bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intraspecific morphological variations in a Pleistocene solitary coral, Caryophyllia (Premocyathus) compressa Yabe and Eguchi
Authors: Mori Kei
Published: August 2016

Intraspecific morphological variations have been investigated based on 1,090 specimens of a Pleistocene solitary scleractinian coral, Caryophyllia (Premocyathus) compressa Yabe and Eguchi. Special attention has been paid to variations in septal arrangements, septal numbers, insertion patterns of third-cycle septa, and pali. The specimens contain nine different septal plans from hexameral to decatetrameral, among which those having a decameral plan are the most common. There is a clear regularity in number and position of the third-cycle septa. Specimens in which the third cycle is incomplete are also considered to be mature forms. Number and position of pali are intimately related to the number and insertion pattern of the third-cycle septa. In extreme cases, there exist specimens having only two cycles of septa and lacking pali. Ninety-nine varieties in septal arrangements are considered to be present in the fossil population, although only 57 have been found in the collection. The present species includes many specimens which do not show bilateral symmetry.
Wolfcampian brachiopods from the Bird Spring Group, Wamp Spring area, Las Vegas Range, Clark County, Nevada
Authors: Mills Patrick C. , Langenheim R. L.
Published: August 2016

The Wamp Spring section of the Bird Spring Group consists of approximately 1,600 feet of carbonate rocks subdivided into a basal platy limestone member, lower cliff-forming member, and upper cliff-forming member.Triticites, Schwagerina, andSchubertella kingiin the platy limestone member indicate an early Wolfcampian age.Schwagerina, Schubertella kingi, and a distinctive assemblage of brachiopods, similar to the West Texas fauna, includingKozlowskia kingi, Elliottellaaff.E. multicostata, Leurosina sinesulca, Gypospirifercf.G. infraplicus, andCompositacf.C. apheles, indicate that the upper cliff-forming member is late Wolfcampian. The lower cliff-forming member is tentatively assigned to the middle Wolfcampian. The Wamp Spring sequence correlates temporally with the BSe “formation” of the Bird Spring Group.

In addition to the previously mentioned taxa, the fossil-rich upper cliff-forming limestone member includes the new speciesPontisia boodi, Crurithyris wampensis, andCalliprotonia(?) n. sp. A, as well asHustedia culcitula, Crenispirifer(?) sp.,Cenorhynchia(?) sp.,Kutorginella(?) sp., marginiferids, lyssacine hexactinellid sponges, pleurotomarid and bellerophontid gastropods, cidaroid echinoids, rugose corals, cylindrical cryptostome bryozoans, and nuculids.
Two different vertebral forms in the axial column ofLabidosaurus(Captorhinomorpha: Captorhinidae)
Authors: Sumida Stuart Shigeo
Published: August 2016

The axial column inLabidosaurusis thoroughly described. Two different vertebral “morphs” are found to occur in this genus. One type is that which is classically illustrated forLabidosaurus, while the other shows alternation in height and construction of the neural arches and neural spines. A brief description of the modifications of muscle attachments in alternating forms is outlined. Analysis shows that such a structural modification probably allowed (more) efficient dorsiflexion and lateral flexion of the vertebral column. The occurrence of alternation of neural spine and arch structure is probably a primitive characteristic, but becomes variously modified in different forms. The variability observed in the axial column suggests thatLabidosaurusmay have been sexually dimorphic, or that the genus may consist of two different species.
Seed fern (Dictyastrum chestriensis n. gen. and sp.) with a Dictyoxylon-type cortex from the Upper Mississippian of the Illinois Basin
Authors: Jennings James R.
Published: August 2016

Dictyastrum chestriensis n. gen. and sp. is a seed fern that occurs in the Chester Series (Upper Mississippian) of the Illinois Basin, and is based on compressions, impressions, and pyritemarcasite petrifactions of the stem and frond. The stem has a mixed prostele with indistinct protoxylem, and the larger specimens have a thin zone of secondary xylem that contains many small rays. The inner cortex contains numerous transversely-oriented sclerotic nests, whereas the outer cortex contains prominent anastomosing fiber bundles that produce the Dictyoxylon-type pattern that is frequently observable on compressions and impressions. The petiole is massive, has an expanded base, and forks distally into unequal subdivisions. The distal frond has small pinnules with rounded lobes and corresponds to the form species Sphenopteris stricta (=S. bermudensiformis), which is used for isolated compressions and impressions. Dictyastrum chestriensis belongs to the Lyginopteridales and is intermediate morphologically between Lyginopteris and Heterangium.
The paleoecology of a Late Ordovician shale unit from southwest Ohio and southeastern Indiana
Authors: Frey Robert C.
Published: August 2016

The Treptoceras duseri shale unit within the Waynesville Formation of Late Ordovician (early Richmondian) age in southwest Ohio and the equivalent Trilobite shale unit in the same formation exposed in adjacent portions of Indiana represent an Ordovician shallow marine mud-bottom epeiric sea facies. These fine-grained elastics contain a moderately diverse mollusk-trilobite assemblage dominated by vagrant epifaunal detritus-feeding calymenid and asaphid trilobites, large endobyssate and infaunal filter-feeding pelecypods, and nektonic nautiloids. Articulate brachiopods, ectoprocts, and pelmatozoan echinoderms form only minor elements of this fauna.

This mollusk-trilobite assemblage was common in Late Ordovician shallow marine clastic environments where mobility was an asset and there was an abundance of oxygen and food resources. Such assemblages are characteristic of the Lorraine Fauna of Late Ordovician (Edenian to Richmondian) age that occurs from the Ohio Valley north and east into New York, Ontario, Quebec, and Ireland. These early Paleozoic mud-bottom assemblages were considerably modified by the Late Ordovician extinction event and were replaced in the Silurian and Devonian by distinctly different assemblages dominated by large epifaunal strophomenid and spiriferid brachiopods, crinoids, and phacopid trilobites.
A pre-trilobite shelly fauna from the White–Inyo region of eastern California and western Nevada
Authors: Signor Philip W. , Mount Jeffrey F. , Onken Beth R.
Published: August 2016

A low-diversity shelly fauna occurs in the Deep Spring Formation of the White–Inyo Mountains of eastern California and in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Although poorly preserved, specimens can be recovered through acid digestion of the limestone matrix. The fauna is composed of three tubes of uncertain affinities and a hyolith.Nevadatubulus dunfeein. gen. and sp., a distinctive, randomly curved and annulated tube, is abundant and far outnumbers the remaining three elements:Coleoloides inyoensisn. sp.,Sinotubulites cienegensisMcMenamin, and the hyolith Salanytheca sp. The original composition of the faunal elements appears to have been calcite or aragonite, but recrystallization has destroyed any ultrastructure. No phosphatic elements occur with the fauna nor have phosphatic fossils been recovered from the underlying Wyman and Reed Formations or the other members of the Deep Spring Formation.

The fauna occurs 1,500 meters below the first trilobite body fossils and may be coeval with faunas from the basal Cambrian Tommotian Stage of the Siberian Platform.Wyattia, the only previously described pre-trilobite shelly fossil from the region, occurs in approximately the same stratigraphic interval but was not recovered in our samples.
Revision of Rowley's Ordovician(?) and Silurian crinoids from Missouri
Authors: Ausich William I.
Published: August 2016

Eight of the crinoids described by Rowley (1904) are redescribed and reclassified. This material is from northeastern and southeastern Missouri and was believed to include both Early Silurian and Middle Silurian material (Rowley, 1904). Reconsideration of this material changes considerably the interpretation of these fossils. All are assigned to a different genus with some assigned to a different order or subclass. Also, age assignments are clarified. Crinoids studied here that are considered to be probably Late Ordovician rather than Early Silurian are Calceocrinus alleni (previously Deltacrinus alleni), Ptychocrinus insperatus (previously Abludoglyptocrinus insperatus, Glyptocrinus insperatus, and G. insperatus var. carinatus of Rowley, 1904), Ptychocrinus pentagonus (previously Glyptocrinus insperatus var. pentagonus), Gnorimocrinus? problematicus (previously Gissocrinus? problematicus), and Glyptocrinidae genus unknown (previously Lampterocrinus? comptus). Two Middle Silurian (lower Ludlovian) crinoids that were described by Rowley are restudied, Thalamocrinus ovalis (previously Cyathocrinus? ovalis) and Clematocrinus dubius (previously Cordylocrinus? dubius).
Johnognathus huddlei Mashkova, an element in the apparatus of Distomodus staurognathoides (Walliser)—Conodonta (Silurian)
Authors: Over D. Jeffrey , Chatterton Brian D. E.
Published: August 2016

The genus and species Johnognathus huddlei Mashkova, 1977, is synonymized with Distomodus staurognathoides (Walliser, 1964) on the basis of common occurrence, similar morphology, and the discovery of a complete S element of D. staurognathoides with a posterior process developed into a platform that is identical in morphology to specimens referred to J. huddlei.
Upper Permian conodonts from Hydra, Greece
Authors: Nestell Merlynd K. , Wardlaw Bruce R.
Published: August 2016

Conodont faunas recovered from the upper 80 m of Late Permian limestones on the Greek island of Hydra (Idhra) include Neogondolella leveni (Kozur, Mostler, and Pjatakova), Neogondolella orientalis (Barskov and Koroleva), Hindeodus julfensis Sweet, Xaniognathus hydraensis n. sp., and Ellisonia sp. The conodonts occur with a rich assemblage of silicified brachiopods, fusulines, and other invertebrates. Diagnostic fusulines include Reichelina media Miklukho-Maklai and Palaeofusulina cf. P. prisca Deprat. The conodont and fusuline faunas are correlative with well-known faunas described from the lower part of the Ali Bashi Formation of the Djulfa region of Iran, and with similar faunas described from other regions of Central Asia. The presence of conodonts from the Neogondolella orientalis Zone of Kozur indicates that the age of the upper part of the Permian sequence on Hydra is early-middle Dzhulfian (Baisalian Substage).
New reptiles from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona
Authors: Murry Phillip A.
Published: August 2016

New records of Late Triassic reptiles from the Chinle Formation of Arizona include a new species of small trilophosaurid, a sphenodontid, and two taxa of eolacertilians. ?Trilophosaurus jacobsi n. sp. is a small trilophosaurid showing affinities to the type of Trilophosaurus buettneri of the southwestern United States and Variodens inopinatus from the Upper Triassic of Great Britain. A sphenodontid is also reported along with maxillae tentatively referred to the Kuehneosauridae and a jaw fragment from a subpleurodont eolacertilian with polycuspate teeth.
A revision ofTaeniolabis(Mammalia: Multituberculata), with a new species from the Puercan of eastern Montana
Authors: Simmons Nancy B.
Published: August 2016

The largest known member of the mammalian order Multituberculata is the taeniolabididTaeniolabis, which is known from Puercan (early Paleocene) localities in northern New Mexico, Utah, Montana, and southern Saskatchewan. A locality in the Ludlow Formation of southeastern Montana has produced remains of a new species,T. lambertin. sp., which is based on a well-preserved dentary with teeth. Isolated teeth from the Tullock Formation of northeastern Montana are referred toT. lambertin. sp. andTaeniolabissp.

Taeniolabis triserialis, known exclusively from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, is shown to be a junior synonym ofT. taoensis. Taeniolabis sulcatus, the type species of the genus, is recognized as a nomen dubium and is synonymized withT. taoensisbased on general morphology and occurrence in the same stratigraphic unit and collecting area (lower part of the Nacimiento Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico). The nameT. taoensisis retained for this taxon in the interest of nomenclatorial stability. These synonymies limit to one the number of species ofTaeniolabisrecognized in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico. It is proposed thatT. taoensisbe designated the new type species of the genusTaeniolabis.
Taxonomic revision of lower and middle Paleozoic Orthothecida (Hyolitha) from North America and China
Authors: Malinky John Mark
Published: August 2016

North American and Chinese lower and middle Paleozoic representatives of the hyolith order Orthothecida are here placed in the families Orthothecidae Syssoiev, Novitatidae Syssoiev, Decorithecidae Syssoiev, Chelsonellidae n. fam., ?Isitithecidae Syssoiev, and ?Tchuranithecidae Syssoiev. The Orthothecidae is redefined, and the Decorithecidae is in part synonymized with the Novitatidae.

Re-examination of type specimens of some species formerly included in the order Hyolithida requires placement of these species in the order Orthothecida. The type suite ofHyolithes newsomensisFoerste from the Middle Silurian of Tennessee is divided into two species, and is used as a basis for the new genusFoersteotheca; the speciesF. merryiis new.Hyolithes richardiClarke from the Lower Devonian of New York is designated as the type species of the new genusDevoniotheca. Orthotheca cyreneWalcott from the Middle Cambrian of China is now included underDecoritheca. Foersteotheca, Devoniotheca, andDecorithecaare here placed in the redefined family Novitatidae.Hyolithes vanuxemiWalcott is assigned to the new genusChelsonellain the new family Chelsonellidae. The types ofHyolithes newtoniWalcott from the Upper Cambrian of South Dakota andHyolithes canalisfrom the Middle Cambrian of China are both included underDecorithecawith question.

Recognition of orthothecid hyoliths in the Cambrian of North America and China provides a more accurate record of the geographic and stratigraphic distribution of this group. The discovery ofFoersteothecaandDevoniothecaconstitutes the first known middle Paleozoic orthothecid occurrences from North America. In addition, reports of Tchuranithecidae and Isitithecidae in North America, if authentic, are the first occurrences of these forms in North America. The discovery in North America of hyolith taxa previously known only from the Soviet Union and China raises the possibility of intercontinental correlation using these fossils.
Revision, distribution, and extinction of the Middle and early Late Devonian archaeogastropod genera Floyda and Turbonopsis
Authors: Day Jed
Published: August 2016

Large palaeotrochid gastropods of the genera Floyda Webster (1905a) and Turbonopsis Grabau and Shimer (1909) occur in the late Frasnian Lime Creek Formation of Iowa. Floyda concentrica was designated as the type species of Floyda by earlier workers (Webster, 1905a; Knight, 1941), but is a junior synonym of F. gigantea (Hall and Whitfield, 1873). Three of five species and subspecies of Floyda described from the Lime Creek (Floyda concentrica, F. concentrica multisinuata, and F. gigantea depressa) are considered synonyms of the type species F. gigantea; the fifth species, F. gigantea hackberryensis, is here reassigned to the closely related genus Turbonopsis. Both F. gigantea and T. hackberryensis are redescribed using the original types and additional hypotype material from the collections of Charles Belanski.

Floyda, first known from late Givetian rocks of the Rhenish Slate Mountains in Germany, is widespread in the United States Midcontinent and western North America by early Late Devonian time. Turbonopsis was endemic to the Appohimchi Subregion of the Eastern Americas Realm prior to the Taghanic Onlap, and appears to have remained so until late Frasnian time when it migrated to western North America.

Eustatic sea-level highstands during the Middle and Late Devonian are thought to have breached barriers to migration, allowing both Floyda and Turbonopsis to disperse by prevailing oceanic currents from the United States Midcontinent into western North America during the late Frasnian. The expected oceanic current patterns of the Middle and Late Devonian paleogeographic reconstructions of Heckel and Witzke (1979, figs. 3, 5) adequately account for the known distribution and dispersal of Devonian palaeotrochid gastropods.

The Palaeotrochidae underwent extinction prior to the latest Frasnian. Floyda, Turbonopsis, and Westerna became extinct during the onset of the last eustatic deepening event prior to the close of the Frasnian. The extinction of the palaeotrochid gastropods as well as other invertebrate groups may have been the result of restriction or near elimination of shallow warm-water, well-oxygenated shelf habitats by the onlap of cold anoxic bottom waters prior to latest Frasnian time.
The relations between allometry, phylogeny, and functional morphology in some calceocrinid crinoids
Authors: Brower James C.
Published: August 2016

Calceocrinids are unique crinoids with the crown movably hinged to a recumbent stem. The crown was raised for feeding by closing the hinge and bending the proximal stem. While resting, the crown lay parallel to the stem with the hinge opened. Allometric equations for four species reflect a combination of ontogeny, adult body size, phylogeny, habitat, and functional morphology. The hinge of most adult calceocrinids is extended into ear-like projections which made the crown more stable on the seafloor. For the hinge moment versus the effective weight of the crown, positive allometry characterized taxa that lived in agitated environments, whereas isometry was adequate for quiet-water species. The adult body size provides a secondary effect on the data for crinoids from the same type of environment. Here, the initial intercepts are transposed so that larger animals functioned like smaller ones. The equations are independent of phylogenetic position. All species exhibit positive allometry of the length and number of plates in the arms. The food-gathering capacity of a crinoid is estimated by the number of food-catching tube-feet multiplied by the width of the food grooves, whereas the soft parts that must be fed are proportional to the crown volume. The ratio of food-gathering capacity to crown volume is either fixed or decreases slightly in larger crinoids. Statistical tests reveal that all species follow a single developmental pattern for these two parameters. However, some of the evolutionary changes in the arms permitted calceocrinids to retain an adequate food-gathering capacity into larger adult body sizes.
Neoisorophusella, a new edrioasteroid genus from the Upper Mississippian of the eastern United States
Authors: Kammer Thomas W. , Tissue Eric C. , Wilson Mark A.
Published: August 2016

Isorophid edrioasteroids representing a new genus and two new species are described from the Chesterian (Upper Mississippian) of Illinois and Maryland. Neoisorophusella lanei occurs in the Kinkaid Limestone of Johnson County, Illinois, and N. berryi occurs in the Greenbrier Limestone of Garrett County, Maryland. The problematic edrioasteroid species Hemicystites? carbonarius Bassler, 1935, from the Chesterian of southern West Virginia, is questionably assigned to Neoisorophusella.
The Campanian calcareous nannofossil Bukryaster hayi (Bukry): ultramicrostructure and geological distribution in Israel
Authors: Moshkovitz Shimon
Published: August 2016

Detailed morphological study of well-preserved specimens of Bukryaster hayi (Bukry) Prins and Sissingh by means of light and scanning electron microscopes reveals that the arms of the star-shaped nannofossil are pierced by pronounced perforations, reminiscent of those of the Tertiary genus Pemma Klumpp. Those and other features differentiate the taxon from Rucinolithus hayii Stover (1966) and help delimit the stratigraphic range of this important Campanian nannofossil.
Pharkidonotus megalius, a large new gastropod species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of south-central New Mexico
Authors: Kues Barry S.
Published: August 2016

Pharkidonotus megaliusn. sp. is described from the Desmoinesian of the Mud Springs Mountains, New Mexico. This unusually large bellerophontid reaches a length of at least 90 mm and is also characterized by a prominent high median ridge bearing a narrow selenizone and subdued collabral ornamentation on the whorl surface at all stages of growth. Its size and subdued ornamentation are quite different from that of the two previously known North American Pennsylvanian species ofPharkidonotus. Although steinkerns of comparable size have been reported from several localities in North America, the specimens discussed here are the first relatively well preserved shells of very large Pennsylvanian bellerophontids to be described.
Holographic contouring of fossil teeth
Authors: Elliott Stuart B. , Morris William J.
Published: August 2016

A method has been developed that uses holographic interferometry to generate contour maps of the occlusional surfaces of fossil teeth. The resulting contour map is, in itself, a valuable descriptive tool. In addition, it provides information for a very large data base, which has been used in trend-surface analysis and Q-mode clustering. As an example, these analytical techniques are applied to a set of Pliocene badger teeth. The same methods can be applied to any paleontological problem dealing with shapes of small objects.
The origin ofChubutolithesIhering, ichnofossils from the Eocene and Oligocene of Chubut Province, Argentina
Authors: Bown Thomas M. , Ratcliffe Brett C.
Published: August 2016

The distinctive trace fossilChubutolithes gaimanensisn. ichnosp. occurs in Casamayoran (early Eocene) and Colhuéhaupian (late Oligocene) alluvial rocks of the Sarmiento Formation in eastern Chubut Province, Argentina. Though known for nearly 70 years, its origin has remained obscure. Examination of new specimens and comparisons with modern analogs demonstrate that specimens ofChubutolithesrepresent the fossil nests of a mud-dauber (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Virtually identical nests are constructed today by mud-daubers in areas as disparate as southern Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, and Nebraska, confirming that quite similar trace fossils can be produced by several different taxa in a higher taxonomic clade. No satisfactory ethological term exists for trace fossils that, likeChubutolithes,were constructed by organisms above, rather than within, a substrate or medium. The new termaedificichniais proposed.

Chubutolithesoccurs in alluvial paleosols and is associated with a large terrestrial ichnofauna. These trace fossils include the nests of scarab beetles, compound nests of social insects, and burrows of earthworms.
Articulate brachiopods from the Richmondian of Tennessee
Authors: Howe Herbert J.
Published: August 2016

The Richmondian (Upper Ordovician) strata in the Central Basin of Tennessee yield an abundant and diverse fauna of brachiopods. The section consists in ascending and conformable order of the “Arnheim” and Fernvale Formations.

The following species are described: Austinella kankakensis (McChesney), Diceromyonia tersa Wang, Glyptorthis insculpta maquoketensis Ladd, Hebertella occidentalis (Hall), Onniella meeki (Miller), Paucicrura quadrata (Wang), Pionodema alberstadti n. sp., Plaesiomys bellistriatus Wang, P. proavita (Winchell and Schuchert), Platystrophia acutilirata (Conrad), P. ponderosa Foerste, Rafinesquina sp., Retrorsirostra carleyi (Hall), Strophomena planumbona (Hall), Tetraphalerella neglecta (James), Thaerodonta recedens (Sardeson), and Zygospira modesta (Hall).

Faunal comparisons confirm correlations with the Cape Limestone of southeastern Missouri, the Maquoketa Formation of Iowa, the upper part of the Viola Formation of Oklahoma, the Aleman and Cutter Formations in West Texas, and the standard Richmond section. The fauna in Tennessee connects the provincial Richmond in the Ohio Valley with the western faunas.
Linuparus korura n. sp. (Decapoda: Palinura) from the Bortonian (Eocene) of New Zealand
Authors: Feldmann Rodney M. , Bearlin Robert K.
Published: August 2016

Linuparus (Linuparus) korura n. sp. is described from Bortonian (middle Eocene) rocks in Otaio Gorge, South Canterbury, New Zealand. This discovery represents the first occurrence of the genus in New Zealand and the first notice of a fossil occurrence of the subgenus which is represented by three modern Indo-Pacific species. Comparison of key morphological descriptors suggests that L. korura is related to L. scyllariformis and L. trigonis. A stridulatory mechanism, similar to that seen on modern Linuparus, is described for the first time from the fossil record.
Microfossils from oolites and pisolites of the Upper Proterozoic Eleonore Bay Group, central East Greenland
Authors: Green J. W. , Knoll A. H. , Swett K.
Published: August 2016

Silicified oolites and pisolites from Bed 18 of the Upper Proterozoic (about 700–800 Ma) Limestone–Dolomite “Series” of the Eleonore Bay Group, central East Greenland, contain a diverse suite of organically preserved microfossils that is, for the most part, unlike assemblages previously described from Proterozoic cherts and shales. Three principal assemblages occur in these rocks: 1) a clast-bound assemblage found in detrital carbonate grains (now silicified) that served as nuclei for ooid and pisoid growth, as well as in uncoated mud and mat clasts that were carried into the zone of ooid and pisoid deposition; 2) an epilithic and interstitial assemblage consisting of microorganisms that occurred on top of and between grains; and 3) a euendolithic assemblage composed of microbes that actively bored into coated grains. The Upper Proterozoic euendolithic assemblage closely resembles a community of euendolithic cyanobacteria found today in shallow marine ooid sands of the Bahama Banks. Thirteen species are described, of which eight are new, five representing new genera:Eohyella dichotoman. sp.,Eohyella endoatractan. sp.,Eohyella rectocladan. sp.,Thylacocausticus globorumn. gen. and sp.,Cunicularius hallerin. gen. and sp.,Graviglomus incrustusn. gen. and sp.,Perulagranum obovatumn. gen. and sp., andParenchymodiscus endolithicusn. gen. and sp.
Latest Cretaceous and early Tertiary Tudiclidae and Melongenidae (Gastropoda) from the Pacific Slope of North America
Authors: Saul Louella R.
Published: August 2016

Four species belonging in Tudiclidae and one in Melongenidae have been confused with perissityids. The new genus Rapopsis is proposed for a tudiclid species,R. joseanan. sp. of early Maastrichtian age. Three other tudiclid species may belong in the Tethyan genusPyropsis, P. fantozziin. sp. of early to middle Paleocene age,P. striata(Stanton, 1896) of later Paleocene age, and ?P. gabbi(Stanton, 1896) probably of early to middle Paleocene age. The melongenid genus Protobusycon, represented byP. judithaen. sp. of late Paleocene age, has not previously been recognized in eastern Pacific faunas.
Late Cretaceous Kossmaticeratidae (Ammonoidea) from the Magallanes Basin, Chile
Authors: Macellari Carlos Enrique
Published: August 2016

Even though ammonites are not very abundant in Patagonia, a large number of specimens were collected by geologists from the Empresa Nacional del Petroleo (ENAP), Chile, during the course of several years of field work in the Magallanes Basin. This study describes the ammonite family Kossmaticeratidae present in that collection, which is a typical element of most southern hemisphere Late Cretaceous assemblages. The species described include: Kossmaticeras (Kossmaticeras?) fasciculatum n. sp., K. (Karapadites) constrictus n. sp., K. (Natalites) cecioni n. sp., K. (Natalites) hauthali (Paulcke), K. (Natalites) sp., Neograhamites kiliani Spath, N. taylori Spath, Gunnarites elegans n. sp., G. bhavaniformis (Kilian and Reboul), Grossouvrites gemmatus (Huppe), and Maorites densicostatus (Kilian and Reboul).

The stratigraphic information on this fauna indicates that it is distributed in four assemblages. The oldest (assemblage A), possibly late Santonian to early Campanian in age, includes the species Kossmaticeras (Kossmaticeras?) fasciculatum, Neograhamites taylori, and possibly N. kiliani. This is followed by assemblage B (possibly middle to late Campanian), with K. (Karapadites) constrictus, K. (Karapadites) centinelaense (Blasco, Nullo, and Proserpio), K. (Natalites) hauthali, K. (Natalites) cecioni, Neograhamites morenoi Riccardi, N. taylori, N. kiliani, K. (Natalites) sp., Gunnarites elegans, G. bhavaniformis, and possibly Pseudokossmaticeras paulckei Collignon. The third assemblage (C), possibly late Campanian to early Maastrichtian in age, contains G. elegans, G. bhavaniformis, Grossouvrites gemmatus, and K. (Natalites) hauthali. The youngest assemblage (D) is possibly late Maastrichtian in age and is composed of the species Maorites densicostatus and Grossouvrites gemmatus.
Ontogeny and phylogeny in primitive calceocrinid crinoids
Authors: Brower James C.
Published: August 2016

The evolution of primitive calceocrinids with four arm-bearing rays, here termed cremacrinids, has been examined for 13 species ofCremacrinus, Paracremacrinus, andAnulocrinususing numerical cladistics. The lineage was reconstructed from a Wagner tree of a Manhattan distance matrix. The characters were polarized by outgroup comparison. The Calceocrinidae originated from the Homocrinidae by development of the hinge, recumbent stem, loss of the BC interray basal and the C ray arm, and reorganization of the dorsal cup plates. The main evolutionary trends within cremacrinids consist of differentiation of the B and E ray arms from those of the lateral rays, increase or decrease in the number of branches and size of all arms, reduction of the B ray arm relative to those of the A and D rays, acquistion of additional main axils in the lateral rays, fusion of the infer- and superradials in the B and C rays, development of elongate brachials, and changes in adult body size.

Relatively complete growth sequences are known for six species of cremacrinids and these are analyzed with allometric equations for the dorsal cup, hinge, and arms. The relationships between ontogeny and phylogeny for the links in the evolutionary sequence and the number of examples of each are listed in order of decreasing frequency and importance: 1) unclassified divergences (for example, changes in the number of branches in the E ray and the formation of elongate brachials), 12 examples; 2) 10 cases of paedomorphosis; 3) no significant differences between ancestors and descendants, seven instances; 4) five links where the dorsal cup plates are rearranged; and 5) a single change by recapitulation. Some phyletic links are characterized by several patterns whereas others only exhibit one or two kinds of transitions.
Stomatopod predation on fossil gastropods from the Plio-Pleistocene of Florida
Authors: Geary Dana H. , Allmon Warren D. , Reaka-Kudla Marjorie L.
Published: August 2016

Stomatopods (mantis shrimps) are important predators in Recent tropical shallow-water communities. Despite a long geological history, they are poorly preserved as fossils, and traces of their predation have never been identified from the fossil record. Here we report on Plio-Pleistocene gastropods (mostlyStrombus) from Florida with distinctive holes “punched” into their body whorls. The similarity of these holes to holes punched into live gastropods byGonadactylusimplicates gonodactyloid stomatopods as the predators that made them. Recent gonodactyloids break gastropod shells as thick and thicker than those of the Plio-Pleistocene strombids that were punched. Because our data underestimate the incidence of stomatopod predation, the frequency of holes in these strombids (8–13 percent) suggests that stomatopod predation may be of considerable importance in the ecological and evolutionary history of tropical benthic assemblages.
Bivalves (Mollusca) from the Mauch Chunk Group (Mississippian, Chesterian) of northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania
Authors: Busanus J. W. , Hoare R. D.
Published: August 2016

Bivalves comprise a major component of the faunules of the Mississippian Mauch Chunk Group in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. Twenty-eight species representing 22 genera have been recognized. Of these, three new species are proposed—Limipecten greerensis, Streblochondria tiltoni, and Prothyris (Prothyris) acuticarinata.
Pleurostomella concava:a new benthic foraminifer in Oligocene and Miocene sediments from the Pacific and Indian Oceans
Authors: Hermelin J. Otto R.
Published: August 2016

The speciesPleurostomella concavais a new benthic foraminifer recognized in Oligocene and Miocene sediments from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The first mentioned finding of this species is in the material recovered from the experimental Mohole drilling near Guadalupe Island off Baja California. The morphology ofPleurostomella concavadiffers distinctively from other species of the genusPleurostomellaby its concave apertural face and keel-like rim around the ultimate chamber.
Old World Tethyan occurrences of Lyrischapa (Gastropoda; Volutidae) and biogeographic implications
Authors: Givens Charles R.
Published: August 2016

Lyrischapa Aldrich (1911), originally described from the Eocene of North America, is represented in the Old World Tethyan paleobiotic province by three species that previously have been referred to other genera: L. haimei (d'Archiac), from the late Paleocene or early Eocene upper Ranikot Formation of Pakistan; L. sismondai (d'Archiac), from the upper Ranikot Formation and the late Paleocene Hangu Shales of Pakistan; and L. soudanense (Douvillé), from the late Paleocene Kalambaina Formation in the Republic of Niger. A fourth unnamed species of Lyrischapa may be represented by an internal mold from the middle Eocene Khirtar Formation of Pakistan. Lyrischapa probably originated within the ancient Tethys seaway between Eurasia and the Gondwana continents of Africa and southern India because its oldest known occurrence (late Paleocene) and closest relatives (Indovoluta Eames, 1952; Gosavia Stoliczka, 1865, 1868; possibly also Diconomorpha Wenz, 1943) are in that region. It has no apparent ancestor among described American Paleogene or Cretaceous Volutidae. Because its large protoconch suggests that it lacked a teleplanic larval stage, the trans-Atlantic migration of Lyrischapa to the New World probably resulted from chance dispersal, either by rafting of egg masses attached to floating plant debris or by drift of floating egg capsules.
Early Permian conodont assemblages from the Wolfcamp Shale, Midland Basin, West Texas
Authors: Ritter Scott M. , Baesemann John F.
Published: August 2016

Nine assemblages of conodont elements have been found on bedding surfaces of the “Wolfcamp Shale’ from the Midland Basin, Texas. Four of these assemblages have Pa elements assigned to Sweetognathus cf. S. inornatus. The assemblages are classified taphonomically as apparatus (remains or partial remains of a single individual) or coprolitic associations. The two apparatus assemblages indicate that Sweetognathus cf. S. inornatus possessed a seximembrate apparatus comprised of Pa, Pb, M, Sa, Sb, and Sc elements. Five of the seven coprolitic associations contain numerous elements (50–100) and/or multiple pairs of Pa elements representing the presumably ingested remains of two or more conodonts.

The “Wolfcamp Shale’ assemblages are significant because 1) they confirm the polygnathacean affinity of the family Sweetognathidae, 2) they represent the youngest polygnathacean assemblages currently known, and 3) they permit comparison of multielement Sweetognathus with homologous elements of coeval genera such as Hindeodus, Adetognathus, Streptognathodus, and Neostreptognathodus.
Systematics of some Lower and Middle Devonian spiriferid brachiopods from Gaspé with a revision of the superfamily Delthyridoidea
Authors: Bizzarro Martin , Lespérance Pierre J.
Published: August 2016

The component subfamilies of the Delthyridoidea are critically reviewed and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. This shows the presence of two clades, assigned to the Delthyrididae and Acrospiriferidae, within the superfamily. The subfamilial categories are redefined mainly on the basis of the characters used in the phylogenetic analysis. The spiriferid, mainly delthyridide, Gaspé fauna is formally revised and redescribed. This new taxonomic treatment leads to more precise biostratigraphy and to the recognition of a new subfamily, the Gaspespiriferinae, based on the new genusGaspespirifer.Five new species are described:Howellella(Howellella)forillonensis, Brachyspirifer(Brachyspirifer)briseboisi, Paraspirifer desbiensi, Brevispirifer florentinus, andB. quebecensis, The occurrence ofBrevispiriferspecies with Middle Devonian chonetaceans confirms the presence of marine Eifelian strata in the Matapédia Valley.Paraspirifer desbiensin. sp. and two species left in open nomenclature,Vandercammeninasp. andMucrospirifersp., have considerable biostratigraphic and biogeographic significance in the Lower Devonian. The first occurrence in the Eastern Americas Realm of the typically Rhenish generaBrachyspirifer, Paraspirifer, andVandercammeninaare in Gaspé. This reinforces the hypothesis that Gaspé served as a stepping stone for Rhenish species invading North America in Pragian and Emsian times, as previously suggested by bivalve biogeography.
Ordovician pliomerid and prosopiscid trilobites from Argentina
Authors: Edgecombe Gregory D. , Chatterton Brian D. E. , Waisfeld Beatriz G. , Vaccari Norberto E.
Published: August 2016

Pliomerina Chugaeva, 1958, a characteristic element of the peri-Gondwanan Eokosovopeltis-Pliomerina Province, occurs in Llanvirn and Caradoc strata of the Argentine Precordillera. Three protaspid instars are present in the ontogeny of the Early Caradoc Pliomerina peripata new species. A species possibly representing Pliomerella is a rare element in Early Caradoc strata of the Las Aguaditas Formation. Prosopiscus is represented by a Llanvirn species with a first record of protaspid larvae for the enigmatic Family Prosopiscidae. Early growth stages support closest relations of prosopiscids to Phacopina. The presence of Pliomerina and Prosopiscus, along with the cheirurid Pateraspis, demonstrates a peri-Gondwanan influence on the Precordilleran fauna by the Llanvirn, and supports the proximity of the Precordillera terrane to the South American margin by that time.
Reinterpretation ofStictostegaShaw, 1967, an Upper Cretaceous cheilostome bryozoan from Arkansas
Authors: Taylor Paul D. , McKinney Frank K.
Published: August 2016

The distinctive cheilostome bryozoanStictostega durhamiShaw, 1967, from the Upper Campanian Ozan Formation of Arkansas, is redescribed and its relationships are reconsidered. Originally interpreted as a hippothoid ascophoran, the presence of a cryptocystal frontal shield and other characters suggest that it is a coilostegan anascan. Pores in the frontal shield are inferred to have served for the passage of parietal muscles (or their ligaments), which operated on the frontal membrane to raise hydrostatic pressure and protrude the lophophore in the same way as recently demonstrated in livingMacropora. Stictostegais provisionally interpreted as a stem-group macroporid.
Gigantocharinus szatmaryi, a new trigonotarbid arachnid from the Late Devonian of North America (Chelicerata, Arachnida, Trigonotarbida)
Authors: Shear William A.
Published: August 2016

A new trigonotarbid arachnid,Gigantocharinus szatmaryinew genus and species, is described from Upper Devonian (Late Famennian) sediments in Pennsylvania. Devonian trigonotarbids were known before from only a single North American locality and several European ones. The new trigonotarbid occurs in what had previously been a significant time gap between the faunas of the Middle Devonian and the late Carboniferous.Gigantocharinus szatmaryiis assigned with some hesitation to the family Palaeocharinidae.
Trilobites, biostratigraphy, and lithostratigraphy of the Crepicephalus and Aphelaspis zones, lower Deadwood Formation (Marjuman and Steptoean stages, Upper Cambrian), Black Hills, South Dakota
Authors: Stitt James H. , Perfetta Patrick J.
Published: August 2016

Trilobites assigned to 25 genera and 39 species are reported from the Crepicephalus Zone (Marjuman Stage) and Aphelaspis Zone (Steptoean Stage) in the lower part of the Deadwood Formation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Six taxa are left in open nomenclature, and one new species, Glaphyraspis newtoni, is described.

Analysis of the lithologies for this interval from the best exposed measured sections on a southeast-northwest transect reveal a nearshore, shallow subtidal, siliciclastic dominated environment to the southeast, succeeded offshore by a shallow subtidal to lowest intertidal carbonate shoal environment, and then a transitional shaly limestone interval into a more shaly distal intrashelf basin to the northwest.

Specimens of species of Coosia, Crepicephalus, Tricrepicephalus, Kingstonia, Pseudagnostina, and Coosina comprise more than 75 percent of the fauna of the Crepicephalus Zone. Coosina ariston, Crepicephalus snowyensis, Tricrepicephalus tripunctatus, Arcuolimbus convexus, and some species of Blountia had a strong preference for the shallow-water siliciclastic facies present in the southeastern sections closest to the paleoshoreline. Crepicephalus rectus, Tricrepicephalus coria, Agnostogonus, cf. A. incognitus and the genera Coosella and Uncaspis preferred the farther offshore, deeper-water, shaly intershelf basin located in the northern Black Hills. Trilobites from the Crepicephalus Zone are used to correlate the lower part of the Deadwood Formation with coeval strata elsewhere in North America.
Yaraloidea (Marsupialia, Peramelemorphia), a new superfamily of marsupial and a description and analysis of the cranium of the MioceneYarala burchfieldi
Authors: Muirhead Jeanette
Published: August 2016

The skull of the MioceneYarala burchfieldiMuirhead and Filan, 1995, is described. Analysis of skull morphology supports phylogenetic conclusions based on dental morphology.Y. burchfieldishares a number of synapomorphies with other peramelemorphians, some of which are unique and help to define this order of marsupials.Y. burchfieldiis the most plesiomorphic peramelemorphian known. Although sharing some derived characters with a number of extant taxa,Y. burchfieldilacks synapomorphies that unite all other peramelemorphian taxa as the Superfamily Perameloidea. The Yaraloidea and Yaralidae, a new superfamily and family of peramelemorphians, is proposed and diagnosed on the basis ofY. burchfieldi.Fossil evidence supports the late divergence of perameloids, while peramelemorphian diversity in the Tertiary indicates an ancient derivation for the order.
Ubinates, a new name for the genus Aethotaxis Baesemann, 1973 (Vertebrata, Conodonta) preoccupied by Aethotaxis Dewitt, 1962 (Vertebrata, Osteichtyes)
Authors: Baesemann John , Purnell Mark
Published: August 2016

Baesemann (1973) erected the genus Aethotaxis to accommodate morphologically distinctive conodont elements from the Pennsylvanian (Missourian) of northeastern Kansas. By chance we have recently discovered that the name is preoccupied by a notothenioid perciform fish Aethotaxis DeWitt, 1962. Thus, in accordance with Article 60 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999), we propose the name Ubinates nomen novum as a replacement for Aethotaxis Baesemann, 1973, not Aethotaxis DeWitt, 1962. Ubinates derives from the Latin ubi, meaning where (interrogative), and nates, meaning rump; this refers to the fact that it is not known which, if any, of the elements presently assigned to species of Ubinates occupied the posterior positions in the apparatus. The type species of Ubinates is U. advena by original designation (Baesemann, 1973).
A teratological pygidium of the Upper Cambrian trilobite Eugonocare (Pseudeugonocare) bispinatum from the Machari Formation, Korea
Authors: Lee Jeong Gu , Choi Duck K. , Pratt Brian R.
Published: August 2016

Abundant examples of exoskeletal abnormalities have been known in various trilobites since Portlock's (1843) first report on a teratological pygidium of Phillipsia ornata (cf. Babcock, 2000). Owen (1985) and Babcock (1993) recognized three types of trilobite malformations: healed injuries, teratological conditions, and pathological conditions. It is not always easy, however, to distinguish between the various types of malformations, especially in case of teratological or pathological conditions. In general, healed injuries are considered to have resulted from trauma during molting (Walcott, 1883; Whittington, 1956; Henningsmoen, 1975; Snajdr, 1981; Owen, 1983; Ramsköld, 1984) or wounds by predatory attack (Ludvigsen, 1977; Rudkin, 1979; Ŝnajdr, 1979, 1981; Owen, 1985; Conway Morris and Jenkins, 1985; Babcock, 1993; Pratt, 1998). Many healed injuries are indicated by broken spine stumps, indented and cicatrized edges of exoskeletons, and callused or regenerated exoskeleton around the broken surface (Ŝnajdr, 1981; Owen, 1983; Babcock, 1993). Teratological conditions are represented primarily by the irregular development of glabellar lobes, cephalic borders, and pygidial border spines, and anomalous number of segments on the thorax and pygidium. For example, Owen (1980) described a teratological cranidium of Calyptaulax norvegicus with two additional lateral glabellar lobes between the l p and 2p lobes. On the other hand, pathological conditions are marked by gall-like swellings and vermiform borings on exoskeletons that are thought to have been caused by diseases or parasitic infestation (Lochman, 1941; Ŝnajdr, 1978; Conway Morris, 1981; Owen, 1985).
Skeletal microstructure and mode of attachment inPalaeacisspecies (Anthozoa: Tabulata) from the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian of northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas
Authors: Webb Gregory E.
Published: August 2016

Three species of the Paleozoic coralPalaeacisare described from northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas. Included are the Chesterian speciesP. carinataGirty andP. sniderin. nom., a replacement name for the junior homonymP. cuneataSnider, and the Desmoinesian? speciesP. erectan. sp. Coralla of each species exhibit two types of microstructure that characterize two skeletal zones. The outer skeletal zone is composed of numerous parallel trabeculae, mostly between 0.2 and 0.3 mm in diameter, that lie perpendicular to, and have their accretionary surfaces on, the exterior surface of the corallum. Trabeculae are closely spaced laterally and are not organized into rows except uncommonly on the distal portion of some coralla. Where trabeculae coalesce into parallel rows, ornamentation on the corallum exterior consists of parallel ridges or rows of small nodes. Where trabeculae are irregularly arranged, external ornamentation consists of irregularly disposed nodes. The inner skeletal zone consists of radially fibrous stereoplasm arranged into discrete septal spines that coalesce into irregularly developed septal ridges in each calice. InP. erecta, septal spines merge into continuous layers of fibro-normal stereoplasm in some places. On the basis of microstructure, corallum morphology, and external ornamentationP. carinataandP. sniderican be allied withP. axinoidesSmyth andP. robustaWebb.Palaeacis erectafalls within the same group on the basis of microstructure and ornament, but has a unique corallum morphology.

Two distinct types of skeletal attachment occur in thesePalaeacisspecies.Palaeacis carinataandP. snideriexhibit an encrusting attachment surface that results in a prostrate growth habit wherein smaller substrates were entirely engulfed, producing free-living coralla.Palaeacis erectaexhibits a small, circular attachment surface and an erect growth habit wherein most skeletal accretion occurs perpendicular to, and away from, the substrate. The substrate is not engulfed and the corallum remains attached and sessile throughout astogeny.Palaeacis erectais, to date, the onlyPalaeacisspecies known to possess this erect, sessile growth form.