Western Interior. These differences suggest that the Cenomanian—Turonian “mass extinction” was not a global event for ammonoids but was restricted to mid-palaeolatitudinal regions (Europe and Japan). Sea level and climate changes probably influenced ammonoid faunas in the Yezo Group as well as those in Europe. However, it is unlikely that a single, simple cause led to the C—T boundary “mass extinction” because various abiotic changes in the Cenomanian—Turonian transition have been detected, and biotic and abiotic change are interrelated.

Palaeontological events, documented by widespread beds or thin intervals of strata with either unusual (“exotic”) or acmes of common faunal elements are a characteristic feature of Upper Cretaceous epicontinental shelf sediments in NW Europe. Their importance in stratigraphic calibration has early been recognized and these “bioevents” are widely used as correlation tools. Furthermore, it appears that there is a genetic link between sequence and event stratigraphy as most of the “classic” bioevents developed during specific intervals of a 3^rd-order depositional sequence. Early transgressive bioevents (ETBs) are subdivided into two subtypes, i.e., the lag and migration subtype. The lag subtype corresponds to the transgressive surface and develops in response to winnowing and relative enrichment of robust biogenic hardparts. Taphonomic alteration and time-averaging are important features. The migration subtype is related to the disappearance of physical or ecological barriers that triggered faunal migrations. Despite their onlapping character, most ETBs are quasi-isochronous, and their preservation potential is usually high. Thus, they are very useful stratigraphic markers. Maximum flooding bioevents (MFBs) represent autochthonous biogenic concentrations with relatively low shell densities. They are related to habitat stability and ecospace expansion, and develop by population blooms of taxa well adapted to the special maximum flooding conditions of the wide epicontinental shelf of NW Europe (e.g., low food availability). Cenomanian MFBs of NW Europe are not time-averaged and may comprise stratigraphically more expanded intervals with gradational lower and upper boundaries. Their often wide palaeogeographic extent associated with very high chances of preservation results in an excellent inter-basinal correlation potential. Late highstand bioevents (LHBs) are local to regional shell concentrations deposited as a result of increasing winnowing of fines and reworking by storms, currents and waves during late highstands. LHBs usually consist of paucior even monospecific skeletal concentrations with a high degree of fragmentation. Simple shell beds related to a single (storm) event, and composite (multiple-event) shell beds are recognized. LHBs share some features of ETBs, but lack of time-averaging, are laterally restricted and have low preservation potential. Thus, their importance in interbasinal correlation is poor. The time scales of Cenomanian bioevents range through several orders of magnitude (hours-days in LHB storm event concentrations to ∼100 kyr in MFBs). In terms of position within sequences, the three bioevent types correspond to shell concentrations recognized in Mesozoic—Cenozoic formations around the world. Shell beds with similar positions within cycles as well as comparable sedimentologic and taphonomic characteristics have also been described from high-frequency sequences and parasequences, suggesting that the formational processes of shell beds operate in base-level controlled sedimentary cycles of different hierarchies (i.e., 3^rd-up to 7^th-order).

Radiolarians are widely distributed in two siliceous intervals that coincide with the Tithonian—Berriasian and Santonian— Campanian boundaries in the Mesozoic of the Russian Arctic and Pacific Rim. The first level is rich in organic matter and typical of Jurassic—Cretaceous boundary strata from the Russian North European Margin (Barents-Pechora, Volga-Urals, and Siberian hydrocarbon provinces, as well as western Kamchatka). Abundant and diverse representatives of the family Parvicingulidae provide a basis for establishing the new genus Spinicingula (uppermost Middle Volgian—Lower Berriasian); another new genus, Quasicrolanium (Upper Volgian—Upper Berriasian) is also described. A Santonian— Campanian siliceous interval with radiolarians is documented from the margins of northern Asia (eastern Polar Ural, Kara Basin, Kamchatka). The Boreal genus Prunobrachium makes its first appearance at the Santonian—Campanian boundary and reaches an acme in Campanian strata. Radiolarian data can be used for basin biostratigraphy and correlation, as well as palaeogeographical interpretation of these hydrocarbon-rich facies. The Arctic and northern Pacific rims are well correlated on the basis of parvicingulids, while in Sakhalin these are absent and calibrations are based on Unitary Associations zones of the Tethys. In addition to the two new genera noted above, five new species (Parvicingula alata, Parvicingula papulata, Spinicingula ceratina, Lithostrobus borealis, and Spongurus arcticus) are erected, while 60 radiolarian species typical of the Russian Arctic and Pacific rims are illustrated.

Two global isotopic events, the early Sheinwoodian (early Wenlock) and that at the Silurian—Devonian transition, have been comprehensively studied in representative carbonate successions at Kytayhorod and Dnistrove, respectively, in Podolia, Ukraine, to compare geochemistry and biotic changes related correspondingly to the Ireviken and Klonk events. These two large-scale isotope excursions reveal different regional ecosystem tendencies. The well-defined increasing trend across the Llandovery—Wenlock boundary in siliciclastic input, redox states and, supposedly, bioproductivity, was without strict correlative relations to the major ¹³C enrichment event. The environmental and biotic evolution was forced by eustatic sea-level fluctuations and two-step climate change toward a glaciation episode, but strongly modified by regional epeirogeny movements due to location near the mobile Teisseyre-Törnquist Fault Zone. Thus, the global early Sheinwoodian biogeochemical perturbation was of minor depositional significance in this epeiric sea, as in many other Laurussian domains. Conversely, the Podolian sedimentary record of the Klonk Event exhibits temporal links to the abrupt δ¹³C anomaly, overprinted by a tectonically driven deepening pulse in the crucial S–D boundary interval. This carbon cycling turnover was reflected in the regional carbonate crisis and cooling episodes, paired with a tendency towards eutrophication and recurrent oxygen deficiency, but also with major storms and possible upwelling. Faunal responses in both Podolian sections follow some characters of the Silurian pattern worldwide, as manifested by conodont changeover prior to the major early Sheinwoodian isotopic/climatic anomaly. This contrasts with the relative brachiopod and chitinozoan resistances in the course of the Ireviken Event. Also, during the Klonk Event, a moderate faunal turnover, both in benthic and pelagic groups, occurred only near the very beginning of the prolonged ¹³C-enriched timespan across the system boundary, possibly due to progressive dysoxia and temperature drop. The characters point to a peculiarity of the Klonk Event by comparison with the Silurian global events, and some similarity already to the succeeding Devonian transgressive/anoxic episodes.

In the Podolian Dniester Basin (southwestern Ukraine) the Lower Devonian marine deposits are represented by about 530 m thick continuous sequence of interlaminated carbonate and schale outcrops at several localities. Conodonts occur in most of the carbonate layers of the whole Lochkovian but are not abundant and their ramiform elements are mostly broken or lacking. Therefore, only the pectiniform, Pa elements of twenty five stratigraphically important conodont species occurring in the region are discussed and two new species, Caudicriodus schoenlaubi and Pandorinellina? parva are proposed. The hypothetical phyletic relationships within the main representatives of the icriodontid and spathognathodontid genera, Caudicriodus, Zieglerodina, and Pandorinellina? are traced. Comparison of the previously published and newly obtained data revealed discrepancies in the hitherto used interpretation of some of the conodont taxa and their stratigraphic ranges. Contrary to the earlier reports, Caudicriodus postwoschmidti does not occur in the lower Lochkovian but only in the middle part of the Chortkiv Formation, high above the Munograptus uniformis Zone. Based on new material and verification of the previous determinations, a modified scheme of the Lochkovian conodont zonation in Podolia is proposed. Conodont zones: Caudicriudus hesperius, C. transiens, C. postwoschmidti, C. serus, and ?Caudicriodus steinachensis are distinguished. The zones are correlated with conodont zonations in other regions—Barrandian, Cantabrian Mountains, Pyrenees, and Nevada. Biostratigraphy of the Siluro-Devonian transition and Lochkovian is integrated with the carbon isotope stratigraphy.

Investigation of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic Lower Devonian deposits have been carried out in the Ivanye Zolote and Ustechko sections in Podolia, Ukraine. Based on palynomorph evidence, the age of the samples studied is late Lochkovian, not older than the NM Oppel Miospore Zone, specifically the Si Lineage Zone. The presence of acritarchs and chitinozoans points to dominantly marine depositional conditions. However, a regressive environmental change to-ward more brackish conditions is indicated by a decrease in the taxonomic diversity of acritarchs in the topmost samples, the simultaneous disappearance of chitinozoans, and an increase in leiosphaerid frequency. Furthermore, evolution of limestone microfacies demonstrates a progressive transition from a shrinking marine basin toward a brackish, storm-af-fected muddy lagoon, manifested by recurrent profusion of impoverished, mostly opportunistic and euryhaline shelly benthos (nuculanid bivalves, leperditicopids and other ostracods, terebratulid brachiopods), chaetetid demosponges and diverse ichthyofauna. The association of plant (mainly nematophytes and some tracheids) and animal (eurypterid, ?scor-pion, and possibly other arthropod) remains points to the presence of nearby Early Devonian wetland vegetation, provid-ing food and shelter for various semi-aquatic and other terrestrial arthropods.

Ischnacanthiform acanthodian dentigerous jaw bones from the Lower Devonian (Late Lochkovian) of Podolia are described for the first time. One new genus and one new species are established. Podoliacanthus gen. nov. is diagnosed as having small-sized jaw bones, the presence of specific accessory cusps/denticles on the medial side of teeth of the lateral tooth row, and groups of denticles forming the lingual tooth row. Podoliacanthus zychi sp. nov. is distinguished in having elongated slender jaw bones and lateral teeth with one medial side denticle. Besides, three species are described in open nomenclature: Podoliacanthus sp. 1, while similar to Podoliacanthus zychi sp. nov., differs in having stronger posterior inclination of the teeth tips and presence of well developed flanges of the teeth, P. sp. 2 has quite robust jaw bones and teeth with two medial side denticles, and Podoliacanthus sp. 3 has small narrow jaw bones and teeth with three medial side denticles. Morphology of the lingual tooth row is considered to be a diagnostic feature of generic and higher taxonomic levels, while accessory medial cusps/denticles of the teeth are regarded as diagnostic features at species level. The new genus also occurs in Upper Silurian or Lower Devonian deposits of North Greenland. Preservation of the jaw bones possibly depends on their secondary mineralization.

In the classic section across the Silurian—Devonian boundary at Dnistrove (Podolia, Ukraine) the brachiopod fauna has never been studied in detail. This paper presents results of research on brachiopods from this important locality and time interval. Bed-by-bed collecting has enabled the detailed distribution of brachiopod taxa through the boundary beds to be revealed. Generally, the reference section at Dnistrove yields rather scarce but often well preserved brachiopods. Dayla bohemica and Dnestrina gutta can be regarded as characteristic species for the uppermost Silurian. A relatively high-diversity but low-abundance brachiopod fauna occurs in the lowest 1.8 m of the earliest Devonian. Only three forms have been found to cross the Silurian—Devonian boundary: the strophomenide Plectodontu (Plectodontu) murlae puntherae subsp. nov., the atrypide Gruciunellu (Sublepida) paulula sp. nov., and the spiriferide Howellellu (Howellella) latisinuata. A relatively narrow brachiopod-rich interval at 5.5 m above the Silurian—Devonian boundary yields 16 brachiopod species which probably indicate a setting near the lower limit of the photic zone equivalent to the Benthic Assemblage 3–4 boundary. Two new species and one new subspecies are described: Skenidioides tatyunae, Plectodontu (Plectodonta) marlae puntherae, and Gruclanella (Sublepidu) paulula.

Colonies of boring ctenostome bryozoans and microborings of “fungi” that occur in the Early Devonian (Lochkovian, ∼416 Ma) of Podolia, western Ukraine, have soft-tissue preserved by phosphatization. These comprise exceptional three-dimensional body walls of feeding zooids with probable parietal muscles inserted on the cystid wall, and setigerous collars twisted within the vestibulum. The presence of collars in this Early Devonian ctenostomes proves the existence of this feature for more than 416 Ma of ctenostome evolution. Phosphatized remains of the zooid walls are interpreted as relicts of the originally chitinous cystid walls. This is the first record of soft-tissue fossilization in a boring bryozoan. The presence of cavities (specialized heterozooids), empty or filled with laminated calcium phosphate, is also documented in bryozoans for the first time. These cavities are interpreted as “store-rooms” in which the bryozoans accumulated nutrients. The new taxon, Podoliaporu doroshevi gen. et sp. nov. is described. In additional, phosphatised fungi-like endoliths co-occur with bryozoans.