bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Description of a muscle scar and two other novel features from steinkerns ofHypomphalocirrus(Mollusca: Paragastropoda)
Authors: Schopf Kenneth M. , Morris Paul J.
Published: August 2016

Three novel features are described in steinkerns ofHypomphalocirrus rugosusLinsley from the Middle Devonian Rogers City Limestone of Michigan. The first feature is located about one-half a volution adapertural of the terminal septum. It has the appearance of a typical molluscan muscle attachment scar and is interpreted as such. The two other features are more enigmatic. They have a less stereotyped appearance and location. The first is interpreted as a field of mantle point-attachments and the other as a product of partial shell dissolution. Comparisons with extant and fossil molluscs confirm that the two features ascribed to biologic origins are within the scope of molluscan soft-part and shell attachment morphologies.
Gastropods (Mollusca) from the Imo Formation (Mississippian, Chesterian) of north-central Arkansas
Authors: Jeffery D. L. , Hoare R. D. , Mapes R. H. , Brown C. J.
Published: August 2016

The Chesterian (Upper Mississippian) Imo Formation in north-central Arkansas contains an abundant, diverse, and well-preserved gastropod fauna, comprising 35 species referrable to 21 genera and subgenera. Bellerophontaceans and pleurotomariaceans show the greatest species diversity. New taxa proposed include:Euphemites chesterensis, E. whirligigi, Retispira yochelsoni, Patellilabia rhombadella, P. sulcata, Straparollus (Euomphalus) konobasis, S. (E.) variabilis, Trepospira (Angyomphalus) desultoria, Glabrocingulum (Glabrocingulum) parasolum, G. (G.) parvanodum, G. (G.) coronulum, Naticopsis (Marmolatella) macgordoni, N. (M.) imoensis, Globozyga mediocris, and Girtyspira microspirula.

Relicts of color patterns are present on four taxa. Repair of broken shells is common. Borings of acrothoracic barnacles and possibly that of a gastropod are present. Coprolites with gastropods attached may indicate a coprophagous habit, only grazing on the algae and bacteria growing on the coprolite, or may just be a circumstance of preservation.
Re-evaluation of the Palasteriscidae Gregory, 1900, and the early phylogeny of the Asteroidea (Echinodermata)
Authors: Blake Daniel B.
Published: August 2016

Foliaster transversusn. gen. and sp. (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) is assigned to the Ordovician through Devonian family Palasteriscidae; the other genera included in the family arePalasteriscusandPlatanaster. Platanasteris redescribed; both it andFoliasterare thought to have been suspension feeders that extended their arms into the water column. Ampullar basins in both were external; there are no podial pores. The strongly petaloid arm ofFoliasterwith widely separated podial basins is unique.

Two competing phylogenies have been offered for the origin of stelleroids, one treating edrioasteroids as ancestral, the other favoring crinoids. In the latter hypothesis, the Palasteriscidae is the primitive asteroid family, andPlatanasteris an example of the first true asteroids. Both hypotheses are here considered to lack adequate support; stelleroid origins remain problematic.
Evidence of leaf-cutting bee damage from the Republic sites (middle Eocene) of Washington
Authors: Lewis Standley E.
Published: August 2016

Several authors (Berry, 1916, 1931; Brooks, 1955; Cockerell, 1908, 1910) have reported evidence of damage by leaf-cutter bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) from the Tertiary of the United States. These have been predominantly Eocene in age. During field investigations (1990-1991), four further fossil plant specimens with possible leaf-cutter bee damage were discovered from the middle Eocene sediments of the Klondike Mountain Formation near Republic (Ferry County), Washington (Figure 1), and are reported here to draw attention to the common occurrence of these kinds of insect “trace fossils” in the paleobotanical record.
Antarctomithrax thomsoni,a new genus and species of crab (Brachyura; Majidae) from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene) of Seymour Island, Antarctica
Authors: Feldmann Rodney M.
Published: August 2016

The james ross basin, situated on the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula, has yielded an extensive fauna of decapod crustaceans spanning Late Cretaceous through Eocene time. To date, 28 species in 22 genera and 18 families have been described (Feldmann, 1992; Feldmann, Tshudy, and Thomson, 1993), making this the most diverse fossil decapod fauna in the Southern Hemisphere. Within the basin, Seymour Island alone contains rocks of the Eocene age La Meseta Formation from which seven species of crabs, one galatheid, and one species of callianassid ghost shrimp have been described (Feldmann and Zinsmeister, 1984; Feldmann and Wilson, 1988; Feldmann, 1992). The fauna of the La Meseta is remarkable also because, although the organisms are preserved in rocks deposited in moderate- to high-energy, shallow-water habitats (Elliot and Trautman, 1982), many of the species represent early occurrences of taxa with living descendants that are characteristic of deeper water, lower latitude habitats (Zinsmeister and Feldmann, 1984).
Biometry of the Late Cambrian trilobite genusDikelocephalusand its implications for trilobite systematics
Authors: Labandeira Conrad C. , Hughes Nigel C.
Published: August 2016

It has been proposed previously that the northern Mississippi Valley Sunwaptan trilobite genusDikelocephaluscomprises 26 species. Morphometric analyses demonstrate that many of the criteria that had been used to define species ofDikelocephalusare invalid and additional analysis of biostratigraphically and biogeographically constrained collections is necessary before the taxonomic status ofDikelocephaluscan be fully resolved. Our results indicate that infrageneric morphological variation inDikelocephalusis continuous and lacks gaps that could be the basis for establishing multiple species. Many of the characters shown to be taxonomically insignificant inDikelocephalusare also widely used in the definition of other trilobite taxa. This suggests that the species-level taxonomy of many trilobites may be substantially oversplit. Recognition of widespread oversplitting will have important consequences for biostratigraphic zonations, paleogeographic distributions, and estimates of taxonomic diversity.
Taxonomic synonymy, what is it and why?
Authors: Sohn I. G.
Published: August 2016

During the 1991 ostracodologists' symposium in Australia, I heard a young man in the seat across the aisle tell his companion, “I hope that my new species will never be placed in synonymy.” I turned to him and explained that there is neither shame nor crime in having a species placed in synonymy by another scientist.
The order Fenestrata (Bryozoa) of the Toroweap Formation (Permian), southern Nevada
Authors: Mccolloch Miriam E. , Gilmour Ernest H. , Snyder Edward M.
Published: August 2016

Recently developed analytical procedures for meshwork fenestrate and pinnate bryozoans made it possible to recognize two Russian species in the Toroweap Formation of southern Nevada. This analysis separates zoarial and zooecial features and emphasizes the three-dimensional form and size of the zooecial chamber as well as accessory features. In this investigation, these analytical procedures are successful even when specimens are fragmented and embedded in a hard rock matrix.

The bryozoans in the Toroweap Formation in this study were found to be more similar to Permian species of the Russian platform than to species described in earlier North American Permian studies. Five species of fenestrate bryozoans are present in the Toroweap Formation. Wjatkella permiana Morozova, 1970, and Polypora sargaensis Trizna, 1948, originally described in Russia, are recognized in the Toroweap. Three new species, Penniretepora oppositus n. sp., Septopora bilateralis n. sp., and Reteporidra anaphora n. sp., are present and, along with the Russian species, are described in this paper.

The local range zones of the five species of fenestrates were identified in three measured sections. Penniretepora oppositus and Septopora bilateralis are present throughout the three sections; Reteporidra anaphora is present in the lower two-thirds of the three sections; Wjatkella permiana is present in the middle parts of the three sections; and Polypora sargaensis is present in the upper parts of the three sections. Concurrent range zones, based on ramose bryozoans, were previously identified in two of the three sections and, using the distribution of the fenestrates in these two sections, four of the five concurrent range zones were recognized in the third section.
Ontogenetic development of Pa element cup microsculpture in Lochriea commutata (Branson and Mehl, 1941) (Conodonta, Carboniferous): taxonomic implications
Authors: von Bitter Peter H. , Norby Rodney D.
Published: August 2016

Cup nodes on Lochriea commutata Pa elements bear microsculpture fields composed of polygonal microsculpture. As Pa elements grow larger, the cup nodes and their microsculpture fields increase in size during early to middle growth. With subsequent growth, cup nodes may broaden transversely, split, fuse, or cease to broaden; similarly, their microsculpture fields may increase in size, split, or disappear as the element gets larger. The loss of microsculpture fields results in the loss of polygonal microsculpture.

The presence of polygonal microsculpture on the cup nodes of Pa elements of the holotype of Lochriea montanaensis Scott, 1942, on topotype Pa elements of L. commutata (Branson and Mehl, 1941), as well as on L. commutata Pa elements from diverse localities, suggests that this micromorphological feature cannot be used to distinguish them. Instead, these similarities support the practice of treating L. montanaensis as a junior synonym of L. commutata. The fact that cup node, microsculpture field, and polygonal microsculpture development are closely related to growth and ontogeny and are variable in the larger growth stages suggests that these morphological features should be used with caution in taxonomy. This lack of reliability contrasts with the taxonomic utility of pustulose micrornamentation on the homeomorphic Pa elements of the Permian genus Sweetognathus.
New trigonioid bivalves from the Early Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous of the Antarctic Peninsula region: systematics and austral paleobiogeography
Authors: Kelly Simon R. A.
Published: August 2016

New discoveries of trigonioid bivalves are documented from three areas in the Antartic Peninsula: the Fossil Bluff Group of Alexander Island, the Latady Formation of the Orville Coast, and the Byers Group of Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands. Eleven taxa are described, representing six genera or subgenera. The faunas are characterized by genera includingVaugonia(Vaugonia), the first Early Jurassic trigonioid recognized on the continent;Vaugonia(V.) andV.(Orthotrigonia?) in the Late Jurassic; andIotrigonia(Iotrigonia),Myophorella(Scaphogonia), andPterotrigonia(Pterotrigonia), which span the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, reaching the Berriasian stage. The following species are new:Pterotrigonia(P.)cramein. sp.,Pterotrigonia(P.)thomsonin. sp.,Vaugonia(V.)orvillensisn. sp., andV.(Orthotrigonia?)quiltyin. sp. The faunas show affinities with those of New Zealand and southern Africa. Trigonioids characterize the shallower marine biofacies in the Jurassic of the Antarctic and reflect the principal shallowing events in the history of the region.
Dianulites Eichwald, 1829: An unusual Ordovician bryozoan with a high-magnesium calcite skeleton
Authors: Taylor Paul D. , Wilson Mark A.
Published: August 2016

The ‘granular’ wall microstructure of the Ordovician stenolaemate bryozoan Dianulites Eichwald, 1829, has been studied using ultrathin sections, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), analytical SEM, and cathodoluminescence. The timing of recrystallization and the presence of microdolomite inclusions in the skeletal walls implies that the original skeleton consisted of high-magnesium calcite (HMC). Although found in some modern cheilostomes, HMC has not been recorded in living stenolaemate bryozoans, but appears to have also been present in Nicholsonella and a few other Ordovician genera traditionally assigned to the trepostomes or cystoporates. The Russian type species of Dianulites, D. fastigiatus Eichwald, 1829, is revised and recorded for the first time in North America from the Fillmore Formation (Lower Ordovician) of Utah. Unusually among bryozoans, D. fastigiatus has turbinate, cone- or horn-shaped colonies, straight to slightly curved, with zooids opening on the flat, broad end of the cone; the sides of the cone comprise calcified exterior walls. This growth-form resembles some solitary rugose corals and other benthic animals thought to have lived with all but their tops buried in soft sediment. Such an interpretation is supported in Dianulites by the scarcity of epibionts on the exterior walls of the cone and by the occurrence of specimens comprising stacks of subcolonies, suggesting periods of partial burial of the living tissues by sediment.
A three-dimensional CT (CAT) scan through a rock with Permian alga Ivanovia tebagaensis
Authors: Torres Andrew M.
Published: August 2016

Embedded thalli of Permian Ivanovia tebagaensis, a calcified, cyathiform, codiacean, Chlorophyta, were X-rayed with a medical CT (computed tomography) scanner. The two-dimensional digital X-ray image files were copied to floppy disks and transferred to an IBM-compatible personal computer. The images were cropped, and built into a data volume with a commercial three-dimensional software program. The data were color edited so that only the algae were visible. The data volume was then systematically manipulated to visualize some hitherto unknown details of the structure of the utricles, and of a vegetative propagule, a developing bud.
Trilobites from the base of the type Whiterockian (Middle Ordovician) in Nevada
Authors: Fortey Richard A. , Droser Mary L.
Published: August 2016

No trilobite species, and very few genera, pass from the Lower (Ibexian) into the Middle Ordovician (Whiterockian), which is a turning point in Laurentian trilobite history. Trilobites from three sections exposing the base of the Whiterock Series (basal Middle Ordovician) in Nevada are described and illustrated. They are attributable to different, and generally more open-shelf, biofacies from the Bathyurid biofacies trilobites described from the Ibex area, Utah, by Fortey and Droser (1996), but include species in common, which allow correlation into the Ibexian type section. At Little Rawhide Mountain the basal Middle Ordovician is developed in Olenid biofacies, described for the first time in western North America from rocks of this age. Correlation based on species-level similarity shows that the “spike” that has been used to define the type base of the Whiterockian (and hence the Middle Ordovician) at Whiterock Canyon is at a level younger than the base of the Whiterockian assumed in recent discussions of its international correlation. The type Whiterock base correlates with thePsephosthenaspis glabriortrilobite Subzone at Ibex, well above the major change in trilobite faunas at the base of thePsephosthenaspisZone (P. microspinosaSubzone). In all study sections there is an abrupt change of facies after trilobite Zone J, possibly associated with regression. Four new species are described:Cloacaspis tesselata, Harpillaenus rossi, Acidiphorus?lineotuberculatus, andBenthamaspis serus.
Larval morphology and ontogeny of a late Devonian Phacopid with reduced sight from Thuringia, Germany
Authors: Crônier C. , Bartzsch K. , Weyer D. , Feist R.
Published: August 2016

Exceptionally rich and well-preserved silicified exuviae comprising numerous immature growth stages allow the tracing of detailed morphological and morphogenetical features of the reduced-eyed phacopid speciesCryphops?ensae(Richter and Richter, 1926) from the latest Famennian of Thuringia (Central Germany). Ontogenetic features of this species are more similar to those ofPhacopsthan toTrimerocephalus.
The Walcott-Rust Quarry: Middle Ordovician trilobite Konservat-Lagerstätten
Authors: Brett Carlton E. , Whiteley Thomas E. , Allison Peter A. , Yochelson Ellis L.
Published: August 2016

The Walcott-Rust Quarry, at Trenton Falls, New York, has yielded a large number of well-preserved, fully articulated fossils from the lower third of the Middle Ordovician Rust Formation, Trenton Group. Along with three species of the more common trilobites from the Trenton Group, fourteen species of rare and uncommon trilobites are found within a thin package of micritic limestones and shales. The first trilobites with preserved appendages, Ceraurus pleurexanthemus Green, 1832 and Flexicalymene senaria (Conrad, 1842), were described from one layer from this quarry. Unique specimens of Isotelus walcotti UIrich in Walcott, 1918, and Sphaerocorphe robusta Walcott, 1875, were found in the next higher bed. Re-excavation of the quarry yielded information about the taphonomy of the trilobites and stratigraphy of the trilobite layers. Nearly half of the beds surveyed (n = 50) yield direct evidence of obrution (i.e., rapid post-mortem or live burial) of benthic organisms. Unusual anaerobic microenvironments in partially enrolled trilobites of the Ceraurus layer facilitated very early calcification of appendages and other soft parts.
Paleobiologic and taphonomic aspects of the “granulosa” trilobite cluster, Kope Formation (Upper Ordovician, Cincinnati Region)
Authors: Hughes Nigel C. , Cooper Dan L.
Published: August 2016

A new, low-density trilobite body cluster from an Upper Ordovician Kope Formation mudstone in the Cincinnati region is characterized by well-preserved, articulated specimens. This cluster is polytaxic, size-segregated, and shows an unusual variety of flexure postures in the most common taxon,Flexicalymeneaff.granulosa.Specimens show internal pyritization and associated pyritefilled tubular burrows, and were preserved by rapid deposition of mud from a sediment-laden flow. Size-segregation among species, but size-consistency within species, coupled with sedimentological data and apparently haphazard body orientation data, suggest that the trilobites represent a biological association, rather than the product of mechanical sorting. While the majority of specimens are inverted, many are dorsal-up, and some are inclined to bedding. Postures include prone (i.e., nonflexed), simple dorsal or ventral flexure, and complex stances that combine both dorsal and ventral flexure. Flexure pattern appears largely unrelated to sediment compaction. We interpret the cluster as an association of live trilobites that were entombed in situ. Specimens may have inverted prior to burial as a behavioral posture, or as a response to onset of burial. The animals were likely preserved in the process of escaping, as they tried to free themselves from being buried. This is in contrast to the tightly enrolled stance in some trilobites, especially otherFlexicalymene, commonly associated with rapid burial events, and indicates a new behavioral aspect of trilobite paleobiology. The distribution of associated burrows suggests that the rotting carcasses attracted scavengers.
Manumiella seymourensis new species, a stratigraphically significant dinoflagellate cyst from the Maastrichtian of Seymour Island, Antarctica
Authors: Askin Rosemary A.
Published: August 2016

The peridiniacean dinoflagellate cyst Manumiella seymourensis new species described herein characterizes Maastrichtian shallow marine sediments cropping out on Seymour Island, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. It dominates palynological assemblages throughout the lower Maastrichtian (and possibly uppermost Campanian) to lower upper Maastrichtian part of the López de Bertodano Formation. Despite its superficial similarity to some other southern mid to high paleolatitude Campanian-Maastrichtian species, M. seymourensis represents a discrete, biostratigraphically useful population of peridiniacean cysts. Its morphology and size parameters remain consistent throughout almost all of its stratigraphic range, equated with relatively stable environmental conditions throughout much of the Maastrichtian in the James Ross Basin. Morphological variations, equated with environmental change, are apparent in specimens in the lowermost and uppermost parts of its range.
New fossil worms from the Lower Cambrian of the Kinzers Formation, Pennsylvania, with some comments on Burgess Shale-type preservation
Authors: Capdevila D. Garcia-Bellido , Morris S. Conway
Published: August 2016

Two new fossil worms are described from the Lower Cambrian Kinzers Formation of southeast Pennsylvania. Both are unique specimens.Kinzeria crinitanew genus and species has a body divided into three regions. The head bears a prominent set of elongate tentacles, presumably employed for feeding. The elongate trunk tapers slightly in a posterior direction. It contains a prominent intestinal tract, the contents of which indicate a deposit feeding habit. The tail is an expanded structure, with either a spatulate or sagittate outline. The mode of life ofK. crinitais uncertain, but the animal may have been semi-sedentary.Atalotaenia adelanew genus and species is more poorly known, lacking the anterior. The preserved body is vermiform, with external annulations and a rounded posterior. There is a prominent internal strand, consisting of a probable intestine and an associated fibrous unit, possibly representing muscles. This worm may have been infaunal. These discoveries extend further our understanding of the ancient diversity of Laurentian Burgess Shale-type faunas. In common with the Burgess Shale itself and the Sirius Passet fauna (Peary Land, Greenland) the location of fossil-Lagerstätte [see Shields (1998) for a discussion of the terminology of Lagerstätten] of the Kinzers Formation adjacent to a prominent escarpment reinforces earlier evidence of the paleotopography exerting an important control on the distribution of Burgess Shale-type faunas. Whether this is a result of localized faunal abundances or taphonomic control is, however, uncertain.
Pennsylvanian bairdiidae (Ostracoda) from the Appalachian basin
Authors: Hoare R. D. , Svitko J. L. , Sturgeon M. T.
Published: August 2016

Bairdiid ostracodes are commonly present in the Pennsylvanian marine zones in the Appalachian basin. Thirty-one taxa are recognized representing the genera Bairdia McCoy, 1844; Orthobairdia Sohn, 1960; Cryptobairdia Sohn, 1960; Rectobairdia Sohn, 1960; Bairdiolites Croneis and Gale, 1939; and Bairdiacypris Bradfield, 1935. Two questionable bairdiid genera, Entmema new genus and Hastacypris Croneis and Gutke, 1939, are included. Seven new taxa, Bairdia cuspidis, Rectobairdia absidata, R. apiculata, R. levis, R. sohni, Entmena distenta, and Hastacypris acutula, are described. Fabalicypris Cooper, 1946, is considered a junior synonym of Bairdiacypris Bradfield, 1935.

The diversity of bairdiids is significantly lower in the Appalachian basin than in the Eastern Interior and Western Interior basins.
An elasmobranch assemblage from the terrestrial-marine transitional Lethbridge Coal Zone (Dinosaur Park Formation: Upper Campanian), Alberta, Canada
Authors: Beavan Neil R. , Russell Anthony P.
Published: August 2016

The change in depositional environments observed in the Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) strata in the region of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, from the proximal coastal plain deposits of the Oldman Formation to the lowland coastal plain deposits of the Dinosaur Park Formation, reveals an associated change in faunal composition. An assemblage collected from a microvertebrate site in the paralic deposits of the Lethbridge Coal Zone (uppermost Dinosaur Park Formation) reflects an increasing marine influence. Elasmobranch (sharks and rays) remains are the most abundant, both in terms of number of overall taxa and number of elements, and they are the best-preserved specimens. However, several brackish-water-tolerant osteichthyan taxa, and four reptile taxa (two marine and two terrestrial), were also recovered, although they exhibited evidence of extensive taphonomic reworking.

The elasmobranch fauna collected from the Dinosaur Park locality is uncommon for vertebrate microfossil assemblages in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta and in equivalent beds in Montana. Seven of the 10 taxa collected from this site [Cretorectolobus olsoniCase, 1978;Eucrossorhinus microcuspidatusCase, 1978;Odontaspis aculeatus(Cappetta and Case, 1975);Archaeolamna kopingensis judithensisSiverson, 1992;Protoplatyrhina renaeCase, 1978;Ischyrhiza miraLeidy, 1856; andPtychotrygon blainensisCase, 1978] are recorded for the first time from the uppermost section of the Judith River Group in Alberta;Carcharias steineri(Case, 1987), represents the first occurrence within the upper Judith River Group from either Alberta or Montana.
Life positions of fossil naticid opercula (Mollusca: Gastropoda)
Authors: Majima Ryuichi
Published: August 2016

Two life positions of fossil naticid opercula are recognized in Pliocene deposits of Hokkaido, northern Japan. In one position, the operculum seals the aperture. In the other position, the operculum is pressed against the shell base adjacent to the aperture. The death position of the head-foot mass can be reconstructed from the two opercular positions, which coincide, respectively, to naticids that died with the head-foot mass retracted into the shell, and those that died with it entirely extended from the shell.
Redescription of Spirodentalium Walcott (Gastropoda: Late Cambrian) from Wisconsin
Authors: Yochelson Ellis L.
Published: August 2016

Spirodentalium Walcott, 1890, was originally described as a scaphopod. A reinterpretation of the type lot suggests that its overall shape is that of an open-coiled gastropod. If so, this is probably the earliest known open-coiled form and it is sinistral in coiling direction.
New flexible crinoids from the Bangor Limestone (Mississippian) of Tennessee
Authors: Knox Larry W. , Kendrick G. Wayne
Published: August 2016

New flexible crinoids referable to Taxocrinus Phillips and Onychocrinus Lyon and Casseday are made known from Carboniferous (Mississippian, Chesterian) strata of Tennessee. Taxocrinus strimplei n. sp. and Onychocrinus sp. A are reported from a single locality in the Bangor Limestone in Cumberland County, east-central Tennessee. Specimens of both species are characterized by having fewer numbers of brachials than any species yet referred to either genus. Both the evolutionary development of their brachial series and their stratigraphic position suggest that these species are at or near the end of lineages of these two genera.
Mammut americanum, Utah's first record of the American mastodon
Authors: Miller Wade E.
Published: August 2016

A sinkhole locality in the Wasatch Plateau has yielded Utah's first record of the American mastodon. At nearly 3,000 m this fossil-bearing site denotes the highest elevation yet reported for Mammut americanum, and demonstrates that mountainous terrain was not a barrier to dispersals. A presumably preferred habitat of spruce-fir open forests, similar to that in the area today, was present during the time of the mastodons reported here. Two incomplete individuals of M. americanum are the only fossils that were found in the sinkhole. Entrapment appears to have been the cause of death. Since the record of M. americanum in western North America is sparse, the present find has added significance in providing more information about the nature of this animal. A possible association of a recovered spear point fragment near the fossils indicates the possibility that man and mastodon were contemporaneous here. Three independent datings were run on mastodon bone. Two based on carbon-14 yielded dates of 7,090 ± 200 yr B.P. and 7,590 ± 100 yr B.P., while the third, using the racemization process, indicated an age of less than 10,000 yr B.P.
A new Late Triassic (Norian) conodont species
Authors: Meek Reed H.
Published: August 2016

The description of Norian conodonts from northwest Nevada recently published (Meek, 1984) includes reference to a new Late Triassic conodontEpigondolella humboldtensisn. sp. on p. 316, fig. 2 and PL 1, figs. 5-11 and 19. Description of this species was to have been included as appendix 3 to the paper but was inadvertently omitted. In order to conform to the international rules of zoological nomenclature, a description of the species follows and this becomes the valid reference for Epigondolella humboldtensis n. sp.
Duck-bill dinosaurs (Hadrosauridae, Ornithischia) from the North Slope of Alaska
Authors: Davies Kyle L.
Published: August 2016

Hadrosaur Bones have been found on the Colville River north of Umiat on the North Slope of Alaska. This find represents the first report of dinosaur bones in Alaska and their northernmost reported occurrence. The remains are not determinable below family level but are important, nonetheless, for interpretations of the paleoclimatology and paleobiogeography of the Late Cretaceous.
The Llandovery–Wenlock Syringoporidae from New Brunswick, Canada
Authors: Young G. A. , Noble J. P. A.
Published: August 2016

A large collection of Silurian Syringoporidae, mainly from the Limestone Point and La Vieille formations of northern New Brunswick, includes one new species and three species previously described from this area. Syringopora lambei n. sp. is distinguished from the superficially similar S. bifurcata Lonsdale by its larger corallites with much broader axial tubes and less frequent corallite contacts. Similar problems which have existed in the past in the distinction of S. compacta Billings and S. reteformis Billings can be resolved, as shown in this study, on the basis of the larger, geniculate and densely-packed corallites of S. reteformis. All four species are defined using more quantitative data than has previously been applied to syringoporid taxonomy. A new lectotype for S. compacta is proposed. Recognition of epibionts on a corallum of S. bifurcata as virtually identical to the “epithecal scales” used to distinguish Syringoalcyon Termier and Termier from Syringopora Goldfuss argues strongly against the continued recognition of the former as a separate genus. Preliminary analysis of syringoporid distributions in relation to stratigraphy and sedimentary associations suggests strong facies and paleoenvironmental control on these distributions. For this reason and because of their long stratigraphic ranges, no well-defined biozonal scheme can be proposed at this time.
Shell shape plasticity in Late Pennsylvanian myalinids (Bivalvia)
Authors: Hickey David R.
Published: August 2016

Analyses of shell shape variation in epifaunal and semi-infaunal myalinids from the LaSalle “cyclothem” attest to the extensive shape plasticity of some Late Pennsylvanian myalinids. Mean shell shapes differ significantly within and among species across three nearshore facies. Discriminant analyses of Fourier biometric data categorized by taxonomic, populational (habitat), life-mode, and “multi-species habitat assemblage”” discriminant groups reveal patterns of shape change and variation across an inferred environmental stress gradient in addition to taxonomic and life-mode shape differences. Fourier harmonic data are good indicators of shape differences between epifaunal and semi-infaunal life modes. Mean shapes of epifaunal species vary among habitats. Within-habitat shell shape convergence occurred between Myalina glossoidea and M. (Orthomyalina) slocomi. Interpopulational shape divergence occurred among all populations of M. (Orthomyalina) slocomi, M. glossoidea, and M. wyomingensis. Within-species variation among habitats produced significant mean shape differences among each of three “multi-species habitat assemblages.” Results indicate that a portion of the variation is of ecophenotypic origin.

Mean interspecific shape differences reflect internal functional organization and life modes. Intraspecific shape differences among epifaunal species could reflect physical and biotic habitat variables. Several harmonic amplitudes vary in concert with inferred environmental variation among habitats. Although biologic interpretation of harmonic data is problematic, parallel trends in fifth harmonic amplitudes of epifaunal species mirror inferred differences in water turbulence among habitats and could reflect shape variation related to byssal attachment.

Stress gradient trends in intraspecific shape variability cannot be collectively explained by either of the antithetical stability-diversity-variation hypotheses. Each species exhibits a different nonmonotonic trend. Maximal levels of intraspecific variation within each species occurred within different habitats. Within-species differences in levels of variation could result from genetic variation among populations as well as ecophenotypic influences. Comparative studies of ontogenetic shape change between valves of individuals, among individuals, and among populations are necessary to determine the relative influence of environmental variables on shape variation and evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity.
An ichthyofauna from the subsurface Devonian of northwestern Iowa and its biostratigraphic and paleoecologic significance
Authors: Storrs Glenn W.
Published: August 2016

A fauna of disarticulated Devonian fossil fish remains includes osteolepid, palaeoniscoid, acanthodian, placoderm, and possible agnathan material. Lithologic and biostratigraphic evidence for a lacustrine or paludal environmental interpretation is examined. Palynomorphs from the deposit suggest a Middle (Givetian) to early Late (Frasnian) Devonian age which is compatible with the faunal evidence.
Miocene rhinoceroses from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain
Authors: Prothero Donald R. , Manning Earl M.
Published: August 2016

Four species of rhinoceros occur together in the Barstovian (middle Miocene) faunas of southeast Texas, a unique situation in the Miocene of North America. Two are assigned to normal contemporary High Plains species ofAphelopsandTeleoceras, and two to dwarf species ofPeracerasandTeleoceras. The dwarfPeracerasis a new species,P. hessei. The dwarfTeleocerasis assigned to Leidy's (1865) species “Rhinoceros”meridianus, previously referred toAphelops. “Aphelops”profectusis here reassigned toPeraceras.

The late Arikareean (early Miocene) Derrick Farm rhino, erroneously referred to “Caenopus premitis” by Wood and Wood (1937), is here referred toMenoceras arikarense. Menoceras barbouriis reported from the early Hemingfordian (early Miocene) Garvin Gully local fauna of southeast Texas. The rhinos from the early Clarendonian Lapara Creek Fauna are tentatively referred toTeleocerascf.major.

The three common genera of middle late Miocene rhinoceroses of North America (Aphelops, Peraceras, Teleoceras) are rediagnosed.AphelopsandPeracerasare more closely related to the EurasianAceratheriumandChilotherium(all four together forming the Aceratheriinae) than they are to the AmericanTeleoceras. Contrary to Heissig (1973),Teleocerasis more closely related to the living rhinoceroses and their kin (together forming the Rhinocerotini) than it is to the Aceratheriinae.
Invertebrate paleoecology of the Upper Cliff coal interval (Pennsylvanian), Plateau Coal Field, northern Alabama
Authors: Gibson Michael A. , Gastaldo Robert A.
Published: August 2016

The Upper Cliff coal interval (Early Pennsylvanian) of northern Alabama consists of sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal deposited within a southwestward prograding deltaic complex as previously defined using paleobotanical and sedimentological evidence. The paleoecology of two invertebrate-bearing lithofacies was studied within this context. A lower shaley-siltstone lithofacies records the inundation of the Upper Cliff #1 peat-accumulating swamp/marsh by fresh-water influenced brackish to restricted marine deposits. The fauna is dominated by the inarticulate Orbiculoidea and the trace fossil Planolites. As inundation continued, an interdistributary bay developed. Diversity and abundance of taxa increased with the establishment of a molluscan dominated Pteronites-Pianolites assemblage. The assemblage consists of a low diversity and low abundance fauna of bivalves and trace fossils that suggest soft substrates with abundant organics.

The overlying sandstone lithofacies consists of a basal shell-bed (Schizophoria zone) composed of rare indigenous Pteronites and Wilkingia and a transported component of open marine epifaunal brachiopods, gastropods, and trilobite fragments. The Schizophoria zone thins to the northeast, suggesting open marine conditions to the southwest. Directly above this bed, the fauna of the sandstone lithofacies is composed entirely of Zoophycos. Higher in the section, rare Pteronites and Wilkingia occur, thus this lithofacies preserves a Wilkingia-Pteronites-Zoophycos assemblage of low abundance and diversity reflecting mobile organic-poor substrates. The sandstone lithofacies is interpreted as a migrating sand body with a basal shell-bed, initially formed probably as a result of storm activity.
Distribution of Tylothyris (Brachiopoda) and its occurrence in the Traverse Group (Middle Devonian) of Michigan
Authors: Rogers Frederick S. , Pitrat Charles W.
Published: August 2016

The septate, lamellose, spiriferacean brachiopod genus Tylothyris North, 1920, is considered to be a delthyridid of the subfamily Tylothyridinae Carter, 1972. Herein, the diagnosis of the Tylothyridinae is emended to include forms with micro-ornament, and with a myophragm or median septum on the floor of the pedicle valve.

For the first time, Tylothyris is formally reported from the Traverse Group rocks of Michigan, Givetian through early Frasnian in age. Two species of the genus occur in the Traverse Group. The first, T. subvaricosa (Hall and Whitfield, 1872), previously described by Stainbrook (1943) from the Cedar Valley Limestone of Iowa, is also known from the Milwaukee Formation of Wisconsin and the Mineola Limestone of Missouri. Tylothyris randalia Stainbrook, 1943, also from the Cedar Valley Limestone, is considered to be synonymous with T. subvaricosa. In the Traverse Group, T. subvaricosa occurs in the Bell Shale, Rockport Quarry Limestone, Ferron Point Formation, Genshaw Formation, Alpena Limestone, Gravel Point Formation, Norway Point Formation, and Potter Farm Formation. The second species, T. rockportensis n. sp., occurs only in the Rockport Quarry Limestone, and appears to be endemic to the Michigan Basin.

Tylothyris is considered to have originated in the Illinois area during the late Eifelian, then to have migrated to the Michigan area by the early Givetian. With the onset of Taghanic Onlap during the late Givetian, the genus dispersed from its Illinois–Michigan area of origin, becoming distributed across much of North America during the Frasnian and Famennian, and becoming essentially cosmopolitan in distribution during the Tournaisian. Tylothyris apparently became extinct by the end of the Visean.
Enrolled trilobites from the Alden Pyrite Bed, Ledyard Shale (Middle Devonian) of western New York
Authors: Babcock Loren E. , Speyer Stephen E.
Published: August 2016

Although enrollment has long been recognized as an important, perhaps advantageous, life posture in certain trilobites, some aspects of this phenomenon are poorly understood. Taphonomic evidence indicates that the preservation of enrolled trilobites is a two-stage process involving: 1) factors that evoked enrollment; and 2) depositional and geochemical factors that resulted in preservation of the trilobites in an enrolled condition.

The Alden Pyrite Bed, Ledyard Shale Member, Ludlowville Formation (Middle Devonian, Givetian) of western New York, a well-known stratigraphic marker bed, is formally described herein. This bed yields an extraordinary number of enrolled phacopine trilobites. This study suggests that trilobites, like certain modern arthropods, enrolled in response to inhospitable conditions, including environmental toxicity and/or rapid sediment influx. Frequency of occurrence data from the Alden Pyrite Bed and underlying and overlying beds of the Ledyard Shale indicate that the trilobitesGreenops boothi(Green) andPhacops rana(Green) both enrolled in response to adverse conditions at the sediment-water interface. Prolonged adversity compelled the trilobites to remain, and eventually die, in an enrolled state. Rapid and deep burial within a fine-grained sediment precluded scavenger dismemberment and favored geochemical conditions which culminated in pyritization and preservation.
Unusual nautilid occurrence in the upper Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica
Authors: Zinsmeister William J.
Published: August 2016

The presence of large numbers of phragmocones of Eutrephoceras and Aturia in an upper Eocene beach deposit of the La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island is the first known occurrence of beach-drifted accumulations of nautilid shells in the fossil record and may also represent the first documentation of a mass stranding of nautilids in the Cenozoic.
Stratigraphic and taxonomic significance of Tusoteuthis longa Logan (Coleoidea, Teuthida) from the Pembina Member, Pierre Shale (Campanian), of Manitoba
Authors: Nicholls Elizabeth L. , Isaak Henry
Published: August 2016

The fossilized gladii of six squid from the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale (Upper Cretaceous, Campanian) of southern Manitoba are referred to Tusoteuthis longa Logan, 1898, a species previously reported only from the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. The characters used to identify the genus are reviewed and it is referred to the family Kelaenidae. Documentation of these specimens extends the range of both the genus and the family to the Campanian of Canada.
Population genetics of four species of Ordovician bryozoans: stereology and jackknifed analysis of variance
Authors: Pachut Joseph F.
Published: August 2016

Collections of four Ordovician bryozoan species from habitats of differing levels of taxonomic diversity were examined in order to assess the effect of environmental conditions on intraspecific and interspecific morphologic patterns. Up to 20 morphometric characteristics were measured for each species from populations in both high-diversity and low-diversity settings. Character means and the levels of character variability differ between populations in different diversity zones. Across species, mean character values differ significantly in 41 percent of the total comparisons, permitting intraspecific and interspecific multivariate discrimination of populations from the two diversity zones.

The partitioning of clonal morphologic variability into within-colony (nonheritable) and among-colony (potentially heritable) components reveals that habitat conditions favoring high diversities appear to promote a greater proportion of potentially heritable genetic variation both within- and among-species than do low-diversity settings wherein a larger percentage of variation is ecophenotypic, or nonheritable, plasticity. Although the actual percentages vary from species to species, this pattern is obtained for representatives of four different trepostome bryozoan families and therefore is robust. Variability of this sort, if unrecognized, could lead to taxonomic oversplitting along ecologic gradients. These local, facultative adjustments to environmental conditions may be indicative of processes involved in the reactions of populations to selective pressures.

Analyses such as this, coupled with examinations of character covariances, may permit the recognition not only of environmentally-induced morphologic plasticity and the proportions of potentially heritable and nonheritable variability, but also provide evidence for intraspecific changes in the rates and timing of developmental events (i.e., across-population or facultative heterochrony).
A Lower Devonian ammonoid, Mimagoniatites nearcticus n. sp., from the Canadian Arctic
Authors: Prosh Eric C.
Published: August 2016

A newly discovered ammonoid, Mimagoniatites nearcticus n. sp., is described from upper Zlichovian–lower Dalejan (Lower Devonian) strata in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. This species is distinguished primarily by its extremely narrow profile and high degree of whorl involution. It is the most gracile species so far known in the genus, and displays possible kinship to Parentites praecursor Bogoslovsky. This record constitutes the first definite occurrence of a Lower Devonian ammonoid from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Taxonomic revision of Hyolitha from the middle Paleozoic of North America
Authors: Malinky John M. , Linsley Robert M. , Yochelson Ellis L.
Published: August 2016

Collection of over a dozen specimens of Hyolithes aclis Hall from the Middle Devonian of New York indicates that this species belongs to a new genus, Hallotheca, to which the species Hyolithes halli (Hall) is also assigned. However, the generic assignments of the Silurian species Hyolithes cliftonensis Foerste and the Devonian species H. centennialis Barrett, H. ceratophilus Clarke, H. neapolis Clarke, and H. triliratus Hall are uncertain because of poor preservation of their type specimens. Use of these names should be confined to the types until better preserved topotypes become available. Finally, H. cooperi (Williams) consists of organisms of uncertain affinities, and the type of H. principalis Hall may be a fragment of Devonian sandstone rather than an organism.
Megantereon cultridens(Cuvier) (Mammalia, Felidae, Machairodontinae) from Plio-Pleistocene deposits in Africa and Eurasia, with comments on dispersal and the possibility of a New World origin
Authors: Turner Alan
Published: August 2016

African machairodont specimens previously referred to three species ofMegantereonare considered to represent a single species in turn argued to be conspecific with the Eurasian speciesMegantereon cultridens(Cuvier). The area of origin ofMegantereonremains unclear, but doubt is expressed about claims for an earliest appearance of the genus in North America. It is probable that the North American speciesM. hesperusis a junior synonym ofM. cultridens.
Format for submittal of manuscripts to the

Journal of Paleontology
Authors: Hoare R. D. , Steinker D. C.
Published: August 2016

This short paper is prepared to help potential authors prepare manuscripts in the correct format for submission to the Journal. Correct preparation greatly speeds the editorial process and makes for less revision by the author.

The abstract should be relatively short, concise, and informative, giving pertinent details of the research and conclusions reached. All new taxa should be itemized within it. Do not use innocuous statements such as “will be discussed herein.” References to literature are not to be included unless essential. Notes do not have abstracts.