bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The first aragonitic rugose coral
Authors: Wendt J.
Published: August 2016

Microstructural and compositional data support the view that the skeletons of rugose corals consisted of (probably high-Mg) calcite, unlike the skeletons of scleractinian corals which are predominantly aragonitic. Total transformation of a late Permian rugose coral skeleton into neomorphic calcite and a significant trace element composition, however, show that aragonite was present in some Rugosa shortly prior to the extinction of this order. This finding sheds new light on the possible phylogenetic relationship between Rugosa and Scleractinia, which still possess a different mode of septal insertion and remain separated by an as yet coral-free interval in the Lower Triassic.
A new Early Cretaceous articulate brachiopod from the Northwest Territories, Canada, and its paleobiogeographic significance
Authors: Sandy Michael R.
Published: August 2016

A new terebratellid brachiopod species, Modestella jeletzkyi n. sp., is described from the Early Cretaceous of Prince Patrick Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. The occurrence extends the paleobiogeographic range of Modestella from northwest Europe into the northern high-latitudes of the North American continent. This new record of Modestella suggests brachiopod dispersal between northwest Europe and North America via the East Greenland Seaway, probably during the Albian. The occurrences of two other Cretaceous terebratellid genera, Advenina and Psilothyris, are updated. They are both homeomorphic with Modestella. Advenina, from the Tethyan and Jura regions of Europe, is now recorded from the Early Cretaceous of Sardinia. The occurrence of Psilothyris in North America and Europe is best explained by dispersal through the opening central Atlantic Ocean, indicating the continuation of Hispanic Corridor-type faunal links established during the Jurassic.
Additional Early Permian ammonoid cephalopods from Western Australia
Authors: Glenister Brian F. , Baker Cathy , Furnish W. M. , Thomas G. A.
Published: August 2016

An ancestral paragastrioceratid, Svetlanoceras irwinense (Teichert and Glenister, 1952), and a specifically indeterminate gonioloboceratid, cf. Mescalites sp., from the basal Callytharra Formation are described as the oldest ammonoids recovered from the Permian of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. Identity of these taxa strengthens correlation with the Holmwood Shale (Sakmarian) of the adjacent Perth Basin. Svetlanoceras moylei Mikesh, n. sp., from the Lenox Hills Formation of West Texas, is described for comparison with other simple paragastrioceratids.
Ontogenetic adaptations in some Pennsylvanian crinoids
Authors: Peters Janet , Lane N. Gary
Published: August 2016

Three species of Upper Pennsylvanian crinoids, two inadunates and one flexible, exhibit a sufficiently complete growth series to describe and quantify their ontogeny. Apographiocrinus typicalis (Moore and Plummer), Erisocrinus typus (Meek and Worthen), and Euonychocrinus simplex (Strimple and Moore) were collected from the middle shale of the Millersville Limestone Member of the Bond Formation at the Charleston Stone Quarry, Coles County, Illinois. Ten other crinoid species were collected in insufficient numbers for growth studies. Both bivariate and multivariate statistical procedures were used to analyze the growth of these crinoids.

In the inadunate crinoids skeletal growth was highly coordinated in the dorsal cup and cup plates. Arm length increased by addition of secundibrachials. Food groove width increased almost three times from immature to adult stages, thus allowing a larger range of food particles to be consumed by adults. Growth of the cup is isometric in E. typus and slightly anisometric in A. typicalis. Primibrachials in both species develop anisometrically. Immature specimens possess long, slender primibrachials, with the A ray plate being longest. In maturity, the primibrachials become equidimensional and equalized in all rays. The A ray arm is followed by the C and D ray arms, and finally the B and E ray arms, in sharp contrast to arm development in disparid inadunates. Pinnules appear late in the immature stage of growth. Primary emphasis on the expansion of the arms in young inadunates demonstrates a rapid establishment of a filtration-fan mode of feeding. Subsequent development involves widening of the plates for strength and support of the arms and to accommodate wider food grooves that permit a larger array of food particles to be captured.

The flexible crinoid, E. simplex, experienced a less correlated pattern of growth. Cup plates and arms grew isometrically and all arms were added simultaneously. Development suggests that flexibles fed differently than the associated inadunates and the cup may have played a less important role in functioning of the calyx.

The upright, elevated growth pattern of stalked crinoids exposed them to a sequence of competitive interactions with other epifaunal animals that had important adaptational ramifications for their evolution, diversity, and extinction. The fact that most living crinoids, stalked and unstalked, have abandoned a permanently fixed place of growth may have been an advantageous factor in their survival.
A unique occurrence of Bergaueria in the Lower Cambrian Gog Group near Lake Louise, Alberta
Authors: Pemberton S. George , Magwood James P.A.
Published: August 2016

Three ichnospecies of Bergaueria—B. perata, B. hemispherica, and B. radiata—are described from the Lower Cambrian Gog Group near Lake Louise, Alberta. Usually populations of Bergaueria are monospecific and this occurrence is unique. Since all three ichnospecies are found on a single slab, the criteria used for ichnospecies differentiation appear valid.
Uintan land mammals (excluding rodents) from an estuarine facies of the Laredo Formation (Middle Eocene, Claiborne Group) of Webb County, Texas
Authors: Westgate James W.
Published: August 2016

A newly discovered vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Casa Blanca local fauna, comes from the Laredo Formation, Claiborne Group, of Webb County, Texas, and is the first reported Eocene land-mammal fauna from the coastal plain of North America. The mammalian fauna is correlated with the Serendipity and Candelaria local faunas of west Texas, the Uinta C faunas of the Rocky Mountains, the Santiago Formation local fauna of southern California, and the Swift Current Creek local fauna of Saskatchewan. The vertebrate-bearing deposit lies approximately 32 m above a horizon containing the marine gastropodTurritella cortezi, which ranges from east Texas to northeast Mexico in the lower half of the Cook Mountain and Laredo Formations and is a guide fossil for the Hurricane Lentil in the Cook Mountain Formation. Nannoplankton found in these middle Eocene formations belong to the upper half of Nannoplankton Zone 16 and allow correlation with European beds of late Lutetian to early Bartonian age.

Over 700 specimens represent at least 30 species of 28 mammal genera. The Casa Blanca fauna is the southernmost and easternmost North American land-mammal fauna of definite Eocene age, and is the westernmost Paleogene vertebrate fauna from the Gulf Coastal Plain.
Note on the preservation of a limpet in living position from the Late Cretaceous, Seymour Island, Antarctica
Authors: Zinsmeister William J.
Published: August 2016

Although limpets are fairly common in shelly deposits, there are no reports of limpets preserved in the living position from the fossil record. The life style of capped-shaped limpet gastropods almost precludes preservation in a living position. Herbivorous alga-feeding limpets live attached to a firm surface. The surfaces of attachment vary widely from rocky surfaces, shells, or seaweed. Upon death the shells become detached and are incorporated in the nearby sediments or are transported to a site of final deposition.
The late Proterozoic acritarchChuaria circularis(Walcott) Vidal and Ford
Authors: Vidal Gonzalo
Published: August 2016

Vidal and Ford (1985) described a rich, well-preserved acritarch biota from the late Proterozoic Chuar Group in northern Arizona. The biota includesChuaria circularis(Walcott) Vidal and Ford, whose diagnosis was emended. A SEM micrograph of a specimen supposedly deriving from the Kwagunt Formation of the Chuar Group was included (Vidal and Ford, 1985, p. 357). However, the figured specimen derives from the Late Proterozoic Eleonore Bay Group in east Greenland (Vidal, 1979, Pl. 4, a, b) and was erroneously included as a consequence of an inadvertent replacement of films during the preparation of paper prints for publication. The author of this note alone bears responsibility for this regrettable mistake.
Replacement name for Antiquatonia sulcata Cooper, 1957 (Brachiopoda: Productoidea)
Authors: Shi Guang R.
Published: August 2016

Antiquatonia sulcata Cooper was described from the Lower Permian Coyote Butte limestone of central Oregon (Cooper, 1957, p. 35, Pl. 5C, figs. 18–22). The name sulcata, however, was previously applied by J. Sowerby (1822, p. 17, Pl. 319, fig. 2) to Productus sulcatus from the Upper Visean of Great Britain, revised by Muir-Wood (1928). The British species has now been considered to be congeneric with Antiquatonia Miloradovich (Sarytcheva and Sokolyskaya, 1952, p. 148; Muir-Wood and Cooper, 1960, p. 271; Litvihovich, 1962, p. 250; Zakowa, 1988, p. 57). The two forms are sufficiently different in external features to be separated as two species under Antiquatonia. Antiquatonia sulcata of Cooper consequently becomes a later homonym of A. sulcata (Sowerby). The author has been kindly asked (G. A. Cooper, personal commun.) to offer a replacement name, Antiquatonia cooperi, for Cooper's A. sulcata (non Sowerby). Description and comparison of the Oregon species and its holotype has been provided by Cooper (1957, p. 35).
Arceodomus prolata n. sp. (Mollusca, Rostroconchia) from the Pennsylvanian of Texas
Authors: Hoare R. D. , Mapes R. H.
Published: August 2016

Arceodomus Pojeta and Runnegar (1976) is a relatively rare genus of rostroconch. To date, four species have been reported in the literature: A. langenheimi (Wilson, 1970) from the Lower Permian McCloud Limestone in California; A. glabrata (Easton, 1962) from the Upper Mississippian Heath Formation of Montana and later, by Pojeta and Runnegar (1976), from the Upper Mississippian Diamond Peak Formation of Nevada; Arceodomus sp. from the Permian of the U.S.S.R. (Pojeta and Runnegar, 1976), based upon a specimen in the British Museum of Natural History; and A. aff. A. glabrata from the Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Dickerson Shale Member of the Lazy Bend Formation in Texas (Pojeta and Runnegar, 1976).
Assignment of the bony fish “Propygidium primaevus” (a supposed siluriform from the Tertiary of Patagonia) to the order Perciformes
Authors: Cione Alberto L. , Torno Aldo E.
Published: August 2016

Bocchino (1964) described and figured a new genus and species, Propygidium primaevus, and assigned it to the siluriform family Trichomycteridae (=Pygidiidae). After examination of the holotype, the only referred specimen, the authors conclude that it does not correspond to a catfish, but to an acanthopterygian. Since it was considered the only fossil record of trichomycteridae, and having been used to support speculations on the “center of origin” of this Neotropical family (see Ringuelet, 1975), it is appropriate to correct the former assignment.
New and renamed species of benthic foraminifera from the Pleistocene Santa Barbara Formation of California
Authors: Patterson R. Timothy
Published: August 2016

Ten new species of benthic foraminifera are described from the early to middle Pleistocene Bathhouse Beach locality of the Santa Barbara Formation, Santa Barbara, California. The new taxa include Glabratella luxuribulla n. sp., Rectobolivina ruida n. sp., Homalohedra jungocostata n. sp., Homalohedra quasilineata n. sp., Pytine lemniscata n. sp., Lagena complurecosta n. sp., Lagena compressacosta n. sp., Cerebrina adamanta n. sp., Fissurina artolabiata n. sp., and Fissurina infragilella n. sp. Palliolatella immemora is proposed as a replacement name for the primary homonym Lagena neglecta Buchner, 1940.
A new family of trepostome bryozoans from the Ordovician Simpson Group of Oklahoma
Authors: Key Marcus M.
Published: August 2016

A new family, Bimuroporidae, is proposed for a clade of Ordovician trepostome bryozoans. The family is united by several characteristics, including a zooidal ontogenetic progression from mesozooid to autozooid and an integrate wall structure. Discriminant and cladistic analyses of colonies from the Ordovician Simpson Group outcropping in the Arbuckle Mountains and Criner Hills of south-central Oklahoma permit the recognition of eight species belonging to this family. Four species assigned to the new genus Bimuropora are described: B. dubia (Loeblich), B. pollaphragmata n. sp., B. conferta (Coryell), and B. winchelli (Ulrich), as well as four species assigned to the genus Champlainopora Ross: C. chazyensis (Ross), C. ramusculus n. sp., C. pachymura (Loeblich), and C. arbucklensis n. sp.
Middle Jurassic inoceramids from Argentina
Authors: Damborenea Susana E.
Published: August 2016

Extensive collections from stratigraphically controlled sections allow reassessment and systematic revision of Middle Jurassic inoceramids from Argentina. Two species are doubtfully referred toParainoceramusVoronetz, includingP.?westermannin. sp. Five species ofRetroceramusKoshelkina, includingR.cf.R. marwicki(Speden),R. patagonicus(Philippi) andR. stehnin. sp., are present. The Bajocian–early Callovian species ofRetroceramusshow strong affinities with Aalenian–Bathonian inoceramids from the Northern Hemisphere, and also with the South Pacific forms of thegaloi–haastigroup of Heterian–Ohauan age, except for minor differences in outline, ornamentation, and the umbonal region.

The time range of each species in Argentina was determined by associated ammonoids. There is strong morphological evidence, supported by the stratigraphic distribution of species, thatRetroceramuscf.R. marwicki, R. patagonicus, andR. stehnibelong to a single clade, which developed from the late Bajocian to the early Callovian in the Andean region.
Systematics and phylogeny of the late Osagean and Meramecian crinoids Platycrinites and Eucladocrinus from the Mississippian stratotype region
Authors: Ausich William I. , Kammer Thomas W.
Published: August 2016

Late Osagean to Meramecian Platycrinites and Eucladocrinus from Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri are redescribed and redefined from study of type material. Three of the oldest species were incorrectly synonymized with P. sarae, and this correction leads to a realignment of species systematics within Platycrinites. Accordingly, six species of Platycrinites and one species of Eucladocrinus are considered valid in the Keokuk Limestone through St. Louis Limestone of the stratotype area. Valid species include Platycrinites saffordi (Hall), P. sarae (Hall), P. georgii (Hall), P. pumilus (Hall), P. brevinodus (Hall), P. niotensis (Meek and Worthen), and Eucladocrinus millebrachiatus Wahsmuth and Springer. Nomenclatoral changes include the following: 1) P. sarae is redescribed and all junior synonyms are removed; 2) P. georgii is a valid senior synonym of P. bonoensis (White), P. aeternalis (Miller), P. boonvillensis (Miller), and P. cauducus; 3) P. pentagonus (Miller) is a junior synonym of P. niotensis; 4) P. pumilus is a valid senior synonym of P. prattenanus (Meek and Worthen), and P. monroensis (Worthen); 5) P. bloomfieldensis (Miller) is designated as a nomen dubium; and 6) Eucladocrinus millebrachiatus immaturus is a junior synonym of E. millebrachiatus.

The evoluton of new species in Platycrinites was by a combination of cladogenesis and possibly anagenesis. Platycrinites sarae evolved from P. saffordi possibly through anagenesis, P. pumilus evolved from P. niotensis through cladogenesis, and P. hemisphaericus evolved through cladogenesis from P. brevinodus, although P. hemisphaericus does not occur in the geographic area of this study.
Ontogenetic studies of early Cenozoic Coryphodon (Mammalia, Pantodonta)
Authors: Lucas Spencer G. , Schoch Robert M.
Published: August 2016

Juvenile specimens of the Paleocene–Eocene pantodont Coryphodon provide more extensive ontogenetic information for this genus than is available for other Paleocene–Eocene mammals. The dental eruption sequence for Coryphodon is: 1) (DC11, DI1–31–3); 2) DP44; 3) DP33; 4) DP22; 5) (M11, I33); 6) DP11, 7) M22; 8) P44; 9) P33; 10) (P22, I11?); 11) C11; 12) (M33, I22) (eruption sequence of tooth positions in parentheses is uncertain). The DP11 of Coryphodon do not have permanent successors. No significant, qualitative morphological variation can be detected in deciduous cheek teeth of Coryphodon, and metric analysis of these teeth failed to detect taxonomically significant differences. The ontogenetically youngest Coryphodon is known from parts of a skeleton of an individual perhaps less than three years old at the time of death. This skeleton and other partial juvenile skeletons suggest that juvenile Coryphodon grew quickly and approached near-adult proportions before the deciduous dentition was lost or the epiphyses of the long bones began to fuse.
Early Permian colonial rugose corals from the Stikine River area, British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Stevens Calvin H. , Rycerski Barbara
Published: August 2016

Twenty-two species of Early Permian colonial rugose corals belonging to 12 genera from 10 locations in the Stikine River area in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, are described. These include three new species ofFomichevella(F. magna, F. southeri, F. bamberi); two species ofHeintzella; five species ofHeritschioides, of which three are new (H. bagleyae, H. garvinae, H. hoganae); two new species ofParaheritschioides(P. jennyi, P. wickenae); one new species questionably assigned toKleopatrina(K.?stikinensis); two new species ofPetalaxis(P. guaspariniae, P. neriae); and two new species ofLytvophyllum(L.?mongeri, L. wersoni). In addition, five new species assigned to five new genera are here namedEastonastraea complexa, Fedorowskiella simplex, Pararachnastraea lewisi, Stikineastraea thomasi, andWilsonastraea rigbyi.

These corals occur in rocks forming part of the Stikine terrane, the largest tectonostratigraphic unit in western Canada. This coral fauna shows a very close affinity with that of the Lower Permian McCloud Limestone of the eastern Klamath Mountains of northern California, and there is some similarity to the Coyote Butte fauna of central Oregon. Several species compare most closely with species from Spitsbergen, but there are few similarities with any cratonal North American faunas and none with Tethyan faunas.
Heritability and intraspecific heterochrony in Ordovician bryozoans from environments differing in diversity
Authors: Pachut Joseph F.
Published: August 2016

Environmental conditions affect both the character and variability of developmental patterns (=astogeny) within each of four species of Ordovician bryozoans. Regressions between pairs of stereological measurements for populations from both high-and low-diversity habitats differ significantly in 79 percent of all comparisons. Deviations from a rigid pattern of development, measured as dispersion from regression, were greater in species populations from low diversity settings in 77 percent of comparisons. Therefore, both developmental patterns and their variability differ intraspecifically along a diversity gradient in representatives of four bryozoan families. Additionally, dispersion values were larger in younger rather than older colonies in two species irrespective of diversity level, thus suggesting an age-related reduction in variation.

Changes in developmental trajectories indicate that colonies from low-diversity settings are generally paedomorphic relative to conspecific populations from high-diversity habitats. The heritability of these characters and developmental patterns, estimated using variance partitioning techniques, is greater in high-diversity associations. These findings suggest that character state modifications dependent upon astogeny, or a consequence of astogenetic modifications, are more heritable in high-diversity settings. However, if the environment can cause facultative heterochrony, the possibility of fixing such patterns in subsequent generations is increased, although the mechanism for accomplishing this is presently unknown.
A new chondrophorine (Hydrozoa, Velellidae) from the Upper Triassic of Nevada
Authors: Hogler Jennifer A. , Hanger Rex A.
Published: August 2016

Chondrophorines have a long but exceedingly sporadic history: they dot the late Precambrian and Paleozoic and are common in modern oceans, but have not been reported from the Mesozoic or Cenozoic save for a possible Triassic occurrence (Stanley, 1986) and a single Cretaceous appearance (Stanley and Kanie, 1985). Stanley (1982) suggested that much of the fossil record of the group may languish unrecognized and misidentified in museum drawers because of its generally molluscanlike aspect and poor representation in the literature. This suspicion is validated by the discovery of a velellid chondrophorine pneumatophore in the vertebrate collections of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP).
Articulated specimen of Acutichiton allynsmithi (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) from Oklahoma
Authors: Hoare R. D. , Mapes R. H.
Published: August 2016

Articulated specimens of polyplacophorans are rare in the geological record, most being found as isolated valves. When found, it is useful to illustrate articulated specimens to provide a basis for making correct associations of isolated valves, to substantiate valve associations already proposed, and to determine valve order and amount of valve overlap.
New names for foraminiferal homonyms
Authors: Gawor-Biedowa Eugenia
Published: August 2016

In a letter dated April 29, 1988, Helen and Alfred R. Loeblich, Jr. kindly brought to my attention the fact that the newly proposed generic name Cribrella Gawor-Biedowa, 1987, is preoccupied by Cribrella Agassiz, 1836, by Cribrella Schmidt, 1862, and by Cribrella Cossman, 1906, hence requires a new name. Cribrella Gawor-Biedowa, 1987, type species Cribrella lacrima Gawor-Biedowa, 1987, thus is renamed here as Cribrebella Gawor-Biedowa, nom. nov.
Eocene clavagellids (Mollusca: Pelecypoda) from Florida: the first documented occurrence in the Cenozoic of the Western Hemisphere
Authors: Jones Douglas S. , Nicol David
Published: August 2016

By the end of the Cretaceous, the Clavagellidae (Mollusca: Pelecypoda) maintained a distribution that was marginal to the core-Tethys, occurring in both North America and the Old World. Traditional paleozoogeographic interpretation contends that the clavagellids then went extinct in the New World because no Cenozoic fossil or living clavagellids have been documented from the Western Hemisphere. This report describes the occurrence of Eocene clavagellids from the Ocala Group of peninsular Florida. The presence of these pelecypods in Upper Eocene strata is consistent with the large Tethyan faunal component already known from this unit and requires a reassessment of Tertiary zoogeographic patterns for the clavagellids.
Small pterosaurs and dinosaurs from the Uncompahgre fauna (Brushy Basin Member, Morrison Formation: ?Tithonian), Late Jurassic, western Colorado
Authors: Jensen James A. , Padian Kevin
Published: August 2016

Small vertebrates were recovered from the matrix encasing specimens of giant sauropod dinosaurs (Supersaurus, Ultrasaurus, Dystylosaurus) collected from the “Dry Mesa” Quarry (Brushy Basin Member, Morrison Formation, western Colorado). Most of the remains appear to pertain to a single form of pterodactyloid pterosaur, Mesadactylus ornithosphyos, n. gen. and sp., the holotype of which is a synsacrum. A bone end from this quarry, first identified as an avian proximal tibia and named Palaeopteryx thomsoni, is reidentified as the distal radius of a small deinonychosaur or bird. A small femur of a small deinonychosaur or bird and additional material of other small vertebrates from this quarry are figured and described.
An early Eocene pharetronid sponge from the Bateque Formation, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Authors: Squires Richard L. , Demetrion Robert
Published: August 2016

Elasmostoma bajaensisn. sp., a pharetronid calcareous sponge, is described from the lower Eocene (P8 or P9 Zone) portion of the Bateque Formation, Baja California Sur, Mexico. This is the first Tertiary record of this genus and its first Western Hemisphere occurrence.Elasmostomahas been previously reported only from Jurassic and Cretaceous strata of Western Europe.
Repository for the Welch Collection of Silurian cephalopods described by August F. Foerste
Authors: Davis Richard Arnold , Troike Donald E.
Published: August 2016

Among the multitude of Silurian nautiloids described by August F. Foerste over a long and illustrious career were specimens identified by him as being in the Welch Collection of Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio. These were figured and discussed in a series of papers published over a several-year period (Foerste 1928b, 1930a, 1930b, 1934).
Lectotype and synonymy of Cryphaeus nicholsi Roy, 1929 (Trilobita, Devonian)
Authors: Edgecombe Gregory D.
Published: August 2016

The trilobite species Cryphaeus nicholsi Roy, 1929, was based on two pygidia from a Devonian red sandstone bed at Patacamaya, La Paz Department, Bolivia. Study of the syntypes (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago) reveals that two well-known species are represented.
Systematic position of the Paulchoffatiinae (Multituberculata, Mammalia)
Authors: Krause David W. , Hahn Gerhard
Published: August 2016

The late Jurassic Paulchoffatiinae, one of two named subfamilies of the family Paulchoffatiidae (suborder Plagiaulacoidea), are generally recognized as the most primitive known, undoubted multituberculates (e.g., Hahn, 1969; Clemens and Kielan-Jaworowska, 1979; Hahn and Hahn, 1983; Hahn et al., 1989). Despite the primitive morphology of members of this subfamily (Paulchoffatia and Pseudobolodon), three features have been posited as autapomorphic for the subfamily (or family), and thus to preclude it from the ancestry of later multituberculates: 1) the distribution of cusps on M2 (Hahn, 1969, 1971); 2) the complex structure of I3 (Hahn, 1969, 1971); and 3) the position of M2 relative to M1 (Van Valen, 1976; Clemens and Kielan-Jaworowska, 1979; Hahn, 1987). Van Valen (1976) argued that the first two features are not unequivocally autapomorphic for paulchoffatiines and that they could, and indeed should, be considered primitive for the order. Hahn (1977) responded to Van Valen's assessment but Clemens and Kielan-Jaworowska (1979, p. 138) opined that “neither argument is particularly compelling” in light of the poor early record of multituberculates and the consequent lack of knowledge concerning morphological variability.
First report of hexactinellid dictyosponges and other sponges from the Upper Mississippian Bangor Limestone, northwestern Alabama
Authors: Rigby J. Keith , Keyes Richard
Published: August 2016

Dictyosponges from the Chesteran Bangor Limestone document the first known occurrence of these hexactinellids in Mississippian rocks of Alabama and their discovery adds information to the worldwide impoverished record of Lower Carboniferous Porifera. The sponges are generally fragmented and occur in marine, cross-bedded, sandy limestone and sandstone channel-fill lenses that occur up to 12 m above the base of the formation, above the Hartselle Sandstone. The reticulosid dictyosponges Dictyospongia(?) sp., Clathrospongia bangorensis n. sp., Clathrospongia(?) sp. A, Clathrospongia(?) sp. B, Thamnodictya(?) radiata n. sp., and Phragmodictya rugosa n. sp. are described. Previously, the lyssacinosid(?) hexactinellid Pileospongia lopados Rigby, Keyes, and Horowitz, 1979, was described from this region, from the slightly older Chesteran Monteagle Limestone, and its occurrence in the Bangor Limestone is the youngest yet discovered. In addition to the above hexactinellids, the demosponge Belemnospongia parmula Rigby, Keyes, and Horowitz, 1979, is questionably represented by a single impression in fine-grained sandstone of the Bangor Limestone.
Trans-Pacific graptolite faunal relations: the biostratigraphic position of the base of the Cincinnatian Series (Upper Ordovician) in the standard Australian graptolite zone succession
Authors: Bergström Stig M. , Mitchell Charles E.
Published: August 2016

Recent studies of drill-cores and outcrops have resulted in the discovery of previously unknown, taxonomically diverse, graptolite faunas in the late Middle (Mohawkian) and early Late Ordovician (Cincinnatian) strata in the Cincinnati region, the type area of the Cincinnatian Series. These faunas contain several zonal indices and other biostratigraphically important species that are used for close correlation with the standard graptolite zone succession in New York and Quebec. The new data show that the base of the Cincinnatian Series in its type area is near the middle of the Climacograptus (Diplacanthograptus) spiniferus Zone. Significantly, about a dozen Cincinnati region graptolite species are shared with apparently coeval strata in the standard Australian graptolite zone succession in Victoria, and this key faunal evidence indicates that the base of the typical Cincinnatian corresponds to a level near the middle of the Climacograptus (Climacograptus) baragwanathi Zone (Ea2) of the Eastonian Stage. This represents a considerable revision of some recently published correlations of the basal Cincinnatian in terms of the Australian graptolite zone succession.
Frasnian species of the Late Devonian conodont genus Ancyrognathus
Authors: Klapper Gilbert
Published: August 2016

Detailed qualitative analysis of the Pa element and multielement analysis emphasizing the associated Pb element have led to the present revision of the Frasnian species of Ancyrognathus. Diagnostic characters of the Pa element, such as the platform outline, carinal pattern, and shape of the pit, as well as salient features of the Pb element, are the basis of this revision. As a consequence, the restriction in the definition of A. triangularis, formerly a heterogeneous concept including several discrete species, has in turn led to the recognition of a substantially increased number of species of Ancyrognathus.

The lowest occurrence of Ancyrognathus primus is used here to delimit the base of Zone 6 of the Montagne Noire Frasnian sequence. The exact relationship of the Montagne Noire zonation to the published standard zonation is problematical. For example, the base of the range of A. triangularis is possibly above the zone for which it is the nominal species in the standard zonation. Two new species are named herein, A. coeni and A. seddoni, both of which have been widely illustrated in the literature, and three new species are recognized in open nomenclature.
Eocene bivalves from the Río Turbio Formation, southwestern Patagonia (Argentina)
Authors: Griffin Miguel
Published: August 2016

The marine faunas from Patagonia, which are in need of a comprehensive revision, are particularly important in the understanding of the origin and evolution of the marine biota in the southern hemisphere during the final breakup of Gondwanaland during the Late Cretaceous–early Tertiary. The Eocene Río Turbio Formation in southern Patagonia (Argentina) contains a unique fauna of marine mollusks. This paper describes 35 species of bivalves from that unit. Nine of them are new:Nucula(Leionucula)guillermensis, Yoldia(Calorhadia)patagonica, Atrina rioturbiensis, Electroma patagonica, Venericardia(Venericor)carrerensis, Crassatella brandmayri, Solena(Eosolen)hunickeni, Pholadidea frenguellii, andPeriploma(Aelga)primaverensis. In addition, 26 other species are also described, though their exact systematic relationships cannot at present be accurately established.
A chondrophorine (medusoid hydrozoan) from the basal Cambrian (Placentian) of Newfoundland
Authors: Narbonne Guy M. , Myrow Paul , Landing Ed , Anderson Michael M.
Published: August 2016

Specimens of the discoid, chambered megafossilKullingia delicata(Fedonkin) occur near the base of member 2 of the Chapel Island Formation on the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland. Morphologic and taphonomic features suggest that these fossils can be interpreted as the impressions of pelagic chondrophorines.Kullingiaprovides a link between Ediacaran and Paleozoic forms, and thus supports the view that the Chondrophorina represents a conservative evolutionary lineage extending back into the Precambrian.
The halloporid trepostome bryozoans from the Ordovician Simpson Group of Oklahoma
Authors: Key Marcus M.
Published: August 2016

The Bromide Formation of the Middle Ordovician Simpson Group of Oklahoma contains one of the oldest diverse bryozoan faunas in North America. The early divergence of many trepostome clades is revealed in these rocks. Three trepostome bryozoan species belonging to family Halloporidae are described from this fauna. Discriminant analysis is used to define the following halloporid species: Diplotrypa schindeli n. sp., Tarphophragma karklinsi n. sp., and Tarphophragma macrostoma (Loeblich). Preliminary cladistic analysis indicates that the family Halloporidae was already a distinct lineage by the Middle Ordovician. This suggests that by this time, many of the major trepostome clades were already established.
Kloedenellids: morphology and relation to non-myodocopide ostracodes
Authors: Adamczak Franciszek J.
Published: August 2016

This paper demonstrates, for the first time, the existence of an inner partition (limen) in females ofKloedenellaUlrich and Bassler, 1908, and the presence of a juvenile carapace in the brood chamber ofPoloniella tertiaKroemmelbein, 1953. These facts indicate that the Kloedenellidae Ulrich and Bassler, 1908, and the living platycopes are closely related. Thin sections of female carapaces in kloedenellids, some cytherellids and a geisinid-like form, indicate that their posteriorly inflated valve walls are only half as thick as the remaining parts. This suggests that the feature developed in different lineages and had a pure adaptable character. A historical and critical survey of the kloedenellid literature is included. The latter involves a discussion of phylogenetic relationships between this group and other non-myodocopide ostracodes. In light of new facts and data reported earlier, revised diagnoses for the Kloedenellidae and Paleozoic Cytherellidae Sars, 1866, are presented.
Arcoscalpellum toulminiWeisbord andZeugmatolepassp. (Cirripedia, Thoracica) from the lower Paleocene of Alabama
Authors: Zullo Victor A. , Perreault Ray T.
Published: August 2016

The capitulum and peduncular armature ofArcoscalpellum toulminiWeisbord are described on new material from the lower unnamed member of the Porters Creek Formation in Wilcox County, Alabama. A few scuta and a possible tergum of a speciesZeugmatolepasWithers bearing considerable resemblance to Z.cretae(Steenstrup) were recovered from the same locality.
Vincular furrows in some Early Silurian and Devonian Phacopidae (Trilobita), predominantly from North America
Authors: Lespérance Pierre J.
Published: August 2016

The vincular furrow morphology of 19 species of Phacopidae is critically examined. The anterior part of the vincular furrow is much less variable than the posterior part of the vincular furrow, but it can be absent, shallow, deep, or have a slightly ventrally elongated boss. The posterior part of the vincular furrow can have pleurovincular pits (for reception of the thoracic pleural tip processes) or indentations for these processes, plus bounding walls that are variably indented laterally and very variable in vertical elongation. The functional morphology of the various elements of the vincular furrow is best explained by a paradigm of resistance to lateral shearing.

All elements of the vincular furrow in Devonian taxa had already appeared in the Early Silurian, but Early Silurian taxa are richer in diversity of elements. Some Devonian subspecies, essentially based on dorsal morphologies, show distinctly different vincular furrows. Cluster analysis of the data gathered on the vincular furrow complexes regroups the distinctly different Devonian subspecies and some Silurian subgenera. Other vincular furrows within the Phacopidae suggest that Reedops is near the Phacops logani complex and that the Phacopidellinae is a valid subfamily, but formal emendations within the family are not suggested because of incomplete data, notably on our knowledge of the distribution of vincular furrows. The use of the widely conceived genus Phacops Emmrich, 1839, over more recently described taxa such as Paciphacops Maximova, 1972, is presently favored, as this reflects more clearly current understanding of the systematics within the family Phacopidae.

Primary types of the North American taxa Phacops cristata, P. cristata gaspensis, and Acernaspis (Acernaspis) orestes are critically reviewed; significant changes of previous interpretations are suggested. Phacops cristata vitrea n. subsp. is erected. Thoracic pleural tip processes and anterolateral ventral pygidial processes are described in detail within Phacops rana rana and Acernaspis (Acernaspis) orestes. A pathological specimen of Phacops rana rana, with an injured eye, demonstrates that the individual did not revert to a primitive type of lens packing.
Seirocrinus subangularis(Miller, 1821), a Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic) crinoid from the Fernie Formation, Alberta, Canada
Authors: Hall Russell L.
Published: August 2016

An almost complete specimen of the pentacrinidSeirocrinus subangularis(Miller, 1821) is described from the Red Deer Member of the Fernie Formation in the Rocky Mountains of central-western Alberta. Associated ammonites representing the Stokesi Subzone of the Margaritatus Zone indicate a Late Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) age for the specimen. Taphonomic features suggest preservation in soft muds on a quiet, oxygen-deficient seafloor, so that the lower surface is preserved intact while ossicles on the exposed upper surface became disarticulated and were slightly disturbed. This occurrence in western Canada represents a major extension of the geographic range of the species.
The oldest microsaur (Amphibia)
Authors: Carroll Robert L. , Bybee Paul , Tidwell William D.
Published: August 2016

Utaherpeton franklini n. gen. and sp., from the Manning Canyon Shale Formation of Utah, is the oldest known microsaur. The horizon is dated as equivalent to the lowermost Namurian B of Europe (transitional from Upper Mississippian into lowermost Pennsylvanian in North American terminology) on the basis of a rich assemblage of fossil plants. The specimen may be tentatively placed within the suborder Microbrachomorpha. It exhibits the primitive character state for many microsaur features, but no synapomorphies are recognized that support a specific sister-group relationship between microsaurs and any other group of Paleozoic tetrapods.
Coleopterous egg deposition on alder leaves from the Klondike Mountain Formation (Middle Eocene), northeastern Washington
Authors: Lewis Standley E. , Carroll Mark A.
Published: August 2016

Flea beetle (Chrysomelidae) egg deposition has been found on three impressions of alder (Alnus parvifolia) leaves collected at a roadcut in Republic, Washington. These fossils were discovered by Wes Wehr (University of Washington, Burke Museum) during investigations of fossil plants from the Republic, Washington, area. These impressions represent a yet to be determined species, belonging to the genus Altica GeofFroy (1762). They represent the first member of this genus to be described from the Eocene of North America. The fossils were found in lacustrine rocks from the lower part of the Klondike Mountain Formation. Figure 1 represents the Republic fossil locality and the distribution of this Formation. A brief description of the geologic history of this region can be found in Wolfe and Wehr (1987). The Klondike Mountain Formation has a radiometric age that ranges from 42.3 ± 2.0 to 50.3 ± 1.7 m.y. (Pearson and Obradovich, 1977).
Fifth notice of transfer of specimens figured by Rousseau H. Flower
Authors: Wolberg Donald L.
Published: August 2016

This notice is the fifth in a series recording the transfer of fossils described by Rousseau H. Flower (1913-1988) to the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. National Museum. During a long, productive, and colorful career, Rousseau described more than 400 new fossil taxa (Wolberg, 1988). Most of Rousseau's fossils have been maintained in the collections of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources. The fossils in this transfer were sent to Rousseau in 1952 by William J. Sando, then a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, who collected them during his research on the Beekmantown Group of Maryland (Sando, 1957). In 1955, Rousseau submitted a manuscript to theJournal of Paleontologyand this was published in 1956. Some controversy seems to have surrounded the publication of the paper; we have found a file of correspondence related to that publication and it is very “Roweresque” in content. In addition, Rousseau cataloged the Sando fossils into the NMBM&MR's collection, but from the associated correspondence there seems to be little doubt but that the collection was intended to be reposited in the Smithsonian.
The neotype of Crassostrea gigantissima (Finch, 1824)
Authors: Lawrence David R.
Published: August 2016

In 1824 the British naturalist John Finch described (p. 40) a large fossil oyster from Shell Bluff, Burke County, Georgia, as Ostrea Gigantissima. Ten years later, T. A. Conrad (1834, p. 156-157) described this same taxon as Ostrea georgiana. For many years the oyster was most commonly identified using Conrad's name, but Howe (1937) clearly pointed out the priority and synonymy involved. More recently, the species has been assigned to the genus Crassostrea Sacco, 1897, and recognized (e.g., Sohl and Kauffman, 1964) as Crassostrea gigantissima (Finch). This Cenozoic taxon has special significance (Sohl and Kauffman, 1964) because it is most certainly the direct ancestor of C. virginica (Gmelin, 1791), the type species for Crassostrea.
Morphological integration and covariance during astogeny of an Ordovician trepostome bryozoan from communities of different diversities
Authors: Pachut Joseph F.
Published: August 2016

Correlations exist between diversity and colonial growth pattern and variability in Paleozoic stenolaemate bryozoans. Habitats occupied by diverse communities contained colonies whose growth trajectories were different and were more highly constrained than those of low-diversity habitats. Because previous studies have not examined variability during colony growth, it was unclear whether observed variabilities were constant during growth (astogeny) or whether variability changed with age. Astogenetic trajectories and growth variability are here reexamined in populations of colonies ofHeterotrypa ulrichifrom the same high-diversity and low-diversity communities examined by Pachut (1989).

Growth trajectories of populations differ in both intermonticular and monticular regions of colonies for fundamental stereological characters. Total zooidal surface areas generally decrease during astogeny whereas zooidal densities increase. Surface areas per zooid also decrease with increasing age, but are consistently larger in monticular zooecia and in populations from low-diversity communities irrespective of the colony region sampled. These patterns of declining values are caused by increasing wall thicknesses, larger and more abundant mesozooecia and acanthostyles, and the development of maculae during colony growth. Larger values in low-diversity settings may have provided reproductive and feeding benefits necessary for survival.

Covariances reflect levels of morphological integration and are larger in populations from high-diversity communities in both intermonticular and monticular regions. Values differ more during early stages of growth (1–3) than later in astogeny (stages 4–5), and are consistently higher in intermonitulcar than in monticular zooecia. Lower levels of integration in monticules may be caused by spatial adjustments as the number of monticules increases across the expanding colony surface during growth. In general, stabilizing selection may have been weaker and less effective in establishing character covariance patterns in populations from low-diversity communities, perhaps because of greater environmental stress. These findings suggest that evaluations of astogenetic patterns and age-related changes in levels of morphological integration within a paleoenvironmental context are important in measuring species richness, in determining the direction of character evolution, and in assessing tempo and mode of evolutionary changes.
Baptornissp. (Aves: Hesperornithiformes) from the Judith River Formation (Campanian) of Saskatchewan, Canada
Authors: Tokaryk Tim T. , Harington C. R.
Published: August 2016

A vertebra from the Judith River Formation (Campanian) of Saskatchewan, found with other Upper Cretaceous vertebrate remains, is referred to the loon-like hesperornithiformBaptornis, and is the first recorded occurrence of this genus from continental deposits. It is also the first bird described from the Judith River Formation of western Canada.
Alternative methods for dealing by nonnormality and heteroscedasticity in paleontological data
Authors: Hageman Steven J.
Published: August 2016

Although numerical methods are highly useful in paleontological studies, potential problems arise with application of parametric statistical methods to paleontological data. Most common statistical tests assume data are normally distributed and that multiple populations have equal variances (homoscedasticity). Paleontological data frequently do not satisfy these assumptions, thereby affecting results of tests and potentially misleading scientific interpretations. Nonparametric tests should be used when assumptions of parametric tests are violated. Normal scores tests, which utilize expected normal deviates (rankits) substituted for original data, are the most powerful nonparametric tests. Despite their potential utility, normal scores tests have received little attention, primarily because of difficulties encountered with rankit conversion.

Recent advances in microcomputer technology provide viable methods for rankit conversion, thus making normal scores tests accessible for routine application. Normal scores tests provide a practical method of dealing with nonnormality and heteroscedasticity common in paleontological data.
Ordovician sponge spicules from New South Wales, Australia
Authors: Webby B. D. , Trotter J.
Published: August 2016

An abundant, varied, and well-preserved assemblage of discrete sponge spicules of late Ordovician age is described from the Malongulli Formation of central New South Wales. It is associated with one of the most diverse Ordovician siliceous sponge faunas known. The assemblage occurs in allochthonous limestone blocks within breccia deposits of a predominantly graptolitic and spiculitic siltstone succession, and is composed mainly of hexactinellid spicule types. Included are a number of distinctive forms, recognized as new taxa—Silicunculus bengtsoni, Kometia cruciformis, Chelispongia prima, and Pseudolancicula exigua. All are new genera except Silicunculus Bengtson, 1986, which was previously described from the upper Cambrian of Queensland. The problematical Anomaloides reticulatus Ulrich, 1878, is reported for the first time from Australia. A wide variety of other diagnostic, but more generalized, spicule types also occurs, including stauractines, pinnular and nonpinnular pentactines and hexactines, ornamented oxyhexasters and echinhexasters, clavules, anchorate root-tufts, and uncinates. The pinnular pentactines may be assigned to the form genus Palaeorubus Ishiga (in Ishiga et al., 1987), interpreted incorrectly by Ishiga as a radiolarian. The sponges, discrete spicules, and radiolarians of these limestone clasts were transported in debris flows to a basinal setting from peri-platform oozes that formed on the flanks of the shallow offshore island-arc platform of the Molong High.