bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolution and phylogenetic classification of the Glossograptidae and Arienigraptidae (Graptoloidea): new data and remaining questions
Authors: Maletz Jörg , Mitchell Charles E.
Published: August 2016

New data on the proximal structure of several glossograptid species, including Paraglossograptus holmi, indicate that symmetry between sicula and the first theca is ubiquitous and primitive for the group. This isograptid symmetry is shared with species of Isograptus and Oncograptus, among others, as is a dicalycal second theca, and the initial downward growth of the first several thecal pairs. Consideration of these and other features of the rhabdosome structure leads us to reassess the phylogenetic relations among Glossograptus, Pseudisograptus, Isograptus, and their relatives. The Glossograptidae is a holophyletic clade comprising the common ancestor of Isograptus caduceus and I. victoriae and all its descendants, including the monopleural glossograptines. Incipient monopleural development is exhibited by the otherwise Isograptus-like Bergstroemograptus crawfordi. Derived glossograptids, such as Glossograptus and Kalpinograptus, share a fully monopleural rhabdosome with a prominent proximal bulge formed by the overlap of the early thecae. Contrary to some claims, none possesses a manubrium or manubrium-like structure. The manubrium and the arienigraptid suture are restricted to Arienigraptus hastatus and its descendants. These features unite the Arienigraptidae. The Arienigraptidae, based on their possession of isograptid symmetry and lack of any derived characters shared uniquely with the glossograptids, appear to be a sister group of the Glossograptidae rather than a stem group. These two families appear most closely allied to certain reclined, two-stiped species, such as Isograptus? dilemma, that retain tetragraptid proximal symmetry.
An investigation of phylogeny in the giant extinct rat kangarooEkaltadeta(Propleopinae, Potoroidae, Marsupialia)
Authors: Wroe Stephen
Published: August 2016

The Giant Rat Kangaroos (Ekaltadeta, Propleopus) were placed in a new subfamily the Propleopinae by Archer and Flannery (1985). The discovery of newEkaltadetamaterial from Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland has stimulated a review of propleopine phylogeny. Cladistic analysis of five propleopine taxa suggests possible paraphyly forEkaltadetaand polyphyly forPropleopus.A new species of Miocene propleopine,Ekaltadeta jamiemulvaneyin. sp., from system C local faunas at Riversleigh, is described.
Biochronological significance of Amynodontidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Paleogene of Kazakhstan
Authors: Lucas Spencer G. , Emry Robert J.
Published: August 2016

Five taxa of amynodontid rhinoceroses have been named from Kazakhstan. We consider only two of these valid, and recognize three amynodontid taxa from Paleogene deposits in Kazakhstan:Cadurcodon ardynensis(=Cadurcodon zaisanensis; =Amynodon tuskabakensis) from the upper Eocene (Ergilian)-lower Oligocene (Shandgolian) of the Zaysan basin,Zaisanamynodon borisovi, from the Ergilian of the Zaysan basin andCadurcodon kazakademius, from Shandgolian strata in the vicinity of the Chelkar-Teniz lake basin.Gigantamynodon akespensis, from the upper Oligocene north of the Aral Sea is a rhinocerotid, not an amynodontid. Close similarity of the amynodontids of Kazakhstan to those of Mongolia and China supports direct correlation of Ergilian and Shandgolian strata across Asia.
New species of Patellogastropoda (Mollusca) from the Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan and Sakhalin, Russia
Authors: Kase Tomoki , Shigeta Yasunari
Published: August 2016

Rare patellogastropod limpets are described from the Cenomanian to Campanian (Cretaceous) age sediments in Hokkaido, northern Japan and Sakhalin, eastern Russia. Shell structure analysis has revealed the presence of five shell structure groups within six species, permitting the allocation of three of the species identified to modern clades. However, the other three species recorded belong to shell-structure groups not known at the present day. The species described in this paper are Patella soyaensis new species, Patella sp., Patelloida obirensis new species, ?Patelloida miyauchii new species, an indeterminate species of the Lottiinae, and an indeterminate species and belonging to an unknown family. Two species are recognized as belonging to the Patellidae and three species to the Lottiidae, demonstrating that two of the three major families found to inhabit present-day rocky shore environments already existed in the Cretaceous. The discovery of two Patella species belonging to a modern clade found in South Africa indicates that the fossil record of the clade dates back more than 80 Ma and the distribution of the clade has changed markedly since that time. The occurrence of Patelloida from the northwestern Pacific further elucidates the worldwide distribution for this genus during the Cretaceous.
Uppermost Cambrian and Lower Ordovician conodont biostratigraphy of the Survey Peak Formation (Ibexian/Tremadoc), Wilcox Pass, Alberta, Canada
Authors: Ji Zailiang , Barnes Christopher R.
Published: August 2016

The Survey Peak Formation (350 m thick) consists of calcareous shale, mudstone, siltstone, and limestone-pebble conglomerate, and is formally divided into four revised members, successively: Basal Silty Member, Putty Shale Member, Middle Carbonate Member, and Upper Carbonate Member. The Wilcox Pass section, Jasper National Park, Alberta, provides a standard stratigraphic section for the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains and yielded over 4,500 conodonts from 87 samples which are of high species diversity, moderately well preserved, with a conodont Color Alteration Index (CAI) value of 3. Over 50 multielement species representing some 20 genera are identified, and most are illustrated. Conodont zones recognized in the four members include: Basal Silty Member—Eoconodontus notchpeakensis, Cordylodus proavus, C. caboti, C. intermedins, and C. lindstromi; Putty Shale Member—lower C. angulatus; Middle Carbonate Member—upper C. angulatus and coeval Rossodus manitouensis, Colaptoconus priscus (new) and Scolopodus cf. S. rex; Upper Carbonate Member—Striatodontus lanceolatus-S. striatus. In total, ten conodont lineage and assemblage zones are recognized within the Survey Peak Formation. Most can now be precisely correlated with trilobite faunas and acritarch microfloras described from this section, and with conodont zones established for the Great Basin area, Utah-Nevada, and for western Newfoundland. The Survey Peak Formation is of uppermost Cambrian to lower Ibexian (Tremadoc) in age with the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary placed between 26 and 29 m above the base of the formation in the Basal Silty Member.
Globosograptus Bouček and Přibyl in Přibyl, 1948 (Silurian; Graptoloidea) is a synonym of Streptograptus Yin, 1937
Authors: Loydell D. K.
Published: August 2016

The silurian graptoloid genus Globosograptus was erected by Boucek and Přibyl (in Přibyl 1948, p. 37), who selected as type species Monograptus wimani Bouček, 1932. As noted by Bulman and Rickards in the Treatise (Bulman 1970, p. V155), Globosograptus “was based on the silhouette appearance of a slender Llandovery species on which the thecae possess a long prothecal portion, no thecal overlap, and a seemingly enrolled methathecal portion. The nature of this enrollment is indefinite … The genus has no precise significance and its application is quite impracticable.”
Importance of hydrodynamic lift to crinoid autecology, or, could crinoids function as kites?
Authors: Baumiller Tomasz K.
Published: August 2016

The importance of hydrodynamic lift to the autecology of stalked crinoids was evaluated by comparing the maximum hydrodynamic lift experienced by the crinoid crown to the weight of the crinoid in water. Results of the analysis suggest that even under optimum conditions a current velocity of over 20 cm/s would be required to produce enough lift to overcome the animals' weight in water. This implies that under normal conditions crinoids could not function as kites, using the stalk as a tether, unless they possessed some means of reducing their densities. Lift, however, may play a role in the reorientation of crinoids in response to current direction changes, and also in elevating the crown above the substrate following dislodgement or crawling.
Calcipatera cottonwoodensis, a new membranous late Paleozoic calcareous alga
Authors: Torres A. M. , West R. R. , Sawin R. S.
Published: August 2016

A new morphological type of Paleozoic calcareous alga is represented byCalcipatera cottonwoodensisn. gen. and sp., a codiacean species found in the Cottonwood Limestone Member, Lower Permian, of eastern Kansas. The new species, as reconstructed from serial sections of weathered out, in situ, intact specimens, had a broadly obconical, cup-like membranous thallus. The internal structure of the membrane as seen in cross section consisted of a medulla with mosaic sparry calcite and bilateral cortices with calcite packets forming utricular molds similar to those of other known membranous algae. The sparry calcite apparently replaced the lightly calcified or uncalcified intercoenocytic spaces in the medulla and the calcite crystals replaced the interutricular aragonite. The organism had previously been identified asAnchicodiumJohnson.
Using the term utricle
Authors: Torres Andrew M. , Baars D. L.
Published: August 2016

Certain groups of living Chlorophyta (green algae) have thalli made up of long, tubular cells with many nuclei and many plastids (Tappan, 1980; Bold and Wynne, 1985). The only cross walls in these coenocytes are those that isolate the gamete-producing structures. As the coenocytes approach the edges of the thallus, they branch, generally dichotomously, one or more times and eventually terminate in clavate or bulbous segments called utricles (Latin for small bag or bottle). Thus, the utricles are the termini of coenocytes that occur along the surface of the thallus and interface with the environment. Utricles have been figured in many descriptions and illustrations of such calcified genera as Halimeda (Wray, 1977) and such noncalcareous genera as Codium (Bold and Wynne, 1985). Because of the easily recognized distinction between the parts of the coenocytes, the thallus in cross section consists of a cortex occupied by the utricles and their contiguous segments and a medulla occupied by the long tubular portions of the cell (Figure 1).
Kansaphyllum, a new Late Pennsylvanian phylloid algal genus
Authors: Baars D. L.
Published: August 2016

Phylloid (leaf-shaped) fossil algae are common constituents in sedimentary rocks of Late Pennsylvanian through Early Permian age in the Midcontinent, U.S.A., commonly producing porous algal-rich bioherms that may be prolific petroleum reservoir rocks. During the course of re-evaluating the paleontological character of these fossil algae in Kansas, remarkably well-preserved codiacean algae were found in an oncolitic nodule in the Wakarusa Limestone Member of the Bern Limestone (Virgilian) in Lyon County, Kansas. Although this is the locality and stratigraphic bed from which the genotypeAnchicodium funileJohnson, 1946, was collected, the new alga is not of that genus, but occurs with specimens ofAnchicodium.
Cambrian–Ordovician boundary interval extinctions: implications of revised trilobite and brachiopod data from Mount Wilson, Alberta, Canada
Authors: Loch James D. , Stitt James H. , Derby James R.
Published: August 2016

The type section of the Basal Silty Member of the Survey Peak Formation spans the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary (North American usage) at Mount Wilson in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains. The zonal and subzonal terminology through the boundary interval developed in Texas and Oklahoma is applicable to the trilobite faunas recovered from the section. The oldest trilobites recovered in this study occur in the top of the underlying Mistaya Formation and are assigned to theSaukiella serotinaSubzone of the Upper CambrianSaukiaZone. Trilobites and brachiopods of theS. serotinaandEurekia apopsisSubzones of theSaukiaZone occur in the lower half of the Basal Silty Member; trilobites and brachiopods assigned to the Lower OrdovicianMissisquoiaZone and theSymphysurina brevispicataSubzone of theSymphysurinaZone occur in the upper half of the Basal Silty Member. TheS. brevispicataSubzone extends an unknown distance into the Putty Shale Member of the Survey Peak Formation.

The extinction horizons at the base of theEurekia apopsisSubzone and at the base of theMissisquoia depressaSubzone (the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary) occur within the Basal Silty Member of the Survey Peak Formation, not at the formational contact with the underlying Mistaya Formation. This leaves hypotheses linking immigration of the replacement trilobite faunas to major lithofacies changes through the boundary interval as untenable. Critical review of the evidence for the extinctions at the end of the Ptychaspid Biomere suggests that they were caused by an invasion of the shelf region by cold, anoxic water.

Forty-seven taxa are illustrated and 18 of those which provide new taxonomic information are discussed. One new genus,RampartaspisLoch, is described in addition to four new species:Eurekia plectocanthusLoch,Highgatella wilsoniDerby,Macronoda punctataDerby, andRampartaspis dissimulosulcusLoch. The identifications of trilobites and brachiopods in this paper revise those of Aitken and Norford (1967) and Derby et al. (1972) and result in minor changes in the reported positions of the bases of theMissisquoiaandSymphysurinaZones. Revision of the identification of some trilobites in Dean (1989) changes the biostratigraphic interpretation of the Basal Silty Member at Wilcox Pass, Albert, Canada.
The micromorphic rhynchonelloidean brachiopodLambdarinafrom the type Dinantian
Authors: Bassett Michael G. , Bryant Catherine
Published: August 2016

The cardiarinide brachiopodLambdarina glaphyran. sp. from the upper Tournaisian (lower Carboniferous) rocks of Belgium is only the fourth described species in the genus. Ontogeny involves growth from a non-lobate, triangular, brephic stage of shell outline to distinct bilobation through neanic and adult stages, with maturity attained at a length of < 2 mm. Known occurrences of the new species are from within low-energy, mud-dominated proximal peri-reefal facies adjacent to Waulsortian buildups.
Observations on the Early Cambrian helicoplacoid echinoderms
Authors: Durham J. W.
Published: August 2016

The Early Cambrian helicoplacoid echinoderms occur in the Cordilleran Geosyncline of western North America in strata correlated with the Atdabanian Stage of Siberia. Several higher taxa are recognized on the basis of inferred differences in the water vascular system, test organization, and external morphology. These are subclass Polyplacida Durham, with genusPolyplacusDurham; subclass Helicoplacida Durham and Caster, with n. family Helicoplacidae, type genusHelicoplacusDurham and Caster (with tubefeet emerging between two contemporaneous ambulacral plates); n. family Westgardellidae, with type n. genusWestgardella, type speciesH. curtisi(Durham and Caster) (with tubefeet emerging between two sequential ambulacral plates). The genusWaucobellaDurham is also referred to Westgardellidae.Helicoplacus gilbertiDurham and Caster,H. everndeniDurham,H. casterin. sp.,H. guthin. sp.,H.sp. a, andH.sp. b are assigned to Helicoplacidae. The genusWestgardellaincludesH. firbyiDurham, 1967, andW. blancoensisn. sp., in addition to the type species. No evidence of flooring plates separating the radial water vessel from the interior of the test is recognized. The mouth is at the top of the test in the interpretation adopted herein and not lateral as inferred by others; therefore, the ambulacral system is not triradiate. Illustration identified asHelicoplacus curtisiby Paul and Smith includes misidentified plates and should not be referred to this species.
Crinoids from the Upper Ashgill (Upper Ordovician) of Wales
Authors: Donovan Stephen K. , Veltkamp Cornelis J.
Published: August 2016

A collection of small crinoids and crinoid debris from the Ashgill (Rawtheyan?) of Cnwce, near St. Clears, Dyfed, southwest Wales includes numerous crowns ofAithriocrinus strahanin. gen. and sp. incertae familiae, an indeterminate 10–armed camerate(?) and an indeterminate multiple-armed camerate.Aithriocrinus strahaniwas previously considered to be a cincinnaticrinid, but it is undoubtedly dicyclic and therefore a cladid. This is the only diverse fauna of complete crinoids known from the Welsh Ashgill.

The monobathrid camerateXenocrinusS. A. Miller is easily recognized from its disarticulated columnals, which are square in outline.Xenocrinuscolumnals are now recognized from three Hirnantian localities in Wales.Xenocrinusbecame extinct during the Hirnantian and not at the Rawtheyan–Hirnantian boundary, as has been suggested on the basis of crown material.
Advanced cladid crinoids from the middle Mississippian of the east-central United States: intermediate-grade calyces
Authors: Kammer Thomas W. , Ausich William I.
Published: August 2016

Species of the late Osagean and early Meramecian advanced cladid crinoid genera (suborder Poteriocrinina) Abrotocrinus, Aulocrinus, Cromyocrinus. Decadocrinus, Dinotocrinus, Holcocrinus, Hylodecrinus, Lanecrinus n. gen., Pachylocrinus, Parascytalocrinus n. gen., and Stinocrinus from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri are redescribed and redefined from study of type material and museum collections. Nomenclatural and systematic acts include the following: 1) Abrotocrinus cymosus Miller and Gurley, 1890a, is a valid species and not a synonym of A. coreyi (Meek and Worthen, 1869); 2) A. coreyi is a senior synonym of Poteriocrinus orestes Worthen, 1882; 3) Scaphiocrinus manus Miller and Gurley, 1890a, is assigned to Abrotocrinus; 4) Abrotocrinus granulatus n. sp. is described; 5) S. bellus Miller and Gurley, 1890a, is assigned to Aulocrinus and is a senior synonym of Aulocrinus agassizi Wachsmuth and Springer, 1897; 6) S. orbicularis Hall, 1861a, is assigned to Cromyocrinus; 7) P. latidactylus Worthen, 1882, is assigned to Dinotocrinus; 8) S. gibsoni White, 1878, is assigned to Hylodecrinus with P. nauvooensis Worthen, 1882, questionably placed in synonymy; 9) P. briareus Worthen, 1882, is assigned to Hylodecrinus and is a senior synonym of S. lacunosus Miller and Gurley, 1890a, S. boonvillensis Miller, 1891b, S. constrictus Miller, 1891a, and S. arrosus Miller and Gurley, 1893; 10) S. bonoensis Miller and Gurley, 1890a, is assigned to Hylodecrinus; 11) Hylodecrinus robustus n. sp. is described; 12) P. validus Worthen, 1882, is questionably assigned to Hylodecrinus; 13) Lanecrinus n. gen. is described and the following species are assigned to this new genus: S. halli Hall, 1861 a, S. depressus Meek and Worthen, 1870, P. milleri Wetherby, 1881, P. fountainensis Worthen, 1882, S. repertus Miller and Gurley, 1890a, and Ramulocrinus consectatus Strimple and Watkins, 1969; P. otterensis Worthen, 1882, is questionably assigned to Lanecrinus; 14) Lanecrinus depressus is the senior synonym of P. ulrichi Worthen in Miller, 1889, and S. maniformis Miller, 1892; 15) Lanecrinus repertus is the senior synonym of S. gorbyi Miller, 1891a; 16) P. asper Worthen, 1882, is assigned to Pachylocrinus and is a senior synonym of S. extensus Wachsmuth and Springer, 1886; 17) Parascytalocrinus n. gen. is described and the following species are assigned to this new genus: Poteriocrinus hamiltonensis Worthen, 1882, and Scytalocrinus validus Wachsmuth and Springer, 1897; 18) Poteriocrinites mcadamsi Meek and Worthen, 1873, is questionably placed in synonymy with Parascytalocrinus hamiltonensis; and 19) Poteriocrinus burketi Worthen, 1882, nomen dubium and Zeacrinus dubius Miller and Gurley, 1890a, are placed in Incertae Sedis.

Cromyocrinus orbicularis is the oldest species of its genus extending the range of the genus downward from the Upper to the Lower Mississippian.
Biostratigraphy of the Cypress Hills Formation (Eocene to Miocene), Saskatchewan: equid types (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) and associated faunal assemblages
Authors: Storer John E. , Bryant Harold N.
Published: August 2016

Among the equid species named from the Cypress Hills Formation (Eocene to Miocene) of Saskatchewan,Mesohippus westoniandM. propinquusare documented from the early Chadronian Calf Creek local fauna, andM. westoniis also known from the earlier Southfork local fauna and from other Chadronian and Orellan deposits of western North America. Teeth possibly referable toMiohippus assiniboiensisare found in association with Whitneyan or early Arikareean assemblages.Miohippus grandis, notM. assiniboiensis, is the correct reference for larger Chadronian equids from Calf Creek and other local faunas.Archaeohippus stenolophus(new combination) is preserved in latest Arikareean or early Hemingfordian beds of the Cypress Hills, and occurs in faunal assemblages that show strong resemblances to the Runningwater assemblage of Nebraska.
Second Golden Trilobite Awards announced
Authors: Dutro J. T.
Published: August 2016

The Paleontological Society has instituted a series of special Golden Trilobite Awards to recognize excellence in paleontological publishing, including writing, editing, and book design. There are three regular categories of awards: popular or general public book, juvenile or young person's book, and systematic paleontologic monograph.
Early Permian corals from Arrow Canyon, Clark County, Nevada
Authors: Wilson Edward C. , Langenheim Ralph L.
Published: August 2016

Rugose and tabulate corals from the Lower Permian (Wolfcampian) part of the Bird Spring Group in Arrow Canyon, Arrow Canyon Range, Clark County, Nevada, comprise eight species in eight genera.Stylastraea rowettin. sp. is the first unequivocal record of this genus west of Texas in North America.Heritschiella girtyi, the only endemic North American waagenophyllid genus and species, is recorded outside Kansas for the first time.Paraheritschioides stevensiformerly was known only from northern California. The other species also occur elsewhere in the Permian of Nevada and nearby. This southeast Nevada shelf area has the first known intermixture of corals from the Durhaminid Coral Province and subprovinces of far western North America and the Cyathaxonid Coral Province of middle and southwestern North America.
Russian Devonian brachiopod genera Cyrtinoides and Komiella in North America
Authors: Johnson J. G. , Blodgett R. B.
Published: August 2016

The Middle Devonian brachiopod genus Cyrtinoides, described from the southern Urals, is a senior subjective synonym of Mucroclipeus, previously known only from eastern and western North America. The Middle and Late Devonian cyrtinid brachiopod genus Komiella, previously known only from the Timan Range of eastern Europe, is identified from west-central Alaska and Nevada. A new family Komiellidae is proposed. New species are Komiella gilberti, K. magnasulca, and K. stenoparva. Known species of both genera occupy carbonate platform foreslope facies or shelf basins, allowing open marine migration via peripheral biofacies.
Middle Ordovician carrier shellLytospira(Mollusca, Gastropoda) from Alaska
Authors: Rohr David M.
Published: August 2016

The euomphalacean gastropodLytospira gerulusn. sp. is described from the Middle Ordovician of west-central Alaska. The species is among the oldest known carrier shell specimens, and also shows evidence of repaired shell breakage; the breakage may have been the result of unsuccessful predation attempts. The interior of the shell shows an unusual spiral groove and ridges that may have been associated with the animal's retractor muscle. This internal groove may be an overlooked feature of all species ofLytospira.
Re-evaluation of two Early Pennsylvanian (Middle Namurian) ammonoids and their bearing on mid-Carboniferous correlations
Authors: Saunders W. B. , Ramsbottom W. H. C.
Published: August 2016

Reticuloceras (Swintoceras) n. subgen. unites an early group of the mid-Carboniferous goniatite family Reticulocertidae, in which reticulate sculpture is weakly developed or lacking and the typically reticuloceratid suture has slightly expanded ventral prongs. The type species, Reticuloceras (S.) spiraloides (Bisat and Hudson, 1943), is a rare, poorly known species from the British Namurian. Two additional species, R. (S.) wainwrighti (Quinn, 1966) and R. (S.) tiro (Gordon, 1969), are common in the basal type Morrowan Series, Lower Pennsylvanian, of Arkansas. Swintoceras occurs with two distinctive, late forms of the ammonoid, Hudsonoceras: Hd. ornatum (Foord and Crick, 1897) in Britain and Hd. moorei Quinn and Saunders, 1968, in Arkansas. The cooccurrence of these taxa correlates the basal Morrowan in its type region with the Namurian Reticuloceras nodosum (R1b) Zone of Britain and thereby also dates the close of the Mid-Carboniferous Eustatic Event in the North American Midcontinent.
Ecdysis in Flexicalymene meeki (Trilobita)
Authors: Brandt Danita S.
Published: August 2016

The ecdysial style of Flexicalymene meeki (Foerste) from the Upper Ordovician of the Cincinnati arch (Ohio) is best characterized by a spectrum of configurations. Recurring patterns of displaced tergites and points of disarticulation indicate differential susceptibility of the exoskeleton to disarticulation during ecdysis. Specimens identified as exuviae are characterized by one or more of the following: thoracic segments displaced (unevenly spaced, disarticulated or telescoped); pygidia and/or cephala rotated away from the sagittal line; cephalon sharply bent ventrally at first thoracic segment; librigenae separated or folded ventrally along facial sutures; “extra” tergites (exuvia) superposed on the new exoskeleton; and missing elements, especially librigenae and hypostomae. The range of exuvial configurations suggests a variety of ecdysial behavior in this trilobite.
Column regeneration in an Ordovician crinoid (Echinodermata): paleobiologic implications
Authors: Ausich William I. , Baumiller Tomasz K.
Published: August 2016

The crinoid column is a paradox of crinoid paleontology. The crown is required for taxonomic identification and, therefore, prerequisite for phylogenetic, paleoecologic, or other studies. However, column elements (columnals and pluricolumnals) are by far the most common crinoidal fossil remains. The biostratigraphic utility of crinoid columns has been demonstrated in some cases (e.g., Donovan, 1984), but this is done with the risk of developing a parataxonomy among crinoids because in most cases columnals are not associated with crowns and, therefore, cannot be assigned to crown species with certainty.
Cambrian predators: possible evidence from boreholes
Authors: Morris Simon Conway , Bengtson Stefan
Published: August 2016

Boreholes in Cambrian shells are rarely reported but are a potentially significant source of information on levels of predation in early metazoan communities. This paper documents boreholes in a wide variety of Cambrian organisms. Particular attention is devoted to two species of the inarticulate brachiopodLinnarssonia(informallyL.sp. A andL.sp. B) from the Middle Cambrian of southern Sweden (Brantevik, Forsemölla) and Bornholm (Læså, ⊘leå). Both successful and abortive holes occur, and both brachial and pedicle valves were attacked. Almost 20 percent of the valves ofLinnarssoniasp. B from ⊘leå have successful boreholes, whereas inL.sp. A from Brantevik only 1.4 percent of the valves are bored. The proportion of successful bores in brachial and pedicle valves also varies widely, from 0.8:1 inL.sp. A (Forsemölla) to 5.8:1 inL.sp. B (Læså), although taphonomic bias caused by preferential removal of pedicle valves ofL.sp. B may have distorted this ratio. The abundance and distribution of abortive holes also shows variation, with a maximum of 16.3 percent ofL.sp. B from Forsemölla and a minimum of 1 percent inL.sp. B from Læså. Preference for brachial or pedicle valves among abortive holes is variable, ranging from 0.3:1 inL.sp. B (Læså) to 6.9:1 in the same species from ⊘leå. With one exception (L.sp. B from Forsemölla) successful bores always outnumber abortives, but the ratio in brachial and pedicle valves varies widely with a maximum in favor of successful bores being reached in brachial valves ofL.sp. A from Læså (6:1). Boreholes are nonrandomly distributed. InL.sp. A andLsp. B successful attacks on brachial valves were concentrated in a central zone. Attacks were more scattered in the pedicle valves, although inL.sp. A boreholes tended to occur on the left-hand side. Abortive and successful bores in the enigmatic fossilMobergella holsti,from the Lower Cambrian of Skäggenäs, southern Sweden, show a conspicuous concentration in the apical region. In addition, boreholes in Lower Cambrian material from Australia (the pseudobrachiopodAroonia,the tommotiidMicrina) and eastern Siberia (brachiopods, and possibly echinoderms and the tommotiidLapworthella) are reported. All these bores are attributed to the activity of predators, whose systematic affinities remain uncertain. Holes in tubicolous torellellids from northern Tamdytau, however, may alternatively represent attachment scars of other torellellids.
Paleocene isocrinids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) from the Kauru Formation, South Island, New Zealand
Authors: Stilwell Jeffrey D. , Fordyce R. Ewan , Rolfe Peter J.
Published: August 2016

Crinoids are reported from the New Zealand Paleocene for the first time and include rare articulated columnals and brachia with pinnules. These specimens ofMetacrinussp. (Isocrinidae) are present in basal, fossiliferous, coarse-grained, quartzose sediments of the Kauru Formation, a few centimeters above schist basement, in the Kakanui Valley, North Otago. The crinoid-bearing facies probably represents earliest onlap or a storm surge onto a wave cut platform; sedimentological and paleontological evidence indicates a moderate- to high-energy environment. The crinoids were most probably buried rapidly while alive or shortly after death. The presence of isocrinids in the Kauru Formation and younger Paleogene strata reveals that the supposed shift of some isocrinids from a shallower to a deeper environment actually occurred much later in the Paleogene, and not the Late Cretaceous as previously supposed. Associated molluscs indicate a mid to upper “Wangaloan” Stage (local), equivalent to mid Paleocene. A summary of the New Zealand crinoid fossil record is presented.
Conodont biostratigraphy and depositional history of strata comprising the Niagaran sequence (Silurian) in the northern part of the Cincinnati Arch region, west-central Ohio, and evolution ofKockelella walliseri(Helfrich)
Authors: Kleffner Mark A.
Published: August 2016

The Dayton, Osgood, and Laurel Formations and the Euphemia, Springfield, and basal part of the Cedarville Dolomites near the axis of the Cincinnati Arch in northeast Preble County, Ohio, belong in the uppermost part of theOzarkodina sagitta rhenanato lower part of theOzarkodina?crassaChronozone and are late early to middle Wenlockian in age. The Dayton–Cedarville succession on the eastern flank of the Cincinnati Arch in north-central Greene County, Ohio, belongs in the uppermost part of thePterospathodus cellonito upper part of theAncoradella ploeckensisChronozone and is late Llandoverian to early middle Ludlovian in age.

The sea transgressed across the exposed and eroded Brassfield Formation to begin deposition of the Dayton Formation on the eastern flank of the Cincinnati Arch in Greene County, Ohio, during the late Llandoverian and completely flooded all of west-central Ohio by the late early Wenlockian. The region remained covered by a sea of fluctuating depth during deposition of the Dayton Formation–Cedarville Dolomite succession from the Wenlockian through early middle Ludlovian.

Kockelella walliseri(Helfrich) evolved fromK. ranuliformis(Walliser) during the middle Wenlockian (upper part ofOzarkodina sagitta rhenanaChronozone) by development of a lateral process adjacent to the cusp on the Pa element and by minor modification of the Pb element and some of the ramiform elements. Specimens from upper Llandoverian and lower Wenlockian strata previously assigned toK. walliseribelong to a different species,Kockelellasp. A Fordham, 1991. The evolutionary trends in theK. walliserilineage, progressive restriction of the basal cavity and increasing development of the length of the lateral processes in the Pa element, parallel the trends in theK. amsdeni–K. stauros–K. variabilislineage and resulted in the divergence ofKockelellacf.K. staurosBischoff, 1986, from the main lineage in the middle Wenlockian.
Reptile trackway from the Lee Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) of south-central Kentucky
Authors: Chesnut Donald R. , Baird Donald , Smith J. Hiram , Lewis Richard Q.
Published: August 2016

An Early Pennsylvanian tetrapod trackway, referred to Notalacerta missouriensis Butts, was found in the Rockcastle Sandstone Member (Westphalian A, Upper Carboniferous) of the Lee Formation in McCreary County, Kentucky. Terrestrial characteristics of the trackway, such as digit length, claw marks, gait, and tail drag, suggest that it was made by a member of the primitive reptile family Protorothyrididae. If identified correctly, this is the oldest known reptile trackway in North America. The animal that made the trackway was approximately 0.4 m in length. The pes tracks are slightly larger and set slightly wider than the manus tracks; digits are elongated and slender, and the fourth digit of the pes is the longest. Whereas the slender, long toes indicate a terrestrial form, the gait was more advanced than the sprawling gait typical of the most primitive tetrapods.
Late Ordovician rugose corals of the northern Sierra Nevada, California
Authors: Elias Robert J. , Potter A. W. , Watkins Rodney
Published: August 2016

The shoo fly Complex of Late Devonian and older Paleozoic age is a regionally extensive rock assemblage in the northern Sierra Nevada of northern California. It consists chiefly of a coherent unit of phyllite, quartzose sandstone, and chert, and a melange unit (Hannah and Moores, 1986). Several limestone lenses in the Taylorsville area comprise the Montgomery Limestone (Diller, 1892, 1908; McMath, 1958; Figure 1). The Montgomery was long considered to be Silurian, largely on the basis of corals, brachiopods, and cephalopods (Diller, 1892, 1908; McMath, 1958; Berry and Boucot, 1970; Merriam, 1972). However, recent analyses of the biota indicate an Ashgill (middle Maysvillian–Gamachian) age (Boucot and Potter, 1977; Harris, personal commun. cited in Hannah and Moores, 1986, p. 790; Potter et al., 1990b; present study).
New Elvinia Zone (Upper Cambrian) trilobites from new localities in the Collier Shale, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas
Authors: Stitt James H. , Rucker John D. , Boyer N. Diane , Hart William D.
Published: August 2016

Three new species of trilobites, Erixanium lacunatum, Cernuolimbus monilis, and Anechocephalus aphelodermus, have been recovered from two new fossiliferous localities in the normally unfossiliferous Collier Shale in the Ouachita Mountains of west-central Arkansas. These new taxa occur with other trilobites previously reported from the Elvinia Zone in the Collier and elsewhere. Like the other trilobites reported from the Collier, these new taxa were originally deposited on the outer shelf, and were later eroded and redeposited in the adjacent, deep-water basin. Other species assigned to these genera have also been reported from outer shelf or continental slope sites. Species of Erixanium were widely distributed in equatorial and subtropical paleolatitudes in the Late Cambrian.
Ordovician proetide trilobite Dimeropyge, with a new species from northwestern Canada
Authors: Chatterton Brian D. E.
Published: August 2016

Dimeropyge öpik, 1937, is a genus currently composed of at least 14 similar Middle (predominantly) to possibly lowest Upper Ordovician species from Laurentia (13 species) and Baltica (one species). Possible Lower Ordovician specimens have been illustrated by Ross (1951). Dimeropyge clintonensis Shaw, 1968, is redescribed, based upon additional material of mature topotypes. A new species of Dimeropyge, D. speyeri, is proposed for material from the Esbataottine Formation in the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada, previously described as D. clintonensis. A phylogenetic analysis of 10 of the 14 species of this genus is presented (the other species are less completely known, and are related to the analyzed species in a more traditional manner). Ontogenies from protaspid to holaspid stages are provided for D. clintonensis, D. speyeri, and D. virginiensis Whittington and Evitt, 1954. The larval stages of these species are very similar, supporting the close relationship between species assigned to Dimeropyge.
Silurian calymenid trilobite Alcymene n. gen., with new species from the Ludlow of Gotland, Sweden
Authors: Ramsköld Lars , Adrain Jonathan M. , Edgecombe Gregory D. , Siveter Derek J.
Published: August 2016

Alcymene n. gen. comprises a monophyletic group of calymenids known from the Ludlow Series of Sweden and the British Isles. The sister species Alcymene alveus and A. lindstroemi n. gen. and spp. (Hemse Beds, Gotland, Sweden) are most closely related to the type species A. neointermedia (Richter and Richter), which occurs in overlying and underlying strata at nearby localities. Structural modification of A. alveus and A. lindstroemi, especially the development of a greatly broadened and troughed librigenal border, can be interpreted as “snowshoe” adaptations for increased stability on an offshore mud substrate.
Early Ordovician conodonts from the Dumugol Formation in the Baegunsan Syncline, eastern Yeongweol and Samcheog areas, Kangweon-Do, Korea
Authors: Seo Kwang-Soo , Lee Ha-Young , Ethington Raymond L.
Published: August 2016

Samples from the Dumugol Formation were collected from eight measured sections and two cores in the so-called Baegunsan Syncline, located between eastern Yeongweol and Samcheog areas, Kangweon-Do, South Korea. A total of 7,813 identifiable conodonts were recovered from 146 samples. They are classified into 24 multielement species referable to 16 genera, and 37 form species belonging to 17 genera; six species are newly described:Distacodus dumugolensis, Parapanderodus acontiformis, Scolopodus longibasis, Scolopodusn. sp. A,Triangulodus dumugolensis, andOistodus(?) sp. The Dumugol Formation is divided biostratigraphically into four conodont zones, viz,Chosonodina herfurthi-Rossodus manitouensis, Glyptoconus quadraplicatus, Paracordylodus gracilis, andTriangulodus dumugolensiszones in ascending order. These zones are correlated with those of the early Ordovician conodont faunas of North America, northern Europe, China, Australia, and Iran. The Dumugol Formation ranges from late Tremadocian to early Arenigian in age. The boundary between these two series lies between 70 and 100 m above the base of the Dumugol Formation in each of the sections.
New marine vertebrate fauna from the Middle Triassic of Nevada
Authors: Sander P. Martin , Rieppel Olivier C. , Bucher H.
Published: August 2016

The marine Triassic rocks of Nevada are well known for their ichthyosaur finds, and a number of new genera and species were described from this state. Based on a few vertebrae, Leidy (1868) erected a new Middle Triassic ichthyosaur genus,Cymbospondylys, with two species,C. petrinusandC. piscosus.The type material ofC. petrinuscame from the Prida Formation of the southern Humboldt Range, and that ofC. piscosusfrom the Favret Formation of the New Pass Range.
Occurrence of a squaloid shark (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes) with the pinniped Allodesmus from the upper Miocene of Washington
Authors: Bigelow Phillip K.
Published: August 2016

During preparation of a new species of Allodesmus from the Montesano Formation (UWBM 75640; presently being described by the writer) at the University of Washington Burke Memorial Museum in 1984, preparator Bev Witte found 14 monospecific elasmobranch teeth (UWBM 75641) in the matrix encasing the specimen. Most of the teeth were found in the matrix surrounding the cervical vertebrae; a few teeth were found near the skull (Figure 1). Unfortunately, the precise location of each tooth in relation to the pinniped skeleton was not recorded during their air-abrasive removal from the indurated matrix. It is known that the teeth were deposited no more than one or two centimeters from the skeleton. One of the matrix blocks freed from the pinniped still contains two teeth that line the inner surface of a mold of an unidentified Allodesmus bone. This is the first published occurrence of a shark from the Montesano Formation. The occurrence extends the range of Squalus occidentalis northward along the northeastern Pacific margin into Washington State, and it is also one of the highest biostratigraphic occurrences for this species. The discovery is additionally noteworthy because of the depositional relationship of the Allodesmus and Squalus, and because tooth marks occur on the Allodesmus skull. The occurrence therefore has taphonomic and paleoecological implications.
The lectotype of Collarothyris canaliculata (Wenjukow)
Authors: Modzalevskaya T. L.
Published: August 2016

The genus Collarothyris was erected by Modzalevskaya in 1970 (p. 155) with Meristella canaliculata Wenjukow, 1899, as type species. Wenjukow (1899) did not designate a type; however, on p. 143 he gave the measurements of two specimens, one of which was figured on Plate VII, figure 21, and designated holotype by Modzalevskaya (1970, p. 156). Unfortunately, this specimen is lost (see also Nikiforova, Modzalevskaya, and Bassett, 1985). Further checking of the collections of the Geological Museum of the Geological Institute of Science, Kiev (Ukrania), resulted in finding, among Wenjukow's (1899) original collection, one specimen (No. 367/165) labelled as Meristella canaliculata and whose measurements coincide with one of those given by Wenjukow (1899, p. 143). This specimen is here figured (Figure 1) and selected lectotype of Collarothyris canaliculata (Wenjukow).
An enigmatic bilateral fossil from the Lower Cambrian of Morocco
Authors: Geyer Gerd
Published: August 2016

Disklike, firm, bilaterally symmetrical fossils recovered from the middle Lower Cambrian Amouslek Formation of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas are described under the nameMicroschedia amphitriten. gen. and sp. Their systematic affinity, particularly to brachiopods and cnidarians, and resemblance to existing taxa are discussed. Although interpretation as a brachiopod appears to be more convincing, their morphology does not permit a precise determination of systematic position.
Fossil nest of sweat bees (Halictinae) from a Miocene paleosol, Rusinga Island, western Kenya
Authors: Thackray Glenn D.
Published: August 2016

A fossilized nest found in a 17 Ma paleosol on Rusinga Island is similar in many respects to those constructed by bees. The nest consists of subellipsoidal cells arranged in paired, parallel rows, which are themselves arranged in clusters. Typical cells average approximately 6 mm by 3.5 mm, and have curved dorsal surfaces and nearly flat ventral surfaces. The nest is here referred to a new ichnospecies: Celliforma habari. The cell shape and nest architecture are most like those of modern bees of the subfamily Halictinae (Apoidea: Halictidae), and probably were constructed by bees with a societal structure that was at least communal and quite possibly more highly social. The nest suggests a subhumid to humid climate and angiosperm-dominated vegetation for Rusinga Island during Early Miocene time.
North American biogeography and taxonomy ofCryptolithus(Trilobita, Ordovician)
Authors: Shaw Frederick C. , Lespérance Pierre J.
Published: August 2016

Museum and field restudy ofCryptolithusfrom all known geographic and stratigraphic occurrences in eastern North America shows that the principal variable character in this genus is the number of fringe pit arcs. Because this character varies within populations and even single individuals, it cannot be used to distinguish the earlier, typologically defined species of the genus. Instead, a neotype is designated here for the type species,Cryptolithus tessellatusGreen, 1832, and morph designations are used for all pit arc variants. Over the time span considered, the species increased the number of pit arcs, but the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms responsible cannot be identified with certainty.
New fossil crinoids from Jamaica
Authors: Donovan Stephen K. , Miller Servel A. , Graham Angella P. , Dixon Harold L.
Published: August 2016

Fossil crinoids are poorly known from the Antillean islands. To the five taxa of fossil crinoid previously recorded from Jamaica are added two further species of isocrinid, both based on pluriocolumnals and left in open nomenclature. Austinocrinus n. sp. is the first Lower Cretaceous echinoderm to be described from Jamaica and represents the earliest report of this genus. It is the only fossil stalked crinoid from Jamaica to occur in a shallow-water deposit. Isselicrinus cubensis? (Valette, 1926) forms part of an allochthonous assemblage in the Lower Eocene Port Maria shell bed. Isselicrinus cubensis was originally described from Cuba, and the genus also occurs in Haiti, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Uppermost Wenlock and lower Ludlow plectograptine graptolites, Arctic Islands, Canada: new isolated material
Authors: Lenz Alfred C.
Published: August 2016

Beautifully preserved, isolated and uncompressed plectograptine graptolites from the uppermost Wenlock“Pristiograptus” ludensisBiozone and the lower LudlowLobograptus progenitorBiozone are described from the Arctic Islands. Described species compriseAgastograptus robustusObut and Zaslavskaya from theludensisandprogenitorzones;Agastograptussp.,Gothograptus chainosLenz, andPlectograptus (Sokolovograptus?)sp., from theludensisZone; andHoloretiolites (Balticograptus) erraticus(Eisenack) from theprogenitorZone. The dozens of specimens ofA. robustusfrom one locality are covered with almost continuous periderm and interthecal tissue, a feature rarely seen in plectograptines.
Floating shells, Dutch Wadden Sea
Authors: Cadée Gerhard C.
Published: August 2016

In the past 25 years, I have regularly observed floating shells at various localities in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Such shells start to float with the incoming tide and with their concave side up. Bivalve shells float like a boat and are transported in this way over short distances (meters to tens of meters) towards the high tide line. In order to study this phenomenon in more detail, I selected a tidal flat bordering the southern part of Texel, the westernmost barrier island of the Wadden Sea. I visited this tidal flat daily during incoming tides from 8 to 18 October 1992. Presence or absence of floating shells on the incoming floodwater was noted over a stretch of about 250 m.
Early Permian corals from the Providence Mountains, San Bernardino County, California
Authors: Wilson Edward C.
Published: August 2016

Rugose and tabulate corals from the Lower Permian (Wolfcampian) part of the Bird Spring Group in the Providence Mountains, San Bernardino County, southeastern California, comprise eight species in eight genera.Heritschioides mckassonin. sp. is the lowest stratigraphic record for this index genus on the undoubted shelf of western North America.Paraheritschioides applegatein. sp. is the first record for the genus in southern California.Neomultithecopora providensisn. sp. is a second species for the genus in the southern Great Basin. The other five species provide close ties to previously described faunas from the Spring Mountains and the Arrow Canyon Range of southwestern and southeastern Nevada. The combined Wolfcampian coral faunas of these three areas are somewhat closer at the genus and species level to the McCloud Limestone Wolfcampian faunas of northern California than to the Wolfcampian shelf faunas in east-central Nevada. Additional species present in the combined faunas are known originally from the Wolfcampian of central Nevada and Kansas and a genus is not otherwise known south of British Columbia. The faunas suggest a subprovince of the Durhaminid Coral Province for the southern California and southern Nevada area and perhaps imply partial isolation from the more northerly parts of the province by land barriers such as the Antler Highlands.