bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The oldest known catfish (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from Asia (India, Late Cretaceous)
Authors: Cione Alberto L. , Prasad G. V. R.
Published: August 2016

Siluriformes constitute an important monophyletic group of mainly freshwater fishes (Fink and Fink, 1996). Presently, there are about 35 families with over 2,000 species in all continents except Antarctica (Lundberg, 1993; Nelson, 1994); however, at least in the Eocene, they also inhabited Antarctica as well (Grande and Eastman, 1986). A small number of catfishes (most of the ariids and many of the plotosids) are marine and some species of other families can enter brackish waters (Nelson, 1994). Pre-Cenozoic catfishes are extremely rare outside of South America.
The Late Cambrian (Marjuman) trilobite genus Hysteropleura Raymond from the Cow Head Group, western Newfoundland
Authors: Westrop Stephen R. , Ludvigsen Rolf
Published: August 2016

Although known previously from only two specimens from northern Greenland, new material from Marjuman boulders in debris flows of the Cow Head Group of western Newfoundland demonstrate that Verditerrina Robison is a menomoniid trilobite that is closely related to Hysteropleura Raymond. Following a parsimony analysis using the PAUP program, Verditerrina is used at the subgeneric level to label a distinctive monophyletic group within Hysteropleura. Three new species are established for the Newfoundland material: Hysteropleura (Verditerrina) adraini, H. (V.) edgecombei and H. (V.) ramskoldi. All three species undergo substantial modification of the anterior border of the cranidium during holaspid ontogeny. Two of the species, H. (V.) adraini and H. (V.) edgecombei, develop elongate, tongue-like borders that are reminiscent of those of calymenids such as Spathocalymene Tillman.
Benthic foraminiferal zonation in deep-water carbonate platform margin environments, northern Little Bahama Bank
Authors: Martin Ronald E.
Published: August 2016

The utility of benthic foraminifera in bathymetric interpretation of clastic depositional environments is well established. In contrast, bathymetric distribution of benthic foraminifera in deep-water carbonate environments has been largely neglected. Approximately 260 species and morphotypes of benthic foraminifera were identified from 12 piston core tops and grab samples collected along two traverses 25 km apart across the northern windward margin of Little Bahama Bank at depths of 275-1,135 m. Certain species and operational taxonomic groups of benthic foraminifera correspond to major near-surface sedimentary facies of the windward margin of Little Bahama Bank and serve as reliable depth indicators.Globocassidulina subglobosa, Cibicides rugosus, andCibicides wuellerstorfiare all reliable depth indicators, being most abundant at depths >1,000 m, and are found in lower slope periplatform aprons, which are primarily comprised of sediment gravity flows. Reef-dwelling peneroplids and soritids (suborder Miliolina) and rotaliines (suborder Rotaliina) are most abundant at depths <300 m, reflecting downslope bottom transport in proximity to bank-margin reefs. Small miliolines, rosalinids, and discorbids are abundant in periplatform ooze at depths <300 m and are winnowed from the carbonate platform. Increased variation in assemblage diversity below 900 m reflects mixing of shallow- and deep-water species by sediment gravity flows.
The upper Paleozoic (Pennsylvanian-Permian) ammonoid Emilites
Authors: Mapes Royal H. , Boardman Darwin R.
Published: August 2016

Four species of Emilites are now known; these are E. incertus (Böse), E. plummeri Ruzhencev, E. brownwoodi n. sp., and E. bennisoni n. sp. Representatives of this genus may occur as early as Middle Pennsylvanian in North America to as late as Early Permian in the Soviet Union. All described taxa are from North America except E. plummeri, which is from the Soviet Union. Because Emilites is extremely rare in upper Paleozoic ammonoid assemblages, generic and species level phylogenetic relationships are poorly understood. Emilites is not considered to be a good generic-level zone indicator due to its relatively long time range and its rarity.
Functional significance of preserved color patterns of mollusks from the Gosport Sand (Eocene) of Alabama
Authors: Kelley Patricia H. , Swann Charles T.
Published: August 2016

The excellent preservation of the molluscan fauna from the Gosport Sand (Eocene) at Little Stave Creek, Alabama, has made it possible to describe the preserved color patterns of 15 species. In this study the functional significance of these color patterns is tested in the context of the current adaptationist controversy. The pigment of the color pattern is thought to be a result of metabolic waste disposal. Therefore, the presence of the pigment is functional, although the patterns formed by the pigment may or may not have been adaptive. In this investigation the criteria proposed by Seilacher (1972) for testing the functionality of color patterns were applied to the Gosport fauna and the results compared with life mode as interpreted from knowledge of extant relatives and functional morphology. Using Seilacher's criteria of little ontogenetic and intraspecific variability, the color patterns appear to have been functional. However, the functional morphology studies indicate an infaunal life mode which would preclude functional color patterns. Particular color patterns are instead interpreted to be the result of historical factors, such as multiple adaptive peaks or random fixation of alleles, or of architectural constraints including possibly pleiotropy or allometry. The low variability of color patterns, which was noted within species and genera, suggests that color patterns may also serve a useful taxonomic purpose.
Revision of the Aragonian (Miocene) Atlantoxerus (Sciuridae)
Authors: Pelaez-Campomanes Pablo
Published: August 2016

Due to similarities in size as well as in morphology between the type materials of both species, synonymy of Atlantoxerus idubedensis Cuenca Bescós, 1988, with the species A. blacki (de Bruijn, 1967) is proposed. New and previously described material of the genus Atlanioxerus from the Aragonian type area in Spain are assigned to a single species, A. blacki, on the basis of metrical and morphological analyses. An emended diagnosis for A. blacki is proposed in order to include the observed variability. This species is characterized by its high morphological variability, tendency towards reduction in some relative dental proportions, and tending to increase in size rapidly.
Silurian Proporidae and Plasmoporidae (Anthozoa, Tabulata) from the Chaleurs Bay region, Canada
Authors: Young Graham A. , Noble James P. A.
Published: August 2016

Six species belonging to the families Proporidae and Plasmoporidae occur in the Lower and Upper Silurian rocks of the Limestone Point and La Vieille Formations of northern New Brunswick and of the Anse à Pierre-Loiselle, La Vieille, and Gascons Formations of the Gaspé Peninsula of Québec. The three species ofProporaare widely distributed but show varying faunal affinities, while both species ofPlasmopora, Plasmopora loganiandPlasmopora corrugata, are new and are almost endemic. Revised concepts ofProporaandPlasmoporaare proposed. The holotype specimen for the type species ofCamptolithuswas examined and confirms the genus as distinct fromPropora, rather than a synonym as has been previously suggested.

The facies distribution of these corals is variable. In general, the proporids, which mostly occur in facies indicating shallow carbonate banks and patch reefs, are more restricted in distribution than the plasmoporids, which occur in these facies and also in others representing a variety of open-shelf environments.
The Ordovician brachiopod genusBimuriafrom the eastern Klamath Mountains, northern California
Authors: Potter A. W.
Published: August 2016

The genusBimuriaUlrich and Cooper, 1942, is a biogeographically important member of middle and late Ordovician brachiopod faunas of the Callahan–Gazelle area in the eastern Klamath Mountains of northern California. In middle Ordovician deposits the genus is widespread and ranges from Nevada in the west to southwestern Siberia in the east; however, in late Ordovician beds it was previously known only in Sweden and Northern Ireland. In addition to the northern California occurrence reported here, new late Ordovician occurrences are also noted in east-central Alaska–Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories. Three species ofBimuriaare described, including the new species,B. californiensis.

A preliminary survey of species described in the literature suggests that the ratio of the length of the dorsal adductor field to the length of the elongate area in the brachial valve decreases from middle to late Ordovician species, and thus may be of biostratigraphic value.
Evolution of the Early Silurian rhynchonellid brachiopodFenestrirostrain the Anticosti Basin of Quebec
Authors: Jin Jisuo , Caldwell W. G. E. , Copper Paul
Published: August 2016

Among the abundant, well-preserved rhynchonellid brachiopods in the Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian rocks of Anticosti Island,FenestrirostraCooper, 1955, one of the earliest camarotoechiid genera to appear in the fossil record, is probably of oligorhynchiid ancestry and seemingly endemic to the Anticosti Basin. The genus differs most obviously from other camarotoechiids in its peculiar costae, which are angular and strong posteriorly and flat and weak anteriorly.

Three successive species ofFenestrirostra, found in micritic mudstones and calcareous shales of the middle and upper Merrimack and Lower Gun River Formations, provide an example of gradualistic evolution. The most primitive species,F. primaeva, occurs only in the lower part of the middle Merrimack Formation; the descendant intermediate species,F. glacialis, occurs mainly in the upper part of the middle and in the upper Merrimack and in the lowermost Gun River Formations; and the descendant terminal species,F. pyrrha, occurs only in the lower Gun River Formation. Four major morphoseries distinguish the lineage: 1) change in the proportions and size of the shells; 2) increase in the number and concomitant loss of the costae from the anterior halves of the shells; 3) change in the orientation and reduction in the size of the hinge plates and hinge fossettes; and 4) change in the height of the median septum. The evolutionary modifications, estimated to have been accomplished in no more than 1 m.y., may have been adaptive responses to persistent low-energy marine conditions.

Biostratigraphically, theFenestrirostralineage provides the basis for three interval or range zones that straddle the Rhuddanian–Aeronian interstage boundary in the Anticosti Basin.
Early and Middle Cambrian Hyolitha (Mollusca) from northeastern China
Authors: Malinky John M.
Published: August 2016

The hyolithid species Hyolithes crebescens Resser and Endo, Hyolithes cybele Walcott, and Hyolithes delphus Resser and Endo from the Middle Cambrian of China are assigned respectively to the genera Nevadotheca Malinky, Novakotheca n. gen., family Hyolithidae, and Crestjahitus Syssoiev, family uncertain, all in the order Hyolithida. Recognition of Nevadotheca extends its geographic range from North America to China, and the occurrence of Crestjahitus in the Middle Cambrian of China increases its geographic and stratigraphic distribution from the Early Cambrian of the Soviet Union.

Poor preservation of the type specimens of Hyolithes? aliger Resser and Endo, H.? aplatus Resser and Endo, H.? cariniferus Resser and Endo, H.? daphnis Walcott, H.? delia Walcott, H.? endoi Howell (as H. ornatus Resser and Endo), H.? mantouensis Resser and Endo, and H.? tenuis Resser and Endo renders their generic identification uncertain. Hyolithes (Orthotheca) glabrus Resser and Endo is here transferred to the hyolith order Orthothecida Marek and referred with question to Decoritheca Syssoiev, family Novitatidae.

Morphology of the types of “Hyolithes” fuchouensis Resser and Endo, “H.” kuantungensis Resser and Endo, “H.” sondai Resser and Endo, “Orthotheca” daulis Walcott, and “O.” doris Walcott does not support assignment to the Hyolitha for these species; their phylogenetic affinity is uncertain.
First record of the family Ringiculidae (Gastropoda) from the Middle Tertiary of Antarctica
Authors: Zinsmeister William. J. , Stilwell Jeffrey D.
Published: August 2016

A new species of the late Mesozoic–Cenozoic family Ringiculidae (Ringicula(Ringicula)cockburnensisn. sp.) is described from basal glauconitic beds of late Eocene age of Cockburn Island, Antarctica, and is the first reported occurrence of the family Ringiculidae from the continent of Antarctica.Ringicula (R.) cockburnensisn. sp. most closely resemblesR. castigatafrom the middle Oligocene Duntroonian Stage of New Zealand and provides further support for the strong provinciality (Weddellian Province) that existed along the southern margin of the Pacific during the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary.
Fossil decapod crustaceans from the lower Tertiary of the Prince William Sound Region, Gulf of Alaska
Authors: Tucker Annette B. , Feldmann Rodney M.
Published: August 2016

Sixty-five fossil brachyuran crabs, collected from rocks of the Orca Group, Tokun Formation, and Poul Creek Formation, have been assigned to six species, five of which were described previously. One of these,Pilumnoplax hannibalanus, is reassigned toNeopilumnoplax.Morphologic descriptions ofRaninoides vaderensis, Eumorphocorystes naselensis, Portunites alaskensis, andBranchioplax washingtonianaare emended.Orbitoplax plafkerin. gen. and sp. is described from the Poul Creek Formation on Wingham Island. The diagnosis of age for the Orca Group has been problematic. However, the well-preserved brachyurans,Branchioplax washingtoniana, Neopilumnoplax hannibalanus, andRaninoides vaderensis, provide corroborative evidence for an Eocene or older age for the rocks. Alaskan decapods include species common to the entire Pacific coast north of California, as well as species endemic to Alaska.
Color-banded gastropods from the Kendrick Shale Member (Middle Pennsylvanian, Westphalian B) of eastern Kentucky
Authors: Chesnut Donald R. , Slucher Ernie R.
Published: August 2016

Very well preserved gastropods, with preserved color banding, are common in a newly discovered site in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. The fossils occur in calcareous silty shales of the Middle Pennsylvanian Kendrick Shale Member of the Breathitt Formation. Three genera of gastropods,Bellerophon, Straparollus, andIanthanopsis, have been found with preserved color patterns.
Ammonoid cephalopods from the Lower Permian of Thailand
Authors: Glenister Brian F. , Furnish W. M. , Zuren Zhou , Polahan Malai
Published: August 2016

The purpose of the present statement is to announce discovery of a well-preserved and potentially diverse Lower Permian ammonoid fauna from south-central Thailand. Previous Thai records of Permian ammonoids lack descriptive detail (e.g., Yanagida, 1988), but two sparse Permian occurrences from nearby areas in Malaysia have been described recently by Lee (1980). Closest similarities of the Thai material are with faunas from the Pamir (Leonova and Dmitriev, 1989) and with our undescribed collections from south Xinjiang.
Calcium dissolution and clay flocculant removal in pollen extractions from sediments of the arid Southwest, U.S.A.
Authors: Clay-Poole Scott T.
Published: August 2016

Pollen extraction from sediments of the arid Southwest often involves a variety of problems, including low concentration and poor preservation of pollen, but particularly the complexing of soil particles and evaporites such as calcium carbonate (calcite) and calcium sulfate (gypsum) with the pollen. The low pollen concentration and particle complexing problems are overcome by extraction of a larger volume of sediment (normally 350–450 cc) than is typical for lakes and bogs of temperate regions. Dilute HCl dissolves the most common evaporite, calcium carbonate, and coarser silicates are then removed by sieving or swirling (Funkhauser and Evitt, 1959), thus concentrating finer silts, clays, clay-sized particles, and pollen. The finer silicates are subsequently removed by HF treatment. However, if the calcium ions are not removed completely, prior to the HF treatment, a precipitate of calcium fluoride forms which obscures pollen in the sample.
The occurrence of hinge reversal in Buntonia beninensis Reyment (Ostracoda), Paleocene, Nigeria
Authors: Okosun Edward A.
Published: August 2016

A microfossil study of two boreholes, Araromi and Gbekebo (Geological Survey of Nigeria borehole numbers 1131 and 1132) (Figure 1), revealed the occurrence of Buntonia beninensis Reyment (1960, 1963) in the late Paleocene interval. This species was found to have forms with normal overlap and hinge element and forms with a reversal of these morphological features. In the former, the left valve is larger than the right, which bears the projecting terminal hinge element, whereas, in the latter, the larger valve is the right valve with the smaller left valve bearing the projecting terminal hinge element.
First occurrence ofOriostoma(Gastropoda) from the Middle Ordovician
Authors: Rohr David M. , Johns Ronald A.
Published: August 2016

Oriostoma bromidensisn. sp., the oldest reported occurrence ofOriostomaMunier-Chalmas, 1876, is described from the Bromide Formation (Middle Ordovician, Blackriverian) of Oklahoma. The species is also the oldest known representative of the family Oriostomatidae Wenz, 1938. It is one of few gastropods known from the Bromide and is smaller than the widespread and abundantOriostomatypical of the Silurian.
Upper Cenomanian ammonites from the Woodbridge Clay Member of the Raritan Formation in New Jersey
Authors: Cobban W. A. , Kennedy W. J.
Published: August 2016

The woodbridge Clay Member of the Raritan Formation of New Jersey yields the oldest marine fauna known from the Upper Cretaceous of the United States Atlantic seaboard. This fauna is dominated by bivalves and gastropods (Richards, 1943; Stephenson, 1954), which have sufficient elements in common with the Cenomanian Woodbine Formation of Texas to suggest a Cenomanian age (Stephenson, 1954, p. 26), and this has been supported by data from megascopic plant remains and pollen (see review in Christopher, 1977; Doyle and Robbins, 1977, and references therein). The discovery, by N. F. Sohl, of two ammonite fragments in the Woodbridge Clay Member provides the first evidence for the assignment of the member within the Cenomanian Stage. The specimens came from sideritic concretions in the Woodbridge Member at the claypit of the Sayreville-Fisher Brick Company at Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey (USGS Mesozoic locality 29584). General descriptions of the Raritan succession are given in Owens and Sohl (1969), Owens et al. (1977), and Owens (1983).
Sinodiversograptus—Its occurrence in Australia and northern Canada
Authors: Loydell David K.
Published: August 2016

Sinodiversograptus Mu and Chen, 1962, from theMonograptus turriculatusZone of the lower Telychian (=Upper Llandovery, Silurian), is the earliest known Silurian graptolite genus to bear thecal cladia. Only one species of sinodiversograptid is known, this beingS. lientanensis(Mu, 1948). A mature specimen of this species is illustrated in Figure 1. The genusSinodiversograptushas been portrayed as such in both theTreatise(Bulman, 1970) and in Rickards et al.'s (1977) analysis of the evolution of the Silurian and Devonian graptoloids. Mu and Chen (1962), however, in their detailed study of the astogeny of the conspecificS. multibrachiatus, noted that the development ofSinodiversograptusmay be divided into three stages.

1) Streptograptid stage (Figure 2.1)—development is as in a normal monograptid, with the first theca arising from the sicula. Subsequent thecae are added sympodially. Rickards et al. (1977) noted that the thecae ofSinodiversograptusare not streptograptid in form (i.e., retroverted, with an aperture slit-like laterally, but possessing a median upturned lip—see Chen, 1986, for illustrations of chemically isolated streptograptid thecae), but are hooked (Figure 2.8), an observation also made by the present author of the thecae of Mu and Chen's (1962) specimens (housed in the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology). They most closely resemble the thecae ofMonograptus runcinatusLapworth, 1876, as illustrated, for example, by Bjerreskov (1975). This first stage of development might, therefore, more correctly be termed the monograptid stage.
An Early Jurassic ichthyosaur from the Sandilands Formation, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia
Authors: Dennison Shane S. , Smith Paul L. , Tipper Howard W.
Published: August 2016

A partial skeleton, including a skull with part of the axial skeleton, part of a second skull, and fragments of ribs have been recovered from the Sinemurian of the Sandilands Formation exposed at Kennecott Point in the northwestern Queen Charlotte Islands. This material is the most complete Early Jurassic collection from North America reported to date; other occurrences include a forefin from the Nordegg Formation (Sinemurian) of Alberta positively identified as Ichthyosaurus (McGowan, 1978) and vertebral centra from the Nicely Formation (Pliensbachian), Oregon, not assigned conclusively to a genus (McGowan, 1978). The discovery of ichthyosaurs in the allochthonous insular belt of British Columbia adds weight to the contention that ichthyosaurs were cosmopolitan in their distribution (McGowan, 1978; Orr, 1986).
Pliocene foraminifera and environments, Limon Basin of Costa Rica
Authors: Cassell David T. , Gupta Barun K. Sen
Published: August 2016

The sandstone facies of the Pliocene Rio Banano Formation of eastern Costa Rica contains benthic foraminifera indicative of an open marine, current-swept, neritic depositional environment. These sandstones and associated siltstones are placed in Zone N18 on the basis of overlapping ranges of planktonic foraminifera, particularly Globigerinoides obliquus extremus and G. ruber, and a short-ranging ostracode species, Radimella ovata. One hundred and eight species of benthic foraminifera have been identified from the formation. A multiple-group-component factor analysis of abundance distributions of several dominant or common species (Amphistegina gibbosa, Articulina mayori, Cassidulina laevigata, C. subglobosa, Cibicidoides floridanus, Elphidium discoidale, Hanzawaia concentrica, Pararotalia sarmientoi, Pseudononion basispinata, Quinqueloculina lamarckiana, Rosalina globularis, and Trifarina angulosa) in the type section aided in the recognition of three benthic foraminiferal assemblages related to environmental parameters. An open marine, shallow, sandy continental shelf environment is suggested by the first assemblage. This is considered the typical depositional environment of the unit. The second and the third assemblages, suggesting an inner littoral environment and the proximity to a reef, respectively, also indicate introduction of significant amount of transported material into the thanatotopes.
Mississippian polyplacophoran (Mollusca) from Utah
Authors: Hoare R. D.
Published: August 2016

Reports of Mississippian polyplacophorans from North America are rare. To date only three species, Gryphochiton parvus (Stevens, 1858) and G. elevatus (Kues, 1978), from the Salem Limestone in Indiana, and Elachychiton juxtaterminus Hoare and Mapes, 1985, from the Imo Formation in Arkansas, have been recognized (Smith and Hoare, 1987). Lobarochiton anomalus (Rowley, 1908), from the Louisiana Limestone in Missouri, is now believed to be Devonian in age. European reports of Lower Carboniferous polyplacophorans are much more common, at least 29 species (Hoare and Smith, 1987). The location of any specimen in the Mississippian of North America becomes significant in filling out the geologic history of this taxonomic group.
Reexamination of the benthic foraminiferal fauna from a late Pleistocene marine terrace deposit near Goleta, California
Authors: Barrick Reece E. , Beveridge Aimie E. , Patterson R. Timothy , Schubert Jennifer K.
Published: August 2016

A benthic foraminiferal fauna of 39 species was quantitatively examined from a late Pleistocene marine terrace deposit near Goleta, California. This foraminiferal fauna, dominated by Cribroelphidium microgranulosum, Buccella tenerrima, Buliminella elegantissima, and Cribroelphidium tumidum, is presently most common in cool, shallow (<12 m, but usually 0–5 m) subtidal environments north of Point Conception, California. This indicates slightly cooler water temperatures during the time of deposition than found near Goleta today, and agrees closely with the results of a previous paleoenvironmental interpretation of the section based on molluscan fossils.
Monograptus spiralisand its phylogenetic relationship to early cyrtograptids
Authors: Lenz A. C. , Melchin M. J.
Published: August 2016

Isolated, uncompressed specimens ofMonograptus spiralisshow that the thecae become increasingly asymmetric and twisted distally and that the lateral margins of the apertures possess lobate veins and extend laterally as spatulate rostral processes. These too become increasingly asymmetric distally.

Three species ofCyrtograptus, obtained uncompressed from the same and overlying strata, are compared withM. spiralis. They show little similarity in the details of proximal or distal thecal form.Cyrtograptus sakmaricuspossesses more stout, overlapping proximal thecae, while those ofC.cf.C. laqueusare slender and elongate. In both species, the thecae are moderately asymmetrical, become simpler and less strongly hooked distally, and have simple lateral margins. The third species,Cyrtograptussp., possesses proximal thecae very like those ofC. sakmaricus, but its distal thecae, while strongly twisted, are very much simpler than the type found inM. spiralis.

Despite superficial rhabdosomal similarities in flattened material, the thecal details clearly indicate thatM. spiralisis very unlikely to be ancestral to any known species ofCyrtograptusowing to its unique and highly specialized thecal form. Comparison among species ofCyrtograptussuggests, however, that this genus might be polyphyletic, with its ancestors being other members of the “Spirograptus” group.
The youngest occurrence of the ichnogenusDidymaulichnusfrom the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Cardium Formation
Authors: Vossler Shawna M. , Magwood James P. A. , Pemberton S. George
Published: August 2016

The ichnogenusDidymaulichnushas previously been reported in rocks of upper Precambrian-Carboniferous age (Häntzschel, 1975; Pickerill et al., 1984).Didymaulichnushas been postulated by different authors to be an epistratal grazing trace of trace makers ranging from molluscs and other soft-bodied animals to arthropods (Young, 1972; Häntzschel, 1975; Bradshaw, 1981; Hakes, 1985). If this is the case, it is reasonable to assumeDidymaulichnusoccurs in sediments and sedimentary rocks that are as young as the modern. In an examination of the Cardium Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Turonian) this ichnogenus occurred with relative abundance.
The Reuss collection (Cretaceous foraminifers) in Vienna
Authors: Meyn Helen , Vespermann Jürgen
Published: August 2016

The collections of A. E. Reuss were missing for a long period of time. When they were rediscovered they were stored in the Museum of Natural History in Vienna. The associated catalog is still missing. Since many of the Cretaceous foraminifers described by Reuss are assumed to be widespread around the world, it is desirable to have his original material as a reference when classifying the specimens found in drillings and natural exposures. As quite a lot of them are usable as index fossils, they are of special value in the exploration for oil and gas.
Sphinctozoan sponges from the Permian reefs of South China
Authors: Rigby J. K. , Jiasong Fan , Wei Zhang
Published: August 2016

Middle and Late Permian sphinctozoan sponges described here are from the Middle Permian Maokou and the Upper Permian Wujiaping and Changxing Formations. Most are from near Xiangbo, northwestern Guangxi, but a few are from Upper Permain patch reefs from Laolongdong in eastern Sichuan. The new genera, the porateImbricatocoeliaand the aporateGlomocystospongia, are described, the latter as the type genus for the new family Glomocystospongiidae. New species described includeAmblysiphonella specialis, Amblysiphonella spinosa, Amblysiphonellasp. A,Amblysiphonellasp. B,Colospongia maxima, Colospongiasp. A,Imbricatocoelia elongata, I. irregulara, I. obconica, I. paucipora, Neoguadalupia explanata, Subascosymplegma?paracatenulata, Rhabdactinia depressa, R. irregulara, R. squamula, Salzburgia nana, Glomocystospongia gracilis, Sollasia absita, andS. spheroida. New occurrences ofAmblysiphonella merlai? Parona, 1933,Lichuanospongia typicaZhang, 1983,Polycystocoelia huajiapingensisZhang, 1983,Intrasporeocoelia hubeiensisFan and Zhang, 1985,Rhabdactinia columnariaYabe and Sugiyama, 1934,Uvanella irregularaOtt, 1967,Stromatocoelia asiaticaZhang and Fan (in Fan and Zhang, 1985), andTebagathalamia cylindricumSenowbari-Daryan and Rigby, 1988, are reported. The described assemblage represents the most diverse Permian sphinctozoan sponge fauna known from Asia.
Description and paleoecology of a population ofAnthraconaiafrom the Pennsylvanian of southern Indiana
Authors: Petzold Daniel D.
Published: August 2016

Anthraconaiasp. occurs in the thin nonmarine interval that lies between the Upper Millersburg Coal Member and the Lower Millersburg Coal Member (Pennsylvanian, Desmoinesian) in Warrick County, Indiana. Specimens ofAnthraconaiasp. resembleAnthraconaiathat occur in Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks of the Appalachian Basin, but they differ slightly in size, form ratios, or both. Specimens were found in massive, nonfissile gray mudstone; buff-colored, laminated limestone (ostracodal biomicrite, wackestone); and platy black shale. The only statistically significant variation between shells from these different lithologies is that shells recovered from the limestone tend to be more ovate than shells from the other two lithologies. This contradicts the findings of previous investigations in which more ovateAnthraconaiawere found in the more organic-rich sediments of a given stratigraphic sequence. This difference is probably caused by the lack of discernible change in energy level through the depositional history of the interval and suggests that changing energy levels may be more important to the control of the morphology ofAnthraconaiathan the level of organic carbon in the sediment.
The occurrence of the brachiopods Nanukidium and Atrypoidea in the Late Silurian of southeastern Alaska, Alexander terrane
Authors: Savage Norman M.
Published: August 2016

Previously described faunas of Early Silurian through Late Pennsylvanian age from the Alexander terrane have been endemic, or have variously suggested North American or Asiatic affinities, leaving the paleogeographic history of the terrane uncertain although indicating a location closer to North America than to Asia (Armstrong, 1970; Douglass, 1971; Savage, 1981, 1985, 1989; Savage et al., 1978; Savage and Barkeley, 1985; Soja, 1988; Vaskey, 1982). The occurrence reported here of the Canadian Arctic brachiopods Nanukidium cf. N. cunninghamensis and Atrypoidea scheii in the Alexander terrane during the Late Silurian could be additional evidence supporting the view that the Alexander terrane was not far removed from the North American craton during middle Paleozoic time.
A partial skeleton of the tyrannosaurid dinosaur Aublysodon from the Upper Cretaceous of New Mexico
Authors: Lehman Thomas M. , Carpenter Kenneth
Published: August 2016

A fragmentary tyrannosaurid skull and postcranial skeleton from the Kirtland Shale of northwestern New Mexico is the most complete specimen of a carnivorous dinosaur known from these strata. The specimen is identified as Aublysodon cf. A. mirandus on the basis of its narrow frontals, V-shaped frontal-parietal suture, and nondenticulate incisiform premaxillary tooth. The D-shaped cross section of the premaxillary tooth, rugose postorbital, well-developed footed pubis, and proximally constricted third metatarsal confirm the assignment of Aublysodon to the Tyrannosauridae. The limb bones are gracile and similar in proportions to those of Albertosaurus; however, the tibia and metatarsals are shorter relative to the femur. The distal end of the tibia exhibits a unique medial emargination not reported in other tyrannosaurids.
Ichnofossils within Tetradium and related genera
Authors: Yang Ling , Stearn Colin W.
Published: August 2016

An ichnofossil formed by an organism that preferentially burrowed the micritic sediment filling corallites of tetradiids has an axial passage that may be filled with sediment or calcite spar and a surrounding affected zone of concentric structure formed by the alignment of grains. More than one such burrow may occur in a single corallite. A larger ichnofossil that destroyed both septa and walls of the corallites is associated with the smaller ichnofossils.
Pennsylvanian hollinacean and kirkbyacean ostracodes from the Appalachian Basin
Authors: Christopher Cranston C. , Hoare R. D. , Sturgeon M. T.
Published: August 2016

Hollinacean and kirkbyacean ostracodes are rare to abundant components of the ostracode faunas in the Pennsylvanian marine units of the Appalachian Basin. The diversity of these two groups appears lower in the Appalachian Basin than as reported from the Eastern Interior Basin. Thirty-six taxa, nine hollinelliid and 27 kirkbyiid, are identified. Three new species, Amphissites (Amphikegelites) sohni, Kegelites cooperi, and Kirkbya causa, are proposed.

Kirkbyaceans from the Morrowan–Atokan portion of the section compare favorably with those described from the Eastern Interior Basin. The Shleesha rothi Zone of the Eastern Interior Basin can be recognized in the Appalachian Basin, comprising Morrowan and Atokan units. Desmoinesian units in the Appalachian Basin contain many taxa extending up from the Atokan, but several new forms appear. Of the latter, Kegelites cooperi is the most diagnostic species and is the name bearer for the Kegelites cooperi Zone. Missourian–Virgilian faunas are significantly different from those in the Desmoinesian, but are not separable from each other. These units are grouped together into the Kegelites dattonensis Zone.
The foraminiferal genera Pararotalia, Neorotalia, and Calcarina: taxonomic revision
Authors: Hottinger Lukas , Halicz Elwira , Reiss Zeev
Published: August 2016

Scanning electron microscopy of the architecture of Rotalina inermis Terquem, 1882, the type-species of the genus Pararotalia Le Calvez, 1949, and of Rotalia mexicana Nuttall, 1928, the type-species of the genus Neorotalia Bermudez, 1952, reveals that both taxa have in common: 1) an umbilical bowl closed by either a single or a compound umbilical plug; 2) an interiomarginal extraumbilical aperture, restricted by a toothplate that protrudes with a free edge into the aperture and forms an umbilical spiral canal; and 3) a septal flap and intraseptal interlocular spaces. Rotalia mexicana, however, also possesses an enveloping canal-system, similar to that found in the Calcarinidae. For this reason Neorotalia must be regarded as a valid distinct genus, not synonymous with Pararotalia, as proposed by some authors. Calcarina calcar d'Orbigny, 1839, variously placed by authors in Rotalia Lamarck, 1804, in Pararotalia Le Calvez, 1949, and lately again in Calcarina d'Orbigny, 1826, is shown to possess the same basic architecture as Neorotalia and is placed, consequently, into this latter genus. Irregular supplementary apertures occurring in N. calcar are not considered of generic value and neither are they regarded as indicating a relationship with Nautilus spengleri Gmelin, 1788, the type-species of Calcarina. The latter, although characterized by a complex enveloping canal-system, possesses primary multiple interioareal main apertures, surrounded by thick rims, as well as a small umbilical plate, but lacks a toothplate with a free edge. For comparison, Pararotalia spinigera (Le Calvez, 1949) and Neorotalia viennoti (Greig, 1935) were also studied. The subfamily Pararotaliinae Reiss, 1963, is emended to include the canal-system as a characteristic feature. A glossary of selected terms is appended.
Distribution and possible paleoecological significance of Annectina viriosa, a new species of agglutinated foraminifera from nonmarine salt ponds in Manitoba
Authors: Patterson R. Timothy , McKillop W. Brian
Published: August 2016

Annectina viriosa, a new species of Ammodiscidae (Foraminiferida), is described from Recent brackish ponds on a salt flat adjacent to Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba. Colonization of the ponds was probably by avian transport. The distinct morphotype is either the result of an allopatric speciation event within the last 5,000 years or it is a previously undescribed species of shallow-water Annectina from nearby Hudson Bay. It is also possible that recovered specimens are previously unrecognized ecophenotypic variants of some known species produced by unknown hostile environmental factors within the pond ecosystem. The latter hypothesis is difficult to test without extensive biological culturing. The large number of phenotypically stable specimens living in these ponds warrants recognition of these populations as a distinct taxon.
Size trends in Holarctic anchitherines (Mammalia, Equidae)
Authors: Forsten Ann
Published: August 2016

Size increase in European Miocene Anchitherium was described early in the century. Increase in size, particularly of the teeth, was common to the middle and late Miocene Eurasian Anchitherium and North American Hypohippus, including Megahippus, over the whole Holarctic range of these anchitherines. In this paper, size trends are described and interpreted against the background of simultaneous climatic change.
Saharatheca lobata n. gen. and sp.: a new medullosan (seed fern) pollen organ from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Illinois
Authors: Stidd Benton M.
Published: August 2016

Several specimens of a pollen organ containing Monoletes pollen occur in a single coal ball collected from the Herrin No. 6 Coal at the Sahara Coal Company Mine in southern Illinois. Specimens are 3–4 cm long, up to 1 cm wide, and are either bilobed or trilobed; 5–7 pollen sacs are arranged along each side of a discontinuously sclerified ground tissue plate extending into each lobe. The vascular supply from the peduncle breaks up by repeated dichotomies and one bundle descends along the outer side of each pollen sac. The mode of dehiscence and the structure of the tip of the organ remain unknown. Each lobe (and contained sporangia) is hypothesized to be derived from an ancestral fertile frond segment bearing pendulous sporangia.
Fossil invertebrate collections moved from National Museum
Authors: Dutro J. Thomas , Henry Thomas W.
Published: August 2016

Paleontological investigations have played a critical role in the research of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since its founding in 1879. From about 1950 until recently, the bulk of these fossil materials collected by USGS field geologists was housed in the U.S. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington, D.C, under the control of the Branch of Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the USGS. Large biostratigraphic sets of USGS collections also resided in Denver, Colorado, and Menlo Park, California, at the USGS regional centers.
Correspondence and papers of U.S. Geological Survey paleontologists placed in Smithsonian Archives
Authors: Dutro J. Thomas
Published: August 2016

Correspondence and working papers of a number of U.S. Geological Survey paleontologists who were once quartered in the U.S. National Museum of Natural History have been transferred to the Smithsonian Archives during the past few years. Major space reallocations in the Museum resulted in consolidation of USGS Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch research activities into about one-quarter the space occupied before 1988. Consequently, most of the records and many of the fossil collections were moved out of the Museum.
A new species ofEoceratoconchaNewman and Ladd, 1974 (Cirripedia, Archaeobalanidae) from the Pliocene of Florida
Authors: Zullo Victor A. , Portell Roger W.
Published: August 2016

The coral-inhabiting archaeobalanid barnacle genusEoceratoconchaNewman and Ladd, 1974, previously known only from the middle Miocene of Trinidad and questionably from the lower Miocene of Jamaica, is represented by a new species,E. weisbordi, in the coralSolenastrea bournoniMilne-Edwards and Haime from the upper Pliocene Pinecrest beds of Sarasota County, Florida. The new species differs from Miocene species ofEoceratoconchain its larger overall size and more subdued wall plate ribbing, and is further distinguished from the type species,E. kugleriNewman and Ladd, in having a well-developed scutal adductor ridge and conspicuous tergal depressor muscle crests. The opercular morphology ofE. weisbordifurther supports the proposal of Newman and Ladd (1974) thatEoceratoconchais ancestral to the pyrgomatid genusCeratoconchaKramberger-Gorjanovic.
The Silurian dalmanitid trilobite Glyptambon Holloway: new species from Tennessee and Illinois
Authors: Edgecombe Gregory D.
Published: August 2016

The hypostome of Glyptambon Holloway, 1981, provides additional morphological evidence that this genus is more closely related to the Siluro-Devonian subfamily Dalmanitinae than to Ordovician “Mucronaspidinae.” New species of Glyptambon are G. amsdeni n. sp., from the Ludlow Brownsport Formation in west-central Tennessee, and G. gassi n. sp., from late Wenlock strata of the Racine Formation in Illinois.
Fourth notice of transfer of specimens figured by Rousseau H. Flower
Authors: Wolberg Donald L.
Published: August 2016

This is the fourth in a series of notices recording the transfer of fossils described by Rousseau H. Flower (1913-1988) (Wolberg, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c). It was Rousseau's expressed wish that this material be reposited in the Smithsonian Institution/U.S. National Museum. Similarly, the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources is concerned that the fossils be adequately cared for and readily available to those scientists with an interest in the material.
Evolutionary patterns of naticid gastropods of the Chesapeake Group: an example of coevolution?
Authors: Kelley Patricia H.
Published: August 2016

The naticid gastropod predator–prey system has been cited as a possible example of coevolution. Previous work indicated that Miocene bivalves from the Chesapeake Group responded to naticid drilling with a predation-avoidance strategy of gradual thickness increase over evolutionary time. The present study examined whether the predators,Euspira heros(Say) andNeverita duplicata(Say), coevolved by increasing their efficiency in response to prey adaptation.

Neither predator showed significant trends in most characters thought to affect predator efficiency, including measures of globosity and aperture size relative to shell height. Stasis occurred for all such characters exceptEuspiraaperture height, which showed a statistically significant decrease of 9 percent through the section. Morphologic trends occurred in two additional characters, shell thickness relative to height, and shell height.Euspiraincreased in thickness by 63 percent through the section;Neveritadecreased in thickness by 37 percent (through slightly less section) and simultaneously increased mean height by 60 percent.

The size increase exhibited byNeveritacould be interpreted as a coevolutionary response to increased prey defenses. Naticids are subject to predation by other naticids, however; the trends in size and thickness may be viewed instead as an evolutionary strategy to escape naticid predation, including cannibalism. Although the possibility of coevolution is difficult to eliminate, Chesapeake Group naticids appear to have evolve more in response to their own predators than to evolution of their prey.
Tertiary freshwater Decapoda (Crustacea: Parastacidae) from the Ñirihuau Basin, Patagonia, Argentina
Authors: Aguirre-Urreta Maria B.
Published: August 2016

Very well preserved specimens of a macruran decapod from the Lower (Lacustrine) Member of the Ñirihuau Formation, northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, permitted description of Lammuastacus longirostris, a new genus and species of Parastacidae. The sedimentological and paleontological evidences provided by the faunal assemblage indicate a freshwater environment. This is the first certain record of a fossil Parastacidae from Tertiary deposits, most probably Oligocene. The fossil material shows similarities with Geocharax, the extant Australian genus considered to retain many primitive characters, and other related genera from New Zealand and Chile.
Late CretaceousParaorthacodus(Palaeospinacidae, Neoselachii) from Sweden
Authors: Siverson Mikael
Published: August 2016

Paraorthacodus conicus(Davis, 1890) of the family Palaeospinacidae, but previously believed to be a mako shark (family Lamnidae), andP. andersoni(Case, 1978), until now reported only from the Judith River Formation of Montana, are both described from the Late Cretaceous of the Kristianstad Basin, southern Sweden. The nameSynechodus nerviensisLeriche, 1929, is a junior synonym ofP. conicusandSynechodus striatusCase, 1978, is likewise a junior synonym ofP. andersoni.
New Lower and Middle Ordovician stelleroids (Echinodermata) and their bearing on the origins and early history of the stelleroid echinoderms
Authors: Blake Daniel B. , Guensburg Thomas E.
Published: August 2016

Ophioxenikos langenheimi n. gen. and sp. (class Somasteroidea), Stibaraster ratcliffei n. gen. and sp., and Cnemidactis? macroadambulacralatus n. sp. (both class Asteroidea) are new stelleroid echinoderms described from Lower and Middle Ordovician strata of the western United States. Stibaraster clearly is at the asteroid grade of organization, although an early representative of the class. Ophioxenikos is the first fossil somasteroid recognized from beyond Europe. It is similar to Chinianaster and Villebrunaster, ambulacral characters of all three suggest affinities with ophiuroids. Cnemidactis? is recognized from North America; it is unusual in the presence of proportionately large marginal ossicles. An indeterminate species is unusual in its structural parallels with living taxa. In recent years, the possibility that edrioasteroids were ancestral to stelleroids has been revived. Supporting arguments for this hypothesis neglect important differences; ancestry of stelleroids remains uncertain.
The use of lacquer (nitrocellulose) for the coating and preservation of fossil leaf compressions
Authors: Lepage B. A. , Basinger J. F.
Published: August 2016

Cuticular features and details of fine venation are now widely relied upon in systematic and phylogenetic studies of fossil plants. Where fossil leaves are robust or adherent to the matrix, such features may be readily available, but should the remains be fragile and subject to damage or loss, it may be necessary to preserve their integrity immediately following recovery and during transport. Clays, shales, and fossil leaf compressions are particularly vulnerable to the drying environment; fossil specimens are commonly damaged or entirely lost due to spalling, cracking, and shrinking of the clays or due to exfoliation of the organic film caused by differential drying. In an attempt to eliminate these problems, a technique using a mixture of nitrocellulose lacquer and acetone to coat fossil leaf compressions was developed for use on freshly excavated specimens under a wide range of climatic conditions (subfreezing to warm, dry or wet) while in the field. Many other preservational techniques exist, but they are typically complex, expensive, time consuming, destructive, or were developed for use in a laboratory setting.